Acts: Led by the Holy Spirit

If you have your bibles, if you'll turn with me

to Acts chapter twenty one Today, Acts Chapter twenty one,

Acts Chapter twenty one. Have you ever thought about as

you are you a planner? As he might love to

make plans? I think we all whether you were like

a person who were very diligent and making plans, you're

a planner. Maybe you have a planner, you plan out

your days, or maybe you're more laid back like me

and you don't really make a plan for every day.

You just kind of fly by the seat of your pants.

All of us, whether you are a big planner or not,

we love a good plan. And when we plan, we

really plan for what's really best for us. Right, the

other week, we were coming back from camp, and you know,

we were making our plans for getting our students from Tennessee.

We were at camp there in Tennessee back home, and

so we talked about that day, what time we were

going to leave the camp, what time we were going to.

Stop and get lunch.

And you know, we didn't when we were let out

that day and set our plan for that day, we

didn't say, today we're gonna eat.

At the restaurant that nobody wants to eat.

That where's the kids don't want to eat, and that's

where we're gonna eat. I tell you what, even though,

just spice things up today, today we're gonna let the

bus break down on the side of the interstate when

it's one hundred degrees It won't this be a great day?

No no, no, no, no, no no. We set out that.

Day and say today, we're gonna leave it this time

when it's kind of cool, so we can get back

at a certain time. And we're gonna make us stop

at this time when it's about time to eat, and

we're gonna choose a place where everybody kind of can.

Find a little something they want to eat.

And so we set out on a plan, and that's

our plan, right, And then you and I we make

plans like that in our life.

Right.

We make plans for our marriage, we make plans for

our life, and we as we think about the plans

for our life, we say, you know what, I really

want good things.

I don't want any suffering.

And if you plan out your life today, if you

could have a road map of your life, and you

can from this day on for the rest of your life,

kind of plan out the rest of your life. You

know you would make a plan, wouldn't you make a

plan with it? Wouldn't be none with trouble, right, You

would say, you know what, if if I could plan

out the rest of my life, there would be no

more relationshipships trouble in my life.

I want to have.

Any problems with friends or family or co workers. I'd

have peace with all my relationships.

You would probably say, if.

I could plan out the rest of my life, I

would have no health issues, no cancer or heart disease

or arthritis or whatever I don't want.

In the rest for the rest of my days.

I don't want any of that stuff either, Right, So

I want I want kind of peace in my relationships.

I want peace with my helps. You'd say, you know

what I want the rest of my days. I want

to be able to pay my bills. I want financial peace.

I haven't any trouble finances, somebody coming after me for money.

No, I don't want just peace financially and even yet,

if I could plan out the rest of my days,

I'll tell you what, it really would be nice.

Not to die. I mean, would that would be nice?

Wouldn't it If we would really set out a plan

that we would really be no trouble in our life.

But that's just not the way life goes, is it.

You know?

The Bible says in Isaiah fifty five eight through nine,

for my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are my

ways your ways, declares the Lord. For as high as

the heavens are than the earth, so are my ways

higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher.

Than your thoughts. You know.

One of the things that we struggle in this life

because we think ideally in our minds, if I am

planning something, I would plan no harm for me. And

if God truly loves me and God wants the best

for me, then God would want to align with my plan,

and he would really plan out the rest of the

days of my life with no trouble.

I would not have you trouble at work. I'm not

having trouble in relationships.

When I have trouble with my finances, traveling, trouble in

my health. And when those things come into our life,

we say, God, you must not want this from me.

On the contrary, sometimes God plans for us trouble, and

many times our struggle with what God brings upon our

life is that it's not what we want and it

doesn't line up with our plan.

But I want you to see today as we look at.

This passage of scripture, sometimes God's ways are higher than

your ways. God's ways are higher than my ways. God's

plan for me, it's different than what I want from me.

God's plan for you is different than what you probably

want for you.

But can I tell you His way is always better.

