WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.560 Amen. 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:01.120 Amen. 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:01.520 Amen. 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:03.200 Welcome to Revive Church. 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:04.240 Glad you're here. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:08.880 My name is Pastor Kyle, and I'm excited to bring God's Word this morning. 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:12.000 If you have a Bible, or if you have a Luke, or not a Luke, an Acts journal. 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:12.960 I'm still doing that. 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:15.919 If you have an Acts journal, turn to Acts chapter 8. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:20.000 If you don't have an Acts journal and you want one, uh make sure you grab one on the way out. 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:26.320 This is a great way for you to get in God's word and write down what He's telling you as you are reading. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:29.839 This morning we're going to cover 25 verses in Acts chapter 8. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.000 And here's the big idea of this morning. 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:37.039 It was hard to put this in a sentence because there's so much going on in these 25 verses, but here's the big idea. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:44.799 The gospel is carried by everyone to everywhere through the power and free gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:51.520 The gospel is carried by everyone to everywhere through the power and the free gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.479 Anybody's lawn having trouble right now growing? 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:55.600 Anyone with me on that? 00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:00.240 If you're retired and your lawn looks like you could hit a pitching wedge, I don't want to see your lawn. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:04.400 My lawn looks like a basically a dirt patch. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:09.920 And so a few weeks ago, uh there was a guy that was aerating and overseating my neighbor's lawn. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:16.159 So I just did that thing where you go across the street and you're like, hey, as you can see, I need what you have. 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:19.519 And so uh he came over, paid him to do it. 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:24.319 And over the last couple weeks, with a lot of rain, starting to see some sprouts, which is awesome. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:27.680 And I just go out there because you can still see the holes from the aeration. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:37.200 I just go out there and I just start tossing seed, like hoping and praying that the seed will find one of those holes and will begin to grow. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:39.120 And I think it's starting to happen. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:51.840 Um, that was the picture I got when I thought about this sermon, because there's so much going on, and not everything that I say to you probably is going to apply to your life right now in this moment, but there's a lot of seed in this sermon. 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:59.439 And so if you walk out the door with a sprout in your heart of what God wants to do, um, it'll be awesome. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:08.240 And so that's my prayer this morning as we look at God's word together, that he would work to grow us into followers of Jesus. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:15.199 We are in the midst of this second movement through the book of Acts that we have titled Unstoppable The Church on Mission. 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:29.039 And last week we walked through the tragic death of the stoning of Stephen, and we saw this Stephen, who was one of the deacons and the early leaders in the church. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:42.560 He was brought before court with all of these kind of sham charges where he was being charged with things that were not true, and we watched as the crowd became a mob and they stoned him to death. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:49.599 And so we're turning the page from that moment, and we're gonna see what happens in the story of the early church. 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:52.639 Acts chapter 8, beginning in verse 1. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:03:07.680 And Saul approved of his execution, and there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:13.120 Devout men buried Stephen and made a great lamentation over him. 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:19.280 But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house. 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:24.560 He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:29.280 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:32.000 If you take notes, write this down. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:37.439 God uses what the enemy means for evil to move the gospel forward. 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:43.840 God uses what the enemy means for evil to move the gospel forward. 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:52.800 Just when it looks like the church has its back against the wall as they watch one of their leaders being stoned to death. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:04:02.080 In plain sight, we find out in verses one through four that God is going to use this evil and he's going to make things that are good. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:07.520 Couple weeks, we'll do a deep dive into Saul, the character of Saul, who later becomes Paul. 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:09.360 But here's what you need to know for right now. 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:10.639 Saul was a Pharisee. 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:18.240 He was a powerful Jewish religious leader who was trying his best to follow the Old Testament. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:22.560 And so he saw Jesus the Messiah as a false Messiah. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:33.279 And so what he was doing is he was trying to kind of blot out all, get rid of all of the people who were associated with this ministry that Jesus had after his death. