It Grows With Boldness | The Danger of Almost Surrendered

Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us, I just want to invite you all to stand up and join in. I pray into the atmosphere, the spirit of God will heal you, and all is glory to you. I pray over my heart and mind, I'm healed by His stripes, Your blood, the prayers that I can read, in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray, calling on the power of heaven, I proclaim, every weapon formed against me, must break, in the mighty name of Jesus. I draw a permanent boundary line, the enemy has no rights to come near my family, no scheme could ever run through God's hands, no matter the circumstance, the cross is still my destiny, in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray, calling on the power of heaven, I proclaim, every weapon formed against me, must break, in the mighty name of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus. I pray, calling on the power of heaven, I proclaim, every weapon formed against me, must break, in the mighty name of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus. Oh I know, all the power of fear and darkness, must go, every pain and every injury, yes I know, in the mighty name of Jesus. I will not fear, I will not fear, when the enemy comes near, on the door frame of my life, the blood of Jesus Christ. I will not fear, I will not fear, it's an animal that you'll see, I'm protected on all sides, the blood of Jesus Christ. I will not fear, I will not fear, when the enemy comes near, on the door frame of my life, the blood of Jesus Christ. I will not fear, I will not fear, it's an animal that you'll see, I'm protected on all sides, the blood of Jesus Christ. In the mighty name of Jesus. I pray, calling on the power of heaven, I proclaim, every weapon formed against me, must break, in the mighty name of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus.

I know, all the power of fear and darkness, must go, every pain and every injury, yes I know, in the mighty name of Jesus. I will not fear, I will not fear, when the enemy comes near, on the door frame of my life, the blood of Jesus Christ. I will not fear, I will not fear, it's an animal that you'll see, I'm protected on all sides. I will not fear, I will not fear, there's an army of angels here, on the door frame of my life, it's the blood of Jesus Christ. In the mighty name of Jesus. I pray, calling on the power of heaven. I proclaim, every weapon for the victory. I pray, in the mighty name of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus. I know, all the power of fear and darkness. I must go, cause every key to every victory is my own. In the mighty name of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus. I was sharing at first service, how much this song really means to me. As many of you know, I'm about to have a baby here in like two weeks. Alright, super exciting, super crazy all at the same time. But it's been probably about 15 years ago I had cancer, and it was in my thyroid area. And they told me before I went into surgery, they had me sign this whole thing about how my voice was going to change and this and that. Honestly, fast forward, here I am leading worship. The Lord's faithfulness, right? And I was healed of it and everything. Well, for about a year before we found out I was pregnant, I had been getting sick. And infection after infection, they'd go from one antibiotic to the next. And I just like could not figure out why I kept getting these infections. And so the last time I went in there, the doctor looked at me and she said, Hey, I'm going to have to send you to a specialist if you get another one of these. So every Monday we have staff prayer.

And I was just so tired of being sick all the time and not really having an answer as to why or what was going on. And so I have a picture that Diana taken and it's me and my husband and we're literally sitting here at the altar. And I'm just in tears, begging the Lord to heal my body. Well, a month later, I find out that I'm pregnant. And they do all their routine stuff. And I said, Hey, we found some pre-cancer cells that we're really concerned about. And we want to take this baby early. And he'll be in the NICU. And before they told me they wanted to take him early, they tried to talk me into aborting him two different times. And I said, We're not going to do that. So they said, Well, then we need to take him early because we need to do this procedure. We need to do this surgery on you. And there's a chance that if you wait and you have this baby, you're going to have cancer. And I'm ridden with anxiety because I know what I believe. And I believe that one, God is the author of life. And two, I believe that he is the God who heals. He knows things before we ever know things. And he has heard my prayer after prayer after prayer. But I also know that he knows my innermost fears, which would be walking through having cancer again. And so I was ridden with anxiety. And I told the doctor, I said, We're going to wait. We're going to take our chances. Because before Jesus, we're gambling people. So I'm like, Let's take a chance. So I'm like, We're going to take our chances. Take a chance, we're gonna carry this baby full term. He's healthy, he's fine. Praise the Lord, like God is good. But one morning I was getting ready for church and I just got rid of this anxiety

but I felt the Holy Spirit say, hold on to me. Which you would think would give you peace but it didn't because in that moment I'm like, Lord, you're all I hang on to. What are you talking about, I hang on to you. Is this the Mamba? Like, what is going on with my life right now? And I felt like he reminded me of the woman with the issue of blood who risked her entire life to be in a crowd, to hang on to the hymn of Jesus. And he reminded me of this woman and he said, do you trust me? And the chorus of this song, all my life you have been faithful. He said, do you remember that through every situation I've been faithful to you? And not just in your situation but in the history of the Bible, I've been nothing but faithful, I've been nothing but good. There's not a story in the Bible where I'm not pulled through. So this song honestly has been one through the last nine months that every moment I start to feel that anxiety come on or I start to feel worried, come on. I just start singing. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good. Every breath that I have made. Thank you, Lord, for my blessing.

