Spirit-Led Detours

Good morning, everyone.

Before we get into the word, Tiff, could you pull up that slide for Faith Comes to Be Hearing again?

! Just a brief plug for that.

Yeah, that's a ministry that I know and love.

I've been connected with a while and I just wanted to share with you guys.

As we're going through Acts and talking about scattering,

that call to go make disciples of all nations,

including people from every tribe, nation, and tongue, every people group.

So Faith Comes to Be Hearing, a ministry that is really well connected with doing that.

They're going and bringing the word of God to new languages,

translating it to languages that don't have a Bible at all,

and bringing the word to places where people have never heard the word Jesus at all,

where they have never met a Christian in their life.

So, yeah, I just want to share that with you guys.

That's two Thursdays from now on the 20th if you want to learn more.

And catch that fire for the Great Commission.

This would be a great way to do that.

But, yeah, with that, today we're talking about the Holy Spirit

and to be led by the Holy Spirit.

And actually, when I was preparing for this to preach today,

I found myself thinking, actually, that I wish I could preach this five or ten years later.

Because I was reflecting and I was thinking,

I don't really have that many experiences about being led by the Spirit in this way.

I was actually talking to someone this morning, a new visitor,

and he said, I introduced myself, and he said,

you're really young.

And I found myself thinking that, thinking about being led by the Holy Spirit.

Because I think of missionaries like Jackie Pollinger.

Do you guys know Jackie Pollinger?

Who are very clearly Spirit-led, working gifts of the Holy Spirit.

So she came from the UK.

She felt God call her to go.

And so she got on a boat.

Didn't know where God was calling her to go.

But just everywhere that the boat stopped, she would pray,

God, is this where you want me to get off?

Is this where you want me to go?

Until finally the boat stopped at Hong Kong,

and she felt the Spirit telling her, this is it.

And she ended up serving in the Kowloon Wall City,

where there's lots of drug addicts, gangsters, triads, all that type of stuff.

And saw the Spirit work in so many ways.

Prayed for drug addicts, and they were healed.

Prayed for people.

They started speaking in tongues.

They came to faith.

So I think of missionaries like her, who are very clearly Spirit-led.

I also think of guys like Hudson Taylor,

a very prominent missionary to China.

Where he was praying for someone one day,

a poor family,

and he was praying for them,

God to provide for them.

And he felt the Spirit tell him,

hey, you have one coin left in your pocket.

Why are you praying for them?

Just give it to them.

But that was the last coin he had.

That was the last bit of money he had to buy dinner the next day.

But he decided to obey the Spirit.

Gave them that money.

And the next day,

he got an unmarked letter in the mail.

Nothing written on it.

Blank piece of paper.

And in it was a coin.

Four times as much as he gave away.

So I think of coincidences like that,

miracles like that,

where the Spirit is clearly moving.

And I was just thinking,

hey, I don't really have all too many experiences like that to share.

And we see in Acts 16,

the Spirit leading in miraculous ways.

As we're going to read today,

as Paul goes on a second missionary journey,

that the Spirit directly talks to them,

tells them,

don't go here,

don't go to Asia,

don't go to Bithynia,

go to Macedonia.

And I want God to guide my life like that.

But I've never,

that's not happened to me.

I've not seen God speak to me in a vision.

But then as we read Acts 16,

we also see other ways in which the Spirit leads.

In giving faith,

opening Lydia's heart

to receive the gospel.

And also,

as Paul and Silas are in prison,

the Spirit gives them supernatural joy

so that they can rejoice

while in prison.

And so,

reading this,

Acts 16 is a chapter,

Paul goes on his missionary journey,

and we see how he is completely led by the Spirit.

As we read this,

I want us also to share in the joy that they have.

And maybe some of you here are thinking,

I want to be led by the Spirit.

I don't know how.

I'm hoping as we read this chapter,

we can share in that joy.

The joy in every circumstance.

Joy in seeing people saved.

For us to be a Spirit-led church.

To want to be led by the Spirit.

To want to rely on Him.

And to do nothing apart from Him.

So that's my goal as we read Acts chapter 16 today.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

And with that,

let's stand as we read from the Word of God.

I'm going to invite Christine up to read for us.

Thank you, Christine.

We stand out of just a small act of reverence

for the Word of God.

Acts 16.

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra.

A disciple was there named Timothy,

the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,

but his father was a Greek.

He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.

Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him,

and he took him and circumcised him

because of the Jews who were in those places,

for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

As they went on their way through the cities,

they delivered to them for observance

the decisions that had been reached

by the disciples and elders who were in Jerusalem.

So the churches were strengthened in the faith,

and they increased in numbers daily.

And they went through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia,

having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit

to speak up the Word in Asia.

