The book of Acts opens with Christ’s final earthly words to his disciples – a blueprint for world evangelism: 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”.

However the world outreach of the church would never have left Jerusalem if it had not been for Stephen’s death and the intense persecution that followed.  We are going through the book of Acts; following the church through Acts is like following a wounded deer through a forest. Drops of blood mark the trail.  

In the closing verses of Chapter 7 we see a pool of blood – Stephen’s blood, and the death of Stephen. Chapter 8 opens with the burial of Stephen. And one named Saul was there, and they laid their clothes at his feet.  But amidst the waves of persecution, two especially wonderful things took place:

    1) The Gospel invaded Judea, the second step in Christ’s blueprint

    2) The Gospel invaded Samaria, thus fulfilling the third step in Christ’s blueprint.

And it went out with amazing spiritual power, just as Christ also had promised.

The miracle began with Philip. This is not Philip the apostle, but Philip the deacon, one of the seven who had been chosen to serve the widows in Jerusalem.  As a Hellenistic Jew, he was not welcome in Jerusalem, and as a follower of Christ he was unwelcome. So when the persecution began he went to Judea, and then to Samaria, and  “he preached the word wherever he went”. It means he evangelized; he proclaimed Christ to the people. He was not even aware that the Holy Spirit was breaking new ground, presenting Christ in a hostile environment.

The other side of the miracle lay in the Samaritan’s amazing acceptance of Philip and his message. The Holy Spirit chose just the right person for the job.  Philip preached with power because he loved Jesus. He was not an apostle.  He was not a big shot. He was a refugee in a hostile environment.  He was not in Samaria by choice; persecution drove him there. Maybe he would have liked to remain in Jerusalem, but the Lord changed his appointment.  And once he was in Samaria, he was so full of love for Christ that he could not stop telling others about Jesus. And before he knew it he had a revival on his hands.

Acts 8:6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. Miraculous power was his.  With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.  

The result? So there was great joy in that city. There was laughter in Samaria.

The power even touched Simon the sorcerer.  Simon had immense power, but Philip’s power was greater.  And so Simon lost his followers.  Simon realized his star was fading fast.  What could he do? Simon got a great idea! If you can’t beat them, join them.  

Simon could not get over what he was seeing. He made a public profession of faith and he was publicly baptized, but it was not a genuine conversion of the heart. What we have here is the devil joining the church.

Paul the apostle was right. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light 2 Cor. 11:14.

Philip’s preaching broke the spell of the sorcerer upon the people, and many of them found new life in Christ. There is power in the Word. We ought to use the power of the Word to break the spell of the devil in our lives. We can’t get a job and we blame it on bad luck. Our finances are bad and we blame it on bad luck.  

When word reached Jerusalem of the great revival that had taken place, they sent two of the lead apostles to check things out. When Peter and John arrived they found everything as it had been described. The believers were converted; they were sincere, but they had not received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So Peter and John laid hands on them, and they received the holy Spirit .

When Simon the sorcerer (magician) saw the power of the Holy Spirit, he had to have this power at any price. And remember this man had been consumed with power.

He had spent long nights dreaming and scheming his way to the top.   He wanted this power, and he offered them money to buy this power.  Instead of asking for the Holy Spirit, Simon asked for the power to bestow the Holy Spirit.  Simon should have known that God does not belong to the magician's union.  He wanted this power, and he offered them money to buy this power.

And so Peter said May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money.

Money will buy luxuries, but it will not buy spiritual power

Money will buy political position but it will not buy the recognition of God.

Money will buy Favor  but it will not buy soul-respect 

Money will buy Clothes and shoes but it will not buy you a place in heaven.

Money will buy  You  a prostitute, but it cannot buy love

Money can buy diamonds, but it cannot buy the sparkle and light in the eye.

Money can buy pleasure and entertainment, but it cannot buy happiness.

Money can buy a suit but it cannot buy a physique.

Money can buy medicine but it cannot buy health

Money can buy a house but it cannot buy a home.

What do we learn from all this? We learn that God can use a layman like Philip to influence the whole town, a whole culture, to fulfill the blueprint for world evangelism. We learn that spiritual cannot be bought.

When we meet Philip in Chapter 6, he had just been selected Deacon. Who would have guessed that he would ascend to such spiritual heights in Chapter 8? Though he was not a pro, God just gave him power to preach and to heal the sick, and large numbers of them believed the Good News and were saved.

Philip was full of the Holy Spirit; that means he exhibited the fruit of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Each of us like Philip can bear the gracious touch of God to others.