Acts 5 is the fourth preach of Peter. Peter was a fisherman, yet after he was filled by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, his first preach saved three thousand people. Five thousand people were saved in his second sermon. These are all because he proclaimed that Jesus is Christ thorough the power of the Holy Spirit. Our evangelization is the same; we need to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ via the power of the Holy Spirit.
Toward the end of Acts 4, believers share their possessions. Barnabas sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. In the beginning of chapter 5, Ananias and Sapphira also sold a piece of property. They claimed to have put all the money they’ve got for their property at the feet of the apostles, but actually they’ve kept some for themselves. They lied to the apostles, but in fact they have not lied just to human beings but to God. So they were both killed for lying to the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, God knows all our thoughts and deeds. God loves us, and He gives us freedom to make choices. If we choose to serve God faithfully, He will remember and reward us both in private and in public. If we choose to be evil, lazy and deceitful, one day we will answer to God, then we will weep and gnash our teeth.
The apostles caused commotion in every place they went. Although they were persecuted and prisoned, they still spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and were filled with joy after they came out. They knew they ought to obey God, not men. Christians who truly knows God will agitate people around them no matter where they go, because it is God’s work to separate light from dark. If you are a hidden Christian－your family, colleagues, and friends all know nothing about your religion－you cannot become the light and salt; you won’t be able to exercise your influence.
Few days ago, there was a plan crush, and dozens of lives were gone in just a matter of minutes. Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) killed so many innocent people and launched so many terrorist attacks. So many tragedies happening around us toward the end of days. Believers in Christ know that tomorrow is in the hand of our Lord. However, there are many non-believers around us, they don’t know what tomorrow has for them, and when their lives end they just walk toward destruction. So we should work hard to spread the gospel of the Lord and save people. We should not complain and blame others－your church members having bad attitudes, people not showing enough concern to you, your church not appealing to you, people not loving enough, and so on－instead, we should show people around us the path to salvation. If you bury your life in negative feelings, how can you have the strength to evangelize and to save others? People having conflicts is inevitable, but we should not judge each other, and we definitely should not focus on those conflicts. We should have one heart and one mind that endeavors to save the non-believers. If we do, we can forgive and support each other, because we know there is a higher calling. There is a more sacred mission awaits us to accomplish!
Message by Elder Yeh / Summary and response by Jim Lin
