I.     Introduction

A.  Opening Question: Making Good Decisions

1.    We all face tough choices and in this economy, we certainly feel as though there is little room for mistakes (expound and give examples).

a)    A Decision-Making Husband: A husband once explained how he was the head of his household and took care of the major decisions; “I make all the big decisions in our family and my wife makes all the little decisions. She decides where we go on vacation, whether to buy a new car, what house we are going to buy, etc…I make the big ones, like whether to admit the Eastern European nations into NATO, if we should try and put a man on Mars…” And so husbands, we have some big decisions to make and we want to make good ones.

b)    Indecisive à Some people can’t make a decision or they vacillate back and forth, one T-shirt read, “It’s too late to agree with me—I’ve already changed my mind.”

2.    What does it mean to “be led by the Spirit?”

a)    We all want the Divine blessing. We want to be in God’s will…led by His Spirit.

b)    Today we are going to look at that question and see how the early apostles were “led by the Spirit.”

B.  Picking up the pieces.

1.    “Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words…(15:24; cf.-->15:10).”

a)    Issue 1: What motivates this legalistic attitude?

b)    Legalism Conclusion: We should bend over backwards to avoid causing a weaker brother to stumble but the church should never be at the tyranny of the weaker brother.

c)     Love reigns.

2.    Rather, (v.32) “Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.”

C.  15: 36-41; Paul and Barnabas Separate

II.   Body – Acts 16 “Being Led by the Spirit”

A.  Read 16:1-10

1.    16:3 Paul did not want create a stumbling block or create unnecessary controversy among the Jews in the area. The question had already been settled…why get people all upset unnecessarily?

2.    Further observations and notes

B.  So the stage is set. We see the Divine intervention in their lives, guiding them and moving them. Should we expect this in our day?

C.  Points to Consider

1.    Apostleship.

2.    God’s leading through His word.

a)    We do have His word, His Divine revelation – If we are going to ignore it, why should we expect any additional form of guidance?

b)    Develop a discipline of Bible Study. (eg. Jonathan Edwards’ “Religious Affections”)

3.    God leads us through circumstances, wise counsel.

4.    I think we are in dangerous territory if we start looking for “Macedonian Calls.” We see this frequently in our culture.

III. Conclusion – How do we face the future and make good decisions in times of uncertainty.

A.  Embrace the future and see it as opportunity.

B.  Develop “Religious Affections” and cultivate them.

1.    Prayer

2.    Bible Study

3.    Ministry and Church Involvement (Encouraging the Brethren)