How to Hear to Holy Spirit

Preaching Outline

I. God Speaks Through Natural Means (6-8).

II. God Speaks Through Supernatural Means (9).

III. God Speaks Through the Community (10a).

IV. God Speaks To Our Hearts (10c).

V. God Speaks in Tri-Unity (10e).

VI. God’s Speech Requires Discernment (10d).

VII. God’s Speech Requires Actions (10b).

VIII. God’s Speech Advances the Gospel (10f).

Where we’ve been: Introductory sermon on the ascension + 5 on the Nature of the Church + 4 on How the Church Spreads the Message + 1 (of 3) on the function of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Where we are: Paul finished his 1st Missionary Journey through the region of Galatia. When he got back to Antioch, he wrote his epistle to the Galatians. We are picking up at the start of the 2nd Missionary Journey which starts in Galatia—this is a pattern of Paul’s to visit, write, and revisit. The 2nd Missionary Journey sees Paul part ways with Barnabas and take instead Silas. They’ll pick up Timothy early in the journey and Luke himself joins in the middle of our passage tonight, probably in Phillipi; we know because the pronouns switch from “they” to “we.”

[prayer] Almighty, eternal and merciful God whose Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths, open and illuminate our minds that we may purely and perfectly understand Your Word and that our lives may be transformed to what we have rightly understood in the Word, that nothing may be displeasing to Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Read Acts 16:6-10

Becca has coached Avy’s YMCA soccer team the last two years, and it’s led me to draw a very unscientific but yet rather reliable conclusion: 8 year olds don’t hear or listen to a coach very well. Becca, bless her heart, yells and yells and it’s as though she doesn’t exist. “Turn it outside!” She yells for the thousandth time, as they turn to the middle for the thousand and first. 8 year olds struggle to hear or listen to a coach very well.

Contrast this with a more accomplished athlete of a higher level, who will tell you that even in the loudest, most obnoxious gyms they don’t hear anyone but their coach. The only exception in my case was Ralph Dekker, who I could have heard from his classroom down the hall and around the corner.

What is it that allows us to hear clear direction? More so, what is it that encourages us to listen to clear direction? All of us desire some direction from God, but few of us seem to get it. If life were a game, we’re more like the 8-year-olds on the soccer field than the professional in the gym. When it comes to hearing from God, Acts seems to make it all seem so easy.

In Acts 8, Philip is told to take the road toward Gaza, then to approach the chariot of the Ethiopian man. In Acts 9, Jesus speaks to Paul, then to Ananias. In Acts 10, both Cornelius and Peter receive visions from the Lord. In Acts 13, the Spirit tells the church in Antioch to send of Barnabas and Paul.

Acts 16:6-10 seems to be yet another of these moments of clarity that seem to elude us today, but upon further inspection I think we’ll find Acts 16:6-10 to be more familiar and common than it seems.

Proposition: God speaks to us…in our circumstances, by His Spirit, through His people, to our hearts, according to His Word that we might eagerly respond in obedience and faith.

Org. Sentence: Believe it or not, these few verses tell us five ways God communicates to His people, and gives us three important responses.

(Kevin had 7 items this morning, I’ve got 8 tonight; you’ll be pining for Pastor Drew to come back after next week!)

First, God Speaks Through Natural Means (6-8).

John Calvin never wanted to be a pastor; he wanted to be an academic. After successfully escaping persecution in France he set his sights on the city of Strasbourg and the promise of “private studies.” But the most direct road from Wittenberg to Strasbourg would take him directly through an ongoing war. The second best route took him through Geneva. What he intended to be a one night stay would become his home for nearly the entirety of his life in ministry. He would eventually get to Strasbourg—and it was every bit as perfect as he hoped, but Geneva had his heart.

I think Calvin’s experiences in Strasbourg and Geneva map fairly neatly to Paul’s here. Our text tells us Paul desired to go to Asia—where Ephesus is the leading city. Paul desired to go to Ephesus, and he’d get there. As Pastor Drew preached two weeks ago, Paul spent more time in Ephesus than any other place—it was everything he hoped it would be. But just as Calvin only got to Strasbourg after his route was redirected through Geneva, Paul only got to Ephesus after his route was redirected through Philippi (see, “Philippians”), Thessalonica (see, “I & II Thessalonians), and Corinth (see, “I & II Corinthians”).

Because our text is vague about these travel details, we might assume that Paul’s travel changes were due every bit to natural circumstances as Calvin’s. There may have been war or unsafe passage. Perhaps they missed a boat or a rendezvous point. Because God is sovereign and in control over every aspect of His creation—and of our lives—we, too, can see natural circumstances as leadings of the the Holy Spirit. We missed a call, were passed over for the job, registered for the class only to find it full, happened to see it on Facebook. With the benefit of hindsight, Luke is able to describe these natural circumstances as the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. God speaks through natural means, and we too are right to draw the same conclusions in our own lives.

Second, God Speaks Through Supernatural Means (9). While the first example of the Spirit’s leading is imminently relatable, Paul’s vision in the night eludes our common experience—the fact we call it “supernatural” by definition means it’s not natural or common. Yet, the repeated testimony of Scripture demonstrates that, at times, God speaks to His people by supernatural means: dreams, visions, angels, or audible voices.

