Go As the Holy Spirit Guides

k fans I’m talking about the team in a hundred miles south of here yeah they used to be part of the Pac-12 that team yeah I understand they pulled out a squeaker yesterday like but what do you expect they played South Ridge High School For Crying Out Loud give us a break I don’t understand the first game of college football at all never have why would a Powerhouse like Oregon admittedly take on a team that barely suits up a team right I mean then that happens

all it’s not just an Oregon problem it’s everybody likes to pick on it’s not it’s it’s like Goliath versus David only they make sure Goliath’s got all the ammo and David I don’t know I don’t know the analogy breaks do down because someday that smaller team is going to whoop on the big boys and it’ll be a day of Joy anyway hey it’s good to be together I know boy school starts tomorrow or day day after tomorrow and that’ll be a big deal I want to

lead us in prayer right now and for this reason at this very hour Pastor Michael and Krista Westfall who finished their work here this past summer have begun their work today at Trinity and it’s his first time in the pulpit so this isn’t my first time but I feel that with him so I’ve been praying like crazy so Lord we joined together as people that love the westfalls we thank you for Micah for Christy for Krista and Michael for the blessed family they are we pray

for your power we pray for your peace and we pray that they would have a ridiculously fun time today as they are in a spot where you are anointing everything that takes place for your glory and for their good we pray in Jesus name amen amen all right that’s cool so I want to begin with words that you’ve probably heard before but he was a Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra remember okay so he once said when you come to a fork in the road

take it we’ve all been there haven’t we two com eding ideas that’s what a fork is to take you in different directions normally sometimes significantly I remember being on a camping trip and we came to a fork coming out of Zion National Park and we were cutting west across Nevada and we came to this literal Fork that said hook a right and you go to Great Basin hook a left and you go to reading I mean really it was it was one of those easy decisions

but we had to go anyway because we were heading home and we went left but if you went right you would have been to this I’m told I’ve not been to Great Basin that’s an amazing amazing place and and those two options competed they’re both quite compelling going home we went left and headed west but we really wanted to call in sick and hang were right and not get home on time and enjoy the Great Basin you’ve been there I’ve been there most people I know

would prefer in that example or many other examples the best path we’re not interested in next to best we want the best path some of you today I realize are making big decisions I’m not going to answer completely or adequately for what you’re hungering for this morning some sort of writing in the sky or a bush that burns and never burns up it may happen in your case but oftentimes it doesn’t sometimes it’s an easy choice though and then sometimes it’s a paralyzingly difficult choice that

fork in the road he ever pulled over before you took one or the other and just stood there and went I don’t know I don’t have cell service I cannot tell where this is going I don’t even have a map remember those things from the olden days don’t have it you know what do I do here and I’m I’m not going to list a bunch of examples of what I’m saying about this so-called fork in the road because frankly there’s just too many they’re endless and

and because one person finds it an impossible quandary and sits at that sign for a long time may never even pull the trigger we might say and I know you and I am you big decisions I guess because they’ve got big in front of the word decisions are hard maybe they’re supposed to be I think from what we talk about this morning as we resume our time in Acts if you’re not there yet you can turn to Acts chapter 21 which is where we will pick

up where we left off back in April tend to believe it and just a little detour right but we did so because we had a summer series which was a lot of fun and we completed that recently but we come to a resumption previously on steps with the spirit you could say if this was a TV show we’ll get there in just a minute but the reality is one person sees an impossible Fork and another person comes along to that same location and you’re hearing my

words right now you might be the person that comes to it pauses briefly and then makes the decision and moves on west or east Acts chapter 20 still or 21 you’re looking for that I have I want to just confess to you before we get too deep into this there are two subjects that I personally rarely preach on and you will not likely see a book written by me on either of these subjects one of them comes up today but let me let me mention the

other one because some have asked over the years how come you don’t preach on when and how Jesus will return fair enough good question some Churches that’s all they talk about the when and the how they get into the nuances they report updates continuously and frequently amend what they said earlier you’re getting a hint of why I don’t do I believe Jesus is coming back absolutely absolutely and I won’t be the last guy out of this room when he comes okay I’m actually heading up the

Rapture hatch right here this is where we go that’s where I’m heading right and if you belong to him and most of you do it’s it’s going to be easy for you to go and be with him so I but but here’s the deal the win and the how oh tough stuff read on an honest translation of Revelation just stick there and you come out and speak with dogmatic conviction about every detail with regard to the how and when he will return and I promise you

if you’re honest you will come to the place Jesus came to when he was asked who better to ask hey say we get it you’re going to leave when and how are you coming back good question it was such a good question it was talked about or recorded in three of the four Gospels Matthew chapter 24 Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21. I’ve nearly memorized them because I wanted to know the when and how but I came back to these words that are in chapter

