 With that said, this passage we're looking at. I chose to call counterfeit faith. You'll see it in as we go through the study but Again, what I'll do is I'll share a few things to remind us of where we've where we've been up to this point and then I'll move into chapter 8 and We'll be looking at a very interesting portion of scripture today. So I'll begin reading here in chapter 8 of the book of Acts that verse 1 I'll read the verse 4 give you your Introduction and then we'll move into our study again. I refer to it as counterfeit faith Luke writes now Saul was consenting to his death At that time a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem and They were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles and Devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him as for Saul He made havoc of the church entering every house Draganoff men and women Committing them to prison Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word Now in chapter 7 we looked at the death of Stephen who's been referred to as the first Christian martyr We saw that Stephen was one of the first men who was appointed as what we today would refer to as as a Deacon and this is one who had been used mightily by the Lord in chapter 6 of Acts verse 8 It says that Stephen was full of faith and power and that he did great wonders and signs among the people So the people Obviously had taken notice of him and this drew opponents who began to argue and to dispute with him But they couldn't resist they couldn't withstand the wisdom of the spirit by which he spoke That had resulted in them making a false claim against him They they induced men to accuse him of blaspheming God Moses and the temple He was taken before the council and false witnesses delivered the charges And we saw how Stephen gave a very eloquent presentation in defense of the faith and Point by point he refuted the charges and presented Jesus Christ as Messiah The result was that those who were his opponents who were cut to the heart They were enraged and he was taken and he was martyred They cast him out of the city. They stoned him to death Their cloaks would have impeded them from throwing stones and because of this they laid them aside at the feet of a young man whose name was Saul and that was our introduction to the man who had become Paul Now as Stephen died he prayed Lord Jesus receive my spirit He then said Lord do not charge them with this sin and we saw how he peacefully died And so that's where we are now and so we can begin in verse 1 where it simply says now Saul Was consenting to his death Saul was consenting to his death He was in complete agreement to the fact that he believed that this man should die He was consenting to his death This is something that Paul never never forgot And this is something that Paul later refers to I'll show you a few scriptures in a moment But I'll point out to the fact that he spoke of how how the Lord had spoken to him and and had told him that he was to leave Jerusalem and As he was giving his testimony, it's found in Acts 22 verse 20 When the Lord had said for him to leave he responded by saying when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him And so that's something that Saul later Paul never forgot that he gave his consent to the death of this righteous young man You see Saul was in agreement with the council Stephen should die He was so opposed to Jesus that he believed all Christians should die That reminds us of something Jesus said in John 16 verse 2 where he had said they'll put you out of the synagogue In fact the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God So when he came to faith in Jesus, his life was completely transformed and even though he opposed Jesus he was shown tremendous grace and Tremendous mercy. We'll see that again in a moment Well as this is taking place it says Saul was consenting to his death But he goes on to say at that time a great persecution arose against the church Which was at Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles and So until that time as we've seen going through this book the church lived a fairly peaceful and productive life As far as unbelievers were concerned believers were not considered yet to be any form of a threat Christians were doing good for the community and they were tolerated and even respected in Acts 2 47 It says they were praising God and having favor with all the people in Acts 5 13 It says that the people esteemed them highly So from Pentecost at that time the message of the gospel was going out in power opposition was beginning But the church was numerically growing Acts chapter 6 verse 7 says the the word of God continued to spread the number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly And a great number of priests became obedient to the faith But now persecution that is led by religious leaders begins to grow against him They had been comfortable there in the city of Jerusalem. It became necessary for them to leave Now Jesus had commanded them to go into the world and now they're going to do so because the church is being scattered Notice it's being scattered throughout Judea and into Samaria So as that's taking place verse 2 says well the vowed men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him Not every single believer left, but a great many did the Apostles remained behind as did certain devout or righteous men Now as for Paul or rather Saul verse 3 He made havoc of the church entering every house and dragging off men and women Committing them to prison So some remained behind and Saul came against them and he did so in fury when it speaks about him Making havoc he came against him with violence He entered their homes. He had them imprisoned Now this is something that he never forgot It's something that when you read your New Testament and he begins to speak concerning his former life the life without Christ He refers to He spoke concerning his zeal in Philippians chapter 3 verse 6 and when he said concerning zeal he said persecuting the church One commentator said that there was an insane ferocity in his violence And that's something he openly confessed in Galatians 1 13 He said to that church you have