And when they had come up to Mysia,

they attempted to go into Brythynia,

but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

So the passing by Mysia,

they went down to Troas,

and a vision appeared of Paul in the night.

A man of Macedonia was standing there,

urging him and saying,

come over to Macedonia and help us.

And when Paul had seen the vision,

immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia,

concluding that God had called us

to preach the gospel to them.

So setting sail from Troas,

we made a direct voyage to Samothrace,

and the following day to Neapolis,

and from there to Philippi,

which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia,

and a Roman colony.

We remained in this city some days,

and on the Sabbath day,

we went outside the gate into the riverside,

where we supposed there was a place of prayer,

and we sat down and spoke to the woman

who had come together.

One who had heard us was a woman named Lydia

from the city of Theatira,

a seller of purple goods,

who was a worshiper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to pay attention

to what was said to Paul,

and after she was baptized,

and her household as well,

she urged us, saying,

if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord,

come to my house and stay.

And she prevailed upon us.

As we were going to the place of prayer,

we were met by a slave girl

who had a spirit of divination,

and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.

She followed Paul and us, crying out,

These men are servants of the Most High God,

who are proclaimed to you the way of salvation.

And this she kept doing for many days.

Paul, having become greatly annoyed,

turned and said to the spirit,

I command you in the name of Jesus Christ

to come out of her.

And it came out of that very hour.

And when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone,

they seized Paul and Silas,

and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

And when they have brought them to the magistrates,

they said,

These men are Jews,

and they are disturbing our city.

They advocate customs that are not lawful for us

as Romans to accept or practice.

The crowd joined in attacking them,

and the magistrates tore the garments off them

and gave orders to beat them with rods.

And when they had inflicted many blows upon them,

they threw them into prison,

ordering the jailer to keep them safely.

Having received this order,

he put them into the inner prison

and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight,

Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,

and the prisoners were listening to them.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake,

so that the foundations of the prison were shaken.

And immediately all the doors were opened,

and everyone's bonds were unfastened.

When the jailers woke and saw that the prison doors were open,

he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,

supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul cried with a loud voice,

Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.

And the jailer called for lights and rushed in,

and trembling with fear,

he fell down before Paul and Silas.

Then he brought them out and said,

Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said,

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,

you and your household.

And they spoke the word of the Lord to him

and to all who were in his house.

And he took them the same hour of the night

and washed their wounds,

and he baptized at once,

and he and all his family.

Then he brought them up into his house

and set food before them.

And he rejoiced,

along with his entire household,

that he had believed in God.

But when it was that day,

the magistrates sent the police, saying,

Let those men go.

And the jailer reported these words to Paul,

saying,

The magistrates have sent to let you go.

Therefore, come out now and go in peace.

But Paul said to them,

They have beaten us publicly,

uncondemned,

men who are Roman citizens,

and have thrown us into prison.

And do they now throw us out secretly?

No.

Let them come themselves and take us out.

The police reported these words to the magistrates,

and they were afraid when they heard

that they were Roman citizens.

So they came and apologized to them,

and they took them out

and asked them to leave the city.

So they went out of the prison

and visited Lydia.

And when they had seen the brothers,

they encouraged them and departed.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thank you.

Please take a seat.

And as we read,

there's a lot going on in this passage today.

Paul's on his second missionary journey.

But that journey to Philippi and beyond

was anything but a straight line.

It was a journey filled with detours.

But we see from the start

that this whole journey is entirely spirit-led.

Now, I say Paul.

It's Paul's second missionary journey.

But it's not just Paul on this trip.

There's others with him.

Paul is traveling with a guy named Silas.

We saw that at the end of chapter 15.

And in this chapter, verse 3,

Paul also meets a young man named Timothy.

Paul takes Timothy under his wings

and drags him along on this trip.

And Timothy actually ends up being

one of Paul's most trusted co-laborers.

And this is the Timothy that Paul wrote

1 and 2 Timothy to

and was with Paul as he wrote other letters.

Also, verse 10,

we see that Luke,

the one who's writing the book of Acts,

is also traveling with Paul.

Because throughout Acts so far,

Luke has been writing in the third person

that they did this and that.

They went here.

They went there.

But starting in verse 10,

there's a shift.

Luke shifts to the first person.

We went on to Macedonia.

We went here.

We went there.

So this is probably how Luke

got his material for Acts,

traveling around with Paul and others.

And also for the gospel of Luke.

Okay?

So Paul and associates,

he has a team going with him,

preaching in his second missionary journey.

And they're sharing the good news of Jesus.

And so we read in verse 5,

the churches as a result of that

were strengthened in the faith

and they increased in numbers daily.

They're preaching the gospel here.

They're preaching the gospel there.

And they have an idea.

Let's go further.

Let's go preach the gospel in Asia.

