Today’s New Covenant nugget is from Romans 8:13-14 (NKJV)
If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
The Passion Translation says, “when you live controlled by the flesh, you are about to die. But if the life of the Spirit puts to death the corrupt ways of the flesh, we then taste his abundant life. The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit.”
As sons and daughters of God, we are to be led by the Holy Spirit; we are not to be led by the pursuit of success. People pursue success to the point that they are led by it… in other words, they will do whatever brings success, and are led by their own personal drive and ambition for success. They do whatever it takes to achieve, and many actually consider that being led by the Spirit.
This kind of thinking is not New Covenant thinking and only leads to bondage. The ‘results orientated’, success, achievement mentality will NEVER be satisfied… it will always strive for more, and more is not necessarily God! Many times the Lord leads us to a life of less… Jesus instructed us to leave the ninety-nine, and to pursue the ONE.
Spirit led success is focused on stewardship, not the achievement of personal ambition… in other words, Spirit led believers will focus on what the Holy Spirit is leading them to do, regardless of whether it ‘seems to’ take them backwards, or forwards in life… Jesus left Heaven and gave up everything to live a humble, short life on earth that was filled with rejection, persecution and hardship. Many will never do anything, unless it benefits them personally, or leads to greater achievement of their fleshly ambitions, no matter what the Spirit says!
I have had conversations with people to discuss their future plans… they have been totally consumed with, ‘what is best for me’… ‘which state do I prefer’… ‘where can my kids get the best education’… ‘which place has the best political views’… ‘which culture fits me better’, or ‘which place can benefit me more economically?’ I tell them to ask the Holy Spirit where He wants them to be, and their eyes glaze over… you see, for them, it is all about personal gain, comfort and preference, for them, it is not about being Spirit Led.
Spirit led success is doing what the Spirit is leading you to do with all of your heart… doing WHAT He wants, WHEN He wants, HOW He wants, for AS LONG as He wants, to WHOM He wants. Spirit led success is as content polishing pennies and what it would be polishing gold bars… its all about what He wants!
If the Holy Spirit gives you an assignment in a company that pays minimum wage, live by faith in that assignment, and do what you do, ‘as unto the Lord,’ looking to Him as your provider, not the wage you are receiving. If the Spirit places you as a leader over tens of thousands, do the same… of He places you in a position of serving one person, do the same… if He leads you to leave your family, your country, and everything that you have, do the same… if He leads you to stay in your hometown, do the same… whatever He leads you to do… do it by grace through faith, looking unto JESUS, the Author and Finisher of your faith! Die to personal, flesh ambition that insists on personal gain, personal comfort, and personal convenience… lay it all down, and be led by the Spirit! As you do, trust me, God will bless you way more than you could ever bless yourself!
When I go to bed at night, I ask the Lord, “did I do what You led me to do today? Did I yield to You in everything?” I start each day, partaking in communion, entering His covenant, and making a commitment to Him, that I will be totally led by the Spirit, in EVERYTHING. When that is your stance, you are one hundred percent successful in God’s eyes. Even if you miss God in some things… GRACE covers your errors when you are IN FAITH and committed to follow the leading of the Spirit.
In His amazing Love, Nick
