1 00:00:04,167 --> 00:00:06,167 Howdy Mars Hill Church and our extended family 2 00:00:06,250 --> 00:00:08,208 of Mars Hill Global; I'm Pastor Sutton Turner, 3 00:00:08,292 --> 00:00:11,417 your executive pastor here in Ethiopia. 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,000 Some might ask, "What is our extended family 5 00:00:17,083 --> 00:00:18,458 of Mars Hill Global?" 6 00:00:18,500 --> 00:00:23,583 Well, that's 250,000 people that join us by podcast 7 00:00:23,667 --> 00:00:25,667 each and every week! 8 00:00:25,750 --> 00:00:29,333 I want to first encourage you to be a part of a local church, 9 00:00:29,375 --> 00:00:32,458 wherever you are in the world, be a part of a local church 10 00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:34,500 and give your tithe to the local church. 11 00:00:34,542 --> 00:00:36,500 Secondly, I want to encourage you to give, 12 00:00:36,542 --> 00:00:39,875 give over and beyond your tithe to Mars Hill Global. 13 00:00:39,958 --> 00:00:43,333 We're planting churches in Ethiopia, India, 14 00:00:43,417 --> 00:00:45,000 and the United States 15 00:00:45,042 --> 00:00:48,458 because we want to see more people be saved by Jesus. 16 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:50,667 We want to see more people grow with Jesus 17 00:00:50,750 --> 00:00:53,875 and we want to see more people on Jesus' mission. 18 00:00:53,958 --> 00:00:57,250 I pray that you would consider being a part 19 00:00:57,333 --> 00:01:00,083 of the extended family of Mars Hill Global. 20 00:01:00,167 --> 00:01:04,833 Go to marshillchurch.com/global and sign up today. 21 00:01:04,875 --> 00:01:07,875 Jesus is doing some incredible things 22 00:01:07,958 --> 00:01:11,625 and we would like you to be a part of what Jesus is already doing. 23 00:01:28,292 --> 00:01:33,125 You will receive power! 24 00:01:46,708 --> 00:01:51,208 You will receive power! 25 00:02:09,958 --> 00:02:15,292 You will receive power! 26 00:02:22,708 --> 00:02:27,667 Money, fame, power, 27 00:02:27,750 --> 00:02:29,917 and the Holy Spirit. 28 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,500 Sounds like the title of an expose you might find 29 00:02:33,542 --> 00:02:36,833 online today about the contemporary church, 30 00:02:36,875 --> 00:02:38,333 but believe it or not, 31 00:02:38,375 --> 00:02:41,375 it would be an appropriate heading in your Bibles 32 00:02:41,458 --> 00:02:42,917 for the passage of Scripture 33 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,625 that we're about to look at from Acts 8. 34 00:02:45,667 --> 00:02:47,875 I want you to turn there if you would, 35 00:02:47,958 --> 00:02:51,917 and we're going to continue our study in the book of Acts. 36 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,917 And I want to make clear I have just one objective 37 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,417 this morning as I preach. 38 00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:03,000 I want us to honor God the Holy Spirit. 39 00:03:03,042 --> 00:03:06,333 I simply want us to acknowledge the work that he does in us 40 00:03:06,417 --> 00:03:08,667 and through us for the glory of Jesus. 41 00:03:08,750 --> 00:03:11,708 I want us to be mindful of him. 42 00:03:11,792 --> 00:03:14,333 I want us to care for him. 43 00:03:14,375 --> 00:03:16,125 I want us to submit to him. 44 00:03:16,167 --> 00:03:18,500 I want us to esteem him. 45 00:03:18,542 --> 00:03:20,208 I want us to love him. 46 00:03:20,292 --> 00:03:23,208 Will you pray with me, and we'll jump into this text together? 47 00:03:23,292 --> 00:03:26,000 Father, thank you that you are a good and kind Father. 48 00:03:26,083 --> 00:03:29,167 Thank you that you love us with all the love and affection 49 00:03:29,250 --> 00:03:31,167 you have for your Son, Jesus. 50 00:03:31,250 --> 00:03:36,333 Jesus, thank you that you, being eternally God, humbled yourself, 51 00:03:36,375 --> 00:03:40,333 and you entered into our world, and you lived the only holy, 52 00:03:40,375 --> 00:03:43,792 only perfect, only obedient life to the Father 53 00:03:43,833 --> 00:03:45,417 that's ever been lived. 54 00:03:45,500 --> 00:03:47,208 And Jesus, you went to the cross, 55 00:03:47,292 --> 00:03:49,833 and you being without sin, you being without rebellion, 56 00:03:49,875 --> 00:03:52,000 you being without treason, upon the cross, 57 00:03:52,042 --> 00:03:57,500 you paid for the penalty of our sin, our rebellion, our treason. 58 00:03:57,583 --> 00:04:02,375 And Lord Jesus, we rejoice, we exalt in the fact that you rose 59 00:04:02,458 --> 00:04:05,292 from the grave and you're at the right hand of the Father. 60 00:04:05,333 --> 00:04:08,167 And we want everything we think, everything we speak, 61 00:04:08,208 --> 00:04:12,167 everything we do for the rest of our time together to bring glory 62 00:04:12,250 --> 00:04:13,625 and attention to you. 63 00:04:13,667 --> 00:04:15,833 Father and Son, thank you for the Holy Spirit. 64 00:04:15,875 --> 00:04:18,333 God the Holy Spirit, we pray that we would have 65 00:04:18,375 --> 00:04:20,333 a better understanding of who you are. 66 00:04:20,375 --> 00:04:23,375 And as you make yourself known to us through the pages of 67 00:04:23,458 --> 00:04:27,208 Scripture, may we pay closer attention to you. 68 00:04:27,292 --> 00:04:29,667 May we give you a greater esteem and honor 69 00:04:29,750 --> 00:04:31,375 than we ever have before. 70 00:04:31,458 --> 00:04:34,167 And Holy Spirit, I especially pray for those that are here 71 00:04:34,250 --> 00:04:37,167 today who don't know Jesus. 72 00:04:37,250 --> 00:04:39,333 Even for those who think they may know Jesus 73 00:04:39,375 --> 00:04:41,333 but actually don't, I pray, Holy Spirit, 74 00:04:41,375 --> 00:04:44,125 that you would open their hearts to receive 75 00:04:44,167 --> 00:04:45,625 the good news of Jesus. 76 00:04:45,667 --> 00:04:47,625 I pray that they would meet Jesus today 77 00:04:47,667 --> 00:04:49,000 and forever be changed. 78 00:04:49,083 --> 00:04:51,208 In his good name we pray, amen. 79 00:04:51,292 --> 00:04:54,208 So, we focus our attention on the Holy Spirit today 80 00:04:54,292 --> 00:04:55,625 from Acts 8. 81 00:04:55,667 --> 00:04:57,333 We're going to begin in verse 4. 82 00:04:57,375 --> 00:05:00,583 And the first thing I want you to know about the Holy Spirit 83 00:05:00,667 --> 00:05:02,083 and about his power is this. 84 00:05:02,167 --> 00:05:05,750 The Holy Spirit's power is greater than persecution. 85 00:05:05,833 --> 00:05:08,875 The Holy Spirit's power is greater that persecution. 86 00:05:08,958 --> 00:05:10,375 Let me show you. 87 00:05:10,458 --> 00:05:15,917 Acts 8:4, picking up where Pastor Mark left off last week. 88 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,208 "Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 89 00:05:19,292 --> 00:05:21,625 "Philip went down to the city of Samaria 90 00:05:21,667 --> 00:05:24,333 "and proclaimed to them the Christ. 91 00:05:24,375 --> 00:05:27,708 "And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what 92 00:05:27,792 --> 00:05:30,792 "was being said by Philip when they heard him 93 00:05:30,833 --> 00:05:32,833 "and saw the signs that he did. 94 00:05:32,875 --> 00:05:35,500 "For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, 95 00:05:35,583 --> 00:05:40,000 "came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed 96 00:05:40,042 --> 00:05:42,000 "or lame were healed. 97 00:05:42,083 --> 00:05:45,667 So there was much joy in that city." 98 00:05:45,750 --> 00:05:47,833 That's an amazing passage. 99 00:05:47,875 --> 00:05:49,500 That's incredible, 100 00:05:49,583 --> 00:05:51,833 especially considering what just transpired. 101 00:05:51,875 --> 00:05:54,333 Here's the backdrop if you missed last week. 102 00:05:54,375 --> 00:05:56,792 Here's the backdrop to this text. 103 00:05:56,833 --> 00:06:01,083 Persecution has begun to run amuck in Jerusalem. 104 00:06:01,167 --> 00:06:03,792 There are those that are opposing the people of Jesus, 105 00:06:03,833 --> 00:06:06,667 the message of Jesus, and particularly a man named Saul 106 00:06:06,750 --> 00:06:08,750 is ravaging the church. 107 00:06:08,833 --> 00:06:11,417 He's throwing families into jail who believe in Jesus, 108 00:06:11,500 --> 00:06:14,500 and we have seen that Stephen, one of the leaders 109 00:06:14,542 --> 00:06:17,625 in the early church, has just been stoned to death. 110 00:06:17,667 --> 00:06:20,625 So, there's this enormous effort to persecute the church 111 00:06:20,667 --> 00:06:22,875 and some of the Christians are scattering, 112 00:06:22,958 --> 00:06:25,500 particularly those that aren't probably--those aren't that 113 00:06:25,583 --> 00:06:27,167 are native to Jerusalem. 114 00:06:27,250 --> 00:06:30,917 So, we see Philip moves out of Jerusalem, goes to Samaria, 115 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:32,417 which is an adjacent place, 116 00:06:32,500 --> 00:06:34,333 and he picks up where he left off. 117 00:06:34,375 --> 00:06:39,333 He starts talking about Jesus. 118 00:06:39,375 --> 00:06:40,917 It's amazing. 119 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,000 Despite the opponents of Christianity and Jesus 120 00:06:44,042 --> 00:06:46,333 greatest efforts to silence the church, 121 00:06:46,375 --> 00:06:47,875 the power of the Holy Spirit 122 00:06:47,958 --> 00:06:49,792 is greater than their persecution 123 00:06:49,833 --> 00:06:51,792 and the message of Jesus continues 124 00:06:51,833 --> 00:06:53,833 so that more people and more places 125 00:06:53,875 --> 00:06:56,708 are meeting Jesus. 126 00:06:56,792 --> 00:06:58,917 Incredible story. 127 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:02,250 As a matter of fact, what makes it even more remarkable to me 128 00:07:02,333 --> 00:07:06,583 is when you look at Philip's ministry in Samaria, 129 00:07:06,667 --> 00:07:08,667 it looks just like the ministry of Jesus, 130 00:07:08,750 --> 00:07:10,083 doesn't it? 131 00:07:10,167 --> 00:07:11,583 His message is Jesus. 132 00:07:11,667 --> 00:07:13,000 That's all it says. 133 00:07:13,083 --> 00:07:14,792 His message is he preached the Christ. 134 00:07:14,833 --> 00:07:16,875 That's exactly what Jesus did. 135 00:07:16,958 --> 00:07:19,625 Jesus went from village to village and proclaimed himself 136 00:07:19,667 --> 00:07:22,000 as the long awaited One, as the Christ, 137 00:07:22,083 --> 00:07:24,417 as the Messiah who would bring the kingdom of God, 138 00:07:24,500 --> 00:07:27,292 who would make things right between God and his people. 139 00:07:27,333 --> 00:07:30,333 Not only are people hearing about Jesus, 140 00:07:30,375 --> 00:07:33,167 they're seeing the power of Jesus manifested, 141 00:07:33,250 --> 00:07:36,833 so those that are demonized are liberated. 