- Title: We Are Spirit-Led Text: Exodus 40:34–38 (cover next 6 weeks)
- Today we come to the end of two major things at once
The final passage of Exodus, and the final message in our “This Is Who We Are” series. - If you’ve been with us, you know we’ve been walking through Exodus for three years.
- Not rushing it. Not skipping hard chapters. We’ve wrestled with the plagues. We’ve stood at Sinai. We’ve watched golden calves rise and priests be anointed.
- And now we land here in the last few verses of the last chapter with the cloud settling over the tabernacle. What’s amazing is this: God brought them out of Egypt, not just to free them but to dwell with them.
- And that’s where this ends. Not with a list of laws. Not with war. But with presence.
- The same Spirit that led them out of slavery is now the one leading them into movement, into rest, into decision, into rhythm. couldn’t be a better finish to our series “This Is Who We Are.”
- Because we are a Spirit-led church.
- We are not a machine run on programs and preferences. We are not just a brand, built on social media and strategies. We are a tabernacle people. We build what God says to build.
- We stop when He stops. We move when He moves.
- This final sermon today is not just the end of a series. It’s a reminder of how we’re called to live and what kind of people we want to be going forward. Because if the Spirit doesn’t lead us, we’re just wandering again.
- Exodus is the end of the first generation of Israel passing on to the next generation.
- We are spirit led- We Move When He Moves
- Exodus 40:36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.
- Being spirit led isn’t a science, it’s a art. You can get it wrong often, doesn’t mean its wrong
- Have you ever been waiting for a plane, at the gate, half listening, and the horn comes on, and you can’t really hear, but you feel a shift in the crowd? You don’t know all the details, but move!
- God’s presence was not a fixture it was a guide. The Israelites moved when God moved, and they stayed when He stayed. They wanted HIM. Not moses, not a law, they wanted presence
- Abraham obeyed without knowing the destination he moved simply because God said so.
- Philip in the middle of a revival in Samaria, but he responded instantly to the Spirit’s prompting.
- Paul changed his ministry plans mid-mission because the Spirit redirected him.
- I’m going to say this repeatedly in this message- it always lines up with the Bible, but there’s some aspects of life and ministry that squishier. You have to listen to the Spirit of God for it.
- What other type of life should we live? One where we plan, research, practice, and only make decisions that are pragmatic and data based? Then we’re living on our own strength?
- If God is moving we want to move where he is moving! We don’t want to miss it!
- Isaiah 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
- The Lord leads! The spirit of God still moves in this world- he still directs the affairs of our lives
- Are we following the Holy Spirit’s prompting or just doing what seems right in our own eyes?
- Too many people ask for God’s blessing after they’ve made the move. The Israelites didn’t drag the cloud they followed it. They didn’t ask God to follow their own plans and decisions.
- Psa 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.
2.We are spirit led- We Discern the Voice and the Word
- Discerning the voice of the Lord is directly connected to the word of God. It’s the filter
- Exodus 40:37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey…
- Ever worn noise-canceling headphones on a plane? They don’t just pump in music. They actively block out the ambient noise around you engines, chatter, announcements.
- The moment you turn them on, you realize how much extra sound has been clouding your headspace. That’s what the Word of God does for your spirit. It filters out the static.
- can’t discern the Spirit if you’re letting every voice into your soul
- I don’t listen to any other preachers and there are no books I read more than my Bible.
- The greatest tool for your spiritual development is reading bible 90% of the time.
- when your life is saturated in the Word, you start to recognize the voice of the Spirit.
- It’s not louder it’s clearer, because the noise has been canceled.
- John 10:4–5 says His sheep follow Him because they know His voice.
- But verse 5 says they “will by no means follow a stranger.”
- How do they know it’s a stranger? Because they’ve filtered out the noise.
- They know what the Shepherd sounds like. Spirit led Churches know the shepherds voice
- We are a Spirit-filled, prophetic church but that doesn’t mean we throw away the Word.
- We don’t believe the HS moved all throughout scripture, made the scripture and then stopped.
- Holy Spirit never contradicts Scripture. Prophetic insight is subject to the written Word.
- 1 Corinthians 14:29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:20–21 Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.
- We are not cessationists. We believe in tongues, prophecy, words of knowledge. But those gifts must operate within the bounds of God’s revealed truth as shown in the Bible.
- People get so scared of someone saying or doing something wrong, I get scared of living a fleshly existence without the spirit of God moving! ( correcting wrong prophecy in church svc)
- We don’t want prophetic moves that don’t line up with scripture, no spiritual performance
- Sidenote- Don’t lean on someone elses gifting to discern your life. Most giftings CONFIRM they don’t DIRECT. Discern your own spouse, job, house, direction, life etc. Build YOUR spiritual life
- I know it can go sideways. Cultish, sexual immorality, control, etc. Its bc you leaning on OTHERS
- To repeat- the spirit of God NEVER contradicts the word of God. It makes NO provision for sin, rebellion. Your pastor desperately watches and protects this flock from straying from scripture
- The WORD is the filter Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit,
- Every spirit isn’t of God. 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- We believe the word even as a filter- Its SAYS he’ll guide us. John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;
- We stay spiritual. 1 cor 2:14 the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- Its like a hard boardgame- If you don’t want to play the game- the rules don’t make sense
- we are spirit led- We Walk in the Spirit in All Seasons
- To be successful in anything- you need to have discipline. Repeatable constant activities
- Bible every day. Workout 6 days a week. Always save money. Clean as you go. Disciplined.
- Spiritually- as a church- we walk with God through every season. We are spirit led.
