How the Gospel Advances

Good morning. Today's scripture reading is taken from Acts chapter 8 verses 4 to 25.

Acts 8:4–25

! Please follow along in your Bible or the church Bible. Our passage can be found on page 862 in the church Bible.

Acts chapter 8 starting in verse 4 we read

Acts 8 · chapter mention

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 the 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 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 seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

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,

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, so 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.

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.

This is the word of God.

Thank you, Kristen.

You guys hear me okay?

Is that good?

All right.

Hello, good morning.

Good morning.

My name is Oscar.

I serve here at Watermark as one of the elders,

and it is a great joy to be spending this time worshiping God together,

and it's my great privilege to be sharing God's word.

Come join me.

Let's pray as we look at God's word.

Father, we give this time to you, Lord.

We ask that your spirit would open up the eyes of our hearts to see the beauty of Christ.

Help us, God, to see where we perhaps are turning away from you,

and bring us back to you, Lord.

May the beauty of our great Savior, Jesus, come through this message.

I pray that I would speak clearly and articulately, Lord.

I pray that my heart would come through.

But I pray that ultimately, Lord, your message will come through, not mine.

May this message be an arrow pointing all of us to Jesus.

In his name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So today we're continuing the book of Acts,

this marvelous book which paints a very detailed picture

of how the ministry of Jesus continued after his ascension into heaven,

which is through his church, by the power of his spirit.

Last week, Niels took us through Acts 6 and 7.

6-7?

A big turning point.

No youth here, unfortunately.

With the killing, a big turning point.

With the killing of Stephen and the subsequent violent persecution,

acting not as a deterrent, but actually as a key catalyst for something new.

For the first time, the gospel was to go outside of Jerusalem

into the rest of the world according to God's plan.

And this is good news.

This was good news for the people back then,

and it is good news for us here in Hong Kong

because it means that we too can receive the good news of Jesus.

And today now we're looking at Acts chapter 8, the first part of it,

Acts 8 · chapter mention

and we'll see how the gospel advances in more detail.

We'll start at a high level,

and then we will slowly drill down, and we'll get personal.

Think of today's message as you're looking through a satellite telescope from space at the earth.

You first see an entire country, and then you zoom in, and then you see a city,

and then you zoom in yet again, and you'll see a neighborhood,

and people actually having conversations.

That is sort of hopefully how this message will flow.

So how does the gospel advance?

Well, we'll look at that in initially two ways.

First, through God's people sharing Jesus,

and second, through the unity of the church.

Now, as we read, as the result of this persecution in Jerusalem,

these early followers of Jesus, except the apostles,

were scattered to Judea and Samaria.

The apostles stayed in Jerusalem,

but incredibly, the rest of the church members,

in the face of persecution and in a foreign land,

they didn't hide away nor simply focus on self-preservation.

No, they boldly shared the gospel of Jesus wherever they went.

Not the apostles, not the senior leadership,

but regular church members.

Verse 4, those who were scattered, i.e. church members,

not the apostles.

Next slide, please.

Not the apostles went about preaching the word.

By the way, the word preaching here

doesn't mean that everyone gave 30-minute sermons

on Sunday morning.

It reflects a general rhythm of sharing Jesus,

the good news, in daily life.

And there is one church member in particular,

Philip, who went to Samaria.

By the way, this is not Philip the apostle.

This is Philip, one of the seven deacons,

from Acts chapter 6,

Acts 6 · chapter mention

similar to Stephen, who we saw last week.

And here, in Samaria,

Philip the deacon,

he finds himself in this foreign land.

But because of his personal conviction

in the good news of Jesus,

because of his great belief in the power of Jesus,

not to just change lives,

but to save lives,

and because of his view that the gospel

wasn't just to the Jews,

but to all people, including Samaritans,

and because of his desire to help save souls,

Philip boldly proclaimed to them the Christ.

And along with proclaiming Jesus,

Philip prayed for healing and deliverance

from unclean spirits,

and many unbelievable things happened in those days.

