SERMON OUTLINE:
A wrong view of Christians (vs 1-8)
A wrong view of self (vs 9-11)
A wrong view of salvation (vs 12-13)
A wrong view of the Holy Spirit (vs 14-23)
A wrong view of sin (vs 22-24)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• When architect Sir Christopher Wren.
• Designed the interior of Windsor Town Hall near London in 1689,
• He built a ceiling supported by pillars.
• But he hit a problem – health & safety!
• The civic authorities inspected the building,
• And they decided the ceiling would not stay up with what Wren had constructed.
• So, they ordered him to put in some extra pillars.
Now nobody likes their work to be criticized:
• So, England's greatest architect knew that the ceiling did not need any more support,
• So, he pulled ‘a fast one’.
• He added four pillars that looked the part.
• But actually, they don't even reach the ceiling. They were just a little short!
• From the ground they looked like they were supporting the ceiling.
• But it was an optical illusion to fool the civic authorities.
• And even today.
• Those four extra sham pillars fool or amuse many a tourist.
ill:
• There is on the BBC.
• A consumer rights programme called ‘Fake Britain’
• The programme covers various aspects of counterfeiting and its effects on consumers.
• Including dangerous tools, ineffective or dangerous medicines,
• Shoddy goods sold under reputable names, and documents used for identity theft.
• TRANSITION: It is a reminder that there is nothing funny about being conned!
• People get hurt and can often lose a lot of their life savings.
(1). A wrong view of Christians (vs 1-8)
“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Philip in Samaria
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralysed, or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.”
THE PHONY IN VERSES 1-3 IS A MAN NAMED SAUL:
• You know him better as the apostle Paul,
• But at this time in his life and in history he is unconverted.
• He is a Pharisee, a religious leader (Acts 26:4-5 & Phil 3:5),
• He is rich in religion, rich in Jewish traditions,
• But he does not know the God that his religion claims to worship.
• Now long before the apostle Paul became a preacher, teacher and missionary,
• (We will read about his conversion in a latter study, in Acts chapter 9).
• As Saul the Pharisee he was a persecutor of Christians.
• Determined to erase these heretics from the face of the earth.
Note: How Saul attacked Christians:
• FIRST:
• The expression, “destroy the church.” or “make havoc in the church.”
• The verb used describes a wild animal twisting and crushing its prey.
• SECOND:
• Saul persecuted, “both men and women”
• He wasn’t fussy about who he arrested or what happened to their children,
• If they believed in Jesus then they were targeted, arrested and dealt with!
THE PURE IN THESE VERSES IS PHILLIP (VS 4-8),
• We will encounter him again in next week’s study (vs 26-40),
• And spend a little bit more time in who he is.
• Philip experienced difficult times.
We are told that, “a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem,”
Ill:
• Persecution does to the Church,
• What wind does to seeds,
• It scatters it and, in the end, it produces a greater harvest.
• The Church at Jerusalem was God’s seed,
• And the persecution scattered them throughout Judea and Samaria,
• Acts chapter 11 verse 19 tells us that some Christians went even further,
• To Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch.
• Ironically in his effort to erase Christianity,
• Saul of Tarsus succeeded in spreading it to many other areas.
Note: We know two things concerning Philip.
• FIRST: We have already met him in an earlier study (chapter 6 verse 5),
• In that verse Philip was chosen to be a deacon,
• His job in the Church was to help with the practical distribution of food.
• To make sure no-one was neglected and left hungry.
• So, his service in the local Church was very practical.
• SECOND: Philip was also an evangelist,
• He was a preacher, he evangelized by ‘proclaiming’ the gospel (vs 5)
Note:
• Good to know that a Christian can have more than one ministry and gift,
• The practical does not negate the spiritual and vice versa!
• Phillip was a preacher, he evangelized by ‘proclaiming’ the gospel (vs 5)
• He not only declared the Word of God, but he also demonstrated the power of God,
• Verse 6: He was able to perform, ‘miraculous signs.’
• Verse 7 tells us what those signs were,
• Casting out of impure spirits, many who were paralysed, or lame were healed.
• These ‘miraculous signs.’ seemed to be a feature in the early days of the Church.
• Note it was not that signs that led them to faith (they may have played a part),
• But it was the proclamation of the message,
• “When the crows HEARD” (vs 6) “They paid close attention to what he SAID” (vs 6)
I love how this section (vs 1-8) starts and concludes:
• Verse 1 it starts with ‘great persecution’
• Verse 8 it ends with ‘great joy’ and people coming to faith.
• Men like Saul of Tarsus may appear to win the battle,
• But God will always win the war!
Note: We now encounter in verses 9-25 another pure and another phony
• The pure will be the apostle Peter and the apostle John.
