Phillipians 1:9-10, "And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment that you may approve the things that are excellent and that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Jesus Christ".
Father God, I pray that you would give us your mind today. Holy Spirit may we decrease and may you increase. Lord, let there be less of us and more of you. As this word is brought this morning I pray God that it would penetrate our hearts and that we would become wiser than when we came in this place. Amen.
I want to speak to you a message entitled "Discernment". On Wednesday nights we've been in a series about wisdom principles. Part of wisdom is the work that it does in our lives so that we have the ability to operate according to God's ways, so that we can see it clearly. Discernment is a result of wisdom. This morning I felt like just stepping outside of what we've been doing on Wednesday nights and bringing that into Sunday morning to speak on what discernment is and why we need it as believers.
I believe that wisdom is one of the greatest things that God has ever given his people. We get saved, we get filled with the Holy Spirit and how many believe we should begin to live with the understanding of all that God has put in us? So I want to talk about having a discerning heart, about what it means to be a person who walks and lives with discernment. This is not a mystical thing, this is a practical thing. The truth is in all my years of growing up in the church, I started out in The Christian Missionary Alliance Church and when I was 8 years old my Mom got baptized with the Holy Spirit and we wound up stepping into an Assemblies of God Church, and in all those years I really had heard very little preached or taught about the subject of discernment. The issue of wisdom is so important to God that he gave us a whole section of the Bible that we call wisdom books so we could gain it and understand it and have a heart filled with wisdom.
I believe that wisdom and discernment is desperately needed in the life of every believer and really in everybody's life. In our churches we put a lot of emphasis on spiritual warfare, about dealing with emotions and about having spiritual gifts. We even talk about marriage and family more than we do about being filled with the wisdom of God. The truth is if we would have the wisdom of God we would need to talk less and less on those subjects because the wisdom of God begins to impact every area of our life.
Many of the problems that we face personally, many of the problems that we're facing as a nation and in our families are because there is a lack of discernment in people's lives. So I want to talk about what that is this morning.
First of all what I want us to understand is that discernment is not a gift of the spirit. It is not something where someone could say, "I've been given the gift of discernment". Discernment comes as a result of wisdom, it is gaining that knowledge and understanding of God in our hearts. Wisdom comes from seeking God and living a life that is pleasing to God.
Discernment is having depth of insight. If you have the NIV Bible, Philippians 1:9 would read "and have depth of insight". Discernment is having depth of insight, it's an intelligence and a skilfulness of reason that comes as a result of knowing God. It is not something that God just deposits into you as a gift. It is something that you grow into as you love him and as you seek him and know him. The truth is you can tell a Christian that is in the face of God and spends time in prayer and in the word because there is something about the decisions that they make in their life that is completely different than those who do not spend time with the Lord.
Many confuse discernment with the gift of discerning of spirits. It's found in 1st Corinthians, it talks about having the gift of speaking in other tongues or the gift of interpretation or the gift of healings or miracles. In 1st Corinthians 12 it talks about the gift of discerning of spirits which is really the gift to know if someone is ministering or doing something in the power of God, in the flesh by men or if it is being done under a false spirit. The truth is that there are false prophets and people who do not serve God that do working of miracles. That's why in Africa they go to witch doctors and people may be temporarily healed by them, that even happens in America.
How many of you have watched one of those television preachers and there's a lot of good ones out there but there's been something that you just know isn't right? That's a discerning of spirits. You can tell whether someone is working in the flesh or is working by another spirit. Having discernment is a result of spending time with God and getting to know his word and understanding the difference between what pleases him and what doesn't and how to apply that to everyday life. We think people who are wise are so mystical but the truth is wisdom is meant to be used every single day. It is something that comes as you draw close to the Lord, you understand who he is and you love who he is and you begin to love his ways and understand his ways and they become applicable everyday.
Discernment is the ability to be able to apply that wisdom, to do what is right and to know what is unwise in situations. The truth is that there are right ways and wrong ways in most situations. But how many of us have ever had trouble distinguishing that right or wrong way? That is what discernment is meant to bring out in the life of the believer.
The Bible tells us that discernment is a sign of spiritual maturity. Those who know the difference are mature. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern between both good and evil". The amplified Bible says this, "But solid food is for grownups, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary to divine and human law". Many today do not know the difference between good and evil because they have not exercised their spirit or trained their life and their mind in the ways of God to know the difference. They don't know the difference between knowing what is wise and unwise. The Bible says that those who are like that are spiritually undernourished and immature.