And so in Samaria,

through Philip,

by the power of God's spirit,

the gospel of our Lord Jesus

expanded to this foreign people.

Many people believed,

were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,

just like we do here at Watermark,

and there was much joy in that city.

This is how the gospel advances

through God's people sharing Jesus.

Was Philip anyone particularly special?

What we don't know is educational background,

although he wasn't an apostle.

He was a deacon.

He was a godly man.

But his main role back in Jerusalem

probably wasn't teaching and preaching

on a daily basis.

It was likely serving the church community

in tangible ways,

like serving food.

But always proclaiming Christ.

It wasn't simply social justice.

It was caring for the marginalized.

But his overarching message

was always Jesus first.

And then after Stephen's death,

when the great persecution happened,

Philip went to Samaria.

He didn't hide away.

He didn't fear for his life.

He goes out and he proclaimed to them

the Christ.

So the question here is for us,

how is God calling you?

In your own life,

through your relationships,

at work,

at school,

or with your family and friends,

how is God calling you,

like Philip,

to share his good news

of himself?

For this is how the gospel advances,

through God's people sharing Jesus.

The second way the gospel advances

is through the unity of God's people,

his church.

Due to the persecution in Jerusalem,

we saw that Philip went to Samaria.

There's a map again.

Samaria was 15 kilometers north of Jerusalem.

But Jews and Samaritans were not besties.

Far from it.

The Jews thought of Samaritans

as half-breeds,

half-Jew,

and half-infidel.

If you recall the story

in the book of John,

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

Jesus meets the woman at the well,

a Samaritan woman.

He approaches her

and asks her for a drink,

to which she responds,

how is it that you,

a Jew,

ask for a drink from me,

a woman of Samaria?

And then the writer John says,

for Jews have no dealings

with Samaritans.

The animosity between Jews

and Samaritans

went back hundreds of years.

And so although Jesus,

back in Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

if you recall,

Jesus said the gospel

was spread far and wide,

outside Jerusalem,

to the ends of the earth.

But let's be realistic.

It's hard for people

of different cultures

to get along,

never mind two people

that had tension

for hundreds of years.

Look in our day

at the human level conflicts

that we have

due to different views

on politics,

race,

religion,

sexuality.

Years ago,

I went to a football match

in Rome in Italy.

And as I was watching the match,

the two opposing fans,

they literally were

punching each other

in the stands

during the match.

And that's sport,

not even race or religion.

But the apostles

back in Jerusalem,

they were aware

of this tension,

obviously.

And when they heard

of the Samaritans

believing in Jesus,

they sent Peter and John,

two senior apostles,

all the way from Jerusalem

to Samaria

for one main purpose,

to pray for the Samaritans

to receive the Holy Spirit.

For it says,

in verse 16,

for he,

the Holy Spirit,

had not yet fallen

on any of them,

but they had only

been baptized

in the name

of the Lord Jesus.

What on earth

is going on here?

This raises

two questions,

at least.

First,

why did Peter and John

come all the way

from Jerusalem

to pray for the Samaritans

to receive the Holy Spirit?

Are Peter and John

micromanaging Philip?

And second,

and more perplexing,

why do Peter and John

need to pray

for the Spirit

to fall on these

new believers

in Samaria?

On question two,

isn't it true

that since the day

of Pentecost,

in Acts chapter two,

when a person

believes in Jesus,

don't they receive

the Holy Spirit

at that moment?

Peter said,

in Acts chapter two,

repent and be baptized

every one of you

in the name

of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness

of your sins

and you will receive

the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

Paul said

in Romans eight,

anyone who does not

have the Spirit

of Christ,

he does not belong

to him.

There is a consistent

theme in the New Testament.

Believe in Jesus

and the Spirit of God

will dwell

in you.

Normally,

it's one step.

But here in Acts chapter eight,

there appears to be

a two-step process.

