Pastor Paul Brown
February 28, 2021 - W2109

"Led by The Spirit"

Arise, Awake, Act!

Pastor Paul Brown

February 27 & 28, 2021

Aloha and Welcome, New Hope Oahu--Everywhere & Anywhere!  We're so glad that you're with us today!  We're in a new season, and we will see miracles of God!  This is the reason I'm so excited for this sermon, "Led by the Spirit;" as I've seen in scriptures that anytime we are led by the Spirit and we listen and obey God, that miraculous things happen!  

It happened to Moses, the prince of Egypt who became a Hebrew slave, then returned to free over a million people from slavery; Joseph, one of 12 sons, literally became the savior of the world in his day; Paul, a pharisee of pharisees, was persecuting Christians and he flipped sides and became a testimony of God's goodness as he traveled the world preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ; and Martin Luther King, Jr. brought forth the Civil Rights Movement!  

When God's people are led by the Spirit, He does miraculous things through us: families are renewed, the lost are found, the sick healed, the brokenhearted encouraged, and revival happens!  Inspiration to act comes from a time of quietness and listening; then, we step out and obey God in faith to do what seems ridiculous--and the miraculous happens!  

Let's imagine that you're leading about a million people through a desert and the great Egyptian army is behind ready to destroy the Israelites!  You're trapped in the wilderness and have no place to go, and you look over and see your leader with his arms raised over the waters in a really interesting position!  This is so crazy, but the sea dries out and the people cross over on dry land!  At first, Moses must have been ridiculed by the people on this side of the Red Sea; but on the other side, he was a prophet as he was willing to step out in faith! 

The first requirement to being led by the Spirit is to recognize the voice of God--as there are basically four voices continually calling us: The flesh, the world, the enemy, and the Lord! God has given us the Holy Spirit as our Advocate to guide us into all truth! "Advocate" literally means parakletos in Greek--counselor, guide, help.  

John 14:26 NIV: "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.^"

To prepare this message, I decided to go to a park in Wahiawa--the sun was out, the birds were flying, and I could see the trees.  The enemy wants to pull Christians away from truth, and often we face many temptations, so I prayed, "Lord, please give me a word so I can lead your people." 

Joshua 24:15 NIV says: "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors.... But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 

1. Being Led by The Spirit Begins by Being Transformed

In order to be led by the Spirit, we must first be transformed in our mind! 

Romans 12:2 NIV says: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

It's interesting that God says that He equates knowing God's will by knowing who God is! The patterns of the world pull us away from God; and the patterns of God pull us to Himself!  It becomes a tug?of?war in our hearts; and being in this place is tiring!  The Lord doesn't want to win the battle with you; He wants to win your heart--that's the point!  

When you actually grow in your relationship with the Lord, two things happen: You will know His will, and you will want His will in your life!  If you told me 14 years ago when God called me into ministry that I'll be preaching on stage at New Hope Oahu, I would have said, "No, sorry Lord." So, He didn't tell me the whole plan, He just said, "Can you trust me one step at a time?"  

It's so interesting that when we say, "Lord Jesus, I trust you," and you stop resisting, your rest begins!  The world is always pulling us to worry and be full of anxiety, and, possibly, doing things we know we shouldn't! But when we say, "Lord Jesus, I'm going to walk with you," a tug?of?war begins, but in that process as we trust and obey--we're actually being transformed!

Isaiah 55:9 NIV God says: "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.^"

2. Transformation Takes Place when We Meditate on The Word of God 

 ^"1Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, ² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law, day and night. ³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers." (Psalm 1:1-3 NIV)

We must get back to the basics and choose to meditate on the word.  "Meditate" means to ruminate, to chew. If you are what you eat, what are you chewing on?  Are you chewing on worry, bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, lust, greed?  Sometimes, you can tell what a person is chewing on just by looking at their faces:  When a person meditates and rehearses the wound when someone has hurt them, that person is broken. But sometimes you meet people full of joy--like Almond Joy! They have a different mindset!  

Psalm 119:11 NIV says: "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

I would encourage you to hide the Word of God in your heart.  Make it practical: Put scriptures on your screensaver and on your notes--now you're meditating. When we do that, we will actually look different as we will live and respond differently because we're meditating and chewing on the Word!  

3. Transformation Happens by Submitting Yourself to Godly Community 

Ephesians 4:15 NIV says: "...speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ."

This is so interesting that we actually can't fully mature unless we're in community! It just doesn't happen! I love to surf, but let me tell you, the one place that my Christianity is most tested is not at church or at home--it's in the water!  It's in the water that I have an opportunity to show grace, to receive grace, and to receive forgiveness.  Let me explain: 

Once I actually dropped in on one of the uncles!  He's been surfing there for about 50 years and I dropped in on him, and he said, "Oh, what is this?"  I thought I was going to get beat up.  But he was so gracious to me and said, "Eh, boy."  I said, "Oh, sorry, Uncle.  I'm so sorry."  What happened was that I kicked out my board to his board--his face, really, and he missed it! He was so gentle with me and said, "Next time, this is what you do--grab your leash."  And I had to be willing to say, "All right, Uncle.  Sorry about that, Uncle.  I'll grab my leash next time."  

Sometimes, you will be corrected, and it won't feel good--but that's how we are maturing!  You may hear stuff from this pulpit that maybe goes against the grain of what you're feeling within your heart, and you must say, "Lord, Jesus, can I submit to what you're saying through people, even if I don't like it?" 

Proverbs 27:6 NIV says: "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.^"

Meaning, that the wounds of a friend--the person who will love and care for you--the people who might give you a wound and mark you is okay because if we're marked by Christ, we're looking more like Jesus!  We can only grow in maturity through the Word of God and through community!

4. Being Led by The Spirit Has to be Tested  

1 John 4:1 NRSV says, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Matthew 7:15 NRSV says: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

The Peace Test. James 4:17 NKJ: "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." 

I was on the freeway driving to work and was just feeling so blessed by the Lord.  I said, "Lord, you're so good. I'll go wherever you want me to go.  I'll go tell anyone whatever you want me to tell them."  So, I drove to the end of Keehi Lagoon and started praising God, as I felt the Lord led me there. I looked over and there was an older Caucasian gentleman dressed in a suit, throwing balls at a cage as hard as he could.  

And the Lord said, "Go up to him and say:  'It's enough.'"  I made a left turn and almost hit the gentleman!  I said, "Oh, my goodness.  So sorry."  I pulled to the side and said, "Excuse me, sir. First thing I need to say is that I'm not crazy; second thing is I just felt the Lord saying to tell you, 'It's enough.'  Then I heard a knock on my window, so I rolled it down and said, "Hello brother.  Do you need, anything?"  He said, "I'm a Jehovah's Witness. I pray every day and work every day--I work all the time.  I just want to know, what did you mean by, 'It's enough'?  I said, "I just felt the Lord say, 'It's enough.'  And he said, 'Okay,' and walked away.  It was in that moment when I realized that the Lord Jesus wasn't calling me to find success, but to be obedient!  Sometimes the outcome is not what you want--but it's what God wants!  The success of your calling is up to Him; obedience is up to us!  

1 Timothy 4:1 NIV says: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."

The best decision that you could ever make is to say "Yes" to the God who loves you!  He's chosen you and loves you.  In fact, there's a God?sized hole in every one of us that only God can fill! 

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. What is the first requirement to being "led by the Spirit"?

2. What two things will happen to you when you grow in your relationship with the Lord?

3. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate; what does that mean?

4. Being led by The Spirit begins by being transformed in your mind. How do we do that?

5. Share a transformation that happened to you when you submitted to godly community.