Acts 8: Simon Sees the Holy Spirit Poured Out

Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen's death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. And those that were scattered preached the Word ever where they went. Phillip went to a city in Samaria and began to preach Jesus to the people. Most commentaries believe that this was not the apostle, but one of the 7 elders listed in Acts 6:5. That might be true because Acts 8:1 says "all except the apostle were scattered" which leaves me to believe that the apostles remained in Jerusalem. Peter calls Phillip an evangelist. Acts 21:8 6The crowds all paid close attention to Philip's message and to the signs they saw him perform. 7With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city. This makes me so happy to see that the Holy Spirit is using an ordinary man to deliver the captive, heal the sick and perform mighty signs. 12But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed. Luke gives us some important details about Simon. He practiced sorcery. He did some things that completely astounded the people. He claimed to be someone great and the people from the least to the greatest heeded his words and called him the Great Power. This was before he knew Christ. After he believed and was baptized, he followed Phillip closely. It was Simon's turn to be amazed! Simon saw Precious Holy Spirit at work through a man that loved Jesus…great signs and miracles. 14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. (The Word has to be received and mixed with faith to transform us.) 15 On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. 16For the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. This is one of 5 initial outpourings of the Holy Spirit. By that I mean the first time they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were already believers, they were born of the Spirit, but they had not received the Gift of the Holy Spirit. 17Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. The Gift of the Holy Spirit must be received and these people received. Did they speak in tongues? The Bible does NOT say they spoke in tongues, but I believe they did. Let me tell you why? Scripture shows us 5 times where people are filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2; Acts 8; Acts 9; Acts 10 and Acts 19. Scripture plainly tells us in 3 of the 5 times that we see the initial infillings that they spoke with tongues. One of the 5 times is when Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit. While it does not mention that he spoke in tongues in the verses there, he tells us later that he speaks in tongues more than you all. Back to Simon. Something extraordinary happened because Simon saw that the Spirit was given. 18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money. His desire was wrong! Very wrong. It pointed to a deeper issue in his heart. Peter called him out and warned him strongly! I'm going to stop here, because I want to point out something that I think is often missed. What happened when the believers received the Holy Spirit that was so extraordinary that Simon would actually pay money to have the ability to lay hands on them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit??? What did he see? What did he hear? What did he experience that made him want that power? I believe he saw something that would resemble the Day of Pentecost. And one of the things that was happened and has continued from the day of Pentecost was speaking in tongues. You can go to Acts 8:20 and beyond to read the rest of the story. Father, thank you for the example that Phillip set for today's believers. I pray that Precious Holy Spirit would fill us to overflowing so that we can be a bold witness, see people born again, captives set free and the sick healed. Help us not to miss your best. In the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.