142 00:07:36,875 --> 00:07:38,417 Demons are cast out. 143 00:07:38,500 --> 00:07:41,000 Those who are disabled, those who are ill, 144 00:07:41,083 --> 00:07:44,417 those who are physically compromised are healed, 145 00:07:44,500 --> 00:07:46,917 and the result is great joy. 146 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,583 As a matter of fact, it's just as Jesus called it. 147 00:07:49,667 --> 00:07:52,708 Let me show you a text earlier in the book of Acts that's 148 00:07:52,792 --> 00:07:54,917 really the outline for the book of Acts that 149 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,125 indicates this is just what Jesus said would happen. 150 00:07:57,167 --> 00:07:58,875 Let's look at Acts 1:8 real quick. 151 00:07:58,958 --> 00:08:01,958 Words of Jesus to his disciples before they even began mission. 152 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:03,583 This is what he said. 153 00:08:03,667 --> 00:08:06,333 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit 154 00:08:06,417 --> 00:08:07,833 "has come upon you, 155 00:08:07,917 --> 00:08:09,833 "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem 156 00:08:09,917 --> 00:08:11,250 and in all Judea." 157 00:08:11,333 --> 00:08:12,667 That's phase one. 158 00:08:12,708 --> 00:08:14,167 That's now coming to conclusion. 159 00:08:14,208 --> 00:08:15,875 Phase two has begun here with Philip. 160 00:08:15,958 --> 00:08:17,500 "And Samaria." 161 00:08:17,542 --> 00:08:21,167 Samaria is really the theme, the theatre for phase two. 162 00:08:21,250 --> 00:08:23,250 "And then to the end of the earth," 163 00:08:23,333 --> 00:08:25,458 and that's where we are today in phase three. 164 00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:28,500 So, despite the persecution, despite the opposition, 165 00:08:28,542 --> 00:08:31,083 despite the fact that Christians were being imprisoned 166 00:08:31,167 --> 00:08:32,667 and the message of Jesus 167 00:08:32,750 --> 00:08:34,458 was attempted to be silenced even through 168 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:36,375 cold-blooded murder, guess what happens? 169 00:08:36,458 --> 00:08:40,792 The Holy Spirit's power propels the mission of Jesus 170 00:08:40,833 --> 00:08:45,083 to a new place exactly in line with the words of Jesus. 171 00:08:45,167 --> 00:08:47,583 Does that encourage you today? 172 00:08:47,667 --> 00:08:49,375 I hope that gives you encouragement, 173 00:08:49,458 --> 00:08:53,792 particularly as we look at the context of our own world. 174 00:08:53,833 --> 00:08:56,667 I don't know if you've noticed this yet, 175 00:08:56,750 --> 00:09:00,333 but we live in a culture that's growingly hostile 176 00:09:00,375 --> 00:09:02,458 towards Jesus and Christians. 177 00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:04,542 Have you noticed that yet? 178 00:09:04,625 --> 00:09:06,833 If not, you need to turn on the Internet 179 00:09:06,917 --> 00:09:08,833 and just look at a few articles, right? 180 00:09:08,917 --> 00:09:11,833 We live in a world where, at least by most modern standards 181 00:09:11,917 --> 00:09:15,292 and polls, fewer and fewer people than ever before 182 00:09:15,333 --> 00:09:19,292 in our country are identifying as Bible-believing Christians. 183 00:09:19,333 --> 00:09:23,167 And worse than that, we're seeing a general hostility 184 00:09:23,250 --> 00:09:28,083 played out everywhere against Christianity 185 00:09:28,167 --> 00:09:30,500 and against Christian beliefs, 186 00:09:30,542 --> 00:09:32,500 and it'd be easy to be discouraged. 187 00:09:32,542 --> 00:09:34,167 It'd be easy to look at today, 188 00:09:34,250 --> 00:09:37,500 particularly if you've been a Christian for quite some time, 189 00:09:37,542 --> 00:09:40,250 it'd be easy for you to feel like things are getting 190 00:09:40,333 --> 00:09:42,667 worse, and worse, and worse. 191 00:09:42,750 --> 00:09:46,083 Our culture is becoming more resistant to Jesus, 192 00:09:46,167 --> 00:09:49,083 more resentful of Christians, 193 00:09:49,167 --> 00:09:50,875 and it'd be easy to be disheartened, 194 00:09:50,958 --> 00:09:52,792 but you shouldn't be. 195 00:09:52,833 --> 00:09:55,833 As a matter of fact, you can look out on the horizon 196 00:09:55,917 --> 00:09:58,083 and you can see way off in the distance 197 00:09:58,167 --> 00:09:59,792 this dark cloud of persecution. 198 00:09:59,833 --> 00:10:01,167 Can you feel that? 199 00:10:01,250 --> 00:10:02,667 It's not here yet. 200 00:10:02,750 --> 00:10:04,875 We're not being imprisoned for our belief in Jesus, 201 00:10:04,958 --> 00:10:08,292 and as far as I know, in our country no one is being murdered 202 00:10:08,333 --> 00:10:10,000 and executed for the sake of Jesus, 203 00:10:10,042 --> 00:10:13,625 but maybe something that felt impossible perhaps a decade ago 204 00:10:13,667 --> 00:10:16,792 now looks like it's looming on the horizon. 205 00:10:16,833 --> 00:10:19,792 We're not persecuted yet, but there's resistance, 206 00:10:19,833 --> 00:10:21,167 there's hostility. 207 00:10:21,250 --> 00:10:23,000 There are Christians all over the world 208 00:10:23,042 --> 00:10:26,000 who are going to be executed or imprisoned 209 00:10:26,042 --> 00:10:27,500 for their faith in Jesus. 210 00:10:27,542 --> 00:10:30,833 We're not there yet, but our culture is definitely trending 211 00:10:30,875 --> 00:10:33,167 in that direction. 212 00:10:33,250 --> 00:10:38,125 Don't be discouraged, don't be disheartened because the power 213 00:10:38,167 --> 00:10:41,833 of the Holy Spirit is greater than any persecution. 214 00:10:41,875 --> 00:10:44,917 And no matter what people do to try to silence the message 215 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,417 of Jesus, to try to stop his movement, 216 00:10:47,500 --> 00:10:50,125 the Holy Spirit empowers the mission of Jesus 217 00:10:50,167 --> 00:10:51,583 so that it goes on. 218 00:10:51,667 --> 00:10:54,500 The Holy Spirit is not discouraged today. 219 00:10:54,583 --> 00:10:57,208 The Holy Spirit is not intimidated today. 220 00:10:57,292 --> 00:11:01,375 The Holy Spirit isn't stopping what he does best in forwarding 221 00:11:01,458 --> 00:11:04,083 the mission of Jesus in any way despite the fact 222 00:11:04,167 --> 00:11:06,667 of where our culture is. 223 00:11:06,708 --> 00:11:10,167 Here's my concern. 224 00:11:10,250 --> 00:11:13,708 My concern for us as Bible-believing Christians 225 00:11:13,792 --> 00:11:16,000 as we look at the culture around us, 226 00:11:16,083 --> 00:11:19,375 and instead of turning in prayer to the power of the Holy Spirit 227 00:11:19,458 --> 00:11:22,417 to radically change our world for the better, 228 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:25,917 we could turn to political power instead. 229 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:27,417 Now, don't get me wrong. 230 00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:29,167 I want you to be politically active. 231 00:11:29,250 --> 00:11:31,667 I want you to be politically active according to your 232 00:11:31,750 --> 00:11:34,333 conscience and according to what the Bible tells us is right, 233 00:11:34,375 --> 00:11:36,333 and just, and good. 234 00:11:36,375 --> 00:11:39,417 But don't think that's ever going to change things entirely. 235 00:11:39,500 --> 00:11:41,417 That doesn't make things entirely better. 236 00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:43,833 Holy legislation isn't what changes heart. 237 00:11:43,875 --> 00:11:47,833 Holy Spirit regeneration is what changes the hearts of people. 238 00:11:47,875 --> 00:11:51,500 And you and I can take great confidence and comfort 239 00:11:51,583 --> 00:11:53,583 in the fact that the Holy Spirit's power 240 00:11:53,667 --> 00:11:57,083 is far greater than any persecution we may face. 241 00:11:57,167 --> 00:11:58,500 Are you encouraged? 242 00:11:58,583 --> 00:12:00,583 Do you believe that to be true? 243 00:12:00,667 --> 00:12:04,667 Now, let me introduce to you in Acts 8 someone that I think is 244 00:12:04,708 --> 00:12:07,875 one of the most interesting characters in all of Scripture. 245 00:12:07,958 --> 00:12:09,375 Ready? Verse 9. 246 00:12:09,458 --> 00:12:11,083 I want you to see this. 247 00:12:11,167 --> 00:12:14,167 The Holy Spirit's power is greater than spirituality. 248 00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:16,500 The Holy Spirit's power is greater not only than 249 00:12:16,542 --> 00:12:19,292 persecution, it's also greater than spirituality. 250 00:12:19,333 --> 00:12:20,917 Let's meet Simon. 251 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,583 Verse 9, "But there was a man named Simon, 252 00:12:23,667 --> 00:12:26,875 "who previously practiced magic in the city 253 00:12:26,958 --> 00:12:29,208 and amazed the people of Samaria." 254 00:12:29,292 --> 00:12:32,167 I don't know if he wore a tuxedo and a top hat 255 00:12:32,250 --> 00:12:34,000 and pulled rabbits out of his hat. 256 00:12:34,042 --> 00:12:36,708 I don't know what he did. 257 00:12:36,792 --> 00:12:39,417 "Saying that he himself was somebody great. 258 00:12:39,500 --> 00:12:41,708 They all," verse 10, "paid attention to him, 259 00:12:41,792 --> 00:12:43,500 "from the least to the greatest, saying, 260 00:12:43,542 --> 00:12:49,208 "'This man is the power of God that is called Great.' 261 00:12:49,292 --> 00:12:52,333 "And they paid attention to him because for a long time 262 00:12:52,375 --> 00:12:56,000 he had amazed them with his magic." 263 00:12:56,083 --> 00:12:59,125 But Philip comes and changes everything. 264 00:12:59,167 --> 00:13:01,667 Verse 12, "But when they believed Philip as he preached 265 00:13:01,750 --> 00:13:03,792 "the good news about the kingdom of God 266 00:13:03,833 --> 00:13:06,167 "and the name of Jesus Christ, 267 00:13:06,250 --> 00:13:09,167 they were baptized, both men and women." 268 00:13:09,250 --> 00:13:10,583 Side note here. 269 00:13:10,667 --> 00:13:13,083 Women, Jesus is the best news you could ever hear. 270 00:13:13,167 --> 00:13:14,917 When we look at the Old Testament 271 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:16,333 and the Old Covenant, 272 00:13:16,375 --> 00:13:19,625 it was men through the right of circumcision that demonstrated 273 00:13:19,667 --> 00:13:21,000 the covenant of God. 274 00:13:21,083 --> 00:13:23,583 We move to the New Covenant that Jesus enacts, 275 00:13:23,667 --> 00:13:25,000 it's for women too. 276 00:13:25,083 --> 00:13:26,708 So, men and women alike are baptized. 277 00:13:26,792 --> 00:13:28,125 It's great news. 278 00:13:28,167 --> 00:13:32,167 Jesus is the best news for women anywhere at any point in time. 279 00:13:32,250 --> 00:13:33,917 Verse 13, listen to this. 280 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,208 "Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized 281 00:13:38,292 --> 00:13:40,000 "he continued with Philip. 