ACTS 8:9-24 A Magic Act!

SERIES: #16 Acts of the Apostles - Witnesses to Judea & Samaria
TOPIC: Authenticity; Greed, Providence, Regeneration, Salvation, Simony

TITLE: A MAGIC ACT - There's nothing magical about this treasure!
TEXT: Acts 8:9-24

… when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of … hands, he offered … money, saying, "Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity."

Irony #1 – John and his brother once wanted fire from heaven to rain on these same Samaritans.

Irony #2 – In John 13:6 Peter was told he had no part of Jesus if he refused to surrender to God's will.

A tale of two Simons … Simon Peter and Simon Magnus, the later is much like not a few contemporary charlatans.

This passage gives us several pictures to think on …

The heart …

• Ground of salvation
• Measure of man’s treasure
  

The “Second Blessing” …

• The nature of God … a giver

The nature of salvation … a gift …

• False conversions

[MENACE] In the movie version of Dennis the Menace, there’s a scene where Mr. Wilson (Walter Matthau) wants to stop Dennis’ cheating in a game of hide-n-seek.

Dennis had recruited his cross-eyed buddy, Gunther, to watch where people hide and then tell him after the count; Wilson calls out to Gunther, “Gunther, your daddy just called and wants to take you to the ice cream store. You better run home.”

Now Gunther won’t run to the Mitchell home nor to a neighbor’s home nor to Wilson back yard. Why not? Because his father holds the key to what he wants … he’d run home as fast as he could to get that ice cream.

Everyone has expectations; some false expectations, they’re never satisfied … “someday my ship will come in.”

Unlike Gunther, they’ll run to every port but the right one to find their ship … all the while God is blowing the horn on the Royal Yacht.

Motivational speakers will encourage you to use positive thinking to motivate your self-actualization; this places us on the horizontal … our reward is in heaven, not on this earth; this denies the role of God in the destiny of man.

“Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way?”

Proverbs 20:24

“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”

Proverbs 16:9

“The naive believes everything, But the prudent man considers his steps.”

Proverbs 14:15

This is a story about a man (and others) who did not grasp these truths; oh, he said he did but the text and history tells a different story.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What do we know about Simon?

I. HIS PAST LIFE!

"Now there was a certain man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city, and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great."

Acts 8:9

We know it was a searching life – but he didn’t know for what!
We know it was a gifted life – but he didn’t know for what!
We know it was a successful life – but he didn’t know the source of success!

II. HIS PRESENT LIFE!

“Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.”

Acts 8:13

We know God sent him Philip – but he didn’t hear him!
We know God sent him The Word – but he didn’t understand Him!
We know God sent him the Holy Spirit – but he didn’t receive Him!

[DEAD OR ALIVE] A friend’s husband snored, till he had a heart attack; to help him sleep a doctor prescribed a muscle relaxant; his snoring stopped.

Prior to this, his snoring let her know he was at least alive; now she has to poke him to know.

I’ve seen so many people walk the aisle, pray the prayer, get baptized, then claim the name of Jesus who must be poked to see if they have the new life.

Christianity is used by some as a religious muscle relaxant … manifesting no Spirit-filled, animated, Pentecostal life.

God doesn’t relax our muscles to make us stop sinning, He makes “a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

III. HIS PROMISED LIFE!

“Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,”

Acts 8:18

We know he was promised a eternal life – but he wanted a temporal life!
We know he was promised an exciting life – but he wanted a lucrative life!
We know he was promised to be a power-filled life – but he wanted an admired life!
We know he was a rich life – but he wanted his inheritance in this life!

APPLICATION: Something went wrong here …

Simon …

Believed …

"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."

John 1:12

For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

Romans 10:11

But did not receive …

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Romans 8:9

Peter’s remarks – “gall of bitterness” and “bond of iniquity” are Old Testament phrases used in cases involving “serious offenses.”

J. B. Philips says Peter’s remarks ARE tantamount to “To h__ with you and your money!”

In my opinion - Simon’s response to Peter is more of a threat than an entreaty. He had lost his following; tradition holds that he saw Philip and the others as a way to recover lost revenue. He was evidently a wealthy magician.

When the time came for Simon to bear evidence of his regeneration he showed instead that he did not have a relationship with Jesus.

Principle – if something is wrong with the heart upon believing, that something can keep one out of heaven.

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

John 2:23-25

He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean."

John 13:6-11

Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

John 20:28-29

CHALLENGE:

"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.‘”

Matthew 7:16-23

Acts, Christianity, Expository, Greed, Homiletics, Outlines,
Preaching, Regeneration, Sermons

JEREMIAH 18:1-6 - Flawed vessels!

TOPIC: Sovereignty; Mercy, Rebirth

TITLE: FLAWED VESSELS - Once Marred, Now Remade!
TEXT: Jeremiah 18:1-6 [NKJV]

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words."

Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!"

