Is Your Faith Real? | Acts 8:4-25

Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Good to see you. If this is your first time with us or you're just coming back for another time after Easter, let me just say welcome. Whoever you are in this room, our hope is that you would take either your first or your next step with Jesus Christ today. We believe God is here, that he wants to meet with us, and as we open up the Bible, the Word of God, now… We believe that when we open it, we can hear from God.

So, before we step into a time where we are asking God to speak to us, before we step in to hear from him, it's just good for us to ask him to speak. So, I just want to give you an opportunity really quickly to pray for yourself. Would you just say, "God, would you speak to me this morning?" Would you pray that for yourself? Then, would you pray for the people around you and ask God to speak to them? Then, would you pray for me and ask God to speak through me to you?

Lord, we want to hear from you today. Thank you that you've gone to great lengths to give us your Word. I pray, Holy Spirit, that as we open it, you would lead and guide us into all truth. Would you help us understand your Word, God? May we be changed by you today. We love you. We give this time to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

My first full-time ministry position was as a student pastor in Austin. When I was a student pastor, the team I worked with… For some reason, we thought it was a really great use of time and resources for us to rent an RV and road-trip across the country to Venice Beach, California, and attempt to shoot as many videos as possible for students. The reason we specifically wanted to go to Venice Beach was because we had a vision for a video series called Heely Cops.

Let me just tell you the premise of the video series. The premise was that there were these beach Rollerblade police officers. Let me say that one more time. There were some beach Rollerblade police officers who fought crime on blades, but things went south when they were chasing a thief. The thief ended up ditching the cops when he took the stairs and the cops couldn't take the stairs because of their Rollerblades.

So, one of the police officers in the video has this epiphany where he gets the genius idea of Heelys. If you're like, "What are Heelys?" you have to remember Heelys. Heelys are those shoes that had one wheel embedded in the heel. That's why they're called Heelys. By these Rollerblade cops becoming Heely cops, now they have the best of both worlds. They have shoes if they want to run. They have a wheel if they want to roll.

So, the climax of the series results in this thief taking the stairs, and you know who else can take the stairs now? The cops. It ends with the Heely cops busting the thief. So many kids trusted Christ because of Heely Cops. It was so worth all of the time and resources we put into this video.

You might have heard that and been like, "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." It is pretty bad. The reason I even tell you that story is when we went to Venice Beach, two guys from our group dressed up like police officers, and they looked legit. Like, there was time and effort and intentionality put into their outfits to the point that they looked like police officers. They acted like police officers.

If you were to go and watch the video, what you would see is people's heads are turning because they literally believe they are seeing crime stopped in real time. I promise you that people went home that evening saying, "I saw a police chase." They didn't, but they thought they did, because you had two people who dressed like cops and acted like cops but weren't, in fact, cops.

The reason I tell you that is when you're just talking about two dudes putting on some Heelys and some costumes in Venice Beach, it's humorous. It's dumb, but it's humorous. But when you talk about people stepping into the church and into relating to the God of the universe, and they talk like a Christian and act like a Christian but are not, in fact, a Christian, it is eternally significant. There's a certain weight to it that needs to be explored.

So, here is the goal of today. Today, we're going to step back into the book of Acts, and we're going to zoom in on one guy whose name is Simon. What you need to know about Simon is that Simon thought he was a Christian, Simon acted like a Christian, but what you find out in the story is that Simon was not, in fact, a Christian.

The goal of our time today is to have a clarifying conversation in this room. The goal of today is to help those who think they're Christians or are acting like Christians but are not, in fact, Christians. The goal is for you to actually become a true Christian. As we look at Simon the magician, Simon is going to give us four tells of a fake Christian. So, if you have a Bible, I want to invite you to turn with me to Acts, chapter 8.

Now, as you're turning there, I don't know how the topic today is landing with you. It might sound intense. It is intense. It might sound heavy. It absolutely is heavy to talk about fake Christianity, but here's what I want you to know. I take my job as your pastor very seriously. I feel a deep conviction that one day I will stand before God and give an account as to how I led you, God's people. The worst thing I could do is give a false sense of security to people who don't know Jesus in a real way.