282 00:13:40,042 --> 00:13:42,875 "And seeing signs and great miracles performed, 283 00:13:42,958 --> 00:13:44,792 he was amazed." 284 00:13:44,833 --> 00:13:46,625 See what's going on here? 285 00:13:46,667 --> 00:13:48,125 This is really an interesting story. 286 00:13:48,167 --> 00:13:51,125 We get a big picture of all the people listening as one 287 00:13:51,167 --> 00:13:53,917 to an audience of Philip's preaching, but in particular, 288 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,625 there's one man of great importance in Samaria, 289 00:13:56,667 --> 00:13:58,000 in this city. 290 00:13:58,083 --> 00:14:00,167 His name is Simon and he's a magician. 291 00:14:00,250 --> 00:14:02,042 Now, here's what the Bible teaches. 292 00:14:02,125 --> 00:14:04,292 It's really important you understand this. 293 00:14:04,333 --> 00:14:08,000 The Bible tells us that we live in a supernatural world. 294 00:14:08,042 --> 00:14:09,542 We live in a supernatural world. 295 00:14:09,625 --> 00:14:11,917 There are supernatural forces around us and there's things 296 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,417 that happen on a regular basis that defy reason, 297 00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:17,917 that defy science, that don't make sense from purely 298 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,708 a naturalistic perspective. 299 00:14:20,792 --> 00:14:26,000 And the Bible tells us that there is supernatural things 300 00:14:26,042 --> 00:14:29,333 that happen that originate from God. 301 00:14:29,375 --> 00:14:32,125 God is a triune God, God the Father, God the Son, 302 00:14:32,167 --> 00:14:33,500 God the Holy Spirit. 303 00:14:33,583 --> 00:14:35,708 God does things that draw attention to his glory 304 00:14:35,792 --> 00:14:37,125 in a very good way, 305 00:14:37,167 --> 00:14:41,000 but there's also dark spiritual forces. 306 00:14:41,083 --> 00:14:44,333 There are created beings that we call angels and a portion of 307 00:14:44,375 --> 00:14:46,000 them rebelled against God. 308 00:14:46,083 --> 00:14:48,208 We call them demons, and they're led by Satan, 309 00:14:48,292 --> 00:14:49,833 and they oppose God, 310 00:14:49,875 --> 00:14:54,167 and they are capable of producing counterfeit miracles 311 00:14:54,250 --> 00:14:56,083 for the sake of distracting people 312 00:14:56,167 --> 00:15:01,333 away from God and also destroying lives. 313 00:15:01,417 --> 00:15:05,500 And somehow, some way, Simon tapped in to 314 00:15:05,542 --> 00:15:07,083 dark spiritual forces 315 00:15:07,167 --> 00:15:10,500 in such a way that he captivated the city in Samaria. 316 00:15:10,542 --> 00:15:13,083 He did miracles and he did things that everybody said 317 00:15:13,167 --> 00:15:16,083 he was great, perhaps some even said he's so great 318 00:15:16,167 --> 00:15:17,625 he must be a god. 319 00:15:17,667 --> 00:15:19,292 That's what the text tells us. 320 00:15:19,333 --> 00:15:23,000 But when Philip comes in the power of the Holy Spirit, 321 00:15:23,083 --> 00:15:27,167 preaches Jesus, people are healed, demons are cast out, 322 00:15:27,250 --> 00:15:30,417 all the sudden, people stop paying attention to Simon 323 00:15:30,500 --> 00:15:32,500 and they turn their attention to Jesus, 324 00:15:32,583 --> 00:15:35,000 and even Simon does as much. 325 00:15:35,083 --> 00:15:36,708 So, the miracles of the Holy Spirit 326 00:15:36,792 --> 00:15:38,125 are so significant, 327 00:15:38,167 --> 00:15:40,625 his work is so powerful, it's greater than the false 328 00:15:40,667 --> 00:15:46,167 spirituality that captivated the city in Samaria. 329 00:15:46,250 --> 00:15:49,333 That's good news for us today, isn't it? 330 00:15:49,375 --> 00:15:52,292 I would argue if you look at those same polls I just 331 00:15:52,333 --> 00:15:55,292 mentioned awhile ago, if there's a growing phenomenon in 332 00:15:55,333 --> 00:15:58,833 our culture, it's spirituality that's ultimately grounded in 333 00:15:58,875 --> 00:16:01,792 demonic activity. 334 00:16:01,833 --> 00:16:04,583 People experience things all the time in our culture 335 00:16:04,667 --> 00:16:06,583 that are supernatural. 336 00:16:06,667 --> 00:16:08,375 They defy reason. 337 00:16:08,458 --> 00:16:11,042 They defy scientific explanation. 338 00:16:11,125 --> 00:16:14,292 And Scripture tells us that behind every false religion 339 00:16:14,333 --> 00:16:18,208 there are demonic forces and powers empowering that religion 340 00:16:18,292 --> 00:16:22,208 to capture the hearts and minds of people. 341 00:16:22,292 --> 00:16:25,333 Good example from my home state. 342 00:16:25,375 --> 00:16:28,500 I grew up in New Mexico and was--before moving here 343 00:16:28,583 --> 00:16:30,500 to the Puget Sound area 344 00:16:30,542 --> 00:16:32,500 as an executive elder of Mars Hill Church, 345 00:16:32,583 --> 00:16:34,333 was lead pastor of Mars Hill Albuquerque. 346 00:16:34,375 --> 00:16:36,500 It was a church that I, along with others, 347 00:16:36,583 --> 00:16:38,000 had planted years ago. 348 00:16:38,083 --> 00:16:42,000 And as we planted this church, we began to see native families 349 00:16:42,042 --> 00:16:46,083 that practiced the Pagan spirituality meet Jesus. 350 00:16:46,167 --> 00:16:47,583 Really exciting, really encouraging. 351 00:16:47,667 --> 00:16:49,708 People turned away from spirituality, 352 00:16:49,792 --> 00:16:54,292 turned to Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit. 353 00:16:54,333 --> 00:16:56,083 And one of these tribal groups 354 00:16:56,167 --> 00:16:59,708 had a lot of superstition around death. 355 00:16:59,792 --> 00:17:03,167 And when you would talk to them and you would ask them to tell 356 00:17:03,250 --> 00:17:06,083 their stories, they weren't just a superstitious people. 357 00:17:06,167 --> 00:17:09,667 They were people that actually experienced demonic activity 358 00:17:09,750 --> 00:17:14,875 on a regular basis that was very confusing and enslaving to them. 359 00:17:14,958 --> 00:17:17,292 So, they had this sense that if they were near, 360 00:17:17,333 --> 00:17:20,000 even a loved one, when that loved one passed away, 361 00:17:20,042 --> 00:17:23,000 the spirit of that loved one could haunt them perpetually. 362 00:17:23,042 --> 00:17:26,000 So oftentimes, when a loved one would be dying in a hospital, 363 00:17:26,042 --> 00:17:28,917 the family would leave and that loved one 364 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,417 would be left to die alone. 365 00:17:31,500 --> 00:17:34,000 So occasionally people would come in from the reservation 366 00:17:34,042 --> 00:17:35,500 that didn't live in Albuquerque. 367 00:17:35,542 --> 00:17:37,500 They would come to the regional medical center, 368 00:17:37,542 --> 00:17:40,125 and these families that were in the church would call me 369 00:17:40,167 --> 00:17:42,875 and say, "Pastor Dave, we have a relative in the hospital 370 00:17:42,958 --> 00:17:44,292 "who's about to die. 371 00:17:44,333 --> 00:17:45,792 Would you go pray for him?" 372 00:17:45,833 --> 00:17:47,500 So, I got a call one day. 373 00:17:47,583 --> 00:17:49,208 Cousin Tony was in from the reservation 374 00:17:49,292 --> 00:17:52,208 and I got a call from a family that believed in Jesus, 375 00:17:52,292 --> 00:17:53,625 belonged to the church, saying, 376 00:17:53,667 --> 00:17:55,833 "Pastor Dave, would you go pray over Cousin Tony? 377 00:17:55,875 --> 00:17:57,208 He's about to die." 378 00:17:57,292 --> 00:17:58,625 I said, "Sure I will." 379 00:17:58,667 --> 00:18:00,458 And so I went into the hospital. 380 00:18:00,500 --> 00:18:02,958 Now, there's this one general thing about hospitals that are 381 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,958 just a little bit interesting if not compromising. 382 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,667 If you're a pastor in a hospital, 383 00:18:06,750 --> 00:18:08,667 they let you do way too much, OK? 384 00:18:08,750 --> 00:18:10,083 You get access to stuff 385 00:18:10,167 --> 00:18:11,583 you probably shouldn't have access to. 386 00:18:11,667 --> 00:18:13,583 So, I walked in to the ICU unit. 387 00:18:13,667 --> 00:18:16,083 I knew the charge nurse. I had been there before. 388 00:18:16,167 --> 00:18:17,792 And it was like, "Hey Pastor Dave, 389 00:18:17,833 --> 00:18:20,000 you want to scrub in and help us today?" 390 00:18:20,042 --> 00:18:22,000 "Well no, let me just pray for people. 391 00:18:22,042 --> 00:18:23,375 "Let's leave it at that. 392 00:18:23,458 --> 00:18:25,583 "I know we have a doctor shortage right now, 393 00:18:25,667 --> 00:18:27,583 but let me just leave it at that." 394 00:18:27,667 --> 00:18:30,583 So there I went and I found Cousin Tony in his room-- 395 00:18:30,667 --> 00:18:33,083 in his ICU room, and he was swollen beyond recognition. 396 00:18:33,167 --> 00:18:35,375 He didn't look good. 397 00:18:35,458 --> 00:18:36,875 He was discolored. 398 00:18:36,958 --> 00:18:40,375 He was almost a grayish blue. 399 00:18:40,458 --> 00:18:43,583 He was laboring to breathe through a respirator, 400 00:18:43,667 --> 00:18:46,250 and he was unconscious. 401 00:18:46,333 --> 00:18:49,750 And seeing that many of his family members had abandoned him 402 00:18:49,833 --> 00:18:52,375 out of fear that if they were there when he died, 403 00:18:52,458 --> 00:18:54,458 they would be haunted by his spirit, 404 00:18:54,500 --> 00:18:56,250 I prayed before I prayed for him. 405 00:18:56,333 --> 00:18:57,667 I walked in. 406 00:18:57,708 --> 00:19:00,458 Because he wasn't alert, I put my hand on his head, 407 00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:02,667 I leaned over in his ear, and I prayed. 408 00:19:02,708 --> 00:19:04,333 And I remember praying two things. 409 00:19:04,417 --> 00:19:06,208 I prayed that Jesus would save him, 410 00:19:06,292 --> 00:19:08,208 that Jesus would deliver him from his sin 411 00:19:08,292 --> 00:19:09,625 and free him from sin. 412 00:19:09,667 --> 00:19:12,792 And then I also prayed that he would walk out of the hospital, 413 00:19:12,833 --> 00:19:15,792 he would go back home to his family members, to his friends, 414 00:19:15,833 --> 00:19:18,500 and he would be one who told others among his people 415 00:19:18,542 --> 00:19:20,000 about Jesus. 416 00:19:20,042 --> 00:19:21,500 Then I left. 417 00:19:21,542 --> 00:19:23,833 I had to get out of town that afternoon, 418 00:19:23,917 --> 00:19:26,042 had other responsibilities that took me out of town, 419 00:19:26,125 --> 00:19:28,542 and I just waited for this family that Cousin Tony 420 00:19:28,625 --> 00:19:30,167 belonged to to call me back 421 00:19:30,208 --> 00:19:31,875 and tell me that he had died 422 00:19:31,958 --> 00:19:34,250 and now it was time to prepare a funeral. 423 00:19:34,333 --> 00:19:35,667 But I didn't hear anything. 