Missions Paul

Acts 8:24
“Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

Peter had told Simon to pray to the Lord. Simon in turn asks Peter to pray to the Lord for him.
When there is no relationship with someone it is difficult to talk to them. When you know someone you can talk for hours about anything. It is the same with prayer.
There is obviously the need for prayer support. It is right to ask people to join with us in praying for a circumstance perhaps.
But prayer mediation is something quite different. Prayer mediation is asking someone to pray for us because we are inferior.
We don’t need to ask people to pray for us because somehow their prayers are going to be listened to more than our prayers.
The Pastor doesn’t carry a special direct line to your God.
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done, within you is the image of God. Within you God sees something of His nature. When He looks at you He sees Himself.
Yes even in Simon the sorcerer.
This is why everyone can pray. God will listen to His image-bearers as they cry out to Him. So go on today. Don’t rely on mediation go to Jesus the Great Mediator!

Acts 8:23
“For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

Simon was previously hurt probably because he was no longer the great one, the crowds had moved away from him towards the Church. He was experiencing a greater power than he had. It hurt his business and his feelings.
How do I know he was hurt?
I know because he became bitter. In fact he became full of bitterness.
Getting hurt is one thing but if you don’t deal with it then bitterness will set in. When bitterness takes a hold then sin is not far away and will entrap us.
Hurt, bitterness, sin. That’s the order. Deal with that hurt today.

Head and heart

Acts 8: 22

“Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.”

So long as I don’t do the deed then it’s okay to think it. Clearly not!
Simon offered to buy with money the gift of God, it was stupid and impossible. He wasn’t being chastised for the act but the thought. Thoughts do matter. It’s not okay to think certain things.
Repent (change your mind) for you have a thought problem of the heart. Mind and heart.
I would say, desire and motive, turn from them and perhaps God will forgive you. This doesn’t sound certain but only because there is nothing certain as to whether Simon will do what is being suggested to him.
May today your desires be for Him and your motives be for His glory and for others. May you not come into the equation at all.

Heart
Acts 8:21

“You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.”

Simon was baptised in water and he believed in Jesus and he became a follower of Philip. Now Peter says he has no part or share in this ministry.
How can someone be a worshipper within church, baptised member, learning from teachers and involved with evangelistic work and yet be outside of that what they supposedly are inside of?
The answer is the heart.
Everything on the outside, of what man sees can be right, but the heart, the motive can be wrong. Man does not see the motive, God does. But motive eventually comes through as it did when Simon requested to buy the gift of the Holy Spirits power.
Eventually the heart reveals itself. The heart is spoken of a lot on the Bible, it is he core, the centre of an individual.
How could David be a man after God’s own heart when he was a murderer, adulterer amongst other sinful actions? It is because his heart was humble, it wasn’t proud, it wasn’t self-seeking and it genuinely searched for God.
How can we make our hearts right? Only by making sure our motives are not for personal gain but for the benefit of others and the ultimate glory of God.
Love God, love others and live your life.

You can’t bargain

Acts 8:20

“Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!”

What would you give to get more?
What would you be to be blessed?
Simon still exists in the world today.
Africa is a continent which has many. People will give anything to get the anointing. Profit isn’t far from the prophet.
But in our own western culture Simon also exists.
We will chase our heroes, conference hop, download the latest etc for the reason of change, of becoming someone better than we are now. It costs, but we willingly pay for this.
And because we are not chasing after God but His gift then He is not pleased with this search and longing of our life.
You can’t buy. You can’t manipulate. You can’t bargain.
All you can do is surrender. Take your eyes off the things man wants and turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Acts 8:19

“and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Give me.
2 words that bring nothing but misery to everyone.
Can we pray without using them?
Will we try?

