Venture With... The Holy Spirit

What does it look like to trust God when the path ahead feels uncertain?

In this message, we are invited to consider a faith that goes beyond comfort and familiarity. As we venture with the Holy Spirit, we discover that surrender, generosity, and courage create space for God to do extraordinary things through ordinary people.

Transcript

Fantastic. I'm speaking about Venture, a new series today and we're going to be talking about venturing with the Holy Spirit. I read a story just this week. Back in 1840, a Scottish father alongside his son for six miles on a dirt trap outside of Glasgow walked together. And the father was a poor sales tea salesman, that's what he sold, tea.

And he was a Sunday school teacher, got a great faith in God. But his son, who was 27 years of age, was the famous David Livingstone. We have a picture of David here. David was a doctor, but he was also walking with his father down the dirt track for the last time because he was heading out to Africa to become a missionary. They both knew what this goodbye meant and the odds of David ever returning to Scotland were probably very slim.

Can you imagine that as a father? As a father, he'd sacrificed everything that he had to pay for his son's medical training. He worked extra hours, he'd gone without himself, he prayed constantly. And now, after all that investment, he was about to watch his son disappear, possibly forever. That's what was going to happen.

At the six mile mark, his journal says they both stopped. The father looked at his son and said simply, now, my David, I have but one more thing to say. Go on and be guided by the good Spirit. They embraced and the father stood there watching until David finally disappeared over the hill and he was gone.

Here's the truth about that father. I think he understood that love doesn't just hold on. Love actually sends love lets go. Love releases and that's important. And spiritually, I think we all live in a similar kind of tension, especially when we think about going and sending out.

When we think about our Kent Hill project or any other project that we might be feeling. The Lord lead us into by His Spirit because we live in that tension, because we want comfort when God wants our growth and sometimes when we grow, it's uncomfortable, right? Comfort isn't always the best place to be. Sometimes we want certainty. In fact, some people want it most of the time.

But God calls us to faith, to trust him, to believe in him, just to go. And sometimes many of us want control. We like to be in control. But the Holy Spirit calls us to total surrender, to come to him and said, not my plans, but your plans. May your will be done in my life.

And nowhere do we see that tension clearer than a church in Antioch that we're going to look at today. And the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, incredible things begin to happen. And God sent out his church into the world. And one of those places was Antioch. These people in Antioch didn't just talk about being led by the Holy Spirit or walking with the Spirit.

They trusted him enough to be sent out to venture with him and to spread the gospel to the known world. At the time, it was a missions concept, and Paul the Apostle and the companions set out on. We read successive journeys throughout the Book of Acts where they carried the message of Jesus from city to city. And although they often faced strong opposition, we see lives were transformed and the kingdom continued to advance and to grow. Just powerful stuff.

Now, Adventure Church, we believe that same calling continues today. We believe that with all of our heart. And as we prepare to launch our Kensale location, as I've said, on Easter Sunday, we're choosing mission over comfort. We're choosing movement over controlling. We're choosing actually faith over uncertainty.

Because we don't know what's going to happen, right? We just don't know. But our history reminds us that we are not called to merely gather people and build some sort of, you know, large thing and that's it. But we are called to go. We're called to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

We're called to expand and develop. And over the next six weeks, we're going to follow some of the Apostle Paul's journeys out of Antioch to discover what it means to grow deeper, go further, and expect God to move as we take a step of faith. This isn't only just for the early church that we read about in the Book of Acts. I believe it's our story too, and that's what we're going to be talking about. Let me talk about Antioch for a minute.

Antioch was far from a quiet kind of religious town. In the first century, it was the third largest city in the Roman Empire after Roman Alexandria. There's a map here which shows roughly where it is. And it's on the border of Syria and it's in Turkey. Just an incredible place, A big city bustling its bustling crossroads of trade, particularly of culture and actually ideas, where people were many kinds of religions there believed lots of different kinds of things.

There was philosophies and worldviews. They all collided in one place. It was a very unique city. And for the early church, Antioch wasn't a place really to play it safe. It was a place that actually demanded courage, wisdom, and complete reliance upon the Holy Spirit.

