BE LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

This year, one of the things that anyone who wants to go far should desire most is to be led by the Holy Spirit. What a wonderful privilege to have the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient sprit of the Most High God to indwell us; to be our guide, shield, teacher, to empower us, to be our intercessor, to be the one who mentors us to greatness, to be our coach, to reveal all things to us, to be our source of wisdom and help us take value decisions. Many times when we come to the place of prayer, we rush to start praying amiss. It takes getting the Holy Spirit involved for you to pray well. You may not always know what you need because it takes revelation for you to know what you need. You may be asking for what you want and not what you need. One of the very important decisions anybody can take especially at the beginning of the year is the decision to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Luke 3:21-22 – after Jesus’ baptism, there was a Holy Ghost encounter; the heavens opened. One of the signs of open heavens is direct proclamation; you will hear the voice of God directly. God speaks. The Holy Ghost descended bodily in form of a dove. Notice the divine endorsement that followed. God endorsed his Son “thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased”. Divine endorsement is the greatest endorsement you can receive, what God says about you is what matters most, it does not matter what people say or think about you. The most important thing you should be concerned about is ‘what does God say about me?’ If God endorses you, you don’t need any other title.

Luke 4:1 – notice that Jesus was full of the Holy Ghost after the dove descended on him. The Bible never recorded that the dove left. No! The dove found a perfect habitation in him. May the dove find a resting place in you this year, in Jesus name. Jesus returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a 40-day encounter with the devil. Take note that after the dove comes the devil. One of the times the devil attacks most is after a major spiritual breakthrough, after you have won a major victory. That is why you must be on the alert; you must add alertness to your prayer. After every major victory, stand. A war is not over until all the battles are fought and won. Don’t be a civilian this year, always live in a state of battle readiness; ready to strike; ready to pick the signals and ready to show the enemy the red card, which is the blood of Jesus. Make sure you always raise the blood of Jesus against any encroachment of hell even after you have won a major battle. Even your celebration should be full of anointing. How do you celebrate with anointing? Through praise, especially prophetic praise. Enthrone God. Acknowledge that he is the one that fought and won the battle for you. That is how to be full of the Holy Ghost. It takes spiritual intensification to be able to confront the beast and the valid tool for confronting the beast is in verse 4, 8 and 12 – “it is written”. You must be familiar with what is written this year, you must know the word of God, don’t use the Bible as a talisman. It is the word of God that you have internalized or eaten that will come handy in time of spiritual warfare. Jesus demonstrated to us how to walk in dominion over satan. Memorize scriptures, be a Word-based Christian this year. If the devil fought you most in the area of finances last year and you want to have dominion over financial distress this year, make a list of all the beautiful promises of God with regards to your financial prosperity, eat and digest them. Let them become part and parcel of you. Begin to release them through your confessions. Until you change how you think, you will not change the way you are. If the devil fought you in the area of sickness last year, make a compilation of the word of God that promise you healing, eat the word, what you are eating is what you are becoming. Prov. 4:20-22. There is health in the word of God for those who discover it. This is how to walk in dominion. Be always led by the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit will never lead you outside the will of God. Holy Spirit guides you by divine signals in line with the revealed will of God as enunciated in His word.

How does the Holy Spirit speak? Until you learn to hear God, you will not mature into sonship. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”. Rom. 8:14. Notice, according to verse 13 in our text that when the devil ended the temptation, he left Jesus for a season. That means he will return after a season. Your most potent weapon of spiritual warfare is the one you make your lifestyle. What are you living? If you don’t have a lifestyle that is saturated with prayer, your victory will be ephemeral.

Vs. 14 – Jesus returned in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is after he has won the devil hands down. He was led into the wilderness by the power of the Holy Ghost and he returned, after the victory, in the power of the Holy Ghost and his fame spread all about. This is what it takes to evangelize the world. It must be by the power of the Almighty. End time evangelism must be by the thunder of God’s power. This is because there are many negative powers that need to be judged; many negative voices that need to be silenced and many negative forces that need to be crushed.  This is why the power of the Almighty must be activated. The Church of our Lord Jesus Christ was given birth to through great power; the church of our Lord Jesus Christ will wind up with greater power. If you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, he will use you beyond your wildest imagination; you will walk through the valley of the shadow of death and you will fear no evil. Where others are confused, the Holy Spirit will guide you.

What is leading you? You must be led by something. Everybody is led by something. What is your motive? Motive is the spirit behind your action. Many are led by self, greed, pride, lust, fake power, love for money, love for commendation, demonic forces, satan.

What is leading you is:

1. What people see first;
2. What determines your product, your fruits;
3. What determines your destination – it is the spirit that leads you to the market that will lead you home. You must understand that Holy Ghost Fellowship is not another denomination but a lifestyle of partnership with the Holy Ghost.
4. What determines your rewards

Who is your boss? Study Rom. 8:13-19. Notice that the presence of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee a temptation free existence; the Holy Ghost empowers you to overcome temptation as you allow him. He does not struggle with you. You can quench his presence, you can grieve him.

Seven (7) keys that will help you in your walk with the Holy Spirit this year: –

1. Dethrone self. Stop being your own boss; enthrone him.
2. Surrender to the Holy Spirit
3. Enthrone Christ, it is through him that you shall do valiantly
4. Cultivate Holy Ghost friendship; get him involved in all your decisions
5. Be a doer of the word of God. Make up your mind to start living your life consistently with the word of God.
6. Constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit. You need constant revealing and infilling of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh on a daily basis.
7. Be actively involved in Christian service. Your spiritual muscle is developed as a result of use. There is what is called disuse atrophy. It is subject to the law of use. The more you serve God, the more you depend on him, the more you trust him, the more you draw strength. If you have a spiritual gift you are not exercising, it will shrivel. One of the ways the anointing grows is through service. Acts 10:38 – get involved in God’s business. Make God’s business your business and you will never be out of business.

1 Pet. 3:13 “And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” who is it that will harm you if the Holy Spirit is your leader? Who is it that will harm you if you allow the Holy Spirit to be your guide? Those he guides, he shields. Remember that safety is not the absence of danger but the presence of God in the midst of it.

Desire in your heart that every second this year, you will be led by the Holy Spirit. As you allow him to lead you, you will have testimonies. Remember that one of the toughest things we face on daily basis is decision. Decision determines wealth, longevity, destination and every good thing. Don’t forget that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of wisdom and he has all the attributes of God. He is co-equal with God.

PRAYER

• Precious Holy Spirit, I submit to you, I ask you to come afresh into my life, I ask you to fill me afresh with life and power to overflowing. I ask you to lead me; I ask you guide me every second, every minute, every hour and every day of my life. I ask you to lead me on, brood over my life and take over absolutely, be in charge, take control, in the mighty name of Jesus.
• Jesus, I have never passed through this place before, you have passed through it, you know the terrain, I surrender to you comprehensively, Jesus lead me through, guide me by your spirit, empower me by your spirit, keep me by your spirit, mentor me by your spirit through this year and beyond unto all fruitfulness in the name of Jesus. Help me to walk hand in hand with you so that your purpose will be fulfilled in every facet of my life. Give me comprehensive dominion, everywhere I turn. Grant me comprehensive dominion as I go out and as I come in; grant me comprehensive dominion all the way and all the time, help me in every decision I will ever make this year, I commit all my decisions into your hands, I ask you to help me to choose right, grant me the grace to be all that you want to be and accomplish all that you want me to accomplish, grant me the grace to have all you want me to have this year, in the mighty name of Jesus. Where others fail, make me to excel, grant me the spectacular anointing for comprehensive dominion this year and anoint me to overflowing, in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.