A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: You know if you're a hypocrite. You know. Everyone thinks you're such a spiritual man, such a spiritual woman, but you know what's going on. You know that you're doing fill in the blank here.

Guest (Male): Coming up today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie urges all of us to take a long, hard look at our lives and ask ourselves if we're living honest to God.

It's been said you can fool all of the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool God any of the time.

Greg Laurie: So we're in the Book of Acts in this series that we're calling The Upside Down Life. And now we're going to see some of the challenges that they faced. We've seen the Holy Spirit poured out and thousands of people believing on the Day of Pentecost. We've seen a man raised up who was unable to walk from his youth. We've seen a lot of preaching, a lot of powerful things. Now we're going to see some sinful things because this is real-world life that we're looking at here.

Guest (Male): This story shows that the early church was not all about romance and redemption. They also had flaws and sinful people, and we see how Jesus dealt with these people. Now, Barnabas is seen giving a gift to the church for the use of ministry. So Ananias and Sapphira see this, and they think, "Wow, look at how the people appreciate this. We want to be seen as virtuous people too." So this is what happens next in one of the most shocking stories in the Bible.

Greg Laurie: Acts chapter 5, starting in verse 1. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. There was a man named Ananias, who with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the property to the apostles but claimed it was the full amount. His wife agreed to this deception. Underline that: this deception.

Then Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit and you kept some of the money for yourself. This property was yours to sell or not sell as you wished. And after selling it, the money was yours to keep or to give away. Why would you do a thing like this? You're not lying to us; you're lying to God." And as soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the ground and died. And everyone who heard about it was terrified. Well, then some young men wrapped him in a sheet, took him out, and buried him.

About three hours later, his wife comes in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asks her, "Was this the price you and your husband received for the land?" She said, "Yeah, that was the price." Peter said, "How could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this, conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord?" You might underline that phrase: test the Spirit of the Lord. "Just outside that door are the young men who buried your husband, and they'll carry you out too." And instantly, she fell to the floor and died. And the young men saw she was dead and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear gripped the entire church and all the others who heard what happened.

We'll stop there. How's that for a story? Wow. Why did God deal so severely with these two people? Because they committed a specific sin against the Spirit that still can be committed today: they lied to the Spirit of God. Verse 4: "You've not lied to men but to God." Their sin was they lied to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has a will. The Holy Spirit has a personality. The Holy Spirit can be specifically sinned against. There are specific sins identified in the Bible that can be committed against the Holy Spirit. For instance, you can insult the Spirit, you can resist the Spirit, you can lie to the Spirit as the story here shows, and you can blaspheme the Spirit.

So what is this about again? Ananias and Sapphira were hypocrites. They were playing a part. They were pretending to be something that they were not. They wanted people to think they were really devoted to God when they weren't.

Now, before we criticize them, let's just ask ourselves this question: have we ever done anything like this? You know, some people always say, "I'm going to really just sing louder and lift my hands higher." And that's all good, we want that. But don't do it in a way where you're drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. God doesn't like it when you do that. Better to be an honest sinner than a lying saint.

So don't put this show on. That's what Ananias and Sapphira were doing. They were pretending to be something they were not. The hypocrite extraordinaire was Judas Iscariot. I don't know why it is, but whenever I type the words "Judas Iscariot" in my Word document and I run spell check, they want to change the last name "Iscariot" to "Escargot." Word just does not understand the word "Iscariot."

Judas Escargot. So that was Judas's French brother, I don't know if you know about him. Or maybe his brother who likes snails, I'm not sure. No, there is no Judas Escargot, but there was a Judas Iscariot. And he was a great deceiver. In fact, he was perceived as one of the more virtuous of the disciples. On one occasion, when a woman brought a very expensive perfume to anoint Jesus with—probably a family heirloom worth a lot of money—and she knew he was going to die and she wanted to do something sacrificial, it was Judas Iscariot who spoke up and said, "This is not good stewardship. Could this not have been sold and the money given to the poor?"

All the other apostles probably thought, "Yeah, you know, he's got a point. That is true." But then John tells us, yeah, he said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was stealing money, because he was the treasurer. So Judas put on a good show.

To show this, when Jesus in the upper room said, "One of you is going to betray me," to each disciple they said, "Is it me?" They didn't all point in unison at Judas and say, "It's Judas, isn't it?" They didn't know. No one suspected it. And then the ironic thing is Judas betrays our Lord for 30 pieces of silver. He goes to the religious leaders and he says, "The one I kiss, that's the one you're looking for."

So they go into the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ is there with his disciples. He's just literally sweat blood as he's under the pressure of what is about to come. And as Judas approaches Christ with the temple guard with their swords and their shields and their spears and their torches, Jesus says, "Friend, why have you come?" Did Jesus know why Judas was coming? Of course. He'd already called him out in the upper room and said, "You're the one who will betray me."

