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And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:35-38 (ESV)
Everything Jesus did or said was in Fathers will. His guidance and direction to teach and to heal for hundreds of thousands of people came from Father, by the Spirit of God. Even though Jesus was in the flesh, Him and Father and the Spirit were still as one.
Jesus says to His disciples that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. He tells them to pray for more laborers, but not just any laborer. Those who labor for Father, are in His will; they are in Christ and He is in them, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who labor for Father are Spirit led in all they do. To be Spirit led is a way of life, it’s not something we just do when we are doing “ministry”. To be Spirit led is to be free from the binds of this world, to go and walk freely in Christ as He works freely in you.
The harvest is the world around us…not in our church buildings, and not in church programs. The harvest is still plentiful; however, the laborers are still few. We don’t need a mission package for our communities to reach out and share the Good News. We need Spirit led laborers. God wants Spirit led laborers, for it is Him who saves; not us. It is His compassion that changes the world; not our actions or words. It is His Spirit that transforms lives; not our good deeds or powerful messages.
I have been taking a hard look at my own life lately, and have been meditating on scripture and paying close attention to all I do, to see how Spirit led I really am. With that being said, I want to share an experience with you.
The other day, I was not having the best of days. My wife was sick with the flu for almost a week, I was pulling triple duty as dad for our newborn daughter, secular job, school, and ministry work. I was on my way home from my secular job, and had just called the leader for Common Grounds (non-profit youth group) to tell him I could not come in to work with the kids for my wife was still sick and I was feeling down about it…frustrated, and tired. It was then I see a friend and dear Brother in Christ coming out of a house of a family that myself and my wife have been ministering to. I pull over and he proceeds to tell me about his day…having lunch with a youth pastor in town that he hasn’t talked to in two years to have it interrupted by his cousin needing money to get to work and home, coming to the house of the family only to have be non-responsive to his prayers and compassion…except he’s in a great overflowing joy of Fathers Spirit. Everything was great, praise God, God is good, glory to God… he kept saying. You see, him and the youth pastor spent time in His presence and glorifying God by catching up on the car ride to the cousin’s work, and then ministered and prayed over the cousin. They got lunch to-go. Even though the family was non responsive, he found out I was ministering to the same family and found great encouragement in that, and it led him to running into me. To top it off, I find out that God had arranged for him to work with the kids at Common Grounds that night, and he didn’t tell me because he wanted to surprise me when I showed up.
Can I spell convicted? My friend and Brother in Christ was so totally led in the Spirit in everything that he was doing that circumstances meant nothing. He could only see what Father was doing and nothing else…hence his Joy, and the fruit of His Spirit working in my Brother. This is the life I want to lead. This is the life of ministry I want to share with others. This is the church, being Spirit led.
Father, I pray today that you are in control, that I forsake it all to you Lord. Let me be led by your Spirit all day, every day. Let me die to my flesh and my own desires. Let me die to my frustrations and the way I have always thought and looked at circumstances. Let me just be led by your glorious Spirit and bask in your presence all day. Lord I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
Do you feel your life is Spirit led 24/7, or just some of the time?
You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2013/03/16/df_to-be-spirit-led/