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:43.600 And so we find out early in this passage that Saul was literally showing up at people's homes, dragging men and women out of their houses and sending them to prison. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:48.560 So think of Saul as the church's public enemy, number one. 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:51.360 So people, they're literally running out of Jerusalem. 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:58.560 You have these 10,000 plus new converts, new followers of Jesus, who many of them didn't live in Jerusalem. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.279 They just happened to be in Jerusalem for the feast at Pentecost. 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:08.560 And when the Holy Spirit came on the 120 and they began speaking in tongues, you had people that were getting saved left and right. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:17.680 And so they created a subculture and a community within the city of Jerusalem, where Acts 2 tells us they gathered together every day. 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:25.600 They took communion with one another, they listened to the preaching of God's word, they shared with one another to the point where no one had a need. 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:38.399 And so before the stoning of Stephen, it looked like the church was pretty content with just staying in Jerusalem, kind of staying in this holy huddle, but all of this was part of God's plan. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:40.879 God was working in the background. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:50.560 If you remember back to the beginning of this series, Acts chapter 1, verse 8, before Jesus left and ascended to the right hand of the Father, do you remember what he told his disciples? 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:53.600 He said to his disciples, Go to Jerusalem. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:06:04.480 I'm going to send you my spirit, and empowered by my spirit, you're going to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:08.959 Where does Luke tell us right now in this moment that the people spread out to? 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:11.279 Well, they spread out to Judea and Samaria. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:15.439 And so we find out God's in control of this situation. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:21.360 And what looked like the church being pushed back was actually the gospel going forward. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:27.519 The picture I have is this fire that is beginning to spread, and you start to kind of stamp out the fire. 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.879 You want to put the fire out, but as you're stamping out the fire, guess what? 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:36.319 Sparks begin to fly, and all of a sudden, what was a small fire becomes a forest fire. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:39.120 And that's what's happening in the church. 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:44.639 The devil is trying to silence the church, but God is scattering it in order to send it. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:46.079 Look at verse 4. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:52.480 Luke says, Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:59.120 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:00.560 Write this down. 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:04.800 The mission belongs to every believer, not just church leaders. 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:12.879 The mission belongs to every believer, not just church leaders. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:21.519 You see, there were three words that Luke said in the first three verses of this chapter that I don't want us to miss. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:30.160 In the midst of Stephen's martyrdom, when the church began to spread all throughout Judea and Samaria, did you catch what the apostles did? 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:36.560 It says that everyone left, all 10,000 of these new converts left Jerusalem, but guess what? 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:38.240 The apostles stayed. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:40.480 Except the apostles. 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:44.000 Everyone went except the apostles. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:58.160 As I read this this week, I was a little convicted as a pastor who leads with other pastors and elders and church leaders to make sure that we are modeling within this church the purpose of why we gather together on a Sunday morning. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:10.240 The reason why we gather together on a Sunday morning is to be equipped by the Word of God to then go out and take the gospel everywhere we go. 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:14.319 You see, the apostles stayed back in Jerusalem, but guess what? 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:18.079 All 10,000 plus other people, they went out. 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:21.920 I mean, this is crazy when you think about it. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:32.480 The apostles like Peter and John, the ones who were preaching the sermons in the first seven chapters of Acts, the ones who were the vocal leaders who had the vision for where the church was going. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:41.759 They were the ones who were given the mantle of teaching God's word, and now in the midst of this great persecution, when everyone else leaves, they stay. 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:51.919 Now we associate the word preaching with this idea of what I'm doing right now. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:59.679 Like all across Denver, right now, there are other versions of me that are standing on a stage and they are teaching God's word right now. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:04.960 And that is kind of a limited definition of what we think about when we think of the word preaching. 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:10.080 But when the Bible talks about preaching, it doesn't use the word in that sense only. 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:15.759 It uses preaching in the sense of the Greek word here, which is to evangelize. