It is good to be back in Los Alamos.  Thank you for letting us be gone for two Sundays.  We had a wonderful trip and visited everyone and had a safe trip.  Thanks for your prayers.  I made an interesting observation while being gone the last two Sundays.  I don’t listen to sermons very often.  In fact I am sure I have preached more sermons than I have heard.  Especially, if you don’t count sermons I didn’t listen to as a kid.  This is sermon number 781 in Los Alamos.  I don’t think I have listened to that many sermons. Here is what I observed. It takes a good deal of energy to listen to a sermon; to listen for the point, to grasp the relevance, to wrestle with how the message applies to me.  So, I have a little better appreciation of your perspective on sermons.  Let me thank you for the effort you put into listening to me.  And strangely enough, listening carefully is not the point of this sermon, but it is sort of.

It was a good time for me to be gone because there is a change in the action between chapter 7 and chapter 8. The first seven chapters are all about Jerusalem.  The waiting, the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost, the miracles done in the name of Jesus, the growing confrontation with the Sanhedrin; reprimands, beatings, and then it climaxed with Stephen’s sermon and his stoning.  The Church grew amazingly in those early days in Jerusalem, but that wasn’t the point.  Remember our theme verse?

Acts 1:8 “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere-- in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
 
When we get to Acts 8 the church begins to move.  In Acts 8 it moves from Jerusalem into Judea and then to Samaria.  The promise of the Gospel going to the ends of the earth is beginning.  The Spirit is on the move, big-time in Acts 8; listen.

Acts 8:1-8 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

Here is an example of how the Gospel is spread throughout the area.  The Apostles stayed. I’m not sure why.  But everyone else got out of Dodge and as they left they took the Word with them.

It reminds me of a time on Trek years ago; 1988.  It was raining and everything was soggy and wet and this kid, who will go unnamed, was trying to get a fire started.  He poured Coleman fuel on a pile of wood; a generous amount. When he lit it, the fire went everywhere.  The Coleman fuel had spread on top of the water all over the meadow.  He was jumping all over the fire trying to stomp it out - All the while issuing colorful metaphors as the rest of us laughed -  The more he stomped the further the fuel spread and the fire went all over until it burned all the fuel. 

This is exactly what was going on here.  The more Saul and the Sanhedrin attempted to stomp on the fire of the Gospel the more it spread.  God used the persecution of the Jerusalem church to scatter the word.  Persecution led to great joy because others got to hear about Jesus!  That’s an amazing point – the moving of the Gospel – the good from the bad - but that is not exactly the point of this sermon.  It is getting closer. But we are not there yet.  Keep working.

Back to Philip.  He ends up in some town in Samaria.  Now if you have a better memory than I do, or you are an amazing Bible scholar, you might remember that Luke has talked about Samaria before.

Luke 9:51-56 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.

Here is a cool observation; as Jesus is going toward Jerusalem the Samaritans didn’t accept him and his disciples want to nuke them for not welcoming them.  But now Jesus is moving away from Jerusalem, the Samaritans rejoice and his disciples teach them. There is a good point there too, I’m not sure what it is, but it is not the point either. 

Without taking too much time here, let me simply observe here, the Jews considered the Samaritans to be racially impure and religiously inferior but they did worship the same God and attempt to follow the law of Moses.  So, this shows the progression of the Gospel.  Not only is Luke moving geographically, he is moving ethnically.  And that is good for us!  Next week we take another step in the bottom of the 8th. And when we get to chapter 11 we will see the Gospel move still another ethnic step and then chapter 15 the next and chapter 28 the last.  This is another amazing point; Jews, Out of town Jews, Samaritans, Proselyte Jews, Gentile believers an ultimately the worst, the Romans.  Wow!  That is a great point! The Gospel is for all ethnic groups.  We must never write anyone off.  The amazing Gospel can touch all! But that is not exactly the point we are going to figure out in this sermon.  Let’s hope I don’t run out of time before I get to the point.  I’m still under Bill Redmond’s time?

Back to Philip and the Samaritans. 

Acts 8:9-13 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

We are introduced to a guy named Simon.  He is a sorcerer.  Don’t think about Harry Potter, exactly.  A sorcerer can be defined as someone who attempts to control divine powers through the application of mystical techniques and esoteric formulas. It is manipulating supernatural powers to force them to do your will.  Luke doesn’t say Simon was a fraud.  He seems to believe that what Simon did worked, to some degree.  He was world famous in this Samaritan town. 