Your goodness, my power. I'm sharing this with you because we all have our own situations. We all have our own stories. We all have our own battles. Maybe it's not with your health. Maybe it's been with addiction. Maybe it's been with your family. Maybe it's been with your finances. But what I know is that all of our lives, God has been faithful. Not one of us are standing in this room that can say that he hasn't because if we have breath in our lungs, he is faithful. He is faithful because guess what? Even if, even if our prayers are not answered the way that we hope for, we have the hope of glory for him to work with the savior of the universe. There is always a reason because all of our lives, he has been faithful. We love you, Catherine. ♪ I love you, Lord ♪ ♪ Lord, your mercy never fails me ♪ ♪ All my days I've been building at your feet ♪ ♪ From the moment I wake up to the day I lay here ♪ ♪ I will sing the praise of God ♪ ♪ All my life you have been faithful ♪ ♪ All my life you have been so, so good ♪ ♪ With every breath that I am able ♪

♪ I will sing the goodness of God ♪ ♪ Your voice, you have led me through the fire ♪ ♪ In the darkest night, you were close like no other ♪ ♪ When you asked for father, when you asked for friend ♪ ♪ I have lived the goodness of God ♪ ♪ All my life you have been faithful ♪ ♪ All my life you have been so, so good ♪ ♪ With every breath that I am able ♪ ♪ I will sing the goodness of God ♪ ♪ The goodness of God ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ While I lay down and surrender now I'll give you everything ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ While I lay down and surrender now I'll give you everything ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me ♪ ♪ Cause all my life you have been faithful ♪ ♪ All my life you have been so, so good ♪ ♪ With every breath that I am able to breathe ♪ ♪ I will see you looking in somehow ♪ ♪ All my life you have been faithful ♪ ♪ All my life you have been so, so good ♪ ♪ With every breath that I am able to breathe ♪ ♪ I will see the goodness of God all my life ♪ ♪ All my life you have been faithful ♪ ♪ All my life you have been so, so good ♪ ♪ With every breath that I am able to breathe ♪ ♪ I will see the goodness of God all my life ♪

♪ The goodness of God ♪ ♪ And I will see the goodness of God ♪ ♪ I will see the goodness of God ♪ ♪ I will see the goodness of God ♪ Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. You are worthy of it all. For from you are all things. To you are all things. You deserve the glory. Look at me. All the saints in ancient bow before your throne. All the elders cast their crowns before the hand of God and sing. You are worthy of it all.

You are worthy of it all. For from you are all things. To you are all things. You deserve the glory. You are worthy of it all. You are worthy of it all. For from you are all things. You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all You are worthy of it all They can die tonight andday the ancestor rise They can die tonight andday the ancestor rise They can die tonight andday the ancestor rise They can die tonight andday the ancestor rise They can die tonight andday the ancestor rise They can die tonight andday the ancestor rise They can die tonight andday the ancestor rise They can die tonight andday His glory is on His words are powerful His wisdom impossible His words are holy I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I believe in God I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I believe in God I'm from the Father, King To you I'll give You deserve the glory I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I believe in God I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I believe in God I'm from you I'll be To you I'll be

You deserve the glory I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I believe in God I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I believe in God I'm from you I'll be To you I'll be I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I believe in God I'm worthy, I'm worthy, I believe in God I'm from you I'll be To you I'll be Who will turn the morning into night Day and night, night and day they exist around us Day and night, night and day they exist around us Day and night, night and day they exist around us Day and night, night and day they exist around us Day and night, night and day they exist around us Day and night, night and day they exist around us Day and night, night and day they exist around us Day and night, night and day Come on, Lord, help me, Lord You are worthy of it all, You are worthy of it all. For from You are all things, to You are all things, You deserve the glory. I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee,

I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I see communities that need to experience the all-powerful God that we serve. The God that actually has the ability to change. And personally, I get the opportunity and the privilege of being close enough to this ministry to see some of the stories that maybe everybody else doesn't get to see. And I get to see people walk through these doors who are looking for hope, and then I get to hear the stories of them finding the hope. I get to see families who are trying to put their lives back together, and then I get to celebrate and praise with them whenever I see their families back together. And if I'm honest, this is why giving has become so personal to me. It's deeper than just a contribution to the church or a contribution to the kingdom of God. This is something that is actually happening and changing lives. There is somebody on the other side of that light bill, amen? We ain't just paying the utilities. Those jokers are not paying the utilities. But there's also somebody on the other side of the kids' ministry. There's somebody on the other side of outreach. There's somebody on the other side of that missions trip or that church that we got to build in Mutombo, Africa. There's somebody on the other side of every ministry that we support and every opportunity that God puts in front of us, and many times we may never even know their name. See, that's the good thing about the kingdom of God, because God knows their name. See, people sacrifice for something that they couldn't even completely see yet, because they believed, and because they did, hundreds of people have walked through these doors and been able to encounter Jesus in a real tangible way, amen? Because we have done it. It's not about what we build, but it's about who we're building it for.