I believe that one of the greatest things that God is speaking to the American church again is that we need to grow into him. How many of you have known people who have served Jesus and known God for a long time but they're still living like they were just saved yesterday? How many believe that if you have been saved for 20 years, you should be acting like someone who's been saved for 20 years? There should be a difference. The truth is if my sons who are now 14 and 15 years old were still acting like they were at 8 years old then I would have an issue with that. I expect that when they become 20 they are going to be acting different than they are today. They should be acting different at 40 than they did at 20. The same should happen in the spiritual life of a believer.
Many people's lives today are a mess because they have not seen the importance of training their senses to know good sense. How many know God's word always makes good sense? It is powerful and effective in our lives. J. Grady in a recent article in Charisma magazine asked this question, "Is it possible that we in the American church have been so focused on satisfying our own material and emotional needs that we have gotten stuck in perpetual infancy"? I thought that was a pretty good question.
At the heart of discernment is the ability to recognize the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. It's the ability to see that difference in situations and in people, to know the timing of things and to have the understanding of God's word and of his heart for everyday life. It's not only knowing this word inside and out for our lives but being in a relationship with God that he is directing and leading us on an everyday journey so that we are getting things right in our life. How many of you have found that God will give you an answer if you just ask for it? Have the wisdom to know it.
The truth is that many today do not know the difference between right and wrong. The world is confused. How do I know that the choice I make is the right choice? How do I know the choice that I make is going to matter? The Bible says that the end times would be confusing because people would call good evil and evil good. How many believe we are living in that day right now? It used to be very clear what was right and what was wrong but today people don't know. I've met people who have no clue. "You mean if I'm sleeping with my boyfriend , it's wrong"? Yes it is but they don't know it today. Just the basic stuff that we would take for granted as Christians, even people who have grown up in church are confused because our mind has become so worldly with what is going on around us that we just naturally put up with the things that are in front of us and now we've become confused. They don't know the difference because they don't know the Lord. What used to be universally unacceptable, today is universally ok.
Charles Spurgeon said this, "Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong, rather it is the difference between knowing right and almost right". God gives us wisdom so that we can know the difference. There is a reason why you see an urgency in this preacher's life because I believe that Jesus is coming back soon. I don't have time to waste time. I don't have time to play pattycake with Christians who have been saved forever and want to play childish things. It's time that we grow up or we're going to be left behind and I'm not willing that one person is left and I believe that should be the heart of the church. We've played games.
Isaiah chapter 5:20-21 says this, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight".
Woe to those who don't know the difference. There's a mixture and they can't tell what they're eating anymore. Those who have discernment are experts at recognizing good and evil, right and wrong. Those who are wise, those who have discernment do not deal in shades of gray. They see that God is light and in Him there is no darkness. Discernment will always lead to discretion. Those who are discerning listen to that voice of uncertainty in their life and when they want to make a choice or decision and they aren't sure, we call that a check in our spirit. Discretion says, "When in doubt, don't".
How many of you believe that God will lead you even through the basic things? My wife and I are going through our 3rd year living here in Jupiter. When we moved we had some savings and we started to look at buying a house. We've been renting since we came here. When we started looking for a house the Lord said, "Don't buy". I said, "But Lord, I'm planning on staying". He said, "Don't buy". So I didn't. How many know that about two or three years ago I didn't buy? But now I'm going to get a good deal on a house pretty soon. Hallelujah!
Listen, here's the truth, you've got to listen to God. There is a time to do that. There is a place to hear his voice and to understand. There is right and wrong in every situation from the most basic choice we make to the biggest decision we might ever have. If there is a check in your spirit, don't do it. You may be going to get into a busines deal with someone and it seems good to you but inside there is that check of God that says, "Don't do this". If you're supposed to make a decision or whatever it is, you gain wisdom having talked with God and known the Lord and begin to listen to what he's saying and speaking. Discernment will always bring discretion.
Those with discernment are wise in their relationships and in their dealings with people. First, when they're dealing with situations they recognize that they need to hear the whole story, both sides. When dealing with people and with problems they don't jump into things. How many of you have found that those with discernment will watch what's going on and will always be patient with what they're doing? As a matter of fact, Proverbs 18:13 says, "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him". Why? Because before they've heard the whole thing, they jump into a conclusion or they make a decision without all the information.
Wisdom understands that I've got to know this, I've got to know what God is doing. I'm seeing things in people that aren't lining up, I'm not rushing into things. We are instructed to weigh people and situations by the word of God. 1st John tells us to test the spirits to know whether we are dealing with the spirit of truth or the spirit of error. Many times this takes wisdom because something may seem right at the very outset but really it is not correct, there is something wrong with it. I've seen so many Christians going through their life saying, "I'm not sure". There are many people that think wisdom and discernment is so mystical that they could never grasp it and it's not. How many understand that this word that God has given us is easy to understand and the parts that we don't, he will explain it to us. He will give us insight into people and into life through his word and through his speaking to us daily.