The Gospel comes into contact with another miracle worker. Is Jesus just another sorcerer?  Outside of Jerusalem the spread of Christianity has come into contact with a different belief system.  How does the Gospel compete with this? You would expect Simon to oppose Philip from pure jealousy, but that amazingly doesn’t happen. Simon knows power when he sees it and he becomes a Christian!  Here is a competitor but instead of opposing Philip he embraces Christianity.  Wow, the Gospel can touch even the most unexpected people.  That’s a good point too.  Who would have thought that a sorcerer would become a Christian? That’s startling.

Let’s keep going.

Acts 8:14-17 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Wait a second.  What is going on here?  I thought Acts 2:38 said repent and be baptized and get forgiveness and the Holy Spirit? But they didn’t get the Spirit when they were baptized?  What about Acts 5:32?

Acts 5:31-32 “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

I thought we all got Him?  When we obey, we get the Spirit? Peter and John had to come and give the Spirit to them.  I don’t get it.  I have worried over this question since my college days.  Seriously, I have struggled with these few verses perhaps as much as any passage; top ten at least. This is a tough question to answer.  Why didn’t the Samaritans get the Spirit when they were baptized?  There are a couple of different explanations:
-The Samaritans, because they weren’t Jews, had to have an extra step before they got the gift; the Apostles hands?  That’s not an answer I like.
-Maybe everyone had to have Apostles hands to get Him and Luke hasn’t mentioned it until this chapter.  We don’t get the Spirit because there are no more Apostles around?  I hope that is not the case.
-It could be there are different “measures” of the Spirit; there is the indwelling/abiding presence but that is different than the poof – speak in tongues – heal people measure.  One you get automatically.  The other you need to get by Apostles’ hands.  Could be.  But that does not sit real well.
-It could be that the Apostles, who had stayed in Jerusalem, needed to really, see that the Samaritan had gotten it too. So, they needed to get involved.

I kind of don’t know which of these is true. I vacillate between these explanations.  And I think that may be the point of this sermon.  “What? The point is that you don’t know what the point is? Maybe you’ve been gone too long and have forgotten how to preach?  Every week has a Sunday and every Sunday has a sermon and every sermon has a point; right?”  Here is the part where you have to put out some effort into listening.  Keep going in Acts 8.

Acts 8:18-25 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me." When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

Simon was really excited about the possibilities of having the power of the Spirit and being able to pass it on.  He was thinking franchise.  McSorcery!  Sorceries R Us.  He was seeing the dollar signs.  He was still thinking of magic and controlling God.  He thought for the right price he could manipulate the Holy Spirit.  And Peter’s response was as harsh as anything in the New Testament.  You and your money are lost!  Because you thought you could buy the gift of God!  That is the point of this sermon!

You can’t manipulate Jesus!  You can’t put God in a box!  The Spirit is going to do what the Spirit is going to do. That has been the point all through Acts chapter 8.
-The Church thought the persecution was a bad thing. The Spirit used it! The Spirit explodes out of Jerusalem and moves across Judea and Samara.  No one expected this.  No one wanted this.  No one would have believed this! You can’t box the spread of the word!
-The Jews never expected the Gospel to go to the Samaritans. They are just want-to-be Jews. You can’t box the Gospel!
-A Sorcerer would never believe in Jesus. He is the competition.  You can’t box the power!
-Why didn’t the Samaritans get the gift when they were baptized? I don’t know and that’s the point.  You can’t know the Spirit. You can’t box the gift!
-Simon wanted to buy the Spirit.  God is not for sell.  For any price. You can’t box the Spirit!

The Spirit is in control of Acts 8.  The Spirit has an agenda in Acts 8.  The Spirit moves where the Spirit chooses to move.  Here is where the point of this sermon intersects our lives.  We, who are followers of the miracle worker of Nazareth, must trust Him.  We must not attempt to magic God.  Our prayers, our attempts at holy living, our superstitions, our offers of deals, are not going to manipulate God.  Give them up! We simply lay our petitions before him, while at the same time, trusting that his agenda is better than our dreams.