WHO OR WHAT IS LEADING YOU 

EXODUS 13:17-22; EXODUS 32:1-4; NUMBERS 14:1-4

          When we go back and look at the Children of Israel in Egypt we will find that they begged God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to deliver them out of Egypt.  In Exodus 3:7-8 God said he had seen their affliction and had heard their cry and thus had come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians.  In Exodus 13 we read that having delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh God picked a route for them to follow.  He led the people by way of the Red Sea not through the land of the Philistines.  The Philistines would have been a huge stumbling block for the people.  So God led them during the day by a cloud that would give them cover from the heat and at night by a pillar of fire that provided light and heat.  He led them in a manner that was visible for them so that there would be no question about who was directing and leading them.  But at every obstacle, every difficulty along the way, the people would mumble grumble and complain and look for a reason and an avenue to return back to the bondage from which they had already escaped.

          When we get to Exodus 32, Moses who the people were always complaining to and about, had been up on Mount Sinai talking with God and receiving the Law from God.  The people felt that he had been gone too long and may not even be coming back.  So again they begin to think of returning to bondage.  They make a golden calf and declare it to be the god that had delivered them and in verse one they request that Aaron make gods to go before them.  In other words, that he make gods to lead them.  Where were these gods to lead them?  Back to Egypt, back to bondage. 

          In Numbers 14 even as they are on the brink of the Promised Land they because of their fear began again to mumble, grumble and complain and to seek to return to Egypt.   In verse 4 they say, “And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”  The captain they are proposing to make is an idol which will go before them into Egypt to show their willingness to accept the Egyptian way.  The people had been led by the almighty God to freedom and now they were seeking to create an idol to lead them back into bondage.  The title of this morning’s message is “Who or What is Leading You”.

          You see depending on who or what is leading you will also determine your destination.  When God was leading the Children of Israel it was to the destination of freedom.  But when they wanted to follow an idol, they were headed back to bondage.   So today really consider who or what is leading you and where is your destination.

PROVERBS 14:12

          The way seemed right to the man.  Do you know why it seemed right?  It seemed right because it was what he wanted to do.  This man is being led by his own selfish desires.  When it is something that we want to do and especially if we can not see where our actions would be hurting anyone, then we don’t see anything wrong with our actions.

MATTHEW 7:13-14

          I believe that the narrow road is God’s will and that it is our commitment to staying on that road or in the will of God that will lead us to life eternal.  The wide way with the broad road is the will of man.  It is broad because we all have our own will our own desires.  And so as each man chooses to walk by his own desires we pave the road wider.  There are many who refuse to choose God’s will and rather they to continue walking in their own will and thus rebel against the will of God.  These are being led by their own desires straight to destruction.  If you are calling yourself a Christian and finding that you are consistently choosing to surrender to your own desires, check yourself.  If you put your desire in front of God’s will then you are on the broad road and that road only leads to destruction.  Commit yourself to getting off the broad road and getting over here on the straight road where you belong.

PROVERBS 16:18

          One reason that one who is on the broad road may find it difficult to leave that road is because he may have too much pride to seek the help that he needs.  The verse said “pride goes before” so pride is leading and it is leading straight to destruction.  Sometimes we will have a problem or an area in our lives that we know to be outside of the will of God for us.  Sometimes we don’t want to stop and thus we are in active rebellion against God.  Sometimes we want to stop and are seeking God and using every resource He presents to assist us in gaining deliverance.  However, sometimes we deceive ourselves into thinking that we can stop anytime we get ready and thus it is really not a problem.  That is pride talking.  If as a Christian you know that you are outside of God’s will, if you intend to stay a Christian and you can stop on your own, then why don’t you.  More than likely you cannot stop and your pride will not let you admit it.  If you are truly committed to God and you can stop, then do so.  But don’t let your pride keep leading you to think and say that you don’t need help if you can’t stop on your own.  Your pride will lead you to destruction.  The question today is what or who is leading you?  Are you possibly being led by selfish desires or maybe by pride?  Those who think that they have it all together and don’t need God should recognize that this thought pattern is a form of pride.  Man should not think more highly of himself than he aught.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-6

          We can tell from this scripture and the way society is today that we are certainly in the last days.  For sure people love pleasure more than they love God and what is sad is that even many of those who call themselves Christians, born again and saved are among those who love pleasure more than they love God.  But verse 6 says that we can be led by divers lusts, which means many kinds of lust.  We can lust after riches.  We can lust after pleasures that gratify the flesh.  We can lust for fame, power, position and authority just to name a few, and each of these lust can lead you.  Lust for riches can lead you to jail.  Lust for fame can lead you to moral decay and loss of values.  Lust for power, position and authority can lead to a lifestyle of lying and deceit.  Who or what is leading you?

JAMES 1:14-15

          Lust draws us away from the straight and narrow road, that which is the will of God, and lead us to the broad road that leads to destruction.  Lust grabs our attention and then entices us to follow it, straight to sin recognizing that sin will eventually lead us to death in some form or fashion.

Who or what is leading you?  We must examine ourselves and make sure that we are not being led by any form of lust because lust will only led to sin and death.

2 PETER 3:17

          Peter here urges that we who already know the Lord be careful lest we be lead away with the error of the wicked.  The error here being spoken of is that once one becomes a Christian he or she is free to live as they choose.  Of course receiving this error as truth will lead one off of the straight and narrow path to the broad way of destruction.  I say almost ever week that God has a standard and each man who expects to make heaven his home must live the standard that God sets.  Christians no longer belong to ourselves and it really does not matter what we want or what we want to do.  We belong to God and only what God wants matters.  We must deny our own self wants and take up the cause or cross of Christ and carry it.  Our cross reveals itself when our will conflicts with God’s will.  Will we at that point deny ourselves and choose the will of God, the straight way.  Do not deceive yourself and be led in error to believe that we even as Christians can choose with our free wills to do as we want.  Because though we still have free will, God’s will is that we surrender our free will to do His will.

ROMANS 8:14-16

          The true child of God is being led by the Spirit of God.  He or she is not being led by the spirit of bondage into bondage, but rather is being led by the Spirit of freedom into the family of God.  The true child of God is being led by the Spirit of God who knows the will of God and thus according to Romans 8:27 makes intercession for us according to the will of God.  He prays for us to stay in the will of God.  He leads us along the straight and narrow way and prays that we will follow.  He can tell when we are following because according to Galatians 5:16 when we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  In other words when we are following as he leads we will deny the flesh and all of its lust desires.  The Spirit of God has as His mission to lead us to Christ and He can tell when we are following because according to 2 Corinthians 3:18 when we follow him in submission we are changed into the image of Christ, from one glory to the next glory.  When we follow as the Spirit leads our lives will completely glorify Christ.  Who or what is leading you?  If we see any area in our life that is not glorifying Christ, then the Spirit of God is not leading in that area and we should investigate to see what spirit is leading in that area.  There are many spirits charged with leading us off of the straight and narrow way that leads to life and onto the broad way that leads to destruction.  Who or what is leading you and where is its destination?