discernment of spirits, part 1

[WhiteFeather]

Two Categories of Discernment



There is a difference between the gift of distinguishing between spirits (see 1 Corinthians 12:10) and a discerning heart that is the fruit of a mature Christian life. Distinguishing between spirits is a free gift from God, whereas discernment is costly fruit. A residue of spiritual wisdom comes from rightly dividing the Word and walking with the Lord. This is what I call a discerning heart. Maturity is not simply a matter of how many years we have been saved. The writer of Hebrews refers to those "who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" (Hebrews 5:14). There is certainly a way to train our senses to distinguish the Lord's direction and plans for our lives. God wants to develop a discerning heart in us so that we are not ignorant of the schemes of our enemy.

A discerning heart is a constant source of direction and protection, while the manifestations of the Spirit occur sporadically. Many Christians like to specialize in one or the other type of guidance. We are typically either left-brained or right-brained. We are structured and analytic or intuitive and free-flowing. In truth, God wants to develop both dimensions in us.

The Greek word phanerosis is translated as "manifestation" and implies a fleeting demonstration. We should expect and believe for spiritual gifts to be manifested in our lives. But we need to be very careful about adopting an attitude that the gifts of the Spirit can be manifested on demand. If the Holy Spirit does not initiate and manifest the gift, then no one (even those through whom the gifts regularly operate) can conjure it up. This lack of "waiting on the Spirit" leads to presumption, mistakes and, in terms of spiritual warfare, bad intelligence.

What we know intuitively from a manifestation of the revelatory gifts is apart from calculated reasoning. It is a directive from the Holy Spirit that often comes without explanation when we have a specific or immediate need. If we are trying to witness to someone, for example, we might be given insight into his or her life. If a business deal is bait instead of a blessing, an inward alarm might go off inside us. The same can be said of the perfect job offer that really is not so perfect. In such cases, the Holy Spirit will just drop hidden insights into our hearts through the revelatory gifts. With that information in hand, a person with a discerning heart can then tailor what he should do or say.

The gift of distinguishing between spirits also gives us the ability to distinguish between the Holy Spirit, the human spirit and a demonic spirit. This is necessary as we receive advice from individuals or develop new relationships. It is important that we do not allow "Satan's moles" to infiltrate our personal inner circle.

Paul had to deal with these kinds of things. In Acts 16: 16-17 he discerned a spirit of divination in a woman who followed the apostles crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." People in the region knew that she was a fortune-teller, and her endorsement of Paul and Silas may very well have opened the door to confusion about the doctrines of the early Church. On the other hand, there were probably many needy people who joined the Macedonian church because of this woman's celebrity status. God can sovereignly use everything to His advantage.

The Lord did not open Paul's eyes to the real nature of this woman's compliments early on because He wanted to set her free. Satan sent her to Paul, yet Jesus wanted to free this woman from her spiritual problems. Only Jesus knows how and when to set the tormented people around us free.

Thankfully, Paul did not have to understand everything that was going on. He simply needed to be an obedient servant of Christ. His writings show that this brilliant leader was both pragmatic and led by the Holy Spirit. So one day, as this woman was loudly extolling Paul and Silas, God let Paul hear a demonic edge in her voice that no one else heard.

The Greek word used here for crying is krazo, which means "to scream or to croak" I am sure Paul felt as though she was screaming. What triggered Paul to discern this spirit was that he was grieved inwardly. The word translated "grieve" is diaponeo, which means "to toil through in the context of worrying." It implies something that is boiling inside of you. If we do not pay attention to those unexplainable inner disturbances, we will march straight into an ambush laid by the enemy.

The ultimate proof of Paul's insight in Acts 16 was that a simple prayer set the woman free. Evidently the woman's deliverance was very noticeable as it resulted in her losing her soothsaying power.



Activating Spiritual Gifts

God has equipped the New Testament Church with intelligence-gathering capabilities that will enable us to discern the schemes of the enemy. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:



There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. . . . All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.



