Simony
Notes
Transcript
The unusual God we serve
The unusual God we serve
Does God do weird stuff? Yes. He sets up rules that govern our lives and then he breaks those rules to get our attention.
The Flood
The tower of Babel
The plagues of Egypt
Speaks through a Donkey
David and Goliath
Elijah taken by a fiery Chariot
Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego in the fiery furnace.
Daniel in the Lions Den
Jonah in the Fish
John the Baptist in the country
God incarnate.
Death and Ressurection
The list goes on and on and that's just part of whats in the Bible.
God uses the unusual to teach us, correct us, and to ultimately help us take our eyes off ourselves and turn them to Him. Today’s message is about the power of the Gospel and the struggle within man to surrender fully to God.
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9 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.
10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.”
11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
Who is Simon
Who is Simon
Simon in Acts 8
Was a Magician/Sorcerer. This power is demonic. What does scripture say about this power?
Command to the nation of Israel:
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer
Disobedience of Israel:
17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
Tied to the Demonic
16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.
17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”
18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
Confirmation of prohibition to the church:
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
Will be evident in the end times:
9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
Warning to all who practice such arts:
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
He was thought to be great by the people and seemed to desire their praise.
He was impressed by Philip and believed his message
He does not appear to have received the Holy Spirit but this is uncertain.
He believes he can buy the power of God
His focus remains on himself and gaining power.
Peter Rebukes him very harshly.
Doesn’t repent but asks Peter to pray on his behalf . . . he still thinks that the power lies in man.
Simon in History
Simon in History
Acts Acts 8
The person of Simon himself was associated by very early Christian writers with the origins of the Gnostic heresy. Justin Martyr reported that Simon was the subject of a statue erected by Samaritans with the inscription Simoni deo sancto (“To Simon the Holy God”) and linked his name with those of Menander and Marcion as heresiarchs;3 and Irenaeus, quoting at length from this chapter of Acts, attributed to him a Gnostic systematic theology.4 Modern scholarly opinion continues to be divided about the accuracy of these reports.5
The problem of Simon.
The problem of Simon.
He was a somebody.
9 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.
10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.”
11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.
He joined in and was amazed.
13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
He tried to buy the power of God.
18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
We are left with one of two conclusions about Simon:
Demon or Peter?
Demon or Peter?
James writes:
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Matthew writes:
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Is Simon saved? The evidence points to, “no” but we cannot be certain.
The warning of Simon’s story.
The warning of Simon’s story.
Only God know the true intent of a persons heart. Pray for discernment as you share the gospel and see put profess to believe.
Why didn’t the Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit right away.
Why didn’t the Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit right away.
Clues from the text:
They had to come from Jerusalem. Mending the rift between Jews and Samaritans through the Gospel.
They returned on a Gospel preaching tour. The Gospel was spread throughout Samaria.
Are you prepared to participate with the God of the unusual?
Are you prepared to participate with the God of the unusual?
Is your version of God in a box? Have you figured him out? Do you know exactly what He is going to do? Who he will save?. What he will call you to do?
Are you living a life that is open and ready to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit?
Are you keeping your life free from sin?
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.