ACTS | The Spirit vs. The Sorcerer | Acts 8:1-25

Would remain standing and turn into the word we're looking at Acts, chapter eight, verses one through 25 this morning, Acts, chapter eight, one through 25 before we read it, let's go to the Lord in prayer, Father, we thank you that you are not silent, but that you speak to us and Lord, we pray that you will give us ears to hear it. I pray that you will give us hearts that are humble to receive your word, even as we just sang, that that would truly be our prayer, that You would speak and that we would hear it, that we would receive it, Lord, we pray that you'll be merciful to your people, that your spirit would go forth now, that your spirit would not return, that your word would not return void in Jesus's name, we pray, Amen, people of God, hear God's word for us this morning from Acts, Chapter Eight, verses one through 25 and Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day, great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles, devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and in entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now, those who were scattered went about preaching the word Philip, went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ and crowds, with one accord, paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did for unclean spirits crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city. But there was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria saying, the 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. 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, even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized, he continued with Philip and seen signs and great miracles performed. He was amazed. Now, when the apostles of Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them, Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now, when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles hands.

He offered them money, saying, Give me this power also that anyone 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 neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. And Simon answered, pray for me to the Lord that nothing of what you have said may come upon me that when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. He who has ears, let him hear God's word. Please be seated. I You for at least the first 300 years after Christ's resurrection, being a Christian was not a cultural norm or a matter of religious preference. Being a Christian was a death sentence.

Rome demanded loyalty to the Emperor and to the Roman gods, and as a result, many Christians would be slaughtered in the Coliseum or thrown into the lion's den to be ripped apart.

Others were made human torches in Nero's garden by night.

It was all meant to terrify anyone from following Christ Rome put all of its power behind stamping out Christianity.

But it wasn't enough. Instead of the church shrinking the.

Is in fear. The church grew out of alleyways, out of catacombs, resounded a message of hope, a message of the forgiveness of sins, a message of the resurrection of the dead. That was all found in Jesus, that is the Christ.

There's even an example of a young lady who was 22 years old.

Her name was Perpetua, who was taken captive for her faith, and she was still nursing her young infant son, and she was sentenced to die in the arena, the arena, and she did die there, but before she did, she faced it with peace, joy and even seeking to comfort others before she died, and it caused many in the arena who witnessed her death to even ask, what kind of God gives that kind of peace Tertullian who famously said, it is the blood of the martyrs that is the seed of the church. The attempt to destroy the church is a great failure, and it always will be, and that's again, what we see in our text. Persecution is simply scattering the seed of the gospel and the church is being spread afar. Satan is seeking to destroy the church.

The spirit is overcoming, overcoming persecution, overcoming differences, that the gospel might be advanced.

The Spirit is at work again, through ordinary people, through ordinary means of the preached word. If you remember, if you were here last week, Stephen had preached the gospel boldly, directly, and then he had been stoned to death by a mob. He preached about Abraham and Joseph Moses and David, and how all of those prophets and forefathers were all pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, and even the temple was all a picture of Jesus Christ, the sacraments, the high priests, it's all of Christ. But now that the Christ has come, those shadows are no longer needed. They're no longer necessary. It kind of reminded me of, maybe you saw on the news that guy who falls in love with AI. We've seen that story.

There's a guy, apparently, he's, you know, like engaged, and he's fallen in love with chat GPT.

But, and it is silly, isn't it, because what that's doing, it's a picture. What the AI is doing is trying to simulate a real relationship, a real person, in a sense, that's what Stephen was saying, that the old was all a picture, is all a simulation, if you will, pointing you to the reality of Christ, and Christ has come. Why would you still be in love with a picture and something fake when the real Christ is here? Let it go.

Forsake those things. Stop looking at the picture, stop looking at the shadow, and look at the reality that is Christ.

And they stoned him to death for it. It's also important to keep in mind, at the time of Stephen stoning, it was illegal for Jews to put someone to death. They didn't have the authority.

Remember, that's why they took Jesus to Pontius Pilate, because they didn't have the authority to put Jesus to death himself.

But what we have now, what is happening in Jerusalem is mob rule and destruction. The state, in many ways, is just overlooking the destruction of Christians and the church looking the other way and going to church as you are now was very dangerous, and your life would be on the line.