424 00:19:35,708 --> 00:19:38,167 I came back to Albuquerque after 3 or 4 days, 425 00:19:38,208 --> 00:19:39,667 called the family up and said, 426 00:19:39,708 --> 00:19:42,375 "Hey, tell me how Cousin Tony is doing." 427 00:19:42,458 --> 00:19:45,083 And the woman on the other end of the line said, 428 00:19:45,167 --> 00:19:46,583 "You wouldn't believe this Pastor Dave, 429 00:19:46,667 --> 00:19:49,250 "but after you prayed for him, Cousin Tony walked out of 430 00:19:49,333 --> 00:19:51,292 "the hospital within 36 hours. 431 00:19:51,333 --> 00:19:54,500 He's now back on the reservation recovering." 432 00:19:54,542 --> 00:19:57,500 That's the Holy Spirit's power. 433 00:19:57,542 --> 00:19:59,042 That's not about me. 434 00:19:59,125 --> 00:20:00,875 That's ultimately what the Holy Spirit does, 435 00:20:00,958 --> 00:20:05,458 because the Holy Spirit's power is greater than spirituality. 436 00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:08,792 The Holy Spirit makes it very clear that Jesus is 437 00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:10,875 King of kings and Lord of lords, 438 00:20:10,958 --> 00:20:12,792 and every thing, every spirit, 439 00:20:12,833 --> 00:20:15,125 is under his authority. 440 00:20:15,167 --> 00:20:18,125 That's good news to us today because we encounter people 441 00:20:18,167 --> 00:20:21,000 on a regular basis who are deceived by 442 00:20:21,083 --> 00:20:24,333 supernatural experiences in their lives. 443 00:20:24,375 --> 00:20:26,917 And yet, we know the Holy Spirit and his power 444 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,583 transcends all that. 445 00:20:28,667 --> 00:20:31,000 The Holy Spirit works in miraculous ways 446 00:20:31,083 --> 00:20:32,625 to draw attention to the one 447 00:20:32,667 --> 00:20:34,583 who has the most authority, the most power, 448 00:20:34,667 --> 00:20:37,000 the Lord Jesus Christ. 449 00:20:37,083 --> 00:20:40,667 The Holy Spirit's power is greater than persecution. 450 00:20:40,750 --> 00:20:44,500 The Holy Spirit's power is greater that spirituality. 451 00:20:44,583 --> 00:20:47,417 The third thing I want you to see is the Holy Spirit's 452 00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:49,833 presence is the greatest gift. 453 00:20:49,875 --> 00:20:52,833 Back to our text. 454 00:20:52,875 --> 00:20:59,833 Acts 8:14, "Now when the apostles at Jerusalem 455 00:20:59,875 --> 00:21:02,375 "heard that Samaria had received the word, 456 00:21:02,458 --> 00:21:04,583 "they sent to them Peter and John, 457 00:21:04,667 --> 00:21:07,583 "who came down and prayed for them that they might receive 458 00:21:07,667 --> 00:21:11,625 the Holy Spirit," verse 16, "for he had not yet fallen on 459 00:21:11,667 --> 00:21:14,917 "any of them, but they had only been baptized 460 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,125 "in the name of the Lord Jesus. 461 00:21:17,167 --> 00:21:19,625 "Then they laid their hands on them and they received 462 00:21:19,667 --> 00:21:21,833 the Holy Spirit." 463 00:21:21,875 --> 00:21:24,583 So much to glean here. 464 00:21:24,667 --> 00:21:30,083 So much to unpack, but we need to be really careful. 465 00:21:30,167 --> 00:21:33,208 We've got to be careful that when we see the book of Acts, 466 00:21:33,292 --> 00:21:36,083 we don't take patterns that we see there 467 00:21:36,167 --> 00:21:37,500 and consider them normative. 468 00:21:37,542 --> 00:21:40,000 I'm going to get to that in just a minute. 469 00:21:40,042 --> 00:21:41,708 But to really understand what's going on, 470 00:21:41,792 --> 00:21:43,708 you need to understand who the Samaritans are. 471 00:21:43,792 --> 00:21:46,208 As the church that began in Jerusalem begins to expand, 472 00:21:46,292 --> 00:21:49,375 through persecution nonetheless, into other parts of the world 473 00:21:49,458 --> 00:21:52,375 and now the gospel's been preaching in Samaria 474 00:21:52,458 --> 00:21:54,208 and Samaritans are responding. 475 00:21:54,292 --> 00:21:56,167 If you were John, if you were Peter, 476 00:21:56,250 --> 00:21:58,583 if you were a member of the apostles, 477 00:21:58,667 --> 00:22:00,167 and you were Jewish, 478 00:22:00,208 --> 00:22:03,167 and you saw what was going on, you would be absolutely shocked 479 00:22:03,208 --> 00:22:04,667 because the Samaritans were the people 480 00:22:04,708 --> 00:22:06,875 they considered to be furthest from God. 481 00:22:06,958 --> 00:22:09,375 And the fact that God was saving them was miraculous 482 00:22:09,458 --> 00:22:12,083 beyond their imagination. 483 00:22:12,167 --> 00:22:14,625 Now, here's who the Samaritans are to the Jews. 484 00:22:14,667 --> 00:22:19,500 The Samaritans are half-breeds and they're heretics. 485 00:22:19,542 --> 00:22:22,083 The Samaritans are the remnant of the ten northern tribes 486 00:22:22,167 --> 00:22:23,667 of a nation of Israel 487 00:22:23,750 --> 00:22:27,125 that went into captivity in Assyria in 722 B.C. 488 00:22:27,167 --> 00:22:29,833 and a few people were left in Northern Israel. 489 00:22:29,875 --> 00:22:32,417 Those people that were left began to intermarry even though 490 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:34,417 God warned them against this. 491 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:36,500 They began to intermarry with foreign people. 492 00:22:36,583 --> 00:22:38,417 So, you had what seemed to be people 493 00:22:38,500 --> 00:22:40,833 with some Semitic Jewish heritage, 494 00:22:40,875 --> 00:22:45,333 but were also intermixed with other ethnic groups as well. 495 00:22:45,375 --> 00:22:47,125 So, from a Jewish perspective, 496 00:22:47,167 --> 00:22:49,292 particularly a committed Jewish perspective, 497 00:22:49,333 --> 00:22:51,125 these people were traitors. 498 00:22:51,167 --> 00:22:52,917 They were sellouts. They were half-breeds. 499 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,125 Not only were they half-breeds, they were heretics because 500 00:22:56,167 --> 00:22:59,625 what they did is they offered up a parallel form of Judaism. 501 00:22:59,667 --> 00:23:02,167 They began to have their own concepts of worship, 502 00:23:02,250 --> 00:23:04,333 their own temple, their own gathering place. 503 00:23:04,417 --> 00:23:08,542 They set up a religious rivalry with Jerusalem. 504 00:23:08,625 --> 00:23:10,250 If you're familiar with the Bible, 505 00:23:10,333 --> 00:23:13,833 remember Jesus encountered this in John 4 when he goes to 506 00:23:13,875 --> 00:23:16,083 and meets the woman at the well in Samaria. 507 00:23:16,167 --> 00:23:18,667 They get into a theological debate and Jesus basically says 508 00:23:18,750 --> 00:23:21,583 to her, "You don't know what you're talking about." 509 00:23:21,667 --> 00:23:24,625 So, the fact that the Samaritans have believed in Jesus 510 00:23:24,667 --> 00:23:26,833 is miraculous. 511 00:23:26,875 --> 00:23:28,500 From a Jewish perspective, 512 00:23:28,583 --> 00:23:32,208 no one would believe that the Samaritans 513 00:23:32,292 --> 00:23:34,167 would ever respond to God because they're half-breeds 514 00:23:34,250 --> 00:23:36,333 and they're heretics. 515 00:23:36,375 --> 00:23:40,125 Now, we need to be careful when we come to the book of Acts 516 00:23:40,167 --> 00:23:42,875 to make patterns that we declare to be normative 517 00:23:42,958 --> 00:23:44,917 that just aren't normative. 518 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,125 What we see going on here isn't normative. 519 00:23:49,167 --> 00:23:50,583 Here's what I mean by that. 520 00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:52,000 Three things happen. 521 00:23:52,042 --> 00:23:53,500 First, we're told the people believe. 522 00:23:53,542 --> 00:23:54,875 After they believe, they're baptized, 523 00:23:54,958 --> 00:23:57,500 and there must have been at least some duration of time 524 00:23:57,583 --> 00:24:00,583 that passed before they receive the Holy Spirit. 525 00:24:00,667 --> 00:24:03,833 That's not always the way it plays out in the book of Acts. 526 00:24:03,917 --> 00:24:06,667 It's not what happens in Acts 2 at Pentecost. 527 00:24:06,750 --> 00:24:09,542 It's not what happens in a chapter here later 528 00:24:09,625 --> 00:24:12,375 when Saul meets Jesus. 529 00:24:12,458 --> 00:24:15,000 It's not what happens in Acts 10 when the first 530 00:24:15,042 --> 00:24:19,625 full-blooded Gentiles under Cornelius meet Jesus. 531 00:24:19,667 --> 00:24:22,917 And so we have to be really careful to not say this is 532 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,625 a normative pattern of what it means to become a Christian. 533 00:24:25,667 --> 00:24:27,625 You believe, then you're baptized, 534 00:24:27,667 --> 00:24:29,500 and then after some period of time, 535 00:24:29,583 --> 00:24:31,375 someone comes and lays hands on you 536 00:24:31,458 --> 00:24:35,125 and the Holy Spirit indwells you. 537 00:24:35,167 --> 00:24:37,875 The question is then why did it happen this way? 538 00:24:37,958 --> 00:24:39,625 I don't know. 539 00:24:39,667 --> 00:24:41,833 I can't speak authoritatively to that. 540 00:24:41,875 --> 00:24:44,833 I can offer up some thoughts, but I want you to understand 541 00:24:44,875 --> 00:24:46,583 this is purely conjecture. 542 00:24:46,667 --> 00:24:49,375 I don't know why it happened this way. 543 00:24:49,458 --> 00:24:53,167 But I would say, if I had to reason a guess, 544 00:24:53,250 --> 00:24:54,833 it would be two-fold. 545 00:24:54,875 --> 00:24:59,167 Number one, it was very clear because of the religious rivalry 546 00:24:59,250 --> 00:25:02,500 it was very important that the Samaritans, 547 00:25:02,542 --> 00:25:04,542 who had an antagonistic relationship with the Jews, 548 00:25:04,625 --> 00:25:09,375 understood that John and Peter had authority as apostles. 549 00:25:09,458 --> 00:25:12,500 So, there could have been some authentication of their 550 00:25:12,583 --> 00:25:15,917 authority in laying their hands on these Samaritans who become 551 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,125 believers and them receiving the Holy Spirit in that. 552 00:25:20,167 --> 00:25:22,917 And perhaps there is another side of the coin as well. 553 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,667 Maybe it was important for the Jewish Christians 554 00:25:25,750 --> 00:25:27,833 to realize the Samaritans were no longer 555 00:25:27,875 --> 00:25:29,625 half-breeds and heretics. 556 00:25:29,667 --> 00:25:33,208 They belonged to Jesus, and they received the Holy Spirit just as 557 00:25:33,292 --> 00:25:36,708 the Jewish Christians did. 558 00:25:36,792 --> 00:25:39,917 But as we look at this text, I don't want you to miss 559 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,833 for a minute the bigger biblical narrative 560 00:25:43,875 --> 00:25:46,417 of why this is important. 