Spirit-Led Truths
I. They referenced the Holy
Ghost just like you would a real person because He is a real person and he most
certainly was real to them-Acts 5:32
A.
They’re in a legal court of law and they are
in front of the most prominent people of that day who have been given the power
to try the most important cases and they have the authority to put people to
death and to them the Holy Ghost was a witness
II.
They resisted the Holy Spirit-Acts 6:10 7:51 (Stephen is preaching to the
religion people)
A.
Background
1.
Acts 6:8-Stephen did great wonders and
miracles among the people and the religious leaders didn’t like it
2.
Acts 6:10-The couldn’t resist what he said so
they had people lie and get him arrested
3.
Acts 7:1-34-Stephen basically takes them
through the story of the OT up to Moses
B.
Moses’ ministry is similar to that of the HS
in that the HS leads into truth that makes free-Acts 7:34
1.
Moses was a man sent by God to deliver his
people from bondage
C.
(1) You can resist the HS
just like you resist a person; (35,39-Like they resisted Moses)
1.
51-Their Fathers resisted the Holy Spirit by
resisting (prophet) Moses’ words
2.
You can get that leading on the inside and
say no to it
a.
You can turn a deaf hear to the HS & pay
Him no attention, like they did to Moses
3.
OT, NT, it doesn’t matter it’s never wise to
resist the voice of God
a.
We look at them like they’re such fools &
then resist the HS just like they did
4.
This one who they are resisting is
endeavoring to get them into the greatest place they have ever seen; it’s the
same thing when we resist the Holy Spirit
III.
The Holy Spirit talked to them-Acts 8:29
A.
Background
1.
Phillip is in Samaria and revival is breaking
out-Acts 8:5-9
2.
A guy practicing sorcery and deceiving the
people got saved-Acts 8:10-13
3.
When all this breaks out the Apostles at
Jerusalem sent Peter and John to help and when they got there people were
getting baptized in the Holy Ghost-Acts 8:14-17
4.
Peter and John head back to Jerusalem
preaching in many Samaritan villages on the way-Acts 8:25
B.
(2) Mad, frustrated, worried, discouraged people will miss the leading
of the Spirit
1.
5-17-Philip is in Samaria getting outstanding
results and the HS says leave
a.
Peter & John go to the Samaritan villages
on the way back to Jerusalem to use this momentum & see more great things,
but God spoke something else to Phillip
b.
He doesn’t get to go with them or celebrate
this in Jerusalem with the higher ups
2.
God said go down the road that goes from
Jerusalem to Gaza (not go to Gaza)
a.
He could have thought I don’t want to go down
to that heathen place; I want to go with Peter and John and use this momentum
we gained in Samaria; Peter and John get to use the momentum that started with
me in Samaria & I get to go down this heathen place where people are being
killed in the desert
C.
(3) Don’t presume to know all of what’s going to happen when you follow
the HS
1.
40-Philpp never even had to go down to Gaza
D.
(4) You might not get it all at once; if you did it wouldn’t take faith
1.
God could’ve said to Phillip go down the road
from Jerusalem to Gaza, you won’t have to go into Gaza, there will be a man on
the road, you’ll minister to Him, He’ll be saved and baptized & you’ll be
caught up by my spirit & be found at Azotus
a.
He got 1 piece & as he obeyed that 1
piece he heard and saw more
2.
You might not see it all, you might not have
it all, but obey what you have & you’ll get the rest
E.
(5) A major key in hearing from God is obeying God
1.
While Philipp was yielding to the first
piece, he got the second piece
a.
If Philipp was mad & frustrated that “He
had to go down to Gaza” he wouldn’t have been sensitive to the HS to help this
man and missed his whole assignment
2.
When Phillip was obeying God he heard from
God
a.
Obedient people hear the voice of God; Phillip
heard because he obeyed
F.
Because Philip was sensitive to the leading
of the Spirit of a man got saved
1.
We have the same Holy Spirit & He will
speak to us; We can hear from the Holy Spirit
IV.
The Holy Spirit commanded Peter-Acts 10:19
A.
Background
1.
Acts 10:1-5-Cornelius was a man who feared
God, loved God, prayed to God and gave alms, but because he was a Gentile was
on the outside looking in until Jesus and he knew nothing and needed help
2.
