Acts 8:9-24
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
What is truly in our heart translates into thoughts and words, and ultimately to deeds. Simon had been practicing sorcery (the belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world) and the people believed that because of the great tricks that he performed, that he was the "great power of God". On the other hand the people came in contact with Phillip, who was preaching the good news of the kingdom, and they believed and were baptized. Even Simon himself believed. He joined Phillip in his preaching and followed him everywhere he went and was astonished by the great signs and miracles he witnessed. It is amazing how the authentic always exposes the fraudulent. The people initially believed that Simon had the power of God but realized after coming in contact with the authentic Gospel of Christ through Phillip, that they had been in error - that the sorcery Simon was performing was merely an illusion and was not real.
While Simon was following Phillip and the disciples, he witnessed others being baptized in the name of the Lord, however the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon them. It was only when Peter and John laid hands on them that they received the Holy Spirit. Simon wanted the power to do the same, but did not have it. The Bible says that Simon offered them money in exchange for the power to give the Holy Spirit to the people. Peter then says, "may your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money". I believe that because Simon had practiced sorcery for so long, even though he had outwardly accepted the Gospel message, he had not inwardly accepted it in his heart. He did not believe that the Holy Spirit was a gift only from God and that the power did not lie in the hands of the disciples - that is why he thought he could buy it. His heart had not changed.
This is why there are preachers, pastors and teachers of the word who have accepted Christ and are preaching, teaching and pastoring but they still rely on their old nature. They rely on what they used to do. They address situations and meet needs in the flesh and not in the spirit because their hearts have not truly changed. Peter and John were able to lay on of hands and the people receive the Holy Spirit, solely because of the power of God - it had nothing to do with them. Once the people had truly received the Holy Spirit, they knew that God was truly real because His spirit now lived within them.
This scripture is a reminder that we cannot use gimmicks, tricks and marketing strategies to bring people to Christ. It may be successful to bringing people to church - but not truly to Christ. That is why our churches are populated primarily with church members and not members of the kingdom of God. It is a tragedy that can be remedied by teaching and preaching the full sufficiency of Jesus Christ and Christ crucified. Do not revert back to and rely on your old nature. You cannot meet the needs of people with anything but the word of God. Deploying worldly tactics, techniques and systems will fail in bringing people to Christ and in building up the Kingdom. Peter went on to tell Simon when he asked to purchase the gift of God: “... You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin”. We should stand in agreement with Simon’s request: “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
If we have truly accepted Christ and the word of God then we cannot lean on our own power in our old nature. We can only lead people to Christ by unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ - that is the power unto salvation.
Be blessed........
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