Acts 8:18

“When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money”

Spectators are everywhere but some are wanting to be on the pitch.
Whatever Simon saw it moved him to offer money and we will find out that the money had strings attached to it!
Simon saw a demonstration that eclipsed all his deception he had performed on the people.
There are spectators who want to receive but there are those who want to give not because of compassion but of power.
Temptation is not only outside of the church, it exists from within. Simon wasn’t stirred with a desire to receive what the Spirit was doing. No he had other desires. Desires of power. He wanted to be in the pitch. He saw and wanted what he saw.

Acts 8:17

“Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

So this was the practice common in the early Church presumably with prayer, the laying in of hands to receive the Holy Spirit.
It still happens today in many churches, for prayer of various kinds and of course for the Holy Spirit.
Some don’t like to lay hands so they hold them slightly above the person in a hovering action!
Others don’t believe at all and keep their hands in their pockets just in case!
Jesus told us to lay hands on people who are sick. Paul laid hands on people, so we know this is Biblical.
Here’s what I think:
1. We don’t have powerful hands.
2. Answers whether they are healing, guidance, or the Holy Spirit do not come out of our hands.
3. Hands are comforting and encouraging, to receiving the touch of someone shows concern and compassion and it is relaxing.
4. If you use anointing oil then presumably you would apply with your hands but again the power is not in the oil.
5. If you are not going to pray then you could be laying hands on a person for hours and nothing happen!
6. Laying hands is a help to both the one praying and the one receiving for it keeps the focus on where you are wanting God to touch and move.
7. There is no transference only that of love from the one praying to the one receiving but those who look onward can often admire only the outward.

Acts 8:16
“because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus.”

How did they know?
How did they know the Holy Spirit had not come upon any of them?
Whatever the criteria or the signs showing it is clear they knew that the Holy Spirit comes upon a person.
Throughout my life I have been so convinced that the sign for the Spirit coming was the gift of tongues or certainly something like that. At the same time overlooking certain qualities that the Spirit also brings that seemed somewhat lacking in the tongue-speaker.
Things like:
Prayer and Understanding the Bible with a desire for both.
Love for others.
Power to witness.
Fruit of the Spirit.
At times I’ve even thought I’d rather not pastor a tongue-speaker if they are not going to be a reader of the Bible, not loving, not a viable witness and not show any signs of fruit. What good is tongue-speaking without those things?
I have become convinced that when the Spirit comes upon us as He does many times throughout our lives (thankfully) that all those things are the evidence, all those things still in our imperfect lives. We know and everyone knows something has happened again. But it is not something gentle. It is dramatic, overpowering, visible and audible.
Baptism into the name of Jesus is a sign of repentance, of life-change and holding to new beliefs. It is what we do, what we sign up for, it is who we decide to follow.
The Spirit coming upon us is that. It is God coming on us, breathing through us, living in us, empowering our lives.
This involves more than the gift of tongues. The world sees.
Come Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:15
“When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,”

The next few verses are used to debate the subject of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a secondary experience to conversion.
Some hold to the fact that the Samaritans were not believers, they were only believers in Philip and Peter and John were coming to bring them into a true conversion experience, that of the Holy Spirit.
The problem with that is it shows Philip wasn’t doing such a good job if Samaria were only believing him and not Jesus! Actually the next verse shows that they had been baptised into the name of Jesus. Further, these people were being delivered and set free from many demons in the name of Jesus which would indicate salvation abounded.
So is this a model of practice? Conversion first and then receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit? That’s certainly what happened to me and that is what I have taught as a Pastor through my church ministry years. But today I’m not so sure about most things!
I don’t think we can keep a formula in how God works.i think He breaks all formulas and as soon as we think we know how God works He does the opposite just to shake us up again!
This is what I think about this verse:
Peter and John had many experiences of the Holy Spirit coming upon them and the Jerusalem church, of course especially the day of Pentecost.
Peter and John identify (probably through asking them) that the Samaritans have not had similar experiences of the Holy Spirit, involving the gifts and the passion for the gospel into the world.
So they pray that the Samaritans receive what they have.
Peter and John have something that they want others to have.
That last point is the challenge for each of us. Apart from your belief, do you have something that others need to receive? What is it? How do they know if they have received what you have?