I believe that every single Sunday, people come here who act like Christians but aren't, in fact, Christians. My goal isn't to shame you; it's to call you. It is to invite you to know Jesus Christ. So, that's where we're going today. Before we jump in, let me just say this. I feel a sense, because this is where the text has us today… I have a deep sense and conviction that this is what we need to be talking about. At the same time, my heart is very sensitive to the people in the room who struggle with scrupulosity because of a battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

So, if you're here this morning, and you have heard the topic, and you struggle with OCD, please don't let this message send you reeling. If you've put your trust in Jesus Christ, and you struggle with OCD, do not sit there and spin on whether your faith is genuine or not. My encouragement to you is to rest in the faithfulness of God. This is really meant to be a clarifying conversation to the people in the room who have truly not understood the gospel and have not responded rightly to the gospel.

Now, here's what you need to know. Acts, chapter 8, has a lot going on in it. We went and saw a movie as a family recently, and during the movie, Kat leaned over and was like, "There's a lot going on right now." It was just one of those movies where the plot just kept evolving. They were like, "Let's add another plot twist and another one and another one."

Acts, chapter 8, kind of feels like that. There are so many important things in Acts, chapter 8. You have the spread of the gospel to Samaria. That's huge. This is a defining moment in the book of Acts, because you see the gospel leaving Jerusalem and going to Judea and Samaria, just like Jesus said it would. We need to talk about that. We will talk about that, but not today.

You see this interesting story where people have believed in Jesus, been baptized in Jesus, but haven't received the Spirit. That's interesting. Certain traditions anchor their theology of the Holy Spirit in Acts, chapter 8. We need to talk about that. We're going to talk about that next week, but not this week. This week we're focusing on Simon. So, here we go, starting at verse 4. Verse 4 sets the scene for us.

"Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city."

This right here… We're seeing the gospel spread to Samaria. We're going to talk about that in the coming weeks, but we're focusing on Simon. Verse 9: "But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great." Isn't that interesting? That's important. He thought he was somebody great.

"They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, 'This man is the power of God that is called Great.' And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic." So here we go. One man gets highlighted. It's Simon the magician. When you think magic, think dark arts.

We're introduced to Simon when… The text is clear. Simon does not subscribe to Christianity yet. This is a pre-Christ Simon. This is prior to him hearing the gospel. So, at least at this point in the story, we're clear that he's an unbeliever. Yet, I want to give you the first tell of a fake Christian by looking at Simon right here.

1. You don't need God because you are your own god. What I want you to notice about Simon is that he was the center of his own story. Isn't it interesting that it says he talked about how great he was? It also tells us that the people treated him like he was, in fact, a god. So, Simon functioned like he was a god. Simon didn't need God because he was his own god.

What would a Simon look like in Dallas, Texas, today? Well, here's what it would look like. You would know how smart, talented, good-looking, and charismatic you are. You win at everything, and you know it, and you love it. You love your ability to win people over. You love your ability to turn everything you touch into a profit. You walk into a room, and people feel your presence. You're important enough that people want to get to know you.

People tell you how amazing you are. Profits and accolades tell the world how amazing you are. You yourself might not say it out loud, but you know how amazing you are. Even in the trials of life, you have an exceptional ability to just suck it up, power through, and make it to the other side because of how tough you are.

Maybe identifying yourself as a Christian and coming to church just further strengthens your image or gives you talking points with clients or church serves as a place to network for business, but you don't really sense a need for God. Why? Because you're actually doing great without him.

If this is you, if I just described you in any way, I want to remind you of two truths. Here's the first truth: everything you have you have because of God. You are not self-made; you are God-made. The mind you have, your strategic thinking, your crazy, unique drive for excellence… It's all God's grace in your life. It is all because God in his kindness has lavished you with his grace, his undeserved kindness and favor in your life.