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:31.919 To evangelize, to live our lives in such a way that through word and deed, through demonstration and proclamation, we are sharing and showing the gospel right where we are. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:36.879 One of the foundations of who we are as a church is our mission statement. 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:38.480 And we do it every single week, right? 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:52.080 At the end of the service, I stand up here, or someone else stands up here, and we ask you to hold out your hands and we say something to the effect of God sent Jesus to die on a cross for the brokenness of this world. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:58.639 And now Jesus is sending you to live and love like Jesus right where you are. 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:01.919 And so to be on mission means to be sent out. 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:11.039 It means to be sent ones where we live, work, study, and play so that other people can see the gospel and taste and see that Jesus is good. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:15.200 Now, this requires a shift of mindset, particularly in the Western church. 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:22.960 Part of the reason why I think we've seen a decline in the Western church, although we're seeing a rise in church attendance among Gen Z right now. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:36.960 One of the reasons why we saw that big dip for a long period of time in the church is because preaching or sharing the gospel was regulated to the people that stand on a stage once a week for an hour in different parts of the world. 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:42.480 But the Bible doesn't prescribe the gospel going out in that way only. 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:44.480 It doesn't mean you shouldn't go to a church. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:50.159 It doesn't mean that you shouldn't invite someone here to listen to the gospel and hopefully respond to the gospel. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:55.759 Doesn't mean that you should stop coming to church and being equipped to share the gospel right where you are. 00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:07.039 But what it does mean is that each of us have a part to play in living out the gospel through demonstration and sharing the gospel through proclamation right where we are. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:13.360 Starting in our home, in that circle, and making its way out to our other circles of influence. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:19.440 Every Christian is a sent person on mission right where we are. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:26.240 So if you're a Christian, listen, you are more than a consumer, you are a contributor. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:32.799 Because here's what I know: you can come to this church, you can sit in this room for 20 years and never tell anyone about Jesus. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:43.919 You can come and you can gather faithfully, you can give of your money and you can give of your time, and you can walk out these doors actually never joining Jesus in his mission right where you are. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:44.559 And guess what? 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:53.039 He wants to use you right where you are as a conduit for the gospel of Jesus Christ to go out so that others can receive it and follow him. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:01.679 But when the gospel does move through ordinary people, we're gonna see in the story, it doesn't go to familiar places. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:07.519 It actually is willing to cross any boundary, ones that we wouldn't normally or naturally want to cross. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:08.879 Look at verse 5. 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:13.840 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:21.919 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:23.200 Look at verse 7. 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:30.240 For unclean spirits crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:34.159 And many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:35.440 And then verse 8. 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:39.200 So there was much joy in that city. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:40.720 Write this down. 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:46.000 The gospel crosses boundaries and brings joy where no one expected it. 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:52.720 The gospel crosses boundaries and brings joy where no one expected it. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:54.559 Here we're introduced to Philip. 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:56.879 Philip served alongside Stephen. 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:08.000 He was one of the seven early leaders of the church that were tasked with making sure that the Grecian widows were not pushed out of the food line, making sure that the widows were cared for. 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:15.840 But he also had a ministry like Stephen, where he was now going from city to city and he was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:22.720 And what we see in this passage is something that I've tried to make very clear as we've walked through the book of Acts. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:27.440 Everywhere you see God moving, you will also see the devil moving as well. 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:31.919 Everywhere where you see God taking ground or throwing a punch, guess what? 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:33.679 The devil is right there to counterpunch. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:37.360 And I'm not just talking about the book of Acts that was written 2,000 years ago. 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:39.039 I'm talking about in your own life. 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:45.919 When you come into agreement with God that his mission is your mission, you better be prepared for a counterpunch from the devil. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:48.639 Oh, he's happy for you to come to church every week. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:52.159 He's happy for you to even throw a little money toward the mission of God. 00:13:52.240 --> 00:14:01.200 But as soon as you get serious about being empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in love like Jesus, right where you are, you got to expect the counterpunch. 