But unnoticed by Judas, Christ was offering this betrayer one last chance to repent. But Judas was such a hypocrite, he betrays Jesus with a kiss. Why not just point at him and say, "There he is, get him!"? Because in religious art, you always know who Jesus is. Everyone has sort of dusty robes and muted colors; Jesus has a pure white robe, just came from the dry cleaners, with a blue sash. Where did the blue sash come from? I don't know, but Jesus has the blue sash, right? Well, that's religious art, that's not reality. He blended into a crowd like any other man would. He didn't glow in the dark, you know.

So Judas had to say, "The guy I kiss, that's Jesus." But when he betrays our Lord with a kiss, in the Greek, it's implied that he kissed him over and over again. He wanted to appear devout even though he was literally betraying the Lord. What a horrible thing, and that is what a hypocrite does.

It's been said you can fool all of the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool God any of the time. Am I talking to a hypocrite right now? If so, please stand up. No, don't, you probably wouldn't. But you know if you're a hypocrite. You know. Like right now you're sitting here in church with your wife and your family, or you're alone, and everyone thinks you're such a spiritual man, such a spiritual woman. But you know what's going on.

You know you're going to go home and look at porn. You know you're in an extramarital relationship. You know you're living in a lifestyle that's contrary to scripture. You know that you're lying to people to make more money. You know that you're doing fill in the blank here. And you keep doing it, and you have no intention of stopping that thing. That's hypocrisy. Now, if you tell me, "I come in with a struggle and I need help and I need prayer," that's understood. There's a difference between that person and the other person. Don't be that person, because you're lying to the Spirit.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Have you downloaded the Harvest Plus app yet? This is something you need to get on your phone or your tablet or even on your television set. It's full of messages that I've given and others. It has all the movies that we have done over the years like Johnny Cash: Redemption of an American Icon, Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope, and many more, as well as my sermons, as well as our brand-new podcast and our radio show. Well, the list just goes on and on. And the best thing of all, it's free. Download it now for your device and start enjoying this library of spiritual resources right there at your fingertips to watch or listen to on demand. It's called Harvest Plus, so download it now. You'll love it. Well, we're talking about lying and other significant spiritual dangers today as Pastor Greg presents his message Honest to God. Let's continue.

Greg Laurie: I mentioned specific sins that can be committed against the Spirit. There's lying to the Spirit, and there's grieving the Spirit. That's mentioned in Ephesians where Paul says, "Don't grieve the Spirit." And he talks about anger and backbiting and slander and other things that you can do to actually make the Holy Spirit sad or sorrowful. There's another sin you can commit against the Spirit called quenching the Spirit. The Bible says, "Quench not the Spirit." What does that mean? That means that you're trying to stop the Spirit from the work he wants to do in your life.

The idea is of quenching a fire. You know, like when you go camping. How many of you like to camp? Right, okay. Some people like to go glamping. That's a new thing, right? Sort of a nicer version of camping. They have these giant motorhomes with big TVs on the outside, and okay, whatever. So you're out at your campsite and you set up your fire and it's time to break camp, so you extinguish the fire. Can't just leave fires going, right?

And I've noticed when you go to the beach—the best part of going to the beach is when you get there and when you leave, right? Because I love the idea of the beach. You get to the beach. "I love the beach! Sunny, warm, sound of the ocean, just great." Lay out your towel, no one's there. Set up your chair, get out your book, maybe you have a little music playing, put your sunglasses on. And then all of a sudden some guy shows up. He has the entire beach to choose from, and he sets his towel right next to yours. And his towel actually touches your towel. That may be against the law! Don't, please, your towel's touching my towel. And then he's the guy who's talking on his cell phone and it's on speaker, right? So you're hearing the entire conversation. Oh, that conversation!

And then you go in the ocean to cool off and now the seagulls are flying off with your food and your children. And you say, "I'm not happy anymore. I'm going home." And you're happy again. I'm leaving the beach, right? But the main thing is with a fire is you quench that fire. But sometimes the Holy Spirit will prompt you to do something. The Holy Spirit will say, "I want you to put that phone down and open your Bible." The Holy Spirit says, "I want you to start a conversation with that person." He doesn't say it audibly, but it's sort of a nudge, it's a leading to just go do that thing. "I want you to do this." And we'll say, "No, no." That's quenching the Spirit, you see.

So Ananias and Sapphira, they were lying to the Spirit. And if you're a hypocrite, sooner or later, one day you will have to face the music. There was a band back in the '90s—a lot of you won't even know who I'm talking about, some of you will. They were called Milli Vanilli. Does anyone remember Milli Vanilli? All the old people, right. So they were a duo, and they had a song with the title Girl, You Know It's True. And they even won a Grammy for it. They sold 30 million records.

But then it came out that Milli Vanilli actually never sang that song. They had some session singers come into the studio and record it, and Milli and Vanilli—the two guys that made up this group—would just sort of lip sync and dance to the song. And then it came out, and they had to return their Grammy, and they had to face the music. And that statement, "face the music," goes back to the early days of Japan. The story is told of a man who wanted to be in the Imperial Orchestra to play for the emperor. But the problem was this man could not play a note.

