SPEAKER_00: There's a fascinating line from the first reading today.
SPEAKER_00: Most people read right past it, but it shows us how God actually works.
SPEAKER_00: It says they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
SPEAKER_00: The Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
SPEAKER_00: They're trying to preach the gospel, they're doing something objectively good, and the Holy Spirit stops them.
SPEAKER_00: What is that all about?
SPEAKER_00: We tend to think that if something is good, if it's holy, if it makes sense, then God must be all in.
SPEAKER_00: Well, not always.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the holiest things you can do is to be stopped.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the clear sign of God's guidance is not an open door, it's a closed one.
SPEAKER_00: Paul is not wandering aimlessly.
SPEAKER_00: He's being redirected.
SPEAKER_00: And notice how it happens.
SPEAKER_00: Not with a full map, not with a five-year plan, just enough light for the next step, a vision.
SPEAKER_00: Come over to Macedonia and help us, it says.
SPEAKER_00: And immediately they go.
SPEAKER_00: This is what real discernment looks like.
SPEAKER_00: Not control, not certainty, but responsiveness, this awareness, this self-awareness, a willingness to move when God says move and to stop when God says stop, even when you do not fully understand why.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if we connect that to the gospel, because Jesus takes away an illusion about where this path leads, he says, if the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
SPEAKER_00: There's no sugar coating here.
SPEAKER_00: If you actually follow Christ, not superficially, not culturally, but seriously, there will be friction.
SPEAKER_00: Because you have been chosen out of the world.
SPEAKER_00: That does not mean you leave the world physically.
SPEAKER_00: It means you no longer operate by its logic.
SPEAKER_00: The world says, hey, protect yourself at all costs.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, give yourself away freely.
SPEAKER_00: The world says, build your identity on success, on having material things, on image, on control.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, lose your life and you will find it.
SPEAKER_00: The world says, avoid suffering at all costs.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, walk straight to it.
SPEAKER_00: Walk straight onto that cross.
SPEAKER_00: And at some point, those two ways of living collide.
SPEAKER_00: And when they do, Jesus is very clear, do not be surprised when there's resistance.
SPEAKER_00: Again, he says, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's where we have to be careful because this could be misunderstood.
SPEAKER_00: Not every difficulty is persecution.
SPEAKER_00: Not every disagreement is a sign that you're being faithful.
SPEAKER_00: But if you're truly living the gospel, there will be moments where your life does not make sense to others, where your choices are questioned, where your priorities are misunderstood.
SPEAKER_00: And the temptation in those moments is to adjust, to soften, to blend in, to blend in just enough to avoid tension.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to ruffle any feathers.
SPEAKER_00: But this is where the first reading comes back to us.
SPEAKER_00: Paul does not choose his path based on comfort or approval.
SPEAKER_00: He chooses it based on obedience to the Spirit, even when it means being redirected, even when it means walking into the unknown, even when actually it will mean suffering.
SPEAKER_00: Because he knows that you have to decide if you believe.
SPEAKER_00: That being aligned with God matters more than being accepted by the world.
SPEAKER_00: So here's a question that cuts through everything today.
SPEAKER_00: What is guiding your decisions right now?
SPEAKER_00: Is it clarity from God, even if it's a partial, even if it requires trust?
SPEAKER_00: Or is it the desire to avoid resistance, to keep things smooth, same old, same old, to stay within what's familiar and affirmed?
SPEAKER_00: Well, you can't have it both ways.
SPEAKER_00: If you follow the Spirit, there will be moments of uncertainty and moments of opposition.
SPEAKER_00: If you follow the world, there will be moments of ease, but a slow drift away from what actually matters.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is honest enough to tell us, right there, up front, you have been chosen out of the world.
SPEAKER_00: This is not a rejection to the world.
SPEAKER_00: It is a mission into it, but on different terms.
SPEAKER_00: So, my brothers and sisters, as we wrap up this week, do not be surprised by closed doors.
SPEAKER_00: Do not be shaken by resistance.
SPEAKER_00: Pay attention to the spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And when he says move, move.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because the path you, the path you would have chosen for yourself is never as powerful as the one God is trying to leave you onto.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.