Today's Passage - Acts 8:9-17

Acts 8:9-17   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...  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.   Phillip was used by God mightily in the early church.  He was one of the seven deacons, which included Stephen, that were chosen back in Acts chapter six.  Not only was he filled by the Holy Spirit, he also had great burden for the gospel.  Therefore, the early church often called him "Phillip the evangelist."  When you read this passage, you'd realize that this church didn't seem to have a solid foundation.  Why was that?   First, the believers in Samaria seemed to be easily influenced by the circumstance.  From verse 9 to 13, the words "amazed" and "exclaimed" appeared many times.  Before Phillip went to Samaria, a man named Simon practiced sorcery, and when the locals saw what he did, "all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed."  As soon as Phillip came, the gospel that he preached not only healed the bodies, but also changed inner lives.  Even Simon was startled because both men and women were baptized.  Although they believed, their faith was established on the circumstance; later, when the disciples came and brought forth the work of the Holy Spirit, they were totally amazed, and that's why Simon tried to buy the anointing.  What is our faith based on today?  Is it our circumstance, real estate or our own strength?  If our faith is based on those things, then when the circumstance is bad or we feel weak, our faith is easily shaken.  If our faith, however, is based on the word of God, then no matter how the circumstance changes our faith will remain strong, because the word of God will never change.   Next, the Holy Spirit doesn't have authority in the church of Samaria.  When Peter and John were there, they found that although the believers there were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, they were not baptized in the Holy Spirit.  To "receive the Holy Spirit" means to be filled by the Holy Spirit and to give the authority to their lives to the Holy Spirit.  They needed to let the Holy Spirit move freely in order to accomplish the work of God.  Not only do we need to be baptized in the name of Jesus, we also need to be filled by the Holy Spirit so that we may serve God and live according to His will before Him.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you because not only have you saved our lives, you also gave us strength to live through the Holy Spirit.  May the Lord fill each brother and sister today with the Holy Spirit, so that we may experience your power, faithfulness and abundance each and every day.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!          See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!