Verse three, we see Paul was ravaging the church, entering house after house. He's dragging off men and women and committing them to prison. The church is being scattered here, and the scattering, though, it's not random. Christ is still in control. Is Christ still on his throne? Yes, he is. Is Christ still working all things out for his glory and his good? Our good? Yes, he is. And so Christ is actually using this account, purposely scattering his church, that what he called the disciples to do would occur back in Acts, chapter one, verse eight, he says, You will be my witnesses, but not just in Jerusalem. You remember, he says, You'll be my witnesses in Judea and Samaria and at the end of the earth, even places like Tampa.

And what God is using here is to scatter his people so they're.

Comfortable anymore in Jerusalem, but that they will go out and share the gospel he is reigning still and sending his spirit still to that his witnesses might go forth in the world.

We can see here that God what was meant for evil. God uses for good that statement that we see Joseph say to his brothers, we now can also see the irony of trying to destroy the church actually leads to its growth and its spread when we read this text.

But I that is all true. But I think it's important for us to keep in mind that many of the Christians who are experienced experiencing what we read there in Acts chapter two might not have been able to say, I see God's sovereignty in all of this. They might not have been able to say in that time, I see God's providence and plan and all of this. I think what many of them see at that time is their friends being tortured.

I think what many of them are feeling at that time are family members being dragged away and separated and possibly never, ever seen again, and I think it's important for us to put ourselves back in their shoes, because even though we can look back and we see how God has worked it and orchestrated it, and we're so thankful, because now the gospel is here in Tampa, it's important for us to see and feel what they were feeling, because there are times where we don't see and understand the pain, the suffering, the death that is occurring around us, yet the same God that is working then is still the same God that is working. Now, it's important for us to remember that God still has His plan and His purposes in place. It's still important for us to remember that Christ still sits on his throne, that not a hair will fall from our head, not a sparrow will fall to the ground.

Still in the workings of your life and my life, Christ still rules and is using these things for His glory in the scattering of his people, Christ is not absent. He is present with his church, and even through the suffering, sanctifying his church, making them cast away the worldliness of comforts and pleasures that they might embrace him all the more. And it is not Christ still doing that in our hearts that we might love him and cast ourselves on him all the more we live in a time of relative peace here in the United States as a church, as a body of believers, and we can be thankful for that. However, as a church, we need to keep in mind that that's a challenging time for the church, when the church is at peace in its nation.

When we look through church history, it is often during the times of great persecution and suffering that the gospel is going forth in a powerful way, because during times of peace, what it can lead us to, and I think what we need to consider and maybe even repent of, is that it can easily lead to laziness.

It can easily lead to us just being content being comfortable and vacations and pleasures, where people are dying around us and going to hell because they do not have the gospel. And then sometimes that these idols need to be shaken from us and to be reminded that this world is not our home.

Are we prepared to pray that the gospel go forth? I think many of us are saying, yes, we want the gospel to go forth. But are we prepared to make that prayer, If that means that'll bring suffering, that that might bring persecution?

Are we willing to wherever we go, out of these doors, scatter ourselves, in a sense, and proclaim Christ the apostles here in our text, they stay behind in Jerusalem. I think they're doing that. One is because they're not wanting to abandon the church there in Jerusalem. They're going to stay. They're going to make sure that the gospel still preached in Jerusalem while others are leaving. And the text then brings us.

Philip, who's an example of someone who was going out and sharing the gospel, and he goes to Samaria in verse five, Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

Philip was a fellow Hellenist and also fellow deacon of Stephen. I bet him and Stephen were actually close friends, and he goes to Samaria, and I don't want us to miss the historical significance of that.

For a close to 1000 years, Jews and Samaritans have hated each other for 1000 years. You think about tribal warfare.

What is it? The Hatfields and the McCoys this? This is it, like 100 fold Jews versus Samaritans. And it go. It went all the way back to around Solomon's time, because after King Solomon, the people of Israel really kind of divided into two, and you had a northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. And the southern kingdom is what had Judah and Benjamin, and that capital was Jerusalem and the northern kingdom. Well, that capital was Samaria and the Assyrians then conquered the northern kingdom, and then they intermarried with the northern kingdom, and the Assyrians brought their gods into the northern kingdom, and you have some some idolatry mixtures within the northern kingdom. And so the Jews saw Samaritans as half breeds, as idolaters and as really traitors who left the faith Samaritans, they only accepted the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. They had their own temple made on Mount Gerizim. You remember the woman at the well in John chapter four, she's asking Jesus, well, where should we worship? Is it Jerusalem? Is it Gerizim? Jews avoided Samaria altogether, and that's what made the parable of the Good Samaritan so shocking that the Samaritan actually ends up being the hero in that story. But this is where Philip goes to proclaim Christ. And there's, and I think that's the summary statement of what preaching should be, what is, what is Philip go to do in Samaria, to tell moralistic therapeutic stories. No, did he go and set up music ministry programs and other ministry programs? No, what does he do? He proclaims Christ.

