Hearing his voice

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

HEARING HIS VOICE

Acts 8:18-24

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." 24 Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."

NIV

It is rather amazing that people who have money seem to think that gives them the capacity to buy favor with God, or perhaps with people. It would seem Simon was a rather wealthy man, for it is unlikely that he offered just a small amount of money for such an important ability. Money, or wealth can, at times, do more harm than good when it comes to our relationship with God. Although it does seem those who have wealth, like Simon, are treated a little different than those who do not have it. The church does seem to favor those who are wealthy, hoping to gather in some of that person’s tithes and offerings. It also might be that those who have the wealth, like Simon, are trying to garner special favors from the church as well, special recognition or positions of leadership, such as elder, deacon, board member, etc. But Peter and John would have nothing to do with Simon’s wealth, in fact, they condemned his money to perish along with him. Even though it appeared Simon believed and followed Phillip everywhere in the city, Peter and John told him his heart was not right with God and that he needed to repent of that wickedness and pray, what we would think, is for forgiveness. We can learn a lesson here about how we think, the condition of our heart. We are told Simon was a believer and one that was baptized as well, yet his heart was not right with God. He harbored bitterness and was captive to sin. He thought in terms of the world, thinking his money could increase his favor with God. We must make sure our heart is right with God, that we have no bitterness or any sense of the world’s methods when it comes to our relationship with God. His favor is his favor and he favors all equally. What Peter and John were capable of doing in the power of the Spirit, Simon could have done as well, if his heart had been right with God, instead of with his money and the world’s system of finance. We do see that after being confronted, Simon seems to realize his error and requests prayer. It is a bold move of Peter and John to condemn Simon and his money, but that is because of the Spirit living within them, completely filling them. We can either take their words to heart for our own repentance, or we can take their boldness to be like them and confront those who say they believe, but live according to the world’s system seeking special favor from God because of their wealth. We should be careful not to condemn wealth or those believers who have it, as they may have been blessed by God with it, in order they may give to those in need. Yet for those who are like Simon, the word of the Lord stands in condemnation to them, and we should love them enough to be truthful with them, but only if we are full of the Spirit. A life lesson that can be applied in two ways for us, and we are surely in need of seeking the Spirit and hearing his voice.