• We have encountered them often in our previous studies in the book of Acts.
• The phony is a man called Simon.
• Simon is a fake.
Ill:
• He may look like a watch that has Rolex or a Versace on the outside.
• But on the inside of you removed the cover.
• You would find probably find cheap parts and also the words made in China.
Now on first reading of the verses Simon appears to have genuine faith.
• He had been baptized by immersion (vs 13).
• And was part of the Church.
• The other Christians in Samaria thought that he was a true believer.
• But sadly, not everyone baptized is a genuine convert.
• Not everyone who attends Church is a believer,
• I guess it is only the test of time that reveals if someone’s faith is real or not!
Ill:
• The Parable of the Sower (sometimes called the Parable of the Soils).
• Is a parable of Jesus found in Matthew, Mark & Luke’s Gospels?
• Video clip (or tell the story verbally).
• In this story, a Sower sowed seed on the path, on rocky ground and among thorns,
• And the seed was lost.
• But when the seed fell on good earth it grew, yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
• TRANSITION: The point of the Parable of the Sower is simple,
• A person’s reaction to God’s Word is determined by the condition of their heart.
• A secondary lesson would be salvation is more than a superficial response,
• Just because someone might joyfully respond to the gospel message.
• Does not mean that person is genuinely saved.
• The evidence of true conversion,
• Is that those truly saved will continue on in the faith.
• Simon the magician is a good example of this parable,
• He responded to the message joyfully,
• But alas his heart was not right, and I would suggest he was not genuinely converted.
Note Simon has a number of things that mark him out as phony.
(1). A WRONG VIEW OF SELF (vs. 9-11).
“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.”
• Christian ministry is about promoting and making much of Jesus Christ,
• Beware of ministries that promote celebrities and superstar Christians.
• Beware of personality lead ministries rather than Christ-centered ministries.
• Individuals like Simon are always egocentric, always pointing to themselves:
• And they use religious terminology to make it happen.
Ill:
• Just contrast Phillip with Simon.
• Philip (vs 4) of him it says he; ‘proclaimed the Messiah’
• Philip’s motivation and duty was to attract people to Jesus.
• Simon’s motivation and ambition with his magic is to draw attention to himself.
• Simon (vs 11) calls himself, “The Great Power of God.”
• His sole aim seems to be to promote Simon.
Ill:
• Think of the words of the Apostle Paul
• (2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 5)
• "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord”
• Genuine Christianity makes nothing of the individual.
• Because it is all about Jesus!
• Counterfeit Christianity is built on individual men and women who exalt themselves.
• It is how great and important they and their gifting are.
Now Simon was good at what he did, just listen to the press reports:
• Verse 9: Says everyone was "amazed"
• (That word means "astounded or confounded or astonished").
• Simon was not just good he was very good at his craft.
• The people knew it and so did he – remember how he described himself (vs 9&11).
• “He boasted that he was someone great”,
Ill:
• The Boxing legend Mohammed Ali.
• Used to shout into the microphone or down the TV camera lens.
• The words, “I am the greatest!”
• But it looks like he stole that catchphrase from this man Simon.
• Because he was using it two thousand years ago!
• TRANSITION: Simon proclaimed himself as the greatest.
• Now if you will forgive the pun like Mohammed Ali also had feet of ‘clay’.
• And he recognized one day there was a greater power than what he had.
Note:
• When the Bible uses this term, magic,
• It is not talking about sleight-of-hand tricks done before an audience.
• This isn’t Dynamo or Penn & Teller or David Blane.
• Rather, the term it applies to is the occult,
• Scholars say that the term ‘Sorcery’ was used for a combination of things:
• That could have included:
• Astrology, horoscopes, fortune telling, tarot readings and other occult practices.
• TRANSITION:
• The point is what Simon practiced was not from the God of the Bible!
• But from satanic sources dressed up to appear as something good.
• Yet when Simon encountered Phillip.
• Simon realized his magical powers were no match for Philip's Spirit given power.
• And he saw in Philip a means to gain even more greatness for himself.
(2). A WRONG VIEW OF SALVATION (vs 12-13)
“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.”
Ill:
• It’s always interesting how we view things.
• RE: The classic ‘Glass half empty’ scenario. ‘Is the glass half empty or half full?’
• The pessimist says, "My glass is half empty."
• The optimist says, "My glass is half full."
• The opportunist says, “I drank it!”
• TRANSITION:
• On first viewing/reading the impression is that Simon became a Christian.
• And if this were the only statement about Simon in the passage.
• Then we would have to conclude that he had become a genuine Christian.
• We would determine that from the language used to describe him.
• Which is the same as that used for genuine believers.