561 00:25:46,500 --> 00:25:49,125 I don't want this to obscure the big picture here, 562 00:25:49,167 --> 00:25:54,000 because what's going on here speaks a great volume 563 00:25:54,083 --> 00:25:57,708 about who God is and what he wants to do. 564 00:25:57,792 --> 00:26:00,875 There's a meta-narrative that runs through the pages of our 565 00:26:00,958 --> 00:26:05,750 Bible that begins in Genesis and concludes in Revelation. 566 00:26:05,833 --> 00:26:12,708 We have a God who created us and he loves us so much 567 00:26:12,792 --> 00:26:15,417 he wants to live among us. 568 00:26:15,500 --> 00:26:17,417 Let me prove that to you. 569 00:26:17,500 --> 00:26:23,292 Genesis 3, prior to God confronting Adam and Eve over 570 00:26:23,333 --> 00:26:25,917 the rebellion in the Garden, what do we find God doing? 571 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,333 What was he doing? 572 00:26:27,375 --> 00:26:31,875 He was walking in the Garden that he created to be 573 00:26:31,958 --> 00:26:35,000 with the people he created, Adam and Eve. 574 00:26:35,083 --> 00:26:37,208 I don't know what that looked like, 575 00:26:37,292 --> 00:26:39,833 but that must have been phenomenal. 576 00:26:39,875 --> 00:26:43,500 God created Adam and Eve, he put them in a garden, 577 00:26:43,583 --> 00:26:47,125 and his desire was to walk among them, to relate to them, 578 00:26:47,167 --> 00:26:49,583 to live among them. 579 00:26:49,667 --> 00:26:51,125 Their sin changes everything. 580 00:26:51,167 --> 00:26:53,333 And as we move through the book of Genesis, 581 00:26:53,375 --> 00:26:56,375 God makes an unconditional covenant with a man named Abram 582 00:26:56,458 --> 00:26:58,875 that he will be his God and Abraham's people 583 00:26:58,958 --> 00:27:00,333 will be his people. 584 00:27:00,417 --> 00:27:02,542 And we come to the point where God delivers 585 00:27:02,625 --> 00:27:04,875 the nation of Israel out of Egypt, 586 00:27:04,958 --> 00:27:07,083 and as God has them and he's delivering them 587 00:27:07,167 --> 00:27:12,292 in Exodus 29:45, God almost in an emotional sense declares, 588 00:27:12,333 --> 00:27:14,000 "I will be their God. 589 00:27:14,083 --> 00:27:18,000 I will live among them and they will be my people." 590 00:27:18,083 --> 00:27:22,292 And from that point, we begin to see the concept of a tabernacle 591 00:27:22,333 --> 00:27:25,333 where God's people can come together and they can experience 592 00:27:25,375 --> 00:27:28,375 his presence, that God indeed lives among them 593 00:27:28,458 --> 00:27:30,875 and they are his people. 594 00:27:30,958 --> 00:27:33,375 Then we see the idea of a more permanent temple 595 00:27:33,458 --> 00:27:35,375 being constructed in the Old Testament 596 00:27:35,458 --> 00:27:37,208 where God's presence resides 597 00:27:37,292 --> 00:27:40,667 and people can come and they can experience his presence. 598 00:27:40,750 --> 00:27:44,125 And again, God is a God who desires to live among his people 599 00:27:44,167 --> 00:27:46,917 and dwell among them. 600 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,708 Then this whole concept ultimately culminates in Jesus. 601 00:27:49,792 --> 00:27:52,792 Jesus comes, and then Jesus, as he ascends into heaven, 602 00:27:52,833 --> 00:27:54,417 he gives the Holy Spirit. 603 00:27:54,500 --> 00:27:57,792 In 2 Corinthians 6:16-17, 604 00:27:57,833 --> 00:28:01,083 we understand the temple is no longer a place. 605 00:28:01,167 --> 00:28:04,000 You don't go to a place to experience God's presence, 606 00:28:04,042 --> 00:28:07,875 God's temple are a people, a people that belong to Jesus, 607 00:28:07,958 --> 00:28:12,250 that are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. 608 00:28:12,333 --> 00:28:14,750 And one of my favorite passages of all, Revelation 21. 609 00:28:14,833 --> 00:28:18,167 As the Bible concludes, one of the last pictures we see 610 00:28:18,250 --> 00:28:22,167 of God's intent all the way along that began in Genesis, 611 00:28:22,208 --> 00:28:24,292 that began with the creation of humanity, 612 00:28:24,333 --> 00:28:28,667 Revelation 21:3 basically says that God will be their God. 613 00:28:28,708 --> 00:28:30,292 He'll dwell among their people. 614 00:28:30,333 --> 00:28:31,792 There will be no more death. 615 00:28:31,833 --> 00:28:33,292 There will be no more sin. 616 00:28:33,333 --> 00:28:34,792 There will be no more Satan. 617 00:28:34,833 --> 00:28:37,000 But God will be their people and in Jesus 618 00:28:37,042 --> 00:28:38,375 he will live among them. 619 00:28:38,458 --> 00:28:40,667 And you and I ultimately will live among Jesus 620 00:28:40,750 --> 00:28:46,042 in our resurrected body for all eternity. 621 00:28:46,125 --> 00:28:50,750 Do you see what a gift that is? 622 00:28:50,833 --> 00:28:53,292 What's the greatest gift God could ever give us? 623 00:28:53,333 --> 00:28:55,792 If he's the greatest thing that ever existed 624 00:28:55,833 --> 00:28:57,458 and he could give of himself. 625 00:28:57,500 --> 00:29:04,000 What if God loved us so much that he wanted to live with us? 626 00:29:04,083 --> 00:29:07,000 What if he loved us so much he didn't want to remain 627 00:29:07,083 --> 00:29:08,500 at a distance as an onlooker, 628 00:29:08,583 --> 00:29:10,500 looking at all the things that are transpiring 629 00:29:10,583 --> 00:29:13,250 in the world, but he wanted to enter into our world 630 00:29:13,333 --> 00:29:16,583 and he wanted to dwell among us? 631 00:29:16,667 --> 00:29:23,667 What if God the Holy Spirit is with us right now? 632 00:29:26,542 --> 00:29:30,375 What if what happens when we come together on Sundays, 633 00:29:30,458 --> 00:29:34,000 we're the temple of God? 634 00:29:34,042 --> 00:29:37,167 God no longer lives in a place. 635 00:29:37,208 --> 00:29:40,375 God lives among his people, and when we come together, 636 00:29:40,458 --> 00:29:47,000 we worship because we enjoy the presence of God. 637 00:29:47,042 --> 00:29:52,000 We had a spring training day 2 weeks ago--2 days actually. 638 00:29:52,042 --> 00:29:55,000 Spring training is a time every year that we get together after 639 00:29:55,042 --> 00:29:58,000 Easter is over as lead pastors and executive pastors 640 00:29:58,042 --> 00:30:00,375 and we look to the future. 641 00:30:00,458 --> 00:30:03,292 And it's kind of a working retreat if you will. 642 00:30:03,333 --> 00:30:05,792 Lots of spreadsheets, lots of plans. 643 00:30:05,833 --> 00:30:09,042 We look at staffing models, we look at calendars. 644 00:30:09,125 --> 00:30:13,708 It's a very complex thing to get 15 locations and 5 states 645 00:30:13,792 --> 00:30:15,167 on the same page, 646 00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:18,125 and so we bring all the leaders together 647 00:30:18,167 --> 00:30:20,875 and we go to work for a couple of days. 648 00:30:20,958 --> 00:30:23,208 And usually, at the culmination of that experience, 649 00:30:23,292 --> 00:30:26,083 Pastor Mark will conclude by giving us just a, 650 00:30:26,167 --> 00:30:28,583 "Hey, let's go for it, guys. 651 00:30:28,667 --> 00:30:30,708 "Through the Bible, let's be on mission with Jesus. 652 00:30:30,792 --> 00:30:33,125 Rah, rah, rah, let's go, go, go!" 653 00:30:33,167 --> 00:30:36,708 And it came time for that last allocation 654 00:30:36,792 --> 00:30:40,000 that Pastor Mark had to preach to us, 655 00:30:40,042 --> 00:30:41,917 and he did something that was surprising, 656 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,125 but was absolutely perfect. 657 00:30:44,167 --> 00:30:46,500 He said, "Guys, let's do this. 658 00:30:46,583 --> 00:30:51,208 "Let's make a big circle, and let's just pray. 659 00:30:51,292 --> 00:30:53,708 "Let's put aside this last hour and a half, and 660 00:30:53,792 --> 00:30:56,417 let's just let the Holy Spirit lead us in prayer." 661 00:30:56,500 --> 00:30:59,417 As matter of fact, I think I had a picture of it 662 00:30:59,500 --> 00:31:00,875 to show you guys. 663 00:31:00,958 --> 00:31:02,667 There it is. U-District Church. 664 00:31:02,708 --> 00:31:05,583 We prayed standing like an hour and a half. 665 00:31:05,667 --> 00:31:07,167 We just prayed. 666 00:31:07,250 --> 00:31:09,875 Some guys cried, some guys mourned, 667 00:31:09,958 --> 00:31:11,833 some prayed for the future. 668 00:31:11,875 --> 00:31:15,333 We all prayed for you, that you would grow in Jesus. 669 00:31:15,375 --> 00:31:17,375 We prayed for people that aren't here yet. 670 00:31:17,458 --> 00:31:21,125 And I don't know if God has for me to be at Mars Hill 671 00:31:21,167 --> 00:31:23,792 5 more years or 50 more years. 672 00:31:23,833 --> 00:31:25,625 Now, 50 years is hard to imagine. 673 00:31:25,667 --> 00:31:28,625 I can't imagine being 98 and having anything to do to serve, 674 00:31:28,667 --> 00:31:30,000 but maybe. 675 00:31:30,083 --> 00:31:31,792 Maybe by God's grace that will happen, 676 00:31:31,833 --> 00:31:34,792 but I really believe that this day will stand in my memory 677 00:31:34,833 --> 00:31:38,208 forever because what we did for that hour and a half is 678 00:31:38,292 --> 00:31:40,083 we put everything aside and said, 679 00:31:40,167 --> 00:31:46,375 "Together, let's just enjoy the presence of God among us, 680 00:31:46,458 --> 00:31:50,500 God the Holy Spirit." 681 00:31:50,542 --> 00:31:54,917 Mars Hill Church, that's why Saturday services 682 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:59,708 and Sunday services are so important. 683 00:31:59,792 --> 00:32:05,167 When we come together along with the universal church, 684 00:32:05,208 --> 00:32:07,083 we're the temple of God. 685 00:32:07,167 --> 00:32:11,833 God dwells among us and his greatest gift to us 686 00:32:11,875 --> 00:32:13,708 is indeed his presence. 687 00:32:13,792 --> 00:32:17,125 And until Jesus completes his kingdom and we see Jesus 688 00:32:17,167 --> 00:32:20,667 face to face in our resurrected, transformed bodies, 689 00:32:20,750 --> 00:32:23,000 this is as good as it gets. 690 00:32:23,083 --> 00:32:26,500 We get to come together and we get to enjoy the presence 691 00:32:26,583 --> 00:32:29,167 of the Living God who loves us 692 00:32:29,250 --> 00:32:31,667 to the point that he wants to live among us. 693 00:32:31,750 --> 00:32:35,417 Do you realize what's going on right here right now? 694 00:32:35,500 --> 00:32:38,875 Oh, that you would. 695 00:32:38,958 --> 00:32:42,833 Oh, that we'd be mindful of the presence of the Holy Spirit 696 00:32:42,875 --> 00:32:45,833 right here, right now. 697 00:32:45,875 --> 00:32:48,000 Are you? 698 00:32:48,083 --> 00:32:51,875 Are you aware of his presence? 699 00:32:51,958 --> 00:32:56,625 The Holy Spirit, his power is greater than persecution. 700 00:32:56,667 --> 00:32:58,708 The Holy Spirit's power is greater than 701 00:32:58,792 --> 00:33:01,000 counterfeit spirituality. 702 00:33:01,042 --> 00:33:05,667 The Holy Spirit's presence is the greatest gift that we have. 703 00:33:05,750 --> 00:33:08,875 And before we go too far, you have to understand 704 00:33:08,958 --> 00:33:13,167 the Holy Spirit cannot be manipulated. 