God Is Not ForSale
Acts 8:5-25
When Simon saw that (he) said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone
on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” vss. 18-19
Up For Auction
One of my favorite websites is Ebay. I have a lot of fun buying and selling sports cards and memorabilia and since getting on Ebay I have been able to sell a lot of the things I don’t want and obtain a lot of things I do want. You can really find a lot of useful things at a lower price if you look hard and are patient. Get this Ebay story.
In February 2001, Adam Burtle, a 20 year old student at the University of Washington put his soul up for auction on eBay. The ad read:
“Hardly used. I make no warranties as to the condition of my soul. As of now it is near mint condition, with only minor scratches. Due to difficulties involved with removing my soul (he wasn’t dead yet), the winning bidder will either have to settle for night of yummy Thai food and cool indie flicks, or wait until my natural death.
The bidding started at a nickel; his ex-girlfriend bid it up to $6.66, the mark of the “Beast.”
In the final hour of bidding, the price rose from $56 to $400, placed by a woman in Des Moines, Iowa…But then eBay officials learned of the auction and removed the listing before bidding closed – not because auctioning a soul over the Internet is improper, but because eBay requires that EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove explained “you have a piece of merchandise that a seller can deliver to a buyer,”. (eBay also forbids the selling of drugs, alcohol, guns and body parts).
Just as certain things, like your soul, cannot be for sale, at least on Ebay, today we are looking at a story where someone thought they might be able to buy a piece of God
Read Passage – Acts 8:5-25
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city. 9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” 24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” 25 When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
2nd Generation Leaders
As we approach chapter 8 of Acts there is something interesting taking place. Verse 5:
“Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.” vs. 5
Up through Acts 6:6 we are told the acts of the disciples that followed Christ. Those that saw him and walked and talked with him.
1st Generation believers – those that were handpicked by Christ, trained by Him for 3 ½ years, and who experienced first hand his miracles and teachings.
2nd Generation believers – Those who believed the disciples teaching and turned and followed Christ from their ministry. Phillip is one of those guys.
This is really encouraging because it means that Christianity was beginning to take hold, change people’s lives, and get them into a personal relationship with God. It is also encouraging because when Christ was here he told the disciples they would do greater things than he did and that was happening; they were raising the dead, casting out demons and healing those who needed healing.
The Samaritan Pentecost
There is also something else encouraraging going on, it’s a term I got out of a commentary I was reading, it was the Samaritan Pentecost. Verse 17:
“Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” vs. 17
One of the things that would happen is that as the 2nd generation spread the gospel and as enthusiasm grew, some of the 1st generation disciples would come and check out what was happening so that they could make sure there wasn’t any false teaching and ministry and that the glory was going to God. That’s what we see in verse 17, Peter and John come to approve what is going on. Also, and this is really important, they see the Holy Spirit come upon those that are receiving the gospel. This is really important because it confirms what Jesus was teaching that the gospel was for all people, not just the Israelites. Also, it’s important to note that this confirms that the Holy Spirit does come to everyone.
This year we are looking at lesser known people in the Bible and today we are looking at Simon the Sorcerer. Simon is a guy who was well known in his community and awed people with his tricks and illusions. His story gives us some insight into our own lives and how we talk with people about Christ and their reactions to the gospel. So let’s look a little closer at Simon.
Simon’s Misplaced Spirituality
Simon was an entertainer. He made his living by tricking people and was a master deceiver. His MO was to awe people with his illusions. Throughout history man has been enamored with people who can perform acts of illusion, i.e. Houdini, Penn and Teller, and most recently people like Chris Angel. There is something that allures us to them and intrigues us about what they do and a curiosity as to how they do the things they do.
- Change Starts In The Heart
Simon the Sorcerer is going around performing and he really wows the people. He’s not to humble about it either because he goes around bragging about himself and how great he is (vs. 10). But the people believe that about him too, so much so that they call him “The Great Power.”
