DEEP - Week 2
Day 6
“Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing we have said may happen to me.’” - Acts 8:24
We can ask everybody around us to pray, encourage us, and help us, while still avoiding the one step nobody else can take for us. Eventually, following Jesus becomes personal: we have to do the work that only we can do.
Simon says the right thing in the moment.
He understands that he is in danger.
He understands that God is gracious when people genuinely repent.
But Simon’s response reveals something powerful.
Peter had told Simon:
“Repent.”
“Pray to the Lord.”
But Simon turns around and asks Peter to pray for him.
Again, there is nothing wrong with prayer.
The problem is that Simon still does not understand that he needs to do the work that only he can do.
We can do the same thing.
“Pray for us.”
And we should receive prayer.
But at some point, we have to pray.
At some point, we have to get in the Word.
At some point, we have to stop taking shortcuts.
Freedom is not magic.
It is killing our flesh every day.
We can have people pray over us again and again and still never get free if we refuse to do the deep work of getting into God’s Word and allowing it to change our minds, our hearts, and our desires.
If we want freedom from porn, yes, we get prayer.
Then we get in the Word.
We get in Katharos.
If we want freedom from addiction, yes, we get prayer.
Then we get into the Word.
We get to Celebrate Recovery.
If we want a better marriage, yes, we get prayer.
Then we get into the Word.
We get into a small group.
We get counseling.
We do something real.
Simon needed to take his thoughts captive.
He needed to do the deep work.
He needed to keep the Word from being stolen.
And his story gives us a warning about what can happen when we refuse that work.
Scripture never mentions Simon again.
The sermon reminds us that Simon failed to take his thoughts captive, failed to do the deep work, and Satan stole the Word.
That brings us back to where we began.
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
We hide God’s Word because we take it seriously.
We consider it valuable.
We safeguard it.
We do not leave it sitting on the surface where it can easily be stolen.
We plant it deep.
And now we have to decide what that looks like in real life.
Where do we need to stop asking someone else to do something that God has called us to do?
Where do we need to quit taking shortcuts?
Where do we need to take our discipleship more seriously?
Where do we need to get into the Word instead of merely talking about getting into the Word?
Where do we need to take a practical step toward freedom?
Where do we need to repent?
Where do we need to renew our thinking?
As we move forward, we can re-up our commitment to take God’s Word seriously and treat it with the highest honor.
We can be in it daily.
We can let God clear out the stuff and fill us with more of Him.
We can stay surrendered.
We can stay hungry to go deeper.
We can seek fresh truth and fresh power.
Because we are building for what is coming.
We want the Word to prepare us.
We want the Word to lead us in step with the Spirit.
We want the Word to multiply in our lives.
We do not want seed lying on the surface.
We want roots.
We want depth.
We want the Word hidden in our hearts.
So today we do something real.
We identify the area where God has been dealing with us, and we take the step that only we can take.
We get serious. We go deep. We do the work. And we refuse to let the Word be stolen.
WATCH THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE HERE: https://youtu.be/o2mLEz0ZpTo?si=dT6ZvLDylPv9Z7Sg