Acts 10:10-16-Peter had a vision about the
clean and unclean
B.
(6) So many times direction comes just like a thought to you
1.
It didn’t say he heard an audible voice; The
supernatural things of God are not always spectacular & they can be so
normal seeming to you that you ignore them
C.
(7) Giving your mind to the things of God is a way to hear from the
Spirit of God
1.
The Holy Spirit spoke to Peter as he was
meditating the vision (the word)
2.
The Holy Spirit spoke to Him as he gave his
mind over to the things of God
D.
(8) The Leading of the Spirit may not make sense to your head &
it’ll always require faith
1.
Peter followed Jewish standards and
traditions his whole life. With the
coming of the NT God ended the dietary restrictions (Mark 7:19). God made salvation possible for both
Jews (clean) and Gentiles (unclean) through Jesus. Peter is getting a revelation of the
power of the blood and the New Covenant.
a.
For a man who had followed Jewish standards
his whole life it is step of faith to believe you heard from the Holy Spirit to
go with a couple of gentiles into a gentile’s house and preach & have them
get saved and filled with the Holy Spirit
2.
This can’t make sense to His head, but he’s
not tradition-led
a.
It didn’t make sense to go, but it manifested
a great miracle-John 2
b.
This is what HE DOES; He leads you into
victories
3.
Peter was led of the spirit obeyed and as a
result a bunch of Gentiles received the Holy Spirit and were baptized with
water; Peter’s own people were astonished
4.
Acts 11:1-12-Peter is saying, “Hey I’m with
you, I didn’t even want to go.”
V.
The Holy Ghost said to them and sent them out-Acts 13:2,4
A.
The Holy Ghost sent them forth the way your
wife sends you to the store
1.
This is really happening; the person of the
HS said go there
2.
They were led of the spirit and as result a
politician over a whole town got saved
B.
(9) Spiritual exercise makes
you more aware of your spirit and tunes you to hear the HS
1.
As they ministered to the Lord the Holy
Spirit spoke
2.
The more of aware of your spirit you are, the
more aware of the Holy Spirit you’ll be b/c he deals with your spirit when
dealing with you
VI.
The knew it seemed good to the Holy Spirit because they communed with
Him-Acts15:28
A.
Background
1.
Acts 15:1-Certain men were trying to instruct
Gentile converts that they had to be circumcised to be saved and Paul and
Barnabas didn’t agree with that so they all decided that they needed to go to
Jerusalem and discuss with the Apostles
2.
Acts 15:7-11-God chose them and there’s no
difference between us and them now so why are you trying to put the yoke of the
law on them that neither we nor our fathers could bare; it’s by grace that men
are saved
3.
Acts 15:19-20-James says let’s not trouble
them with the law, but let’s tell them to stay away from idols, fornication,
things strangled and blood
4.
Acts 15:22-25-They sent men with Paul and
Barnabas and a letter
B.
Acts 15:28-It seemed good to the Holy Ghost
1.
The have a big issue in the church about the
gentiles converts having to keep the law; These are the heads in leadership in
the known church of the time and they’re dealing with the biggest issues in the
church and they didn’t hear any audible voices or see any angels, but they were
led by the spirit
2.
(10) We can talk to the Holy Spirit and find out what seems right to Him
a.
The only way to know it seemed God to Him is
because we talked to Him
VII.
Acts 16:5-7-The Holy Ghost forbid them and wouldn’t allow them to go
A.
(11) Just b/c it looks like a good scriptural idea, doesn’t mean that your
supposed to do it
1.
Would the Holy Spirit tell you not to preach
the Word there
B.
They’re making their ministry plans and it
said the Holy Spirit said, “No”
1.
You can have that kind of reality in your
life where the Holy Spirit is leading you and guiding you and directing you
C.
Acts 20:23-The Holy Ghost is talking to Him
1.
There are times when the Lord will worn you
about something that has negative parts to it so that you can avoid it and pray
about it and get it changed and be led and not be at the wrong place at the
wrong time
2.
There are other times when the Lord will talk
to you about something that has negative implications, but He’s not dealing
with you to stop it, He’s just getting you ready for it