1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11



The spiritual gifts were given for every arena of life, including the marketplace. Many strong believers have placed huge "No Trespassing" signs over certain areas of their lives. "I can prophesy in church but I cannot prophesy in the grocery store," they say. "I can receive insights from 'the Lord in a prayer meeting, but board meetings scare me," others declare.

Conversely, the Lord declares through Paul that spiritual gifts have been given to every Christian for his benefit and for the common good. I am glad that the Lord looks ahead, plans well and thinks of everything!

The gifts of the Spirit can be divided into three categories according to their functions:



. Revelation Gifts--words of wisdom, word of knowledge and distinguishing between spirits

. Vocal Gifts--tongues, interpretations of tongues and prophecy

. Power Gifts-faith, healing and the working of miracles



Primarily, it is the revelation gifts that are used by the Holy Spirit to reveal the schemes of the enemy. These gifts have been merchandized, abused and counterfeited. We have soothsayers on television acting like Old Testament prophets except that their so-called revelation comes from tarot cards or the voices of the dead. The Holy Spirit, however, gives gifts that will liberate and protect believers. Stay away from those who receive supernatural information in an unbiblical manner.



One of the most misunderstood revelation gifts is distinguishing between spirits. This gift helps us understand the primary spirit force in operation in a person's life. Let's say we are listening to someone share his feelings about a business decision or we are listening to a prophetic word in church. This gift will allow us to recognize whether this person is speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the human spirit or a demonic spirit. We used an example of Paul ministering to a woman who had a spirit of divination earlier in this chapter. He discerned that the words of praise that were spoken about his ministry were energized by a demonic spirit in order to bring confusion and deception.

The Greek word translated as "gift" in 1 Corinthians 12 is charisma. According to Spiros Zodhiates, charis means "grace," and the suffix ma means "the result of."2 Charisma is a gift resulting from grace or diverse manifestations of grace. Those grace-gifts are in contrast to divine rewards, given as a result of performance, dedication or spirituality.

In the parable of the talents (see Matthew 25), we find that people who are good stewards of God's resources may actually receive increases. The fearful man was disciplined because he buried his talent. His talent was ultimately taken away from him. The faithful steward with ten talents was blessed with more resources to invest. This is like a spiritual performance bonus. Spiritual gifts, however, are distributed in the Church to benefit the Body-not as merit badges. The Lord may warn a church not to buy a certain piece of land because of the hearing ear of one of its elders. We should not focus attention on the instrument God uses. The Church is full of imperfect people (including leaders), and the natural tendency is to formulate a kind of hierarchy of spirituality. With this kind of thinking, we disqualify ourselves as candidates for powerful gifts because we assume that they must be for special people.

These gifts function in different ways according to the instruments they flow through. The Holy Spirit rarely manifests Himself except through people, so when the gifts are expressed, they are almost always shaped by the earthly vessel. Further, we typically have to learn how to cooperate with the Spirit. No wonder Paul spent so much time in 1 Corinthians explaining how tongues, prophecy and revelation gifts work. Unfortunately, our traditions and preference for style can keep us from recognizing or receiving these varying expressions of the Holy Spirit.

Every person who attempts to move with the Spirit will experience some rejection as he matures in his gifting. Many people would not accept Jesus' teaching because He was a carpenter's son without formal theological training. He certainly did not meet their expectations of what the Messiah should be doing. By their estimation, Jesus was not even a contender. The personal background of Jesus, His disciples and the message of the Kingdom were all stumbling blocks to the Jews. This was no accident; it was a divine intention designed to veil the eyes of those who were prideful, self-righteous and self-exalting. God may also allow the eyes of people you are not called to serve to be veiled. Please do not be offended by those who do not receive you. Look for those who do.

