The Holy Spirit Guides Us

The Church on Mission, Powered by the Holy Spirit

Acts 9:26–31 ESV

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Leaving hotel by Oakland airport, put in the address to the parking, but it was telling me to go right, but I had never been that way. I said to Krystal I am going to go left because it’s the only way I’ve been before. When in fact the quicker more simple way was in fact going right. Sometimes we have to be uncomfortable to follow Jesus.

I think we all do this from time to time. When faced with challenging circumstances, rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us, we try and go our own way.

the question I have for you this morning is what or who is guiding you? Is it your job, your money, your friendships, your security or is it the Holy Spirit living within you?

But as we get started and look at our first point this morning we.

We cannot allow fear to guide us

Paul is entering Jerusalem and we see people are still terrified of the man. At this point of him coming to Jerusalem, it was three years since his conversion.

Three years Paul had been saved and been doing the good work that Christ had sent him to do and people are bringing up the things in the past.

Acts 9:26–27 ESV

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Now to a certain extent I certainly don’t blame the people here. I probably would have been one of the first people to say NOPE! That guy is not welcome here. Keep in mind that many of these people were there when Stephen was stoned and Paul was in on that crowd that killed him.

But Paul doesn’t let this get him down and is there ready to preach. It isn’t until Barnabas (the song of encouragement) shows up that The people are willing to allow Paul in slightly.

Story of giving shoes to homeless lady

We cannot allow our fear to hinder us because it will be us that misses out on being part of God using you or myself.

2 Timothy 1:6–8 ESV

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

Let us be bold in our welcoming others into the church never thinking that we are too good or they are too bad. Never thinking that they will not recieve the message of Christ or what if I don’t know what to say.

You Don’t have to know everything to share something

The 2nd thing that we learn from this passage is that...

We cannot allow quarrels to guide us

how often do we allow our disagreements or our preconceived notions about people get in the way of the Holy Spirit moving through us?

Acts 9:28–30 ESV

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

As I was studying this week, one of the craziest parts of this whole story of Paul coming here is that Paul was somewhat doing the work that Stephen was doing before his death. Paul was preaching and ministering to the same people Stephen was years prior.

But we see push back and a moment where Paul certainly had to leave the area for his own sake.

I want to take a second and pause and really think about this moment in history. Paul has been confirmed by the Apostles that he is a good man sharing Jesus and they still attempt to kill him.

So when we say we cannot allow Quarrels to guide us, this is what I am talking about.

Imagine if these people were successful in their killing of Paul. Imagine the amount of ministry they would have missed out on because of their actions.

So my question to you is what quarrels or disagreements are blinding you from the work of the Holy Spirit? Is it a former co-worker, an ex, the guy who cut you off on your way to church this morning? Is it your preconceived notions of who someone is?

Ephesians 4:29–32 ESV

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Maybe the Lord is placing someone on your heart right now who you need to reconcile with today. If that is you and you aren’t sure how to handle that conversation, come talk to me after service, I’d be happy to talk through some things with you.

Let us be a church that does not allow quarrels and disagreements to fester and get in the way of what the Holy Spirit is doing.

We must allow the Holy Spirit to guide us

This is certainly something that as we leave here today we can fully grasp.

When I try to guide myself I tend to struggle a ton, but here we see something special.

Acts 9:31 ESV

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

The church, despite a ton of persecution and attacks from within and from the outsiders, the church continues to grow.

The Holy Spirit continues to open the hearts and minds of unbelievers and they find salvation in Christ.

This is a great time of growth, strengthening and encouragement throughout the church.

Much like the story I shared at the beginning of the message, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us will always be the best plan of action.

Story of coming to BNC

It was a scary time in our life as a husband and provider for my family, but I’m thankful that it was not Ben who made the call, but that it was God guiding me.

As we leave here today I want you to be asking the question who or what is guiding my life? Is it the uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring or is it resting in the arms of our savior? It is it fear of what could be or is it trusting in God for the plan that he has for your life?

These are really hard questions because if I am honest, there are many moments where fear takes over. There are many moments where I allow the disagreements with others to drive my thoughts and actions towards others, It isn’t fun to admit and it certainly isn’t comfortable, but my ultimate hope is in the Lord.

Now maybe you haven’t placed your faith in Christ, my prayer is that you wouldn’t wait another moment. My prayer is that if you have any questions about the christian faith, that you would come find me after this and talk to me. I pray that you would keep coming back each and every week. There is a God who loves you. A God that Loves you just like he loved Paul, just like he loved those who were crucifiying him. There is a God that loves you so much that he bore the wage of your sin and through faith in him you can be forgiven and set free right here right now.

If you are tired of being tired, I encourage you today to place your faith in Jesus.

Now to the church here, I want to leave you with this encouragement from Paul found in Philippians

Philippians 2:1–4 ESV

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Let us be missional neighbors that impact our community for Jesus.

Will you pray with me.