A Prosperous Soul: Led by the Spirit
(This Weekly Prayer was written by Lisa Ang, from the CBC English Prayer Ministry Core Team)
Watch James S preaching here
Last week, Pastor Paul shared that we humans are made up of different elements: body, soul and spirit. He preached of what it means to have a prosperous soul; and that God wants our soul to prosper. This Sunday, James Sudarsono built upon that message by focusing on how we can have a prosperous soul by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
James started by sharing his heart—that no matter how articulate and persuasive his preaching is; and no matter how hard he studied and prepared for his preaching; without the power of God touching the people’s lives, they will go home unchanged! Only by the power of God and the work of the Holy Spirit that the people’s hearts and minds can be changed. The sick are healed, broken relationships are restored, and they go home transformed.
1 Corinthians 2:3-5 NKJV
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
He reminded all of us to come each and every Sunday with one thing on our hearts; that we need Jesus and the Holy Spirit. As believers, we should not come to church just because of the preachers or what the church is doing, but for what Holy Spirit is doing in our lives and what God is doing in the midst of His people.
What/Who Leads Your Soul?
Numbers 11:1-6, 10-15 NKJV
1 Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. 3 So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.
4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”
10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. 11 So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness!”
The book of Numbers 11:1-6, 10-15 highlights the story when the Israelites left Egypt for the promised land:
For 400 years Israel has been bound in slavery
God raised Moses, struck the Egyptians with plagues, spared each household in the Passover, split the Red Sea, swallowed the Egyptian army pursuing them, and they were free.
Israel was led by the glory of God: cloud by day, fire by night.
Yet, after all of these, the Israelites focused on the wrong thing. Numbers 11:4 stated that the Israelites and Moses “yielded to intense craving”. Instead of being led by spirit of God, the Israelites let their situation and physical desires lead them. This caused them to grumble and complain, forgetting all the miracles that God performed in their lives. The Israelites made the mistake of letting their souls lead them! Your soul is not meant to lead you. It makes a pretty good follower, but not a good leader.
We need to ask ourselves, what or who leads our life?
Is it my career, my employer, my business, my spouse, my children, my feelings?
Is it current events? The stock market and my Robinhood or crypto wallet balance?
What determines the choices and the decisions I make?
Let the Holy Spirit Lead Your Soul!
Romans 8:14 NKJV
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
As children of God, we are meant to be led by the Spirit of God, not by emotions, not by feelings, or circumstances, or probabilities, or current events. We should focus on what God is doing.
John 14:16-17 NLT
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
AMPC: 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby)
In John 14:16-17, God promises that whatever you are facing, what difficulties come against you. There is One championing you on. There is One who fights for you. That person is the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit is not a thing. He is not an accessory to God. He is not an addition or an add-on or a buy two get one free. He is not the additional piece of Christianity and He is not for just certain believers. He is for everyone. He is at the beginning. He is in the middle and He is at the end and throughout all of eternity. Holy Spirit has the same spirit of God. He is the one who is with God the Father, with Jesus Christ. He is with and in each of you! When we know who He is, what His heart is for us, we can trust His leading.
To be led by Holy Spirit means that we need to partner with Him. We need to involve Him in our daily lives. We need to learn to listen to what the Holy Spirit wants us to do. We need to learn to obey what He says. We may make plans, but we also need to learn to pause and ask the Holy Spirit: What do you want me to do? Who should I talk to? What should I say? Should I be doing this? and so on. If you surrender the little things to Holy Spirit, it is so easy for Him to lead you in the big things.
The Results
We were not designed to be led by our own soul. We are to be led by the Spirit of God, Holy Spirit, into the things God has prepared for us. If we would just yield to the Spirit of God, and partner with Holy Spirit, we would see what God has in store for us.
1 Corinthians 2:9-12 NKJV
9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
Prayer Points
Pray that we have grateful hearts, remembering all the good things that God has done in our lives.
Pray that we will be more sensitive to hear the Holy Spirit.
Pray that we will not yield to the intense craving of our flesh; that we will stay focused and have the obedient heart to follow the Holy Spirit leading.
Be the Salt & Light
Pray for California
Pray for Godly candidate to step up and run for governor of California
Pray for California to turn back to Jesus
Pray for America:
Pray that God will pour out His wisdom upon our leaders to craft our domestic energy policy that will benefit the American people and bring down the inflation
Pray that God will pour out His wisdom upon our leaders to de-escalate the Russia - Ukraine war
Pray for Ukraine:
Pray for peace to be restored in the region. Pray for the release of truth in the region that will lead to peace
Pray for the churches and all of God’s children in Ukraine
Pray for provisions for Ukraine
Pray for the refugee camp: provisions and no infectious diseases
Pray for the children displaced by this war
May you pray, live, and be led by Holy Spirit!