If you do not understand that God uses people in different ways, you will begin judging spiritual manifestation by human prejudice and preference. I have been hoodwinked by people with perfect style, as well as by those with no style at all. On the one hand, personal charisma can be misinterpreted as spiritual anointing. An unusual presentation can be rejected categorically on the basis of style when, in fact, the message was inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Not all spiritual intelligence gathering is good information. Sometimes what is portrayed as a gift of discernment really is a critical, judgmental attitude toward others. When we fail to distinguish between the work of the Spirit and the work of the flesh, we again wind up hindering or quenching the Holy Spirit. We have to be able to carefully sort through the bits and pieces of "intelligence" coming in and decide what is valid, what is speculation and what is a ruse of the enemy.

 

[WhiteFeather]

Going Deeper

God does not always communicate in words. My personal experience with this manifestation has been that there will be a strange disturbance that I will sense deep within. It feels as though it is in the pit of my stomach, but it is not my stomach. It is just a deep troubling. I have this from time to time regarding situations, people and things I am going to do. This is like a red light telling me to stop and analyze what is going on. When I was growing up, my family loved to use the following phrase in this kind of situation: "There is something rotten in Denmark"

Discernment operates a second way in my life. Occasionally I will be talking with someone, and it is as though he or she begins to look like another person. I will meet someone, and he reminds me of someone I know well; let's call him John. I know Brother John, and I know his strengths and weaknesses. Over time I have found that God will do this to show me that John and this person are somehow connected. Usually it is the same weakness or the same gift in them both. What I am describing is not a spiritual form of prejudice or profiling that typecasts people. God is allowing me to see beneath the surface. Sometimes the gift is manifested simply to call me specifically to pray for someone. In other cases, this link between an honest-looking businessman and a crooked con man is a warning from God. This is a manifestation of the gift of distinguishing between spirits.

There have been times after individuals have sung in our church that I have gone to the music director and said, "Don't schedule that person to sing anymore for a while." It had nothing to do with the quality of the person's voice or presentation. There was just an inner discerning that is hard to explain, indicating that there were unresolved issues in that person that should take priority over public music ministry. God never shows me something like that to criticize a person. He is either trying to protect me, to show me how to help the person or both. Similar experiences are recorded in the New Testament:

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of IsraeL" Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

John 1:44-51

Nathanael, responding to the Lord's call to discipleship, was skeptical and actually a little caustic. He said, "Can any good thing come from Nazareth?" Jesus, exercising the gift of discernment between spirits, understood his thoughts and his heart. He replied, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." With the word of knowledge about what Nathanael had been doing (sitting under a fig tree) also came the discernment of that man's character.

Barnabas was the senior pastor of the church in Antioch. As such, he could see things that the apostle Paul could not. On their first missionary journey, John Mark deserted them and went back to Jerusalem. The two apostles had such a strong disagreement about the young disciple that they parted company (see Acts 15:36-40). There are people who are diamonds in the rough, who just need someone to invest in them. Paul ultimately came to see John Mark as being profitable for ministry (see 2 Timothy 4: 11). He became a great leader in the Church, the author of one of the gospels and, according to early Church tradition, the bishop of the church in Alexandria. Interestingly, it was Barnabas who saw the potential in Paul when no one else saw it. Paul should have figured out that Barnabas had a real gift of discerning goodness in people.

Before Jesus selected His apostles, He went up a mountain and prayed all night. Afterward He made what would seem to be some strange choices. He picked a radical, a fisherman, a tax collector and a guy who was called "the knife" (Iscariot). There is a place for skills and personality testing, resumes and references; however, no one can see into the heart like the Holy Spirit. If you want to find great people to stand with you, look for the ones whom God has called, for with His calling God also supplies grace.

I have some wonderful friends from Arizona whom I believe were called of God to start a church there. I could also see that, while the grace of God was on their lives to start the church, they did not have the grace to be pastors and maintain the work. As catalysts, they were used mightily of God. Eventually they accepted the idea that they had genuine gifts, but they were not supposed to be involved as the senior leaders of America's next mega-church. If people try to do something that God has not called and graced them to do, they frustrate the people they are trying to serve and bum themselves out. Incorrect placement of gifted people has been a mistake that I have made over and over again. I love people. When I am with someone with potential I look past their flaws, as Barnabas did with John Mark. Unfortunately, our ministries and businesses need reliable people who are able to function with excellence today-not two years from now.

