How do we react when our influence begins to diminish? Simon the sorcerer was baptized, followed Phillip around but still operated like a sorcerer.

• Is that the fruit of salvation?

• Is that behavior the evidence of a transformed heart?

• Do I long to marvel at people with the gifts of the Spirit?

• Or do I live to love God with genuine faith and a passion to walk in a relationship with Christ?

When we look at the book of Acts chapter eight, Simon’s demonic activity has desensitized the masses in Samaria. His influence and control promoted an agenda of deception and an awareness of manipulation which the culture embraced. This led to untold unhappiness, misery and fear. Something evil was behind all the brokenness, the pain, the confusion. Sickness and diseases were running rapid through the city. People suffering wasn’t just a governmental problem, or an educational problem, it was an intellectual problem because evil was ruling over the hearts and minds of an entire region. There is no order when a society has been affected by witchcraft.

In an atmosphere like that, people are looking to be fascinated by anyone or anything. However because of heightened persecution, Phillip the Evangelist came preaching Christ along with the evidence of miracles and deliverance. Yet evidence of supernatural power isn’t enough to save by itself, as we see in the case of Simon. Phillip’s preaching and authentic power wasn’t a distorted gospel, however when we look Simon we witness a distorted heart. In other words Simon believes but is never taken out of the world’s system. And as we study Acts eight I believe there can be what we call a “false conversion”. People can be delusional and come under deep deception. Like Simon, there was a certain intellectual belief, as well as an outward baptism, but with no change of heart.

What is so self evident is that Simon is completely attentive to the miracles that are operating through Philip, but never attentive to the source of those miracles. There was this sense of assumed ownership that Simon thought he could possibly possess. Simply because of the long standing influence that he had over the hearts and minds of the people in Samaria. When that influence began to diminish he reveals his true heart condition.

Beloved, to be saved is to be under the control of the Spirit of God. Unfortunately Simon’s speech betrays him when he requested to buy the Holy Spirit from Peter. True repentance and humility were not evident in Simon’s soul, only bitterness and iniquity. Sure he gave up the practice of sorcery but sorcery was still lodged in his heart. When reading Peter’s words of correction we see that Simon feared punishment more that he feared God. This attitude left him in the state of deception. He wanted power more than he wanted authentic salvation, he got neither. So what are the takeaways from this narrative? I believe at this hour the prophetic has to be at times confrontational especially when we are dealing with spiritual warfare. Because through out the book of Acts the occult was consistently attempting to undermine the message of the gospel. This takes courage and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that the Lord will anoint the church so they can break the demonic influence over individuals and over territories.

Sincerely,

John Harke Team