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Acts 4:32-5:14

The heart of the matter is really a matter of the heart!

“Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God…Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit to the test?” Acts 5:4,9

She said she was just a bit “under the weather” so he ventured out to the worship gathering alone. As the offering basket was being passed (some of you may have witnessed this ritual when visiting sister churches ☺) he reached into his pocket to pull out a $5 bill. But to his disappointment, he instead retrieved a $20. As the basket passed from him to the worshipper two seats over, he dropped in his gift. Arriving home to find his bride feeling a bit improved, they decided to go out for lunch. As they backed out of the driveway she inquired as to how the church service had gone.

“Well, it was ok. But I was seated up toward the front, not our normal location, and when the offering was being received I thought I should put something in. I meant to give $5 but what I pulled from my pocket was a $20. People around me had seen me, so I was embarrassed to put it back in my pocket and just dropped it into the basket.”

“What a shame,” responded the wife. “You just wasted $15!”

“What do you mean, I wasted it?”

“Well, you meant to give five but gave twenty. So you really only get credit for five. $15 thrown away!”

It really isn’t about the dollars, the size of the gift, or the participation in the activities. The heart of the matter is really a matter of the heart!

A “hypocrite” is simply an actor pretending or playing a role that is not her/him. Regrettably, the gatherings are often populated by such actors. The songs appear on the wall and we join in singing them while never pausing to consider the meaning of the words we mouth. Someone begins to pray, and we reflexively bow our heads and close our eyes…but our mind is totally absent from the moment and preoccupied with lesser things. The Scriptures are explained and we are satisfied if we snag just one or two notes pertaining to something we had not previously seen or understood, void of any intention to apply such principles to our own lives. We tell people we are “glad to see them,” while really wishing we could simply slide in and out undetected and disengaged.

Hypocrisy dilutes the power of the Spirit when it continues unchecked in the fellowship of the saints. It’s often difficult to identify, even in our own lives. But the Spirit of God is never fooled. He who knows the mind of Christ reads clearly the motives of those gathered in Jesus’ name.

Don’t waste your $15 or your 75 minutes this week. Because the heart of the matter really does come down to a matter of the heart!

See you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom