Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000191A
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00:00 BOL 191 Keeping up with the Joneses
00:06 Today. Dr. Byrd speaks on the topic "Keeping up with the Joneses." 00:13 And now, here he is, speaker/director of Breath of Life Ministries, Dr. Carlton Byrd. 00:18 PB: The Word of God says to us today, "But a certain man named Ananias, 00:25 with Sapphira his wife, sold a" what? Come on, sold a what, everybody? 00:30 Aud.: Possession. PB: "And kept back part of the price, 00:34 his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, 00:39 and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, 00:43 why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, 00:48 and to keep back part of the price of the land?" 00:52 Verse 4: "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, 00:57 was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this 01:01 thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto" whom" 01:06 Aud.: God. PB: "And Ananias hearing these words fell down, 01:11 and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that 01:15 heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, 01:18 and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the 01:21 space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, 01:26 came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold 01:32 the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 01:38 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed 01:41 together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, 01:43 the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, 01:47 and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, 01:52 and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, 01:55 and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. 01:58 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as 02:04 heard these things." Our message this morning is entitled 02:10 "Keeping up with the Joneses." Keeping up with the Joneses. 02:16 Father, we ask that You now would permeate in this place by 02:18 the power of Your Spirit. Speak, Lord, for your servants here. 02:22 We give you the praise, the honor and the glory. 02:24 Forgive us for our sins, we pray. And when the appeal time comes, 02:28 You move, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 02:32 Keeping up with the Joneses. We've heard this expression for years. 02:42 But in case you don't know what this means, according to this 02:46 philosophy conspicuous consumption occurs when people care about 02:53 their standard of living in relationship to others. Put another way, 02:58 keeping up with the Joneses is when you try to match the lifestyles 03:05 of other people; try to own all the same things as people you know 03:10 and people you don't know in order to seem as good as them, or you 03:16 try to have all the same things as other people to avoid 03:20 looking poor or broke. If they get a new car, you get a new car. 03:28 If they get a new house, you get a new house. If they get a new outfit, 03:35 you get a new outfit. In other words, keeping up with the Joneses 03:41 is when you spend money you don't have to buy things you don't 03:47 need to impress people you don't like. Now, it used to be that 03:54 spending money on status symbols for the sake of flaunting your 03:58 wealth was an activity reserved for celebrities and millionaires. 04:06 But now, in 2015, that has all changed. Conspicuous consumption, 04:15 or keeping up with the Joneses, has brought the lifestyles of 04:20 the rich and famous to everybody. Rich and poor. Ten people will 04:28 be living in a two-bedroom apartment, but yet they will get the 04:32 biggest flat-screen TV they can, even if it means paying 04:38 rent-a-center $50 a month for 50 years and when it's all 04:43 said and done, you've bought 50 big-screen TVs for the price of one. 04:48 Keeping up with the Joneses. People will get every credit card they can. 04:55 They will max them out, they will dress nice. St. Johns, Hugo Boss, 05:02 Versace, Prada, Ralph Lauren. You name it, they get it, 05:08 and they charge it. Don't worry about paying the balance off, 05:12 go ahead, look good but stay broke. Keeping up with the Joneses. 05:18 People will go out, buy an expensive car, Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, 05:25 Lexus. They'll put some rims on it, put some 20s on it, 05:29 add some spinners to it. But yet, you're living with your mama, 05:34 keeping up with the Joneses. People will spend $50 a month for 05:41 cable TV but won't invest $50 a month in a savings plan for their future. 05:48 Keeping up with the Joneses. We've got folks that can't afford it, 05:54 but they have weekly maid services, private contractors and landscapers, 05:59 and yet in all these instances a little elbow grease could lead to huge savings. 06:07 But we want to keep up with the Joneses. Why? We want to show off our success. 