Sermon Tone Analysis
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Led By the Spirit
{GWFL}
Welcome
Support our Youth’s trip to HYC
Don’t miss Wednesday the 21st - I’m going to be preaching that night about the Love of God.
Recap of last week: “The Necessity of the Spirit”
This morning: “Being Led By the Spirit”
Prayer
Text
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Lesson Connection
I’m going to present a scenario this morning that I know you’re going to identify with, because we’ve all been in this sort of situation before…
There’s a husband and wife who are driving across state lines to shop at a particular store that they don’t have back home.
The wife is pretty excited to be able to get to go.
Husband spends some time checking out directions before they leave.
They get into the city, they are on their way.
But at some point, the directions he thought he had weren’t working at all.
As a matter of fact, start feeling like they’re in a maze more than a city.
And they’re looking for a landmark or a helpful sign that will point them in the right direction.
And they both have different ideas of what to do.
Husband thinks left turn.
Wife thinks right.
They go with Husband’s left, and after a while, they haven’t gotten anywhere.
And Wife says, “I told you we should have went right...” Husband says, “I know where I’m going.”
Husband doesn’t know where he’s going.
Wife tells Husband he doesn’t know where he’s going.
Husband asks Wife who’s holding the steering wheel.
Wife says “someone who doesn’t know where they’re going.”
You know the drill… and tension is rising in this vehicle.
Were they ever going to make it where they were going?
And they had fear whispering that they might wander into a dangerous part of town.
And what I’m about to say takes a while, but… desperation finally outweighs testosterone… and Husband stops to find someone with directions.
And not only that… the person he finds is actually headed to the same area they are.
And suddenly, the tension leaves.
Fear subsides.
And why??? What changed there???
They still didn’t know where they were or where to go.
They still hadn’t walked into the store yet.
They were no closer to what they had set out for.
But here was the difference: Now, someone was leading them who did know where they were and did know where they should go.
And their knowledge was going to make all the difference.
When we’re walking through life and we start becoming uncertain about what we’re supposed to do...
“What choice should I make?”
“How do I know this will get me where I need to go?”
“What if I go the wrong way; make the wrong choice?”
I am thankful that I can report to the Church today that we have the One who knows all and sees all and is prepared for all who can and will direct us if we will submit to His leading!
It’s the Holy Ghost!
And it will guide us through life and one day into glory!
God Has Always Desired to Lead His People
You see, God knows that we don’t know our own way.
We are actually pretty helpless when we are trying to go through life relying only on our own ability.
God used the prophet Jeremiah to speak these words, making it clear:
If I’m left to my own direction, I will most surely make choices that lead to heartache, hurt, and chaos.
I’ll make a mess of it real quick.
And if you’ve lived any significant length of time, you’ve seen this in your life and in others.
But with that - thankfully - God doesn’t leave us in that hopeless situation.
We have an assurance that He Himself will be our guide through life if we will trust Him.
There is such a thing as being led of the Holy Ghost.
And it’s beautiful.
His guidance is perfect!
When He points us in a direction, we don’t ever have to fear or question it - He’s perfectly wise in all things!
When we hear the voice of the Lord - in a direct word, through Scripture, or from the lips of our spiritual leadership - we can be sure it’s not going to steer us wrong.
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Israel Was Led by the Spirit in the Wilderness
Now, I’ve got some examples of being led of the Spirit.
One clear example of God leading His people is found in Exodus.
400 years in Egyptian slavery.
And then, all of a sudden, Israel is delivered by the mighty hand of God.
And I would mention that this was a completely broken people.
They were deprived (of nourishment and dignity and even children).
The were beat up.
They had been through it over there.
And that’s just the reality.
And then, they get out of Egypt finally.
And what happens?
For 40 years, they wander in circles out in the wilderness.
But it wasn’t because God freed them just so He could see them go in circles.
He let that happen because if their disbelief.
And murmuring.
God had a very specific plan.
Not just to bring them out of Egypt, but to put them into the Promised Land.
But they were going to have to believe The One in charge, and that He had a plan.
I’VE GOT TO DO THE SAME.
OR I’LL GO IN CIRCLES.
Let me ask this question: What good does it do for God to deliver you, and they you turn in circles in life?
There’s Christian people who do that.
They’re delivered from the world, but they’re not delivered from themselves.
And so they turn circles.
GOD DOESN’T WANT YOU TURNING CIRCLES.
HE WANTS YOU TO BE LED!
And so, it’s interesting… to get them from Egypt to Canaan… He got them there in truly spectacular fashion:
And every morning, they got up and did what the Spirit did.
PRAISE GOD!
And God’s desire to guide us is going to require us to trust.
There’s a lot of times we are not going to understand His direction.
Because His ways are so far above ours, sometimes He steers us in ways we can’t understand because He knows they are best for us.
And He did this exact thing for Israel.
Look at this:
The Shepherd Desires to Lead His Sheep
Something we see in Scripture a lot is the nature of God to lead us by Hs Spirit as our “Shepherd.”
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