Wonder of God
Oswald Chambers once said, "If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality." The power of the preaching in the early church was not found in deep theological exegesis or profound personal experiences expressed in dramatic tales. The power was found in simply preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.
In our passage in Acts 8 surrounding the public's captivity with Simon the magician, notice how the only thing that diverted their attention and affections away from the amazing trickery was Philip's preaching of the gospel. We read in verse 12, "But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." It wasn't Philip's charisma, it wasn't his prose, it was all about his message - the good news of the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ!
Interestingly, that phrase "preached good news" is the exact same phrase that Luke records in Luke 2:10 regarding the angel's proclamation to the shepherds. So one could say that Philip brought the Samaritans good news of great joy. The people were amazed by the magic of Simon, but what they really needed was salvation from their sins. Rather than being captivated by a mere mortal man, they needed to come to know the living Son of God. They were effectively idolizing a creature, but they needed to turn their worship towards the Creator.
The enemy will often use seemingly wonderful things to captivate our hearts and slowly and methodically lure us away from the truth. We are so enamored by the supernatural, that we forget that counterfeits will often look just like the real thing. This is why we need powerful preaching and sound teaching in our lives and in the life of the church. We don't need to be entertained; we need grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ and the reality of the kingdom that he came to build, and is currently building through his Bride and by his Spirit.
This Advent season, let's commit ourselves to the preaching and teaching of God's word. Let's not settle for any counterfeits, but find our satisfaction in nothing other than the pure words of Holy Scripture that still change hearts and minds and transform lives!
Today is Christmas, and there's no better preaching we can enjoy today than the story of God condescending to us in the flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, who lived the life you and I could never live, died the death that we deserve, so that by grace through faith in him alone, we might become sons and daughters of the King. What a powerful message…Merry Christmas!