Discernment recognizes good fruit and bad fruit. When we're dealing with people or with ministries or with business deals or situations, discernment understands the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, good fruit and bad fruit. This is the heart of what discernment really is. Yes, it's a judgement call to know the difference between good fruit and bad fruit but there is a difference between a judgement and being judgemental. How many of you know the difference between an apple and a banana? The truth is you should know the difference between a man of God and someone who isn't a man of God. You should know the difference between someone who has your best interests at heart and those who don't have your best interests at heart. You should know the difference in a business situation if you're ready to get into business with them, those who are yoked together with God and those who aren't. Those of you who are single and are about to get married should know the difference between those who are serving Jesus and those who aren't. They might put on the front but you've got to know who they are with discernment. God will begin to show you and if you aren't sure what you're looking at and you can see some bruises on the fruit then there's something wrong and you need to be careful what you get into.
1st Thessalonians 5:21 says, "Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good".
Discernment forces us to draw the lines and this is not just judgement but it takes Godly insight. Those who are discerning recognize things in other people because they have spent extensive time examining themselves. Those who are wise have received the discipline of God. The discipline of God is a marvelous thing. There are times we will kick and scream, there are times I can see it coming, there are times when I know I'm trying to do my own thing. How many of you have ever been there? You're doing your own thing, you know you're doing your own thing and you can tell that God knows you're doing your own thing. It's like when my kids see me coming and they know that they're wrong, they know Dad is on his way but they still just can't help themselves. Those who are wise, those who have discernment have been in that same place with God. How many of you are thankful that you have a loving father whose discipline is meant to shape you and mold you so that you are more like him?
It is in those times of discipline, in those times of honesty and reflection where we have gotten before God, where we have read his word and we've prayed, "God, I need you to do something in me". There's a price for wisdom and that's discipline but that discipline gives us insight into others and the right to speak into their lives because we ourselves have been tried by God and have had to face ourselves in all our ugly glory. In honesty and in repentance we have seen the goodness of God as we like children have struggled against what he is teaching but have begun to obey and now because we've obeyed have grown up into maturity. How many know it's ok to know you're mature in the Lord? That doesn't mean you're mature in every area? There are always still areas where we can grow in. Every once in awhile my wife will look at me and say, "If the people could just see what you really are like every once in awhile?" And you know what? She's right, sometimes in all my goofy glory, sometimes in just the ugly that I've got in me, but those who gain discernment have gone through the tic tac moments of life. I call them tic tac moments because sometimes you've got to check yourself. How many know you can't smell your own bad breath but everybody else around you can? God is telling you that it's time for you to have a tic tac.
Galatians 6:4 says, "Let every man prove his own worth". 1st Corinthians 10:28 says, "Let every man examine himself". 1st Corinthians 11:31 says, "If we would judge ourselves we would not be judged".
The price of discernment is that we deal with our own secrets, our own sins, our own attitudes and then we allow God to deal with us. I thank God that I'm not the same today that I was when I was 20. I thank God that I'm not the same pastor today that I was when I was 26. The truth is that God has to come in and we have to pay that price. It's amazing the insight that we have of others when we allow God a close inspection of our own life. Once God has dealt with us then when we have to deal with other people and we go to help them and encourage them, we will never do it with a self righteous prideful attitude because we will know that the only reason that we're anything is because God set us free and changed us. Then we have the right to speak into others lives.
There is great pain and great understanding in self introspection but the truth is it will bring such compassion and such love in the knowledge of what's going on with other people and how to operate in those things. We'll know the difference between right and wrong because we've begun to see it in ourselves.
Those who have discernment are able to recognize times and seasons. Those who have the wisdom of God will see the times and seasons that they are in, in their own life. They'll notice the times and seasons in the life of their spouse and kids and in the life of a church, even in the life of a nation. They'll know if a time is from God or if it's an attack from Satan, If it's in a time to advance or in a time to retreat. Those who have discernment will recognize when God is up to something or when Satan is trying to come in as an angel of light and trick you out of God's best. Remember to know the difference between right and almost right. How many of you have ever noticed that sometimes when God was doing something you thought it was the devil? How many have ever had the devil doing something in your life and you thought it was God? Satan will come as an angel of light and we need to know the difference.
In 1st Chronicles 12:32 it talks about the sons of Issachar. It says, "The sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do". These were men who knew this is what God's people needed to do and when they needed to do it. I pray that we will be like those men of Issachar, those men who sought the face of God, who knew the times and the seasons.