06:13 We have a need to have what other people have. We live in 06:18 a society that favors instant gratification over hard work. 06:22 We are keeping up with the Joneses. But let me tell you something today. 06:29 You're worried about keeping up with the Joneses, 06:32 and the Joneses are broke. Do I have a witness in this place? 06:38 They're living check to check, just like you. They're robbing 06:43 Peter to pay Paul, just like you. They, the Joneses, are broke. 06:50 In the book of Acts we find the biblical version of keeping 06:55 up with the Joneses. But before we get to that, let me say this: 06:59 I love the book of Acts. Why do I love the book of Acts? 07:05 Acts is the model for what the church should be. Acts is the 07:10 model to actively pursue souls. I love evangelism, and a lot 07:14 of the book of Acts is about evangelism, so you know I love this book. 07:18 In Acts chapter 1, the church is looking for, waiting for, 07:21 praying for, and expecting something miraculous to happen 07:24 through the power of the Holy Ghost. In Acts chapter 2, 07:27 the day of Pentecost comes, and the church is baptized with 07:30 the Holy Spirit, so much so that 3,000 souls are saved in one day. 07:35 In Acts chapter 3, a lame man is healed by God through the 07:40 ministry of Peter and John so then the church, in Acts chapter 3, 07:43 is a miracle-working church that is not inundated with rules 07:46 and regulations but a church that gave what it had to minister 07:50 to the needs of people. Acts chapter 4 tells us of the arrest 07:55 and examination of Peter and John by the Sanhedrin simply 07:58 because they were not ashamed or scared to tell the 08:01 gospel of Jesus Christ. And even though Sadducees arrested them, 08:05 the Bible still says that in Acts chapter 4, 5,000 people 08:09 still heard them, they converted and believed on Jesus Christ, 08:12 and then even when they were put in jail, the Bible says 08:16 how under the power of the Holy Ghost Peter and John spoke 08:19 with such articulation that they were released. 08:22 Let that be a lesson for us today. Satan can try to bind us 08:27 all he wants, but Satan can't bind my God. 08:31 If God says loose them, you shall be loosed. 08:35 If God says bind them, you shall be bound. Satan is 08:40 no match for God. Greater is He that is in us than 08:45 he that is in the world. If God be for us, who can be against us. 08:51 Let no weapon formed against us is going to prosper. 08:55 But then, in Acts chapter 5 we recognize that the 08:58 church has some problems. The church has some difficulties. 09:02 The church has some hypocrites. So don't be surprised that 09:07 some of this is in the church today. People say, I'm surprised 09:11 the church has problems, I'm surprised the church has hypocrites, 09:13 I'm surprised the church has difficulties. Let me be clear: 09:16 If we had it back in the day, we should expect some of that today. 09:21 I tell people all the time, the church has never been and 09:25 never will be perfect. I tell people all the time, 09:28 if you're running from church to church looking for 09:30 the perfect preacher, the perfect choir, the perfect band, 09:32 the perfect praise team, the perfect officers, 09:34 the perfect members of the perfect church, 09:36 you're going to run forever, because you will never find 09:39 the perfect church because you'll never find perfect people. 09:42 The reason why I'm in which church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 09:45 is because we serve a perfect God who's given us a perfect message. 09:51 Do I have a witness in this place? [Aud. reaction] 09:53 PB: We're imperfect but God is perfect. Such was the case of 09:57 the church in Acts 5, with all its good, it had imperfect people. 10:00 Acts tells us about two of these imperfect people: 10:02 Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. We know the story. 10:08 Ananias and Sapphira, if you study it carefully, 10:12 had heard about a generous gift that Barnabas, 10:16 another church member, had given in chapter 4, 10:19 in verses 36 through 37. So, they decided to give a 10:24 gift like Barnabas, because they're keeping up with the Joneses. 10:29 Ananias and Sapphira believed that they could take 10:32 advantage of God's church without giving an account 10:34 of their actions. They believed that all things done 10:37 for show, or without a sincere heart, would still be 10:40 blessed in the same way as those done in faith and 10:44 without regard for praise. But I'm here to let somebody know, 10:48 God can't bless mess. Ananias and Sapphira believed 10:54 they were smarter than everybody else. Ananias and Sapphira 10:58 believed they could outsmart the Holy Ghost. 11:02 But that's what Satan, the father of lies, 11:04 will make you think--that you can outsmart the Holy Ghost. 11:08 Satan will capture our best to do his worst. 