As we look at this passage, you know, sometimes we

God brings things in our life, it just doesn't make sense.

In nineteen fifty six, there were five missionaries. They had

their Americans and they studied here in America, and they

God had called them to be missionaries, to take the

Gospel to the ends of the year, take the Gospel

to places where the Gospel had never been.

They commended their lives to this.

Mission, and they went to school, and they studied languages

to learn to share the gospel. And God led them

to Ecuador and in Equa Door there was this remote tribe,

the Wadanni people.

The what Donnis had never ever met.

Anybody outside of the Wadanni tribe, nor had they ever

heard anybody speak a different language.

But they had never ever heard of the name Jesus.

These five missionaries were committed that they wanted to find

these Wadani people and they wanted to tell them about Jesus.

There was there was a pilot in the group. His

name was Nate Saint.

He had a little J three cub if you know

anything about aviation, and he took that little cub and

he would fly around until they could find them.

One day they found them.

They've been scanning different places of the Amazon trying to

find the Wadanni tribe and they find them. He was

so excited to radio back I find them, and they

wrote down the coordinates where they found them. And over

the next few days you'd been circling that area and

try to find a place where he can land a plane.

Sure enough, he found this sambar to near where the tribe,

the village was that he could land his plane. And

in nineteenth January nineteen fifty six, they made plans Nate Saint,

Jim Elliott, and three others January eighth and nineteen fifty

six that they were going to land on that sandbar

and they were going to get to share the gospel

with the Wadannie tripe for the very first time, Nate

had a little son named Steve, Steve Saint Steve that

day was wondering there was this tribe that the Wdonni's

were vicious people. They were known to just eradicate other tribes,

kill other people.

Anybody who contested them seen as vicious what they had studied.

Steve knew this, and he said to his dad that day, Dad,

what happens if they kill you?

Steve said that day that his dad said to him,

I'm going to do what God's called me to do.

If I don't come back, I want you to know

that I'm doing this because I love Jesus and I

want to share his love with others. And you will

see me again today one day in heaven. That day

Steve would get on that plane and they would land

thereby that sandbar, and the Madani people.

Would come out and they would spear them to death.

If you hear that story today, you're saying, just like

me when you first hear it, it doesn't make sense. God,

this doesn't make sense.

Five young men who committed their life to follow God

and missions who committed years of the life studying the languages,

years of their life trying to find these this remote tribe,

only to lose their life on the first day.

God's blend many times doesn't make sense to us, does it.

We don't understand Lord, What is your way? What is

your plan for me? This one?

As we look to Acts Chapter twenty one, the wrestling

that you and I am just hearing the story of

Jim Elliott Nate Saint is the same wrestling of the church.

In Acts twenty one, Paul has told them and acts

twenty if you're turning with me, Acts twenty twenty two

and twenty four, Paul lays out his.

Plan for them, what God's plan for him is, and.

God's plan for him is a lot like God's plan

for Nate Saint. Paul knows that the days ahead for

him are suffering and imprisonment.

He tells us this and acts.

Chapter twenty We just saw this a few sundays ago,

and Acts Chapter twenty, Verse twenty two. He says, and

now behold, I'm going to Jerusalem, constrained by the spirit

knowing what will happen, not knowing what will happen to

me there. It's that the Holy Spirit test of me

that in every city that imprisonment and affliction await me.

But I don't count my life of any value nor

as precious to myself. If only I might finish my

course in the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,

to testify the gospel of the grace of God. He

tells the church in Ephesus, the Ephesian's elders that the

Holy Spirit had constrained him. The idea constrained if you

remember a few weeks ago, is bind My daughter Chloe

just this week got a new puppy, and I'm training

him while she's in on the mission trip to Wahakah.

And yesterday I was training that big boy and he

I was. He was trying to get him go outside

to go, you know, do his business, and he decided

he didn't want to go. And so you know what

I did. I got in by the collar and I

picked him up. I constrained him. He wanted to go

inside and play, right, I wanted him to go outside,

and so I constrained him. I picked him up and

I cared here where.

