Discerning of Spirits- Eliminating False Discernment
Introduction
Last week, started a series on- Discerning of Spirits.
We looked specifically at the Gift of Discernment.
This week- safe guards against false discernment.
What is Spiritual Discernment?
Spiritual discernment is the grace to see into the unseen … Its purpose is to see into the nature of that which is veiled. (Francis Frangipane)
Discerning of Spirits is a (spiritual) (gift) that is given to men supernaturally- not natural intuition.
1 Cor 12:8-10 (How many feel have one of these gifts?)
Everyone at some level needs to exercise discernment.
Discern- to separate thoroughly, to discriminate between, to distinguish the source of something.
Is it by the Spirit of God, an angelic spirit, demonic spirit, or the human spirit.
Review
Last week- established- foundation of our Christian faith comes FIRST from the written Word of God.
The Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Word of God
Beyond the Word- HS also speaks- through dreams, visions, prophetic words-other forms of revelation.
These types of revelations are subjective and must be judged by- Word of God/Spirit of God within us.
God wants to reveal things to us- things we need for life/ministry, but will we perceive them properly?
Mtt 9:3-4
3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes."
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? NASU
Jesus perceived the thoughts of men
In that moment, God the Father, revealed to Jesus the thoughts of those men.
Jesus could accurately discern their thoughts because He had the Mind of Christ- His mind was renewed.
We must allow God to renew our minds so we also can develop the Mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:11-14 (v12- Rom 8:32)
What are these verses saying to you?
Last week- examined- how important it is for us to distinguish between discernment/human judgment.
Our discernment- often little more than judging others
True discernment will not come until we crucify our instinct to judge people/situations w/carnal mind.
We must make ourselves blind to what outwardly seems apparent- do not judge after the flesh.
We will never see clearly until the instinct to judge after the flesh is uprooted out of our lives.
Eliminating False Discernment
If you want to say something important to someone you will first try to get their undivided attention.
If we are going to hear God clearly, we must slow down and give Him our attention.
Only then will we hear and see clearly what is happening in the spiritual realm.
Psa 46:10 "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." NASU
How do we eliminate false discernment?
1. Cease striving in the flesh
When we talk about Spiritual Warfare, Discerning of Spirits is one of the tools/weapons available to us.
To effectively engage in spiritual warfare, we must …
FIRST- be conscious of God, and
SECOND- be discerning of the enemy.
All true discernment comes through a heart that has ceased striving, a heart that knows, even in the fiery trial of its personal struggle, that the Lord is God. (Francis Frangipane)
What does this quote mean to you?
It is within our own personal struggles that we become fully acquainted with God.
We come to that place where we know God, we have learned to recognize Him even in difficult times.
We learn to trust God and not jump to erroneous conclusions about life- about situations and people.
Our natural thoughts/reactions to life, people and situations will block us from hearing God clearly.
We must enter into God’s rest- He is in charge.
One reason we strive in the flesh is because we have certain thoughts on how things should be.
Jn 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. NASU
Jesus ceased striving after the flesh and submitted His heart, feelings, reactions, to God the Father.
2. Be motivated by love
I mentioned this verse last week …
Phil 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, NASU
If we are going to have clear discernment what must abound is our love for God and men.
Often discernment comes out of mistrust, suspicion, fear- always leads to false discernment.
True discernment is always rooted in a deep love for God/people- this frees us to discern accurately.
i.e. walking down lonely dark street at night. A young man is approaching from the other direction- long hair, tattoos, piercing, unkempt. Immediately you are concerned for your safety. Your immediate reaction is to judge such a person based on the obvious and superficial. For a moment lets view this young man through his mother’s eyes. Through her eyes she remembers a young boy grew up w/o a father, often rejected by his friends. She lovingly walked with him through the struggles of adolescence- there is a deep love/sympathy. He is a troubled man, thus his outward appearance. We saw him as a dangerous man because we looked outwardly and did not discern with a heart of love.
False discernment looks at people and situations outwardly and pretends it knows the inside.
Jn 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." NASU
When we are discerning things in the lives of others, if we cannot pray for them with a heart of love,
our perception will be corrupt and little more than natural judgment.
3. Allow God’s Peace to rule your heart
False discernment is often driven by an underlying force that pressures us to make a judgment
about a person or situation.
It is almost without thinking that we immediately size up a person or make a judgment about a situation.
Is there a place for intuition or first impressions?
There is some validity to intuition or first impressions, but right on the other side comes natural judgment.
A life that has revelation about God’s love, is a life filled with the peace of God.
A life filled with the peace of God now has the ability to perceive or discern things accurately,
not being driven by other motivations.
Without love and peace, discernment will always be overly harsh.
The issues of the heart are key in affecting the accuracy of our discernments.
Mtt 12:34 "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. NASU
Mark takes it a step further for us …
Mk 7:20-23
What is in us- distort our view of the world around us.
Jesus makes a profound statement in the His Sermon on the Mount sermon …
Mtt 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. NASU
It is a pure heart before God that enables us to see God clearly and therefore interpret life properly.
Pro 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.
What is in the heart colors what the …
eyes see,
mind thinks, and
mouth speaks.
Gifts of the HS must pass through the human heart.
If the heart is not right the gifts will not be expressed properly.
Col 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. NASU
Rule- to govern or arbitrate, like an umpire in a base ball game- a strike or a ball.
Conclusion
We need to carefully judge our own hearts to make sure we know what/who is ruling them.
True spiritual discernment comes out of developing a sensitivity to God in the spiritual realm, where …
Ceased striving in the flesh
God is in control
More conscious of God than- demonic
Love is our motivation
Lack of God’s love corrupts perception
The peace of God rules our hearts
Without God’s peace other motivations will govern our discernment
