What Does It Mean To Be Led By The Spirit?
“God will never direct us to be prideful, arrogant and unforgiving, immoral or slothful or full of fear. We step into these things because we are insensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit within us." -Charles Stanley
A while back I came across a show called "Waco" that recreated the ATF's raid of a cult's compound in Waco, TX in February 1993. David Koresh was a, supposedly, charismatic preacher and had elevated himself to such a position within a group known as the Branch Davidians that he had become their unquestionable leader. Married men let him "marry" their wives, parents let him have full say over their children (and abuse was rampant), horrible punishments were doled out for the slightest offenses, and the list of outrageousness goes on.
How did, and how does this continue to happen around the world? Plain and simple; the leaders of these movements claim to have God behind their decisions and actions.
"God told me to..." or, "The Holy Spirit is leading me to..." I can only imagine that you've heard a pastor or spiritual leader say something similar. It can be as benign as them informing the church of a new class that's being started based on God's nudging, or as blatant as them claiming to need 3.5 million dollars for a new flagship campus because "God told me He can't fit in this building any more" (actual quote). Within us, we can feel something buck at the second example here. Whether it's the amount of money being asked for, or the idea that God has space limitations for worship, we know something is off because the Holy Spirit guides us in all matters.
The question becomes, how do we know when it's truly the Holy Spirit, or something else?
I have over a handful of keys, as well as a Lego figure and a charm of my favorite soccer team logo, on my keychain. After years of hearing it jingle in and out of my pockets, I'm to the point where I could hear a dozen different key chains rattled and still be able to tell mine apart from anyone else's. I daresay it's a superpower of mine. The most useless one in existence, sure. But a superpower nonetheless. However, despite my keen senses, I manage to walk headfirst into situations and circumstances that could have been avoided. How did I think this was the right way to go? How did I manage to misunderstand or mishear or be misled yet again?
In John 14, Jesus gives His disciples a crash course on the Holy Spirit, the "advocate." One of my favorite scenes here is the image of the disciples in utter panic as they hear Christ describe his departure from them. They don't seem to understand how Jesus could just up and leave them like that. Jesus consoles them, "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you" (John 14:18). He describes how the Father will send them the Spirit of Truth and this Spirit, "Whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Christ promises his disciples and reaches through time to promise and assure us, that He has never and will never leave us. In the same way he promised to destroy the temple and raise it again in three days, in the same way He promised to defeat sin and death, in the same way He promised to prepare a place for us in eternity, Christ promises to be with you always! That, friends, is something you can hang your hat on today.
So often I hear people say that God isn't talking to them, guiding them, or listening. I know what they mean, and I know how it can feel when you're unsure what to do or where to go from here. Last week we talked about the enemy we face in this world and the tactics he uses. One of the greatest tactics used against us is to crank up the noise and chaos of life, schedules, to-do lists, problems at work, home, or with friends and family, anything at all that can drown out the Holy Spirit. I can certainly hear the distinct jingle of my keys and tell them apart from all others, but not if every keychain in the world is jingling at the same time.
One of the most dangerous pieces of advice I hear being given is, "Follow your heart." While I understand the sentiment behind it, I have to strongly push back and remind the person giving this advice of the noise and chaos we tend to live in. Life is indeed chaotic and noisy and so often we have the false expectation that we can continue in the noise and still be able to hear God's voice over the crowd. We as humans are so prone to distractions and within those distractions, we can begin to hear what we want to hear, take advice that's more for what we want rather than what we need, all kinds of counterproductive habits. While we may not be led astray by a David Koresh, we can find ourselves on the wrong path absolutely convinced that it's the right one.
Do remember the fruits of the spirit? Feel free to sing along if you remember this tune from your Sunday school days, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Nothing that is of the Spirit will ever be contrary to these characteristics, and fear has no place with God.
Today I want to encourage you into a moment of silence and peace. Maybe you have to close and lock your office door for a time, maybe you need to hide in your pantry for a few minutes, or maybe you have the whole house to yourself. No matter what, I need you to set aside some time to simply be. Tune out the noise and distractions, silence all the jingling keychains around you, and invite the Holy Spirit into that space with you.
You did not miss meeting Jesus by 2.000 years. The disciples' panic was for nothing because you and I, in 2024, have Christ right here with us in the Holy Spirit, loving us and guiding us. Are you ready to be silent enough to hear Him?
