AS THE SPIRIT LEADS
Text: Acts 11:27-30
Introduction
1. Illustration: Some of you know, and for those of you who don’t, you’re about to learn something new about your pastor, in the summer of 1982 I went to Europe as a missionary. The night before I was about to leave, some of my friends from church threw a going away party for me. At the party a girl showed up that none of us knew or saw before. At the party she gave me a plaque that read, “Being filled and led by the Spirit may take you to places you never planned; but the will of God will never call you where the grace of God cannot keep you.” No one that I know of ever saw her again. I’m convinced to this day she was an angel bearing a message from heaven.
2. Any church or individual that wants to make a difference in the world needs to be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit. Doing so will lead you to places you never dreamed of, and some of them may be scary. However, the will of God, nor the Spirit of God, will never call you where the grace of God cannot keep you.
3. Read Acts 11:27-30
Transition: The first step to being led by the Spirit is…
I. Listening to the Spirit (27-28).
A. Predicted By the Spirit
1. Another new thing that Luke introduces us to in this chapter is spiritual gifts. So far, the only spiritual gift he’s really talked about was tongues, and then usually in reference to evidence of Spirit baptism.
2. But here he talks about a new gift, the gift of prophecy. In vv. 27-28 he says, “During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.)”
a. Although I believe tongues to be an important gift, it is one of many.
b. Another important gift if the gift of prophecy. In fact, Paul thought of it as more important than tongues.
c. In 1 Cor. 14:5 Paul says, “I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened.”
d. Now, there are two different uses for the gift of prophecy, just like there are two different uses for a hammer (you can hammer nails in, or you can pull them out).
e. The first, and more frequent, use of this gift is to encourage and strengthen the church. In this use the Holy Spirit gives a specific message to the church where they are strengthened in their faith and encouraged to stand strong in the faith.
f. However, there is second, and less frequent, use of this gift is to predict the future through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
g. That’s exactly what is happening here, a prophet named Agabus stands up and prophesies that there would be a great famine.
h. Luke then gives us another side note; this prophesy came true during the reign of the emperor Claudius.
3. So, this raises the question, does the Holy Spirit still speak through people today through the gift of prophecy? The answer to that question is yes, he most certainly does!
a. Nowhere in the NT does it say that the gifts of the Spirit will cease before the second coming of Jesus.
b. While there are some churches that teach that the gifts of the Spirit were only for the apostles, and once the Bible was put into the form we know it today, the NT does not teach that the gifts will cease before Jesus returns to for his church.
c. The text that these churches use is 1 Cor. 13:10, which says, “But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.”
d. Now, if the time we are in now is perfect I beg to be excused.
e. It seems obvious to me that we still need the gifts and leading of the Holy Spirit in the church today.
f. If we look at the church today, we can clearly see that the gifts of the Spirit are still necessary. They are not yet useless.
g. We still need the Spirit to speak to us.
B. Listening to the Spirit’s Voice
1. “The Holy Spirit will never direct us to be prideful, arrogant, unforgiving, immoral, or slothful or full of fear. We step into these things because we are insensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit within us.” (Charles Stanley).
2. The Church needs to listen to the voice of the Spirit.
a. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” (John 16:13).
b. Jesus said it is better for us if he goes away because once he is gone the Parakletos will come. This Greek word is a legal term which means “advocate or counselor.”
c. Jesus also said, once the Spirit comes, he will lead us into all truth. He also says, we can trust what the Spirit tells us because he only speaks what he has heard from the Father.
d. Therefore, it is essential that the Church listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
e. Now, understand that the Holy Spirit will never contradict what he has already said in Scripture. In other words, if what you think the Spirit is saying to you does not match up with Scripture then you are not hearing from the Holy Spirit, but rather another type of spirit.
f. That’s the problem with the Church today; too many of us are listening to the world, to society, and to what this celebrity or that celebrity is saying.
g. The reason that the Church is in turmoil is that we are paying more attention to what people are saying on Twitter or CNN that what the Bible says and what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us.
h. It’s time for the Church to shutout the voice of the world and start listening to the voice of the Spirit.
Transition: One of the signs we are listening to the Spirit is…
II. Acting on the Spirit’s Words (29-30).
A. The Believers in Antioch Decided
1. This gave this new church in Antioch a chance to exercise their faith and put into practice what they had learned from Saul and Barnabas.
2. In vv. 29-30 it says, “So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. 30 This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.”
a. Having been warned in a prophecy about the famine, these believers showed their faith.
b. They decided to take up an offering for the believers in Judea.
c. What a great thing to happen, the daughter church was going to help the mother church in their time of need.
d. Another great thing here was that each one gave as much as they could.
e. This is a great act of faith. It’s one thing to donate a couple of bucks to meet a need, and quite another to give until it hurts a little.
f. If it doesn’t hurt a little, it’s not a sacrifice.
g. Tina and I had a professor in Bible college that said he didn’t believe in tithing because 10% wasn’t enough. If it didn’t hurt to give, you weren’t giving enough!
3. “Come on now, preacher! Don’t talk about my money!”
a. Did you know Jesus talked more about money than he did salvation?
b. Did you realize it’s not “your money,” it’s God’s? If God didn’t give you the ability to make a living, you wouldn’t have any money.
c. But the issue here is not money, it’s obedience!
d. Through the prophet, the people knew there was going to be a great famine, and so, being led by the Spirit, they decided to do something about it!
e. The point is, if the Holy Spirit leads you to do something, do it with gusto!
B. Spiritual Decisiveness
1. “Keep on learning the Word, keep listening to the Holy Spirit who is in you…Just remember to stay small within your own eyes, and God will bless the world through you.” (Oral Roberts).
2. Always obey the voice of the Spirit!
a. “Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.” (Acts 10:19-20).
b. Do you remember what Peter did when the Holy Spirit told him to do this? He did it!
c. He did it even though he knew it was going to be difficult.
d. He did it even though he knew it was going to get him in trouble with people.
e. Remember that you don’t answer to people; you answer to God!
f. If the Holy Spirit tells you to do something, do it!
g. It doesn’t matter what your family thinks. It doesn’t matter what your friends think. It only matters what God thinks.
h. Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit!
Conclusion
1. There are two things we should do when the Holy Spirit speaks to us.
a. Listen to his voice.
b. Do what he says.
2. What’s the point preacher? When the Holy Spirit tells you to do something follow his leading. Remember, delayed obedience is disobedience.
