Is Your Heart Right? {Acts 8}
10:00 AM
Today’s
reading is about Philip – the deacon, not the apostle, leaving Jerusalem
because Saul was dragging off both men and women who were part of the Church.
(v. 3)
In
verse 4, we see that Philip goes down to Samaria. Jesus “had to go” to Samaria because He had
to meet the woman at the well (John 4:4-42).
And because of His visit, many Samaritans believed. (John 4:39-42).
Just
a reminder, Samaritans were people group who were a combination of the people
of the two northern tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh) when they were
separated from Judah when the Assyrians attacked in 722 B.C This people group began to accept the beliefs
of some foreigners. They were familiar
with the old testament and were expecting the Messiah. Then Jesus showed up, and now three years
later Philip arrived to carry on the work Jesus began. And according to Dr. Luke (the facts guy),
Philip proclaimed the Messiah there (v. 5).
None
of this would have taken place had it not been in a Samaritan village. This would never have happened in Jerusalem –
Saul was creating such a hostile environment.
But look at what scripture says: “May (all) the nations be glad…” (Psalms 67:4). The gospel message was and is for all
nations!
Que
Simon Magus; who as we can see, has been busy (v. 9). Satan, the great deceiver uses Simon as a
distraction after Jesus left. And just
like Satan seems to do, he likes to crush a good work in its infancy.
First,
we see Simon thought highly of himself.
He doesn’t seem to be helping to reform any lives, nor improve their
worship. He was only there to make them
believe that he was some divine person.
Pride, ambition and affection certainly filled him. And according to verse 10, the people gave
him that attention. The Samaritan people
were still waiting for the Messiah.
Simon is getting a lot of attention for his amazing abilities.
Now,
Philip gets booted out of Jerusalem and he’s equipped to evangelize and he’s
proclaiming the Messiah has already come (v. 5). He has their attention and his signs – real miracles
– done in the name of Jesus, are pointing out what a sham Simon is.
What
power divine grace is. They were brought
to Christ – who is TRUTH itself. By the
grace working within Philip, those who were held captive by Satan were brought
into obedience to Christ. Even Simon
himself believed (v. 13).
News
did not travel fast in those days. By
the time Peter and John got this amazing news and they began the 40-mile
journey to give the new believers the gift of the Holy Spirit, several days,
possibly weeks had passed. I’ve read
several reasons why the Samaritans did not receive the Holy Spirit at conversion,
and I won’t present them all here, but one I liked the most was because it was
a unique way God showed the continuity between the Church in Jerusalem and the
Church in Samaria – a great guard against division. And perhaps it was to show the heart of Simon. We see that Simon overvalued the wealth of
this world.
Matthew
Henry says, “We are as our hearts are if they be not right, we are wrong and
they are open in the sight of God, who knows them, judges them, and judges of
us by them. Our hearts are that which
they are in the sight of God, who cannot be deceived and if they be not right
in His sight, whatever our pretensions be, our religion is vain, and will stand
us in no stead: our great concern is to
approve ourselves to Him in our integrity, for otherwise we cheat ourselves
into our own ruin.”
Does
money answer all things to life now? Does
it relate to all things in the next life?
Would money pardon sin? Would
money buy the gift of the Holy Spirit?
Eternal life?
0 comments