Acts 8:9-13

Acts 8:9-13
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  It's always significant when you can win over the expert.  There's a certain joy in winning over someone who is perceived to be the hardest to convince.  When you've got that person sold, then you really feel good about what you've done.
  Here, Simon is considered to be someone great.  Other people think the power of God is working in him.  But when Philip shows up and preaches the Good News, Simon is ready to believe.  He is baptized and continues with Philip as a disciple, for he has been convinced, through Word and deed, that his next step is submission to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
  One of the things we find in the world today is that some people believe they are too intelligent to be Christians -- they don't think that an intellectual approach can find Christianity rigorous enough.  People have believed that for years, and yet every attack on the faith has been found wanting.  The Holy Spirit is always at work in the hearts and minds of all people, trying to open their eyes to the work God is doing in the world.  So no matter where one stands in society's views, God is reaching out to them through the words and deeds of others, showing them the truth of the Gospel.