He did not want to go, to do what he

did not want to do.

You understand what in this passage Paul is saying, Listen,

the Holy Spirit has got a hold of me, and

the Holy Spirit is leading me to go.

To a place I don't want to go, but I

know that this is what God wants me to do.

He says, the Holy Spirit has constrained him, and what

is the Holy Spirit?

And I constrained him? But what is the Holy Spirit

revealing to him?

What was God's plan for Paul says, The one thing

that I know that the Holy Spirit's leading me Jerusalem.

And the only other thing I know is that God's

plan for me is suffering. God's plan for me is imprisonment.

And I'm going to follow the Lord. And as we

come to this passage of scripture, the Holy Spirit has

led Paul in understanding his plan. Now, this is what

I want you to see this morning. This is what

I believe Luke wants you to see. Is this morning,

the Holy Spirit now leads the church. It's how the

Holy Spirit leads the church and understanding his plan, God's

plan for them, God's plan for Paul. And as we

come to this passage of scripture this morning, I want

you to see how God uses the Holy Spirit to

reveal his plan for you, to reveal his plan for others.

And then to this morning, as we look how God

uses the Holy Spirit to reveal his plan for us

and for others. I think we have to ask ourselves

a question, as the Holy.

Spirit leads you today and what his plan is for you,

what his plan is for this church.

We've got to come to a place. We then decide

what would I do, well, Babe, what God wants from me?

Will submit to his plan, or I'll say thanks, but

no thanks God, I'll do it my way.

Let's stand together and let's look at.

How God leads his people by the Holy Spirit to

see his plan Acts twenty one. This morning we were

starting verse one, and worried through sixteen. And when He

had parted from them, from them and set and set sail,

we came straight to the course of Costs, and next

day the roads, and from there to Pantera, And having

found a ship crossing to Venicia, we went abroad in

us a sail, and we come into the site of Cyprus,

leaving it on the last side. We sailed to Syria

and landed entire for there the ship was to unload

its cargo, and having sought out the disciples, we stayed

there for seven days and through the spirit.

They were telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

And when our days were ended, we departed and we

went on our journey, and they all with wives and children,

accompanied us until we were outside the city. In kneeling

down on the beach, we prayed and we said farewell

to one another. Then we went on and boarded the ship,

and they were turned home. And when we had finished

the voyage from Tyre, we came to Tomaus and we

greeted the brothers, and we stayed with them for one day.

And next day we departed and came to Sisteria, and

we entered the house of Philip the Evangelists, who was

one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had

ford married daughters who prophesied. While we were there, staying

for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea,

and coming to us, he took Paul's belt and he

bound his own feeding these hands, and he says, thus

says the Holy Spirit, this is how the Jews at

Jerusalem will buy the man who owns this belt and

deliver him into the hands of the gentiles. And when

we heard this, we the people were urging him not

to go to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, what are you doing?

Weeping and breaking my heart, for I am not I'm

ready not only to be in prison, but even to

die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said,

let the will of.

The Lord be done.

After these days, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem,

and some of the disciples from Cesarea went with us,

bringing us to the house of Manason of Cyprus, an

early disciple with whom we should lodge. Let's pray together,

Father today or we asked or Holy Spirit to speak.

Lord.

Your word reveals to us that your spirit spoke to

the church. You spoke to the church entire You spoke

to the church of Cesarea, you spoke to the disciples,

You spoke to the Christians in the early Church, and

you led the church, and you led them individually by

your spirit. And today we your Holy Spirit would lead us.

Well. I pray we would have hearts.

And minds and ears. It would be attendant to your

spirit and God, as you speak to us, May we

not resist your way. May we surrender submit Lord to

your plan your will to be done? In our church

and in our lives for your glory and our good God.

