Spirit-Led to Where? Part 1 - Gateway Worship Center

CHECK POINT

A Leadership and Intercessory Letter written to those who desire Integrity in the Inward Parts (Psalm 51:6)

“Spirit-Led to - Where?”

Part I of 3 Parts

“The Devil’s Dry Place is not yours!”

19^th Edition

Written by Esther Dummer

November 17, 2004

Have you ever had a time when you just left a wonderful, spiritual experience in which you were drawn into heavenly places only to find that within the day that all hell broke loose against you?

If you can say yes to this, then you are in very good company with Jesus Christ, your Lord. I want to take you into a story that is very familiar to all of us – the day that Jesus was baptized and then tested in the wilderness. I want to share a truth with some wonderful lovers of Jesus who may be, right now, wondering, “What happened?”

It is interesting how one can read the same scripture for years and suddenly have the Holy Spirit to emphasize just a single word and reveal a whole message to you from that one word. That happened to me this past week. I have been drawn to this portion of scripture at least three times and have really focused on one word in this Word.

That word is, “Up!”

Read with me this story and then go deeper with me into a “golden nugget of truth” that the Holy Spirit mined from the Word of God.

Matt 3:16-4:1

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

1 Then was Jesus led Up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

This little word is, “Up,” opened a whole new door for me into the life of Jesus. During this revival, from the beginning, the Spirit of God has been calling us to “Come up Higher.” It is a call that had been birthed deep into our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God. We have spent years trying to fully comprehend the “Coming up,” that God was calling us to. Now, even though we understand better than ever what this means, we also realize that we have a very long way to go to be as “fully seated with Christ in heavenly places” as we have all been called to or at least learn how to “keep our seat.”

We are somewhat like the “Jumping Jack” toy - up today and down tomorrow, like our life is on some spring and in the hand of some unseen power that winds us up to release us out of our box for a moment of freedom to only find that we are being pushed back down again.

Our spiritual life should not be that easily manipulated but we still have not got all our personal warfare figured out when it comes to our own lives and the victory that we are called to walk in, regardless of whether we are up or down.

It is also really easy to “blame all of our ‘down time’ on the enemy,” when it may be God who has led us to some very tight places where we have to make some life-changing decisions.

Think on this with me: “When the Spirit of God is leading you, bringing you into a place, even to a wilderness, it is always a place of ‘going higher.’”

We don’t like to believe that the times when we come under the severest of trials that we are being Spirit-led.

Yet, this is exactly what happened with Jesus. Matthew 4:1 reveals that Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Wilderness times are dark places where doubts arise. It is a place where your mind is under siege by the thoughts that were born in times of questions and fear where it seems as if the heavens have become brass over your heads.

Why, it was only yesterday that you enjoyed the warm season of refreshing and the river of God washing over you.
It was only yesterday when the heavens were open and the Dove lit upon you.
It was only yesterday that the Father’s pleasure was expressed you as He manifested His love and favor.

Within a heart beat our world can take a turn from this place of “seeming favor” to being in a place where we now wonder if God even loves us or even knows we are alive.

With Jesus, one day He was in the Jordan River being baptized, the Spirit of God descending upon Him and the heavens opening and the Father speaking His favorable report over Him and before you know it, He was right in the middle of a great trial!

· Where did the open heavens go?

· Where did the Dove fly to?

· Where did the favor of God disappear to?

This is where our natural eyes are prone to deceive us because, right after that, the same Spirit that had just lit upon Him was now leading Him “up” into the wilderness.

You may say, “Well, if this is what it means to be Spirit-led…I can hardly believe that God would lead me ‘there’. If God’s favor is upon me, then He will not allow the devil to bother me like that. After all, I am a child of the King and King’s kids don’t suffer!”

Others will be sure to minister their doubt about your standing with God also, reminding you that you must have done something wrong to have fallen out of favor with God – somewhat like Job’s condescending comforters.

Well, the good news is this – you are probably right where you need to be – experiencing the leadership of the Holy Spirit, right into the middle of “a trial of your faith” – a testing time – not to “see if you are going to make it,” but to make sure that you will make it when everything is not so great!

These times build character in you – moral fortitude – faithfulness – strength – and the Christ nature that we all need.

Did the Lord not call us to prepare?
Did He not call us to purify ourselves?
Did he not call us to come up higher?

There is no better way to do this than to face the wilderness where you will walk by faith and not by sight.

The wilderness is a definite time of testing, sharpening, and purifying us through obedience and submission and disciplines in order to prepare our lives for ministry.

If anyone is to be used of God, the Spirit of God will lead you “up” into the wilderness to be tested. The same Spirit that captured our hearts on the “mountain top” will also lead us “up” into the wilderness.

“The Father’s pleasure” expressed under an open heaven to you is still there when it “seems” the heavens have closed over your head.

He is not saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” one day and changing His mind the next day. He loves and favors faithful servants. Just because suddenly we “feel alone,” and “are struggling” and we can’t “feel God” or “see any manifestation of His presence or favor,” or the enemy “seems” to be everywhere, we can’t turn inward. We must turn upward, to that wilderness where He called us “up” to be tested. This is part of God’s favor, believe it or not!

Jesus was not “in with God” one day and “out of favor” the next day.

He was still God’s “beloved Son in whom the Father was well pleased.”

We miss the point that, “The Spirit never leads us down, away from Jesus,” but always leads us “upward, to Jesus!” Our eyes deceive us into looking at our surroundings and circumstances and losses and miss this “Father-filtered” moment in our lives when the Spirit leads us “up” into the wilderness.

Yes, the enemy comes to you in this place because he’s trapped in the lowest level of living in the eternal dry places – but his dry place is not yours.

You’re just passing through!

There’s nothing like passing through the middle of the enemy’s camp and not even having so much as a scratch on you from the encounter.

Even though you are down, you’re “up.”
Even though you’re thirsty, you’re in the river.
Even though you hunger, the Bread of life is yours.
Even though you feel as if your feet are slipping, the Rock of your Salvation is yours.

The enemy will try to drag you down from the “upward pull” that the wilderness has upon you – doing everything to turn this test into your defeat.

It’s all about him trying to give you “his perspective” on the wilderness instead of seeing that it is the Spirit who led you “up,” not “down,” to this wilderness.

God Bless the Faithful Watchman on the Wall of the Church!

This newsletter is dedicated and written as an instruction and encouragement to a powerful and focused group of people who have devoted their life to a life of prayer for the Church. It is written to incite them to move forward with decisiveness and purity. It is written to stabilize and align the errant things that are occurring in intercessory and church circles. It is written to break new ground in understanding our own hearts.

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"Check Point" is an online newsletter published by: "Esther Dummer." Permission is hereby granted to copy and distribute for non-commercial purposes. Consider duplicating, in its entirety, as published, and distributing to friends, relatives, pastors or your church congregation, or forward via email. It is my delight to have those who desire to use these messages to further God’s move to do so.