Acts 8:9-11 (New American Standard)

Now there was a certain man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city, and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from the smallest to the greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.

“Claiming to be someone great…”

Interesting, really? I don’t think so. I think we’ve heard this dog and pony show before. Many claim to be great but that is how you know that they aren’t really so great. For the most part we recognize it when someone has a better view of themselves than others do…we call it arrogance…or pride.

And here is the thing…

You might have some gift like Simon does. He had a gift of creating awe inspiring moments (our modern day media pastor)…but He was using it for his own glory and not God’s…and that is how it is, isn’t it? In the church we see gifted people all of the time…but do they have a pure heart? Are they using the gift that God gave them to reflect the glory of God?

Each one of us possess gifts from God…to some it’s obvious…to others, not so much…but in all things if you are in the full knowledge of Christ…it is your responsibility to use your gift in a way that edifies the body of Christ to the glory of God! We are not an independent people that are just allowed to gallivant freely and use our gift to wherever we see fit. We are servants of the Most High God! We must seek His will for our life…and that includes our gifts as well…

Many today don’t seek God out when using their gifts…they are just seeking the attention of man and hoping to fill in that missing gap with their unique gift or talent. They wield their God given gift around as if they weren’t bought with a price and as if it’s theirs to use for their own glory. Its’ dangerous business…and usually one that leads to depression, doubt, fear…and worst of all it distances you from God.

When I was called into ministry, the Lord blessed me with a great zeal for Him and His word. He also had blessed me years earlier, before I was saved, to be a musician. Now here is what I experienced early on in my ministry; my calling to pastor was there. It was strong and I knew it with all my heart…but also there in my heart was music. I loved music. All music. Music was my passion, my heart, and my soul. I preached for about a year or so before I was offered an opportunity to play music on a greater scale. Now I am going to be honest…I have never felt that music was what God specifically called me to do…but at that time my passion for the music was greater than my passion for God. So I jumped on the opportunity…and let me say…it was a short and successful run at it. We, as a band, did well in the music scene…but it was some of the most miserable years that I’ve ever gone through. At the end of that run, I literally cut the strings on my guitars…sold my amps and equipment…and quit for a few years….

I didn’t understand that God was to be my source. I didn’t understand that my gift was given to me so that I would edify Christ and it wasn’t given to me so that I could use it self-servingly. In the end, and I am just being honest here, I was loving myself more than I was loving God. I was loving my gift more than I was loving God…and I was hoping that since God was my message, that He would also make the music more than what it was…which was man-centered.

But before I bare all the weight…let me point to the next thing that is important we recognize…The scripture says twice that they “gave him attention”. We all play our part in bloating the egos of men/women when we can’t discern those that are fishing for attention and compliments. Simon was constantly before the people, which is where he wanted to be, but the scripture is specific that the people liked being in front of him and further added to his ego. They gave him the attention he wanted but that isn’t what he needed.

As I was researching all of this I couldn’t help but think of Absalom, David’s first born. He too needed to be before the people at all times too. He played into the hands of evil men because he loved to be exalted and praised greater than he loved wisdom. 2^nd Samuel 14:25 records the fact that the people praised him for his wonderful beauty…and yet is was his beautiful hair that hung him to his death. Vanity runs deep within our veins and we are need of a great God now more than ever to deliver us of this great disease.

Let us move on and we’ll come back to this in a little bit…

Acts 8:12-13 (New American Standard)

But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. And even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip; and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

“But when they believed Philip preaching the good news…”

Listen…they might have been entertained…they might have been fooled…they might have settled for a cheap imitation of joy while they watched Simon the Magician…but when they heard the good news…that is when the real rejoicing began. If you’ll remember it was just a few verses ago that the scripture says that the entire city rejoiced at the coming of Philip…because he brought the good news with him…gospel good news, amen? They might have been lost in sin with the magician…but now they are alive in Christ! I love it! Even the magician got saved! Simon couldn’t deny what was happening. He was witnessing it firsthand…this was no mere magicians trick…this was the mysterious King of Glory. Simon was a magician and yet he could spot no sleight of hand…this was a power he had not known…this wasn’t some form of trickery. This was God!

Acts 8:14-17 (New American Standard)

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.

There are whole theologies wrapped up in these verses…

Samaria had received the word, they were baptized, but they hadn’t been baptized by the Spirit. These are great differences and every Christian should have a basic understanding of this. I’m not going to get into this one…but I think it is worth your investigation to look into this. Also, in reading and researching this, I find it very interesting that the Spirit didn’t immediately come to them as they heard the word like it did in Acts chapter 2. The Spirit fell as the apostles laid hands…and here is a great fact…

You don’t get to define how the Spirit moves. You don’t get to control the Spirit. It comes precisely when it wants to and to whomever it wants to. You don’t get to wield it as a power given to you to maintain and monitor. It is the power of God and a Comforter to His people. The Spirit isn’t defined by one event like in Acts 2…in this case it is received as the apostles laid hands on the people. So it is reasonable to say that the Spirit can fall corporately and it can also fall on an individual’s separately. I bring that up so that we remember not to place God in a box. Just because the Spirit fell like it did in Acts 2 doesn’t mean that it’s going to fall like that every time we have service. If anything, that should be a good reminder of who is in control and who isn’t…

Acts 8:18-24

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible the intention of your heart may be forgiven of you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Now we are at the root…

Now we are seeing the heart of Simon…

Luke 6:45 (NIV)

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

I think Simon genuinely wants to help people. I think he is gifted in being a man that can grab the attention of the people. It would be all too easy to demonize him. But listen…The man that used to live off the attention of others is now trying to live the Gospel of Christ which tells you that you must die to your fleshly desires. The Christian life is about living a life that exalts the God of heaven…it is what we were created for! It’s hard. It isn’t easy to lay ourselves down before God. It isn’t easy to give God our gifts, our dreams, and our desires. However, it is the key to true joy and happiness.

Sometimes to get to that point we first must address the issues that keep us from living it…

Peter said it like this, “Your heart isn’t right.” Sound familiar. I hope so, because I think it is something that is all too familiar. For Simon, his unhealthy heart is exposed as bitterness…and bitterness isn’t pretty. It festers and grows until you are isolated…because no one wants to be around someone that is always bitter. Simon is bitter because it isn’t all about him anymore. It isn’t about what he can do and he is really having a hard time dealing with that. So he reaches out and out of his own heart the issue is exposed. Now Simon is going to have to deal with this, no doubt about it and there are many people out there just like him…

And listen…Peter is speaking in love here…might be a little harsh but it is still in love…but that is what love looks like. Yes love receives us like we are…but love also helps us to become greater than we are. That is what Christ is doing in us. He is working those things out. It hurts. It’s painful. We don’t like it sometimes when the contents of our heart are poured out for all to see…but that is what it takes to be conformed unto Christ.

I said we would come back to the first series of scriptures…so let’s do that real quick…

Acts 8:9-11 (New American Standard)

Now there was a certain man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city, and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from the smallest to the greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.

“Who formally was practicing magic…”

Change…that is what it looks like…We lay ourselves before the cross of Christ with our hearts exposed to embrace the change that is going to come from within. Simon formally practiced magic…he used to be one way…now he is another. Is Simon’s road going to be difficult? Yes, but isn’t most of this life difficult? Since I’ve became a follower of Christ…this life has been difficult…because I have had to lay down much of who I was to become what He wants me to be…which is more like Jesus.

What in your life is going to be exposed to you in 2010? What are the things in your life that are in need of change or correction?