If we are going to build God's team, we need discernment. For example, I reserve the right to say yea or nay in all ministry-staffing decisions. Yet because of my personal blind spots, we rely on the collective discernment of our leadership. We also commit matters to prayer, giving place and opportunity for the manifestation of the gift of discernment.

The enemy is trying to infiltrate and destroy the Church today on all fronts. A few years ago, I was told of a church in the northeast where a practicing witch got into the children's ministry. She went in and supposedly started praying for kids to receive the Holy Ghost. What she was really doing was teaching them to chant various mantras. Eventually the church was totally destroyed because nobody with discernment was standing at the gate to prevent the infiltration of the enemy.

There have been too many cases in which childcare workers have molested children in churches. Even ordained ministers have committed the most heinous acts of pedophilia. Someone in these traumatized churches needs to know what is going on, and to pray about those they assign to work with children. The safest place in America for kids will be a church that has created procedures and policies using both natural and spiritual information to screen children's workers. Unfortunately, as powerful as the gift of distinguishing between spirits is, there are those who become over-reliant upon this gift and presumptuous. In such circumstances, spiritual workers can accuse people of intending to do crimes and thus tarnish a person's reputation.

Danger: Curves Ahead

Paul admonished the young church in Thessalonica about discerning the gifts when he wrote, "Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, KJV). The New International Version reads, "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of eviL" Here are several practical applications of this text:

Do not receive anything as a revelation from God if it causes you to withdraw from the Body. Do not receive anything that does not deepen your love and compassion for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Revelations that do not move us to compassion, intercession and understanding are suspect.

Do not receive anything that increases pride in your life. Many Christian groups begin to wander away from the rest of the Body of Christ and into deception when they receive words declaring that they are The Ones whom God has chosen above all other Christians.

Satan has no hesitation about deceiving us with religious encouragement. Religious pride is still just pride, and it is a stumbling block. Do not receive anything that begins to cultivate an unteachable spirit in you.

Do not let your guard down; test everything. Depending on what kind of church you attend, either supernatural gifts or a discerning heart may be honored above the other. One can be exalted even to the exclusion of the other. I have seen the two sources of discernment compete with each other.

People who manifest the gifts of wisdom and discernment do not trust what they consider to be worldly wisdom. People unaccustomed to spiritual gifts can become very skeptical and attempt to suppress those kinds of manifestations.

We must give a place of honor in the Body of Christ to those with a discerning heart, not just the gift of discernment. This will focus our attention on the path toward spiritual maturity.

Discernment Based on the Written Word

The Word of God is the basis of all our decisions and judgments; consequently, we need to be skilled in our ability to understand and interpret it. The world is full of groups that appeal to the Bible as the basis for some strange and even bizarre beliefs. At issue are their principles of biblical interpretation. Parables, prophecies and historical narratives all have principles and boundaries for interpretation. For example, how do you interpret an event in a historical narrative such as the book of Acts? Was it a one-time event? Or will God act in that way again? Or will He always act in that way? Those are important questions because how historical narratives are interpreted, particularly those in Acts, serve as the primary dividing line between sects and denominations of the Body of Christ.

I mentioned a verse from the book of Hebrews earlier. In its fuller context it reads:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

 

[WhiteFeather]

Four Chambers of a Discerning Heart



Many people are fascinated by spiritual gifts. In fact, they often tout the accurate operation of spiritual gifts as a sign of spiritual maturity. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. The gifts of the Spirit are powerful yet fleeting. These gifts are safety mechanisms God uses in our lives as we are growing into maturity. Whenever there is a gap between your understanding of the Word and your current character development, God manifests His gifts to make you effective. The Lord wants to develop the enduring fruit of the Holy Spirit in our character. Character development is based upon a mature individual mastering four skills. Think of these skills as "chambers" of a discerning heart. To function correctly, the human heart must have all four of its chambers working effectively. Similarly, if someone is to walk in team discernment, all four chambers listed here must be fully operative.



