To begin with, I want to share with you some of my journey in selecting the Scripture passage for today. We are heading toward Consecration Sunday on October 22^nd and the sermons for the next three Sundays will address the issue of stewardship in our lives—my sermon today, Barbara’s sermon next week and our Guest Leader, Bob Sheldon’s sermon on the 22^nd. All three of us were to select our Scripture passage for our sermon. I was giving that some thought leading up to today, particularly a few weeks ago as I was flying to Arkansas where I’m serving as the Guest Leader for my friend and colleague, Jim Farley. You might remember Jim served as our Guest Leader last year. So, on the flight to Arkansas, my mind was understandably on the topic of stewardship in preparation for my sermon here and my various responsibilities in Arkansas. What popped immediately into my head and kept coming back to me was this passage from Acts I’m about to read. It’s the story of Ananias and Sapphira and if you’re familiar with it, you’ll understand my initial reaction when it came to my mind. That reaction was, "No way!" I almost laughed out loud there on the plane. "No! No way, Lord! A humorous idea perhaps, but no way, no thanks!" I turned in my Bible to some other possible passages. But I couldn’t clear from my mind—Ananias and Sapphira. "No! No way, Lord!" "Why not?" I didn’t hear an audible voice, but this conversation began taking place in my head, in my spirit. "Why not? It’s there in my Word." "Yes, but…" "Look at it. Think about it." And I couldn’t get away from it. So, I looked at it. I thought about it. I fought it! But, there I was—30,000 feet in the air…closer to God(!)—and I couldn’t move off of this passage and on to something else. Flying to Arkansas. During my two days there. Playing a round of golf with my friends there! Standing over a putt…Ananias and Sapphira. Flying home from Arkansas…Ananias and Sapphira. I couldn’t shake this passage. Finally, I gave in. "Ok, Lord. Ananias and Sapphira it is." So like it or not, here’s their story. The passage begins with an introduction to an important character in the early Church, a guy named Barnabas, before we’re introduced to Ananias and Sapphira. (Read Acts 4:36-5:11)

I think Ananias and Sapphira had heart problems. I don’t mean clogged arteries or high cholesterol. That may have been a physical condition that led to their shocking end. I don’t know. We’re not told that. We are told, however, they had a spiritual heart condition that led to their demise. In essence, that heart condition was dishonesty with God. Their dishonesty gets played out in their pretentious act of selling a piece of property, keeping some of the money for themselves, then bringing the rest and giving it to the first Church—all the while claiming they were giving the full amount from the sale. Their error, their sin was in seeking the acclamation of the fellowship of believers as givers at a certain level that was false because they had held something back for themselves. They had lied, not just to the apostles and the members of the first Church, but more egregiously they had lied to God.

Now, before we go any further, let’s be clear about a couple of things here. First of all, giving all of the proceeds from the sale of their property was not required. Peter says as much when he, out of discernment as to what was happening, says to Ananias, "Didn’t [the property] belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?" In other words, the property was yours, Ananias, the money from the sale was yours, Ananias, and the decision what to do with it was also yours, Ananias. The Church would’ve gladly received the gift of a portion of the proceeds from the sale. God would have been pleased with the contribution of a portion of the proceeds from the sale. The sin was in not being honest to God, claiming their gift was the full portion of the sale when it was not. In an action first conceived in their hearts, Ananias and Sapphira had lied to the Church…and had lied to God.

A second item in this story is the sequence in which it is told. One cannot help but consider in that sequence the comparisons and contrasts between Barnabas and Ananias. Barnabas, whose name means "Son of Encouragement," sells a field and brings all of the proceeds and places it at the apostles’ feet. Ananias, whose name ironically means "God is gracious," sells a field, keeps some of the proceeds for himself, then places the rest at the apostles’ feet, pretentiously claiming it’s also the total from the sale. It’s as if the Scriptures are inviting the question, "Am I a Barnabas, or am I an Ananias? Do I give freely and fully of the resources I’ve been blessed with and, therefore, become an encouragement to the work of God’s Kingdom in the world? Or do I give reluctantly, holding something back and, therefore, limit the effectiveness of the work of God’s Kingdom in the world?"

One of the reasons I believe New Consecration Sunday is the stewardship program we should use—the major reason I believe it is the program for us to use—is that it takes our stewardship campaign out of the world of comparisons of budget figures—What is the church budget for next year compared to this year; How much is our budget increasing; How much is going to this program or that program—and places stewardship, instead, in the context of our relationship with God. That is where it belongs. It’s between you and God! In New Consecration Sunday, we’re not asking you to give out of support for this program or that program in the church. That is certainly a by-product of our stewardship campaign—that the ministry and mission of the church could move forward—but it is not the primary consideration for our giving. The primary consideration is your relationship with God. And in that relationship, asking the question, What percentage of your income is God asking you to give? As an expression of your faith in God, and as an expression of your gratitude to God for all God has blessed you with, what is God asking you to give? That is the primary consideration in our giving and why we are using New Consecration Sunday to guide our stewardship campaign.

As you prepare for Consecration Sunday on October 22^nd—along with asking that question, What percentage of my income is God asking me to give?, along with finding yourself on the Grow One Step sheet (resist the temptation to speculate where others land on the stairsteps!) and considering how you might do exactly that, grow in your giving to God’s work in the world—I want to encourage you to apply the lessons learned from this story of Ananias and Sapphira. Specifically, to consider in the light of your relationship with God, where you might be holding back something from God—something of yourself or your resources—while creating the impression you have given your all.

Lloyd Ogilvie, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, California and, more recently, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate until his retirement in 2003, was challenged by the story of Ananias and Sapphira in this way: "My response is to take a clean sheet of paper and write out the names of the people and the situations in which I have been pretending to a love and a concern I am not enacting. Then I am prompted to consider my relationship with my church. Now I must write out the ways I am reserving myself, holding out what I have and am from the fellowship. What kind of church would I have if everyone acted as I do?" Then he concludes his reflection on the story of Ananias and Sapphira with this encouragement to others, "Dare to take that kind of inventory!" (Drumbeat of Love, p. 71) And that is my encouragement to all of us today. In preparation for our faith response on October 22^nd, conduct such an inventory. Where might I be reserving myself, holding out what I have and am from the fellowship? What does that say about my relationship with God? And how might I appropriately respond in faith? Please join me in doing that in preparation for Consecration Sunday on October 22^nd. And for goodness sake, as you do so be honest with God. Ask the question, Am I a Barnabas or an Ananias? And be honest to God in your answer. Honest to God—that is the way to live!