Holy Spirit Guidance #3, Acts 1

In Acts 1:8 Luke gives the two major themes of his book. The first theme is how the Spirit works to expand the Kingdom, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses...." and the second is the chronological order the book follows, "In Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

We can learn several things from the Book of Acts, most of the Spirit's leadings will come when we are doing work to expand the Kingdom, not personal decisions we are facing. Because that's true I believe, God expects us to walk in wisdom in our personal lives to know His will when He is seemingly silent. Eph 5:15-17, "Be careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise...Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

In short, know that 1. God's Spirit is given to further the work of His Kingdom. 2. Most of the Spirit's leadings will come when we are working to expand the Kingdom. 3. God expects us to walk in wisdom in our personal lives to follow His will when it seems the Spirit isn't guiding. 4. God will always lead us in the footsteps of wisdom and His Spirit's "guidance" will not contradict that; Prov 4:11.

Holy Spirit Guidance #2, Proverbs 4

When we are following God and believe He is guiding us by His Spirit we need to test these leadings. Here are some questions to ask ourselves, "Does this contradict God's character? Does this violate my conscience? Does this violate clear teaching from the Bible? What do mature Christians who have been following God for years say about this? Is this wise?"

God will never ask us to do anything that is unwise. NEVER. Here is what Solomon wrote to his son, read it knowing your Heavenly Father wrote it to us!
Proverbs 4:11-14: "I Instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths."

In Short, when God is leading us He will guide us in the footsteps of wisdom and not lead us into foolishness.

Holy Spirit Guidance #1, Acts 10, 1 Thess 5

I have learned that following the Holy Spirit is not an exact science. In fact, we grow in our ability to discern the Spirit's guidance and it may take time before we are 100% sure we are doing the right thing. In reading through Acts, I've seen a common pattern, God's direction is given through the Spirit and then the recipient has to think about what they received and make smart choices to complete the divine task. For example, Acts 10 explains the story of how Peter received a vision 3 times and heard God's audible voice 3 times and he still didn't understand what God was saying. Peter was so offended he told the Lord, "Sorry God, but that doesn't fit into who I know You to be and it goes against the grain of everything I've been taught." It didn't make sense to him. Peter had to digest what he felt like God was saying to him (vs. 17). But while he was thinking it through the Lord provided him more direction, which ultimately led Peter on a journey to share the gospel with the first gentile specific audience. We are like Peter, in that God provides direction for us, but the next step isn't always clear. Many times its foggy and the best choices to make with the new "leading" are smart wise choices and to test "all things" that we believe come for the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19-22). Testing the Spirit's activity is a sign of spiritual maturity that pleases God. Too many people have been deceived because they failed to test the "Holy Spirit's" instruction or walk God's plan out with wisdom. In short, It is our responsibility to examine leadings and be wise in walking them out.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, "Do not put out the Spirit's fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject whatever is harmful."