First,

the Samaritans believe

and are baptized

and then second,

they receive the Holy Spirit

when Peter and John

prayed for them.

You guys following me?

Everyone okay?

Yeah?

It's a bit dense

and confusing,

but here we go.

We'll continue on.

Back to our two questions.

Why did Peter and John

come all the way

from Jerusalem

to pray for the Samaritans

to receive the Holy Spirit?

And second,

why did the Samaritans

receive the Holy Spirit

in this abnormal

two-step process?

Well,

Bible scholars

have debated

these verses

for quite a long time

and the interpretation

is by no means settled.

But here is what

is the most likely

explanation.

Remember,

the Jews

and Samaritans

were at odds

for hundreds

and hundreds

of years.

But as the gospel

expanded

outside Jerusalem

as Jesus prophesied,

amazingly,

the Samaritan people,

they heard the gospel

and they believed

in this Jewish Messiah.

And somehow,

God in his sovereignty

held back his spirit

from the Samaritans

such that Peter and John

would have to travel

all the way

50 kilometers

from Jerusalem

to come and pray

for the Samaritans

to receive his spirit

so that

all the Samaritans

present at that time

would witness

the great power

of God.

And all those

Jewish believers

back in Jerusalem

would hear the chatter

that this people,

the Samaritans,

this foreign people

once looked down upon

by the Jews,

once considered

second-class citizens

by the Jews,

were now of one faith,

one heart,

one spirit,

and one Savior,

Jesus Christ.

So Peter and John

came from Jerusalem

to pray for these

new Samaritan believers

to receive the Holy Spirit

which welcomed them

into Jesus' family,

his church.

Let me try to illustrate it

in this way.

Imagine you are applying

for your very first job.

You land in a job interview

with Apple in Hong Kong,

but you're an outsider.

Your family are poor immigrants.

You're a university dropout.

You even have a criminal record

for stealing food

to try to provide

for your family.

But somehow,

you interview

and you land the job.

But you're understandably

a bit insecure.

You have imposter syndrome.

You're worried that

the folks at Apple

will realize

that you're actually

not really worthy

to work there.

But on your first day,

you're at your cubicle,

you're hunched over

coding on your laptop,

and guess who comes over?

Tim Cook,

the CEO.

He's flown all the way in

from the US of A

just to see you.

And he says to you,

hey,

welcome to Apple.

I'd love to take you out

for lunch

to welcome you here.

And then,

we're going to call

a global,

company-wide Zoom call

so that everyone at Apple

can welcome you

into the Apple community.

You are now

one of us.

Welcome to Apple.

Now,

that is kind of

what happened,

kind of what happened

with the Samaritans,

except the Samaritans.

It was more than

just a welcome party.

It was a healing party.

You see,

that event

crystallized

the restoration

and healing

between two deeply

divided people groups,

two deeply divided

ethnic and religious groups,

breaking down the walls

that stood

for hundreds of years.

A similar thing happens,

event happens,

in Acts chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

We'll look at that

a bit later on

in a few weeks.

God sent Peter

all the way

to Caesarea

to share the gospel

to the Roman centurion,

Cornelius.

And there,

for the first time,

the gospel moves

not just outside Jerusalem

to Judea

or Samaria

to half-Jews,

the gospel moves

to non-Jews,

to Gentiles.

And what happens?

As Peter's preaching,

the Holy Spirit

falls on Cornelius

and all of his close friends

and family.

The Holy Spirit

falls like a seal

to publicly display

the inclusion

of another people group

into God's family,

his church.

This is how

the gospel advances

through the unity

of God's church.

Now,

it's important to mention

that this event

does not happen anymore,

mainly because

this was the first time

the gospel expanded

to Samaritans

and then to the Gentiles.

And hence,

these were unique

one-time events.

But what does happen today

is that when we believe

in Jesus,

we become baptized.

We get baptized.

Baptism is a public declaration

of our faith in Jesus,

right?