you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism how severely I Persecuted the church of God and tried he says to destroy it Well, he later came to understand how wrong this was he was even humbled by it And so in 1st Timothy 1 he said in verses 12 and 13 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength that he considered me trustworthy Appointing me to his service even though I was once a blasphemer and persecutor and a violent man I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief I've heard the testimony of more than one person who was violently opposed to the gospel violently opposed and Yet when they got saved they never forgot How violently opposed they were and they actually became very strongly in favor of and preached the gospel with great with great fervor That's what happened to the Apostle Paul. He said I was shown mercy. I persecuted the church Well, he says in verse 4 therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching So Jesus had commanded them to go and now they're pushed out and they're going Wherever they went they preached they announced the good news And so it speaks concerning the the expansion of the church and in verse 5 It speaks of Philip then Philip went down To the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them and the multitudes with one accord He did the thing spoken by Philip hearing and seeing the miracles Which he did for unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out came out of many who were possessed and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed and there was great joy in That city and so Philip goes down to it says the city It's actually a city of Samaria and notice he preached Christ to them now. This is not the Apostle Philip This is one of those who had been recently selected to be a deacon He is one of the seven who were selected to oversee the ministry to the widows So that gives us insight into this man that we're being Reintroduced to this is a man of good reputation. This is a man who was filled with the Spirit He was filled with godly wisdom. He was submitted to authority. He was spiritually mature This is the Philip that we're looking at now Now Luke mentions him in such a way that you get a glimpse of his character Because later in the book of Acts in chapter 21 verses 8 and 9 He writes on the next day we who were were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea and Entered the house of Philip the evangelist who was one of the seven and stayed with him now This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied You might find this interesting, but Philip is the only one in Scripture who's ever referred to as an evangelist This is an office that speaks of a person's gifting to declare the gospel In Ephesians 411 it says that he himself gave some to be apostles prophets Evangelists and pastors and teachers for the Equipment of the Saints for the work of ministry He was one who held the office, but the only one in Scripture referred to as the evangelist And this is a man who was obviously godly because it speaks of the fact that he had Four virgin daughters who had come to faith in the Lord and prophesied in the name of the Lord So he went to notice verse 5 a city of Samaria to preach Christ to them Now Samaria is a region that is about 40 miles north of the city of Jerusalem. And so Philip comes into that area He's proclaiming that Messiah has come You need to remember that that is a an area that that Jesus himself administered in One of the most famous stories in Scripture concerns the woman at the well the well of sicker We usually call it Psyche How that Jesus needed to go through that region and As he did so there was a woman there that he had an appointment with a woman at the well It's a very famous story of how that Jesus went there spoke to her brought her to faith in him And ultimately she declared this faith to other people. And so he'd been there. He administered in Samaria But it's also in Samaria that Jesus's men became enraged at the Samaritans Because they were not necessarily receptive to Jesus Christ on one occasion Jesus was going to Jerusalem and he needed to pass through Samaria So he sent messengers before him the messengers are unnamed but commentators say it more likely was James and John and As they began to enter in as the ones who were preparing for Jesus to enter into the cities and all the villagers became hostile Because they were Jews who were coming through and they were on their way to Jerusalem in Luke chapter 9 verses 54 through 56 It says when his disciples James and John saw this they said Lord Do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them just as Elisha did? Have you ever wanted to do that? I do that almost every day But he turned and he rebuked them and he said you do not know what manner of spirit you are of For the Son of man didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them and they went to another village And so these were people these Samaritans That Jesus had ministered to but were not necessarily receptive to him Now Jesus had said you're to take this gospel and you're supposed to preach it throughout the world and so The gospel is now moving out of Jerusalem Into the area of Samaria and the area of Samaria is an area filled with people who reject Jews and are rejected by Jews In John 4 verse 9 it simply says Jews have no dealings with Samaritans And yet Philip is taking the gospel into this unnamed city of Samaria and as a godly man He's taken the gospel to the least loved people in the area He's taking the gospel to the people that are rejected by other people as I was Preparing my notes. I couldn't help but remember How about my own pastor did the same a similar thing When Pastor Chuck began to take the gospel to the hippies and he paid a price for it But you take the gospel to those who are in need right and that's what Philip is doing God hasn't rejected the Samaritans God has a plan for their salvation also and notice how it says in verse 5 he began preaching or proclaiming Jesus to them Now the Samaritans were like the Jews. They had an anticipation that Messiah was to come It says in John 4 25 the woman at the well said to Jesus I know