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What Forces are Powerful Enough to Interfere with God’s Molding of Us?
CONCISE OUTLINE

I. UNWORKABLE CLAY CANNOT BE MOLDED!
II. UNUSABLE CLAY CANNOT BE MOLDED!
III. UNSEALED CLAY CANNOT BE MOLDED!

TRUTH CLAIM/CONTEXT: God has become fed up with Israel, so He calls upon Jeremiah [aka: the weeping prophet]. The Lord was intent on demonstrating to Israel that He had had enough of their adultery and fornication with the pagan gods of their heathen neighbors. He was especially upset with their lack of obedience to the Law.

Through Jeremiah, God ...

1. declares His sovereignty over all created things, as well as
   
2. His willingness to remake any of it that needs it [but only as it pleases and glorifies Him].

We are all marred/flawed vessels [Romans 6:23], destined for destruction and, except for God's mercy and grace, deserving of such treatment.

In Romans 9, in the context of a) Abraham's sons versus the promise to Sarah's seed [vv.6-9] and b) hating Esau versus loving Jacob [vv.10-13], Paul explains to Roman believers that God consults no one concerning His will concerning anything. What makes no sense to the mind of carnal man makes complete sense if spiritually discerned.

So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use?

What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared be-forehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

Romans 9:18-24

Here Paul …

1. reveals that God divides His subjects into those destined for …

a. honorable use versus common use or
b. vessels of mercy versus vessels wrath …

2. and explains that God

a. endures the sinful arrogance of the lost (i.e., "vessels of wrath"; v.22) in order to
b. "make known the riches of His glory upon [the saved]" (i.e., “vessels of mercy”; v.23).

Again, the Spirit uses the metaphor of the Potter. Later [in Ephesians 8], Paul writes to believers concerning …

1. the doctrine of the True Church and
2. the purpose [or the walk] of the True Believer.

Though not mentioning the parable of the Potter, he alludes to it indirectly.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10

In this passage Paul …

1. reiterates God's sovereign power to have mercy upon whom He wills;
2. states that our receipt of this mercy is not by our own effort, but is a “gift of God”; and
3. reveals God’s establishment of righteousness works for “vessels of mercy” before being made a new creature [2 Corinthians 5:17].

This leaves a question: if God “endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction," then how much more will He endure those "vessels of mercy ... prepared beforehand for glory?” [Romans 9:22, 23 NKJV]

If, therefore, Jesus died that man might once again find himself on the Potter's wheel and find the Potter willing to show him mercy and remake him, then why, pray tell, does he continue to harden himself to the will of his Creator?

I ask you: what force is powerful enough to interfere with God’s effort to vessels destined for wrath into vessels of mercy?

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What Forces are Powerful Enough to Interfere with God’s Molding of Us?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

I. UNWORKABLE CLAY CANNOT BE MOLDED!

That is, clay which has been allowed to dry out or harden. Everywhere in the New Testament, we are reminded of the role of water in the life of the saint.

Jesus answered [the woman at the well] and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."

John 4:10; NKJV

"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

John 7:38

… that He might sanctify and cleanse [His Church] with the washing of water by the word …

Ephesians 5:26

"Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion [in the wilderness]."

Hebrews 3:15

II. UNUSABLE CLAY CANNOT BE MOLDED!

That is, material that is full of lumps, sand, grass, sticks, etc.

… if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.

1 Corinthians 3:12-13

Can’t you see these vessels of impurity being unusable?

III. UNSEALED CLAY CANNOT BE MOLDED!

That is, vessels unprepared for firing!

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:13-14

I don’t claim that this text speaks to the firing of clay but believers are sealed and clay is sealed and the analogy works.

APPLICATION: God wants to do with your life just what the Potter does with the clay … remake you, repair your flaws, fill you to overflowing, and use you in His service.

Some of you are, at this time, remain flawed vessels of wrath; others of you are mended vessels of mercy.

Some who are destined for destruction will, by the Grace of God and the skin of their teeth, come to their senses and deal with their condition in time for the Potter to remake them; some won't!

Some of you who are vessels of mercy, destined to do the good works in Christ Jesus, which God created for you beforehand, are busy doing them and loving every minute of it!

Others are so afraid the Potter might require something that they’ve avoided the hands of the Potter! Oh, they’ve built their house on the Rock but they’ve built it of “wood, hay, and stubble.”

These are no longer vessels of wrath but have not yet become vessels of honor … the Bible refers to these as carnal or nominal Christians!

CHALLENGE: Now, let me talk to the vessels of wrath. You are playing fast and loose with the things of God and are in danger of falling into the abyss! Listen, won’t you, to the Apostle John as he tells us how to be certain of eternal life.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith. …. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:4, 9-13a

You all know what you must do and why … let him with hears hear the word of God, let him with eyes see the Son high and lifted up!

Christianity, Expository, Grace, Homiletics,
Jeremiah, Mercy, Outlines, Preaching,
Regeneration, Sermons, Sovereignty