For us to say

and for our church family

to say back to us

among many things

that we are unified

and united

in one church.

in the family of God.

Okay.

So now,

what does this all mean

for us here

at Watermark?

Well,

look around.

Look around the sanctuary.

You can actually do it.

You can actually do it

if you want to.

We are a picture

of God,

unified church.

Look at us.

We are from many different

countries,

nationalities,

and backgrounds.

We are from different

demographic spheres,

different educational backgrounds,

different histories.

but all welcomed

by God

into his church family

and unified together.

And second,

isn't this unity

such a powerful

and attractive message

to a world

that is so fragmented

and broken?

when we care for one another,

when we actually reconcile

very difficult relationships

and conflicts,

we're telling the world,

I'm doing this.

I'm caring for those

that are not easy

to care about

or different than me.

I'm doing that

because there is one person,

Jesus,

who cares so much more

for me

that he gave

his very life for me.

And so I desire

to honor him

and to care

and love

and accept others.

Isn't that a beautiful picture

of God's church?

And isn't that

a beautiful invitation

to God's church?

This is how the gospel advances

through the unity

of God's church.

Okay,

so,

now,

we've seen the big picture

of how the gospel

is advancing

and going out

according to God's plan.

But now,

what does that look like?

How does that happen

on a micro level?

Well,

we're now introduced

to a man named Simon,

a magician,

who,

for a long time,

amazed the people

of Samaria

with his magic.

People were so amazed

by him

that they said,

this man

is the power of God

that is called great.

Some believe Simon

was some sort of demigod.

But then Philip the deacon

shows up

proclaiming Jesus

and many

people,

as we saw earlier,

believed in Jesus

and were baptized.

And even Simon the magician

believed

and was baptized.

And it says in verse 13

that he continued

with Philip.

Simon used to amaze people

with his magic

and now he's amazed

by Jesus.

Or was he?

Later on,

Simon sees the power

of God's spirit

move

when the apostles

lay hands

on the Samaritans.

And you can imagine

Simon's eyes

grow wide.

The passage

doesn't say

what he saw,

but we know

from the rest of Acts

that when God's spirit

falls on people,

there are outward signs.

Boldness

to proclaim the gospel,

praising God

unceasingly,

speaking in tongues.

And so,

like Gollum

in Lord of the Rings,

Simon wants that power.

Simon needs that power.

Simon offers Peter

and John money

for that power.

And of course,

Peter strongly

rebukes Simon.

So what drove Simon

to want this power?

Well,

we read that his magic

amazed the people

of Samaria

and that he loved

the attention

because it made him

feel great.

It made him feel

that he himself

was somebody great.

Verse 9.

And so when he sees

the even greater power

of God's spirit,

he wants it

not to bless others,

but to impress people

even more.

Because what made

Simon most happy,

what made him

most content,

gave him most joy,

was when people

thought highly of him.

He wanted to be known

as somebody great.

Martin Luther wrote this,

whatever your heart

clings to and confides in,

that is really your God.

Meaning,

whatever you fundamentally

believe will make you

most happy.

That is what drives

your decisions

and possibly the entire

direction of your life.

You will pursue

and cling to

what you adore.

And for Simon,

he pursued

and he clung to

having a good self-image.

His God

was his own self-image.

Now,

wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

Didn't we read

in verse 13

that Simon believed

in Jesus?

Wasn't he baptized?

Wasn't he amazed

by the signs

and the miracles?

That he saw?

Didn't he continue

with Philip?

And this is where

this passage

gets quite personal

and challenging.

If you know

this parable,

parable of the sower,

Jesus said,

Jesus spoke about

actually this very

heart condition.

Jesus said that

God's word,

the gospel,

is like a seed

which a farmer grows.

Some seed

falls on the path

but has no roots

and is taken

away immediately.

Other seed

falls on rocky

ground

but persecution

causes that person

who receives

God's word

to also fall away.

And then there

is God's word

that falls

on thorns.