Think about the next person who walks through these doors. Think about the next family that needs a local church. Think about the next person who believes that their story is already over, and they walk in to a place that you can love them, and you can see them restored back to health because of what God is doing right here. It's amazing to be able to be a part of what the Lord is doing, because, you know, not too long ago, July 4th weekend, we had a family tell us, hey, we want to get into that new building just as bad as you do. We want to see you guys get in there, and so they said, hey, we're going to match $100,000 for you guys to raise $100,000, and every week, I've been given this report for a reason, because every week it grows. And so if we can get in there, if we can raise this last little bit, it allows us to get into the building, and for the $100,000 that is being matched, we're at, I did the numbers, we're at $69,000, and we're still waiting on a few things to come in, so that's 69% of the way to it, amen? And so we're believing that God is just going to continue to just provide, and we get to be able to be a part of everything that the Lord is doing, and so we are just excited for what He's doing. If I could have some ushers come down, I'm just believing that what the Lord is even going to do today and this week is going to get us almost to that number in completion. But don't let it stop there. Let's just continue to give back to God what is already His anyways. Amen, and so let's pray. Father we thank you, Lord we pray that even in this moment, that your will would go forth, that you would have your way, that you would do something so supernatural, that it would radically change our church, would radically change the families that are a part of the church, because ultimately that is the church. So God have your way in every single one of our lives. Do what only you can do, Lord, open the floodgates of heaven, and allow your will to be done in Jesus' name, amen.

Good morning. Good morning, Reach KC Church. I'm Dianne. Boots. I'm the communications director and I'm excited to show you a little bit of what's been going on at 8701 Sniobar Road, aka your new home. We've been talking a lot about Build 900 pledges and your opportunity to help fund what we believe God is wanting to do on the east side of Kansas City. The mission has not changed. The vision has not changed. Our goal is the same, but we are moving and we are believing that God wants you to be a part of it. We're excited to show you some of the amazing details that have been coming together as we get this building ready for you and your family to join us here for worship. We have been so excited to show you some of the new and exciting things that have happened at this facility, but we also want to extend the opportunity to show you that you are a part of making this happen. Your giving is what's making this possible. None of this would happen without you and your families believing in the heart and the vision of Reach KC Church. Thank you for being a part of us and for making this possible. Come on somebody. Hey low key, low key that beat slapped. I'm just saying, I'm just saying I already wrote a hook to it so you know it's gonna be Build 900 is the name of the song. No I'm just kidding. Hey we are uh in a series that is titled It Grows With Boldness and we've been going through this uh book of acts and and we started in chapter one and it it grows with power and now we are in it grows with boldness because we start to see the church grow in chapter three and and and so we just see it just starting to grow leaps and bounds because some of the disciples boldness that was there and so uh I want to jump into today and talk from the title of The Danger of Almost Surrendered. If you are taking notes, The Danger of Almost Surrendered. I mean that's a dangerous place to be. Imagine a soldier walking out into a battlefield carrying a white flag right a white flag surrender uh resembles surrendering and and the shooting stops he he lifts his hands and he lays down his rifle on the ground and from a distance everything about him says I surrender I I I surrender but beneath his jacket he has a hidden weapon right everyone he's surrendered from what everyone can see but he's held back what nobody else can see and see that soldier truly hasn't surrenders he's only created the appearance of surrender see because surrender is not determined by what you lay down publicly surrender is revealed by what you refuse to

release privately and that concealed weapon is now more dangerous than it ever was before why because everyone around him has lowered their guard based on a surrender that wasn't even genuine to begin with that is the danger of being almost surrendered see almost surrendered can lift its hands and raise its hands in worship while holding something back in the heart see almost surrendered can walk down to the altar without ever fully laying down control almost surrendered can give God the visible weapon while concealing the one thing that it refuses to release see almost surrendered says you can have my worship God but not my obedience you can have my service God but you can't have those secrets so you can you can have my words Lord but you cannot have my wallet you don't you don't you don't get a chance to have that but see if he is not the Lord of everything then he is not the Lord of anything oh yeah because we don't get to compartmentalize where God gets to go in our lives we don't get to choose hey you can have this but you can't have that. See when we do that we are declaring that you are not the Lord of everything in my life and if he is not the Lord of everything then he is not the Lord of anything and that is exactly what we encounter in Acts chapter 5. See Ananias and Sapphira walked into the presence of God carrying the appearance of complete surrender. They placed money at the Apostles feet just like Barnabas did. See everybody could publicly see what they have laid down but God could see what they had personally concealed. See they wanted the reputation of Barnabas without the surrender of Barnabas. See they brought a portion to God while pretending that they had brought him everything. I almost named this message the price of pretending because pretending can be very costly because see God cannot bless who you pretend to be. He can only bless who he intends you to be and so when you're walking around acting like you've got this thing together acting like you have fully surrendered see what they refused to surrender eventually became an opening for something far more dangerous to control their lives. So today I want to show you three dangers if you're taking notes that is hidden inside of an almost surrendered life. Three dangers that is hidden inside of an almost surrendered life and the first danger is this the performance behind the praise. The

