We are in week 6 of our series on prayer and hearing the voice of God – we spent the first three weeks in the OT, and now the third week in a row in the book of Acts – Remember, as we think about prayer, it is more dialogue and less monologue, meaning it involves both talking and listening, and we have focused this series on listening because I believe it is our greatest growth area in prayer – To review, God speaks in a variety of ways: Through His Word, which any other way he speaks will never contradict, by his Spirit, whether by an inner audible voice, impression, urging, check, conviction, through other people, through experience, through dreams and visions – again, it is the Word of God that helps us decipher/validate what we feel like we are hearing or seeing.

Today, I want us to look at a passage in Acts 16, and see both Paul and his companion’s intimacy with the Holy Spirit, how he leads them, and the unexpected result of following his lead – Acts 16:6-28

V6 – We are picking up the story here in v6 – the “companions” Paul was traveling with were Silas, who was appointed to Paul by the church in Jerusalem, and Timothy, who joined them at beginning of the chapter – it says they were “kept by the HS from preaching the word in Asia” – this is the first of two odd moments that made me lean forward – I grew up in a door-to-door, cold call evangelism culture, and while there was some fruit from that, it often felt very forced and uncomfortable – so, when I read this, I thought, “wait, the Holy Spirit doesn’t want me to share with every single person I come in contact with? He doesn’t take the “shooting fish in a barrel” approach? We can apply Ephesians 2:10 here – If God has prepared good works in advance for you to do, those good works include who he wants you to share with and when he wants you to share – this doesn’t absolve you of sharing Jesus with those around you, but does paint a picture of the importance of intimacy with the Spirit – there are good opportunities and God opportunities – you can probably discern the good ones on your own, but the Spirit highlights the God opportunities in your life, so you must practice Galatians 5:25-26, walk in step with the Spirit, and do it in humility and in the way he has for you.

V7 – They were about to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t allow them to – for the 2nd time, we see the Spirit say no – in v6, don’t speak there, and now, don’t go there – this is a very clear description of the Spirit’s activity in a believer’s life – the Holy Spirit actually has restraints on where he wants you to go, when he wants you to speak and what he wants you to say – this flies in the face of “trust Jesus for heaven when you die, and then just live a lifestyle of behavior modification”, or the idea that the Holy Spirit leads us to a spiritual “free-for-all” mentality – he’s actually got a very specific plan and path for you to follow, but you have to develop the ability to listen, obey and follow his leading to experience the adventure he has for you.

V8-10 - Paul has a vision of a man in Macedonia begging for help – So, two no’s and a yes in these few verses – the Spirit says no to preaching in Asia, no to entering Bithynia but yes to going to Macedonia – were there lost people in Asia and Bithynia? Of course – could Paul have gone there and probably had some measure of success? In his flesh, yes – But if you had the choice between a loaf of bread or its crumbs, which would you choose?

So, a couple of thoughts: maybe you’re all-in on this concept, but need a next step – here is a good next step: Dive into God’s Word – His Word reveals his voice, his character, his nature, how he tends to interact – JD Greear put it this way: “If you want to be led by the Spirit of God, then devote yourself to the Word of God.”

Another thought: This is NOT an advanced course in the spiritual life – there are not levels of spirituality or classes of people – you received the Spirit when you said yes to Jesus, and it should be a normative part of your walk with Jesus to be led regularly by his Spirit in whatever way he chooses to lead you.

“The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.” – AW Tozer

“Without the Spirit of God we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind or chariots without steeds. Like branches without sap, we are withered. Like coals without fire, we are useless. As an offering without the sacrificial flame, we are unaccepted.” – Charles Spurgeon

Remember, while Paul was called by God and radically transformed, he also struggled with sin and broken places in him (Romans 7, 2 Cor 12), so the goal is not perfection, but pursuit – ok, with the Spirit-led life in mind, what are the results of the two no’s and a yes?

V11-16 – they meet a wealthy purple cloth dealer named Lydia, who was a worshipper of the God of Israel, and she responded to the gospel and she and her entire household were baptized – they were the foundation for the church at Philippi.

V17-24 – They encounter this young woman who had an evil spirit in her that allowed her to predict the future, and her owners were getting rich off her fortune telling – but, she started messing with Paul and his posse, mocking them by saying, “these are servants of the most high God who are telling you how to be saved”, and it says Paul got annoyed and cast the demon out of her – now that’s funny – but, it made the owners angry and so they stirred up a mob and the authorities stripped and beat them and threw them into prison, under close watch of the jailer.

So, the same Spirit that led to Lydia, resulting in her entire household being saved and baptized also led them into an ambush because Paul cast this evil spirit out of this girl – Paul and his companions were beaten and thrown into prison, and it started with two no’s and a yes from the Holy Spirit – This a natural departure for most of us in the story – as soon as personal pain is introduced, we immediately assume that we must have missed something – “Maybe we should’ve gone to Bithynia after all” – can you imagine the conversations Paul and his crew were having in prison? “Whose idea was this anyway?” “Paul, you should’ve shown some restraint with that fortune telling little girl!” “Why are you so thin skinned?” We don’t have to wonder what the conversation was like…

V25 – “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God…” – The result of the beating and imprisonment was not anger, second-guessing, victimization, but PRAYER and WORSHIP! They knew they were led by the Spirit, so their attitude was less about “WHY ME” and more about “WHAT’S NEXT!” It’s another picture of the BOLDNESS Sam talked about last week – NOT aggression, but PRAYER and WORSHIP – and look at what’s happening in the jail – the other prisoners were captivated – our benediction: “Wherever we go, the Kingdom goes with us” – we set the spiritual temperature of every room we walk in as carriers of Kingdom DNA – but again, without intimacy with the Spirit, you will often miss the God opportunities in front of you because you will interpret a situation through the lens of personal pain or inconvenience versus God’s opportunity

V26 – Foundation shaken, doors flew open, chains came loose – again, how do you interpret that? Power of God springing me from the pokey? Or God’s opportunity for the jailer? You have to be connected to the Spirit in order to know what comes next – I am totally reading into the text, but the Spirit had to have told them to hang tight because HE HAD A PLAN

V27-28 – The jailer woke ad thought all the prisoners had escaped and was going to kill himself – Paul: “Don’t harm yourself! WE ARE ALL HERE!” So, this story ends with the jailer and his whole household believing and being baptized – but let’s not miss that the prisoners were so compelled by the worship and devotion of Paul and Silas that when given the freedom to run, they chose to stay in the presence of God – Paul and Silas, propelled by the Spirit, changed the spiritual temperature of the prison, and the power of God was the icing on the cake – I wish we knew what happened with the prisoners, but we know that because of two no’s and a yes, Lydia’s household was forever changed, the jailer’s household was forever changed and a slave girl was set free from oppression.

Close:
When you walk in step with the Spirit:

1. He leads you into your E210 calling. Your calling is not a one-time event, it is a way of life. The “good works prepared in advance” are only knowable through daily intimacy with the Spirit.

2. His NO is a precursor to the next YES. The church at Philippi was started because of Paul and his team’s obedience to walk “in step with the Spirit.” Trade the good opportunities (common sense) for God Opportunities (Spirit). For every Asia and Bithynia, there is a Philippi!

3. You set the spiritual temperature of every room you walk into. You are a spiritual thermostat. You can be a part of changing the trajectory of the lives around you by looking at every situation through the lens of the Spirit’s leading.