If you're not careful, if you believe the lie that you are self-made instead of God-made, do you know what your temptation is going to be? Your temptation will be to act like a teenager who thinks he is crushing life and therefore wants independence from his parents, but the reason he's crushing it is because he has a car that he didn't pay for with gas he doesn't pay for and insurance he doesn't pay a dime for.

He always has food to eat because it just magically appears every single day, and, by the way, there's no rent, there's no homeowner's insurance, there are no utilities, and the reason he's able to get online and do all he does is because his parents pay for Internet for him to use. Yet he's like, "I'm doing fine, and I don't need you." Can you imagine?

Everything you have has been given to you by God. Everything. You have been made by God, and you've been made for God. Do you want to feel alive? Then sync up with the reality that you have been made by Jesus and for Jesus. But you believe the lie that you're self-made. Here's what I want you to think about. Just imagine standing before God one day.

Imagine you come face to face with your Maker, and he looks at you and says, "What did you do with what I gave you?" Can you imagine looking at him and saying, "You know what I did with it? I replaced you. That's what I did with what you gave me. I didn't need you. I replaced you. I took what you gave me, and I replaced you." How idiotic would that sound? Can you imagine the shame you would feel in that moment?

Look. I'm not trying to drive you to shame. I'm trying to open your eyes. Tim Keller says pride is the carbon monoxide of sin. It silently and slowly kills you without you even knowing it. Let me remind you of James 4:6. This is the second truth I want to remind you of. It says, "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'"

Think about what that's saying. "God opposes the proud…" You don't need God because you are your own god. That pride is against God. Just think about this. In your pride, you might be at war with God, and you don't even know it. Can you think about that, metabolize that? Can you imagine that every day in your pride you're declaring war on the God of the universe?

"…but gives grace to the humble." Your opposition to God in pride is the height of brokenness. That rebellion is a great indication that there's something broken inside of you. That arrogance, that pride, that self-centeredness, that self-reliance… It is a big neon flashing sign saying you're broken. Yet there's incredible news. Do you know what the incredible news is?

All throughout history, man has sought to ascend to the place of God, yet Jesus Christ, who was and is God, condescended to the place of man. Why? So that man, who has rebelled against God in pride, through humility, could be reconciled to God. So, I just tell you, healing is available. Today, Jesus Christ is inviting you to be made new and to realize everything you have is from him, and it's for him. There's joy waiting for you when you get synced up with your Maker. Let's see how the story continues. 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. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed."

We're going to come back to this in a little bit, but what I want you to observe…hold on to it…is that the text says Simon believed with everyone else, he was baptized, and he was amazed by the miracles performed. Okay? Verse 14:

"Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit."

This is an anchor text for different traditions regarding their theology of the Holy Spirit. It's important for us to address it. We're not going to address it today, but next week is going to be a deep dive into the person of the Holy Spirit. For right now, I just want you to focus on the fact the apostles laid their hands on these Samaritans, and they received the Holy Spirit, and Simon saw it. Verse 18:

"Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.' But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.'"

When it says, "You have neither part nor lot," that language used in the Old Testament is in relation to belonging to the people of God. That word matter is the Greek word logos, which in the book of Acts is a reference to the gospel. So, do you see what they're saying? They're saying, "Look. You don't belong to God's people. You haven't understood the gospel. You actually are showing you have no part in the gospel."

2. You believe God's blessings can be bought or earned. See, Simon believed he could buy with money what only comes through faith. He wanted power that only comes from the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit only lives in and empowers those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ in faith. See, true Christians understand that the Christian life from start to finish is all grace.

You are a Christian because God pursued you, because God awakened you to the gospel, because God gave you repentance, because God forgave you. Now God lives in you, making you more like himself, and one day, he is going to come back, and he is going to take you to where he is. From start to finish, the Christian life is all grace. It is all God freely giving to us and us freely receiving through faith. Is that your understanding?

A good clarifying question that is asked here at Watermark a lot… You've probably heard it before. If you've heard it before, I want you to hear it again, and I want you to process it. A question we ask around here is "If you were to die and stand before God and he were to ask you, 'Why should I let you into heaven?' what would your response be?"