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:02.320 This is war. 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:03.600 I want to make that clear. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:05.840 This is war that we're in right now. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:08.960 We continue to see this as a church. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:14.559 I've seen more spiritual warfare and evidence of darkness pushing back on what we're doing as a church right now. 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:20.480 I've seen more in the last three years than I saw in the 15 years combined before we launched the bridge. 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:26.399 Your relationship with Jesus, I hear this sometimes, it's just me and Jesus. 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:27.840 That's fine. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:32.080 Your relationship with Jesus can be personal, but I'm gonna tell you right now, it should never be private. 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:36.399 It can be personal, but it should never be private. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:38.960 It's meant to be shared with others. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:40.960 I love this. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:42.559 The name of Jesus. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:48.720 Luke tells us that when Philip came into the town, he didn't start preaching all kinds of stuff. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:50.240 He just preached Christ. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:51.519 Very simply. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:53.039 He preached the name of Christ. 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:56.240 Did you see the result when Philip preached the name of Christ? 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.840 Did you see what happened when the gospel came into this new territory? 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:03.440 The demons started shrieking and coming out of people. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:08.720 Like people in this moment are literally being set free. 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:13.279 We struggle with this. 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:17.039 We we still a little bit are kind of like, I'm not sure I believe in demons. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:21.279 I'm not actually sure that I believe in evil spirits. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:25.039 I was listening to a preacher a few weeks ago and we had a phone conversation. 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.639 He was talking about ministry that he does in Kenya. 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:44.000 And he was talking about Kenyan people when they see something like a sickness or a disease, their first question is to ask, hey, could this be this disease or sickness be something outside of the spiritual nature of life? 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:45.039 Could it be that? 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:47.679 We go to the complete opposite perspective. 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:50.559 We don't consider any of that as spiritual. 00:15:51.759 --> 00:16:00.639 And yet what we see in this text is that when Philip showed up, not only were these demons being cast out, but the lame were walking. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:03.360 People were getting healed in every sense of the word. 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:06.559 Philip showed up in Samaria. 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:08.399 Samaria, yes, Samaria. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:09.600 Why is this significant? 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:17.759 It's significant because the Jewish people and the Samaritan people were enemies, like ruthless enemies with one another. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:25.279 You remember in Luke's gospel, we're told that Jesus went to Samaria, and we don't know where the other disciples went. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:30.879 Most likely they weren't very comfortable with being in Samaria because Jewish people avoided Samaria. 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:32.320 But Jesus, where did he go? 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:44.240 He went right to the public place, the well, where he encountered a woman, and it was through that conversation where Jesus showed up, and that woman, after encountering Jesus, was saved. 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:49.200 And then we see also in Jesus' teachings the parable of the good Samaritan. 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:50.559 You remember this story? 00:16:50.799 --> 00:17:04.640 A Jewish man, he was beaten on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, and this Jewish man he was left for dead, and a Jewish priest passed by and just kind of looked at the man from the other side, didn't even cross the street to go help him or bandage his wounds. 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:20.319 And yet a Samaritan came and stopped, bandaged the Jewish man up, and then took him to a nearby inn where not only did he pay for his bill to nurse him back to health, but he said, I'll pay for as long as he needs to stay. 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:22.319 And what's Jesus doing in that parable? 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:33.759 He's showing the religious leaders of his day, and he's showing us that oftentimes the human response is actually to not have any love for enemies, to have no care or thought of them as our neighbors. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:45.680 Samaria, and this cannot be missed, Samaria is the first place that the gospel goes out of Jerusalem, where it is preached, but not only where it is preached, but where it was received with great joy. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:48.559 There is no boundary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:53.279 It goes to and is embraced in areas where it's least expected. 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:57.119 And so I'm curious, who or what is your Samaria? 00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:00.559 Who are the people that you naturally avoid in your life? 