• "Simon himself believed and was baptized."
Note:
• He even got baptized by immersion.
• Something that sadly many genuine believers today will not do.
• For some reason they seem to see it as an optional extra when it is a clear command!
• Simon made a profession, got baptized.
• And openly joined this company of people who said they belonged to Jesus.
Yet on second reading and looking at the verses that follow.
• It seems to me Simon was not actually a genuine Christian.
• He was what we sometimes call, ‘A professor but not a possessor’.
• That is, he professed the right words, but he did not possess the Holy Spirit.
• And the rest of the account makes it crystal clear that this man was not a believer.
• He was not regenerate, ‘born again’ by the Holy Spirit of God.
• He was a fraud, a sham
• His heart was unregenerate, as the rest of the account will make clear,
Ill:
• Charles Haddon (CH) Spurgeon.
• Was the great eighteenth century British Baptist preacher.
• He is known as the "Prince of Preachers".
• It is estimated that in his lifetime,
• Spurgeon preached to around 10 million people,
• And saw many folks come to faith in Jesus Christ through his ministry.
• The story is told that one day Spurgeon
• Was walking down the street and passed a drunken man in a doorway.
• The drunk recognized Spurgeon and called out to him.
• “Mr Spurgeon I am one of you converts!”
• Spurgeon looked at the man and replied.
• “Sadly, I guess you are one of MY converts and not one of Jesus Christ’s”
• TRANSITION:
• Simon may have been one of Phillip’s converts but he was not one of Jesus Christ’s!
Pause and ask: What is a genuine Christian?
• In plain English I would suggest that the gospel is:
• Somebody who believes in Jesus Christ, who follows Jesus Christ.
• And who loves Jesus Christ!
Ill:
• Some people define the gospel to a simple formula:
• i.e., The Four Spiritual Laws.
• The first spiritual law: God loves you.
• Bible reference: John chapter 3 verse 16.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life,"
• The second spiritual law: Man is sinful and separated from God.
• Bible reference: Romans chapter 3 verse 23
• "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom. 3:23).
• The third spiritual law: Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin.
• Bible reference: Romans chapter 5 verse 8.
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us,"
• The fourth spiritual law: We must individually receive Jesus as Saviour & Lord.
• Bible reference: John chapter 1 verse 12.
."But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name,"
• TRANSITION: The Four Spiritual Laws is a useful outline to have.
• And it is a good outline to grasp.
• But it certainly does not comprehensively summarise the gospel.
• Some critics call it ‘The Four Spiritual Flaws’ because.
• There is no mention of repentance.
• There is no mention of discipleship etc.
• So, the Four Spiritual Laws is a useful outline to have.
• And it is a good outline to grasp.
• But it is just that an outline or a guide.
(3). A WRONG VIEW OF the HOLY SPIRIT (vs 14-23)
“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.”
Ill:
• After going on a diet, a woman was really feeling good about herself.
• Especially when she was able to fit into a pair of jeans she had outgrown long ago.
• "Look, look!" she shouted while running downstairs to show her husband.
• "I can wear my old jeans again!"
• Her husband looked at her for a long time,
• Obviously struggling with knowing what to say.
• Finally, he just had to say it,
• "Darling, I love you, but those are my jeans."
• TRANSITION: We all get things wrong, at times it is humours.
• But at other times it can be much more serious!
• Simon got it wrong big time.
• Simon wanted the power of God but not the person of Jesus Christ:
• Simon realized his magical powers were no match for Philip's Spirit given power.
• And he saw in Philip a means to gain even more greatness for himself.
• He even joined with the Christians in the hope of ‘getting the power’.
• And verse 13 tells us that he followed Philip everywhere.
• He was astonished at what he saw and determined to share in this experience.
• Even with his involvement with the supernatural powers of the occult.
• He could not duplicate the many signs and miracles he witnessed (vs 13).
• So, Simon made a big mistake.
• He tried to buy the things of God with money.
• It was very common for Sorcerers to sell each other their tricks and spells for money.
• But Phillip was not a Jewish sorcerer he was a man of God!
• And God cannot be bought, and neither can his power and gifts.
Note: These verses contrast the pure and the phony.
• The Pure are Peter and John, the true believers in Samaria.
• And the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• But notice it says of these believers in Samaria;]
• That the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them.
Tough Questions:
• Well, then what had happened to them?
• Can a person become a Christian without the Holy Spirit?
• They had believed, they had been baptized.
• Did they or didn’t they have the Holy Spirit.
Answer:
• Remember the book of Acts is primarily a history book.
• Not a book to build your theology on.
• You go to the New Testament letters for your theology (what you believe).
• You go to the book of Acts for your history (evets that happened).