I have only once had meaningful supernatural dream, I have never received a vision, nor seen an angel, nor heard an audible voice. Still, because God sometimes leads His people this way, I desire these things. It’s for this reason that, as far is it depends on me, I do not let our church sing verse two of “Spirit of God Who Dwells Within My Heart.”

“I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies, no sudden rending of the veil of clay, no angel visit at, no opening skies; but take the dimness of my soul away.”

We are right to desire—even pray for—supernatural means of communication even as we understand them to be rare and uncommon.

Third, God Speaks Through the Community (10a). Verse 10 is loaded with information, and we intend to wring it for everything it’s worth. It’s in verse 10 where the pronouns switch to second person plural: “we.” Notice, “When Paul had seen the vision…we sought to go into Macedonia.” Paul does not run ahead based on his natural circumstances, he does not run ahead even after receiving a vision. He shares what he’s seen with the community, who decide together whether the Holy Spirit is speaking and what the message might be.

We, too, experience God’s leading through the Christian community. My own testimony is riddled with examples of eerily perfectly timed words of advice from parents, Mr. Gesch in 8th period Brit Lit, a presentation at Calvin Seminary that seemed written specifically to answer my own inner questioning, Jeremy Oosterhouse at Palos Heights CRC, Derek Buikema at Orland Park CRC, Pastors Nathan Strom and Chris Ganski—who I’m certain have never met—giving almost word-for-word the same advice just a day or two apart. When wise Christians in your life advise you, consider how this, too, might be the Spirit’s leading.

Fourth, God Speaks to Our Hearts (10c). The word translated “we sought” there in verse 10 is used to express desire. The vision of the Macedonian Man spoke to their hearts, it changed their desire. Just like Calvin had at one point desired Strasbourg but come to love Geneva, so Paul and his band of missionaries had desired Ephesus (in Asia) but come to desire Macedonia.

Our tradition is rightly careful about desire. We’re fond of quoting passages like Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” The best advice Disney ever gave came from a singing crustacion: “Your grandma said listen to your heart, be who you are on the inside. I need three words to tear hear argument apart: Your Granny Lied.” We ought to proceed with caution when considering what the heart wants. Remember that saved and redeemed people have received new hearts. God had promised through the prophet Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” It’s those transformed by the Holy Spirit whom God promises in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

If there is a godly desire that burns on your heart, consider whether it is the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Fifth, and finally, God Speaks in Unity (10e).

Deuteronomy 13:1–3 ““If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Galatians 1:8–9 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

Acts 15:28–29 “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.””

Upon examining Acts 16:6-10, we realize that not only is the Spirit speaking to you, He is doing so in such a way that we have an embarrassment of riches. The ascended Christ is truly leading and directing His Church.

There are three appropriate response to this gracious leading of the Holy Spirit:

First, We Conclude (10d). The word in verse 10 translated “concluding” means “to bring together into a unit.” It’s the same word used in Paul’s analogy of the church in Ephesians 4:16 “from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

We test everything, but we conclude. There’s some ancient proverb I heard once that goes, “An open mind is like an open mouth: it’s meant to close on something.” God has not left as adrift, wondering, endlessly stuck in the discernment phase. Test everything, and conclude. The Spirit we were given at Pentecost is a Spirit of Wisdom, we can make conclusions. And when we do…

Second, We Obey Quickly (10b). “Immediately we sought to go into Macedonia.” There is a difference between hearing and listening, isn’t there? It’s not enough to hear or even to know where God is leading, you have to go there—you have to do it.

Finally, We Preach the Gospel (10f). Paul and his missionary team listened for God’s leading. They considered their circumstances, they consulted the Scriptures, they discussed together, they even received a supernatural vision. When they brought all the evidence together, they concluded that God was calling them to Macedonia and quickly obeyed the Lord. Our passage closes with the purpose of all this speaking and listening and discerning and concluding and obeying. The purpose is this: to preach the Gospel; to advance His Kingdom.

Consider how God might be calling or leading you to advance His Kingdom—in big things or in small. God doesn’t just lead and guide is in major, life altering moves and career choices—like Calvin landing in Geneva. He’s leading us in the minutia, too. If I can go to this well one more time, let me give you another example from the life of John Calvin.

Calvin was a pastor and theologian, publishing widely read commentaries and resources. It was his job. The decision whether or not to write a commentary on the Psalms should have been as basic a choice as you can make. And yet, he struggled with whether or not to start such a project. He did, after much consideration, publish a commentary on the Psalms. In its introduction, he explains just how he sensed the Spirit’s leading in making that decision. First, it was part circumstantial. He didn’t want to write a commentary on the Psalms if someone else had already done it well. By circumstance, he hadn’t come across what he later considered a very good commentary on the Psalms by a respected theologian of his day. He cites two more of our ways to discern the Spirit’s leading in this passage from the introduction (inner desire and communal advice):

“When I found that my success corresponded to my desire far beyond what I had ventured to anticipate, I was encouraged, and accordingly began to make the same attempt in a few other Psalms. On perceiving this, my intimate friends, as if in this way they held me bound, urged me with the greater confidence not to desist from my course” (Calvin, 22).

God is speaking to you. Don’t be an 8-year-old on the soccer field, aloof and wild. Give God the focused attention of the professional athlete: ready, willing, and able to not only hear, but listen the Holy Spirit.

Amen.