Let's just slow down. I want you to picture this. You come to the end of your life. You take your last breath, and in the blink of an eye, your last breath here is your first seeing God face to face. In that moment, you are seeing the God that, in the Bible, when people got a vision of God in his throne room, they just collapsed on the ground. One person thought he was dead.

Now you're looking at that God. You are sober to who he is and who you are in light of him. In that moment, you feel how small and insufficient you are. Imagine him looking at you and asking, "Why should I let you into heaven?" What answer are you going to give in that moment that would be sufficient in the eyes of a holy God?

I think so many people just think they're going to start pointing to a highlight reel of their life. It's like, "God, have you seen all of the times I tried to put more love into the world than hate? Let me just direct your attention to all of these times I was really generous with my money. God, I hope you can see that I was a much better parent than a lot of these people. Let me just name a few names. And you know what? I really tried to be a good friend. And you know what? I really tried to go out of my way to help those in need."

It's important for you to realize that if you were asked that question by God, if you would start playing your highlight reel, taking the best moments of your life, hoping it's enough for God, it's good for you to understand that you're just like Simon. You believe the blessings of God, specifically the blessing of eternal life, can either be bought or earned.

You know, we're getting close to the end of the school year. There are going to be a bunch of award ceremonies where kids get awards for stuff they've done. You just think heaven is the end-of-life award ceremony where you are rewarded for what you've done. If that's you, I just want to encourage you to consider the words of Isaiah 64:6. It's very interesting. This is a reference to the nation of Israel, but it applies to us as well. It shows you our reality before a holy God.

Isaiah 64 says, "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." Do you see what it's saying? Isaiah says that our righteous deeds, the things we would look at and say, "Look at this. Look at this generosity. Look at the good I've done. Look at the ways I tried to love people…" Our righteous deeds before a holy God are polluted garments, filthy rags. Is that your understanding?

Let me explain it this way. For me, when it comes to dessert, there is no better combination than peanut butter and chocolate. When you put those two things together… I don't care what form it is in. I don't want anything other than peanut butter and chocolate. It hits different for me. I love it. Now, on a related note, at least in this illustration, I am a germ freak because I hate being sick. Hate it.

The idea of having the stomach bug is one of my greatest fears. I cannot stand having the stomach bug. I can't stand it. I can't stand having the flu. I absolutely hate it. My last bout with the flu, I thought death was at the doorstep. I was like, "Okay, God. I will see you soon." I cannot stand being sick. You're like, "How do those two things relate?" Here's how they relate.

I want you to imagine coming up to me after the service and saying, "Hey, TA, I know you love peanut butter and chocolate. This past week, I had a terrible bout with the flu and the stomach bug. I don't know which was which, but it was just all happening at the same time. I mean, it was miserable…flu, stomach bug, going in and out of the bathroom. It was just a horrific week. But the silver lining of the week was it kept me home from work, so I baked you some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I just wanted to share them with you."

What do you think I'm going to think about those cookies? I don't want your cookies. The good you thought you had done really isn't good. Why? Because your sickness contaminates the good of the gift. I tell you that just to say sin is a sickness of the heart that contaminates anything good you have done. In the eyes of a holy God, sin contaminates everything so that your righteous deeds before a holy God are like polluted garments. That is why true Christians surrender to Jesus, desperate to experience what is known as the great exchange.

Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us, "For our sake he [God the Father] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." This is what makes Christianity so great. Do you know what the good news is? The good news is, through faith, Christ gets our sin and we get his righteousness. Through faith, our sin goes to him and his righteousness comes to us.

So, when we stand before God… If he were to ask you, "Why should I let you into heaven?" what you can say is "You shouldn't, but I plead the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe there is nothing I could do on my own that would be sufficient in your eyes, yet I believe that what Christ has done for me is so great that he hasn't just taken my sin; he has given me his righteousness, and now you see me like you see him. You love me, you accept me, you welcome me because you welcome the righteousness of Christ in me." The Christian life is all grace.

3. You have external conformity with no internal transformation. In verse 21, the apostles tell Simon, "You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity."