Let's go to Asia.

But we read in verse 6,

they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit

to speak the word in Asia.

Now that's weird, right?

When you woke up this morning,

got ready for church,

I don't think you were expecting

to come and hear God tell somebody,

don't preach the gospel.

It's a good thing to preach the gospel.

It's good to preach in a new place,

in Asia.

And yet the Spirit told them,

no, don't go to Asia.

But they weren't fazed.

They heard the Spirit,

obeyed him,

and followed his lead.

They said,

okay, if not Asia,

we'll go elsewhere.

And so they passed through Phrygia

and Galatia onto Mycenae.

And then in verse 7,

they attempted to go to a place

called Bithynia.

And now just to clarify all these places,

when we think of Asia,

we're often thinking here in Hong Kong

or Japan, China, Thailand.

But here, Asia is likely just referring

to the province of Asia,

which is on the west coast

of modern-day Turkey.

So not Hong Kong,

but he was just going

to the west coast of Turkey.

And they couldn't go west.

The Spirit told them no.

So instead,

they headed north

in the direction of Bithynia,

which is northern Turkey.

And so take two.

Not Asia.

They're heading to Bithynia.

And again, verse 7 says,

the Spirit of Jesus

did not allow them.

I don't know about you,

but in my flesh,

I don't like to be told no.

I don't like when doors close on me.

Even literally,

when I'm rushing into the MTR,

and I see the doors close,

that's already enough

to get me upset.

But much more than that,

when it's higher stakes,

when we've got plans

for school, career,

relationships,

and doors close,

that is an interruption

to our plans.

But we see for Paul and company

that as they're led

by the Spirit,

they're not phased

when their plans change.

They don't complain.

They don't grumble about it.

As they obey the Spirit,

those no's,

they don't come as detours

and interruptions

to their plans,

but they're simply ways

in which the Spirit guides them.

The Spirit said no to Asia,

that's okay.

We'll go on to Phrygia,

Galatia,

Mycenae.

When the Spirit doesn't allow

us into Bithynia,

that's okay too.

And they go onwards

to Troas.

They're surrendered

to where the Spirit leads them.

They don't hold on

to their plans too tightly.

They have good plans,

but they don't hold on to them.

They follow

as the Spirit leads.

And in this case,

for Paul,

the Holy Spirit

gave them specific directions

and specific instructions

on what to do.

The Spirit can lead us

in other ways

with more general instructions,

which we'll see later

with Lydia's case.

But in,

for Paul,

the Spirit's direction

was very specific.

Don't go to Asia

or Bithynia.

And the text

doesn't tell us

how the Spirit

communicated to them.

But sometimes,

you know,

the Spirit can lead us

through our circumstances.

If you're asking,

what's God's plan

for my life?

Sometimes God answers

by opening doors

or closing doors.

If you're accepted

into that university

or turned down

from that job,

God can lead you

through His providence.

Sometimes the Spirit

can speak to us directly.

Some people hear

the Spirit speaking audibly

or the Spirit stirring up

a thought in our minds.

For example,

we read before

in Acts chapter 8,

Acts 8:29

verse 29,

the Spirit said to Philip,

go over and join this chariot.

That was a clear instruction

that Philip heard

and obeyed.

Philip went

and joined the exact chariot

the Spirit led him to.

And sometimes,

the Spirit speaks to us

like that.

In verse 9,

we see yet another way.

The Spirit directed Paul

through a vision

in the night.

A man in Macedonia

was standing there

urging him and saying,

come over to Macedonia

and help us.

And when Paul

had seen the vision,

immediately,

we sought to go on

into Macedonia,

concluding that God

had called us

to preach the gospel

to them.

So after the Spirit

told them no twice,

we finally see why.

The Spirit wanted them

to go to a specific place,

to go to Macedonia first.

And he made it clear

to them through a vision.

That's one way

in which the Spirit

can lead us.

And so Paul obeyed,

and in verse 12,

they set sail onwards

to Philippi,

which is a leading city

of the district

of Macedonia

and a Roman colony.

He follows the Spirit's guidance

and they go to that

city of Philippi.

And there,

Paul did what he normally does

as he goes into

any new city.

In verse 13,

on the Sabbath,

they went to the synagogue,

or in this case,

the closest thing

they could find

to a synagogue

in Philippi.

They went to a place

of prayer,

sat down,

and they spoke

to the woman

who had come together.

Verse 13.

Now when Luke wrote

that they spoke

to the women,

I don't think they were

just talking about

the weather.

Obviously,

Paul,

they were preaching

to them the good news

of Jesus Christ,

to the woman sitting there.

And in verse 14,

one who heard us

was a woman named Lydia

from the city of Thyatira,

a seller of purple goods.

This is a woman

who was quite likely well off.

