Me (my dilemma or question)
One Sunday morning, an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn-out old hat and an equally worn, dog-eared Bible.
The church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen. The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and fine jewelry. As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled by his appearance and did not attempt to hide it.
As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. "Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what he thinks would be appropriate attire for worship in church." The old cowboy assured the preacher he would.
The next Sunday, he showed back up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored. The preacher approached the cowboy and said, "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church."
"I did," replied the old cowboy.
"And what was his reply?" asked the preacher.
"Well, sir, God told me that he didn't have a clue what I should wear. He said he'd never been in this church."
Key Question:
Like me, have you ever wanted God to answer your questions that plainly?
We (our common ground on this)
I mean – Moses got a burning bush, where are our burning bushes? The boy named Samuel heard God’s voice calling his name late at night, where’s the voice calling our names? Isaiah saw the King of kings on his throne, where are our visions of God’s throne? Mary had a visit from an angel, where’s our angel visitor? Gideon got a sign from God, where are our signs from God? The people of Israel had a pillar of fire to lead them from Egypt to the Promised Land, where’s our pillar of fire?
Many of us think the people in the Bible had it easy knowing what God wanted them to do. We wish he answered our questions that plainly, don’t we?
I know some of us are glad we don’t have any of these experiences. They actually scare us a little. Voices in the night, angelic visitors, and pillars of fire – they all sound so weird.
But I dare say that even those of us who are scared of the clear directions God gave to people in the Bible want him to answer our questions that plainly. Wouldn’t you like God’s clear direction when you need to make a decision?
God (what the Bible says about this)
Let’s read the diary of a group of missionaries in the first century as they work to share Jesus’ love with those who did not know God.
Acts 16:6-10 (NIV) page 1094
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Now before we start wondering where our visions are, please notice that the Holy Spirit gave them directions twice without special effects. In verse 6, they were kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching in the province of Asia. (By the way, Paul came back to this province later and spent 3 years in its capital, Ephesus.) In verse 7, the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to enter the area called Bithynia.
You (personal application of biblical principles)
There are several guesses about how the Spirit guided Paul and his party. We could also spend some time discussing why God sent them to Macedonia and not Asia, but I want you to see the practical side of this passage. Paul had to give up his agenda and plans for building God’s family in order to go where the Spirit led him.
REPENTANCE POINT:
You can have all kinds of plans for building God’s family, for sharing Jesus’ love with more people, but you may have to give up your agenda and plans in order to go where the Spirit leads you. I don’t know about you, but I want more than my agenda and plan for my life. I want God’s agenda and plan.
Thesis:
The Bible puts it this way, “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:25 NLT)
How can we follow the Spirit’s leading? Here are 7 Realizations for Experiencing God’s Directions (from Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby).
1. Realize that God is always at work. He draws all people to Jesus. He moves them to seek Jesus and he reveals spiritual truth to them. He convicts them of sin, righteousness and judgment.
2. Realize that God’s primary desire is a relationship of love and trust with you. He is more concerned about knowing you and you knowing him than he is in working through you.
3. Realize that God will invite you to join him in his work. As your relationship with him grows he will ask you to work with him. John Wesley, the founding father of our branch of the Christian family tree, said,
Sometimes a strong impression, for which we are not able to give an [explanation], is not to be [ignored automatically].
Citation: John Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament
4. Realize that the Spirit will speak to you through the Bible, prayer, circumstances and other Christians. He will reveal himself, his purposes and his ways to you through them. He will confirm his message to you through two or more of these channels.
5. Realize that the Spirit’s directions will always lead to a crisis of faith. You will need to make a decision. Will you trust God to help you do what he asks you to do? Will you be loyal to Jesus and do what he asks? Do you believe in his power, love and wisdom or do you think God is making a mistake?
6. Realize that to join God in his work will require major adjustments to your thinking and actions. Paul changed his travel plans. You will need to change the way you think about your plans and your agenda for your life.
7. Realize that as you follow the Spirit’s leading God will work in and through you. Your love and faith in Jesus will grow stronger and deeper. You will experience his power and grace personally.
We (what we can experience if we all obey God)
Imagine with me what could happen in our county if we all started following the Spirit’s leading. What if each of us asked this question every day –
Am I trying to pray God into my agenda and my plans or am I faithfully responding to who He is and what He’s doing?
Citation: http://twitter.com/shortdevotions/statuses/68405176075173889
How many of the 46,000 in our county with no church could we reach? How many of the ones who claim this church but don’t attend could God bring back into his family if we gave up our agendas and followed his?
Our agendas and plans usually fit our comfort zones. They seldom call for us to risk incurring the anger of our loved ones. Our plans fit our abilities. They answer the question of what we can do or afford. They seldom scare us or make us wonder if we can accomplish our goals.
God’s agenda and plan usually smashes our comfort zones. They often cause friends and loved ones to be angry or frustrated with us. God’s plans fit his abilities and go way beyond our strengths. His agenda answers the question of what God can do or afford. His agenda and plan will usually scare us and make us wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into.
God’s agenda and plan will change our county. Our agendas and plans will not. We know that’s true because we have not changed it after being in Bay City for over 85 years.
RESPONSE GOAL / INVITATION:
Will you join me in praying for God’s agenda and plan for us? Will you pray that the Holy Spirit will show us the way to go and give us the courage to walk in that way? If so, will you please raise your hand as I lead us in prayer.
