In Acts chapter eight we read about a man called Simon. He is described as a sorcerer who had been dealing in magic in Samaria for many years. People called him “the Great One–the Power of God,” (vs 10) but then they met the One True God. Simon decided that he, too, wanted to become a follower of Jesus, especially when he found out about the power of the Holy Spirit that the believers were receiving. As they probed, the apostles soon realized that Simon only wanted the power of the Holy Spirit for his fame and fortune. The apostles rebuked his motives and implored him to change his heart, lest his greed and jealousy destroy him. It is unclear if Simon ever truly changed his heart and decided to surrender his life to Jesus.
Flash forward to Tanzania in the 21st century: One of our teams, led by HLA staff member Joseph Opiyo, was sharing the Gospel in a village. Four men approached them, saying that they, too, were servants of God. The next day, however, they said that the evangelism team was “destroying their works.” It didn’t take long for the team to figure out that, like Simon, these men were only acting as followers of Jesus, but were really in it for the power and money to be gained.
That’s not the end of the story though. After finding out that these men were involved in witchcraft, the evangelism team shared the Gospel with them, telling them about the greatness of God and his love for people. After hearing the Gospel, one of those four men decided to surrender his life to Jesus.
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever!” (NET)