performance behind the praise. See there in Acts chapter 5 verses 1 through 2 it says but there was a certain man named Ananias who with his wife Sapphira sold some property and he brought part of the money to the Apostles claiming that it was the full amount and with his wife's consent he kept the rest. See Acts 5 begins with what I want to preach a sermon series on one day with this small but significant word but and I want to call the sermon series I like big butts and I cannot lie because there are always these big butts in Scripture that connect to something because see this word connects Ananias and Sapphira directly to what happened at the end of Acts chapter 4. See Acts chapter 4 tells us that the believers were selling land and placing the proceeds at the Apostles feet but then Luke singles out one particular man that we looked at last week by the name of Barnabas and see Barnabas sold the field he brought the money and he laid it at the Apostles feet but then Luke says but a certain man named Ananias. See Luke wants us to see these two gifts side by side why because their actions looked almost identical. See if you would have been standing in the room you might not have even noticed any difference why because both gifts appeared generous both gifts both actions appeared sacrificial both men appeared to be surrendered even though their actions looked similar their hearts were actually completely different. See Barnabas gave because he was surrendered and Ananias gave because he wanted people to think he was surrendered and I wonder if Ananias and Sapphira as I'm sitting here preparing I'm trying to place myself in their position and I wonder if they saw the respect that Barnabas got from his gift and maybe perhaps they watched the church celebrate his generosity and perhaps they saw how his gift actually blessed the church and they wanted that same recognition but they wanted the honor associated with generosity without paying the price sacrificial giving actually requires. See they were willing to surrender enough just to be noticed just not enough to actually release control that is the danger of being almost surrendered. See almost surrendered will bring something to God but it carefully calculates what it can keep. See almost surrendered wants the

appearance of sacrifice while experiencing not experiencing the cost of sacrifice. See they weren't pretending to have money they were pretending to have surrendered it and I think it's important to be clear about what the text does and does not teach. See, Ananias and Sapphira were not commanded to sell their property. The early church had not established some rule requiring every believer to liquidate all of their assets and give them, and Peter makes this clear in verse 4, and we'll look at that in a moment, but the property belonged to them. Even after selling it, they retained the authority over all of the proceeds. Their sin was not that they failed to give every dollar. Their sin was that they wanted everyone to believe that they did. See, they presented partial surrender as complete surrender. They wanted people to believe that everything had been laid down while they were secretly holding something back in their life. See, God was not judging the size of their gift. He was exposing the dishonesty of their surrender. See, believe it or not, there is a kind of generosity that is really just another form of self-promotion. If my giving is designed to make people notice me, then my gift may be going towards God's word, but the worship is still directed towards me. See, real surrender is not proven by who you are when surrender benefits your reputation. Real surrender is proven by who you are when obedience costs you something when nobody is watching. See, I believe that this passage forces us to ask whether our Christianity has become performance driven. See, we know when to lift our hands. Come on, somebody. We know when we're trying to get people to see us and we know when, you know, when we're looking and, you know, you got a cute girl

sitting beside you at church and you're single and you're just like, oh yeah, I want her to see me. I want her to believe I'm worshiping the Lord, but you only almost surrendered. Like, we know when to say amen. Come on. Today is not going to be as loud of those today because of what I'm preaching and that's okay. I prepared myself in prayer. See, we know when to say amen like we actually live it out. See, we know how to tell people that God comes first in our lives. We know how to look committed on Sunday, but surrender is actually not measured by what you display in public. It's revealed by what you refuse to release in private. See, we sing, you are worthy of it all. That's not bad. I actually did not go out of key right there. I held steady. I was actually impressed myself. Thanks, Ryan. First service was not so good. I was like, you're worthy of it all, and I was like, man, you're worthy more than that. We sing that we are actually offering God that you are worthy of it all, but even our bank statement says that you're only worthy of some. See, we tell God that he can have our lives while actually reserving the right to still control our finances how we want. See, we celebrate generosity. We celebrate $69,000 being raised, but yet we personally refuse to tithe. See, we can give publicly and still be withholding privately. This is not simply just a money problem though either, and I know those of you that was feeling uncomfortable about me talking about tithing is happy about that. Because see, there may actually be another warning beneath the surface here even. See, Ananias and Sapphira appeared to have measured themselves against Barnabas. Did you know that comparison can make us imitate someone's visible actions without possessing their inward convictions?

See, we see someone else's influence, right? We see someone else's recognition. We see someone else's impact that they are making, and we try to reproduce what they did, but we cannot manufacture spirituality. We cannot manufacture spiritually what God did and produced in someone else through complete surrender. See, the question in this passage is not, how much did they give? The real question is, why did they want everyone else to see them giving it? Which turns the text right back around towards every single one of us and ask, am I more concerned with appearing surrendered than actually being surrendered? Would I serve if nobody recognized me? Would I serve if I was behind the scenes? Would I still give if nobody knew that I gave? Do I want God's approval or do I want people's applause? Is there a difference between the person that people see and the person that God sees? Hear me church, God would rather have our honest weaknesses than our manufactured spirituality. See the tragedy is that Ananias and Sapphira could have been honest. Literally, they could have sold the property, kept a portion and openly said what they were giving and probably been more generous than everybody else in the church. But almost surrendered people are rarely content simply to just give less. They want to give less while appearing to have given everything. See before we examine the portion that they held back, we must confront the performance surrounding their gift because the first evidence that something was wrong was not in their hands, it was in their hearts. See they wanted to look like Barnabas without relinquishing control. They wanted to look like Barnabas without living like Barnabas. They wanted the reputation of surrender while still maintaining. And see the Holy Spirit would not allow performance to masquerade as purity at the very foundation of his church. Listen, you can fool the people watching the gift that's gave, but you cannot fool God examining the giver. The most dangerous place to live is not openly rebellious, it's living almost surrendered while pretending to be completely surrendered. See the performance concealed the problem, but the portion they kept back revealed it. Because once they claimed that the gift belonged to God, what they secretly withheld no