11:12 Satan knows what strings to pull in our lives. 11:15 Satan knows what buttons to push. Satan knows what 11:18 imperfections to play on to get the reaction that he wants. 11:21 Satan knows where the blind spots in our characters are. 11:25 He knows not only where they are but he also knows how 11:28 to reach them. Satan comes to us discreetly. 11:33 He comes to us indirectly. Satan never comes up to us and says, 11:36 I'm here. Satan never comes up to us and says, I'm the devil. 11:41 I'm here. Satan never comes in a red suit with a horn, 11:47 pitchfork or a tail. Satan knows if he did, we'd run. So, 11:54 the prince of darkness comes as an angel of light. 12:00 He comes not as evil, but he comes as good. 12:04 He comes not as an enemy, but he comes as a friend. 12:07 He comes not as a judge, but he comes as an advocate. 12:10 He does not call what he offers sin, but he bursts with 12:15 its pleasure. Good times, a chance to be with and accepted 12:21 by the in crowd. Satan writes no commandments, 12:27 and he requires no commitment. Satan does not mind coming 12:32 to church or singing in the choir or serving on the board, 12:35 particularly when he is still getting more of our time, 12:39 more of our energy and more of our money. Satan is happy to 12:44 share with the Lord, because some of his best workers and 12:47 some of his most effective work is done in the church. 12:53 You see, we don't have to walk down the aisle to join 12:55 Satan to serve him. We don't have to change anything, 13:00 we can stay just as we are, live the same old way, 13:03 talk the same old way, go to the same old places. 13:06 We don't have to do anything at all, just stay the same as we are. 13:10 The story is told of a man walking down a country road 13:14 one cold winter day. Spotting a snake that was half frozen to death, 13:20 the man in his compassion picked up the snake, 13:23 put it on the side and underneath his coat in order that the 13:27 snake might be kept warm. In order that, a little later on, 13:31 he would revive the snake. Later, when the snake was revived, 13:36 the snake bit the man. The man then dropped the snake and said, 13:41 how could you be so cruel as to bite me? When you were suffering 13:45 and half dead, I picked you up, I carried you, I put you 13:50 under my coat and I revived you. But just as soon as you got better, 13:55 you bite me. The snake looked up at the man and said, 13:59 Man, remember, I'm a snake and it's my nature to bite. 14:04 Don't you ever forget that Satan is a snake, 14:08 and Satan's not to be played with or touched. 14:12 If we get too close to him, he will bite. 14:15 If he's picked up and carried, he will bite. 14:19 Beware of the devil, he will bite. 14:22 Back at Ananias and Sapphira. You know the story. 14:25 So, they decided to sell some land, donate the proceeds 14:28 to the church. Now, before presenting the money to Peter, 14:31 however, they planned to privately hold back a portion 14:34 of their earnings for themselves. Now, let's be clear: 14:39 There was nothing wrong with them in their keeping part 14:45 or all of the proceeds, or even the entire land itself. 14:51 They could have done that. But Ananias and Sapphira's sin 14:56 stemmed in the fact that in trying to keep up with the Joneses, 15:01 they pretended that the amount they gave was all they received. 15:06 Their deed was not careless, but it was contrived. 15:11 It was not an honest mistake, it was deliberate dishonesty. 15:17 Ananias and Sapphira conspired to withhold part of the 15:23 purchase price for themselves. Ananias brings then the 15:28 remainder of the money, lays it at the feet of the 15:31 apostles--you know the story--and then steps back and 15:35 waits for the applause of the people. But instead of applause, 15:41 you hear silence. Instead of a smile, he sees a frown 15:47 on Peter's face. Instead of receiving looks of admiration 15:51 and faith, he sees stares in the eyes of the people. 15:56 I like how The Message Bible puts it in verses 3 and 4, 16:00 when Peter asks: "Ananias, how did Satan get to you, 16:05 to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of 16:09 the price of the field? Before you sold it, it was all yours. 16:13 After you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. 16:17 So what got into you, to pull a trick like this? 16:22 You didn't lie to men, but you lied to God. 16:27 And just as soon as Ananias hears these words, 16:31 he falls dead. Peter didn't cast any spell on him. 16:38 Peter did not cast any curse on him. Peter didn't 16:42 even touch him. No lightning struck him. He just fell dead. 16:48 But then it gets more interesting. 16:51 Three hours later, Sapphira shows up. She doesn't know 16:58 what has happened to her husband. Now, if she hadn't 17:01 been so headstrong, if she hadn't had such tunnel vision, 17:07 she would have been in tune with the mood of the building. 