What I pray you'd use me today to Father to

speak your message. And Lord, may today we hear your word?

You know, we pray you may be seated.

How the Holy Spirit leads us to his plan for

us and for others. So we come to this passage.

We really Luke is narrating here, and you'll notice as

we read.

Twenty one, we see something that happens.

We see Luke uses the word we throughout this chapter,

throughout these sixteen verses, and Luke is showing us that

he there.

He's one of the many who have gathered with Paul.

Paul had taken believers and leaders from different churches on

his missionary journey and they're now accompanying him to Jerusalem.

So Luke is there.

He's with Paul as Paul's leaving Miletus and he's headed

back to Jerusalem. This is kind of his voyage back

to Jerusalem, and it outlines that and Luke is very

detail in telling us kind of how they traveled, what

was their travel path, how did that go?

And it kind of begins that way.

They they leave and they're traveling along these coastal cities

we see at the beginning. Patara it was one of

them that's a coastal city kind of on the edge

of Laika, and so we kind of see there's different

places where they're just stopping at different places there.

In Patara, they found a ship.

Scripture tells us having in verse two, having found a ship,

they're crossing to Phoenicia. So Patira was on the opposite

side of Jerusalem. It was a coastal town on the

edge of Laika, and they were taking that they found

a ship, that tells us, and it went straight across.

It didn't follow the coast north. It went around Cyprus

and went straight to Tire. Tire was Phoenicia. It's a

four hundred mile trip, so it's a big boat. It

took many, many days for them to get there. It

gives us the details they'd leave in verse two, and

it says it tells us the details that they kind

of they traveled straight and paul I mean Lucas telling

us that in verse two and verse three, when you

come to side of Cyprus, leaving on the left side,

and so that tells us they took a straight shot

to Tire. When they come to Tire. In verse four,

Tyre was again it's a Phoenician city. Phoenicia was the

country there. It's just north of Israel. It's a coastal

town there. Paul tells us they find a disciples there.

They found the church. There's a bunch of believers. We

don't know exact who started the church. Entire is probably

some of the Christians that were dispersed after Paul's persecution.

There was believers there.

We know that because Paul tells us that it's a

group of Christians there and they're gathered together.

We know that Paul's ministering. We didn't see that in

his missionary journeys.

He always goes and finds where the church is and

that's local city and he tries to minister to them.

And that's the same here he comes to Tire, he

finds the church. He's ministering to the church. It's interesting,

as Luke is showing us this again, Paul has already resolute.

Holy Spirit's already spoken to Paul. Paul knows Holy Spirit's

bounded Paul that he's going to Jerusalem. He's already revealed

to Paul. The Holy Spirit has that he's going to

face imprisonment and suffering. But in this passage of twenty one,

he reveals it to the church. Here's these disciples and Tire,

it tells us, and the Bible says, look at this

verse four. It says, and having sought out disciples, we

stayed there for seven days.

And listen what it says.

And through the Spirit they they is the disciples or

the church at Tire, they were.

Telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

It looks very vague and exactly what happens and exactly

what leads the church. But we have this understanding that

at Tire, the Holy Spirit revealed to the church at

Tire what was going to happen to Paul. Paul was

going to face imprisonment. Paul was going to suffer. Now

you have to imagine you could think of today for

you and I. If you think of someone a great

hero of the faith, you would think of Billy Graham.

Think of someone who may went to different areas and

led crusades, thousands upon thousands of thousands of people got saved.

You have to understand that was Paul.

At the time.

Paul had been through all these different cities, throughout Asia

and thousands of people came to the little It radically

changed cities, and that's what he's been doing for the

last years of his life.

Now, Paul says, hey, I'm leaving that.

I'm leaving the ministry of changing cities and sharing the gospel,

all these news I'm leaving that. I'll tell you what

God's next plan for me is not to do crusades

where it see thousand people get saved.

God's planning for me next is go to prison and

to suffer.