longer was merely a financial decision, it became a spiritual violation. Which leads me to the second danger, and that's the portion that was held back. The portion that was held back, Acts 5 verse 2 says he brought part of the money to the Apostles claiming it was the full amount, and with his wife's consent he kept the rest. See the danger was not only in the gift that Ananias brought, the danger was in the portion that was held back. See he gave enough to create an appearance of surrender publicly while secretly retaining enough in his life to remain controlled privately. That's what makes almost surrendered so dangerous. Almost surrendered does not refuse God outright, it never says no you ain't doing this, no no this ain't, no that ain't, no it gives God a portion while low-key reserving enough portion for itself. See the Greek word translated here kept back actually carries the idea and connotation of secretly keeping, or misappropriating, or taking for oneself something entrusted or represented as belonging to another. The same word actually appears in Titus 2 10 where it says that servants were warned not to steal. That not to steal is the same language as kept back from their masters. In other words Luke does not describe Ananias merely as reorganizing his finances, the language carries the connotation of secretly taking for himself what he had presented as belonging to God. See there was actually nothing inherently sinful about retaining part of the sell price. Peter makes it clear in verse 4 when he says this, that the property was yours to sell or to not sell as you wished, and after selling it the money was yours to give away. See Ananias was not required to sell the property, he was not even required to even give the entire sell price. He could have openly said hey we sold the property for this amount and we have decided to give this portion. The problem was not that he kept some, the problem was that he claimed that he had kept nothing. See his sin was partial giving, it was not partial giving, his sin was partial surrender disguised as complete surrender. The moment that Ananias represented the entire amount as devoted to God, the portion he retained was no longer merely his money. See he declared it surrendered, he presented it as consecrated, then he secretly took part of it back. Listen you cannot surrender something to God and continue treating it as though it belongs to you. That's anywhere in your life because sadly we do this with more than just money church. We tell God my life is yours, my life is entirely yours until his will disrupts our plans. See we tell him my My time, my time is yours Lord. I give you everything and I give you all of my time until serving actually becomes inconvenient to my schedule. See we say my spiritual gifts are yours Lord. I understand you gave me this voice and and take it from me Lord and and pluck out

my eyes if this and and Lord I just want you to know that my spiritual gifts are yours until somebody else receives the recognition I believe I should get. See my future is yours Lord until he leads you somewhere uncomfortable. My finances are yours Lord until obedience requires trust. See almost surrender places something at God's feet and then keeps one hand wrapped around it. See anything we have truly surrendered is no longer ours to secretly control. Luke's choice of words connects this moment. Multiple commentators said this Luke's choice of words connects this moment to another troubling passage of scripture and it's the sin of Achan and Joshua 7. See Israel had just crossed into the promised land. They had just walked out of Exodus and and had walked in and defeated this supernatural victory over Jericho but everything in Jericho had been placed under a ban by God. It was devoted to God and was to not be taken for personal use yet Achan saw something that he wanted. Joshua 7 verse 21 tells it like this I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon 200 silver coins and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound and I wanted them so much that I took them. I just wanted it so much that I that I took them. See Achan believed that his decision was private. The stolen items items that he had he buried underneath of his tent. Nobody else could even see them but his private compromise affected the victory of the entire nation. See hidden sin may be concealed from the community but it is never contained to a particular individual. What we bury and what we hide still affects the house and those around us church. See after Israel was defeated at Ai, Joshua fell on his face before God because he couldn't understand what happened. Israel had just experienced a miraculous victory at Jericho. God had brought the walls down and given them the city and when they faced the smaller city of Israel or Ai, Israel was humiliated. But notice what God said in Joshua 7 as a leader should be. He was praying for his nation. He was praying for his people and God speaks to him in Joshua 7 verse 10 and he says get up. Could you imagine being deep in prayer prostate laying down? Well how do you know his prostate? Because he told him to get up. He's laying down in prostate praying for his people and he said get up. Why are you laying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant. They have stolen some of the things that I have commanded must be set apart for me and they have not only stolen them but they have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. See it's the same story. See Joshua was praying, thanking that it was the enemy that was defeating them but God confronted him about what was actually happening in the camp. Joshua thought