that Messiah is coming who is called Christ and when he comes he will tell us all things So they had an anticipation for Messiah and so Philip is taking this message to tell him Messiah has come Well as he's doing so it says in verse 6 the multitudes with one accord He did the things spoken by Philip Hearing and seeing the miracles which he did for unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed and Many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. There was great joy in that city Now it may be that they already had an awareness of Jesus in a sense because of what that Samaritan woman had done She had brought men to see Jesus and and many of the men that she had brought to see Jesus had believed in him Many others came to faith in him as they were listening to him speak in John 4 42 It's as they said to the woman we no longer believe just because of what you said Now we've heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the savior of the world And so the gospel is now going out in more full force more openness through Philip And he's preaching and as he does so notice verse 7 Unclean spirits were crying out loud voice and they were coming out and there were many who were healed And so as Philip is preaching healings and miracles and and even the casting out of demons is taking place and The Lord is confirming his word by the signs that accompany it Versailles says it was great joy in that city Salvation and deliverance is abounding. You see when the Lord is moving amongst people joy will be the fruit It says in Isaiah 12 verse 3 with joy. You will draw water out of the wells of salvation I don't know what you were like when when you got got right with God I don't know what you were like when Jesus saved you But I can tell you my own personal experience that there was an overwhelming sense of joy That the Lord had saved me that my sins had been forgiven that I'd been washed clean from all of that unrighteousness And and what at one time was a heart of depression and sorrow and grief constantly and rejection and loneliness was transformed And now I knew the God of the universe and and I had a relationship with Lord and and there was a joy in my heart It's a deep settled joy. It wasn't a joy that made me giggle all the time. I was still sober minded But it was a joy that was so deep and so real and has never left the joy of the Lord is my strength and the salvation of the Lord is An incredible experience and that's what happens when people get saved when you realize that your sins have been forgiven That you've been washed clean that you're brand new You have a joy and that's what's taking place and they're seeing these works and these miracles and they're listening to the gospel And something incredible is taking place. Well as this happens verse 9 but There was a certain man called Simon Who previously practiced sorcery in the city and Astonished the people of Samaria claiming that he was someone great To whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest saying this man is the great power So let's look at this man here. We're gonna look at a little bit at counterfeit at the counterfeit faith Simon is a Jewish name But it was a name that was also used by Samaritans So it's unknown whether or not He is Samaritan Jewish. It's not really clear But one thing we do know Simon is a deceiver and Simon had the people completely in awe of him The scripture tells us that this is one who practiced sorcery the word sorcery MAGOS the word sorcery is where you get the word magic It was used to speak of astrologers and soothsayers Necromancers and necromancer is someone who purports to speak to the dead and fortune tellers Some of these quote-unquote sorcerers use magic spells in an attempt to perform miracles And so he was a deceiver. He was someone who practiced sorcery He practiced the magical arts is what it's saying and verse 10 tells us that All gave heed from the least to the greatest Saying this man is the great power of God So that gives you a little more insight that you might not see at first When it says this man is the great power of God. That's actually a claim to deity Some thought that he was the Messiah In Mark 1462 Jesus said you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and Coming with clouds of heaven So the power was another way of speaking of Messiah And so he was thought of by some to be the great power the great power of God Which is another way of speaking of him as the Messiah And so that's the kind of reputation he has it says in verse 11 They heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time They listened carefully to him because He had done so many things that that appeared to be super natural That they came to believe that he truly was some great one They liked the The magic that he seemed to perform There's a debate as to whether or not he actually was able to perform works or not But if there were miracles or apparent miracles Those miracles would have been satanic in origin How do we know that we know that because Satan can perform counterfeit miracles in Matthew 24 verse 24 Jesus said false Christ and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders So as to mislead if possible even the elect in Second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 9 the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie So there are such things as satanic miracles or counterfeit miracles and so if he is actually performing miracles These are counterfeits that are drawing people to call him the Messiah But as this is taking place and all verse 12 says when they believe Philip as he preached the things Concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ both the men and women were baptized And so what's taking place is they're believing the message They're believing Philip as he's preaching those things. They're beginning to trust in Christ And as these people are beginning to follow after Philip in them not necessarily Philip himself But the message and the one he's he's proclaiming what happens is Simon's following begins to dwindle He had a great group of people who would follow after him But now that crowd is beginning to grow smaller and so people are