The they needed to walk with the Spirit. They needed his presence powerfully with them. And it was here that God's people Learned what it meant to truly venture every day with the Holy Spirit. As I was thinking about this message today, I was reminded about our context here in Milton Keynes and how similar it is with Antioch situation. Because there's something like data will tell us 184 different languages in this one city of ours.

That's incredible. Tech workers, refugees, students, artists and families across the world share the same streets. We share the same places where we live. And it's a living mosaic of all different kinds of cultures. A reminder that God's kingdom is bigger than any one place and it's richer than any one people group.

It's huge. The same diversity that was around in Antioch at that time was actually the perfect environment for the Holy Spirit to move right in that city. And I believe it's the same here in Milton Keynes. It's the same city, honestly. Antioch probably looked a lot more like Milton Keynes, London or any multicultural city than Jerusalem ever did in its day.

It was just incredible. And that kind of matters because the gospel didn't stay in a familiar comfortable spaces back then and it won't stay in them today. There's a constant sense of God calling his people to move into the complexity, the chaos if you like, and the beauty of a global context which is right on our doorstep. And that's our mission field to venture with the Spirit into that. Now what's amazing to me as we look back at the church in Antioch is the fascinating way in which it began.

Because it wasn't planted by apostles or professional ministries, but by ordinary people who carried their faith into their everyday life and situations and their work. Let's read in Acts 11, just to give you a little bit of a background there now those, it says, verse 19, those who are those, the ordinary believers, right, who had been scattered in the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed, traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among the Jews. So what had actually happened? You remember when there was great persecution that broke out in Jerusalem, which was prophesied. The Jews scattered, many of them spread all over the world, even though church was growing there.

And many people came to faith, even priests, a great number of priests, the Bible says, came to faith and they scattered. They went up from Jerusalem, moved north through into Syria, into Turkey, where Antioch was, they ventured there and. And they shared the message with all the Jews. Now something incredible happened right there. Some of them who were then the ordinary believers, right, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks Also telling them that's just the Gentiles going past the Jews to the Gentiles, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ.

So in doing so, the gospel begins to spread and it breaks through social barriers, cultural barriers, religious boundaries, and began to transform people across the then known world. And the Bible records beautifully and simply for us, the Lord's hand was what was with them. Don't we desire that to have the Lord's hand with us? And a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord and news of this reached the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. And when he arrived, he saw the grace of God, or what the grace of God had done.

He was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all of their hearts. So Barnabas travels there, he recognized God's grace at work and instead of seeking to control it, seeking to try and put his imprint onto it of what he thought was best, he celebrates it. He encourages everybody wholeheartedly to be devoted to Jesus. The Bible says he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Don't you desire to be that kind of man or woman, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith?

And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And then when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. And as a result, something incredible happened.

As they sat under the teaching and the scriptures, the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. I am sure at the start it started as a bit of a nickname. That's what we're told. Oh, it's those Christ followers. It's those ones who are following that guy called Jesus Christ.

But actually it stuck. As their lives so clearly reflected Jesus Christ and his teachings, they became a unique group of people in this city. Imagine that in mk. That's all I think when I read this. So what was it there if we want to be like that, that same Spirit, to venture with the Holy Spirit?

What was it that made Antioch a spirit venturing church and can make us venture church a venturing spirit church. The first thing I see is that they prioritized the Holy Spirit's presence. I wonder if you hunger for the presence of the Holy Spirit. I love what it says. Just a little later in Acts 13:1 3, it says now in the church at Antioch, as it grew, there were prophets and teachers.

Barnabas, Simeon called Niger Lucius of Cyrene Manaen, who being brought up in Herod, the Tetrarch's household, and Saul. And while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them to do. So after they fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them out. Friends, the church there wasn't planning some sort of great strategic missions, movement or operation. They were simply worshipping, praying and fasting.

In other words, they were positioning themselves before God, right? They were putting themselves, posturing themselves in the right place, being open for the movings of the Holy Spirit. They were drawing near to God. That's the way we started the beginning of this year, right with the series Draw Near. And out of that came one of the most decisive moments in Christian history, the sending out of Paul and Barnabas, not by human strategy, but by.