the problem was the strength of Ai but God saw the problem and told him that it was the sin of the people among them. See Joshua was asking why God had allowed them to lose and God was revealing them why they could not win. See sometimes we're praying about what's in front of us while God is confronting about what's hidden among us. Achan treated something devoted to God as though it belonged to him and that is what makes this story connect so powerfully to Ananias and Sapphira. See Achan took what was devoted to God and Ananias withheld what he claimed was devoted to God but neither party could actually hide it from God because you can bury it beneath your tent or you can hide it behind your offering but God still sees what you have withheld from him. See God told Joshua that is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. One man's hidden greed affected an entire nation's ability to advance. Achan probably assumed it was just a private decision. Think about it. Everybody's getting whooped. Everybody's getting smashed. You see people around you not able to defeat anything that they were supposed to be able to defeat and you're just sitting here like hum diddy dum. But nobody else knew what was underneath of him. his tent but although the items were hidden their effects were actually very visible see nobody could see the treasure but everybody could feel the defeat see hidden sin may be invisible in the tent but its consequences become eventually become visible throughout the camp see honestly this helps me understand why God responded so severely in in Acts chapter 5 because see the the church was in its earliest days thousands of people were being saved miracles were happening believers are walking in extraordinary unity generosity and power and then greed and deception and counterfeit surrender attempted to enter the foundation of the church God was establishing something in both passages his people cannot move forward in public power while protecting private compromise this is bigger than honestly even one person's money what we tolerate in the house eventually shapes the spiritual health of the house a church cannot preach complete surrender while practicing convenient obedience it just doesn't work like that we can't ask God for victory while knowingly withholding on to what he has told us to remove we can't ask God to rebuke the devourer even over our finances while withholding even the tide that belongs

to him see we can't pray for God to powerfully move among us while protecting the very thing that is hindering his work within us God's words to Joshua are startling get up why are you laying on your face like that see Joshua was praying but this was not the moment for more prayer it was the moment for purification see there are some things that we just cannot pray around church there are some areas that we don't just need another prophetic word from somebody we don't need just another worship service or another emotional moment at the altar we already know what God told us to do prayer is never a viable substitute for obedience prayer is never a viable substitute for obedience God told Joshua get up command the people to purify themselves in preparation for what I'm gonna do tomorrow see God was still willing to give Israel the victory but they first had to confront what was hidden among them that means that the passage is not only about judgment it's also about preparation see God wanted to restore their ability to move forward but there before they could get the victory tomorrow they had to they had to be consecration today see sometimes God exposes what is hidden not because he wants to destroy our future but because he refuses to let what is hidden destroy us see God makes this issue unmistakably clear you will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you some of us have been asking God why we're not gaining ground in our lives why does it feel like we just keep losing the same battles God does it feel like I just keep beating my head up against the wall on the same things and the same things and why is there no peace in our life and no peace in our finances and why do we keep living underneath of fear and pressure in our life and why does it feel as although we just cannot move forward every time we take a step forward we keep moving back and although we shouldn't assume that every struggle is the result of personal sin Joshua 7 does require us to ask an honest question today and that is is there anything hidden in my tent that is hindering what God wants to do through my life is it the tithe that we knowingly withhold is it an area of obedience we continue negotiating with

God is it something that God has told us to release that we have buried among our possessions is it a personal compromise that nobody else even knows about see maybe we have been asking God to change what is happening around us while God is confronting what we are concealing within us see we keep asking God to defeat what is ahead of us while God is asking us to remove what is hidden among us it's the greatest threat hear this the greatest threat to the early church was not merely the opposition outside the building and we know that was strong because we've talked about it the last few chapters the greatest threat to the early church was not merely the opposition outside the building it was the compromise concealed inside of it see the death of a church never comes from outside enemies. I've seen a lot of churches die but not one of them was because an outside enemy tried to do it. It was always comes from inside influences. It always comes from the compromises of people that say they are one thing and they are not holding up to their end of the bargain. It's never the enemy that comes. The enemy cannot defeat the church. Did you forgive when Jesus declared it to Peter and he said I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. That means none of his dominions, none of his demons, none of his principalities or powers, none of anything that he tries to send against the church can defeat it. Only almost surrender people can. See only the inside influences and honestly this principle didn't even end with Achan. Generations later God asked his people in Malachi will a man rob God? It's the same language because whenever we knowingly retain what God has already designated as his, scripture does not merely call it poor money management, he calls it robbery. See God did not say hey guys you forgot to contribute this Sunday when Pastor Adam was talking about giving. No he said you've robbed me. He said you went in my pocket, got my money and did with it what you wanted to. Why? Because the tithe was never theirs to keep. It had already been designated as holy by God in Leviticus 27. One-tenth of the produce of the land belongs to the Lord and must be set apart. That word set apart is the same connotation as kept back but different. See the tithe

does not become God's when we give it. The tithe belongs to God before it ever reaches our hands. That means that tithing is not merely an act of generosity, it's actually an act of obedience. See an offering is what we freely give beyond the tithe but the tithe is the portion through which we acknowledge God's ownership over everything. I do not give the tithe because God needs my money. I return the tithe because I need to remember whose money it was to begin with. I hear so many people say well I just can't afford to tithe. I'll tithe when I start making more money. No you won't because you didn't tithe when you had a little bit of money. But honestly the deeper question is whether we can afford to build our lives while withholding what actually belongs to God. See when we keep the tithe we are protecting what belongs. We aren't protecting what belongs to us, we're withholding what belongs to him. See when we acknowledge the tithe as belonging to God and then knowingly keep it for ourselves, scripture does not say that we're simply changing our line items in our budget. Malachi describes it as taking what belongs to God. See once something belongs to God, keeping it is not saving. It's stealing. See some of us have savings that weren't built on stewardship. They were built on stealing. See God is not trying to get something out of us, he's trying to break something off of us. Tithing literally confronts our desire for control. It literally confronts our poverty mindsets that we've been living in most of our life. It forces us to decide whether our security rests in what we can keep or in the God who provides. See almost surrendered says I trust God spiritually but I still control my finances stay out of it. See I believe God can save my soul but I do not believe that he can supply for my needs. I believe his promises concerning eternity but I do not trust his principles concerning generosity. See the tithe does not reveal how much God needs, it reveals how much we trust. See this is not about creating fear that God will strike someone down for making a mathematical error. No Acts 5 is not teaching that Ananias and Sapphira died because they fell to give a certain percentage. The stronger challenge is this, stop calling God Lord