She was also

a worshiper of God,

meaning that she was

a God-fearing Gentile.

And notice this.

Notice how the spirit works.

Verse 14.

It says,

the Lord opened Lydia's heart

to pay attention

to what was said by Paul.

See,

Paul preached the gospel.

Paul was the one

who spoke.

Several women heard.

But the decisive change

in Lydia

is that the Lord

opened her heart.

The spirit opened Lydia's heart

to receive the gospel,

and so she believed.

And that is another way

in which the spirit leads us.

He leads us

to faith in Christ.

Sometimes the spirit

gives us specific instructions,

like go to Macedonia.

But another crucial way

in which the spirit leads us

is by opening our hearts

so that we can see

the beauty of Christ.

We can't believe in Jesus

without the spirit.

The faith we have

is a gift from God

through the spirit.

Because it's the spirit

who led Paul himself

to go and preach the gospel.

The spirit led Paul

uses people

to preach the gospel.

Words are required.

Romans 10 says,

faith comes from hearing

and hearing through

the word of Christ.

The spirit led Paul

to preach the gospel

to Lydia.

And also,

it was the spirit

who opened Lydia's heart

to receive the good news

so that the words

that were spoken

wouldn't just stay in her head

but sink into her heart

and she would believe in Christ.

And so when we scatter,

when we are led by the spirit

to preach the gospel,

we can have that comfort

and confidence in sharing,

knowing that the outcome

isn't just up to us.

It doesn't depend

on our clever arguments

or how persuasive we are.

The same spirit

who leads us to speak

is the one who also works

in those who listen

and gives faith.

And so if we follow

the spirit's lead

but no one cares,

that's okay.

If the spirit turned Paul

away from Asia and Bithynia,

that's okay.

We just need to obey

and trust God for the fruit.

The spirit gives faith.

That's what we learned

from Lydia.

The spirit leads

by opening hearts.

But as we keep reading,

we see that as the spirit leads,

there will also be opposition.

Paul and company,

they stay with Lydia

a while in Philippi

but one day in verse 16,

they meet a slave girl

who had a spirit of divination

and brought her owners

much gain by fortune telling.

There was an evil spirit

in this girl harassing her.

Yet also,

there was one advantage

to that evil spirit

that the owners were exploiting.

The spirit gave that girl

the ability to do fortune telling

and that made her owners

a lot of money

and they liked that.

They liked that

there was this evil spirit in her

because that would give them

lots of money.

But also,

the girl followed them around,

followed Paul and them around

crying out.

These men are servants

of the Most High God

who proclaimed to you

the way of salvation.

She did this for a few days

and then in verse 18,

Paul,

having become greatly annoyed,

turned and said to the spirit,

I command you

in the name of Jesus Christ

to come out of her.

I love that it says

that Paul was annoyed.

Like,

have you been so annoyed

at someone you wanted

to do an exorcism?

That's what happened to Paul.

He was so annoyed with them,

he decided to cast out that spirit.

So Paul commands

that spirit to leave.

And we read in verse 18,

the evil spirit came out

that very hour.

Now I think the ESV translation

of that very hour

is a bit misleading.

It's a bit too weak.

A better translation

is at that moment

or that very instant.

The point is that

at the name of Jesus,

the evil spirit

left her instantly.

And that is a work

of the Holy Spirit too.

1 Corinthians 12 tells us

that healing

and gifts of miracles,

the signs and wonders,

those are works of the spirit,

gifts of the spirit.

The spirit has power

to set captives free.

And so the girl is healed

but not everybody liked that.

Her owners

don't like the work

of the spirit.

They would rather

have her be oppressed

by an evil spirit

rather than to see

the power of the Holy Spirit.

They were mad

because that girl

was set free.

She couldn't do

her fortune telling anymore.

They couldn't exploit her

anymore for income.

They're mad about it.

And so they drag

Paul and Silas

before the authorities.

Her owners

make up accusations

about Paul and Silas

in verse 21 saying,

they advocate customs

that are not lawful

for us as Romans

to accept or practice.

And that's pretty rich.

They don't care

about the Roman customs.

They don't care at all.

They just care

about their money.

But yet the crowd

buys it

and they attack

Paul and Silas

brutally.

Their clothes

are ripped off.

That's what it says.

They're beaten with rods.

I imagine them

on the ground

just covering their faces

while surrounded by mob

that's beating them

with sticks

with baseball bats.

Blood streaming down

their face.

And after that

they're left for dead.

They have their feet

bound in socks.

They're dragged

and thrown into jail

bleeding all over.

And wow.

I can't imagine

how much that would have hurt.

How defenseless,

how weak they would have felt.

And the injustice

of it all.

All that came

as they were following

the spirit,

preaching the gospel,

doing what God commanded.