24 verse 36. Hey guys here’s the deal he was answering his disciples so he probably called them guys here’s the deal Angels don’t know even the son of man speaking about himself doesn’t know when and how what he knew and what he’s guaranteed to provide for us on the subject of his return is that he will come back and that has an extraordinary implications for every single one of us if you need proof of that we don’t have time this morning but please read second Peter

chapter 3 verse read the whole chapter and you will get a sense this is Peter who I don’t need to tell you he was a guy that thoroughly disqualified qualified himself and then God restored him isn’t that a great message all by itself and He restored him and said Peter I want you to tell my people they’re going to live in a world that doesn’t get it doesn’t believe it doesn’t buy it and that world’s going to scoff they’re going to say you guys you Christians

you’ve been talking this Jive forever this is stupid because the world has continued on just as it has since the beginning and Peter says when they make that point it escapes their notice that God actually created the world without a hammer that’s my that’s my editorial input he simply spoke words let there be let there be say it with me let there be let there be let there be right that’s what God Said on on five days he covered the created world on the sixth day

he covered Humanity men and women and on the seventh day he kicked back in a hammock and rested all with words let there be and it was Peter back to Peter now Peter says the same thing’s going to happen people say there’s no sign there’s no evidence well there actually is but it’s not conclusive I remember my parents saying the same thing he’s got to come back any day now can’t get worse folks we lived in Berkeley Oakland hate Ashbury ringing Bells in the 60s okay

not a good place scary he’s got to be coming any minute we’re a lot of years after that Peter says the same God that’s spoken into being will bring fire and utter Global destruction including the heavens the planets everything smoke it all starts new second Peter 3 you got to read it so you’re seeing why I don’t like to spend a ton of time except for the implications since all that’s going to happen how then shall we live second Peter 3 covers that okay there’s a

second subject that I Don’t Preach very often about and I don’t plan to write a book about and that is how on the question how does God guide how then does God guide lots of examples in the Bible if you know your Old Testament you see some really cool ones but all of them not one of them is repeated today you say really my favorite cloud and Fire that led the people for 40 years remember cloud and then at nighttime fire that’s easy all you got

to do is open your eyes and follow it stop it’s not moving anymore follow it some more you know what I mean that’s how it works where does God want us to go and how fast does he want us to get there it was all covered in a cloud and fire that was really great stuff by the way all the notes are at the bottom of your page as they are each week you can read these stories as well that one from Exodus and then there

comes in Judges chapter 6 the fifth of 12 judges his name’s Gideon and he had he was asked by God to do something big scary big and God said I want you to do that now and he reacted the way most of us do to situations like that really God shaking like dogs last night in the thunder and lightning storm what do I what I need some indication I need some confirmation and so he comes up with a fleece this a sheep’s fleece fleece and he

lays it in this threshing room where they stomped on wheat and that sort of thing and the grapes and they put it in they put it in the middle and he says I want it to be wet and all the ground around it dry it’s not likely on its own well sure enough it turned out that way and then he repeats himself and he says I want to reverse it God Gideon and he says how about you make the fleece wet or the floor the ground

wet and the fleece dry and it happened just that way he got his answer that was no longer a quandary decision go to battle God will be with you then you get other guys that that the stories that came along like casting lots that was that’s hard to even know what that was some have said drawing straws I I don’t think so I think it was some kind of coin I know somebody that believes that I really respect that it was like rolling dice he’ll roll

the dice maybe that doesn’t hasn’t happened in my experience there’s another one called urum and sunum the high priest had this ephod it’s like a vest like a fishing vest with lots of pockets and there was there was stones in there and if these somehow the stones no one really knows all my research said got to me but somehow that gave indication and clarity all of this for me to confess to you I I actually am that guy that that envies people in the Old Testament

in the Bible a look at that and I and I don’t think yeah well I think wow what a cool time to live where you you want you want God’s guidance and you hear directly from God and it gave you very clear Direction on which direction to go that’s enough Direction in one sentence right I could go on and on but please look at stories like the first city that Israel was to conquer when they came into the land and there was a method given to