while deliberately withholding areas that he has told you to surrender. See the portion they held back may have seemed small compared to the amount that they actually had give and perhaps they reasoned hey at least we're given something. I mean they should be thankful that they got anything of mine. I worked hard for this but see the size of the gift did not cancel the dishonesty behind it. It is possible to use what we give to justify what we've withheld but obedience in one area does not purchase permission for disobedience in another. Well at least I'm not smoking meth. We cannot give, we cannot use the portion that we gave to God and then excuse the portion that we've withheld from him. The tragedy is that Ananias brought money to the church but withheld honesty from God. See his hands appeared generous but his heart remained guarded and like and like Achan he took what had been devoted and like the people confronted in Malachi he treated what belonged to God as though it still belonged to him and this passage confronts that same question what portion are we still holding back? Is it our time? Is it our family? Is it an area of obedience that we have continued negotiating with God? Is it a private habit that we refuse to release? We must be very careful not to celebrate the portion we have surrendered while ignoring the portion that we still refuse to release in our lives. See God is not asking for carefully managed portions of our lives he's asking for complete surrender. See almost surrender gives God enough to ease our conscious but holds back enough to still maintain control. The greatest danger may not be what we openly refuse to give God but what we secretly take back after claiming that it belonged to him. See the portion they held back did more than expose their lack of trust it created an opening in their hearts for the enemy to exploit which leads me to the third danger the power that they gave access to. The power that they gave access to see Acts 5 3 says this that Ananias Peter's piercing question Ananias why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit and kept some of the money for yourself. See Ananias thought that he was controlling the amount he held back but behind the scenes greed was

actually controlling his heart. That's the danger of almost surrender. See what we've refused to surrender to God does not remain neutral church. Eventually it begins to influence us and will eventually control us. The language that Luke uses here is striking because at the end of Acts 4 the believers prayed the building shook and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and preached the Word of God with boldness but then only a few verses later Peter asked Ananias why has Satan filled your heart? See he places two very different influences side-by-side in Acts 4 people surrendered themselves to the Holy Spirit in Acts 5 Ananias surrendered his heart to the influence of Satan. See generosity was a byproduct of the filling of the Holy Spirit while greed was a byproduct of being filled with Satan. I know nobody wants to hear it but listen every heart will eventually be influenced by what it continually yields to. This does not mean Ananias was an innocent victim and Satan forced him to sin. Peter still holds Ananias responsible he says why have you let Satan fill your heart? See Satan supplied the temptation but Ananias provided room for it. The enemy suggested the lie but Ananias chose to live in it. The devil cannot force surrender but he will occupy whatever territory we willingly yield to him church. See Satan did not begin by asking Ananias to commit some shockingly public evil. The doorway was much more subtle than that. That is often how spiritual compromise works. The enemy rarely begins by showing us the final destination. He begins with one unsurrendered desire and then convinces us that we can manage it but greed did not remain in their finances. Hear me church. It worked its way into their thinking. It worked its way into their marriage. It worked its way into their integrity. It worked its way into their worship and it ultimately worked their way its way into their relationship with God. See they exposed themselves to satanic influence. Greed never stays in your wallet. Eventually it works its way all the way down into your heart. Let me prove it. There's another man in scripture whose love of money created an opening for the enemy see Judas Began as a disciple

See he walked with Jesus he literally heard every sermon He's seen miracles I mean he got to witness some of the stuff that that nobody else was able to witness He was even trusted with the disciples money See John 12 6 tells us that Judas was stealing from the money bag But before Judas ever sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver He had already developed a habit of taking what did not belong to him See the betrayal did not begin at the table that began in the Treasury the 30 pieces of silver Were not the beginning of Judas's struggle with greed They were the culmination of a desire that he had repeatedly refused to surrender That's why in John 13 27. It says when Judas had eaten the bread Satan entered into him Honestly that connection Should sober us Judas's love of money literally created an opening that Satan eventually exploited Ananias's greed created an opening that Satan filled Both men were close to a genuine move of God both men appeared to have belonged among God's people But both also concealed financial dishonesty and both allowed the love of money to carry them into deception both Discovered that an unsurrendered desire can become a doorway for spiritual destruction See the enemy Studies Hear me church the enemy studies what we refuse to surrender Because he knows that's where he can establish influence in our life Why do you think you keep getting hit in the same area You've got a door open You've got a gate open and Acts 5 2 says that Sapphira knew what Ananias had done watch this

