We live in critical times where discernment is essential for separation, survival, progress, and growth in our Christian walk.
If there is one thing that God is bringing to light through the recent events, it is the deep darkness and the depths of deception that has crept in the church. Unfortunately, we have failed to largely discern this. If this is the case even now, then how will we be able to see and walk accordingly as the times get even darker and the deceptions even greater?
Having said that, there is the other extreme where ‘so called discernment’ has been used as a tool by the enemy to slander God’s people and as a result confusion, distrust and discord have been sown in Christ’s body. It primarily lacks the redemptive heart of Christ, nor does it have the depths of His understanding and wisdom.
There are a select few in the middle but since the rest are loud or the silent majority, we are left without a proper guiding light in these dark times!
If we are to navigate properly in the times ahead the light that we are walking in currently is greatly inadequate. We will face even greater disillusionment and pain if we continue in this pathway not willing to make the changes that are needed.
Again, on the other hand, the failure to express God’s heart in these situations is also glaring. Expressing our own opinions and thoughts or even God’s thoughts without His heart has taken preeminence. If we fail to be connected to God’s heart or do not seek His heart in times like this, we may end up representing God wrongly (an example: Moses represented God as angry when He was not and missed entering the promised land) . Discernment that does not have its roots in God’s heart can lead to course corrections that are equally damaging; veering ourselves away from the correct pathways that we are on!
In these articles, we will be looking into key truths on discernment relevant to our present times. Let us read these thoughts prayerfully asking for the Spirit to shine His light on us and on those we are connected to. As I’ve been pondering on these thoughts, I realize and acknowledge my own lack of discernment many a times and my great need for God’s continual interventions and His grace in my life.
The sanctifying work of the Spirit:
Today, there are entire movements that have either rejected or ignored this important and foundational work of the Spirit that starts in every believer from the moment of profession of their Faith. This is so crucial because without sanctification in an area, one will lack discernment there. For instance, if we have not permitted the work of the Spirit within our own lives as it pertains to marriage, we will lack the ability to discern properly when people come to us with marital issues. This applies to other areas of life as well.
Also, closely associating with those who don’t believe in the sanctifying work of the Spirit or with those that are not growing in Holiness, leads us to spiritual blindness eventually. Even more so in areas where they were openly walking contrary to scripture and we had turned a blind eye to that or had not addressed it properly!
When many leading ministries authorized ‘an individual’ publicly who was living in sin (some years back), the question that arose in many was how could they have missed the mark to this extent? One reason is that several of those ministries either ignored, disregarded, doubted, or actively opposed the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Brethren, if the Spirit is not sanctifying us, or to simply put it, if we can’t discern in our own lives our errors and the need for growth, how can we discern the same ‘in’ or ‘for’ others??
One should ask themselves, “Am I increasingly reflecting Christ in my life as each day passes by?” If not, there is something seriously wrong in our foundations and it demands our immediate attention! We need to set it right by coming before the Lord in all humility asking for His increasing light in every area of our life.
In Matthew 7:21 to 23; Jesus tells a great many that He never knew them. In that passage, the word ‘knew’ that has been used is also used in the context of a husband knowing his wife. Jesus was basically saying, “you didn’t allow me to sanctify you. You kept from me areas of your life and didn’t give yourself wholly to me” or literally “didn’t give yourself to me at all”! As a wife gives herself to her husband wholly, you didn’t give yourself (at all, not even once).
Put simply another way in the context of the text: “You knew me (that’s why you did many wonderful deeds in my name), but I didn’t know you”!
This is an area of serious concern in the body of Christ today, dearly beloved! We need the sanctifying work of the Spirit like never before. We need His increasing light in our lives as darkness increases in the world. We need God to search our hearts and intents constantly. The more His light shines in our own lives, the more discerning we become in situations around us. Then we would never be in situations wondering on how we missed? for His light has shone in us and through us lights everything that we come in contact with!
To put this truth in the right context; the more we behold Him, the more we are transformed into that same image from glory to glory! My prayer as we conclude this article is that we see God in all His Holiness and Love and grow in that knowledge of Him constantly.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
