Acts 8:4-40
Philip was tuned in to the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit and as a result we see him accomplishing much for the Lord. This was particularly evident to me in the account with the Ethiopian eunuch. The Spirit tells Philip to go over and talk with this man. Philip immediately responds and engages the man in conversation about Scripture which, in turn, results in the man receiving Christ. (You've gotta love that!)
So how tuned in to the Holy Spirit are you today? What can we do to make sure that, like Philip, we're wholeheartedly seeking and following the Holy Spirit's leading and direction? Tami W.
It seems to me that Simon often gets a bum rap. The Bible says he believed and was baptized and followed Philip. He observed something cool and wanted to be able to do it himself. It doesn't say that he wanted the power of the apostles in order to use it for selfish gain. He went after it in the only way he knew at the time, by trying to buy it, and when he was rebuked, he responded in a contrite manner and asked for prayer. This sounds more like the story of a young believer who doesn't yet know what to do, rather than the story of a charlatan.
Or did I miss something?
I know this wasn't the point of today's devotional but those are the thoughts that ran through my head as I read.
I think there are several things we need to do to make sure we are fully tuned into the Holy Spirit. First and foremost, we need to make a constant effort to die to ourselves daily. We need to move our selfish desires aside and let God's priorities be first in our lives. We then need to ask God to fill us with His Spirit. I guess the next things would be to be actively reading God's word, maintaining a consistant prayer life, and living as godly as we can; resisting Satan and putting on God's armor.
This is kind of funny, but when I first started to respond I didn't think it was a complicated process. Maybe I'm over-complicating it? Idk. I'm curious to are how others respond. I hope I don't have some kind of off the wall, theological thought process.
(This doesn't have to do with the questions posed for the blog, but it is something I was curious about earlier in the passage. If you'd rather email a response to me instead of cluttering the blog, I understand. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the doctrine of the laying of hands, but when I saw the verse that said that those who beleived and had been baptized had not recieved the Holy Spirit, it kind of struck me. I understand that Acts is a transitional book, but is there any scripture that states that the laying of hands is no longer needed to receive the Holy Spirit? Don't get me wrong. I believe that we receive the Holy Spirit the moment we accept Christ as Savior and I don't believe that baptism is a requirement for salvation. But I have run into people who twist scriptures like this and I have nothing to come back with. How do I respond to someone who says to me the laying of hands is needed to receive the Holy Spirit? I mean the Holy Spirit is essentially the seal of our salvation. So were those who believed and were baptized In this passage not truly saved until after hands were laid in them? Can anyone help me with this? Thanks!
-Kevin B.
Palmer,
Simon's belief was motivated by reasons of selfishness. and was not a true belief. He was not looking inward but was hoping that he could benefit in an outward capacity, thinking this power was something Philip independently possessed, and he wanted it. He also wanted to keep in contact with Philip's followers, as this is the reason he followed Philip.
Kevin,
The (filling) of the H.S. is an act that is repeated, and required by God of believers to maintain Spirit behavior.(Eph. 5:18). Being baptised in the H.S. is a onetime event where God placed believers into the body of Christ. You did hit the nail on the head. This was a transitional time, apostolic confirmation was required with new groups entering the church. These people were Samaritans, leaders of the church needed to be present.