He doesn't go to Samaria and say, Samaritans, you just need to try harder, do better. He doesn't go to Samaria and say You guys shouldn't actually feel so bad about yourselves. Just I'm here to boost your self esteem that when I'm done with this talk, you're done, and you feel so much better about yourselves. And you know it doesn't matter so much who you believe that. You know we have our God in Jerusalem, you have your God in Samaria, but it's really kind of all the same thing, as long as you love, right?

Isn't that the message that we hear proclaimed in many pulpits this day? But what does Philip declare Christ? What did Stephen declare Christ? What must be declared Christ?

Because that is the salvation that you and I must have. And there is salvation in no other name under heaven by which men will be saved. It is Christ alone.

This is what you and I need most, above all, all things.

It's Christ. And what do you think maybe Philip's sermon might have contained?

Well, I bet it sounded very similar to what we just heard Stephen talk about. He probably went back to Genesis 315 the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. Who's that talking about Samaritans, Jesus?

What about Abraham and that RAM that's caught in the thicket.

What's that pointing us to Jesus? What about also a Joseph, who would be rejected by his own brothers, but would who then ascend to power and save many?

Who's Joseph pointing us to Jesus? What about Exodus and the whole Passover lamb and this pouring out of the blood of the Lamb. Who's that? Pointing us to Jesus? And it goes on and on and on, the bread from heaven.

Jesus, the tabernacle, the priesthood. Jesus, a prophet like Moses. Who is that? Jesus?

Jesus? Jesus, Jesus. And that is what.

Philip declared to them, and I wish we had the sermon.

And God confirms Philip's message with these signs and these wonders. And they receive the Word of God, and they receive Jesus, and what is the result? What is the fruit of the Spirit that is born there in a place like Samaria? Joy. And I want you to see there's a real contrast now that's happening between Jerusalem and Samaria.

There is much joy that's happening now in Samaria as the gospel, as Christians are descending upon Samaria, sharing the gospel, it's being received, and there's much joy there, where the opposite is kind of happening in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is being ravaged. It's being cursed in many ways, because Christians are leaving in the Gospel in many ways, is being withdrawn from them, and it's being ravaged, and it will soon be destroyed altogether.

There's also something significant that's happening here between now Jerusalem and Samaria, and it's unity.

The Jews and the Samaritan Christians are now united. They have hated each other for 1000 years, and now we see unity under one flag of the Lord Jesus Christ, under one king, they are united. What's able to end tribal warfare? What's able to end racism? It's the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. What can heal broken relationships that have been broken for hundreds of years. It's the gospel what can forgive hurt and hostility. It is the gospel of Christ because it's a reflection as they hear the gospel, that they have been reconciled to God, that they had a debt of sin that they could never repay, but Christ spilled his blood, and he washed them, and He cleansed them of this debt that was too big that anyone could pay. And so then when they look to a brother who has offended them and maybe even severely offended them and hurt them, they too can forgive, and that's exactly what we're seeing. It's a beautiful picture of these two nations who are being united, not because of their nations.

There's no more Jews or Gentiles anymore. It's just Christ now they're being reconciled, not only to God, but to each other in verse 14. Now, when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. There's a lot more that could be said here, and these, these particular verses, have been used in a way to almost, kind of give this second blessing in the Pentecostal movement. But that's not what's happening here.

What's happening here is that it's it's a confirmation that the same spirit is uniting the Jews and the Samaritans into one church.

Samaria is not starting its own branch of Christianity and starting their own church.

There's no more Jews. There's no more a Gentile divide. It's being destroyed, just like the usefulness of the temple and the Holy Spirit is working in a special way here to break out of Jerusalem into now places like Samaria, which represents really stage two of Kingdom progress away from Jerusalem and now to the end of the world, and the Holy Spirit is coming with the unity of the apostles to say it's this is the same God, the same spirit, the same gospel that's being declared, and it's Unifying them together. And but in the midst of this joy, we also have a bit of a warning that we need to heed, and it comes around a guy named Simon who is known as the Simon the magician verse nine. 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 of the greatest, saying, This man is the power of God that is called Great. And they paid attention to him because of for a long time he had amazed them with his magic, even Simon himself, though believed and after being baptized, he continued with Philip and seen signs and great miracles performed. He was amazed.

