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Expectant Prayers ®

Jennifer Jo Weiss

Discerning

OPENING COMMENTS:

I have had several thoughts running through my head this week concerning the topic of The Lakeland Revivials and discussions that followed over at ahoosierfamily.

I was very thankful for the post because I had no idea this was even going on at the moment.   To the blog writer who brought it into the light...thanks for sounding the horn!

Many who visit sites/blogs like this are in search of spiritual insight and guidance.  We NEED answers and it is our job to try to shine some light.  Just think about the scope of people who read about such events: 

-those new to the faith (baby Christians)
-Christians who know we live in times of deception and are trying to find truth
-Christians who need to have confirmation from fellow believers
-those who are seeking to grow in the things of the Lord
-people who do not know the Lord and are curious

And so many more!!!

People are confused and looking for answers!  

Let me begin by saying, God doesn't want you to be in the "dark" concerning anything! 

He will give answers freely to those who ask and who are lead by His Spirit.  Romans 1:13 tells us that He would not have us to be ignorant.  Secondly, God is not the author of confusion or fear, but of peace and a SOUND MIND! (1 Corinthians 14:33, 2 Timothy 1:7) 

John 14:26 says that His Spirit will counsel us (think of what a counselor does... you go to them and they counsel you!)   "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

Today I'm going to cover some of the things on my heart and hopefully in the next few posts, I'll cover more on healing and miracles.
   

The Supernatural:

Anything that goes beyond the physical/natural and into the spiritual nature is deemed supernatural.  Most would tend to agree that there are different sources of the supernatural... one is always deemed good and one bad.   People (Christian and Non-Christians) seem fascinated with displays of the supernatural.  We sit and stare... like at a bad car wreck.  We aren't truly processing what we are seeing because of the nature of what we see.  It initially shocks your system.  We can't seem to look away.   The difference then becomes a matter of discernment!

 For the undiscerning, this could be a real stumbling block; a foothold for the devil.  For those who are discerning but still get caught up in the "whole experience"... distraction may be our biggest downfall.   Think about my example and how many car wrecks occur just by people gawking at an accident scene!  They lose their focus on the road and wind up wrecking, too. 

A concern in light of the Christian's walk:  Our focus becomes on the "experience" rather than God!  For the Christian, we have to take a lot of caution when dealing with the supernatural.  

Most definitely, there ARE genuine moves of the Holy Spirit today which we DO need to acknowledge, embrace, and experience.  We must use discernment so that we don't prohibit a real move of the Spirit when it's happening!!  

For the Christian:  A true move of God may be foreign to your senses, but it should not create fear.  Even though true moves of God go beyond the natural, we should not be scared, creeped out, or uneasy when the Spirit is in operation - in fact because of the nature of God Himself; these aspects would be inconsistent!    If you feel this way, then something is sending up a red flag! 

Seeing those "red flags" gets us into the area of DISCERNMENT.

Discerning the things of God:   THE HOLY SPIRIT

Of course, people need to realize that true discernment and acting upon discernment  all begins with a committed relationship with the Lord.   You must be saved/born again and be an active follower of Him.  Upon salvation, the Spirit of God lives in YOU. 

You need the Holy Spirit, otherwise people can only operate out of intuition instead of being spirit lead. 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us:

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

So, if you are a Christian... the Spirit and all of His works are available to you... including discernment.  You don't need to feel like you're not good enough or "spiritual enough" to have the Spirit working in YOU!  He's already active in your life.   We should seek to be filled with the Spirit daily and walk by the Spirit!

In this day and time, we need the Spirit more than ever!

The Holy Spirit has many functions including:  "bearing witness" to our Spirits, comforter, counselor, guides us in truth, gives wisdom and understanding, discernment, preserves our spiritual lives, adopts us into God's family, sanctifies, endues with power, convicts of sin, and regeneration.  He is the third person of the trinity.  We could all stand to have a refresher course on the Holy Spirit lest we forget about his person hood and role in our lives! 