And then

they're thrown into jail.

They're beaten brutally.

We learn from this

that when the spirit

leads us

it's not always comfortable.

Don't let anyone

fool you

that God promises

a nice easy life.

If we want

to follow Christ,

if we want

to be spirit led,

let's count the cost.

Because sometimes

the spirit

leads us to suffer.

Jesus wasn't

spared the cross

and he said,

he told his followers,

if they persecuted me

they will also persecute you.

They will also persecute you.

No servant

is greater

than his master.

So if we follow

the spirit's lead,

it will cost us.

But what happens

next is remarkable.

Verse 25,

it's the middle

of the night

and Paul,

but still Paul

and Silas

are wide awake.

They're in jail.

They're bleeding

all over the floors.

But yet,

they're praying

and singing hymns

to God.

They're not doing

this in private.

They're praying,

singing so loudly

that all the prisoners

were listening to them.

All the prisoners

could hear them

praise God

in prison.

And remember,

they're still bruised.

They're still bleeding.

They're probably

beaten so hard

that their jaws,

it hurts to move.

Their jaws are swollen.

It hurts to sing.

And yet,

they still decide

to do it.

They're in so much pain

yet rejoicing.

And in verse 26,

as they pray and sing,

it says,

suddenly there was

a great earthquake

so that the foundations

of the prison

were shaken.

All the doors opened

and everyone

was set loose.

And now,

that's clearly

a miracle, right?

That God shook the earth

as they were praying

and singing.

God shook the earth

and the prisoners

were set free.

That's a miracle,

that earthquake.

That's a supernatural

display of God's power.

But let's stop to think.

What is the greater miracle?

What is the greater display

of the glory of God?

For God to shake the earth,

send an earthquake?

Or for God to raise up

for himself,

Paul and Silas,

who are bleeding

all over the floors,

who in their pain,

in the injustice

of it all,

they want nothing more

than to pray

and sing

in worship of God.

I think we can all agree

that's not normal.

Their reaction

isn't normal.

It's easy to be happy

and praise God

when life's good.

But no sane person

gets beaten to a pulp

And then sings about it.

No one does that.

That's not natural.

That is a work of God.

That's a work of the Spirit.

Paul and Silas,

in prison,

have spirit-led joy.

To be so captivated

and in love with God

that nothing,

not even a pool of blood

on the prison floor,

can steal a single word

of praise from our lips.

That's the power of God.

To save from the heart,

not just to know

in our heads,

but to save in our hearts.

Nothing can separate us

from the love of Christ.

Neither tribulation

or distress

or persecution

or famine

or nakedness

or danger

or sword.

That knowing

all these things

we are more than conquerors

through Christ

who loved us.

That is the display

of the power of God.

Do you want a joy like that?

A joy that's not only

fair weather joy,

but that shines even

in the darkest places.

Even in the greatest pain.

To have that joy,

that is the power of God.

Even more

than the strongest earthquake.

The earth shook

and in verse 27,

the jailer is freaking out

thinking,

the prisoners are gone.

I'm done.

They're going to kill me.

They're going to kill me

because I let all

these prisoners escape.

In verse 28,

Paul cried out

with a loud voice,

do not harm yourself

for we are all here.

Don't harm yourself.

We're all here.

And this is what Jesus means

when he said,

love your enemies.

The jailer,

that's the guy

keeping Paul in prison.

Paul cared for him.

The enemy,

the persecutor,

the one who was

keeping him in prison.

And the jailer

trembled with fear,

fell to the ground

before Paul and Silas

and asked in verse 30,

sirs,

what must I do

to be saved?

That's the same question

we discussed last week

as the Jerusalem council

decided on circumcision.

What does it mean

to be Christian?

What must I do

to be saved?

And once again,

the answer is that

we're saved by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone.

Verse 31,

they say,

believe in the Lord Jesus.

How are you saved?

Believe in the Lord Jesus

and you will be saved,

you and your household.

That's it.

All you do is believe.

That's the gospel.

The bad news is that

we are all sinners

and like the jailer,

we should all fall

to the ground

and tremble with fear.

But the good news

is that Jesus died

on the cross for our sins

and rose from the dead

so that all who believe in him

may be saved

and have life to the full.

Believe in the Lord Jesus

and you will be saved.

They preached this good news

to the jailer

and his whole household.

And once again,

the spirit granted faith,

opened their hearts.

The jailer and his whole family

believed

and they were baptized immediately.

And I love the picture

in verse 34

of the power of the gospel,

the radical reconciliation

brought by the gospel.

We see in verse 34,

the jailer,

Paul and Silas,

it's the middle of the night.

They sit together

and they eat together.

The jailer prepares,

gives a meal

for Paul and Silas.

They were once persecutors,

once enemies,

but now they're friends

eating together,

sharing the same table.