trusting in the Lord as that crowd is beginning to shrink Now Simon amazed them, but his works were no match for the Spirit of God You see he may have been able to provide some apparent miracles, but the gospel provided forgiveness and The miracles were real Just because he was performing some amazing thing at least they thought he was Didn't mean their sins were being forgiven You can believe in something that's miraculous or at least appearing that way something supernatural But that doesn't mean your sins are being forgiven. You need to have the gospel proclaimed You need to hear that Jesus died on a cross for you You need to know that he was buried because he died you need to know he was resurrected So the the signs and wonders that are performed were giving opportunity for the proclamation Simon didn't have anything to say Simon had become the focus of attention But when when Philip was preaching he had performed these miracles that drew their attention. They listened to his word They were forgiven of their sins. They followed Christ and the sorcerer is watching this take place And as he's watching his people dwindle and this crowd growing he becomes interested in what's being said Notice what it says in verse 13 Simon himself also believed and when he was baptized He continued with Philip and was amazed seeing the miracles and signs which were done Simon was impressed by the signs He even saw evidence of the power of God and he was convinced that that Philip had a source of power That was great and he wanted that source of power. He wasn't a sincere convert to Christ He saw the works and was amazed He believed the miracles, but he didn't receive the message Again belief in miracles alone never can save you such belief only opens you up to deception So Simon recognized great power. He witnessed the signs that were performed and that resulted in a counterfeit conversion He was hungry for power But not the power salvation He was hungry to be able to perform these works and to do these things but he didn't He didn't repent. He didn't ask for his sins to be forgiven and cleansed This is actually Satan's attempt to sow a tear in God's wheat field. We've already seen how that earlier Ananias and Sapphira Had presented themselves as believers when in fact they weren't Well, here we have it again we have someone named Simon Who is even has even gone so far as to receive water baptism? So water baptism once again we shared this last week when we had our water baptism Water baptism doesn't save you. We know that It's not the washing of the the flesh with water But it's the sprinkling of the blood of Christ on our conscience that purifies us and gives us new life People get water baptized But that doesn't mean that they're being saved just a couple days ago I Went Marie I John and and and live went to had to go to LA because when when we went to New Mexico a couple weeks ago I I Left my iPads at the airport and so they had it in the Lawson found and so we went and went and picked up my two of my iPads and all and and as we were there At the airport in the spirit spoke to my heart and said let's go to Philips and some of you know where Philips is Philip says the best sandwich is in LA. I think that's my opinion and if you differ you're wrong. You can leave the church now Philips is great and So we went there and as we were driving home. You have to go by Alvera Street and As you go by Alvera Street a lot of you know exactly what I'm talking about where I'm speaking about Everyone of us know Alvera Street. Well, there's a little church there the Plaza Church. I Was baptized there? I went by there. They have a plaque David Rosales. No, they don't I was telling them though. I said, you know I was four months old and my mom at the age of 20 took me there and found the priest And I was baptized in the Plaza Church and so I think every Mexican kid in California was baptized at the Plaza Church And so I told John and and Ray and all and live and I said I was baptized there I have the certificate at home that that reminds me of that that baptism didn't save me all that did is it gave me a Washed my hair. I was four months old. Why because it isn't water baptism that saves you It's a clean conscience because of the blood of Jesus Christ And see what happened with Simon is he heard and he saw certain things that he agreed with He saw the baptism and he submitted to it, but he wasn't converted He didn't come to faith in Christ. There was something else that was motivating him He didn't have a saving faith if he had any kind at all. It's what people would call an intellectual You have an intellectual faith and you have a saving faith We used to say you have a head faith and you have a heart faith You can have a head faith Because again using my own life as an example I I went through the different different kinds of sacraments including my first communion and and sacrament of penance and all of that and I Was able to recite certain creeds and certain formulas and in certain prayers You had to do that in order to be able to be Getting get your first communion and all and your confirmation which I did I Had that kind of intellectual knowledge I was able at the age of 12 and 13 to to share some of the rudiments of the gospel I knew in other words that there was a God. I knew that there was a trinity I knew that there was there was a Messiah. I knew the Messiah's name was Jesus I knew that Jesus was born on a day. We celebrated calling it Christmas I I knew that there was one called the Holy Spirit I knew through comfort confirmation that there was a in that there was a Confirming of my quote-unquote faith and Christ. I knew those things But I wasn't a saved person. It's easy to know things, but not know him And Simon heard things agreed with things even went through a ritual, but Simon was not saved There was something else motivating Simon and this is what's taking place here notice how it says in verse verse 13 that he continued He can he continued with Philip. Now, why would he do that? Why would he submit to baptism and? Continue following after Philip. Why would he continue with Philip being amazed at the miracles and signs that he saw? Well one it