705 00:33:13,250 --> 00:33:17,167 This story is going to get really weird really fast 706 00:33:17,250 --> 00:33:19,500 as Simon, the magician, our friend, loses his mind. 707 00:33:19,583 --> 00:33:20,917 Ready for this? 708 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,125 Here we go. 709 00:33:23,167 --> 00:33:28,667 Verse 18, "Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given 710 00:33:28,750 --> 00:33:30,917 "through the laying on of the apostles' hands, 711 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:35,417 "he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, 712 00:33:35,500 --> 00:33:38,083 "'so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive 713 00:33:38,167 --> 00:33:39,917 the Holy Spirit.'" 714 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,000 Oh, you shouldn't have said that to Peter. 715 00:33:42,083 --> 00:33:43,917 Here goes Peter, ready? 716 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:48,833 "But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you.'" 717 00:33:48,875 --> 00:33:51,833 One commentator I read this week said this literally reads, 718 00:33:51,875 --> 00:33:54,625 "To hell with you and your money," OK? 719 00:33:54,667 --> 00:33:56,292 That's Peter for you. 720 00:33:56,333 --> 00:33:59,500 "'May your silver perish with you because you thought 721 00:33:59,583 --> 00:34:02,167 "'you could obtain the gift of God with money! 722 00:34:02,208 --> 00:34:04,875 "'You have neither part nor lot in this matter, 723 00:34:04,958 --> 00:34:07,292 "'for your heart is not right before God. 724 00:34:07,333 --> 00:34:11,000 "'Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, 725 00:34:11,042 --> 00:34:13,708 "'and pray to the Lord that, if possible, 726 00:34:13,792 --> 00:34:15,917 "'the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 727 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,583 "'For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness 728 00:34:18,667 --> 00:34:20,083 "'and in the bond of iniquity.' 729 00:34:20,167 --> 00:34:23,375 And Simon answered," and I think rather sheepishly, 730 00:34:23,458 --> 00:34:26,875 "'Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said 731 00:34:26,958 --> 00:34:28,625 "'may come upon me.' 732 00:34:28,667 --> 00:34:31,625 "Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, 733 00:34:31,667 --> 00:34:34,417 "they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel 734 00:34:34,500 --> 00:34:38,625 to many villages of the Samaritans." 735 00:34:38,667 --> 00:34:42,333 The Holy Spirit cannot be manipulated, 736 00:34:42,375 --> 00:34:44,000 and Simon proves this for us. 737 00:34:44,083 --> 00:34:46,333 Now, I want to say this from the outset. 738 00:34:46,375 --> 00:34:50,125 I don't believe Simon was ever a Christian. 739 00:34:50,167 --> 00:34:52,625 Let me give you some big picture Bible reasons why, 740 00:34:52,667 --> 00:34:56,000 and then I really want to hone in on this text to give you 741 00:34:56,083 --> 00:34:58,500 some reasons why I don't think Simon was a Christian. 742 00:34:58,583 --> 00:35:00,292 The Bible tells us, Jesus tells us 743 00:35:00,333 --> 00:35:02,292 through the Parable of the Sower, 744 00:35:02,333 --> 00:35:04,583 sowing seed on soils, that there are people 745 00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:08,583 who outwardly look like they believe in Jesus who don't. 746 00:35:08,667 --> 00:35:11,083 The Bible is very clear that a relationship with God 747 00:35:11,167 --> 00:35:13,625 is something that God does start to finish, 748 00:35:13,667 --> 00:35:16,208 so you and I can't lose a relationship with God. 749 00:35:16,292 --> 00:35:17,917 It's as secure as he is secure. 750 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,667 It's as strong as he is strong. 751 00:35:19,750 --> 00:35:22,417 But the Bible tells us there are often people who have 752 00:35:22,500 --> 00:35:25,000 a superficial faith that isn't from God, 753 00:35:25,042 --> 00:35:27,333 that they don't lose something that they formerly had, 754 00:35:27,375 --> 00:35:29,833 they never had it in the first place. 755 00:35:29,875 --> 00:35:32,500 Jesus tells us this in Matthew 13. 756 00:35:32,583 --> 00:35:35,708 The word "belief" is also used in James 2-- 757 00:35:35,792 --> 00:35:38,625 we studied it recently--where even the demons believe in God 758 00:35:38,667 --> 00:35:40,875 and shudder, but they're not saved. 759 00:35:40,958 --> 00:35:44,333 I don't believe Simon is saved. 760 00:35:44,375 --> 00:35:46,125 Here's five reasons why. 761 00:35:46,167 --> 00:35:48,500 Number one, he didn't get the gospel. 762 00:35:48,583 --> 00:35:54,125 He thought he could pay for a gift from God. 763 00:35:54,167 --> 00:35:56,500 You don't pay for gifts, right? 764 00:35:56,583 --> 00:35:59,000 That's inside out and upside down. 765 00:35:59,083 --> 00:36:00,667 That's self evident. 766 00:36:00,750 --> 00:36:03,792 The message of Jesus isn't what you and I do for God 767 00:36:03,833 --> 00:36:07,000 to earn his favor, it's all about what God has given us 768 00:36:07,042 --> 00:36:10,083 in Jesus to love us and care for us. 769 00:36:10,167 --> 00:36:14,167 We don't buy God off, God pays the price through his 770 00:36:14,250 --> 00:36:18,792 precious Son Jesus to buy us. 771 00:36:18,833 --> 00:36:21,625 Simon doesn't get the gospel. 772 00:36:21,667 --> 00:36:25,417 He doesn't understand the way that a relationship works with 773 00:36:25,500 --> 00:36:26,917 God through Jesus. 774 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:29,792 He misses the point entirely. 775 00:36:29,833 --> 00:36:34,208 Second reason I don't believe he's a Christian, 776 00:36:34,292 --> 00:36:36,708 his heart's wrong. 777 00:36:36,792 --> 00:36:38,208 That's what Peter really goes after. 778 00:36:38,292 --> 00:36:40,333 "Hey, this isn't really about money. 779 00:36:40,375 --> 00:36:41,792 "This is about your heart, Simon, 780 00:36:41,833 --> 00:36:44,083 "and it's in the wrong place. 781 00:36:44,167 --> 00:36:48,500 Your heart's about you." 782 00:36:48,583 --> 00:36:52,333 The Bible's very clear that when you and I become a Christian, 783 00:36:52,375 --> 00:36:53,792 we are converted. 784 00:36:53,833 --> 00:36:56,625 Converted means we are changed, that we don't simply become 785 00:36:56,667 --> 00:36:59,417 improved people, we become radically new people, 786 00:36:59,500 --> 00:37:02,458 that God the Holy Spirit takes out of our chest 787 00:37:02,500 --> 00:37:04,833 a cold, dead heart of stone 788 00:37:04,917 --> 00:37:07,042 and puts in our chest a heart of flesh 789 00:37:07,125 --> 00:37:09,250 that's sensitive and responsive to Jesus. 790 00:37:09,333 --> 00:37:11,208 And so we may not perfectly be there, 791 00:37:11,292 --> 00:37:14,000 but there is present in the life of a true Christian, 792 00:37:14,083 --> 00:37:16,625 a genuine Christian, a love for Jesus and his people. 793 00:37:16,667 --> 00:37:18,208 It's no longer about you. 794 00:37:18,292 --> 00:37:20,333 Simon doesn't get that. 795 00:37:20,375 --> 00:37:25,500 Third thing that Peter tells Simon is this: 796 00:37:25,542 --> 00:37:30,917 "You're a slave to sin. 797 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,917 "You're in the bonds of iniquity. 798 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,375 "You are chained to your sin, Simon. 799 00:37:35,458 --> 00:37:38,375 "You need to be liberated. 800 00:37:38,458 --> 00:37:41,000 You need to be freed." 801 00:37:41,042 --> 00:37:43,667 That's not what it looks like to be a Christian. 802 00:37:43,750 --> 00:37:46,625 We sin, yes, but the sin that once dominated us, 803 00:37:46,667 --> 00:37:49,583 the sin that once ruled over us like a cruel slave master, 804 00:37:49,667 --> 00:37:51,708 we're no longer in bondage to sin. 805 00:37:51,792 --> 00:37:54,167 We become slaves of God to righteousness. 806 00:37:54,250 --> 00:37:57,167 We have a power now through the Holy Spirit to fight back 807 00:37:57,250 --> 00:37:58,708 and we're free. 808 00:37:58,792 --> 00:38:01,292 We're not only forgiven from sin, we're freed from sin, 809 00:38:01,333 --> 00:38:04,583 and the essence of our life in Jesus is we become people 810 00:38:04,667 --> 00:38:11,208 who think, feel, speak, and act like Jesus does. 811 00:38:12,708 --> 00:38:14,875 Fourthly, I don't think Simon has the Holy Spirit. 812 00:38:14,958 --> 00:38:16,292 No indication. 813 00:38:16,333 --> 00:38:17,875 That's why Peter uses language like, 814 00:38:17,958 --> 00:38:21,083 "You're not a part of this lot. You're not a part of this." 815 00:38:21,167 --> 00:38:22,500 What's he talking about this? 816 00:38:22,542 --> 00:38:25,000 He's talking about being a partner with the Holy Spirit. 817 00:38:25,042 --> 00:38:26,750 "Simon, you have no part in this. 818 00:38:26,833 --> 00:38:28,250 You have no lot in this." 819 00:38:28,333 --> 00:38:31,000 You cannot be a Christian and not have the Holy Spirit. 820 00:38:31,042 --> 00:38:32,500 Do you understand that? 821 00:38:32,542 --> 00:38:35,583 Salvation is a work of God start to finish. 822 00:38:35,667 --> 00:38:38,500 The very faith you profess in Jesus is a work 823 00:38:38,542 --> 00:38:39,875 of the Holy Spirit. 824 00:38:39,958 --> 00:38:42,583 The Holy Spirit regenerates you that you that you might believe, 825 00:38:42,667 --> 00:38:46,750 and as you believe, he indwells you. 826 00:38:46,833 --> 00:38:49,583 There's no category in Scripture for a Christian who doesn't have 827 00:38:49,667 --> 00:38:51,000 the Holy Spirit. 828 00:38:51,042 --> 00:38:53,375 It's a baseline definition. 829 00:38:53,458 --> 00:38:57,042 It's a prerequisite for Christianity. 830 00:38:57,125 --> 00:39:01,333 And lastly, fifthly, 831 00:39:01,417 --> 00:39:04,833 Simon's at risk of perishing. 832 00:39:04,875 --> 00:39:06,833 Peter's very clear, "Unless you turn your heart, 833 00:39:06,917 --> 00:39:09,333 "you're going to perish. 834 00:39:09,417 --> 00:39:11,458 "You're going to spend eternity apart from God 835 00:39:11,500 --> 00:39:17,458 in misery and suffering." 836 00:39:17,500 --> 00:39:19,875 I want us to look through Simon's eyes right now 837 00:39:19,958 --> 00:39:24,083 and realize the point that Peter is making. 838 00:39:24,167 --> 00:39:28,167 We cannot manipulate the Holy Spirit. 839 00:39:28,250 --> 00:39:31,375 Do you see that? 840 00:39:31,458 --> 00:39:34,292 His power is amazing. 841 00:39:34,333 --> 00:39:38,000 His presence is satisfying, but you and I, 842 00:39:38,042 --> 00:39:40,042 we don't manipulate the Holy Spirit. 843 00:39:40,125 --> 00:39:44,667 The Holy Spirit is not a force to be harnessed. 