And more than friends,

that through the blood of Jesus,

they're now family.

They're now family.

The gospel reconciles

and unites us together

in one spirit.

And so it's only fitting

once again in verse 34,

the jailer rejoices.

There's spirit-led joy again.

He rejoices that he had come

to know Christ

and not just him,

but his whole household,

his whole household was saved.

The joy that Paul and Silas had

is now shared with the jailer

and his household

by the spirit.

And we read on after that,

Paul and Silas,

they're set free.

And in verse 39,

they're kicked out of Philippi,

they leave,

and they continue on

in the missionary journey.

So in this chapter,

we see the start

of the Philippian church.

This is the start

of the church in Philippi

as Lydia and the jailer's family

turn to Christ.

And again,

once again,

this is an entirely

spirit-led journey.

I hope we saw that

reading this chapter.

How the spirit of God

was moving

throughout this whole chapter,

throughout this whole journey.

From the spirit directing them,

spirit-led detours,

the spirit giving them

specific instruction,

not Asia,

not Bithynia,

but onto Macedonia.

We also saw spirit-led faith

as the spirit opened Lydia

and the jailer's heart

to receive the gospel.

And we saw Paul and Silas

endure that spirit-led suffering.

But even in the pain,

they had spirit-led joy.

They overflowed with that

and that was shared

with the jailer and his family.

That's how we see

the spirit of God

lead and move

in Acts 16.

And that sounds amazing,

doesn't it?

It sounds so clear.

A vision,

earthquake,

obvious no's

and obvious yes's.

And it's easy to read this

and think ourselves,

hey, that's great

for the apostle Paul.

That's great that the spirit

worked in the apostle Paul.

But my life doesn't feel

like that right now.

I'm not getting visions.

I'm not hearing audible instructions

on where to go.

How do I know

if I'm being led by the spirit

or I'm just making bad decisions

if bad things are just happening

in my life?

These detours.

And if you felt that way,

then you're not alone.

As I was sharing earlier,

in fact,

I gotta be honest with you guys,

the last few weeks

when I was mulling over

this passage,

I had a bit of a tough time

preparing to preach this today.

Because as I was looking

over the text,

I kept thinking,

hey,

I don't really know

what to say.

I don't know what God

wants me to share

from this passage.

But then I sat down

at my desk

and I thought,

okay,

I gotta preach on Sunday.

That has to get done.

So I'm just gonna lock in,

write something out.

I'm just gonna,

I'm just gonna focus,

write something out.

And so I wrote a short draft.

But as I was writing,

I knew that wasn't it.

Right?

That wasn't the right direction.

So I scrapped it,

tried again,

start writing again,

wrote another bit.

Again,

I knew what I was writing.

That wasn't me.

I can't say this with conviction.

There's no power in this message.

I can't preach this.

And I was frustrated

because I wasn't getting anywhere.

I'd already wasted

a day or two of work.

And at that point in the week,

that's normally

when I'd be done preparing.

But this time,

I was staring at a blank page.

I had nothing.

And that's when I felt

the Spirit speak to me.

It wasn't audibly

with words like Paul.

It wasn't,

it wasn't in a vision.

But I knew in my heart,

God was saying to me,

hey,

you can't preach

without my Spirit.

You can be,

you can only talk

about being Spirit-led

as you are led

by the Spirit.

And he reminded me

of what we were reading

in John 15 this week,

that I am the vine,

you are the branches.

Abide in me

and I in you.

Apart from me,

you can do nothing.

You can do absolutely nothing.

And that scripture,

God didn't just,

he didn't just remind me

in my head,

but truly felt in my heart,

Jesus say,

apart from me,

you can do nothing.

Nothing.

And he said to me,

if you are to preach

about being Spirit-led,

you have to be Spirit-led.

Repent of your pride,

your self-reliance,

thinking you can do it

on your own.

Repent from distractions,

things consuming

your attention

that keep you

from abiding in me

and rejoicing in me.

And then I realized

as I was,

that I,

in this process,

was experiencing

this passage,

these Spirit-led detours.

Right?

I had my planned sermon

outlined,

go to this and that place,

but God said no.

He was telling me,

hey,

I'm gonna let you sit

and experience

these detours,

sit in frustration

until you learn

to abide in me,

rely on me,

surrender control to me,

and truly say

from the heart,

I never want to do

anything except

with the Spirit.

Only then

will my Spirit

lead you

to preach my word.

That process

isn't fun.

It's nothing as bad

as Paul

and Silas

being beaten up

and thrown into jail.

But I had to wrestle

with God

with much prayer.

It wasn't easy.

But in the end,

there was joy in it

because

in that wrestle,

I could experience

with even more closeness

and intimacy,

God,

He spoke to me

when I had nothing

to say.