would be to keep in contact with the people that he had influenced in the past and impressed and A second thing would be to learn how to perform signs and and miracles like like like he was gonna have a magician's trick Taught to him and then third to try and figure out where this magical power came from and so he's continuing He needs observing is what he's doing well in verse 14 when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria Had received the word of God They sent Peter and John to them who when they had come down prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit Whereas yet he had fallen upon none of them They had only been baptized in the name of Jesus and then they laid hands on them and they received this the Holy Spirit So Peter and John according to verse 14 these apostles there at Jerusalem they come down You see word had come to Jerusalem that Samaritans were receiving the gospel and notice how The the word of God the phrase the word of God is being emphasized and so Peter and John Came to see what was happening amongst them and then in verse 15 when they came down they prayed that they might receive the Spirit Now what they're doing here is they're praying That they'll experience What what I would refer to as their own Pentecost if you will You see the prayer someone said pointed to the gift of the power of the Spirit as had been given on Pentecost It assumed that such gifts were distinct from the new birth Verse 16 says speaking of the Spirit for as yet he had fallen upon none of them He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Let me develop this with you for a moment Jesus earlier in his earthly ministry had said that the Spirit he said in John 16 17 will be with you and Will be in you So they've experienced the with and the in But in Acts chapter 1 verse 8 He had said the Spirit will come upon you Now this term that the Spirit will come upon you is used Other times in in Acts and acts 1044 Well Peter was speaking these words the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word Again, Jesus had said the Spirit would come upon them So in faith they had received the word and in faith they had received water baptism They had placed faith in other words in Jesus Christ and they've been brought into his church in First Corinthians 12 13 Paul later says by one spirit We were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks whether slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one spirit So as a result they revealed sincere faith by water baptism They openly were confessing that they were dead buried and resurrected in Jesus Christ We see that again in the book of Romans chapter 6 These were people who were sincere in their faith. They were real believers But they still need the power of God Now remember on Pentecost 120 were baptized by the Holy Spirit and gifts were exercised We saw how they spoke in tongues and later we saw how Peter preached with the Spirit's boldness So the Samaritans are saved But they are not yet baptized with the Holy Spirit So the Apostles came to lay hands on them to validate the reality of their faith And this is part of what Jesus had said in Acts 1 When he said at verse 8 you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you and You shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem Judea and Judea rather and Samaria and so this is the expansion of that work Jerusalem Judea is the southern portion of Israel going north into Samaria and so They lay hands on them in verse 17 and they received the Holy Spirit Now the laying on of hands we saw that earlier in chapter 6 when they laid hands on the deacons commissioning them This represents they them being a channel that God was using Paul later will speak of this kind of thing in 2nd Timothy 1 verse 6 where he said therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the lane on of my hands And so they've come to lay hands on them that they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit verse 18 when Simon saw that through the lane on the of the Apostles hands the Holy Spirit was given He offered them money saying Give me this power also that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Spirit So he sees something take place What is it because he sees something? No commentator is able to say exactly what it is But he did see something because it makes it very clear Simon saw that the lane through the lane on of the Apostles hands The Holy Spirit was given what did he see I lean in the direction that they spoke in tongues and prophesied He saw something There was some external evidence that occurred and he wants it Now in his way of thinking these men had great power and he greatly desired that power Now he would have made deals with other magicians to learn their secrets and for him this seemed to be a great magical power To wield he says in verse 19 give me this power also that anyone on whom I lay hands May receive the Holy Spirit it made sense to him to get this secret power to buy it if necessary Here's something for you, and I want it to be practical There's something to remember Nothing God has is for sale God's gifts Cannot be bought People still try to receive this power To acts of the flesh sometimes and I've seen it. I've been there. They may be crying They may be begging they make promises and they're trying to somehow Obtain this power through their own efforts and desire But the Holy Spirit is poured out freely upon those who in genuine faith ask In Luke 11 13 it says if you then though you're evil know how to give good gifts to your children How much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? But he says in verse 19 give me this power Also that anyone on whom I lay hands on may receive it He didn't ask them to notice this he did not ask them To lay hands on others that they might be blessed he didn't say I want to I want this so I can bless others He tried to buy a position so that he could do this for himself That is called Simon II. That's a word that the church still uses It's trying to purchase a grace gift of God for your own use trying to buy a position He wanted to be equal to the apostles and Greater than Philip Now remember that Because