And you would say if Billy Graham came and broadcast

that I'm giving up crusades and I'm.

Going to prison, you would think he's out of his mind.

What are you talking about. You can't you can't do that.

You need to go back.

You need to keep doing your mission. You need to

keep going to different cities. You need to keep preaching

where thousands of people get saved. It doesn't make sense.

And Paul says, I know it doesn't make sense. But

God's planned for me is to do this. And the

Bible says that tire at tire, the Holy Spirit reveals

to the church together that my plan for Paul is imprisonment.

My plan for Paul is suffering and listen to Church

and Unity. Here's this message. And the Church and Unity

is struggling with that as much as they know this

is what God's plan is.

And they hear this, and that's our first point. How

does God speak to us? God speaks?

And how the Holy Spirit leads us to his plan. First,

the Holy Spirit leads us.

In unity, just as.

He led the church in unity at Tire and the

church as a whole knew what God's plan for Paul

was suffering and imprisonment. God will lead us to reveal

his plan.

He leads us as a church body. The whole body

heard this message.

The whole body was in unity that this was what

was going to happen, and the whole body was struggling

with following that plan so much so that even though

they know this is what the Holy Spirit's telling them,

they're saying, Paul, I don't think you should do it.

I know this is what God's telling me. I know

the spirit's telling me that you're going to face imprisonment.

I know the spirits telling me that you're going to

be suffering. But Paul, don't I don't think you should

do it.

You know, it's really this church understands that this Holy

Spirit's leading them, but they're struggling with following God's plan.

Can I tell you that the Holy Spirit wants to

lead us as a church together? Can I tell you

that the Holy Spirit wants to lead us as a congregation,

not only individually, but as a congregation. The Holy Spirit

wants leads us. And when the Holy Spirit leads us,

he leads us in unity. He gives a spirit within

us as a church that God, we believe you're leading

us in this direction. But sometimes I'm going to be

frank with you as a church body, sometimes what God wants.

For us as a church is not what we want

as a church. You understand me, He said, what do

you mean by that? Pastor? I really believe this without

a shadow of doubt in my heart.

Over the last year, God's been given us a spirit

to go to share the Gospel, to raise up missionaries,

future pastors. I believe God's given us the vision as

a church that he wants to grow our church for.

The purpose of growing others around us. And there's gonna

be years to come.

I believe this where God's gonna call a missionary from

our church, a young man.

A young woman that we love and we care.

We see them in our children's ministry, seeing them in

our youth ministry, and we're going.

To love on that individual.

And God's going to say, Hey, I'm going to take

this person out of your church and I'm going to

send them.

You know what, We're gonna say, no, no, no, no, God,

They're one of ours.

That's my daughter, that's my son, that's my grandson, that's

that worker in our church, that's not teacher in our church. God,

we can't let them go and let them go.

Serve somewhere else. We need them here. And we as

a church are going.

To have to come to a place and say, God,

I know this is your plan. I know this is

what you're calling.

Us to do. And God will follow your plan.

Because we as a church have unity that you're calling

us to be a light for the Gospel and Bethesda

and to.

The ends of the earth.

And that means sometimes that God, that means God leading

people from us out, and that means us doing the

difficult thing of letting them go.

That's what this church did. You can imagine they said,

we just like Paul, just to stay here, and Paul says,

I gotta go, and the church says no, Paul, hold on. Listen.

The Holy Spirit will lead us to His plan for

us and for others.

And the Holy Spirit leads the church in unity.

Can I ask you church, listen to I plead with you.

I plead with you as a church understand.

God has a plan for us as a church body,

and it involves every one of you.

And we must be sensitive as a church body of

what do you want for us? God, as a church?

What is your plan for us Church?

God, as a church body, Your plan is not just

that we go through the motions of every.

Sunday morning and Wednesday night and we do this.

Note God, you have a plan for us as a church. God,

give us unity in that plan. Reveal to your Holy

use your Holy Spirit. Reveal to us your plan for

us as a church.