Don't nobody leave yet Then Peter asked her in verse 9, how could the two of you even think of conspiring to test The spirit of the Lord like this. This was not an impulsive mistake. This was premeditated disobedience They decided on their story They agreed on what they would say and they strengthened one another's compromise in their life Hear me church marriage should help us obey God Not make us more comfortable disobeying him See, there are moments when love must be willing to say hey, we cannot do this This is dishonest This isn't what God would have us do. This is not what we are supposed to be doing This is not what he would we cannot ask God to bless what we know violates his word But instead of one correcting the other they confirmed the other's deception listen church be careful Who helps you feel comfortable? With what the Holy Spirit has confronted The wrong agreement can make compromise feel reasonable When everyone involved repeats the same lie we begin to confuse agreement with truth I see two people agreeing to disobey God Does not make disobedience righteous My mama used to say it this way two wrongs don't make a right See Peter says they conspired to test the Spirit of the Lord See they were testing whether God would notice They were testing whether God would expose them See they were testing How much deception they can actually carry into his presence without consequence? And the first time We disobey see this is the danger of repeated compromise Because the first time we disobey our conscious may not trouble or it may trouble us deeply But if no immediate consequences come come on we all know this we begin to assume that God didn't even notice it and Then we become bolder and we begin to assume that God didn't even notice that we didn't even notice that we didn't even notice

And then we become bolder bolder in our sin we begin treating God's patience as permission and see grace gives us time to repent it does not give us permission to pretend see Ananias and Sapphira mistook the invisibility of their sin for the absence of God's knowledge but hidden from people does not mean hidden from God see the question is not whether Ananias had ever experienced temptation before the danger was that he entertained it until it filled his heart see the enemy will use whatever we refuse to place under the Lordship of Jesus that's why with the Holy Spirit that's why he confronts us conviction is not trying to shame you conviction is God identifying an error an area that the enemy wants to exploit God literally exposes doors because he wants to close them before the enemy can destroy what's behind them see the most important question today is not how much am I giving the deeper question is who has access to my heart what has the power to determine my obedience to God what has the power to make me compromise what am I afraid to lose what can God ask for me that immediately causes me to become defensive what area do I continually explain justify and protect because whatever I cannot surrender to God has already had more influence in my life than it ever should have if I cannot tell it no when God tells me to release it then I do not own it it owns me and I have made myself vulnerable to be exploited by the devil listen what you tolerate as a desire today can become a master that controls your decisions tomorrow I don't I don't think that this passage is just weren't warning us that possessing money is dangerous I believe that it's warning us that being possessed by anything else is spiritually deadly see Ananias was filled with satanic influence because of what he withheld from God but Acts 4 shows us the alternative it shows us surrendered people filled with the Holy Spirit living with open hands bold faith and undivided hearts so the final question of this message is not how closely can I follow Jesus while holding something back it's Jesus is there any part of my life that I have not

completely surrendered to you because almost surrendered is still unsurrendered and whatever we refuse to surrender to God may eventually become the very thing that the enemy uses to control us if I could have everybody stand with me may the Lord speak to our hearts in this moment right now may he use this as a moment to bring our lives back into correction with him maybe you're in here today and you say man I've been holding something back and that's my life before anybody moves if that's you and you're in here and you say man today pastor you said something and I need to surrender my life for the very first time I want to give my life to the Lord today for the very first time or maybe you're in here and you've been walking with the Lord but your walk has not been lining up and you say today I want to rededicate my life to the Lord and I want to get serious about the things of God if that's you and you want to commit for the very first time or maybe for the first time in a long time and you want to begin to walk this thing out if that's you could I just get you to raise your hand all across this room so that we can pray with you we want to we want to pray with you come on I see those hands I see those hands come on anybody else hey if that's you could I just get a bold could I ask something bold of you really bold I know that this is kind of humiliating and you don't even want to you might not want to do it but could I get you to step out of your seat if that was you and just come down right over here we just want to pray with you we want to believe with you because I believe that God is breaking some stuff off of your life right now and maybe you didn't raise your hand come on come right down here maybe you didn't raise your hand but you believe that God is calling you to this moment right now he's calling you to repentance he's calling you to rededication, he's calling you to surrender his life or your life. Come on, if that's you, would you be willing to step out? Would you be willing to say, hey God, I wanna do that today.

I wanna surrender my life to you. I believe that what you have for me is better than what I have for myself. Maybe you're in here today and you say, man, I just, I need to let go. I've been holding some things in my hands and I need to let go of them. Maybe that's you. If that's you, would you be bold enough? Maybe it's your family. Maybe it's your tithe. Maybe it's your finances. Maybe it's an addiction. Maybe it's pornography. Maybe it's cutting. Maybe it's something that you just need to release and you need to let go of it. Would you be bold enough to just walk down here to the altar right now and let's just kneel down at the altar and just say, God, you can have it all today. You are worthy of it all. You are not just worthy of some of me, but you are worthy of all of me. You are worthy of everything that I have, God. And I lay it down at the altar today and I'm not picking it back up because I want to serve you, God, wholeheartedly today. Come on, can we sing this out, church? You are worthy of it all.

You are worthy of it all. For from you are all things. And to you are all things. You deserve it all. Come on, you deserve it all, God. Anybody in here, just come and lay it down right now. You can have it all, God.