These are people

where they hear

the word,

the gospel,

but the cares

of the world

and the deceitfulness

of riches

and the desire

for other things

enter in

and choke the word

and it proves

unfruitful.

And this third way,

the seed that is choked,

describes exactly

Simon the magician.

When Simon first

heard the news,

the good news

of Jesus,

he probably thought,

oh, that's great news.

I'll follow Jesus.

When he saw the signs

and the miracles,

he thought,

he was amazed.

But like in the parable,

the gospel never found

any roots in his heart

because it was crowded out

by his desire

to promote

his self-image.

You see,

Simon wanted

the power

of Jesus,

but he wasn't willing

to take up

the cross

of Jesus.

He wasn't willing

to give up

his self-promotion

and self-image.

And so the apostle

Peter

tells Simon,

your heart

is not right

before God,

which can also

be translated as

your heart

is not straight

with God.

You have

a crooked heart.

Peter then has

some even stronger

words for Simon,

which tells us

that although Simon

professed to believe

in Jesus,

although he was

even baptized,

he wasn't actually

saved

or born again.

Simon's heart

never turned

towards Jesus.

He wasn't

a true Christian.

Peter says to Simon

in verse 23,

you were in the

gall of bitterness,

which suggests

someone who is

wretched,

and you were in

the bond of

iniquity,

which suggests

Simon was a

prisoner of sin

in bondage.

And this is,

let's be honest,

this is challenging,

is it not?

But being born

again,

becoming a Christian

is not just

a one-time

verbal acknowledgement

and then we just

think and live

as before.

It's a heart

that turns away

from our own

selfish desires

towards Jesus

and on that

new path

and in that

new life,

we seek to

honor him

and to submit

to his authority

and the way

we speak,

the way we live,

the decisions

we make

reflect the

inner reality

of this new

path that

we're on.

John Piper

says this

about Simon

the magician.

Piper says,

at the root

of Simon's

false faith

was a heart

problem.

He was a man

with a crooked

heart who

willfully suppressed

the knowledge

of the true God

whose spirit

cannot be bought.

Deep down,

he still wanted

to be a great

power broker.

You see,

Simon never

loved Jesus.

He just loved

what he thought

Jesus could give

him.

Power to boost

his self-image.

Now,

notice though,

that although

Peter rebuked

Simon quite

harshly,

he doesn't just

leave him there.

He advises

Simon to repent

and to pray

to the Lord

that if possible,

the intent

of your heart

may be forgiven

you.

In spite of

Simon's sin,

all is not

lost.

There is

another chance.

Repent.

This is the

same simple

and consistent

gospel message

throughout the

book of Acts

and throughout

the entire

Bible.

Repent.

Peter in Acts

2,

repent and

be baptized.

Peter in Acts

3,

repent and

therefore turn

back that

your sins

may be blotted

out.

John the

Baptist,

repent for

the kingdom

of God

is near.

Yes,

your heart

is dark.

My heart

is dark.

Yes,

you're in

bondage.

Your selfish

desires.

Yes,

your heart

is crooked.

It's not

straight.

But the

true repentance

that you may

have missed

the first

time,

it is still

on offer.

It is still

there for you

to take

today.

You have a

second chance.

The wonderful

forgiveness of

Jesus that you

missed before,

it is on offer

for you today,

but you must

repent.

But what does

Simon do

instead?

said he

doesn't pray

to God

for forgiveness.

He doesn't

acknowledge his

offense against

God.

He says to

Peter,

you pray for

me.

You pray for

me that I

won't be

punished.

But true

repentance,

friends,

is not simply

trying to avoid

punishment.

True repentance

is omitting

the offense,

owning the

mistake,

and asking

but not

demanding

forgiveness.

True repentance

is omitting

the offense,

owning the

mistake,

and asking

but not

demanding

forgiveness.

You see,

this story,

this little

vignette about

Simon is a

sharp warning

for us.