17:11 And she, when she walked in, would have sensed something's 17:15 wrong around here. But her pride and her greed wouldn't 17:20 let her sense it. People looked at her then looked away 17:24 in shame and fear. No one seemed to want to say much to her, 17:27 so Peter asked her if she had sold the land for a certain amount. 17:36 Yes, she said. Then he asked, How is it that you have agreed 17:42 together with your husband to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? 17:47 Well, Sapphira, the same people who buried your husband, 17:52 the same people who carried your husband out of here are going 17:57 to be the same ones that bury you and carry you out of here. 18:02 And immediately, the Bible says, she's dead. Sure enough, 18:04 carried out by the same men and buried by the same men 18:06 that buried her husband. Now, why did they have to die? 18:11 Why did they have to die unnecessarily? Keeping up with the Joneses. 18:18 Barnabas, in chapter 4, had sold his land and other 18:22 possessions and gave it to the church. In those days, 18:26 much honor was given to such acts of benevolence and 18:29 sacrificial giving. But Ananias and Sapphira's problem, 18:33 not that they held back, but that they lied, but also 18:39 that they were interested in the praise that they could 18:41 gain from their fellow church members, more so than the 18:43 work of God itself. They saw the praise that Barnabas 18:49 had received, and so now they decided, We want recognition. 18:54 They saw Barnabas getting accolades, so now they wanted accolades. 19:00 They saw Barnabas getting a plaque from the church, 19:04 so now they wanted a plaque from the church. 19:07 They saw Barnabas having a building named after him, 19:11 so now they wanted a building named after them. 19:14 Ananias and Sapphira weren't going to let anybody outdo them. 19:19 Too many of us are more interested in impressing than 19:24 in expressing. Too much of what we pass off as religion 19:29 is designed to impress others about something about ourselves 19:32 and not to express something about how good God is. 19:36 When you give in church so that somebody else sees what 19:41 you put in the plate, that's designed to impress. 19:45 When you carry your Bible just so folk can see you 19:48 carry your Bible, that's designed to impress. 19:52 When you come to church just so you can be seen, 19:57 that's designed to impress. But I read somewhere 20:02 that the Bible says pride goeth before destruction, 20:06 and a haughty spirit before a fall. Quit trying to 20:11 keep up with the Joneses. And then let me throw this in. 20:15 How can you impress God? You were conceived and shaped in iniquity. 20:21 How can you impress God? You were not there when God laid 20:23 the foundation of the world. How can you impress God? 20:27 You were not there when He called things that were not 20:29 and made them into things that are. How can you impress God? 20:32 God doesn't need you to impress Him. God wants you to 20:37 express and not impress. That's why Paul said present your 20:42 bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, 20:46 which is your reasonable service. Ananias and Sapphira 20:50 were afflicted with the same disease that's sending some 20:53 of us to the poorhouse and it's going to send the 20:56 rest of us to hell. Keeping up with the Joneses. 21:04 We see someone somewhere doing something or getting 21:09 something, and we decide that we're going to do the same 21:12 thing or get the same thing, whether we can afford it or not, 21:15 whether we really like it and whether we really want it or not, 21:18 we get it because we're keeping up with the Joneses. 21:24 Ananias and Sapphira loved their money. They made the sale, 21:30 they looked at the cash, and they couldn't bear the 21:34 thought of giving all of it away, so they kept some of it back. 21:42 The Bible does not say that money is the root of all evil. 21:46 The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. 21:54 Ananias and Sapphira wanted to look more generous than 21:59 what they really were. They wanted the apostles to think 22:02 they were like Barnabas. They wanted external religious approval. 22:07 They not only loved money, but they loved the praise of men. 22:13 But then they lied to cover their covetousness, the give the 22:21 impression of generosity, they lied. Sin must always have a covering. 22:30 If you love possessions and you love the praise of men, 22:32 your love for truth will dissolve into deception and fraud. 22:36 That's the meaning, my friends, of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy, 22:41 then, always results in discrediting the Holy Ghost. 22:47 Look at the text. Verse 3 says, they lied to the Holy Ghost. 