Do you notice the apostles' focus on the heart? The heart is mentioned twice. There's a focus on the heart. Why? Because Simon's heart wasn't right before God. The intent of his heart needed to be forgiven. He was still enslaved to sin. Now, remember what I told you to hang on to earlier. What did we see of Simon? We see that Simon believed when everyone else believed, Simon was baptized when everyone else was baptized, and Simon was amazed by Philip's miracles when everyone else was amazed by Philip's miracles.

What we find out here is that, at least in Simon, there was external conformity. He was doing all the right activity, but there was no internal transformation. The heart had gone untouched. He was playing the part of a Christian without having the new heart of a Christian. To play the part of a Christian without having the new heart of a Christian is to make you not a Christian. You can't be a Christian without the new heart of a Christian.

As I was preparing, I was thinking about actors and actresses who, in movies, have played Christians in their roles but are actually not Christians. Isn't that interesting? Does anyone come to mind? There was one person who came to mind. I'm not going to mention his name just because I don't know where he stands spiritually today.

I think about a movie he's in that brought me to tears for how he reflects Christ in the movie. The sacrifice displayed is so beautiful. His devotion to God is overwhelming. Yet, I watched an interview where he said, "I'm not a Christian person. I consider myself pantheist, agnostic, occasionally atheist, and a little bit Jewish, but mostly confused." Isn't that interesting? You have someone playing the part without the new heart.

The same thing happens in the church. You can play the part without the new heart. You can recite a prayer. You can walk down an aisle. You can get baptized as an infant and an adult. You can attend Bible studies. You can be involved in a Community Group. You can serve in the church or in Christian ministries and still not be a Christian. Isn't that incredible?

People play the part of a Christian for a bunch of different reasons. Some people play the part of a Christian because they want a sense of belonging or it makes them feel better about themselves or they like the tradition or it grounds them or it provides them with some sense of security or it might help keep them out of trouble, but in the end, true Christianity is about being transformed from the inside out.

Think about what Jesus says about the heart in Matthew 15. He says, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." Here's what this is telling us. We don't just do bad things; we are bad. That's a distinction. It's not that we're good people who sometimes do bad things; we do bad things because we are bad people.

You're like, "No, no, no. I know bad people. Bad people are the murderers. They're the abusers. I'm not a bad person; I'm a good person." You're comparing yourself to the world. I'm talking about in God's eyes. In God's eyes there are none who do good. Why? Because we have a heart that is infected by sin. We do bad because we are bad. It's an operating system issue. The reason there are bugs in your operating is because your operating system is corrupt.

Jesus doesn't just make us better; he makes us new. When you give your life to Jesus, he gives you a new heart and a new start. He gives you new desires to know him and to become like him. See, true Christianity isn't about doing the right things for God; true Christianity is about being made new by God. That's it. It's not about doing the right things for God; it's about being made new by God. It's about being changed by God. It's about being led by God to glorify God, empowered by God to glorify God. None of it's in your own strength. It is all his work in and through you.

4. You want God's blessings, but you don't want God. Look at verse 22. The apostles tell Simon, "Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." Look at Simon's response. Verse 24: "And Simon answered, 'Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.'"

It's subtle. You might read that and be like, "Yeah, good response." No, it isn't. The command was to repent. Does he repent? No. What does he do? He refuses to approach God. He refuses to go to God. Instead, what does he do? He says, "You guys pray for me. I'm not going to pray. You pray for me." He senses no need to repent. Instead, all he wants is for the apostles to pray that he doesn't experience the judgment of God.

So, let me just make the connection for you. Think about it. Simon tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because he was a magician. He was used to amazing people. A little bit of Holy Spirit power would make him that much more amazing. He wanted to control the Holy Spirit, but he didn't want to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. The apostles tell him to repent. Does he repent? No. He just doesn't want God's judgment.

What does that mean? It means he wants heaven because he doesn't want hell. He doesn't want judgment. He wants blessing. He wants heaven; he just doesn't want the God of heaven. Those are two totally different things. He wants God's blessings, but he doesn't want God. I think this is a lot of people. I think people want God's provision in their lives. They want God to come through with a job. They want God to come through with more money or a spouse or a better spouse.

