HAPPY WITH CHURCH TONIGHT
I desire to give all the glory to God. The Holy Spirit gave me to share from the Book of Acts 5. It is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. This is a very difficult passage to preach from. It is like doing major surgery without anesthesia. To my surprise, all went well. There was strength in my body, utterance on my tongue and courage in my heart. All of us we engaged in warfare against all evil spirits that try to destroy churches and marriages. The victory sounded its trumpet in our midst! All the glory to God!

“But a certain man named Ananias with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property. And with his wife’s knowledge and connivance he kept back and wrongfully appropriated some of the proceeds, bringing only a part and putting it at the feet of the apostles. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart that you should lie to and attempt to deceive the Holy Spirit, and should [in violation of your promise] withdraw secretly and appropriate to your own use part of the price from the sale of the land? As long as it remained unsold, was it not still your own? And [even] after it was sold, was not [the money] at your disposal and under your control? Why then, is it that you have proposed and purposed in your heart to do this thing? [How could you have the heart to do such a deed?] You have not [simply] lied to men [playing false and showing yourself utterly deceitful] but to God.
Upon hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great dread and terror took possession of all who heard of it” (Acts 5:1-5; AMP)

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a tragic one. But it is found in the Bible and we must learn great lessons from it, to apply them in our life. This incident happened when the church was still young and was experiencing its first revival. The Book of Acts is a great encouragement for us. For as long as we pray for revival, strange stories like these can happen again. The truth is that the devil is a liar and a loser. That can never change. He will continue to try to harm the Body of Christ. But this is the truth: Anybody involved with the devil will also end up in shame and pain. .

The meaning of their names Ananias and Sapphira is ‘Grace and Beauty’. Clearly, they did not live according to their names. Each one was a religious hypocrite with great ambitious plans for the future. To them, the end justifies the means. They did not fear God but they loved the church. That is a formula for disaster for Christ is jealous over His Bride!
This is also the story of a failed marriage. Its foundation was wrong and it ended tragically. Marriage is a gift from God. Two are better than one! If one falls, the other one is there to lift him up (Ecc 4:9-12). But in this story, both fell down and there was no one to lift them up! What makes the story so dramatic is their occult soul tie; their agreement to live together or die together. They willingly agreed to share and encourage in one another’s sin.

In Christ I declare:
I am a child of God!
I reject every evil spirit of lies and deception!
I separate from every form of religious evil spirits!
My marriage has its foundation on the Rock called Christ crucified!
I plead the Blood of Jesus over my life, my marriage, my children, my ministry and my work!
I do not call conspiracy what everybody calls conspiracy!
My soul, my body, my marriage, my children, my ministry is not for sale!
Jesus is Lord!
The Holy Spirit is Lord!
In Jesus name
Amen!