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:10.640 Who are the people that you assume are too far, too different, too hostile, too uninterested, too unlikely to receive the good news of Jesus. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:15.359 The gospel is to be carried by everyone to everywhere. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:23.119 But as we see in the story, whenever the gospel enters new territory, it also exposes false powers. 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:25.920 It exposes false worship and false hearts. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:30.240 And what we see as we get to verse 9, and there's a shift in Luke's writing. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:36.960 You know when you're watching a movie and everything in the movie seems to be fine, and then all of a sudden there's this ominous music that comes in the background. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:38.000 You know what I'm talking about? 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:41.920 This is the ominous music in the movie background. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:54.480 Verse 9, but there was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 00:18:54.880 --> 00:19:02.480 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the power of God that is called great. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:07.599 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:16.559 But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:22.400 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized, he continued with Philip. 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:27.920 And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:30.880 Okay, so we meet Simon the magician. 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.960 Your Bible might call him a sorcerer. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:38.319 And Simon, he took special interest in not really Philip, but in Philip's miracles. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:39.839 And we've talked about this before. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:41.519 I think it's worth mentioning again. 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:46.000 God is not the only one who can do miracles, signs, and wonders. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:49.519 Actually, darkness can also manifest the miraculous. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:20:02.880 If you remember our study in Exodus, when God began performing the plagues in judgment on Pharaoh and Egypt, you remember that Pharaoh, he had some magicians who could mimic some of those plagues. 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:05.200 So we have this guy named Simon. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:18.880 We don't know everything about him, but he's clearly messing with some kind of darkness, some kind of sorcery or black magic, and he has this reputation among the people of his city as being the power of God that is called great. 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:20.799 Can you imagine having that nickname? 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:25.680 Can you imagine how big your head and ego must have been? 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:32.000 You are literally called the power of God that is called great. 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:36.559 So Simon thought of himself very highly. 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:46.319 Now it's important to note here that Simon and the people of Samaria, they were syncretistic in their approach to religion. 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:49.119 Have you heard the term syncretism? 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:50.480 Syncretism is this. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:56.799 Syncretism means to combine different forms of belief and religion into one. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:01.920 I like to call this smoothie spirituality. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:04.319 Any smoothie fans in the house? 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:06.960 Well, my kids are smoothie fans. 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:16.559 And when someone in my house decides to make a smoothie, I'm telling you, every cupboard's open, all the refrigerator doors are open, we're looking in the freezer, they're scrounging. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:27.200 And they're asking the question: can we find enough ingredients that if we put them in the blender and we mix them together, even if it doesn't look like they'll work on the surface, it'll taste good. 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:31.359 And so they're grabbing strawberries and they're grabbing bananas and they're grabbing mangoes. 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:35.519 And the worst is when you get all the fruit in there and you realize, I have no milk. 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:39.359 And then you gotta drink a water smoothie. 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:41.279 Come on. 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:53.039 Colorado, the state of Colorado, and I don't want to just put Colorado in this box, I would just say our world in general right now is a very syncretistic culture. 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:59.440 People seem to embrace this smoothie type spirituality. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:16.480 You can you can you can see if you go to Boulder today, if you drive up to Boulder, Boulder is one of the darkest places on earth, and yet if you walk down the streets of Boulder, here's what you will see: you will see people crying out to a God that they don't know. 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:22.799 You will see all kinds of stores, you'll see palm readings, you'll see horoscopes, you'll see all kinds of things. 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:36.079 And so there is this approach right now, even in the midst of darkness, to try to figure out a way to take all of these kind of spiritual approaches, throw them in the blender, blend it together, and then there'll maybe be something that will work for my life. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:44.400 You see, Orthodox churches like Revived Church are growing, but so are churches that are progressive and unorthodox in theology. 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:52.640 Churches that don't see the Bible as the authority of God, churches that want to kind of mix and kind of take from here and take from here. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:59.599 But I'm gonna tell you right now that this type of thinking is even making its way in Orthodox churches. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:08.480 It's not just other churches or other sects where you see these kinds of things being put together, even within the church. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:15.279 I've heard about witchcraft and crystals and horoscopes and astrology and palm reading and dark magic and spellcasting games. 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.920 This stuff's becoming more and more common. 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:25.759 I've been in conversations recently where I've been asked if some of these things can be mixed with Jesus. 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:28.000 No, they can't. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:29.599 Absolutely not. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:46.960 Deuteronomy 18, 10 through 12 says, Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or their daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcrafts, or casts spells, or who is a medium or a spiritist who can or who consults the dead. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:51.200 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:57.440 Because of these same detestable practices, the Lord your God will drive out the nations before you. 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:02.799 Jesus is not one ingredient to add into the spiritual blender. 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:05.119 Jesus is Lord or He's nothing. 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:09.519 He's the banana, the strawberry, the yogurt, the milk, he's all of it. 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:14.240 Now, Simon, he doesn't just represent magic in the story. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:18.000 He represents a heart that wants spiritual power without surrender. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:21.359 And this is where we gotta stop for a minute. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:23.519 This is where the Lord convicted me. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:28.559 Because here's what we see in this story that is so powerful. 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:37.759 We see someone who, when you just look at the outside, they've done all the things. 00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:41.279 I mean, Simon, it says that he believed. 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:45.440 It says that he was baptized. 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:52.880 And yet we're gonna get to the story in a moment at the end of it, and it's gonna cause great concern. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:57.839 It's gonna, to be honest with you, it's gonna feel like the Bible's stepping on your feet a little bit. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:02.000 And I know that because it felt like the Bible was stepping on my feet this week. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:03.279 So here's what we're gonna do. 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:03.920 Time out. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:05.599 We're gonna pause the story of Simon. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:07.359 We're gonna come back to him in just a moment. 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:19.759 There's a little detour that happens within the context of this story that is actually from a theological perspective, it's really, really important for us to understand what happens in this detour, and then we'll come back to Simon. 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:22.400 Look at verse 14 of chapter 8. 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:37.839 Now, when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:47.839 For he, being the Holy Spirit, had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:53.519 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:54.559 Write this down. 00:25:54.640 --> 00:26:01.759 The Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit unites one church in one baptism under one Lord. 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:06.559 The Holy Spirit unites one church in one baptism under one Lord. 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:16.079 Now, I'll just be honest, when you read this passage, it can sound really confusing because the Samaritan people, they clearly have put their faith in Jesus Christ. 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:18.319 They're seeing miracles all around them. 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:25.039 They were baptized, meaning they were water baptized, they were immersed in water to proclaim their faith in Jesus. 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:29.839 But it says here that they were not yet filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:34.640 Some of my more charismatic friends in the room, you're like, uh oh. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:37.839 Listen, listen, listen, hear me out. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:49.920 This is where people get confused on baptism with some people looking at these passages and saying that there are two baptisms: one with water and then one with fire, or you maybe have heard of it as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:50.640 And rightly so. 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:56.079 You have this group of people, they trust in Christ, they're baptized by Philip, but they don't receive the Holy Spirit. 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:02.160 In fact, Peter and John have to come down from Jerusalem to lay hands on them in order for them to receive it. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:08.160 Now, when you come to Acts chapter 10, you actually almost have something of the opposite happen. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:17.279 In a few weeks, we're gonna look at a story of a Roman named Cornelius, and his entire family accept Jesus Christ. 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:27.759 And they start speaking in tongues, people start prophesying, and so they clearly have the gift of the Holy Spirit, but it says that after that they were baptized in water. 00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:29.359 So what's the deal? 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:31.119 How do we interpret this? 00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:34.640 Are there one or two baptisms? 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:43.759 Now, here's where we have to take a step back and we have to understand the nature of what it means to be baptized into Christ. 