Joshua they had been in the wilderness for 40 years and the method was weird I mean how do you take a city overwhelming Force right there’s no other way to do it or a country well the instructions given to Joshua when they crossed the Jordan into the promised land as they looked at Jericho a formidable City we want you to March around it follow the priest one time a day for Six Days on the seventh day do what I just said seven times and then the

horns will blow people will shout and you’ve got your city the walls will actually cave in and it happened just that way so the New Testament changed a lot and it really changed this subject and it happened when Jeremiah at least the news was revealed the curtain was peeled back and he announced something that was going to take seven centuries to happen he was a great prophet his last day on the job was when Jerusalem burned to the ground okay he warned the people he begged

them he pleaded with him he said pay attention people and they didn’t and eventually the the promised Doom came and when that happened his day his his career was over but Jeremiah before he walked away from the burning Temple in Jerusalem said that there was coming a day seven turns out seven centuries later where God’s going to completely change his approach to guiding people to a very new and very intimate method he’s not going to give you signs Forks in the road that you have to

roll dice or cast lots he’s going to put his spirit inside of you and when he does his holy spirit’s gonna guide your steps he’s going to actually live inside you as he does any Christian here hearing my words today on the day you met Jesus he came to live inside you and on that day his holy spirit begins to direct your steps and that’s what comes next in Acts 21. Swindoll described the change in how God guides this way our Master introduced a different approach

instead of standing before us to give orders he now lives within us to transform our minds so that we begin to think his thoughts does that happen for you he says more as the spirit gradually takes over defeating our old selfish vain foolish manner of life that pretty much describes it we begin to cherish what God cherishes and make decisions according to God’s values and view life from his eternal perspective Isn’t that cool it’s not pushed it’s not forced it’s not hurried but it’s sure it’s

sure so we pick up where we left off last April in our series called your Bible say acts of the Holy Spirit Acts of the Apostles and we’ve respectfully kind of amended the word Apostles and said acts of the holy spirit because frequently in nearly every chapter you see the Holy Spirit really doing amazing things so there’s no no sleight of hand there I just want you to know that and Paul had bid the Ephesian Elders of fond farewell as he boarded an eastbound vessel for

The Voyage to Jerusalem his intended destination and on his trip he would face a attention that’s the way I want to put it between the prompting of the holy spirit in him which by the way came into Pentecost chapter 2 of Acts the tension between the Holy Spirit saying do this no go right go right and this is why it’s attention the Council of godly people Whose advice comes from concern for his well-being so let’s let’s take in this real life tension related to how my

title says today how the Holy Spirit guides after we had torn ourselves away isn’t that an interesting way to put it chapter 21 verse 1. We tore ourselves away from this beautiful Rich final farewell with these Elders we put out to see and sailed straight think South and East the next cause the next day we went to roads and from there to Patera we found a ship crossing over to phenicia phenicia is north of present-day Israel Tyree seiden places like that we call it Lebanon today

okay that’s what he means by phenicia we found a ship crossing over to phenicia and we went on board and set sail after citing Cyprus that was the island first place they stopped by the way on their first missionary trip after citing Cyprus and passing to the south of it so they were on the right side of Cyprus we sailed on to Syria and that’s the same land Syria and the North of Israel we landed at Tyree where our ship was to unload its cargo we

sought out the disciples there and stayed with them a week watch closely and listen carefully through the spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem when it was time to leave we left and continued on our way all of them including wives and children accompanied us out out of the city and there on the beach we knelt to pray after saying goodbye to each other we went aboard the ship and they returned home we continued our Voyage from Tyree now he’s heading south to

polymius and where we were greeted there by brothers and sisters staying with them for a day leaving the next day we reached caesarea a familiar Place lots of things have happened in this journey through the acts of the holy spirit in caesareas coastal city 40 of us from our church stood on the shore there it was quite moving and impactful to sort of visualize all this stuff leaving the next day they reached nonetheless Caesarean stayed at the house of Philip the Evangelist you were recall Philip

that name clear back in Acts chapter 6 Philip was one of the the early leaders and after the persecution of Stephen in Chapter 7 people scattered and Philip was one of those who scattered and went North to Samaria he was an evangelist he was one of the seven he had four unmarried daughters who prophesied after we had been there a number of days a prophet named agabus came down from Judea just a quick note on agabus he’s the one that correctly prophesied a famine that would

come and indeed it happened spot on earlier in our study coming over to us he took this very dramatic picture here he took Paul’s belt and tied his own hands and feet with it and said my Bible has quotations here the holy spirit says in this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles end quote when we heard this and the people there pleaded we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to

go to Jerusalem then Paul answered okay on second thought no what’s your Bible say why are you weeping and Breaking My Heart feeling the tension here I’m ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus end quote when he could not be dissuaded we gave up and said the Lord’s will be done after this we started on our way up to Jerusalem some of the disciples from caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of