22:52 Verse 4 says, they lied not to man but to God. Verse 9 says, 22:57 they tempted the Lord. Why in your right mind would you try 23:03 to discredit the Holy Ghost? Maybe they didn't even believe 23:08 the Holy Spirit was even present in the church. Maybe they 23:12 didn't believe in the Holy Ghost reality, maybe they had 23:14 never thought about the real presence of the Spirit of 23:16 the Living God, or maybe they just believed that in His presence, 23:19 in some theoretical way, He was there but He wasn't real. 23:24 Maybe they thought He was there but He was real but that 23:27 He wouldn't really punish them. Listen to this good, now: 23:31 Perhaps they had a view of grace that says no matter how 23:35 devious and hypocritical you are, God always tolerates 23:40 everything. Some of us--listen to me good--some of us seem to 23:47 think that the more we spend, the more God will forgive us. 23:53 That Christ is some sort of eraser on the chalkboard of our souls. 24:00 We begin completely enamored with the magnitude of love Jesus 24:05 has for us--and yes, He loves us and that's a good thing, 24:08 but then on the flipside, we've failed to be convinced of 24:11 His perfect anger toward our sin. Yes, God loves the sinner, 24:17 but God hates the sin. We need to be balanced in our fear of 24:24 God and our love for God. Our actions should be based on our 24:29 love we have for Christ and the fear of His perfect wrath. 24:33 [Aud. reaction] PB: Listen to me, friends of mine: 24:36 God is loving, but God is also wrathful. I believe that 24:41 when we get in that great getting-up morning, 24:43 many individuals who proclaimed yes, God is love, yes, 24:46 God is love, who live any kind of way, they're going to 24:48 be sadly disappointed. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. 24:53 You reap what you sow. Just because we're washed in the 24:58 blood of the Lamb doesn't mean we are saved from His heavenly leather belt. 25:04 [Aud. reaction] PB: We live a life sustained by grace, 25:10 but we should also live a life with a constant respect for 25:14 God's perfect discipline. God--listen to me good--God has 25:21 every right to discipline His children. And that discipline 25:27 takes different forms at different times. God's discipline 25:32 can come with a gentle reminder. God's discipline can come 25:36 from withholding blessings on our lives, and God's discipline 25:41 can also come by removing us from the situation like he 25:45 did Ananias and Sapphira. Whatever form God chooses, 25:49 He is right in His choosing. Stop living in competition 25:56 with somebody else. You're worried about somebody else 26:00 and they've already gone about their business. 26:02 Stop spending your life and your energy trying to keep 26:06 up with somebody else. Stop trying to outdo somebody, 26:10 stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. Someone gets 26:16 a new suit, new dress, new house, new car and we have 26:19 to have one. Admiration is one thing, but stop trying 26:23 to be somebody you aren't. You'd better say that what 26:27 God has for me, it is for me. Stop hating on somebody else. 26:34 When God blesses them--I say it all the time--learn to 26:37 be a cheerleader. Because if God is blessing somebody else, 26:41 God must be in the neighborhood and it's just a matter of 26:45 time before God starts blessing me! Stop taking God for granted. 26:52 Stop sowing wild oats during the week and praying for 26:55 crop failure on the Sabbath. Stop taking the forgiveness 27:00 of God for granted. If there's one great lesson we can 27:04 learn from Ananias and Sapphira, it's that we must be real 27:07 and sincere in all we do. It's not just what we give but how 27:16 sincere and honest we are in what we give that gives us the 27:19 right to the blessing. That's what I've learned in life: 27:23 some people can make more, but have less. Because if you're 27:30 not giving out of a sincere heart, you're going to miss out 27:33 on your blessing. The New Testament says that one day 27:39 Jesus stood near the Temple treasury. He was observing 27:43 people returning their tithes and offerings. Now, 27:45 I hate when people say it, I'm trying to correct that 27:47 around here. We do not pay tithe and offerings. 27:52 We do not pay tithes and offerings. We return tithes 27:59 and offerings, are you hearing what I'm saying? 28:01 How can we pay what God has already given us in the first place? 28:05 [Aud. reaction] PB: We return to God what is already 28:08 rightfully His. Jesus at the Temple, observing people 28:13 returning tithes and offerings. A woman timidly approached 28:18 one of the collection bins. She puts in two pennies and 28:22 then she slips away into the crowd. No one pays this woman any 28:28 Thank you for joining us for another exciting broadcast. 28:31 We'd like you to partner with us as we offer the 28:34 Breath of Life to a dying world. All of our sermon titles 28:38 and DVDs can be purchased at www.BreathofLife.tv. 28:43 Until next time, God loves you. END |
Revised 2015-12-11