We're told Simon, a long time, had amazed the people with his magic. And this is most likely not to mirror and smoke magic, but even maybe some demonic magic working here, claiming to be some.

And great he was many people thought he was divine. And what we actually see in Samaria through Simon is almost a a false Christ, and everyone was paying attention to Simon. But now we're told that they were paying attention to Philip. We're even told that Simon believed and was baptized, and he even continued with Philip for some time, and I bet maybe that was an encouragement to Philip, but what was seen as a conversion is then actually quickly followed by his condemnation. We soon come to find out that he had an outward profession and maybe even a wonder, but not an inward possession of faith. What he possessed was not saving faith, but Peter actually tells us what he actually is possessing is bitterness and enslavement to sin, and that's what he is. He's an enslaved to power. He's enslaved to self. He's enslaved to self centeredness. Simon sees the Spirit come through the apostles hands, and he offers them money. We've there's that simony. Maybe you've heard it in the church. Maybe not so much anymore, but back in the Middle Ages, you know, you pay some money and you can get a priest job. You can bribe him. That was called simony, and it's he had a sin named after himself for trying to bribe the apostles to get a position of power. And he says, in Verse 19, give me this power also. And Peter rebukes him swiftly and severely. He says, May your silver perish with you.

And as many people have pointed out, in many ways, Peter is saying Simon To hell with you and your money.

He's saying your faith has been superficial. He calls him, he tells him he's not right before he caught God, and he tells him to repent. But Simon, you have a devilish kind of belief that is even demons believe, and they tremble, but it's merely outward, a shuttering of some degree, but not a true heart change like the rocky soil in Jesus' parable, Simon sprang up quickly, but then he really has no root, and withers away.

There's no confession of his own sin. Even after Peter tells him to confess his sins, he doesn't confess his sins. There's no repentance. He only makes a plea, says, Peter, would you pray for me? You know, as a chaplain with the Air Force, sometimes I have people come up to me and think that if I pray for a loved one rather than themselves, that somehow, somehow has a mystical feeling of I can take away God's judgment. And what's happening here is you cannot repent by proxy.

Simon has to go to God and pray just children, just because your parents pray for you. That's a wonderful thing. However, you must repent and believe. You must go before the throne of God and turn from your sins and cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ, and maybe Simon wants to avoid the penalty of sin, but there's no sense here of remorse or of what he's done. You know, in every age, including ours, there are Simons people who want the blessings of Christianity without the Christ of Christianity, and that's just like the parable of the prodigal son. Remember, both of the children wanted the father's stuff, but not the father. And I think this is us we need to think about. It's a warning towards us that just because you've been baptized, just because you are among other believers does not mean that you are saved.

Have I possessed Christ?

Am I simply just running away because I don't want punishment, or do I love the Lord Jesus Christ?

Well, what happens to Simon here the scriptures leave that unclear.

It doesn't tell us, and I think it's purposely doing that to have us examine our own hearts right now. Do I possess Christ?

Do I treasure Christ for who he is, or do I really want just what he can give me, the same Christ who scattered his church is also gathering her together by faith. And today, do not harden your hearts if you hear his word, but repent and believe.

And let us be bold and let us be watchful, and let us be faithful and not.

Know that Christ is still building his church, and the gates of hell cannot overcome it.

And so let us believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us let goods and kindred go and as we go forth out of here this day and we will scatter throughout the week wherever we go, let us do what the church did. It here in Acts, is proclaim Christ boldly and know that Christ will continue to build his Church through ordinary people. That's what we see here in the text. It's not just the apostles who are doing everything. It's not just the ministers. This is the ordinary people using the ordinary means of the word that's proclaimed, and the church is growing and people are coming, that's our call.

Remember to be witnesses. Let's pray, Father. We, thank you that you again, have given us your word, Lord. We, thank you that you are sovereign over circumstances of life, even the the scattering of your church and the its persecution. And Lord, help us to take comfort in that as we reflect on the things in our own lives, that you're over it, that you're going to use it, even for the gospel to go forth and for our own sanctification, which we desperately need.

Lord, we pray that you will help us to properly examine our own hearts, that we will embrace Christ, not just the things that Christ has, but to embrace Him as our Savior who died for all of our sins.

Lord, be merciful to your people. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.