You see,

the Bible

oftentimes doesn't

end a passage

or a book

with a neat

little bow

or fairytale

ending.

We're often

left with

a challenge.

Consider the

prodigal son

story,

right?

The older

brother at

the end

of that

story,

even though

he served

his father

faithfully

in the

fields,

his heart

was cold

towards his

father.

He never

loved his

father.

Or consider

Jonah.

We just

went over

Jonah last

couple weeks.

Consider

Jonah.

He was a

prophet.

He knew

God's word

inside out,

but his

heart never

loved God.

God.

He actually

was angry

at God.

These

teachings are

meant to

provoke us

to look

inward

at our

own

hearts.

It's the

same here

today as

well with

Simon the

magician.

So today

we've seen

how the

gospel advances.

It's going

from Jerusalem

to Samaria

to the rest

of the

Gentile world

and it

has come

to us

here in

Hong

Kong.

the gospel

is for

anyone

and everyone.

The offer

of Jesus

is to

all people

one life

at a

time.

One life

at a

time.

But as

the gospel

confronts

the idols

of our

hearts,

we must

make a

choice.

Will we

tear down

those idols

and submit

to the

authority

of Jesus?

Will we

cast our

idols aside

and make

that sacrifice

and love

and trust

Christ above

all?

And so as

we reflect

on Simon,

two questions

for us to

consider.

First,

what do you

crave most?

What makes

you most

content?

Is it

promoting your

own self

image like

Simon?

Or maybe

something

else?

If you

crave

financial

security,

as an

example,

you will

make big

sacrifices

to make

more money.

If you

crave

relational

intimacy,

above all,

you will

make big

compromises

to pursue

what you

adore.

I've

actually

done both

in my

life.

Often

the things

that we

care about

most,

that are

most important

to us,

health,

job,

money,

relationships,

children's

education,

and success,

these are

the very

things that

choke us

from knowing

and experiencing

the goodness

of God.

Second,

are we

amazed by

what happens

in church?

Or are we

amazed by

Jesus?

I do think

we have an

amazing church,

by the way.

But like

Simon the

magician,

we can

marvel at

the signs

and the

wonders,

and we

can miss

the giver

of the

signs.

Simon

marveled

at the

arrow,

but he

missed what

the arrow

was pointing

towards.

See,

everything we

do here

at Watermark,

the preaching,

the music

worship,

our great

kids ministry,

our gospel

community,

even this

building,

everything we

do at

Watermark

is like

an arrow

pointing not

at ourselves,

but pointing

towards Jesus.

Everything we

do as a

church community

is to point

each other

back to

the only

one who

can save

us from

our wandering

and sinful

hearts,

and that is

the person

of Jesus,

our Lord

and Savior.

So we've

looked at

how the

gospel advances

through people

sharing Jesus,

through the

unity of

God's church,

and one

life at

a time.

As we

close,

I have one

final thought,

and that is

comparing

Philip and

Simon.

Philip's only

mentioned in

Acts three

times.

Philip is

mentioned

twice in

Acts chapter

eight.

We'll look

at it next

week as

well.

And then

he's

mentioned

once in

Acts 21.

And in

Acts 21,

that's 20

years after

today's

passage.

In that

chapter,

the apostle

Paul goes

on a trip

and he

visits

Philip.

Philip's

living in

Caesarea

at that

time.

He's an

older,

more seasoned

man.

He has

four grown

daughters.

And in

Acts 21,

Philip,

his title's

different now.

He's called

Philip the

Evangelist.

Philip the

Evangelist.

And this

name signifies

his faithfulness

in expanding

the gospel of

Jesus for the

intervening two

decades that

aren't mentioned

in the book of

Acts.

Imagine the

lives that

Philip impacted

through sharing

the gospel,

preaching the

good news of

Jesus.

But then

consider Simon

the magician.

As we learn

after hearing the

gospel, Simon

doesn't really

believe.

Simon isn't

mentioned anywhere

else in the

Bible.