Nason where we were to stay he was a man from Cyprus in one of the early disciples when we arrived to Jerusalem the brothers and sisters received us warmly all right the mind of man plans his ways so goes the wisdom from Proverbs 16 9. But the Lord directs their steps Paul had purposed to go to Jerusalem that was on his heart to do so and you don’t have to change the page at all look across the page to chapter 20 verse 22 and you’ll see

in his own words I’m compelled by the spirit you see that now compelled by the spirit I’m going to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardship are facing me however I consider my life worth nothing to me my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace so that’s his source

of strength he has this personal call it a conviction a clear conviction at that I’m going to go and I’m going to face hard stuff there’s a road ahead that will be difficult but I’m willing to go there with that kind of clarity and conviction it’s no wonder verse 14 of chapter 21 that we read already reads we could not dissuade him so we quit trying and basically said the Lord’s will be done in your life Paul enroute Paul faced from leaving the Ephesians elders all

the way to Jerusalem he faced incredible developments I’m going to call them disturbing developments developments that do not make decisions easy the first we read already in verse 4 it Bears repeating they land the ship and it’s important and stands out to me they were sought out by the disciples there and stayed with them seven days but then you read the words the disciples urged Paul through the spirit wow who are the disciples you don’t have to name them by name you just have to say

they’re cool they’re standout people these aren’t random pulling into a gas station saying hey bro is it right or left up here okay no offense to gas guys I was a gas guy for years but you’re talking disciples people with creds street cred people with trustworthy character when you come to a pastor the same thing happens to you assume that Pastor is not just going to give you a bunch of sunshine you assume the pastor is going to say some honest and informed things to you

he might even quote Ephesians 4 that says I’m here to speak the truth in love in your life that’s what I want to do and it might not be tickling your ears but you’ll leave their sensing if if you’ll let the Holy Spirit talk to you he tried and and I and there’s there’s there’s something to consider in what was said that’s all my framing of what we just read in verse four because these are disciples and they stayed for a week with them and though

through the spirit the disciples were the ones to urge Paul not to go on to Jerusalem and verse 5 I read it with a chuckle because it strikes me that way this is after seven days having coffee with the guys for seven days having conversation going to bed waking up the next day seven days and verse 5 simply says when it was time to leave we left you have a little awkward chuckle too I think intended there we left and continued on our way undaunted how

do you do that verses 10 to 12 is the other source of his tension while staying in caesarea this agabus told you about the famine he predicted back in chapter 11. And and he he comes up to Paul and you can’t miss his point takes a sash it’s not a builder I’d pull my belt off but it’s a big thing it’s a it wraps around the robe sometimes several times there’s lots of material here in this belt-like sash and he wraps his arms and he wraps

his feet and then he says so there’s no confusion what he’s doing here this is going to happen to the owner of this when he goes to Jerusalem think incarcerate and worse being turned over to the Gentiles is an easy sentence to read in verse 11. But in this in this setting nothing could be more fearful not even the Romans I’m going to go out on limb and say they didn’t fear the Romans quite like they would fear the Gentiles because the Gentiles had a holy

resistance holy in quotes by the way misinformed but passionate nonetheless because by golly we have a way of doing things and and Paul and the Jews are doing them different these two warnings about what lay ahead match what Paul had been prepared to encounter in the Holy Spirit we just read it and chapter 20 verse 23 I’m willing to suffer I don’t care what it cost me I think that’s kind of why later Paul would write Timothy happens to be his last letter and he included

in that letter chapter 3 verse 12. Indeed Timothy all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus let me stop the quote and have you raise your hand if that’s you all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus that’s me with two hands up I want to be that guy doesn’t always turn out that way I falter I was mad at somebody yesterday but I got better you get my point right I want to live Godly in Christ Jesus second Timothy 3 12 concludes will

be not maybe will be persecuted it’s like Paul got it and made sure Timothy who was going to be handed the Baton after him that he got it as well you sense the tension he felt he had heard from the holy spirit that hardship chapter 20 and all the stuff of prison was going to be facing him when he arrives in Jerusalem and he hears the same from Tyree and and the strong encouragement don’t go there don’t go there he was steadfast though and it kind