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:48.880 This is where in the church we have a limited view and a limited understanding of the word baptism. 00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:55.759 When we think of baptism, we think of someone being immersed in water on stage as a public profession of faith. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:58.559 And we'll do that again in July. 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:03.519 But the word baptism does not just mean to be immersed in water. 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:08.960 The word baptism means to be immersed in someone or something. 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:15.279 So right now, if I had one and I wish I did, I could baptize a tortilla chip in queso. 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:17.519 And I hope to do that very soon. 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:26.240 To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be immersed in and united with Jesus Christ. 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:30.640 It's for everyone who is in Jesus Christ. 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:33.839 Not for some of the varsity Christians. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:40.240 It's not like the JV Christians are left out in the cold wishing they too could get baptized with the Holy Spirit. 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:48.240 The Bible, particularly Ephesians 1, says that when we put our faith in Christ, we are given the Holy Spirit and we are sealed in Him. 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:50.559 That is our spiritual baptism. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:54.079 That is in that moment our union with Christ Jesus. 00:28:54.319 --> 00:29:09.200 That's why when we baptize people on a baptism Sunday, we are very clear in the baptism class, and we are very clear as pastors and elders in our conversation that nothing that you do on this stage where you go underwater makes you a follower of Jesus. 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:15.359 There is nothing about the act of water baptism that should be associated with your salvation. 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:22.880 It is simply the place and the time where you follow Jesus' example of proclaiming your faith publicly. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:26.000 It's where you say, I am all in for Jesus. 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:32.480 I'm immersed in Him, filled with the Spirit, committed to a life of following Him. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:42.480 Now, if that is true, why do water baptism and receiving the Spirit seem separated in places in the book of Acts? 00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:46.799 Why didn't everyone just receive the Holy Spirit at the exact time that they believed? 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:47.680 Couple of reasons. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:57.759 Number one, and I've said this before, at the beginning of the series, I said when you read the book of Acts, you have to read the book of Acts not simply as prescriptive, but descriptive. 00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:05.920 There are prescriptive statements in the book of Acts where we are told that we are to be Jesus' ambassadors throughout the world. 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:09.519 We're told that we've been given his spirit in order to be witnesses. 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:15.680 But there are also descriptive statements that are unique to the book of Acts. 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:16.240 Right? 00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:22.319 The book of Acts is telling the once in history story of the launch of Jesus' church. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:27.359 And so there are things that have happened in this book that are unique to this moment in history. 00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:40.799 For example, at Pentecost, when the believers gathered in the upper room and the Holy Spirit came on 120 of them, and they began to see tongues of fire on one another's heads, and they start speaking in unknown languages. 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:55.119 That was describing the way, in that moment, that God chose to launch the early church very strategically and specifically during Pentecost, when you had all of these Jewish people from throughout the Roman world who were gathered together in one place. 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:02.400 And yet we should not view that experience as a normative way of viewing the work of the Holy Spirit. 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:11.680 This is why I push back so hard on people who say that the baptism of the Holy Spirit will always be accompanied with speaking in tongues. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:25.440 That would be to look at Pentecost and other places in Acts as prescriptive, and there's nothing in the rest of Scripture that even suggests that speaking in tongues is the proof of salvation, or, shall I say, the proof that someone's not saved if they don't have it. 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:32.480 But what is true is that all believers in Jesus Christ are actually given at least one gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:35.519 There are 20 spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament. 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:49.920 That means the body of Christ, God has specifically made us very diverse, very different, in order to live those Holy Spirit-empowered gifts out in order to play our part in the church. 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:55.200 Second thing, what is happening in this story in Samaria is monumental. 00:31:55.599 --> 00:32:01.359 The gospel is spreading out of Jerusalem and it's spreading into other cultures, into other places. 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:04.799 And I'm gonna tell you right now, Philip is not some rogue evangelist. 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:08.559 He's operating under the leadership and the authority of the apostles. 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:22.640 And so when he sees the Samaritans, the enemies of the Jews, when he sees them believing in Jesus Christ, repenting, believing, and turning their lives to Christ, guess what he does? 