And God.

When your Spirit leads us, Lord will surrender, will submit.

I want you to see how does the Holy Spirit

leads us?

He leads us to His plan for us and others.

The Holy Spirit leads the church in unity.

Oh Jesee.

Secondly, here the Bible says, they plead with Paul. They

continue and Paul shares with them.

The Bible says that after a few days that they departed.

They you see this really beautiful imagery that the whole

church loves him.

They love Paul, they admire him.

They even go to the I think it's here where

they go outside the city.

And they go to the beach. It's on the coast.

It's right beside the ship that he was about to

take off. You can imagine they they love him again.

It's sad imagery of letting him go. They get to

the coast, they say, well, never see him again.

He's fallowing the Lord.

And they get on the beach and the sand and

has a family's children are there, and they pray together and.

They send him off.

God, your calling, this is now our plan. This is

your plan, and God we know that God. We send

him off in prayer. The Bible says, from there and

they said farewell and verse seven. After there they get

on the boat and they go to Tomas Tomayos is.

Another seaport town.

The scripture tells us that he greets the believers there

the only stays a day, and from there he goes

to Cesarea, and in Cesarea in verse eight, it says

they it's only a day's journey. They come to the

house of Philip Phillips, the evangelist. If you remember, Philip

Phillips is one of the seven Chosen and Acts chapter six.

He's one of the They were having trouble serving the widows,

you remember, and serving tables and doing benevolent needs, and

they chose seven men, and Philip was one of those.

And we see that.

We see Philip was the one who really follows God.

You remember, he becomes a preacher and people get saved

through phillips preaching.

He was the one.

As he was preaching and radically changing the city, God

calls him to leave the preaching and go to you

remember Gaza.

And there in Gaza he.

Meets the Ethiopian Eunich outside the city on its way back,

tells him to go there and go to this desert place.

He goes there and there he sees the Ethiopian man

and the Holy Spirit tells him go speak to that man.

He goes, speaks and he leads the man to the Lord.

That's this is Phillips. This is the same Phillip. Here

now Phillips and cesarea. Scripture tells us about his family.

He's a well prominent man with a well respected family.

He has four daughters. I'm here unmarried, and there they prophesied.

Scripture tells us in verse ten that says, while they

were staying there in number of days, we see another

prophet arise.

His name is Agabus.

Agabus is also we're seen, and we see Agabus in

the Acts chapter eleven. Agabus is one who comes up

and is one of the many prophets who warned that

there's a family coming to Jerusalem. But here in this

pastor of scripture, as pauls and says, he's there with

the believers in Cesaria. Again another church.

Agibist comes up. Prophet Agabist comes.

Up, and he comes up the Paul, Scripture tells us,

and he takes Paul's belt off. In Old Testament scripture,

a lot of times when you see a prophet, a prophet,

by the way, what is prophecy. Prophecy is someone who

foretells the future, foretells.

What's going to happen in the days to come. And

a lot of times prophets would do that.

And one of the ways that we see this in

the Old Testament is they would act out their prophecies.

That's what Agabist does.

Agabist comes and he gets Paul's belt, and he takes

Paul's belt, and he ties.

The belt around his hands and around.

His Agabist's feet, not Paul's, but his, and he says, just.

As I am bound. You can see the words here.

So this is.

How they will bind the one who wears this belt

in Jerusalem. Jews will bind him and they will give

him up to the gentiles.

You see that in verse eleven, thus says the Holy Spirit.

I love this.

Agabus doesn't come up, and he says, thus says Agabus,

no na noa. He says, listen, the Holy Spirit has

spoken to me, and he's revealed to me God's plan.

And what is God's plan? God's plan is this is how.

The Jews of Jerusalem will bind the men who owns

this belt and deliver him into the hands.

Of the gentiles. This is what the Holy spirits saying.

This is what's going to happen to Paul. Look at

what happens.

