The Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda spent thirty years in a Philippine jungle because no one he was willing to believe ever reached him with the news that the war had long been over. That story opens the final reflection on the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 16), in which Paul ends up going where he never planned: closed doors, a vision at night, a conversation with women by a river, and then flogging and prison. The sermon traces four very different ways the Holy Spirit leads those who carry the good news, not always easy and not always pleasant. Listen before you decide that your own plans have simply been thwarted.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Paul planned to preach in Asia and Bithynia, but the Spirit did not allow it, and then he saw a man of Macedonia in a vision. What do these closed roads and this vision tell us about how God guided the first missionaries?
- In Philippi everything begins with an ordinary conversation with women by the river, and later Paul and Silas end up in prison despite obeying God. What surprises you most in these two events, and why?
- The sermon opens with the story of Hiroo Onoda, who kept fighting for 30 years because no one convinced him the war was over. Who are the people around you still living in their own mountains and jungles?
- The speaker described four ways the Spirit leads: through circumstances, through extraordinary signs, through ordinary events with extraordinary results, and through suffering. Which of these is most familiar from your own experience, and which is hardest for you to accept?
- Eric Liddell's story does not end with a medal but with his death in an internment camp, yet his attitude inspired others. How does that change what you expect from God when you try to obey Him?
- Who can you talk to this week about what you are experiencing with Jesus, and what first step of trusting the Holy Spirit do you want to take toward that?