And like me,

I know there's others

here in this room

who want to be led

by the Spirit.

but you're frustrated

or lost

because you don't

feel Him lead.

You know

we are to be led

by the Spirit,

but maybe

you don't feel Him

leading you

in your life.

Some of us here

are experiencing

our own detours

in life,

not happy about

how career is going

or relationships,

school.

In those setbacks,

you want to rejoice

in God.

You want to trust Him.

But the situation

is overwhelming.

It's painful.

You want to have joy,

but you find it

so hard to.

Some of us

are here

because you're

searching for answers,

that there's more

to life than this.

And you want

to know Jesus.

You wish you believed

in Him,

but you don't.

The gospel just

hasn't fully clicked

in your heart,

but you want it to,

and you wish it would.

I want to encourage us

with Jesus' promises.

He says,

ask,

and it will be

given to you.

Seek,

and you will find.

Knock,

and it will be

opened to you.

Jesus said,

if you then who are evil

know how to give

good gifts to your children,

how much more

will the Heavenly Father

give the Holy Spirit

to those who ask Him

this good gift?

We heard last week

that we're made right

with God

by grace

through Jesus' death

on the cross.

Yet we see in the Bible,

we're saved by grace alone,

but we see in the Bible

so many commands

for us to follow Him,

to do things.

Here as a church,

we talk so often

about scattering

and the Great Commission,

that command,

go and make disciples

of all nations.

That's a command

Jesus gives us.

Or 1 Peter 1,

be holy for I am holy.

That's a command.

Matthew 16,

if anyone wants

to follow me,

let him deny himself,

take up his cross

and follow me.

That's a command.

So how is it

that we're saved by grace

but still have to do

all these things?

The answer is that

Jesus didn't just die

to forgive us

of our sins.

He doesn't say

you're saved by grace alone.

Now you're left

all on your own

to follow me

and obey my commands.

You're in that prison.

I'm going to lead you

into that prison

and leave you there

on your own.

That's not what Jesus says.

When Jesus tells us,

go and make disciples,

it comes with that promise.

And I will be with you

to the end of the age.

When he commands us,

you shall be holy

for I am holy.

He says,

I will finish

the good work

that I began in you.

When he says,

take up your cross,

follow me.

He also promises

that we will be born again

through the Holy Spirit,

that he sent us a helper

to guide us

in all the truth

and lead us

in paths of righteousness

for his namesake.

Jesus didn't just die

to forgive us

from our sins,

but to cleanse us

fully from our sins

to make us holy like him.

He doesn't just demand

us to follow him.

He leads us

to follow him.

When Jesus says,

follow me,

that's a call

to be spirit-led.

To follow Jesus

is to be spirit-led.

We can't follow Jesus

without being led

by the spirit

and the spirit

never leads us anywhere

aside from to Jesus.

In every way

the spirit leads us,

the end result

is deeper,

more intimate,

all satisfying faith

and joy in Christ.

Is that something

that we want?

Is it something you want

to experience more of Christ?

I hope that is

as followers of Christ.

Then how do we take hold

of that promise?

How do we allow ourselves

to make ourselves available

for the spirit to lead us?

What are some practical ways?

First,

let's surrender

to the spirit.

Surrender

to his lead.

We saw how sometimes

the spirit changes

our plans.

We might want to go to Asia.

We might want to go

to Bithynia.

But sometimes

the spirit says no.

The spirit is leading us.

But the truth is

that

maybe

we don't want

to follow.

We aren't willing

to follow where he leads.

We want to go

our own way.

Examine your heart.

Is there anything

you're holding back?

Anywhere you're not

willing to go?

You say,

I'm willing to follow you,

Jesus,

except over there.

Is there an area

of our life

we need to surrender?

We surrender

and let's also pray.

Remember Jesus' promise

again.

The Father will give

the Holy Spirit

to those who ask him.

And this promise

isn't just one time

when we believe in Jesus.

We all receive

the Holy Spirit.

We have that gift

when we believe in Christ.

But we're also commanded

in Ephesians 5

to be constantly

and continually

filled with the spirit.

In Galatians 5,

to walk by the spirit.

That's an ongoing thing,

to be filled

with the spirit

constantly.

And so we can pray

and ask for God

for the spirit

to fill us

and to lead us.

Pray.

And let's also listen.

If we want to be spirit-led,

are we tuning our ears

to listen

when he leads?

Romans 8,

Romans 8:5

verse 5 says,

those who live

according to the spirit

set their minds

on the things

of the spirit.

They set their minds

on the things

of the spirit.

One reason why

we might not hear

the voice of God

is that we're busy

setting our minds,

filling our minds

with other voices.

So recently

in my morning commute

on the MTR,

I was thinking,

do I really need

to scroll on my phone?