844 00:39:44,750 --> 00:39:48,792 The Holy Spirit isn't a phantom that haunts us. 845 00:39:48,833 --> 00:39:54,958 The Holy Spirit is fully God, and we honor him, we obey him, 846 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,958 we love him, we follow him. 847 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:03,792 We don't use him; he uses us. 848 00:40:03,833 --> 00:40:08,500 I was in a desperate time in ministry years ago, 849 00:40:08,542 --> 00:40:10,667 and out of desperation I connected to some pastors 850 00:40:10,750 --> 00:40:13,417 that I loved in my city, but they were wild guys. 851 00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:16,417 And they said, "Hey, we got a prayer retreat just for you. 852 00:40:16,500 --> 00:40:17,833 "Come on out. 853 00:40:17,875 --> 00:40:19,833 It'll set you straight." 854 00:40:19,875 --> 00:40:21,583 So, I came to this prayer retreat. 855 00:40:21,667 --> 00:40:24,083 The first bad sign was we started it off with 856 00:40:24,167 --> 00:40:25,500 heavy chicken fried steak. 857 00:40:25,542 --> 00:40:27,500 Not a good way to start--with cream gravy. 858 00:40:27,542 --> 00:40:29,667 Not a good way to start a prayer retreat. 859 00:40:29,750 --> 00:40:32,875 But as we prayed, I was taken aback how men were yelling at 860 00:40:32,958 --> 00:40:35,125 the Holy Spirit, telling him to do things. 861 00:40:35,167 --> 00:40:37,875 They were directing the Holy Spirit. 862 00:40:37,958 --> 00:40:40,083 They were commanding the Holy Spirit. 863 00:40:40,167 --> 00:40:44,417 That's inside out and upside down, right? 864 00:40:44,500 --> 00:40:46,125 He's not a force we harness. 865 00:40:46,167 --> 00:40:48,000 He's not a phantom that haunts us. 866 00:40:48,042 --> 00:40:51,708 He's fully God and we honor him, we submit to him, 867 00:40:51,792 --> 00:40:53,208 we yield to him. 868 00:40:53,292 --> 00:40:56,917 It's not what we want him to do, it's what he wants us to do 869 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:58,333 that's ultimately important. 870 00:40:58,375 --> 00:41:02,250 Do you see that? 871 00:41:02,333 --> 00:41:07,792 I want to close with two applications today. 872 00:41:07,833 --> 00:41:11,792 First, for the Christian. 873 00:41:11,833 --> 00:41:14,292 I want us to look through the eyes of Simon 874 00:41:14,333 --> 00:41:18,000 and I want us to examine our motivation, right? 875 00:41:18,042 --> 00:41:21,500 If we took a poll of everyone in the room 876 00:41:21,542 --> 00:41:22,917 and I asked the question, 877 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,917 "Do you want the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? 878 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,917 Do you want the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life?" 879 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,000 every Christian without exception, 100% of us in total, 880 00:41:32,083 --> 00:41:33,417 would say, "Yes!" 881 00:41:33,500 --> 00:41:35,292 So, let's just take that for granted. 882 00:41:35,333 --> 00:41:37,917 Let's just take for granted that we all want, as Christians, 883 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:39,417 the power of the Holy Spirit. 884 00:41:39,500 --> 00:41:41,625 We all want the presence of the Holy Spirit. 885 00:41:41,667 --> 00:41:45,083 It begs the second question, "Why?" 886 00:41:45,167 --> 00:41:49,708 Why do you want the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? 887 00:41:49,792 --> 00:41:52,917 Why do you want the presence of the Holy Sprit in your life? 888 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:59,625 Christians, we can learn some things from Simon the magician. 889 00:41:59,667 --> 00:42:04,250 The answer to his why was he wanted to go back to being 890 00:42:04,333 --> 00:42:08,000 the center of attention in the city in Samaria. 891 00:42:08,042 --> 00:42:10,667 He saw an opportunity. 892 00:42:10,708 --> 00:42:13,125 Remember, he once was called great. 893 00:42:13,167 --> 00:42:16,417 People even attributed to him divine status and he's watching 894 00:42:16,500 --> 00:42:19,417 Peter, and he's watching John, through prayer and through 895 00:42:19,500 --> 00:42:22,417 the laying on of hands, pour out the ultimate gift of God 896 00:42:22,500 --> 00:42:23,833 and the Holy Spirit. 897 00:42:23,875 --> 00:42:25,833 He wants some of that action too, why? 898 00:42:25,875 --> 00:42:28,833 Because he desires to be great. 899 00:42:28,875 --> 00:42:30,917 Is that your motivation, Christian, 900 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:35,000 as to why you want the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, 901 00:42:35,083 --> 00:42:37,500 so that you might be great? 902 00:42:37,583 --> 00:42:40,333 Is having the power of the Holy Spirit in your life 903 00:42:40,375 --> 00:42:41,708 for your fame 904 00:42:41,792 --> 00:42:44,208 or is it ultimately for the fame of Jesus? 905 00:42:44,292 --> 00:42:49,208 Because you need to decide, do you want to be filled with 906 00:42:49,292 --> 00:42:51,875 the Holy Spirit and empowered by the Holy Spirit 907 00:42:51,958 --> 00:42:56,833 so that you can be a great woman, a great man, 908 00:42:56,875 --> 00:42:59,500 a great husband, a great wife, 909 00:42:59,542 --> 00:43:02,833 a great dad, a great mom, a great son, a great daughter, 910 00:43:02,917 --> 00:43:07,458 a great accountant, a great software engineer, 911 00:43:07,500 --> 00:43:09,083 a great artist? 912 00:43:09,167 --> 00:43:11,500 And tell me if you haven't heard this before: 913 00:43:11,583 --> 00:43:13,500 "I want the power of the Holy Spirit 914 00:43:13,583 --> 00:43:18,208 so I can be a great athlete." 915 00:43:18,292 --> 00:43:22,208 That's Simon's perspective. 916 00:43:22,292 --> 00:43:29,208 That's not the Holy Spirit's perspective. 917 00:43:29,292 --> 00:43:32,500 The Holy Spirit's power, and purpose, 918 00:43:32,542 --> 00:43:35,792 and presence is ultimately about making Jesus great, 919 00:43:35,833 --> 00:43:37,833 not us great. 920 00:43:37,875 --> 00:43:41,792 Do you see the difference? 921 00:43:41,833 --> 00:43:44,667 What's in your heart today? 922 00:43:44,750 --> 00:43:48,208 I want you to understand, I've struggled with this a lot 923 00:43:48,292 --> 00:43:51,625 in preaching and in pastoral ministry. 924 00:43:51,667 --> 00:43:55,000 I don't want to be a great preacher who talks 925 00:43:55,083 --> 00:43:57,500 a lot about Jesus. 926 00:43:57,583 --> 00:44:00,333 I want to be a preacher who talks a lot about 927 00:44:00,417 --> 00:44:01,750 the great Jesus. 928 00:44:01,833 --> 00:44:04,167 Do you see the difference? 929 00:44:04,208 --> 00:44:07,167 I don't want to be a great pastor who points people 930 00:44:07,250 --> 00:44:11,042 to Jesus, I just want to be a pastor who points people 931 00:44:11,125 --> 00:44:12,833 to the great Jesus. 932 00:44:12,875 --> 00:44:19,875 And to do that, I need the power of the Holy Spirit. 933 00:44:21,333 --> 00:44:25,125 Christian, what's your motive? 934 00:44:25,167 --> 00:44:28,000 Are you aligned with the motivation of the Holy Spirit? 935 00:44:28,083 --> 00:44:29,667 Why is the Holy Spirit motivated? 936 00:44:29,750 --> 00:44:33,292 He wants to make the name of Jesus great. 937 00:44:33,333 --> 00:44:35,500 You and I don't use the Holy Spirit 938 00:44:35,542 --> 00:44:38,708 for our purposes; he uses us for his purposes. 939 00:44:38,792 --> 00:44:43,333 Do you understand the difference? 940 00:44:43,375 --> 00:44:49,375 Non-Christian, are you like Simon? 941 00:44:52,542 --> 00:44:55,917 Maybe you're not a Christian and you don't even know it today. 942 00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:02,042 I think that's where Simon's at here. 943 00:45:04,833 --> 00:45:07,667 Would you, like Simon, say, "You know what? 944 00:45:07,708 --> 00:45:10,375 "I think I believed. 945 00:45:10,458 --> 00:45:13,417 "I prayed a prayer publicly. 946 00:45:13,500 --> 00:45:15,125 "I've talked about Jesus. 947 00:45:15,167 --> 00:45:18,375 I've even been baptized." 948 00:45:18,458 --> 00:45:22,000 But what if, like Simon, you don't get the gospel? 949 00:45:22,083 --> 00:45:25,000 What if this relationship you have with God is all about what 950 00:45:25,083 --> 00:45:27,500 you do instead of what God has done for you? 951 00:45:27,583 --> 00:45:30,208 What if this is all about you doing the right things 952 00:45:30,292 --> 00:45:32,917 and avoiding the wrong things so that God will love you 953 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,417 instead of God already loves you and he's given you 954 00:45:35,500 --> 00:45:40,500 the righteousness of Christ? 955 00:45:42,083 --> 00:45:45,292 What if your heart's in the wrong place? 956 00:45:45,333 --> 00:45:48,708 Nobody has a perfect heart 100% of the time, 957 00:45:48,792 --> 00:45:52,625 but if you're a Christian, you should consistently have a heart 958 00:45:52,667 --> 00:45:55,833 that's about Jesus and others. 959 00:45:55,875 --> 00:46:01,208 And if your heart is filled with you, you may not be a Christian. 960 00:46:04,167 --> 00:46:10,000 What if, like Simon, you find yourself enslaved to sin? 961 00:46:10,042 --> 00:46:11,833 Simon's big deal is he's prideful. 962 00:46:11,875 --> 00:46:14,292 He wants to be great. 963 00:46:14,333 --> 00:46:16,708 My theory is we don't struggle with 100 sins, 964 00:46:16,792 --> 00:46:20,125 but we have one predominant sin we struggle with over and over 965 00:46:20,167 --> 00:46:22,167 again, right? 966 00:46:22,250 --> 00:46:23,833 What if you're enslaved? 967 00:46:23,875 --> 00:46:26,500 What if you'd say, "Pastor Dave, if I'm honest to you, 968 00:46:26,583 --> 00:46:29,500 "I do whatever my sin tells me to do all the time. 969 00:46:29,583 --> 00:46:30,917 I never get a break"? 970 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:36,292 Then you may not be a Christian. 971 00:46:37,792 --> 00:46:40,708 Oh, I hope some of you realize today who don't know Jesus 972 00:46:40,792 --> 00:46:44,583 that you're not a Christian. 973 00:46:44,667 --> 00:46:49,583 You may have professed Jesus in a way that was superficial, 974 00:46:49,667 --> 00:46:52,500 that wasn't a work of God in your heart that ultimately 975 00:46:52,583 --> 00:46:54,708 converted and transformed you. 976 00:46:54,792 --> 00:46:57,833 You may have gone through the motions just like Simon 977 00:46:57,875 --> 00:47:01,500 did because you had ulterior motives. 978 00:47:01,542 --> 00:47:05,500 Are you that person? 979 00:47:05,542 --> 00:47:09,458 If so, the question is, "Pastor Dave, what should I do?" 980 00:47:09,500 --> 00:47:11,333 Take Peter's advice, ready? 981 00:47:11,375 --> 00:47:13,333 Repent, that's what you should do. 982 00:47:13,375 --> 00:47:14,708 Repent. 983 00:47:14,792 --> 00:47:16,667 Repent means you turn from sin. 984 00:47:16,750 --> 00:47:19,333 You turn from independence. 985 00:47:19,375 --> 00:47:21,083 You turn from living apart from God. 986 00:47:21,167 --> 00:47:23,125 You turn from false religion. 