Asking for Directions
March 11, 2007 “Directed by the Holy Spirit”
This last Tuesday, Tim Birkeland, Roy Jameson, and I went to visit with Jim Griffin, a church consultant in Columbus. As we were driving up Tim used his GPS locater and mapping program. I was amazed at how it not only tracked our trip, but it told us where to turn, and which direction to turn.
As we got close to the 339 and State route 7 turn it began to beep. Then when we were closing in on State Route 33 off of 50 again the beeps tells us a turn was coming. After we arrived in Columbus, we decided to go a different way; it began to warn us we had make a wrong turn. I was mystified. Then when we turned back on the right road, it again told us we were back on course.
Would it not be great if we could have a GPS for life? Some internal guidance system that would warn us when we need to make a turn in our lives, or warn us when we have made the wrong turn, or let us know when we are back on the right road. I think that would be great. We would just enter our finally destination (heaven) and then just follow the advise of the GSP. When it said to turn left we would go left, if it said go right, we would go right, if it said to say still, we would stay still. Would that not be great?
Did you know that God has given us such a GPS system, no you cannot buy it off the Internet at megaGSP site, and you cannot get one from the office depot, but God will give it, or I should Him to you if you ask Him. The GPS system I am talking about it is God’s Personal Spirit or The Holy Spirit.
John 16:13
3 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
That word guide is an interesting term it means to
To direct the course of; steer.
To guide a ship through a channel.
First, Like a GSP the Holy Spirit will Guide Us
Look at the story of Philip in the book of Acts. If you have your bibles turn with me to Acts 8:29. Our story begins with Philip in the city of Samaria where he is leading a great revival. There is great church growth, and people are coming to Jesus. But God’s angel comes to him and tells him to go to a road in the middle of the desert. He obeys. There is where I would like for us to pick up our reading with
Acts 8:29-31
The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
To make long story short, the man came to know Jesus as his personal savior and was baptized. Then, at the end of the story we read,
Acts 8:39
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Do you see that GPS thing at work here? The Holy Spirit; also known as the Spirit of God, or the Holy Ghost, directs Philip to go to the chariest and the Holy Spirit catches him away after the baptism.
Just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit is guiding Philip.
But this is not the only place in Scripture this happens.
Look with me at Acts chapter 13.
This story begins in the middle of prayer meeting. Pick up reading with verse 2.
Watch with me and see your selected Barnabas and Saul for this work, and who sends them on their trip to preach the Gospel?
Acts 13:2-3
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. 4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
Who selected them? (The Holy Spirit) Who sent them on their way? (The Holy Spirit) That is right, the Holy Spirit was large and in charge. He selected and He directed.
But the Holy Spirit can do more than just direct our lives, He can correct our lives. When we have taken a wrong turn we need the Holy Spirit to help correct us.
Second, Like a GSP the Holy Spirit will Correct Us
Look with me at Acts chapter 16
Paul and Silas add Timothy to their band of missionaries. They begin to go from town to town preaching the gospel. That is where our story takes us in verses 6.
This time look for who stops them from preaching in certain cities.
Acts 16:6
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.
Who stopped them from preaching in Asia? (The Holy Spirit) Who stopped them from entering Bithynia? (The Holy Spirit)
Are you beginning to see a pattern here? The Holy Spirit directs them where to go, and not go, what to say and not say.
But, you say, Terry, those were great leaders in the church’s early in its life. What about today? Does the Holy Spirit still direct like that today? I am glad you asked.
The story begins in the late 1980s when Thomas Muthee and his wife returned from Scotland to Nairobi, Kenya. He was serving as an itinerant evangelist and his wife as a school teacher. In 1988, the Lord spoke to him in a time of prayer and said, "I want you to plant a church in Kiambu."
Numerous evangelical preachers had tried to start churches there and left defeated though churches thrived in other parts of Kenya. If the Muthees were to succeed in starting a church in Kiambu, they needed a divinely-given direction.
God revealed through a vision that a spirit of witchcraft was the ruling principality there and that a number of other demonic spirits were functioning under the headship of witchcraft. . Since God had shown them that witchcraft was the ruling principality over the city, they spent the remainder of their six months in prayer and fasting attacking this stronghold.
The Muthees called their second phase of intercession simply sending in the ground troops, and they were it. The two of them moved their residency 10 miles away into Kiambu and set to work on starting a church.
God gave them tremendous favor, and they were the first evangelical ministers allowed to hold meetings at the municipal hall. Eight people came to Christ the first night.
The third phase of intercession for the Muthees was rallying an army of prayer warriors. . They soon found out that the principality of witchcraft had its chief human counterpart in a woman named Mamma Jane, a sorceress who practiced witchcraft and fortune-telling in a facility she called Emmanuel Clinic. Thomas Muthee knew that the 24 hour prayer vigil was not cutting it and something more was needed. He reached a point of desperation and tears and feared he would be the next statistic of pastors who gave up on Kiambu. Then, the Lord revealed to him the fourth phase of intercession that was needed. The Lord said, "My son, I want you to get the intercessors on the job." While the results of this strategy were initially positive, the designated intercessors came under strong attack on their assigned days. They might become sick, weakened, or distracted on their day of duty.
When Muthee asked the Lord how to deal with the attack on the intercessors, the Lord directed him to the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer to show the wisdom of going to war with an armor bearer at one’s side. Each intercessor needed armor bearers on the day they were assigned to fast and pray. The Prayer Cave itself has 4,000 active members which constitutes 5% of Kiambu’s population of 80,000.
I confess I have not reached this level of clear communication with the Holy Spirit, but I know it is possible. I know I can reach a GSP level of direct contact with the Holy spirit, to the point he directs my life and corrects me when I am wrong. You too can reach this level. How?
By listening for His voice, by reading God’s word, and by having two way prayer. Is your prayer time a monologue or a dialogue. Do you hear as well as speak?
Try this in the coming week. Set aside as much time to listen to God in silence each day and you spend talking to Him. It might surprise you what He is trying to say.
