Monday, October 11, 2010

Are we gonna follow the Holy Spirit or not?

In my sermon yesterday I talked about being ready to respond to anything the Lord says. Like Paul and his missionary friends were ready to move into Macedonia when the Lord gave the OK, we need to be ready to move, too. That means that as a church (or even an individual Christian) we must have processes in place that will allow us to proceed rather than hinder our obedience.

As an illustration I used my own family. I said, “Suppose the Lord wanted Deana and me to move to Russia to take Rusty and Lori Hart’s place in Ekaterinburg.”

A voice from the congregation shouted, “No!”

I was stunned. My response was that I had not sensed the Lord’s call in this but was just using it as an example. But what if Deana and I really did feel led to apply to the International Mission Board with the desire to be appointed to serve internationally? Would someone really say, “No!” to the Lord’s calling in our lives?

I hope Deana and I would say, “Yes!” I hope Riley would say, “Yes!” I hope our grown boys and our parents would say, “Yes!” I hope our friends would say, “Yes!”

And I hope my church would say, “Yes!” Maybe some would be glad to get rid of me! But I hope I’ve led this group of believers to understand that God’s agenda trumps ours. God does not give suggestions or options, he gives orders. If we say, “No!” to this, I wonder what other instructions from the Lord we are refusing to follow.

We can look inwardly (selfishly) and go against the Lord’s will or we can look toward eternity and say, “Yes!”

I guess the question is, “Are we going to follow the Holy Spirit or not?”

By the way, the point of my illustration was that my health and my financial situation would limit my ability to obey the Lord if he called me to serve in Russia. Would you pray for me about that?

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