People want Jesus to save them so they don't go to hell and so they can ultimately go to heaven to be reunited with loved ones, but they have no interest in the person of Jesus. They have no interest in spending time with Jesus, praying to Jesus, being led by Jesus, or enjoying Jesus. They are not into Jesus; they just want the blessings of being connected to Jesus. Charles Spurgeon said, "If Christ is not all to you, he is nothing to you."

So, I'm just asking you to evaluate. Is it possible that you want God's blessings, but you don't want God? This is where I really want to be careful, because the encouragement is to "Hey, start loving God." That would be like me telling somebody, "Hey, fall in love with this person." That's not just something that you'd make a decision, like, "Okay. I'm going to go love God more this week." No. The answer is to just start discovering Jesus for the first time. It's just to begin to discover Jesus.

Discover that he is Savior, that he came to save. But he's not just Savior. Discover the fact that he's a king, and his rule and reign in your life changes everything. He's not just Savior and King; he's friend. He's comforter on the darkest of nights. He's the one you've been made for. He's the one who satisfies the deepest longings of the soul. Discover him and just watch. Over time, as you discover him, what will happen is you'll love him, because as you seek him, you will find that it was God seeking you out all along.

Look. This is how I'll close today. The last thing I want to do today is send people on a witch hunt who truly know Jesus Christ. I don't want to cause anyone to question their salvation who is truly saved. The goal has been to have a clarifying conversation with those in the room who think they're a Christian, act like a Christian, but have really truly never understood the gospel or responded rightly to it.

If you're resonating with that today, the right response is the response the apostles encouraged in Simon: Repent. What does it mean to repent? It means to turn from your life of sin, but turn to Jesus. Embrace Jesus. The great news of Christianity is that Jesus doesn't need us, but he wants us. If you want to know how much he wants you, he left heaven, came to earth, lived perfectly, died sacrificially, rose victoriously, and ascended triumphantly, all to know you. So, you can turn to him today. You can experience forgiveness of sins today. You can be made right with God today by turning to him in faith.

Look. If you know Jesus Christ in a real way, in a genuine way… Can't we all admit there's still a little bit of Simon in all of us? Even this week, God convicted me of some self-reliance in my own life. That's me trying to play God when I'm definitely not God. Can't we all admit there's some Simon still at work in all of us in some way, that it's so easy to fall into the trap of trying to earn God's approval when we already have it? We don't live for his approval; we operate out of his approval.

Are there any ways in your life where you're going through the motions because you're just trying to come off like you're doing the right thing? Just stop. Even when we go to sing, don't think about what other people think about you singing. Don't sing if your heart is not into it. How's your enjoyment of Jesus? Jesus isn't a box to check off on your to-do list. He is a person who wants to be known and enjoyed, and when you know him and enjoy him, you will find that's what you were made for.

So, I just want to invite us all to take a moment. If you will, close your eyes. I want to invite everyone to respond. Whether this is your first step with Jesus or your next step, I just want to invite everyone to respond. If you want to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ today, then I want to invite you to pray with me. Look. These aren't magic words. I'm just trying to help you articulate to God what you believe to be true.

You might say something like, "Lord Jesus, would you really come into my life today? Thank you that you died on the cross for me. Thank you that you rose from the dead for me. Would you forgive me of all of my sins, and would you lead me in a real relationship with you as my Savior and King?"

If you already know Jesus, I would just encourage you. What is one way that there's still a hint of Simon in your life? Whatever it is, would you bring that before Jesus? Would you confess it to him? Would you repent of it? Would you enjoy his grace in this moment? Would you ask him to do a fresh work in your life?

Lord, every person in this room needs you. Some don't know they need you. I pray that those who don't know they need you yet would know, even right now in this moment, that they are hopeless and helpless without you. I pray that this week we would know the joy of being known by you, led by you, saved by you, and forgiven by you. May we walk in your grace. In Jesus' name, amen.