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:29.920 He gets on the first century phone, whatever that looked like, send somebody on a donkey, and said, Oh my goodness, you're not gonna believe this. 00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:31.279 Nobody else is gonna believe this. 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:32.640 In fact, no one else is gonna believe it. 00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:35.680 You better get down here because you need to be eyewitnesses of this. 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:51.119 And so there's something that is happening in this moment to validate not just the apostolic office of Peter and John and others, but also to validate the fact that the gospel is spreading to their enemies. 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:58.319 And wouldn't it be like God to allow these new Samaritan believers to have a similar experience to the Jewish believers at Pentecost? 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:02.480 Wouldn't that be like God to just be so kind and be so generous? 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:09.680 Not to give a different experience, but to be able to relate them to one another in that deep, profound movement of the Spirit? 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:12.160 Sounds like Jesus Christ to me. 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:15.839 But Luke's not finished with Simon. 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:27.759 Because while the Spirit is uniting true believers, Simon's response reveals the danger of being near the things of God without truly surrendering to God. 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:29.279 I need y'all to hear this. 00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:31.519 I had to hear this as a pastor this week. 00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:33.200 I need you to hear it. 00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:38.559 And so when you hear it, I'm stepping on your toes and at the same time I'm giving you a big hug too. 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:47.759 I need you to hear what Luke is about to tell us here is it is an easy trap and a hole for us to fall into. 00:33:48.880 --> 00:34:02.799 Now, when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit. 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:11.360 But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. 00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:18.639 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 00:34:19.039 --> 00:34:28.000 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:35.599 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:42.639 And Simon answered, Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me. 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:51.440 Now, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. 00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:54.880 Let me write this down. 00:34:55.119 --> 00:35:00.000 The gospel exposes the difference between external religion and true surrender. 00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:09.920 The gospel exposes the difference between external religion, doing the right things that everybody can see, and true surrender, which is a heart posture. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:11.440 Only God can see it. 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:15.280 And so let's recap Simon for a moment in case we forgot. 00:35:15.440 --> 00:35:17.920 He was running a popular magic show in Samaria. 00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:24.159 And then all of a sudden, Philip came into town, and when Philip came into town, demons started shrieking. 00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:25.840 People started getting healed. 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:30.239 Like people in the city who had never walked began to walk. 00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:33.440 And all of a sudden, Simon's fans became Philip fans. 00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:36.320 And then ultimately they became Jesus fans. 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:41.360 And the the magic show that he once had was no longer. 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:46.639 And so he actually sees Simon sees the power of God. 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:48.960 Simon sees the power of God. 00:35:49.280 --> 00:35:51.280 And it says that he believes. 00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:52.880 And he was even baptized. 00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:56.480 So if we just stop the story right there, so far, so good, right? 00:35:57.679 --> 00:35:59.360 But then we see Simon's heart. 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:01.920 We see the motive behind his decision. 00:36:02.639 --> 00:36:04.079 He wants power. 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:09.519 He wants the gift of the Holy Spirit, but not the giver. 00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:16.000 The Bible said Simon believed and was baptized. 00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:23.599 This is where I gotta be really careful because when we think of the word faith and believe, the Bible talks about the word faith and believe. 00:36:23.679 --> 00:36:28.480 When Paul talks about we are saved by faith in the book of Romans, you have to hear this. 00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:34.400 He's not talking about in an intellectual ascent that there might be a God or maybe I believe in Jesus. 00:36:34.719 --> 00:36:35.679 I need you to hear that. 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:42.880 When the Bible talks about being justified before God through faith in Jesus Christ, it is talking about allegiance. 00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:47.119 I give my allegiance to Jesus Christ. 00:36:47.360 --> 00:36:49.920 Not an intellectual ascent that I believe in him. 00:36:50.079 --> 00:36:51.599 He was a real man that walked the earth one day. 00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:52.239 No, no, no. 00:36:52.320 --> 00:36:53.280 He has my allegiance. 00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:56.239 He is my Lord and I am his servant. 00:36:56.719 --> 00:36:58.079 And that's it. 00:36:59.920 --> 00:37:03.119 James 2 reminds us that even the demons believe. 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:12.559 Jesus told us, hey, there's going to be people on that day of judgment that show up and they're going to claim, Man, I cast out demons in your name, Jesus. 00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:15.039 I prophesied in your name, Jesus. 00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:17.280