No, not really.

But do I do it?

Yeah.

Jumping from real

to YouTube short,

that fills my mind.

It makes my mind

too full

to hear

with other voices.

There's no space

to hear God speak.

So the past few weeks,

I've been trying

to just keep my phone

in my pocket.

No music.

Make room.

To pray

and hear from God.

And sometimes

I still get that itch,

but I've been finding

that time fruitful.

So maybe give it a shot too.

I've also been trying

to block off time

in the day,

15 minutes,

10 minutes,

to sit still,

quiet,

pray,

and listen.

Ask God,

is there anywhere

you're leading me?

Are you speaking to me?

And we're in different

stages of life

with different schedules.

So what you,

what your practices

may look different,

but the question remains,

are we making room

to hear God speak?

If we want to be led

by the spirit,

are we listening

to him speak?

Let's listen

and let's also discern.

We need to discern

whether what we're hearing

is a spirit speaking

or some other voice.

1 John 4 says,

do not believe every spirit,

but test the spirits

to see whether

they are from God.

we read earlier.

Paul was the one

in verse 9

who saw the vision

of the Macedonian man.

He was the one

who saw that dream.

But in verse 10,

we read,

when Paul had seen

the vision,

immediately we

sought to go on

into Macedonia.

This was a group effort.

They,

as a group,

concluded

that God had called us

to preach the gospel

to them.

Paul saw the vision,

but they all discerned

together

in community

that this was,

in fact,

God speaking to them.

That's where God

was leading them.

So,

you're not the only one

with the Holy Spirit.

We all share

the same spirit

so we can discern

in community.

We also discern

with scripture.

The spirit often speaks

to me through scripture.

For example,

I shared this week,

John 15,

apart from me,

you can do nothing.

The spirit guides us

in all the truth

as we read his word.

All scripture

is God breathed,

inspired by the Holy Spirit.

And God won't

contradict himself.

So,

we test what we hear

against the scriptures.

And lastly,

the Bible says

that the Holy Spirit

points us to Jesus.

In every way

the spirit is leading,

it'll lead to greater

joy in Christ.

John 15,

27 says,

the spirit of truth

will bear witness

about Jesus.

The spirit always

leads us to him.

And as followers

of Christ,

do we want that?

Don't we want that?

To have more of Christ?

To know him

and enjoy him?

So,

let's be a spirit-led,

let's be a spirit-led people.

If you are

a follower of Christ,

you have the same

Holy Spirit

that Paul had.

All who are

led by the spirit

are sons of God.

The same spirit

who said no to Asia,

who gave Paul

a vision for Macedonia,

who opened Lydia's heart,

who allowed Paul

and Silas

to sing a song

in jail.

That same spirit

is leading us.

Will we follow?

Will we surrender

our plans

and trust him

when the doors

swing open

or closed?

Maybe for you,

for some of us here,

the first step

is admitting

that you're lost.

That like the jailer,

your first spirit-led step

is to fall on your knees

and ask,

what must I do

to be saved?

The same answer,

it's the same answer today

as it was then.

Believe in the Lord Jesus.

That's where the spirit's

lead always begins.

And for the rest of us,

let's go from here

looking to the one

who is our joy,

looking to Jesus.

Let's be a people

who want one thing

above all else,

to be led by the spirit

in pursuit of Christ.

Let's be a spirit-led people.

I'm going to invite

the worship team up

and we'll respond in song.

Before that,

I think it'd be nice,

as I'm talking about,

as we see,

making room

for the spirit to lead us,

to spend just a few minutes,

let's spend a few minutes

in quiet,

in prayer.

If you want the spirit to lead,

again,

we can ask him.

Spirit, fill me.

Speak.

I want to listen.

I want to hear you.

I want to be led by you.

I want to do nothing

apart from you

because I can.

Let's ask him

and listen.

Also reflect.

Is there any way

I need to surrender?

Is there any part of my life

I need to surrender

to the spirit's lead?

Let's spend a few minutes

in quiet reflection.

God, thank you that you go before us.

I've set my God

always before me

because he is my right hand.

I will not be shaken.

Thank you

that we have

your presence with us

through the spirit.

And we want more of you.

We want more of you.

So we ask you,

we seek you,

and we trust your promise

that we will find

that you give good gifts

to those who ask you.

that you,

when we come to you,

you'll fill us

our thirst

with living water.

You'll satisfy

our hunger

with the bread of life.

Spirit, lead us.

We want to be

bold people,

a people with

serious joy

in every circumstance.

in plenty and hunger,

abundance and need.

I can do all things

through him

who gives me strength.

We want to be

a people like that.

We want to be

a city

on a hill

shining bright.

So lead us,

lead our church

by your spirit.

Pray this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.