Finally, he pointed out across the water to the distant horizon. "Honey," he said, "God's love reaches out further than you can see in that direction." Turning around, he said, "And God's love extends out further than you can see in that direction, too. And God's love is higher than the vast sky, and deeper than the deep blue ocean." It was then the little girl uttered an amazing thing—"Just think, Daddy, we're right here in the great big middle of it all!" Imagine—what ought to be our response when we truly recognize that the Lord has planted us right in the great big middle of His immense and even boundless love and freedom?
Freedom! Defined in so many ways today, but in truth, it is giving heed to the Lord in every way! In Acts 8, we see this as we find Philip in Samaria. Jesus had said at His ascension, "…ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) Philip was currently in the third stage—not even at the finale—and he still finds himself in the great big middle of it all. Oh, what a lesson wethis Jew! God was about to do an amazing thing—if only people would give heed to it!
can learn from this—we don't have to be in the exciting climax of what God is intending to do in us and with us in order to see His amazing hand upon our lives. Philip is in the middle of Samaria; a land and a people hated by the Jews—but not by
Acts 8:6 spells it out—"And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did." This "giving heed," in the Greek, refers to something that holds the mind, causing you to pay attention—not just a mental enthrallment, but even to the point of letting it be applied to your life, causing you to adhere to it. Yes, even to the point of hearing and seeing the miracles performed! Imagine—not just seeing, but hearing! The fact is, without this heart change, you can see a lot of things, but you won't really hear and perceive them as being from the Lord. Since He alone isis in control of all things. The true Christian recognizes this—sees and hears—and allows Him to have His way in this life. The immediate result is found in verse 8—"And there was great joy in that city." But what then? The Samaritans gave heed, "…when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." (vs.12) Praise God—they were gloriously saved!
Lord, He alone
But what now? Well, before we go further to see what happens to them, we are also told of a sorcerer in the area. What about him? This man, called Simon, had, "bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God." (vss. 9,10) Now, it would seem that he would be nothing but the proverbial "monkey wrench" in this powerful revival. BUT—look at verse 13—"Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs that were done." Right there—in the great big middle of it all, Simon the Sorcerer ends up in the same place as the Samaritans—believing and baptized! Once word got back to Jerusalem of this Samaritan revival, Peter and John—the "big guns"—were sent there to check it out. Note what happened next: "…when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." (vss. 15-17)
Praise God—previous to this, they had "believed," which, in the Greek, refers to putting faith in Jesus for their spiritual well-being, and they were baptized in water, a public expression of commitment. In other words, they were saved, but now God moves again. When the Spirit had "fallen" on them, according to the Greek, it seized them and embraced them—they were baptized in the Holy Spirit! (Matt. 3:11) This "receiving of the Holy Spirit" runs parallel to the Pentecost experience in Acts 2, and is also found throughout much of the rest of the book. In fact, Luke, the author of Acts, inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself, used this term primarily in an empowering sense—to equip the recipients for service and witness (1:8; 2:38; 10:47; 19:2; etc.). Both Philip and the apostles considered the Samaritan's faith to be valid, but whatever happened to Simon? Having experienced the same belief and the same baptism, he then took a completely different path. When he saw the others get filled with the Spirit, he thought it would be great to have the ability to impart that power to others—so, he offered the apostles money for it. Not only would that be great, but he would be great!
Do you see his downfall? He failed to give heed to what the Lord was saying and doing. It no longer held his mind, and instead of applying the truth to his life to change it, he went back to the philosophies and motivations of his former life. Now I know that many would object here, and claim that Simon was never saved in the first place, BUT immediately after the Bible says that the Samaritans believed and were baptized, the very next verse says, "Then Simon himself believed also…" Notice the word "also"—no indication whatsoever that at that point, there was any difference between them. Face it—if it weren't possible to backslide, there wouldn't be hundreds of warnings throughout Scripture concerning it. But let's not get all bogged down in that age-old debate of who's saved and who is not; the real question that must be answered is, "Where am I right now?"
It may not have been Simon's conscious decision to walk away from the Lord, but when he stopped giving heed to what the Lord was speaking into his life, he did choose to leave Jesus. It is likely Simon was planning to use this new power for the Lord, but he was going to do it all hishe was at the center of his own great big middle of it all, and the Lord was on the outside. Peter told him that he and his money would perish—physically, spiritually, and even eternally. Furthermore he said, "Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." (vs. 21) Peter also told him to repent of his sin, for "thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." (vs. 23) It doesn't really matter where Simon's heart was back at the beginning; where is it at this point? Certainly, it is not good! In fact, the metaphor of gall and bitterness refers to a deadly poison, and the "bond" speaks of an increase and a growing up…BUT, it is in the area of iniquity!
way. In fact, as he resorted to being "The Great One,"
The apostle Paul told one of his churches, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth…? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect in the flesh?" (Galatians 3:1a, 3) Oh, how possible it is to veer off in our own directions—if we cease to want His! Whenever we start to add anything to Jesus—our own strength, abilities, thinking, or works—we cease to give heed to His call to surrender and let His blood shed on Calvary pay the total price for our own freedom from sin and our subsequent Christian growth. If we cram our lives full—even in our service to the Lord—and don't let the Holy Spirit define our lives—we cease to give heed. This "giving heed," Oswald Chambers says, "is where our individual desires die and the sanctified life lives. If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, 'Come,' then He will continue to say 'Come,' to you and through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ's 'Come.' That is the result in every soul that truly comes to Jesus and continues to abandon all to have Him in His fullness." Simon would not continue—even when told to repent, he just asks the apostles to pray for Him. Oh, it's good to desire prayer, but Simon only desires to not have anything bad happen to him—this is not true repentance! Will you not only come and give heed, but also be the "Come" that calls out to others to do the same? Will you give heed and let His Holy Spirit bring you into true freedom—freedom from sin—right in the great big middle of all of Him?