of comes to the touch point the takeaway point for us when you’re that person and it’s a it’s a tension what do I do here which direction do I take at this Fork what do I do Paul States verse 13 steadfastly that he would not be deterred he possessed a Resolute conviction you don’t see him saying I’m going to sleep on it another night and need a little more time there’s no fleece there’s no urum and thumen there’s no casting lots there’s no burning bush there’s

no cloud if that is something I long for he was a whole lot closer in years to those events I imagine he might have thought like Gideon hey just a little fleece Lord that’s all I need and he didn’t get it so when we give someone counsel that we believe to be from God what do we do if they don’t embrace it I think I’d miss an important moment here we would if I didn’t mention how verse 14 ends the people were pushing hard don’t go

there they’re weeping Paul says why are you making me sad quit it you’re not making it easy for me and notice what they came to at the end of verse 14. The Lord’s will be done of note they stopped short of judging him dude you’re missing it you are going off the path Romans 14 4 warns all of us at that moment forgot what Romans 14 4. Who are you to judge the servant of another to his own Master to her own Master they stand or

fall and stand they will for the Lord is able to make them stand really important words I want to conclude my message today with wise words from a mentor in my life whether you give or receive advice he can probably shut your Bible at this point tuck your notes in because you’re going to go back and search some more I know you will and I’m happy you will whether you give or receive advice remember that humans humans how many humans in the room right now you

with me all right are fallible that’s obvious I know even so when the desire for Clear Direction becomes intense folks this is not Taco Bell versus Burger King which do we choose okay we get that when the desire for Clear Direction becomes intense we seem to expect that if we find the right person or listen to enough advice a message from God will come through unfortunately we rarely get the kind of certainty we want the most it’s possible for wise people to give bad counsel with

the best of motives gosh take that one in haunts me a little bit because I’ve given I thought good counseling and my looking back in hindsight I might have stunk not might probably did there are those moments for wise people to give bad counsel with the best motives he wrote me I know I’ve done it and it’s possible to make a decision based on a broad consensus of wise counselors how many of us can quote the proverb that says there’s clarity in an abundance of what

counsel so if I get a whole room like this helping me with this decision I’ll get clarity right he says it’s possible to make a decision based on Broad consensus of wise advisors only to discover that they were mistaken I’ve been on that end of the Dilemma as well the fact is people are fallible so expecting 100 percent accuracy isn’t would you write these words down isn’t realistic boy that resets things for me in the end we simply have to make the best decision we can

with the information we have available accepting the possibility I want to finish this sentence that that we might make a wrong move how many have ever made a wrong move just so I don’t feel so alone okay it’s good it’s good we’re together people we’re together all right rather than becoming paralyzed with indecision seemed like a pretty acceptable place to be if you’re stuck use the time you have available to determine the best course of action committed to the Lord and then move ahead if you

make a bad move ahead in good faith the Lord will honor your trust in him remember you’re committing it to the Lord and as always he will use the circumstance for your good and he finished with this is so good get your pin out again and write it down it’s so good regardless remember there’s no such thing as a decision without a downside what whole new sermon I don’t like that possibility when I take the fork I take I want it to be the right one

with no downside am I just ridiculous no I know you’re all looking at me like oh bro that’s me that is me that is so me which mascara should I use today now I’m tempted to come up with something for the men so the women don’t feel left out but anyway regardless remember there’s no such thing as a decision without a downside and sometimes the trade-off is significant no matter what you do amen would you bow your heads with me we’re going to have communion and

we’re going to respond with the conviction that the Holy Spirit has for us the worship team is going to reset here and meanwhile I’m going to pray and Lord I I pray for myself and for others hearing this message today I loved it I loved I loved searching this out I love your word that tells me it’s not always clear and that there is no such thing as a decision even for somebody that walks with you most of us in this room most of us in

their room watching live stream are people that sincerely want to know what they should do so we come to you God thankful that even if we blow it and make a decision that turns out to be not a good one when you said in Romans 8 28 God causes all things to work together for the good that has to include bad decisions even so we want your Holy Spirit that’s the new program here we want your holy spirit to guide us to give us your mind

Lord Jesus so we come to you as people wanting to embrace you with gratitude for what you’ve given to us and it all centers on one person the Lord Jesus Christ who gave his life for us delivered himself up for us I want to be like Paul who would later report I’ve been crucified with Christ and it’s no longer I who live let the decisions I make reflect no longer I who live but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 5,848 words.