In verse twelve, the Bible says, and when we heard this,

who's we? That is Luke, those who are with Paul

and the Church and says area.

They heard this, and Scripture says, look what it says.

And when we heard this, we and the people urged.

Him not to go to Jerusalem. Don't do it, Paul.

You see, the Holy Spirit not only leads the church

in unity, but also secondly, how does the Holy Spirit

leads us to his plan? He leads us in unity

as a church, but also the Holy Spirit leads us individually.

You see, the Holy Spirit has spoken to Agabus. Agabus

lived in Judee of Judah, which is south of where

they were. He travels up to where Paul is in cesarea,

and there he delivers what the Holy Spirit has spoken

to him individually and listened to congregation heard that and

heard what God said, and God spoke to them, and

they were wrestling with God's plan for Paul.

Listen to me today, church family.

God will speak to us as their congregation through his

Holy Spirit and what his plan for us as a church.

But listen, in the same way, God.

Will speak to you individually through his Holy Spirit to

reveal his plan for you.

He said, how does he do that? Well, he send

a prophet to my house. No, I don't, I don't see.

I don't think so but I do believe that the

same power that was in the prophet of Agabus is

the same power that resides in his word today. And

the same spirit that spoke to Agabus is the same

spirit that lives in your heart as a believer. And

God uses a spirit that's within you with.

The word that He's given you to reveal to you

his plan for you today.

Can I tell you he speaks you know for me

as a pastor. And one of the things that is

hard is following the Lord. I know that's hard for

all of us, isn't it. Throughout my life, It's caused

me to fallo Lord.

To places I didn't have plans to go. Was it

my plan? Was it my thought? About eight years ago, Oh,

I was pastoring a church in Creamore. I was happy.

I was following the Lord, and the Lord begin opening

up doors for me to become.

Be a pastor here.

I don't know how you can ever fully imagine what

it's like as a pastor to auppreach your family and

their kind of support system and lead them to another place.

My girls were thirteen and eleven. A lot of times

when God would begin working on me and speaking to

my heart individually. It's so I can't tell you how

amazing it is that God would speak to me, and

I would just kind of keep it to myself and

just because am I going crazy or I feel like

the Holy spiritual lead me, and then the Lord would

be speaking to Brandy at the same time and we'd

be unified. There's never a time where I always felt

like the Lord leading me and Brandy somewhere else. But

we would want to make sure we were really this

is what God wanted.

And when God called us.

To Bethesda, we were talking to the Search Committee and

we were praying about it, but we didn't know if

this is really what God wanted. So we were praying

about it, and we didn't tell our girls because if

God closed the door and we told them that we

thought we were going to leave and we didn't leave,

then it just would turn the.

World upside down. So a lot of times we would wait.

Until we knew that we knew that we knew that

it's a done deal, this is what God wants.

We're following the Lord. So I remembers about eight years

ago today that we knew God's calling us here. We

loved Olive growth. I still do today. You never stopped

loving the churches that you serve. And I remember God

leaving us and we were thinking, you know, we're having

to move our home. And you know, at least they

were already in school here and that was going to help.

But they're going to have to find new church, family, friends,

and different things.

And I remember we went to Chloe first, and Chloe said,

I knew it.

She had no idea. We've been praying for this for months, three.

Months, she said, God one night, in a dream told

me that he was gonna move our church, move us

from another church.

She said.

I didn't say anything because I was too afraid to

say anything. I tell you that, listen, because God speaks individually.

God led me, God let Brandy. God was leading our

children even when we didn't even know it. Listen, listen.

The same way he speaks, it's the same way he

wants to speak to you today. He wants to lead you.

He wants you to.

Follow him today. Would you listen? You know, you think.

About this passage, and you think about one of the

great examples of all scriptures, someone just following God, following

the spirit is Philip. Here he was preaching and in

the Acts eight twenty six. The Lord said to Philip,

rise and go to south the road that goes to

from Jerusalm to Gaza, and Gaza this is a desert place.

