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Pastor Philip's sermon on Sunday discussed the difference between being led by the Spirit and being led by the flesh. As I was praying about what to write, I was drawn back to another instance of the phrase "led by the Spirit." 

In Matthew 4 and Luke 4, Jesus is "led by the Spirit" into the "wilderness", which meant into the desert. That is what is beyond the Jordan River. He spends 40 days fasting and then is tempted by the Adversary. Afterward, He returns to the Jordan in triumph and is proclaimed "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." 

The phrase "led by the Spirit" uses exactly the same words in Luke, and a form of the same word for "led" in Matthew as in Galatians. As an aside, Mark says Jesus is driven into the desert, but that's a different blog. It is a common understanding of Biblical interpretation that first use defines how we understand a word or phrase. With that in mind then, what does it mean to be "led by the Spirit?" Well, let's look at what it meant for Jesus:

1. It meant deprivation. Jesus literally denied the lust of the flesh by not eating for forty days. He denied the lust for power by rejecting the Adversary's offer of the entire world. He denied pride by not throwing Himself off the Temple.

2. It meant temptation. Being led by the Spirit meant that He became a target for the enemy. Do you think that if Jesus had just stayed in Nazareth taking care of His mother and worshing as a stone mason that He ever would have been tempted? I doubt it. 

3. It meant being set apart. Jesus went into the desert to set Himself apart for the ministry God had in store.

4. It meant suffering. Do you think it's easy to go 40 days without food? 

5. It meant ministry. Jesus was led by the Spirit in order to accomplish the mission the Father had planned. He didn't do it for health reasons, or to prove to Himself He could, or anything else. He did it to walk the path and succeed where Adam and Eve, and Israel, had failed.

6. I meant leaving things behind. He left behind His family, His vocation, His life, His friends...everything.

I think sometimes we read about being led by the Spirit and we imagine some super holy, lovely, pleasant stroll in green meadows. I would like to suggest that being led by the Spirit is the path of suffering, of deprivation, of mission, and of ministry. It is the path of leaving behind all that we consider important and pursuing the high calling of Christ Jesus. Being led by the Spirit means walking the path of humiliation, of separation, and of death. That is the path Jesus walked, and He invites us to take up our crosses and follow Him. 

But on the other side is victory!

Jesus was led by the Spirit. May it be so with us all.

SONGS FOR SUNDAY

You Are Good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF5pNOZF934&list=RDBF5pNOZF934&start_radio=1

At Your Name

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il-bJjeiOhY&list=RDil-bJjeiOhY&start_radio=1

Overcome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP-JdZs4V54&list=RDeP-JdZs4V54&start_radio=1

Here I Am Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03G52K9X2hQ&list=RD03G52K9X2hQ&start_radio=1