But by God's direction. By God's direction. And that's what it means to venture with the Spirit. It's to be led by the Holy Spirit, to hear his voice, to be sent out. And we can so easily prioritize activity and programs and plans.

And this is a reminder certainly to me and to all of us that real effective mission actually flows from the presence of God and to his calling. And I'm really interested in what God is saying to you, what you sense the Holy Spirit is saying to you. And those are the conversations we need to be having more and more. What is the Holy Spirit saying to us? What is he directing us to do?

I wonder if you hunger and thirst after the Holy Spirit. Friends, we must continue to worship, to pray, to fast, and earnestly seek God and his kingdom first. That's what I see. They prioritize the Holy Spirit and so do we need to do that? The second thing is they embrace kingdom diversity.

Even from the leadership, they reflected different cultures and ethnicities, should I say, and social backgrounds. It wasn't accidental. It actually demonstrated and displayed the gospel at work. The Holy Spirit united people who normally wouldn't walk together. And they became God's family, brothers and sisters in Christ, united together, functioning together, and friends.

When a church models and values unity and diversity in this kind of way, it becomes a visible sign of God's community here on earth, God's kingdom at work here on earth. And that is what it means to venture with the Holy Spirit. This unity that we can have that makes a difference, that gets sent out and God can make a difference in a city. That's the amazing thing I See that here in our church. I think I see that more and more.

It's wonderful to know that over 800 people here in our church are actively involved in ministry, part of our church family in some way, shape or form. And I thank you. And we're an incredible display of all kinds of nationalities and cultures to the glory of God. And may he unite us together because that's where his blessing dwells. The third thing I see is they lived generous lives.

That's what was there that made them the Spirit filled kind of led church. There was a great famine that took place. The Bible tells us in Acts chapter 1127. And they were warned about it. And here's the Response in verse 29.

The disciples, that's the ordinary ones, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. And this they did, sending their gifts to the elders through Barnabas and Saul. The couple of words stood out to me. Each one, it wasn't a few of them, it wasn't just the clergy, but each one of them, every single Christian was involved. The Holy Spirit, when we walk with him, stirs the spirit of generosity in all of us.

And I just want to ask you a simple question today is where is the Spirit nudging you forwards to take a step of faith? Maybe. Is it by being generous by your time, giving more time? Is it by giving money to finance and support the extension of God's kingdom? Is it by offering your skills?

What is it that you've been holding back as the Holy Spirit is leading you and bringing you to be part of a Spirit led church? What is it? Because God wants us involved as his body functioning together. I firmly believe that generosity God leads us to become more generosity generous because what he's doing in us is as important as what he's doing through us. He's changing our characters.

He's making us more and more embrace his heart for mission to be changed, to care about our situations that are around us, to reflect the God who is generous, who so loved the world that he what he gave what was most precious to him, his one and only Son, that whoever would believe in him wouldn't perish, but would receive eternal life. He's a giving God and he's stirring that generosity. So I want us to become a generous church because that's what being Spirit led is all about. Trusting him, hearing his voice, becoming generous like they did. The fourth thing we see is they invested in discipleship and growth.

There was a hunger to learn, a hunger to grow as many came to faith. The Bible tells us Barnabas was sent out to find Saul who was known as a good teacher trained at the hands of a guy called Gamaliel in the Jewish faith. And he brought Paul there and they said they spent a whole year teaching the church in Antioch, focusing on forming people. Because growth without depth doesn't last. It just doesn't last.

That's why so many of you are blown and tossed about. It's because we're not standing solidly and firmly with on the Word of God. We might not know the Word of God strongly enough. We pick a verse here and there. But do we stand on the Word of God as the foundation so important?

The church didn't just grow bigger, it grew deeper in knowledge of God and worship, in grace and in love. Antioch thrived because teachers gave themselves to sharing God's words and and the people were hungry. They couldn't get enough of this. Only the Holy Spirit creates this. Can you imagine if we launched Venture Academy?

I wonder how many of you had track with us for a year.

