It’s a Heart Attitude
Importance of testimonies –
When you give one –
It’s out in the airwaves –
God gets the glory
What you may not consider as important
can actually change someone’s life
Testimonies are given
So that all of heaven can hear –
All the workers of evil
All the enemies cohorts
They are all on notice
of God’s goodness
Today’s scripture is
Act 8:5-24 Philip went to the city of Samaria and told the people about Christ.
They crowded around Philip because they were eager to hear what he was saying and to see him work miracles.
Many people with evil spirits were healed, and the spirits went out of them with a shout. A lot of crippled and lame people were also healed.
Everyone in that city was very glad because of what was happening.
For some time a man named Simon had lived in the city of Samaria and had amazed the people. He practiced witchcraft and claimed to be somebody great.
Everyone, rich and poor, crowded around him. They said, "This man is the power of God called 'The Great Power.' "
For a long time, Simon had used witchcraft to amaze the people, and they kept crowding around him.
But when they believed what Philip was saying about God's kingdom and about the name of Jesus Christ, they were all baptized.
Even Simon believed and was baptized. He stayed close to Philip, because he marveled at all the miracles and wonders.
The apostles in Jerusalem heard that some people in Samaria had accepted God's message, and they sent Peter and John.
When the two apostles arrived, they prayed that the people would be given the Holy Spirit.
Before this, the Holy Spirit had not been given to anyone in Samaria, though some of them had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Peter and John then placed their hands on everyone who had faith in the Lord, and they were given the Holy Spirit.
Simon noticed that the Spirit was given only when the apostles placed their hands on the people. So he brought money
and said to Peter and John, "Let me have this power too! Then anyone I place my hands on will also be given the Holy Spirit."
Peter said to him, "You and your money will both end up in hell if you think you can buy God's gift!
You don't have any part in this, and God sees that your heart isn't right.
Get rid of these evil thoughts and ask God to forgive you.
I can see that you are jealous and bound by your evil ways."
Simon said, "Please pray to the Lord, so that what you said won't happen to me."
Simon boasted as someone great –
A divine power
He amazed many with his magic
But Philip came –
A deacon of the church
He preached the good news
and the men and women believed
and were saved
Even Simon himself was saved
By the way,
Those who teach that
These miracles –
Gift of tongues and healings
Ended with the apostles were wrong.
So it sure didn’t end with the apostles
Because Philip was not an Apostle
He preached
the Good news of the Kingdom of God
Not just any good news –
But the God News of the Kingdom
Now, If there is a Kingdom
Then there must be a King
Philip preached about this King
Today – we are in that kingdom
The kingdom of God
This kingdom is here now!
We are in this new system
The system of the Kingdom
This kingdom is more than peace
And joy
Its healing
Deliverance
Its prosperity
Now some may preach the good news
But their good news is that
that if you die
you go to heaven
And that is good news
but there is some bad
in it too
because
You have to die to get it
But the Good News
of the Kingdom of our God
Is that it is here now
God has come down
And we can have all the benefits
Of the King
Now
Here where we live
And move and have our being
So Philip, he preached
the Good News of the kingdom
and
The name of Jesus Christ
Philip came and gave them
A new source
For life and peace
Healing and prosperity
The source
Jesus of Nazereth
Amazing things were happening
Men and women were involved
and they saw great miracles happening.
Simon –
He had a change
He followed Philip everywhere
He believed –
He believed so much –
That he followed them everywhere
Now if you didn’t read ahead
There would be no reason to believe
That Simon was not saved
He believed in The Kingdom
The name
And Baptism
The miracles we so great
That Jerusalem
Sends the apostles
The Apostles
Didn’t change anything
They didn’t come to change things
They heard about it
And were excited
So Peter and John
They came and said
Yes there are great things happening
People being saved
People coming to the knowledge of Jesus
But they saw that they
Had not yet received
the Holy Spirit
So they prayed for the people
To get the Holy Spirit
So think with me if you will
If those who accepted Jesus
Had everything they needed at salvation
Why did the Apostles pray
for the Holy Spirit?