Matthew and Luke talk about those who in the last days can discern the weather but not the signs of the times. Those with discernment recognize seasons of life, they recognize the season that they're in and how to live in it. Those with discernment know how to handle the wet and dry seasons. Let me ask you, America has entered into a season, has God showed you how to live through it? Or are you just faking your way, hoping you make it? The truth is, Christians with wisdom, who know the word of God where God is at work inside of them, will be able to go through these seasons and do it with class and with grace. It doesn't mean that you'll be unaffected by the season. How many know, If you step out into the rain, you're going to get wet? But God will help you and he'll also give you the good sense to protect yourself when you need to.
Do we see the seasons spiritually that our world is entering into? I want to tell you very plainly, I believe that we have entered into the last days. Jesus could come back at any minute and I'm excited about that. He could come back before I finish the next point and I'd be just as happy. There's this new song out by Kenny Chesney, "Everybody wants to go to heaven but they don't want to go now". That's not a good song. They don't want to go now because they want to keep doing their thing. I'm ready for Jesus, are you? The nice beaches of the Caribbean aren't anything compared to what God has for us. "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has entered into the heart of man what God has in store for those who love and trust him".
I want you to hear me, my last point is this, God is not pleased when spiritual leaders compromise or refuse to teach how to be discerning. Who are spiritual leaders? Parents, Pastors, Sunday School teachers, National leaders. God is not pleased when they will not teach people how to be discerning. One of the reasons why we see in America and around the world that people don't know the difference between the unholy and the holy is because those whom God has put in leadership will not speak it anymore for fear of being unpopular and misunderstood. The truth is, I found out a long time ago and I thank God for those Pastors before me that were Godly who said If you will preach the Word of God, at some point you're going to be misunderstood and you're not going to be real popular.
Parents, you aren't called to be popular, you're called to be a parent. There is a difference between a buddy and a Mom and a Dad. If you don't know the difference come see me and I'll counsel you through it.
Ezekial 22:25-26, "The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people, they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have violated my law and profaned my holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them".
Ezekial 44:23 says, "And they (the priests) shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the unholy and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean".
In the attempt to stay relevant and to be positive, many of our leaders have neglected to teach what is holy and unholy and people today don't know the difference. As a matter of fact, when we started out talking about what is holy and unholy, many Christians in the church who lack discernment say, "I don't believe that because this is what I want in my life". Here me now, there is a difference between what is pure and what is impure. There is a difference between what is pleasing to God and not pleasing to God. There is a difference between the unclean and the clean, and right and wrong.
The truth is that those with discernment understand that the basis of every decision that we make must be what is wise, what is unwise, what is right and what is not right. When we make those decisions, those decisions will affect every area of our life, from the music we listen to, to the person we vote for, to the things that we permit into our life, whether it is clean or unclean. We have churches right now that on this day are being taught by homosexuals and people are saying that it's ok. That is unclean. There are people today that are condoning all kinds of relationships that are not ok. People don't know the difference and they don't want to hear the difference, but discernment understands.
Someone a couple months ago told me they got into a house they couldn't afford, the payments had gotten bad so they just packed up, left town and left the house sitting. How many know that God understands if you got yourself into a situation but if you got in, God will give you the wisdom to get out and to do it godly. There is a way that is right and there is a way that is wrong. There is a way to live for Jesus. There are many who have gotten themselves into situations where they said, "I didn't see that happening". And Jesus said, "If you'll obey my word, I will give you the discernment so that you can see what is pleasing to me, what is right and what is pure". I want to tell you church, we will have discernment. It will help you to know how to deal with your children because God has dealt with you. How many of you now see what your kids are doing because you did it yourself? That's discernment. I always look at my kids and say, "You can't get away with that because I invented it". But I know what's coming and I need to teach that to them. If I do this then this will happen, If I begin to get involved in this then this is what is going to take place. God begins to give us that understanding because we understand what his word says or we've been alive enough that we've seen things take place. Instead of just doing our situations and not growing from them we've taken in that information and now we know how to act. Maybe one situation taught us for another one that might be different but that same wisdom then applies. How many of you have found God to be faithful? Discernment, what is pleasing, what is holy, what is right. God is raising up a church.
I know sometimes when I preach like that and I get pretty strong on some things that there are some people saying "Amen" and others saying, "I don't know if I like that". This is the standard, not the world's wisdom, not the world's ways. The truth is as we grow in maturity in the Lord we can live in that blessing of God because we apply the wisdom of his life and we will always be in a place that is pleasing to him. My prayer, Christian, is that we will never be caught without the wisdom and the discernment of God but that we will live in His fullness and apply it to every area. If we do we'll never be steered wrong. Amen