But other

historical

documents,

in other

historical

documents,

there are

indications that

after this

episode in

Acts chapter

Acts 8 · chapter mention

8, Simon

founds a

religion called

Gnosticism.

It's an

ancient spiritual

movement that

is anchored in

the belief that

salvation comes

from mystical

!

And Simon

claimed to be

some sort of

teacher of

Gnosticism.

It sounds

like he

still only

cared about

his self

image.

It's very

likely that

Simon fell

away, never

turned and

repented towards

Jesus, and

his life ended

in death and

destruction.

You see,

Philip loved

Jesus and

pointed people

towards Jesus.

Simon loved

mainly himself

and pointed

people to

himself.

For Simon,

it was all

about Simon.

For Philip,

it was all

about Jesus.

Jesus.

And so

here, as

we close,

some final

questions for

us to think

about and

meditate over.

First, is

your faith

rooted in

the person

of Christ,

or is your

faith merely

because of

the benefits

of Christ?

Is your

faith how

Jesus can

make you a

better person,

friend, son,

daughter, father,

mother?

How you can

make your life

more comfortable?

Or is

your faith

centered on

the wonderful

person,

the wonderful

person and

sacrifice of

our Lord

Jesus?

Second, how

do you actually

relate to

Jesus?

Meaning, when

you pray or

read his

word or when

you spend time

with God,

which we all

do, right?

Okay,

Joby does.

Are you simply

asking Jesus

to help you

to get by in

life?

Are you

simply asking

him for

favors to

do this

or that?

Or are you

worshipful?

Are you

delighting in

him?

Are you

enjoying him?

Are you

satisfied in

him?

And third

and final,

when you

consider the

great commission

from Jesus

in Matthew

28,

go make

disciples of

all nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father,

Son, and the

Holy Spirit.

Or when you

consider the

great proclamation

of Jesus in

Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

you'll be my

witnesses in

Jerusalem,

Judea,

Samaria,

and to the

ends of the

earth.

What is your

honest reaction?

Overwhelmed?

Someone else's

job?

I used to

think I don't

have it all

together.

I'm so busy

and no one

has it all

together.

But today,

more than ever,

I'll tell you,

friends,

I'm convicted

and I'm also

excited.

I look out

there and I

see the

brokenness and

the pain in

this world.

I see

friends,

I see

family members,

I see

acquaintances,

I see the

world out

there running

after and

pursuing things

that never

satisfy,

that never

give us

true joy.

They're always

fleeting and

always fail us.

But I see

one solution.

I see one

solution and

one solution

only, and

that is

believing in,

trusting, and

loving the

person of

Jesus Christ.

that's the

one solution.

Today, I'm

more convinced

than ever of

what Philip

saw.

The offer of

Jesus trumps

anything this

world can

offer.

And so,

Watermark,

may our

prayer be

that may

God's Spirit

give us the

strength to

submit to

Jesus, to

love and trust

him above

all, and to

honor his

calling, to

share his

wonderful message

of salvation

and grace

to all.

Let's pray

together.

Father God,

Lord Jesus,

Holy Spirit,

it's a

challenging

message, God,

we admit.

Your word is

challenging.

Sometimes it

hits us with a

ton of bricks.

And we

ask God, as

we digest and

meditate, that

we would not

just let it

go by us,

that we

would honestly

reflect on

how you want

to speak to

all of us,

Lord.

All of us,

God, we

admit there

are things in

our life that

we are not

proud of, and

there are

things, God,

that are holding

us back from

knowing you.

There are

thorns in

our heart that

we are adoring

above you,

Lord.

Help us, God,

to be a

people that

bring those

to you,

that have the

strength to

lay them down

at your feet,

and to

honor you

above all,

because you

are worthy

of honor

and praise.

As we

continue the

service, God,

Spirit, please

be with us.

Illuminate our

hearts.

Help us to

see our own

sin.

Help us to

see the

wonderful beauty

of Jesus.

In his name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.