That that makes sense. What does Philip do? He rises and

he goes, And scripture says and that he rose and went.

And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official

of Candace, the Queen of Ethiopians, who was in charge

of all her treasure. And he come to Jerusalem for worship.

And he was returning, seated on his chariot and was

reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip,

go over and join this chariot.

Listen.

Just as Paul was, God was speaking to through Agabus

the Holy Spirit, the same way that Holy Spirit had

led Philip, who was in that same room, to follow

the Lord all the way to the remote place of

a desert to share the Gospels. And he followed the

leading of the Spirit.

Listen. Today, God wants to lead you by spirit. He

wants to use his word to speak to you.

He wants you, through prayer and seeking him to reveal

his plan for you.

Today. If the Lord speaks, would you listen?

I wonder today we've been praying for months, months, the

Lord would call out some to serve him in some way.

Maybe it's being a greeter. Maybe it's serving in children's ministry.

Maybe it's serving in youth ministry. Maybe it's serving one

of our growth groups. Maybe it's maybe a God called

you to be a missionary. He say, oh, preacher.

Don't say no to God. Don't say no the Spirit.

Maybe a pastor, maybe elder, maybe deacon.

I don't know. If the spirit's lead, would you surrender?

It may not be your plan, that could be his.

Would you follow him? Maybe the Lord's leading you to

share the Gospel with the family member. Maybe the Lord's

leading you to do something in your.

Life that God you just you know that Lord's leading you.

Would you Lord Spirit calling you? Would you follow him?

I think one of the big questions is we just

look at this idea of the Spirit's leading us in

his plan. God speaks to us as a church, God

speaks to us individually. The next question really comes to

how are we going to respond? You know, you can

very well end this service today. Hear the voice of

God speaking to you. Here the Spirit speaking to you.

Here's Spirit speaking us as a congregation, and the congregation

we as a church can say no to God. And

I've seen many churches who said no to the Lord

and becomes stagnant because they wanted it to do their

way instead of God's way. And just as a church

can say no, you as individuals, as the Lord is

leading you to his plan, you too can say no, God,

not me. This church, we only see how the Holy

Spirit reveals his plan to them in unity and individually.

But we see how they submit to God's plan. In

verse thirteen, I want you to look with me. After

Agabus says this, and they plead with Paul not.

To go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered, what are you doing? Weeping and breaking

my heart? It tells the church, what are you doing?

This is God's plan.

We've got to follow God. We've got to I've got

to follow the Lord.

And you by pleading with me not to do this,

you're breaking my heart. And listen to what the verse says.

Paul says, I am ready not only to be in prison,

but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of.

The Lord Jesus Christ.

It sounds a lot like what Nate Saints said to

Steve that day.

It doesn't it. I'm willing to follow God to the

very end.

And then verse fourteen, it says, and since he would

not be persuaded, we church body and individually said, let

the will of the Lord be done. Listen, we as

a church, as the Holy Spirit leads us in unity.

Sometimes it's not our plan, it's not what we want,

it's not what we desire. We must come to a

place where we say to the Lord, mayor will be done. Lord,

will follow you, We'll do we'll we'll follow your leading

for us, even when it does that makes sense to us,

even when it's not our plan, even when it's not

our way.

Or may you will be done.

Not must we do that as a church as they

did it as a church, But listen, we must also

do it individually.

Lord, this is not what I had in mind for

my life.

Lord, I don't know that I feel comfortable to take

sharing the Gospel with that individual. Lord, I don't know

if I feel comfortable going on that mission trip.

Lord, I don't know if.

I be comfortable being a teacher or whatever it may be. Lord,

I don't know if I'm comfortable right now giving you

this relationship or or living for you right now at

school whatever it may be, or living for you more

at my workplace.

Lord, I don't know that I can do that.

And Lord just says to you, you submit to my plan,

and may you and I today Jesus