They all gave heed to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is that power of God which is called Great.” And they gave heed to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. Acts 8:10
The world begs for a good show and is willing to credit God even if the performer is Simon of Samaria, a consummate fraud. When Philip evangelized the region, he became a baptized convert and marveled at the wonders performed in Christ’s name. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to pray with the new believers and lay hands on them. They then received the Holy Spirit. Simon promptly offered Peter money to acquire this power.
The supernatural is not for sale or for self-aggrandizement, but begs to be harnessed and paraded before seekers who groan in the bonds of sin-forged limitation. If today’s church fails to get the Show of the Incarnation on the road as the Apostles did, the show of impostors will continue to fill the world’s aching void. Witness the powerful allure of Eastern mysticism or the proliferation of psychic garbage. Supermarket tabloids unabashedly cater to the undiscerning who feed on it for lack of real spiritual food. The church cannot afford to indulge in snobbish elitism. (Part 1 of 2)
Comment: On the day of Pentecost, 3000 people received Christ and were baptized. At the time of Peter and John’s arrest, the number of converts had grown to 5000. Acts 4:4 refers to “men,” but in chapter 6:1 we learn that the Grecian Jews complained against the Hebraic Jews “because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.” That’s when the Twelve prioritized their preaching and teaching ministry over “waiting on tables”, and seven deacons were chosen for that task. Significantly, they all had Greek names (Acts 6:5), but only two would receive further mention. “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip…” The latter became known as the Evangelist, while Stephen was stoned to death with Saul of Tarsus looking on. Be sure to read his speech before the Sanhedrin, which is breathtaking in its extensive discourse on Israel’s checkered past (Acts 7:2-53). The “sages” turned into savages when Stephen delivered his biting bottom line, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers; you always resist the Holy Spirit!” Had he signed up for martyrdom when he agreed to care for Greek widows? What does today’s deacon think of this, perhaps after a long meeting that is all routine and – yawn – nice as usual? If we all need a jolt here, let it come from Jesus. In Mark’s gospel as well as in Matthew’s, He challenged the disciples bickering over degrees of greatness with these words, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to SERVE, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The Greek root of that key word is dee-ak-on-os, meaning DEACON. With that in mind, we should not “resist the Holy Spirit” if He opens doors of opportunity we could not ever have imagined. In Acts 21:8-9 we learn that Paul – bound for imprisonment in Jerusalem and Rome – arrived in Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, “one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.”
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