discernment

We just passed the time for fulfillment of an end-of-the-world prediction, and we are still here. No, there was no rapture. In fact, righteous and unrighteous alike are remaining on the earth just as before the prediction that the Lord would catch His saints away on May 21st. Though predictions like these are not new, it reminds us that discernment is very important. Jesus warned about false prophets (Mt 24:10-11), just as the apostles did. Jesus left us the Spirit of Truth (Jn 14:16-17) to guide us.

There are times when God gives people a prophetic discernment. It is a discerning of people’s hearts as mentioned in 1 Cor 14:24-25, where the contents of a man’s heart is “laid bare” so that the man will know God is there with him and in those ministering to him. There is also the gift of discerning of spirits (1 Cor 12:10), which shows a man the basis of the thoughts, words or actions of what another is doing, has done, or what has been going on that is of an unseen nature. All these manifestations of discernment are necessary to help Christians keep in the truth, and away from deception.

There is also the Issachar anointing (1 Chron 12:32) which God often gives His prophets. The sons of Issachar “understood the times, and knew what Israel should do.” The prophets with this gift know God’s seasons for the body of Christ they serve, and how the people should be prepared for service to God.

I am always happy when someone tells me that the Lord has given them the gift of discernment, for all the manifestations of this gift, whether for a prophet or a new babe in Christ have common steps of development.

• First, the person with the gift must be purified of his own prejudices so that He can see as God sees, and purged of his own agenda so that he can do what God would do.
• Second, the person with true discernment will be protected from lies, and will grow in the knowledge of the truth.
• Third, the person with this gift will grow in love. For you see, knowing the truth about a person or a situation is just the beginning of what God wants to do with the person whom He gives discernment to.

God wants to show His heart to His people. His truth becomes established when He speaks to us. If we perceive that a brother is in error, for instance, that is knowledge. Yet if we seek the Lord further for His heart concerning the brother, we enter into a friendship with God. He will show us His heart for the brother in error, and how to pray and/or minister to him.

God told me once that He was not going to give His goodies to people who do not want to be like Him. His goodies, in this case, are the gift of discernment. He proceeded to say that, if a man thinks he has discernment but does not love the one he is discerning, he will not want to pray or intercede for his brother. Because the hearts of men feel intruded upon when asked to care about others, it takes a soft, yielded heart to follow the developmental steps of discernment.

When Jesus prophesied about the end of time, He not only mentioned false teachers and false prophets, but also included the fact that the hearts of many would grow cold (Mt 24:12). You see, love causes our hearts to burn hot, and selfishness causes our hearts to grow cold. Love forms us into God’s image, and coldness prevents it, for caring about others is a heavy burden upon a selfish man’s heart.

It is interesting that those who love seem to find works of love to do, and those who do not love, don’t. In the parable of the sheep and goats (Mt 25:31-46) the ones who cared about their brother received the kingdom, and the ones who did not care, didn’t. The ones who loved became God-like, and the ones who didn’t love, didn’t. When reading this parable we can easily understand how the goats had no discernment, for their selfishness caused them to make all the wrong choices. How could God share His heart with them when they wouldn’t spend time feeding, clothing, or sheltering Him? Though they once had a knowledge of God, they grew in a completely different way than those who loved God and wanted His love in them.

Discernment. A very needed and valuable gift for the body of Christ to have, and one that will only be developed correctly by those who want to be God-like. Let us remember to seek God not only for the truth about people and situations, but to pray and intercede for them with the same heart that the Father has. Amen.