Oh, some religious spirits
Are being destroyed today
The Holy Spirit comes and convicts
And shows us Jesus
But the Baptism
In the Holy Spirit
– can come later
And obviously it did here
They were saved –
But the Apostles knew they hadn’t
Received the Holy Spirit
They knew they needed something else
They prayed
that they may receive the Holy Spirit
Just like in Cornelius’ house
They received the Holy Spirit
By Peter
If there wasn’t more to received
They would not have sent Peter and John
Christians we must
Use wisdom
Salvation is primary
Power is necessary
Our focus should be salvation
That people hear the Good News
Of Jesus Christ
But the power is important too
I mean if people are saved
But their life is still in turmoil
Pains are still dominating their bodies
Families are splitting
What have we done?
We have given them
A great blessings
Eternal life
But God desires us
To live our life here
Victorious
Victory is what will cause the unsaved
To desire what we have
The unsaved
The lost
They can care less about heaven
And eternal life
They are only concerned with the now
The temporal things
Churches are divided
About how to handle the
Power of the Holy Spirit
And today I want to clarify a few things
We do not
And never will deny the power of the Spirit.
We believe in healing
We believe in miracles,
We believe in prophecy
We believe in tongues
The difference is
We must have wisdom
Having wisdom about the Holy Spirit
Does not mean we restrict the Holy Spirit
Instead it means that we desire the power
Desire the reality of the power
But not the flesh
That has always made Christians
Look like fools
Look
if they see us speaking in tongues
and they respond like
The New testament church visitors did
That’s ok
They thought they were drunk
But they listened to the explanation
And some believed and
Some did not
Not everyone who visits us
Is going to believe
But we are not supposed to
Do church
To cater to what people believe
Or don’t believe
There are people who
Will come
And if we don’t have a message in tongues
And the spiritual gifts just
Moving throughout the service
They will not come back
Because they believe we are stifling
The Holy Spirit
On the other side
Some will come
Hear us speak a few words in tongues
And out the door they go!
So what do we do?
We do as the Scripture commands
We speak the truth
We allow the Holy Spirit free reign
But remember the Spirit is subject
To us
So that’s where the wisdom comes in.
1Co 14:22 So the gift of speaking in other tongues is a sign for unbelievers, not for believers. The gift of speaking what God had revealed is a sign for believers, not for unbelievers.
1Co 14:23 Suppose the whole congregation gathers in the same place and you speak in other tongues. When outsiders or unbelievers come in, won't they say that you're out of your mind?
1Co 14:24 Now suppose you speak what God has revealed. When unbelievers or outsiders come in you will show them where they are wrong and convince them that they are sinners.
1Co 14:25 The secrets in their hearts will become known, and in this way they will quickly bow with their faces touching the ground, worship God, and confess that God is truly among you.
When God moves in Power
It’s desired by all
If you think people are always turned off
By tongues
By the power manifested
You are wrong
Simon was willing to give money
To have that power
Something happened
That even moved him.
And he was no slouch
He had followers
But he saw
that when the apostles laid hands
there was an impartation
and he wanted it too
Yes, he missed the mark –
he could have had it
he didn’t need the money
He was following Philip long enough
He should have known better
But something else was happening
Listen – because he offered money
Did not mean that he was not saved
Some bibles named him Simon the sorcerer
That’s because Religion
did not want to free him
from his past
Saved people do dumb things
Just because you get saved
and filled with the Holy Spirit
does not mean
you get wisdom
You have to go after wisdom
He did a dumb thing –
Peter said
you have no part in this ministry
because your heart is not right
It did not mean
He didn’t receive
But what did he receive?
He showed lip service
He showed actions of one who is saved
But he held on to
some of his old self
did that mean Philip failed
No!