Philip came Philip preached Philip performed works people believe the gospel Philip was preaching But the baptism of the Spirit didn't come until Peter and John came He didn't go to Philip and asked he went to Peter and John Why because he wanted to be greater than Philip? Why because Philip had taken his converts had taken his people and so he's looking at this as a way To get some more authority or to even have greater authority if I can buy this magic trick from these two fellas I can retain or I can Get once again my position. That's what's going on in this evil man's heart He wants to be equal to the apostles and greater than Philip Well when this takes place verse 20 Peter said to him your money perish with you because you Thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money you you have neither part nor portion in this matter For your heart is not right in the sight of God now This is a little shocking in a way, but I'll tell you what it says what it's actually saying here When he speaks and every commentator points to the same thing And I'll read it to you again your money perish with you when Peter says that There is a little literal translation Little literally Peter is saying to hell with you and your money That sounds like my mom. I mean that that is That is a very well you can imagine That is he's not he's not people say well he was a fisherman all fishermen swear. No, that's not true he was actually pronouncing On him a judgment your money perish with you Your money go to hell with you for wanting it That is such a strong thing to say that it actually shakes up Simon He's saying you you tried to buy what God freely gives and this is blasphemous He's telling him it is utterly wrong You tried to turn our hearts from God and you tempted us to sell his grace gifts In Matthew 10 verse 8 Jesus said it like this He said heal the sick cleanse the leper raise the dead cast out demons He went on to say freely you have received freely give remember this Next time you're watching a TV preacher Who tells you if you send me some money I'll send you some seeds that you can plant and your faith will grow even as those seeds Or the next time they say send me some money and I'll send you an anointed prayer cloth And you put it on any portion of your body that may hurt and and because the man of God has prayed over it You will receive a healing but you need to send your gift and the more you want your healing the greater your gift If you want a $10 healing send a $10, but if you want to complete you have you heard that? I have many times it breaks my heart discuss me, but it's true It's the same spirit It's the same wrong attitude freely you have received freely you give the Lord is the one who does the work You can't buy his office. We know that but a lot of people don't seem to understand that Don't be sending your money to these charlatans. Don't be sending your money to these liars. Oh, like oh, how much time do we have? I mean I think This is one of my areas of I get angry over a real anger Because my mother was ill my mother died of an illness my mother held on asking by faith God heal me till the day she died She wasn't healed and it isn't because God isn't a loving God or a gracious God And it isn't because she didn't send her money to this preacher It's simply because that happens disease happens and takes lives. We pray for healing Yes, but it's God who heals and no man should sell God's grace It's wrong It's wrong. I've heard him say I've heard him say if you don't send money our ministry goes down and I say go down Go down Because we don't need that the kingdom of God. I'm telling you this is one of the things I get really worked up I was afraid about it, but I do I hate that because it's lying in the name of Jesus Christ And it's taken advantage of broken-hearted hurt people. We should love them show them compassion and care for them and not take from It bothers me that much I'm sorry It breaks my heart it breaks my heart so many have been turned from the gospel Because of these lawyers and that's what's taking place your money perish with you you sought to buy a gift of God Don't be sending your money to these charlatans Don't be sending your money to these people who say that unless you send them money You will not be healed our God is able to heal any place any time because he is our God and he doesn't require my money He owns the cattle in a thousand hills. Why does he need my dollar? He doesn't need it. Anyway, I'll go back That's that's one of I have some areas that I get very passionate about that's one of them He's saying you are poisoned by bitterness and you are bound by iniquity You are a slave to sinful desire you want to be some great person But in fact you are in bondage in Proverbs 5 22 his own iniquities and trapped the wicked man He has caught in the cords of his sin Well when he says that to him Verse 24 Simon answered and said pray to the Lord for me that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord they returned to Jerusalem preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans Now doesn't that sound sincere? But he didn't repent He didn't want evil to come upon him he didn't ask to be forgiven He asked Peter to pray But he never prayed a prayer of repentance for himself This man was not a genuine convert This was not a true follower of Christ He wanted to buy The gift of God because he wanted to use it To make himself into a great one every genuine Christian and every genuine Pastor I would even emphasize the pastor the leader Should be asking God for humility To make them a broken and humble person So that In spite of themselves God may be seen There are some who want to be seen themselves There are others who are saying God make me invisible so that you are seen Simon wasn't the one who said make me invisible Simon was the one who wanted to be seen He wanted to be some great one and even when he was told to repent He never repented. He just said pray for me that this doesn't happen to me. He didn't say I Was wrong God forgive me and so As we close we remember that God's power is available to us today So may we seek God for his spirit's power That we might be used for his glory