Chamber 1: Personal and Moral Discernment



The apostle John wrote in his first epistle:



As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit -just as it has taught you, remain in him.



1 John 2:27

An old adage says that "a Scripture verse taken out of context becomes a pretext." Up to this point in the second chapter, John had been exhorting the Church to live above sin. His point here is not that we do not need teaching, rather no one needs to teach you the rudimentary principles of right and wrong because you already have an inward witness. Hebrews 10:16 states, "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." In the New Covenant, the Church is not governed by an elaborate system of laws and regulations as in Old Testament times. The Holy Spirit living within you, as a believer, enables you to understand things from God's perspective and gives you the capacity for moral discernment. Whether or not you act on the discernment is another issue.

God has deposited the capacity for moral discernment in every person who has been born again by the Holy Spirit; however, this anointing that "will remain" in you can be polluted by philosophies and traditions of men. Paul wrote about this in his letter to the church in Colossae:



See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.



Colossians 2:8



Let me share another theological principle with you. Many people have strange views about life, which they claim are based upon the Word of God. In many cases people think that they are drawing out the deeper truths of the Word, while, in fact, they may be reading their biases into the Scriptures. Scholars call the drawing out process "exegesis." This may involve the use of context, background, history and the definitions of the words in original or biblical languages. On the other hand, reading things into the passage is called "eisegesis." Sometimes when people declare strange doctrines, they are guilty of eisegesis. "Space travel is predicted in the Bible" or "My race will reign eternally supreme over inferior people groups" are erroneous conclusions based on a misunderstanding of the Word.

Thoughts in the mind can be the enemy of the Spirit in the heart. They also can be used as a defense mechanism against the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Rather than responding to the Spirit by acknowledging their sin and repenting, some people look for philosophies that excuse them from moral accountability. In an attempt to quench their own moral discernment, some people conclude that there is no God. If there is no God, then there is no absolute morality, and their conviction is only the result of social customs they can either accept or reject.



Chamber 2: Discernment of Lifestyles

Malachi 3:18 says, "And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not." Malachi says that there is going to come a day when people are going to be able to look at the righteous and the unrighteous and clearly see the fruit of their lives. God promises a reckoning day in which everything will come to light. In this present life, however, Jesus taught that we are to look at the lifestyles. In short, we discern true and false prophets by their fruit. They reveal themselves by the way they live.



Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.



Matthew 7:15-18



We live in a world in which it has practically become a high crime to pass judgment on others, no matter what they do. This represents a universal rejection of absolute morality and of the Bible in particular. You have been given an anointing to discern right from wrong. Do not be intimidated by this absurd ethic of inclusiveness and thereby allow the anointing within you to be polluted.



Chamber 3: Discernment of Times and Seasons

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not being able to discern the signs of their times (see Matthew 16:3). If you can discern when it is going to rain, He questioned them, then why can't you understand the times? The implication is not only that this kind of discernment is within our reach, but that Jesus expects us to know how to interpret the times and seasons.

Our personal lives are molded by the purpose of God for the time in which we live. The Scriptures say, "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed" (Acts 13:36). Those who live in a different time relate to the purposes of God in a different way.

I believe we are in a season where God is realigning and reshaping governmental lines both in the Church and in the world. As we discussed earlier, first comes the natural, then the spiritual (see 1 Corinthians 15:45-49). This passage refers to the first man, Adam, as a foreshadowing of the man Jesus Christ. In the same way, events in the physical realm can be either a reflection or a foreshadowing of the purposes of God in the realms of the spirit.

The Bible says, "Prom one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live" (Acts 17:26). Often the realignment of geopolitical boundaries is like God blowing a trumpet. He is announcing a new season of His interaction with the people in these areas. There are cycles in the ebb and flow of rule and authority in the political arena. The natural realignment of governments around the world, particularly in the former Soviet bloc, has been almost unbelievable. A massive revival swept the Ukraine and Russia as a result of God's redefining geographic boundaries. There has been an economic shaking and a restructuring in America as well. America's financial boundaries are being redefined. This will also have spiritual implications for the nation.

