We saw those who were led by the spirit of God are the Sons of God. Now look at this verse:
Luke 8:29 - "Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, and it often had seized him. He was kept under guard and he was bound with chains and shackles and he broke the bonds, and he was driven by the demon into the wilderness".
Notice that word 'driven'. It means to push someone, or to pressure someone. It's like you've got a heavy wind blowing you, and you can't do anything, because you've got no ability to resist it. I used to see that down in Wellington, you get these heavy winds come down through Manning Street there, and man, you'd see people there, and they're on a 45 degree angle leaning into the wind. It's quite something to watch them. If they happen to have a big coat on, and the wind catches them, then you'd see them get caught. Some elderly people, you see them get caught, and they're now up on their feet; they're being driven by the wind, quite a sight to see. If you're in a boat that's been driven by the wind, and you've got no power, that's a real problem. I've been in one of those as well! Boat, we couldn't start the engine, and the wind is driving us out to sea, and I'm on the oars, trying to pull back to shore.
That's called driven. It's a pressure, a force on you, and lots of things drive people; demonic spirits drive people. If you've got behavior that's driven or feels pressured, it's demonic, or of the flesh, just your old nature. Sometimes people are driven by their feelings. Some people are driven by negative thoughts. Some people are driven by mindsets, that this is the way I think. Some people have got strongholds in their family. We're like this; our family's like that; this is who I am. No, it isn't who you are. The first thing the Holy Spirit does, is tell you to become someone else.
Culture can drive people; people can be driven by their culture of origin. A lot of the ways New Zealanders behave, or Pacifica people behave, or Maori people behave, is driven by culture, which is influenced by spirits. You've got to discern in the culture, what is from God, and what needs to be redeemed. All cultures have got something good to offer - that's the gift of the nations to the world; but there's parts that have to be redeemed, because they're demonized. That's every culture.
In New Zealand, passivity is a big problem. Rejection is a big problem. Independence is a big issue. These are forces that people don't even realize are guiding the way they operate. When you go to other cultures, you find it quite different. For example in New Zealand, a "tall poppy syndrome" where people tear down someone who's an achiever; but if you go to America, it's not like that at all there. If you do something good, they say: good on you, mate. That's awesome! Great! Go for it! Go as high as you can! In New Zealand, its: who do you think you are? What is that? That is a cultural force, to bring mediocrity. It's a cultural force, to stop excellence excelling. It's a cultural pressure, that drives people.
As a teacher, I can remember being in a class, and the predominant pressure among that particular group was that failing was a good thing. You were the kind of big deal in the class, the lower the score you got. I said: what a recipe for failure, being driven by something designed to destroy you; but people can't see it.
We can be driven by fear. We're driven by media. If you follow the media, and read a lot of the media, chances are your whole direction of your life will follow, and the way you decide will eventually follow the course of media, which is full of fear and distortions. The news we need is what God is saying. That is the good news; everything is, it's a narrative, an opinion.
Some people are driven by a fear of being rejected, so all their decisions, and the way they do life, is based on: will the crowd like me, or will people like me? Will I fit in? Will people reject me? They're actually driven in their life by a spirit of fear - that's not being led by the spirit. Now, you can understand, if we're going to be led by the spirit, he's got a pretty big job ahead, because there's a lot of other things that are guiding us. He will work on those.