Some people get overly excited when a famous politician or star is a member of their church. Simon's followers came from all classes of people, "from the least to the greatest," (Acts 8:10). Simon the sorcerer had a large following, but he was a thief! Simon Had Many Influential Followers Just because a preacher has a large following does not mean his message is pleasing to God. Many would-be impressed with the prophets of Baal. Kenneth Copeland of Trinity Broadcasting Network, TBN has an estimated net worth that makes the other two look like two-bit street hustlers! $760 million!
His personal wealth is thought to be over $50 million. Joel Osteen has over 10 million viewers weekly, has a megachurch with approximately 50,000 members housed in a 606, 000 square foot former sports arena – has authored numerous books, which are little more than religious versions of popular psychology self-help books. " His own personal wealth is ~$27 million. He asked his followers to buy him a Gulfstream G650, the fastest private jet in the world, priced at $65 Million so that he " safely and swiftly share the Good News of the Gospel worldwide. Some people are becoming wealthy off of this prosperity theology.Ĭreflo Dollar has a following of over 200, 000 people. The so-called health and wealth or prosperity theology has pulled in millions of people around the world with the false notion that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one's material wealth. " Large numbers are not wrong by themselves. Many people want to be a part of the " mega-ministries. The people of Samaria " all gave heed " to Simon, (Acts 8:10). Simon made great claims, but he was a fraud! Simon Drew Large Numbers of People It is in this field that Philip enters and is blessed in his labor.
The field had been prepared by Jesus Himself-He said the fields were " already white for harvest. Maybe this is why they gladly received the word. The same truths had before been stated in Samaria by our Savior Himself. Philip went into the region of Samaria to preach Christ-to preach that the Messiah had come and to make known his teachings. This is the difference between the religion of Jesus Christ and the superstitions which the world calls religion. One man had to rely upon gullible people, the other man called for faith in the Son of God. One man amazed his audience with "sorcery," while the other man performed genuine miracles by the Spirit of God. One preached himself, the other preached Christ. Look at the differences between Simon the Sorcerer and Philip. Simon claimed, " that he was someone great" (Acts 8.9). In this lesson, we want to notice some of the things about his "religion" and the way many of the Samaritans viewed him. "His name, Simon, suggests he was of Jewish or Samaritan origin. He is known as Simon Magus or " Simon the Sorcerer. There is nothing more known for certain about this man other than what Luke wrote about him. The early " Church Fathers " wrote much about this man-some of their accounts are highly imaginative. His credentials as a " faith healer " would have been impressive.
LESSON ON SIMON THE SORCERER TV
He could have had his own TV show and felt right at home on stage with several false teachers of our day. Prior to his conversion, Simon would have made a good televangelist.
One Christian, a man by the name of Philip went down to Samaria to preach the Word. Having been chased out of the city by the uproar caused by Saul's persecution. One of the greatest stories of conversion in the book of Acts deals with a grifter by the name of, Simon, Simon the sorcerer.Īs we pick up the story, the Christians, except for the apostles went everywhere preaching the Word. Peter alludes to this, " by covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. Today, this genre of men often pushes religion as a means of making merchandise of the brethren. A century ago, they came in the form of rainmakers and snake oil salesmen. We'll be reading about the conversion of the church in Samaria and one person in particular in Samaria, a man by the name of Simon, known today as Simon the Sorcerer, or Simon Magus.Įvery generation of people has had to contend with charlatans, con-artists, swindlers, and hucksters. Turn your attention to the book of Acts, we're looking in Acts chapter 8.
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