It just means that Simon
Was not willing to part with
His old self
He was able to contain himself
For a long time
Being around Philip
And Peter
But then, this day
All that he was trying to hide
Came out
His old self
Betrayed him
Some of you may be doing the same thing
Say some prayer
Attend church
And think all is ok
When all the time
All you have is religion
God has had this problem
For many years
With His people
We can say it right
But our heart is somewhere else
That’s why we can’t see
The kind of power
When we have heart issues
We actually give the enemy a foothold
Then what He does
Is lie to us
And tell us
We’re not worthy
We are failures
God will never use us
The enemy convinces us
To not pray
To not come into agreement
With a brother or sister
“after all – I’ve got sin issues”
That is a LIE
We are no longer the old man
We are not sinners
We are new creations
To get our heart right
Is important
Because it closes the enemy’s
Entry into our life
Till our heart gets right
We will struggle with worthiness issues
With believing we are accepted by God
We will struggle with being used by God
Religion has hurt Christianity
So much
Because it requires we act in a
Works mentality
It forces us to think
We have to earn God’s love
Earn the right to minister
Earn the right to be righteous
IT’S A LIE
We are righteous
You are righteous
Stop trying to be religious
And get into relationship
The reason why the concept
Of loving God is so foreign to many
Is that we have a religious mindset
That’s why we’re not comfortable
In worship
In praise
In praying out loud
That’s why we’re not comfortable with
The idea of loving God
Many don’t get that concept
Many want to come
and get church over quick
Because our hearts are not right
Some churches cater to that mentality
But anyone who has a love for the Father
Knows that church is not something
We just try and get over quick
It’s not about how many come
Or How much money is raised
Or how good the music was
It’s about a relationship with the father
This is our life
Get it over quick –
Are you kidding me
I try and hold on till
I can’t stand it any more
A shepherd lives for the sheep
I want to keep you as long as you will let me
Till you are jumping over the fence
I’m going to hold on to you
Saying I love you and then
Making it shallow
Quick
Worldly
&
Powerless
As I can
That’s not love
That’s the sign of a heart
that is not right
Anyone who is dumb enough
to try and buy it
When it’s something
you can have for free
Is it dumb or just a wicked heart
A heart of stone
What was wicked about Simon
Not that he was trying to buy it
That was only the symptom
The wickedness
is the heart issue
That’s why Peter said
He was bitter and captive to sin
He thought
he could have something to do with God
Be used by God
Lay hands on people
He thought
He could stand in the place of God
And have a heart not right
That is wicked
Dabbling in religion
And the things of God
Thinking that you can bring a blessing to the rest of the people around you
When you are not right with God
That is dangerous
That’s way we have Altar Protocol
That’s why we cannot just allow anyone to
Lay hands on someone
From this altar.
If your heart is not right with God
You cannot lead people
Without placing yourself in danger
And possibly the person
Your are trying to help.
Christianity is a Heart Ministry
Too many ministries today
Are not careful about
What or
who is
Promoted from their altars.
Individually,
We need more of us to be accountable
To God and
To each other,
The great moves of the Spirit
Are not by the hands of
Those who are irreverent
Or rude
Or without mercy.
It is when we as Christians
Are changed in our heart
That’s the change we need
That’s the change this country needs
We need Christians
Who not just sound like Christians
But those who act like Christ
That may sound like works
But if it does,
Its because there is a heart issue at work
Seek out the Father
With the Love of the father
We would want to be sure
That we were
In line with the Father
We want to bring freedom
You can’t give what you don’t possess
If you don’t possess it
Its’ not because God has not
Given it to you
He has
But your religion
Or preset ideas are keeping you
From receiving
Simon was to me
An example of the church today,
Full of many who are looking
For an immediate miracle
So they can go back to
Their own lifestyle
We want to have what we desire
So we can continue on
In our pursuit of
Our life
But our life is not our own
We are His now,
And if we truly desire to be
Living the life of Victory
Living the life of an over-comer
Then we must pursue
A new heart
Mat 6:21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