987 00:47:23,167 --> 00:47:25,167 You turn from self glory. 988 00:47:25,250 --> 00:47:28,417 You leave that behind and you turn to Jesus. 989 00:47:28,500 --> 00:47:30,917 And you say from your heart, from your head, 990 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:34,000 with your whole self, "Jesus, you're enough. 991 00:47:34,042 --> 00:47:36,333 "Your perfect life, your substitutionary death, 992 00:47:36,375 --> 00:47:40,000 "your resurrection, it's enough that if I turn and trust in you, 993 00:47:40,083 --> 00:47:43,500 "your righteousness becomes mine and I will be indwelt 994 00:47:43,583 --> 00:47:44,917 "by the Holy Spirit. 995 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:46,417 I will receive the Holy Spirit." 996 00:47:46,500 --> 00:47:48,417 Would you pray where you are right now? 997 00:47:48,500 --> 00:47:51,583 Lord Jesus, I turn from sin. 998 00:47:51,667 --> 00:47:53,208 I trust in you. 999 00:47:53,292 --> 00:47:56,625 I want to receive the Holy Spirit. 1000 00:47:56,667 --> 00:47:59,917 Would you do that? 1001 00:48:00,042 --> 00:48:02,750 Mars Hill, here's what we're going to do. 1002 00:48:02,833 --> 00:48:06,333 We're going to continue our time of worship together, 1003 00:48:06,417 --> 00:48:10,292 but I want to ask a huge favor of you. 1004 00:48:10,333 --> 00:48:12,792 In just a few minutes, as we take an offering, 1005 00:48:12,833 --> 00:48:15,458 as we take Communion-- and at Communion, 1006 00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:18,375 we see once again in a very physical way that 1007 00:48:18,458 --> 00:48:21,458 our relationship with God was perfectly achieved by Jesus. 1008 00:48:21,500 --> 00:48:24,167 It's through his body and his blood that you and I 1009 00:48:24,208 --> 00:48:26,167 might be reconciled to God. 1010 00:48:26,208 --> 00:48:27,667 We're going to sing songs. 1011 00:48:27,708 --> 00:48:29,667 Some of us are going to pray together. 1012 00:48:29,708 --> 00:48:33,667 As we do this, would we be able to do this together mindful 1013 00:48:33,750 --> 00:48:35,875 of the presence of the Holy Spirit among us? 1014 00:48:35,958 --> 00:48:40,958 Would you consider that? 1015 00:48:44,958 --> 00:48:49,042 As you give, as you sing, as you pray, as you take Communion, 1016 00:48:49,125 --> 00:48:54,958 would you be aware that the Living God 1017 00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:56,583 dwells among us. 1018 00:48:56,667 --> 00:49:01,000 God the Holy Spirit lives among us and we want to acknowledge 1019 00:49:01,083 --> 00:49:03,500 his presence. 1020 00:49:03,583 --> 00:49:06,000 I don't want us to be like my wife, Karen. 1021 00:49:06,083 --> 00:49:07,708 Now, let me explain what that means. 1022 00:49:07,792 --> 00:49:10,208 There's many ways in which we should be like her, 1023 00:49:10,292 --> 00:49:12,458 but there's one way that we shouldn't. 1024 00:49:12,500 --> 00:49:17,292 My wife has been suffering hearing loss. 1025 00:49:17,333 --> 00:49:19,000 Now, I've got to be honest with you, 1026 00:49:19,042 --> 00:49:21,542 having a wife who I love very much, who often times can't 1027 00:49:21,625 --> 00:49:25,833 hear me coming, provides endless opportunities for surprises that 1028 00:49:25,875 --> 00:49:32,875 are very tempting, so pray that I'd resist that temptation. 1029 00:49:34,625 --> 00:49:37,333 Several weeks ago, though, she was in the laundry room just 1030 00:49:37,375 --> 00:49:40,042 doing some work, and I really wanted to talk to her 1031 00:49:40,125 --> 00:49:41,542 about something that was really important 1032 00:49:41,625 --> 00:49:43,542 because I wanted her input. 1033 00:49:43,625 --> 00:49:46,000 So, I walked into our laundry room, and it's small. 1034 00:49:46,042 --> 00:49:48,375 It's maybe 40 square feet. 1035 00:49:48,458 --> 00:49:52,167 You know, it's 4 feet by maybe 8 feet--maybe 32 square feet. 1036 00:49:52,208 --> 00:49:55,167 And she's there at the sink. The washer and dryer, 1037 00:49:55,208 --> 00:49:56,583 they're full bore. 1038 00:49:56,667 --> 00:49:58,083 They're making a lot of noise. 1039 00:49:58,167 --> 00:50:00,792 She's in the sink, and I walk in this small room, 1040 00:50:00,833 --> 00:50:02,583 literally can reach out and touch her, 1041 00:50:02,667 --> 00:50:04,000 and start talking to her, 1042 00:50:04,042 --> 00:50:05,500 and start pouring out my heart. 1043 00:50:05,542 --> 00:50:07,500 And I just notice that she's folding clothes 1044 00:50:07,542 --> 00:50:09,167 and doing things in the sink. 1045 00:50:09,208 --> 00:50:11,167 I'm thinking, "Wow, she's really thinking. 1046 00:50:11,250 --> 00:50:13,458 I'm going to get an amazing answer." 1047 00:50:13,500 --> 00:50:16,167 So, I keep talking, no response. 1048 00:50:16,250 --> 00:50:19,000 Then I stop talking, still silence. 1049 00:50:19,042 --> 00:50:22,000 Like, "Wow, she must be praying about giving me a good answer. 1050 00:50:22,042 --> 00:50:24,458 I can't wait to hear what she has to say." 1051 00:50:24,500 --> 00:50:28,167 All of a sudden it dawns on me she's not heard a thing I said. 1052 00:50:28,208 --> 00:50:31,292 So, I'm about to reach out and touch her when she turns around, 1053 00:50:31,333 --> 00:50:35,292 and sees me, and feels like an intruder has come into her home, 1054 00:50:35,333 --> 00:50:36,875 and she reaches for the scissors. 1055 00:50:36,958 --> 00:50:39,083 And I realize, "All right, she's good with scissors. 1056 00:50:39,167 --> 00:50:42,083 I'm going to get my heart cut out real quick." 1057 00:50:42,167 --> 00:50:44,833 And I startle her, and I thought, 1058 00:50:44,875 --> 00:50:48,208 "How weird is this that I'm present with her the whole time 1059 00:50:48,292 --> 00:50:51,000 "and she's just going about her work completely oblivious 1060 00:50:51,083 --> 00:50:53,333 to my presence." 1061 00:50:53,375 --> 00:50:58,708 I don't want us to be like that with the Holy Spirit. 1062 00:50:58,792 --> 00:51:03,042 I want us to acknowledge, and to honor, 1063 00:51:03,125 --> 00:51:04,833 and to esteem the Holy Spirit. 1064 00:51:04,917 --> 00:51:08,375 How sad would it be, Mars Hill, if when we came together 1065 00:51:08,458 --> 00:51:11,292 all we did was go through the motions, and do our work, 1066 00:51:11,333 --> 00:51:13,583 and ritualistically get the job done, 1067 00:51:13,667 --> 00:51:17,292 completely ignorant and oblivious to the presence 1068 00:51:17,333 --> 00:51:20,500 of the Holy Spirit among us. 1069 00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:27,458 Will you respond as we worship together? 1070 00:51:27,500 --> 00:51:30,292 Would you particularly be mindful of the Holy Spirit. 1071 00:51:30,333 --> 00:51:35,458 Nothing compromises our senses and our sensitivities 1072 00:51:35,500 --> 00:51:37,875 to the Holy Spirit more than sin. 1073 00:51:37,958 --> 00:51:40,875 Would you confess sin today? 1074 00:51:40,958 --> 00:51:43,333 Would you invite the Holy Spirit to make himself known? 1075 00:51:43,375 --> 00:51:45,333 How do we know when the Holy Spirit 1076 00:51:45,375 --> 00:51:46,708 is active among us? 1077 00:51:46,792 --> 00:51:48,500 There's one telltale sign throughout the Bible. 1078 00:51:48,542 --> 00:51:49,917 You know what it is? 1079 00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:52,333 Joy, that's what it is. 1080 00:51:52,375 --> 00:51:54,333 The psalmist in Psalm 16:11 says, 1081 00:51:54,375 --> 00:51:57,208 "In your presence is the fullness of joy." 1082 00:51:57,292 --> 00:51:59,500 When we see the Holy Spirit being poured out 1083 00:51:59,583 --> 00:52:01,000 in the book of Acts 1084 00:52:01,042 --> 00:52:03,500 among the people of God, you know how they respond? 1085 00:52:03,542 --> 00:52:07,250 No matter what's going on, they're filled with joy. 1086 00:52:07,333 --> 00:52:13,375 Mars Hill Church, in the power of the Holy Spirit, 1087 00:52:13,458 --> 00:52:15,292 as we move forward to the future, 1088 00:52:15,333 --> 00:52:19,083 let's be far more aware of his presence 1089 00:52:19,167 --> 00:52:22,667 as we're filled with joy. 1090 00:52:22,750 --> 00:52:25,667 I want to ask our financial stewards to come up right now, 1091 00:52:25,750 --> 00:52:31,250 and as we prepare to continue in the presence of the Holy Spirit, 1092 00:52:31,333 --> 00:52:33,750 giving, taking Communion, singing, 1093 00:52:33,833 --> 00:52:36,792 praying for one another, I want to show you some amazing things 1094 00:52:36,833 --> 00:52:39,333 the Holy Spirit is doing across the world. 1095 00:52:39,417 --> 00:52:41,417 Take a look at this video. 1096 00:52:42,875 --> 00:52:44,583 The Lord spoke to me and said-- 1097 00:52:44,667 --> 00:52:46,333 [speaking in foreign language] 1098 00:52:46,375 --> 00:52:48,500 Preach my word to the nations. 1099 00:52:48,542 --> 00:52:51,875 [speaking in foreign language] 1100 00:52:51,958 --> 00:52:55,208 So, I thank you that today you are a nation of people 1101 00:52:55,292 --> 00:52:57,625 to whom I'm able to bring the word. 1102 00:52:57,667 --> 00:53:05,917 [speaking in foreign language] 1103 00:53:14,250 --> 00:53:16,167 Howdy, Mars Hill Church and our extended family 1104 00:53:16,250 --> 00:53:17,750 of Mars Hill Global. 1105 00:53:17,833 --> 00:53:20,792 I'm Pastor Sutton and I'm really, really excited 1106 00:53:20,833 --> 00:53:24,667 to show you in video what the Lord 1107 00:53:24,708 --> 00:53:27,417 is doing here in Ethiopia. 1108 00:54:06,167 --> 00:54:08,958 Eleven of our church leaders preached and encouraged 1109 00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:12,375 the local Ethiopians church planters. 1110 00:54:12,458 --> 00:54:16,667 He said, "Behold, I am with you." 1111 00:54:16,750 --> 00:54:20,333 [speaking in foreign language] 1112 00:54:41,500 --> 00:54:45,375 We had over 2,000 pastors from all over Ethiopia 1113 00:54:45,458 --> 00:54:49,083 that attended this conference. 1114 00:55:01,167 --> 00:55:02,542 Please continue to pray, 1115 00:55:02,625 --> 00:55:04,583 please continue to give to Mars Hill Global 1116 00:55:04,667 --> 00:55:07,250 so that we would see more people saved by Jesus, 1117 00:55:07,333 --> 00:55:08,958 more people growing in Jesus, 1118 00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:13,208 and more people on Jesus' mission. 1119 00:55:20,792 --> 00:55:23,708 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1120 00:55:23,792 --> 00:55:26,833 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1121 00:55:26,875 --> 00:55:29,417 This ministry is generously supported 1122 00:55:29,500 --> 00:55:32,042 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1123 00:55:32,125 --> 00:55:35,625 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1124 00:55:35,667 --> 00:55:38,625 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1125 00:55:38,667 --> 00:55:41,500 by visiting marshill.com/give.