Secondly, you must read, study, ingest, and live by the Word of God!!  The Bible is our divine, authoritative instruction manual for life.  If must reading and living by the Holy Word of God.   "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."  2 Timothy 3:16


APPLYING DISCERNMENT:

To recap, in order to use God's discernment, you have to be a Christian!  You need to knowledgeable about the Scriptures and hold all things in light of the Word of God.

Very believer is admonished to use discernment.  Scripture tells us, "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God" 1 John 4:1

Discernment is needed in dealing with people, spiritual matters, displays of the spirit, etc.

Are there real experiences that are from God?  YES there are!  Are there false manifestations of God?  YES there are!    The devil isn't going to package most things in obvious wrapping!  He'll take on the form of something godly and make it appear to be of God so that you'll take it in... hook, line, and sinker.

Most people sit and ask then:  Well, how do I use discernment?

1.)  Take all things and compare them to what Scripture says.  If it's against anything in the Word- then it's not of God. 

Clearly, not everything you encounter is so cut and dry, however.  There are plenty of arguments why things are or not allowed in our lives because "Scripture doesn't say anything about _________, so it must be okay!"  So, what do you do about those times when you're just not quite sure????

2.) Pray!  Ask the Lord to guide you in all truth  .  Ephesians 1:8  "that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will".

3.)  Listen to what the Spirit is saying!  Don't just dismiss when the Spirit quickens your heart; not His conviction, His testimony of "bearing witness", or simply if you have that urge that something may not be right!   Heed the still small voice!  IF you see a red flag,  don't begin to try to reason it away. 

4.)  Seek the godly wisdom of others!   There is nothing wrong with seeking wise counsel when you just can't seem to find an answer on your own.  Proverbs 2:2 says to "turn our ear toward wisdom and apply to our heart understanding".   Just be sure you choose a source that is proven!


BE A GOOD STEWARD OF YOUR SPIRIT!

Here's my contribution for what it's worth when it comes to discerning whether something is of the Spirit of God or not...

IF IN ANY DOUBT, FROM YOUR SPIRIT THROW IT OUT!  

People run like horses away from fruits and vegetables that they think could be contaminated with salmonella or e coli, but we just can't seem to reason when it comes to tempting fruits of a spiritual nature.  We sit and debate whether or not it's contaminated.   We, like Eve, say... well it is pleasing to the eye and it won't kill me.  We reason away the danger. 

It's like some of these modern medicines that claim 'the benefits outweigh the risks'...even when some of those risks include death.

Your spiritual condition is too important to ingest anything that could "make you sick".  Someone once said..."A little poison will kill you 100% of the time." 

 
IF we think about answering to the Lord for why we did or did not indulge in certain "spiritual" activities- erring on the side of caution is not a bad answer. 

Jesus himself told his disciples concerning the last days "guard your lives and doctrines closely" and "watch that no one deceives you".   God wants you to be a good steward of your spiritual life!

 
For people who think that they need to give it a try because they might miss something... let me share this: 

Even if you choose to not be a part (whether it was not of the Lord or even if it WAS)...

God's not going to "punish you" or "keep his blessings from you" just because you don't jump on this bandwagon or that one.  If you're committed to following Christ and seeking His will, you're NOT GOING TO MISS OUT! 

He's a personal God.  He loves you and wants the best for you and will give abundantly and freely to those who ask according to His will.

The Spirit is available to all believers, not just a few.   Stand in confidence that the Spirit who dwells in you will lead you and guide you into true discernment!  Keep on relying on Him because the more you do, the quicker you will realize when something is "of the Lord" or when it isn't.  Continuing to grow in your Spiritual walk helps this, too.

I hope this helps and encourages some of you out there who may have had questions.  As the return of the Lord draws even nearer, there will be more voices calling for us to follow.   We need to know the Shepherd in order to know His voice. 

I pray that you will grow in discernment, wisdom, truth and knowledge in the days ahead....  


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