- Ex 40:38 For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by nigt
- It’s a pretty big deal we’ve held a form of a Sunday service continually for 22 years. Covid, couple online, but we had some people in the back. Whatever going on- spirit led.
- Whatever we’re going through Lord- we’re going to walk with you. The World is not going to be the director of our lives. We are spirit led and we are going to let the spirit lead us
- The presence didn’t leave when the sun went down. It covered them day and night. Being Spirit-led isn’t a moment it’s a lifestyle.
- How our Church reacted during covid was quite telling. Most of us rejected the vaccine (its been proven a good move) We still met (no one died) we didn’t bow down. We followed the spirit
- And we’ll continue to do so. We’ll still defy any man made ordinance. We are led by the Spirit
- We can discern ourselves to cancel church for sickness, or weather, or whatever, but only GOD.
- Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
- Spirit-led means every ministry decision, every family choice, every hard moment submitting to His voice. ministries start and end. Some endure. Things change constantly, and stay the same
- Nevertheless, we stay constant in prayer, in supplication, and walking with the spirit of God.
- This matters in your life as well- Are you Spirit-led at work? At home? In how you speak to your spouse? In how you lead your ministry? What your future plans are?
- Stay with the spirit through all seasons and cycles. Read, pray, worship, attend, serve, give.
- Look at your life and the times when you felt the most disconnected from the Lord- You had walked away and weren’t walking with the Lord. You chose a different path.
- Galatians 5:16 Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Romans 8:1who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.Ezekiel 36:27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes Colossians 1:10 That you may walk worthy of the Lord.
- This walk with God doesn’t have an expiration date and neither does this Church. We’ve established ourself and we are going to exist until Christ returns! FAITHFULLY SPIRIT LED.
- 1 Cor 4:2 it is required in stewards that one be found faithful Rev 2:10 Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Pro 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is longsuffering,..faithfulness, Mat 25:21 “Well done, good and faithful servant;” He 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering
Do you know why people Don’t walk in the spirit through all seasons?
- Doing it in their own strength- God didn’t save you to leave you powerless
- Losing sight of eternity- Worried too much about current circumstances
- Loving their past sin– If you’re never set free you keep going back to sin
- Loving the world more than the Lord- Consumed with consumerism
- Suffering- One bad week or month and they give up
The answer is faithfulness! STicktoitedness. You just stick to it. Keep showing up.
- we are spirit led- We Learn from Church History
- Much of what exists today in modern culture exists because people listened to the spirit
- Healthcare Christians founded hospitals, medical missions, leprosy care (e.g., Red Cross, Mother Teresa).2. Public Education Harvard, Yale, and global literacy efforts began as Christian initiatives to read Scripture. (The Old Deluder Satan Act (1647)3. Abolition & Human Rights Wilberforce, Tubman, MLK all Spirit-led to confront injustice and slavery. 4. Orphan & Foster Care George Müller’s orphanages, adoption ministries, foster care networks. 5. Global Missions Bible translation, church planting, 6. Addiction Recovery AA, Celebrate Recovery, Teen Challenge freedom through Christ. 7. Homeless & Hunger Relief Salvation Army, rescue missions, church-run food banks and shelters. 8. Prison Ministry Prison Fellowship, chaplaincy, Scripture in prisons. 9. Mental Health & Counseling Christian therapists, pastoral care, trauma recovery through biblical truth. 10. Disaster Relief Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision, church response to global crises. 11. Literacy & Language Missionaries created alphabets, literacy programs, Bible access. 12. Science & Exploration Newton, Kepler, Pascal science birthed from worship and stewardship.13. Arts & Literature Hymns, theater, Christian books beauty shaped by truth.
- Crystal and I listened to the Spirit to start this church. It had to be spirit-led and it worked!
- Nothing in the scriptures says “start a church”. Also doesn’t say have children, youth, YA, bible studies, the spot, retreats, hikes, books, discipleship programs, teas, dances, bbqs, music albums, books, podcasts, electronic sounds, etc, but it seems to be of God!
- Everything isn’t of God. Pragmatism doesn’t equal biblical truth, but you can’t discount tech
- What if I told you there was a machine so powerful it could replicate human thought, spread dangerous ideas, and reshape society? Fill the world with lies or truth depend on who use it
- Sounds like AI-right? No. The printing press. People were terrified when it was invented
- Gutenberg invented the printing press to distribute the bible. He wasn’t just making a machine, he was inspired by the spirit of God. Used to just be given to clergy and scholars. Spirit led
- The church isn’t powered by human strategy it’s moved by divine sensitivity. The Spirit has always been the One who pushes the church into uncomfortable obedience.
- We Embrace the Tension: Word & Spirit
- There are things in this life that the Bible makes explicitly clear. You don’t need to “pray about it.” You don’t need a word. You just need obedience.
- Don’t lie. Don’t sleep with someone who isn’t your spouse. Don’t worship idols. Don’t love the world or chase after sin. The Word of God speaks directly to that. No debate.
Should I move to this city? Should I hire this person? Is this relationship from God? - That’s where being Spirit-led matters. You can’t Google the answer to your calling.
You have to walk with the Spirit. - John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…”
The Spirit doesn’t just give answers, He gives guidance. - That’s the tension between what’s written and what’s whispered. Between the objective truth of Scripture and the subjective leading of the Spirit. And a lot of people either lean too far one way where it’s all emotion and no grounding or they go the other way where it’s all rules and no relationship. We’re not going to be either of those.
- We are a Word-anchored church and a Spirit-sensitive church.
- You don’t have to master spiritual perfection at FVC, learn to walk with God.
- Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
- That’s what sons and daughters of God do. They follow His leading. Not just the rules, but the relationship. Not just the commands, but the voice behind them.
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