“They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.” vs. 11
So he has a big following and a lot of popularity. Then Phillip comes into town and Simon hears the gospel. This appeals to him and the Scripture says he believes what he hears; he believed it so much that he takes a big step, he gets baptized. But what does this mean? Did he really put his trust in God? Did he really convert to Christianity? The story continues and we pick it up in verse 21 where Peter has stepped in and says:
“You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.” vs. 21
It seems that he didn’t seek God with the idea of developing a relationship with God but to promote himself and gain more of a following. He sought God’s power and his belief was superficial. It never got into his heart. He was willing outwardly to believe but not enough o put his full trust in God.
In fact, as the story continues he attempts to buy some of the power of the Holy Spirit the evangelists have. We actually have a name for this in the English language, it is called
‘simony” – the buying or selling of a church office or ecclesiastical preferment.
He was a master deceiver and he believed only enough to further his deception. He didn’t realize this was the real deal and that he was dealing with a much stronger power than what he had. He was dealing with God. He may have even had power from Satan but we are not told that. His belief was superficial, just like his tricks. Peter saw through that and called him on it. His chnge was not of the heart.
2. Spiritual Healing Brings Joy
The second thing that struck me as odd was that spiritual healing brings joy and yet there is no mention of any joy that comes from Simon but there was a lot of joy happening around him. Verses 7 and 8:
“With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.” vs. 7-8
This must have been some sight to see. These evil spirits coming out of people with shrieks and noises, wow! It was probably a bit scary and nerve wracking but the thing that we take not of is that this brought great joy. Ever been with someone when they receive Jesus in their hearts? There are tears of joy and relief and release yet we don’t see any of that with Simon. His conversion was more about what he could get in popularity and fame. So the real question is do you think he really became a Christian? It doesn’t appear that way. His conversion was only to find a angle to promote himself, to trick others, deceive them to help himself and preserve his livelihood or even gain more money.
Salvation and having God in our heart should bring us joy, great joy. Hear the words of David from Psalm 19:8:
“The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.” Psalm 19:8
3. He Didn’t Let Go Of His “Stuff”
Finally, we realize his conversion wasn’t sincere because he didn’t trust God enough o let go of all the “stuff” in his life; verse 23:
“For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” vs. 23
He had bitterness and was captive to sin and he wasn’t willing to get rid of those things to trust God with his life. We know he was somewhat arrogant, boastful, and self-promoting. He didn’t let that go, in fact, he probably was continuing in those things and still relying on himself and not God. In Isaiah the prophet is addressing the Israelites and tell says to them:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Isaiah 43:18
The prophet had to remind them to let go of the things in their past.
So let me ask you, what “stuff” are you holding on to? We all bring our baggage of our past to relationship with God. Have you considered what things you haven’t been willing to let go of?
Ex. –Talking bad about people or against others
-Lying
-Blaming
-Tithing (holding things back from God)
-Stealing (money, time, things, etc.)
-Unforgiving
-Etc.
The Importance of Follow-Up (How the story ends)
Listen to Simon’s response when he is called on the carpet about his motives, verse 24:
“Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” vs. 24
Talk about leading people to Christ but it must go further than that and we need to follow up and disciple them. Teach them and work with them on what a relationship with God looks like.
Ex. – Being involved in the church
-Helping others (bringing food, helping out in time of need, being the body of Chirst)
-Called to community
It pays to heed a warning
Let me finish with an illustration.
An Argentinean race driver named Juan Manuel Fangio discovered that after the opening lap of the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix. As he approached a dangerous bend for the second time, Fangio noticed that something was wrong. The faces of the spectators, which he usually saw as a whitish blur as he drove by, were all turned away from him.
“If they are not looking at me,” Fangio thought, “they must be looking at something more interesting around the corner.” So he braked hard and carefully rounded the bend, where he saw that his split second assessment had been accurate. The road was blocked by a massive pileup. His keen awareness and his heeding the warning of what lie ahead allowed him to continue on and eventually win that race.
Whether Simon paid heed to Peter’s warning or not, we do not know. But it’s a smart person who pays heed to God’s warning, whether given in scripture or in person
