Acts 16:6-15
Revelation 21:9-27
Revelation 22:1-5
Holy Spirit guided people are those who live in the heavenly will of God,
and do everything in their power to listen to and follow the unction of the
Holy Spirit.
This is the opposite of those who live in the corrupt ways of this world and
follow their own will even when it opposes the heavenly will of God.
Yes, God gave us all a free will, but He also gave us a conscience, which is
really the unction of the Holy Spirit trying to guide us in the heavenly
will of God, so those who listen to and follow their conscience are really
Holy Spirit guided people.
Furthermore, Holy Spirit guided people instinctively know that anything that
is unloving or causes pain, suffering, or death is not in the heavenly will
of God; and thus, it is part of this corrupt world, and they are not to be a
part of it in any way.
Paul and his traveling companions were also Holy Spirit guided people, and
in Acts 16:6-15, we are told about some specific occurrences when they were
guided by the Holy Spirit.
6. And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been
forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;
7. and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia,
and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;
We are not told how they were forbidden to speak or enter these places in
Asia, but they are still examples of being Holy Spirit guided people.
Perhaps they had an inner foreboding feeling telling them not to do these
things, and most of us have likely had these kinds of pangs of conscience,
but did we listen as did Paul and those who were with him?
These kinds of messages are not as obvious as are those concerning things
that are unloving or that cause pain, suffering, or death, but as we become
more and more accustomed to listening to the unction of the Holy Spirit, we
will learn to pick up on these things, too.
8. and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia
was standing and appealing to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and
help us."
This is another way that we are guided by the Holy Spirit, if we are willing
to listen to such guidance, but at the same time we need to be cautious that
nothing appears to be outside of the heavenly will of God.
This is also very similar to Peter’s vision of the sheet coming down from
heaven, and the angel appearing to Cornelius that we talked about last week.
10. And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
These are also the same kinds of feeling that we get to end the suffering of
animals and the corruption of creation.
How do we respond to such unctions, visions, and feelings?
Do we respond as Paul and his companions did?
We sure hope so, for that is the only way we become or confirm that we are
Holy Spirit guided people.
11. Therefore putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to
Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis;
12. and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of
Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days.
As we shall see, they were not just sitting around and relaxing; they were conducting their ministry activities.
13. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we
were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and
began speaking to the women who had assembled.
14. And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of
purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her
heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
15. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying,
"If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and
stay." And she prevailed upon us.
NASB
We cannot beat people over the head with our Bible and expect them to change
their ways; we just need to lovingly talk to them about what we believe and
how we live, and our life before them will show them whether or not we live
the truth we speak about.
And if we do, others will see and believe, or at least begin to question the
worldly ways they have been living with all its pain, suffering, and death,
particularly when it concerns the animals, for such things are the most
commonly practiced corruptions of creation and the will of God.
And, those of us who are Holy Spirit guided people will also get to see the
heaven we are told about in Revelation 21:9-22:5.
9. And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
These plagues are the things that the corrupt people of this world bring
upon themselves for living in and supporting the evil ways of this world
with all its warring madness against humans and animals, and their
indifference to the suffering of all living beings.
However, as peacemaking children of God, we will see and be a part of the
glory of the new heaven and earth.
10. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and
showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
11. having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as
a stone of crystal-clear jasper.
12. It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve
angels; and names were written on them, which are those of the twelve tribes
of the sons of Israel.
13. There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and
three gates on the south and three gates on the west.
14. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were
the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
These glorious things are a bonus for loving the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our might, which led us to become His peacemaking children who live in His heavenly will, and are His Holy Spirit guided people.
15. And the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the
city, and its gates and its wall.
16. And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the
width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its
length and width and height are equal.
I envision this new Jerusalem in the shape of a pyramid and not as a cube.
17. And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.
These measuring yards are approximately twice the distance from a person’s fingers to their elbow.
18. And the material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold,
like clear glass.
19. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of
precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire;
the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
20. the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the
eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh,
jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.
21. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a
single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent
glass.
And even though all of these things are very valuable in earthly terms, when we get to heaven, we will consider these things as no more valuable than the concrete, steel, asphalt, and stone that we use to build our roads and cities with here on earth, today, for the Lord our God will be the joy of our heart and nothing is more valuable than Him.
22. And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.
This also shows us that our palatial churches and temples are of very little value if we put such things ahead of the Lord our God, which we would already understand if we are Holy Spirit guided people.
23. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
And He will illuminate our hearts and souls in the same way, which He already does here on earth, if we allow Him to do it.
24. And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth
shall bring their glory into it.
25. And in the daytime (for there shall be no night there) its gates shall
never be closed;
26. and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;
We should be doing this now, just as Paul and his companions did when they entered Macedonia.
27. and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
These excluded people are the ones who live in the corrupt ways of this
world and follow the evil ways of the devil and his minion, and refuse to
change until it’s too late.
And as we continue with Revelation 22:1-5, we are told even more about this
new heaven and earth.
1. And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming
from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
2. in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree
of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and
the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Note that we are only being told about plant foods, for in heaven all the nations of animals are healed along with the nations of humans, for there is no pain or death in heaven.
3. And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him;
And the curse had been abolished, and there is only love and peace.
4. and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
5. And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of
the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall
illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.
NASB
This is what happens to and for all Holy Spirit guided people; they inherit
eternal live with the Lord.
Are you one of them?
If not, you should be.
Just reach out in faith and ask the Lord Jesus.
We can have true peace.
Amen.
Return to: Sermons Archive