Probably about six or seven. That has been the history if I'm honest, because life's busy. I understand all of that. But you see something in this church was drawing something more for God's word. The last thing I see is that they released their best people because God, the Holy Spirit as they walked with him said set apart Saul and Barnabas.

And the church obeyed. They didn't hesitate. They sent the strongest leaders, the best teachers. They didn't cling to what was comfortable. They just wouldn't hold back what they wanted, maybe even personally what was most precious to them in these teaching gifts.

They released them to God's wider purposes as co workers together in the harvest fields. That's pretty powerful stuff. And here's the truth. Churches that only gather eventually become museums. But churches that actually send become movements.

And that's what we believe for Venture Church. That's what we believe we are sending out isn't a loss. It's kingdom increase. Every leader, every disciple, every gift that's released carries God's work into communities, cultures and even nations. And as a church we've always believed and practiced this because that's what it means to be a spirit led venturing church like Antioch, like Venture Church here today.

That's what it means. Antioch isn't just an ancient city on a map sitting somewhere. It's a picture of who God calls his church to be. Just ordinary people, Spirit led, kind of boundary crossing, stepping out, generous, deeply formed. And growing in Christ and the scriptures, willing to send.

That's what it is. That's the kind of church that we want to be and that's what the next step to Kent's Hill for us actually represents. One church in two locations. Following the Spirit's lead. Because when the spirits move, we want to move right.

When the Spirit says send, we want to send. When the Spirit says trust, we want to trust him. Why? Because that's what it means to venture with the Holy Spirit. So important.

So what might venturing look like for you is the big question, isn't it? What does it look like? Is it stepping into ministry and serving Where? In our church? In a place rather than just sitting in a chair week in and week out, is it actually stepping up and choosing to be generous and not comfortable?

Taking a step with the Spirit, Giving more maybe than you've ever done before? Is it inviting and bringing someone to a service or an alpha course here, Taking a step with the Spirit, with your friends, with your connections. Maybe it's inviting somebody just like that, leading. Maybe stepping up and leading where you've hesitated in the past before. Maybe it's forgiving somebody and taking a massive step because you've heard the voice of the Spirit saying it's time to forgive.

Maybe it's trusting God with your future. Finally I'm going to put my hands, life in your hands and trust you. And I'm going to do that. Venturing with the Holy Spirit always requires our trust. It stretches us.

It's unsettling and uncomfortable at times time and it always will challenge you when you're not in control. But it will always bear fruit. It will always bear fruit. And just like the church in Antioch, I believe God delights in taking ordinary surrendered people and doing extraordinary things through them. Can I hear an amen?

Because that's us. That's this church Venture. Church is who we are, folks. And we're not called to play itself. We're called to stand, step out, to be courageous, to be spirit filled, to trust him.

The question is truly whether we are willing to venture with him. Are you willing to venture with him? Can you imagine if the church in Antioch said no to Paul and Barnabas? Maybe you and I would never be sitting here in this day and generation. But the church gave.

They said yes. They said yes straight away. And God's looking for your yes today, right now to say yes. Whatever it is, I'm going to venture with the Spirit today. It all starts with your yes.

David Livingstone. I'll finish with this.

Never saw his father kneel again.

That's sad, isn't it?

But he carried those words. As journals say, he carried those words his entire life. Be guided by the good spirit. And when he died in Africa, those who served carried his body over 1500 miles so he could be buried actually at Westminster Abbey. Why?

Because a surrendered life leaves a lasting legacy. What an empowerful life. And I pray that that would be true of Venture Church. Say yes. Say yes to God.

We commit ourselves to you, God, today enable us and empower us to venture forward with you. In Jesus name, may we venture with the spirit. In Jesus name. Amen. Hey, if anybody have got questions, don't forget to visit the Kent Hill stand.

If you feel you want to be part of that pioneering group of people, go there, talk with somebody. We'd love to speak to you. Also at the front are people here today to pray with you about anything either we've said today or you've got some needs. You'd just like somebody to stand with you. We're here for you today.

God bless you. God bless you online. Great to have you with us today. God bless you. It.