The first 10 chapters in the book of Acts is a period of transition:
• Events happened that would never be repeated,
• e.g., Pentecost and the birth of the Church.
• e.g., Tongues of fire and everyone hearing the gospel in their own language.
• The book of Acts is a period of transition:
• The gospel being believed first of all by Jewish believers (Acts chapter 2).
• Preached to a selected audience of Jews.
• Then gospel is being believed by Samaritan (half-breeds) believers
• (Acts chapter 8)
• From Jew to half-Jew.
• And as we will see in a few weeks’ time,
• The gospel will be preached to Gentiles (non-Jewish) believers.
• (Acts chapter 10)
• TRANSITION: There is a fulfilment of Acts chapter 1 verse 8.
• For that to happen unusual things would take place.
Question:
• But why did the Samaritans have to wait then for the apostles to arrive.
• Before they received the Holy Spirit?
• Why is this such a unique case?
Answer:
• For centuries the Samaritans and the Jews had been bitter rivals.
• You remember the shocking story Jesus told ‘The Good Samaritan’.
• (Luke chapter 10 verses 29-37)
• Shocking because to a Jew you could not be both good and a Samaritan.
• That was like being an honest their or having a square circle!
• Now if the Samaritans had received the Spirit independent of the Jerusalem church.
• That centuries old rift would have continued throughout the early Church.
• It could even have caused two separate churches to function.
• A Jewish Church and a Samaritan church and then later even a Gentile church.
• But God has designed only one church, which welcomes all types of people,
• Male and female, slave or free, Jew or Gentile or Samaritan
• (Galatians chapter 3 verse 28).
Therefore, by delaying the Spirit's coming until the apostles arrived:
• God was preserving the unity of the church.
• The apostles needed to see for themselves.
• And give the first-hand testimony to the Jerusalem church,
• That the Spirit had come upon the Samaritans.
• As he fell upon the Jews (Acts chapter 2),
• The Samaritans also needed to learn that they were subject to apostolic authority.
• Both Jew, Samaritan and Gentile are subject to the apostles and their teaching.
Note:
• RE: Holy Spirit - God’s pattern for today is found in Acts chapter 10:
• The last of these three stages in the book of Acts.
• We hear the gospel, repent and believe and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Ill:
• When you became a Christian, As Jesus into your life etc,
• Weather you realised it or not, the Holy Spirit took up residence in your life.
• The word old English name ‘Holy Ghost’ is actually a good one.
• Because ‘Ghost’ is the Anglo-Saxon word for ‘Guest’.
• Now did the Samaritans have the Holy Guest/Spirit in their lives?
• Or are they a unique case because.
• The Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 9, talking about the Holy Spirit:
• “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ”.
• Again, in places like 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 12-13, Chapter 6 verse 19.
• “Our bodies are a temple and that the Holy Spirit lives in us”.
(4). A WRONG VIEW OF SIN (vs 22-24)
“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.”
After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages”
• Peter follows his condemnation of Simon with a call for his repentance.
• He commands Simon to repent of his wickedness.
Ill:
• Repentance is not like the man who sent a cheque and a note to the Inland Revenue.
• The note read; “Here is a cheque for £500,
• If I still can’t sleep at night, I will send you the rest!”
• TRANSITION:
• The word repentance just does not just mean turning from sin.
• But it involves turning to someone else instead.
• What Peter is doing is challenging Simon to have a correct view of his sin:
• To recognize what the problem is – a sinful heart & mind.
• And to turn to Jesus Christ (the sin bearer),
• He is the only one who can save repentant sinners.
• And if Simon did that then his sin would be forgiven.
• But Simon like all of us must come on that basis.
• Not to receive selfish supernatural gifts but to receive forgiveness of sins!
Question: Does Simon repent?
Answer: We are not told.
• We are told that he seems to have been shaken.
• He appears to be afraid of the consequences of his sin,
• But we are not told that he was repentant.
• I hope he was!
• Instead, Simon asks Peter to pray for him.
• That the judgement predicted by Peter (vs 20) may actually not happen.
Conclusion: in verse 25 we read:
After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages
• The chapter starts and ends with the preaching of the Word of God.
• The chapter starts and ends with the preaching of the message of Jesus!
• Because the greatest miracle we ever experience is salvation.
• When we move from darkness to light, from death to life!
Quote: Warren Wiersbe:
“The miracle of salvation has to be the greatest miracle of all,
for it meets the greatest need, brings the greatest results (and they last forever),
and cost the greatest price.”
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=z3NGQfqp6RO8kx2jLQEBE7rUU5DIDYC7
SERMON VIDIO:
https://youtu.be/VEU191kA9es
