Australia is a country renowned for our inventors. We seem to love new technologies which would explain and why we lead the world for new inventions. We can track back as far back as 1879, Australians developed a way for ice to be manufactured artificially, enabling us to export meat to Great Britain on refrigerated ships. In 1929, Alfred Traeger built a pedal-powered radio at the request of the Rev. John Flynn, as the communications for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. All of these everyday items were also invented by Australians:
· first full-length feature film (1906)
· surf lifesaving reels (1906) It was was designed by Lyster Ormsby and built by Sgt John Bond to allow a lifesaver wearing a vest with a rope attached to reach a distressed swimmer.
· sunshine header harvester (1914)
· speedo swimwear (1929)
· rotary clothes line (1946)
· the black box flight recorder (1950’s)
· wine casks (1965)
· staysharp knives (1970)
· racecam live television broadcast (1979)
· wall-mounted Miniboil machines (1981)
· dual-flush toilets (1982)
· baby safety capsules (1984)
· smartmodem (1992)
· Frazier lens (1993)
· WiFi (1996).[1]
These new technologies that have changed what we buy and what we see. The same way we can sometimes come at faith, which is seeing God as another form of tech. This is where we find ourselves today in Acts 8 with Simon who was known as the magician, who thought you could simply buy in faith as a kind of God technology. That is treating God as a thing we use for our own ends. This is what treating God as technology is like. For now, just before we come to Simon’s story it is important to see what happens following Stephen’s death. We are told the Christians from Jerusalem scatter, and most of the Greek Jews who now had become Christians, are forced to flee. A great persecution in which the apostles seem to be left untouched. Philip being one of the 7 deacons who had served alongside Stephen and from a Greek speaking background himself, is forced to flee along with everyone else. As we read in Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. We see time and again God’s family are not immune from suffering. In suffering we learn to become a little more like Jesus. We cannot accuse God of ignoring our suffering as God offered his Son who suffered on our behalf so that we might enjoy his grace forever. It is right here we see the compassion of God reaching out across borders and language and people groups, as that scattering group of people fleeing the persecution, now breaking out against them in Jerusalem. These followers of Jesus bring the message of forgiveness from sin and new life in Christ wherever they went. This message goes even to the natural enemies of God’s people, to the Samaritans. As we see in Acts this is the story about how Jesus is made known. The truth remains “He is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to father except through him!” As we read in verse 5-6 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. These Samaritans were what became of the tribes of Israel who the Assyrians had carried off some 700 years before. The Assyrians had a policy of blending the races, and for all of these set backs the Samaritans tried to continue worshipping God. We see another example, like with the women who met Jesus at the well, These Samaritans tried to follow the 10 commandments, and they had the first 5 books of the Bible. They were waiting for a saviour to come, a prophet like Moses to save them. With Philip fleeing from Jerusalem arrives in Samaria, sharing the Good News about Jesus, and there is a response many confess Jesus is Lord, miracles are performed. Many people are healed in Jesus name, evil spirits are cast out of them. It is right here we get introduced to Simon the Magician who had been having his own kind of following in Samaria. That is the thing we are all spiritually wired and we will fill our lives with anything because we are so spiritually hungry. As it turns out the same Samaritans who were now turning to confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour had once been impressed with Simon, they thought of him as a magician. As we read in verses 9-11 9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. Simon starts seeing what’s going on. The crowds are no longer following him. Simon wants to have what he sees everyone else now having, as he thought Jesus was a technology you could buy, verse 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. Now down to verses 18-21 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. Simon the Magician thought of God as a technology to master; that is all you needed was to pay your way to unlock that power. Simon was used to people being amazed at his magic. He was now coming to Jesus the same way. There was something about Simon’s faith that didn’t add up and Peter is soon quick to rebuke him for it. The reflection is that we are proud and prone for our wants, hopes, fears, expectations, “needs” to crowd our hearts. All of our life is to be about worship, so that if God is not at the centre of it, I am worshipping something other than him. The struggle is that our desires are tricky, where someone of something else captures our hearts. Here is the problem with Simon, he was baptised a s follower of Jesus and we read in Acts 8 he professed Jesus as his Lord, and here is the BUT … Simon in his heart had something else going on. That is outwardly he was looking like someone putting their trust in Jesus, inwardly Simon was someone who was believing something else. Simon was soon to learn faith in Jesus is about Christ alive and on the move in us, where we see that life is lived out being lived for him. Simon had somehow thought faith was about money and power something you tame and use for your own ends. Peter puts him right in his place, as we read in verse 22-23 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." What we learn unfortunately from Church history is that Simon the magician doesn’t turn to God in repentance, instead Simon returns back to his old ways and is the forerunner of a heretical sect known as the Gnostics which was more about religious experience and secret spiritual keys. God has plainly spoken to us. The invitation of Jesus is to own our sins, and give our lives over to him. The gospel lands us at looking more like Jesus. The question is “Are you someone caught up, however imperfectly, however groping, in this story of Jesus? Are you part of what’s happening or are you on the outside hoping that if you ignore reality long enough it will go away? Conscious repentance begins to thrive where I see both my own distortions along with the distortions putting pressure on me from others. The pressure to perform, to be successful, to be beautiful, to be known for something, to be loved and wanted. There are so many temptation there for me to use God as a kind of technology, and I must battle both. The invitation of scripture is turning to the Lord to grow in grace and humility. Simon might have thought you could buy in faith. We know that faith is bought by Chris. It is to Jesus we need to turn and pray “take my life and let it be consecrated lord to thee”
Let’s pray
David Hassan @ Tamworth Community Presbyterian Church 26/2/17