But he was very wealthy and affluent, so the conductor allowed him to join the Imperial Orchestra. And when the orchestra was playing, he would be like acting as though he was playing a flute when he wasn't playing a single note. And that went on for years, and he enjoyed the prestige that came with being in that orchestra. And that continued on until a new conductor took the orchestra over. And he told the orchestra that he wanted to audition each player personally. They had to perform in his presence. Well, the flautist was very nervous because he knew he could not play. But finally he was called in after he called in sick a couple times, and he appeared before the conductor, and it was clear that he was a fraud. Thus, he had to face the music, you see.

So Ananias and Sapphira had to face the music, and one day we will have to do the same. Do not be a hypocrite. And if you are a hypocrite, repent of it and ask God to forgive you of your sin. I've mentioned some of the sins you can commit against the Holy Spirit. Let me mention one more. And I'm probably asked about this particular sin more than any other: what is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?

Okay, so the Bible talks about resisting the Spirit. Stephen, that we'll talk about later in the Book of Acts, was preaching to the religious leaders, the Sanhedrin, and he said to them, "Why do you resist the Spirit as your fathers did?" To resist the Spirit means that I say no, I don't want Christ in my life. The Holy Spirit has come to convince us of our sin and of righteousness and of judgment. The Holy Spirit shows me my need for Jesus. Not to drive me away in despair, but to draw me to Christ. So when I say no to him, I'm resisting the Spirit.

Then it can get even worse, and you can insult the Spirit. Certainly don't want to do that. That's effectively implying that you would acknowledge that Jesus died on a cross for your sins, and you would say, "I frankly could care less. I want nothing to do with him or his offer of forgiveness." That's an insult to the Spirit. So I can resist the Spirit, then I can insult the Spirit, and it all culminates with blaspheming the Spirit. What does that mean? That means that I completely reject Christ as Savior and Lord. And that is the only unforgivable sin.

Because the Bible says, "How can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" So maybe there's someone I'm talking to here that is sort of resisting. Like, "I believe it's true, but I don't really want this in my life right now, and you know, maybe some other time." And then there's somebody else that's saying, "I don't know if I think it's true or not, I just reject it." And someone else, your heart has gotten so hard you don't even care anymore. Be careful, because you can go beyond a point of no return.

The Bible says, "Harden not your heart if you can hear his voice." And Revelation 22:17 we read, "The Spirit and the bride say come. Let him that hears say come. Let him who is thirsty come. And whoever desires, let him drink freely from the water of life." You see, God wants to satisfy your deep spiritual thirst. That's really what you're longing for in life. And we try to satisfy this thirst sometimes with relationships or with possessions or with drugs or alcohol or even religion. None of those things will satisfy that thirst. Only Christ will satisfy it: a relationship with him.

So the Holy Spirit is saying, "This is for you." Right now, I'm talking to somebody that is sensing this draw, this tug, this pull from the Holy Spirit. It's up to you how you're going to react. You can say, "Yes, Lord, come into my life," or you can say, "No, I don't want it. And besides, there's too many hypocrites in the church." Psh, get over that. You think that's going to hold water on judgment day? That's an excuse and you know it.

Jesus never said, "Follow my people." He said, "Follow me," okay? Just because there's hypocrites doesn't really mean anything. This is about you and God. Just because someone else messes it up has nothing to do with this offer of forgiveness that he offers to you at this very moment. Jesus died on that cross for your sin and he rose again from the dead. And now he stands at the door of your life and he knocks. And if you hear his voice and open the door, he will come in. Don't resist the Spirit. Don't insult the Spirit. And God forbid that someone listening to me right now blasphemes the Spirit. If you have any sense of seeing your need for Jesus, you have not gone beyond that point of no return. But don't keep putting this off because you could.

So we're going to close in prayer, and I'm going to give an opportunity for anybody here that wants to respond to the work of the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus to do it right here, right now. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit. He is here right now working in our midst. And I pray that your Holy Spirit will work on the hearts of those that do not know you and help them to see their need for Jesus.

While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, maybe there's somebody here that needs Jesus today. The Holy Spirit has been drawing you. Will you respond to him? Will you come to Christ now? If you will, if you want to, just pray this prayer after me right where you sit. If you want Jesus to forgive you of your sin, just pray: Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Guest (Male): An important prayer today on A New Beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie praying with those who were making a decision for the Lord. If you've just prayed that prayer and you've meant those words sincerely, then Jesus has forgiven your sin and he's taken residence in your heart. And you may have some questions about this new life you're about to live. Well, Pastor Greg would like to help you by sending his New Believer's Bible. It's free of charge, and it'll answer your questions and get you started off right in your new relationship with the Lord. Just give us a call at 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime, 24/7. Again, 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org and click the words "Know God."

You know, Pastor Greg, we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives. So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching. And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue.

Greg Laurie: Yeah, it's really true, Dave. And you know, even a little bit helps. You know, people need to hear the gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the Word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it, and I'm called to do it, and I'm thankful for it. But I can't do it alone. So I'm going to ask folks that are listening if you think more people need to hear the gospel, if you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the Word of God, then prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries and maybe even become a Harvest Partner, which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving. And that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us. So thanks for that.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right, and we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org.

Well, next time, Pastor Greg helps us examine the life of Stephen as he describes what it takes to live a life well-lived. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.