(Personal actions of the Holy Spirit,) the next pressure is knowing where to go, Paul and his companions are traveling in Acts chapter 16, they have a mission, they have a map, they are trying preach, their first route closes. Acts says they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia, they turn toward Bithynia, that route closes, too. The Holy Spirit does not permit them to enter, only after the second refusal does Paul receive a vision of a man from Macedonia asking for help. The group considers what has happened and concludes that God has called them to preach there.
Consider the map, one destination crossed out, then another, the third action appears first as restraint, the Spirit guides and sometimes his guidance is a no. That is more demanding than the idea of guidance as a constant stream of encouraging instructions. Paul is not trying to avoid mission, he is trying to preach, yet the Spirit’s purpose is more specific than Paul’s general intention. The text does not tell you how either route was closed, that protects you from turning every obstacle into a hidden message. A rejected application may be guidance or it may simply be a rejected application. A delayed plan may redirect a life or it may require patience and another attempt.
Acts does not give automatic interpretation, it gives purposeful direction and John 16:13-14 shows what that direction is centered on, the Spirit guides into truth and he glorifies Jesus, that becomes a test for every spiritual claim. A message may sound supernatural and still place a human messenger at the center, it may demand unquestioning loyalty, create fear or make one personality indispensable. But in John, the Spirit does not enlarge the messenger, he reveals the Son. The Spirit’s no, may redirect a journey, his yes, may open a mission, but wherever he leads, Jesus does not become smaller.
Now the believer trying to discern direction faces another problem, even if the route becomes clear, fear can remain, what if I’m wrong? What if I am not really accepted? What if what I feel inside cannot be trusted? Another personal action enters there, John 15:26, the Spirit testifies about Jesus, a witness is not an atmosphere, a witness bears truth about someone. Jesus then tells the disciples that they also will testify, because they have been with him from the beginning, the Spirit’s witness does not erase human witness, it strengthens and aligns it, Romans chapter 8 carries that action into the life of the believer. Romans chapter 8 is speaking about slavery, fear, adoption, suffering, inheritance and hope.
Consider the map, one destination crossed out, then another, the third action appears first as restraint, the Spirit guides and sometimes his guidance is a no. That is more demanding than the idea of guidance as a constant stream of encouraging instructions. Paul is not trying to avoid mission, he is trying to preach, yet the Spirit’s purpose is more specific than Paul’s general intention. The text does not tell you how either route was closed, that protects you from turning every obstacle into a hidden message. A rejected application may be guidance or it may simply be a rejected application. A delayed plan may redirect a life or it may require patience and another attempt.
Acts does not give automatic interpretation, it gives purposeful direction and John 16:13-14 shows what that direction is centered on, the Spirit guides into truth and he glorifies Jesus, that becomes a test for every spiritual claim. A message may sound supernatural and still place a human messenger at the center, it may demand unquestioning loyalty, create fear or make one personality indispensable. But in John, the Spirit does not enlarge the messenger, he reveals the Son. The Spirit’s no, may redirect a journey, his yes, may open a mission, but wherever he leads, Jesus does not become smaller.
Now the believer trying to discern direction faces another problem, even if the route becomes clear, fear can remain, what if I’m wrong? What if I am not really accepted? What if what I feel inside cannot be trusted? Another personal action enters there, John 15:26, the Spirit testifies about Jesus, a witness is not an atmosphere, a witness bears truth about someone. Jesus then tells the disciples that they also will testify, because they have been with him from the beginning, the Spirit’s witness does not erase human witness, it strengthens and aligns it, Romans chapter 8 carries that action into the life of the believer. Romans chapter 8 is speaking about slavery, fear, adoption, suffering, inheritance and hope.