Apostle Paul Secret of How To Fulfill Your Calling | Jonathan Cahn Sermon
When the Spirit Leads You Forward: Paul’s Final Journey and the Secret to Fulfilling Your Calling
The only way to live a life of true greatness is to stop living merely for survival and start living for the will of God. History’s heroes—the ones who protected the innocent in Nazi Germany or stood up for righteousness when it cost them everything—weren’t focused on comfort. They were anchored in one truth: Seek first the Kingdom of God, and let Him take care of the rest.
In Acts 20, Paul is on the final stretch of his missionary work. He pioneered world missions, traveled across cultures, birthed churches, and now he is heading home—to Jerusalem. Luke, who traveled with him, records the journey as they sailed across the Aegean Sea, marking their steps by the Jewish calendar: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost. Everything revolved around God’s appointed times.
On the first day of the week—Sunday—the believers gathered to break bread. This wasn’t a replacement for the biblical Sabbath; it was the day of the Resurrection, the day hope broke into the world. As Paul preached late into the night, a young man named Eutychus fell asleep, fell from the window, and died. Paul embraced him, and God raised him back to life. It may be the most embarrassing miracle in Scripture, yet it reveals the extraordinary grace that surrounds those who follow their calling—even in weakness.
Paul continued his journey with urgency. He longed to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost, so instead of stopping in Ephesus, he asked the elders to meet him in Miletus. There he delivered his final words—his farewell speech, much like Moses speaking to Israel on the edge of the Promised Land.
He reminded them, “You know how I lived among you—serving the Lord with humility and with tears.” Real humility isn’t self-hatred. It’s lifting your eyes to God so fully that there is no room left for pride. Paul’s tears came from passion—from a heart that wept for the lost. That is why God used him so powerfully.
He spoke of opposition, betrayal, and hardship. But he didn’t call them problems; he called them tests. A problem feels pointless. A test has purpose. Every challenge is meant to strengthen you, raise you to a higher level, and shape you into someone God can trust with more.
Paul never held back truth. He taught what people needed, not what they preferred. And now, he was “compelled by the Spirit”—bound, drawn, pulled by God’s leading—to go to Jerusalem. He didn’t know what would happen, only that hardship and prison awaited him. Most believers today would never admit, “I don’t know what’s coming.” But Paul did. You don’t need to know all the steps ahead. You only need to take the next step of obedience.
A Spirit-led life isn’t floating effortlessly through blessings. Sometimes it means doing what you don’t want to do—denying your flesh, resisting sin, forgiving when it hurts, giving when you’d rather keep, praying when your heart feels cold. That’s when true discipleship shows itself. Not when your will agrees with God, but when it resists Him—and you choose His way anyway.
Paul followed the Spirit into the unknown, knowing that God’s presence mattered more than clarity. The known goodness of God was greater than any unknown future. Even prison—yes, prison—would serve a divine purpose. Some of Paul’s greatest writings came from behind bars.
God never promised that every moment will feel good. But He did promise to work all things, even the painful ones, for the good of those who love Him.
And Paul trusted that completely.
