Acts the Story Continues (21)

Counterfeit Power

I wrestled with doing a sermon on making 2020 the best year of your life, but ultimately decided to continue into the book of Acts. Realistically many of us will make New Years Resolutions and will ultimately fail because we typically make an unrealistic resolution, the same resolution that failed for the last 6 years, or we try to make major changes on our own. For some of us 2020 will look drastically different than 2019, but for the majority it’ll stay the same.

The best advice I can give going into 2020 is this: No change is worth making apart from the call of God and no change can be successful without the Power of the Holy Spirit. With that being said I find it interesting that we fall on Simon the Magician this morning. We aren’t going to get through all of it, because there are two major topics I want to hit on in this text. The first comes from the first few verses.

Acts 8:

Acts 8:9–11 ESV

But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

As Christians we need to understand certain things. I first want to state that I am not giving glory to Satan, but in order to defeat our advisary there are some things we need to understand and this verse brings one of them to light. Satan has power, counterfeit power, but Power none the less . The Magic talked about isn’t the slight of hand that we go see. Simon was healing people, he was giving people gems that would ward off evil Spirits. He was giving them incantations that would inflict some sort of injury on other people. So e must ask how? How can Satan mimic the power of God.

To understand this we must first understand that all negative things: Illness, hate, greed, and the such is a result of sin. If we go back to the Garden of Eden we don’t see any of these things mentioned until sin was introduced into the world.

John Bevere states:

The goal of witchcraft is to control, but inevitability the controller becomes the controlled due to involvement with the demonic Realm.

We have to understand that dancing with the Devil will cost us something. Satan often reminds me of a well versed drug dealer. Sure the first hit or two might be free, but they are giving you free product to hook you into something that is very hard to escape from. The power of Satan often entices people, but

Satan cannot create he can only replicate with a twist.

and the twist is often the cost we don’t know we have to pay. I remember watching the Godfather movies when I was younger and the beginning scene where the Godfather’s daughter is getting married. Everyone is coming to him to ask for favors. I learned then his favorite phrase.

One day there will come a time when I will call on you and you will be there to answer that call. I don’t know when and I don’t know why, but you will heed the call no questions asked.

The Psalmist writes about this same thing years before we meet Simon in

1:1-2

Psalm 121:1–2 The Message

I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

I have read this verse many times. There are even hymse and songs written about this verse, but have you ever asked yourself why does the Psalmist look to the mountains and ask where does my strength come from? Israel knew their power came from God. They also knew that God didn’t live in the mountains. If we go back in time we find an interesting trend.

Much of the false religion was practiced on hilltops. Shrines were set up, groves of trees planted, sacred prostitutes were were provided. People were lured into the shrines set upon God’s beautiful and majestic scenery to engage in acts of worship that would enhance the fertility of the lan, would heal disease, and would protect you form Evil

Jeremiah 3:23 ESV

Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.

So the Psalmist replies—no my strength comes from the Lord. We need to understand that Satan will bewitch us if we let him, with power that works. Healing that makes us feel better. a bout of good luck that seemingly makes all our problems go away, but there is a cost.

True last strength comes from God. The rest of the Psalm states

Psalm 121:3–8 ESV

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121:3-

There are about 6 sermons in this psalm alone so I am not going to spend the time today uncovering it all, but as 2020 brings in a New Year with New oppertunities, and a refreshed calander

Remember the Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth forever more. Our trust must remain in God. There are a lot of people out there who promise quick fixes, but God knows the right path.

I love this quote form Euguene Peterson

All the water in all the oceans cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Nor can all the trouble in the world harm us unless it gets within. That promise of the Paslm: God guards you from every evil.

The only mistake a Christian can make when illness comes, anxiety hits, when conflicts disturbs our peace is to believe that God has forgotten us and that we must search for a way to free ourselves.

God never promised us a Christian life free from trials and tribulations, but he did promise us, that when we experience those trials and tribulations that

Joshua 1:5 ESV

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Allow 2020 to be marked with Faith. Faith knowing that we don’t by chance escape Satan’s wrath, but we have a secure and abouding experience with God, who if allowed and whose words if heeded, will guard our hearts and minds keeping all evil from getting inside of us from now until forevermore.

I want to leave you with this poem from Martin Luther King

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness from, we tremble not for him, His rage we can endure, For lo! his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him.

and I’ll add Christ said: It is finished. We are free from slavery as we sang the song earlier. I am not longer a slave to sin because I am a child of God.