Once we have understood the times and seasons on a grand scale, we can think about local issues that affect us all. We find that even churches and ministries go through seasonal cycles-harvest, pruning, cleansing, realignment, judgment and renewal.

As we stated in chapter 7, understanding God's objectives in each season will help us maximize our opportunities. We will also set realistic goals for ourselves and others.



Chamber 4: Discernment of the Holy from the Profane



Ezekiel arose as a prophet to God's people during their seventy years of captivity in Babylon. Despite their pagan surroundings, God desired to call His people back to a place of purity of faith. Ezekiel rebuked the priests for the way in which they compromised and allowed the Temple to be profaned. One group of priests, the sons of Zadok, had been faithful to both the spirit and the letter of the law. As a reward for their faithfulness Ezekiel prophesied:



They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed feasts, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.



Ezekiel 44:23-24



In each generation, leaders have had to apply Scripture to current events and issues that have never existed before. No matter how many rules and regulations exist, people will typically find a way to circumvent the spirit of the law to do as they please. With a little creative compromise and rationalization you can actually turn the intent of any law upside down. Beginning in the latter part of the twentieth century, we seemed to undergo a cultural transformation every decade. It takes a discerning heart to interpret and teach the Body of Christ how to live in the modern world, that is, the ability to distinguish between the elements of modern culture that are morally neutral and those that are profane in essence.



Conclusion



With regard to spiritual warfare, the most common application of the gift of distinguishing between spirits and a heart of discernment is to sound a warning when the enemy is spotted. God gives a sobering charge through Ezekiel to those who stand on the wall as watchmen:



Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: "When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood."

Ezekiel 33:2-6



Discerning the movements and schemes of the enemy is serious business. People's spiritual and even physical lives can be at stake. Thank God that He has equipped us to be victorious in battle with the weapons of spiritual warfare. Our responsibility is to become skilled in using them.

Both the gifts and the fruit are designed to help us live "outside of the box." We will be more fulfilled than our non-Christian counterparts as we continue to learn how to draw upon the gifts the Lord has given us. Start seeking the power of God to lead you. The concepts of this chapter will help you begin. There is no substitute for investing the time it takes to learn how discernment will work in your life. It is a trial-and-error process. But know that, as you seek Him with all your heart, the Father is also seeking you.

Study from "The Warriors Heart" by Harry R. Jackson JR.
in rules for engaging for the spiritual war zone.

 

[HumbleBee]

Ate that up WhiteFeather! Very insightful discernment needed about discernment...

How...by the Holy Spirit, the flesh, or the devil

Why...motivated for glory of Christ, self, criticism, or deception

What...discerning God's anointing, the flesh, or the devil, despite outward appearance

When...Divinely-inspired or conjured up by the flesh

 

[walkin2e]

I was born again on Jan 3, 1987, while reading Psalm 40 out of the Bible my dear departed Mama gave me.....The LORD filled me with a thirst for His word, and I quickly devoured Isaiah that night, then Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...Immediately the LORD began to teach me to pray and called me to preach His word.

About two weeks later, I had a must unusual experience...The Holy Ghost came upon me and then I sensed the presence of evil...the hair of my flesh stood up...I began to call on the name of Jesus, rebuking the spirit, and pleading the blood (There is power in the BLOOD)...Afterwards, I had the peace of God which passes all understanding.

I was puzzled by this, and began to search the scriptures. I read 1 Corinth, Chapter 12, about spiritual gifts, and then the LORD spoke to me and told me to go to the book of Job. I did and then read the following passage: Job 4, verses 14, and 15 "Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:" This described perfectly what happened to me when I encountered the evil spirit...The hair of my flesh stood up.

Since that first occurence, I have encountered many evil spirits, and the LORD has used me to come against them, to rebuke them, and to set the captives free.

This gift is given by the Holy Spirit to further the kingdom of God.

Irvin L. rozier, a soldier in God's Army...(Matthew, Chapter 8, verses 5-13)

 

[childoftheking]

Praise the Lord for all of th insight given about discernment!