|
1 Cor. 2:16 says “Who
has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him, but we have the
mind of Christ.” To express discernment from the mind of Christ, we
have to have the heart of Christ. In John 12:47, Jesus said He didn’t come
to judge the world but to save the world. His motivation was not to judge
but to rescue or save people out of death and into permanent safety. It's
not that a minister never feels a hurt but that they chose a lifestyle of
forgiveness before the other sins; they never take offense in the first
place.
2 Tim 2:24-26 describes
the true discernment: 24 “And a servant of the Lord must not strive but be
gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who
oppose themselves, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they
may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the
snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
Rev. Barbara Yoder says
that spiritual discernment is the grace to see in the spiritual
realm, to see into the heart of their spirit, to see the secrets of
men’s hearts or to see beyond the veil. The veil that keeps us from
perceiving correctly, is the veil over our own heart. Until we can perceive
ourselves correctly and deal with the impurity in our own hearts, we will
not clearly see what is in the heart of another.
Hebrews 5:1-2 speaks of
priests who have great compassion because they can so clearly see their
own weaknesses; the extent of their own need became evident as the veil was
removed from their own eyes. Carnal perceptions are typified by a
compulsion to point out how others are not getting it right. Their
motivation may be to judge, gossip or expose rather than to save, restore
and cover with the love of God. As Jack Deere said, “Any jackass can kick a
barn down, but it takes a skillful carpenter to build one.”
People will gravitate to
those who are able to confront with restorative words, without reacting
out of their own wounds and experiences. They will choose someone who is
able to minister to the root of the matter without reacting to their surface
behavior. When God calls us to partner with Him to restore another, we must
not take offense at immature behavior and must automatically forgive every
weakness.
Mark 3:28, “Whoever
shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him.”
Jesus was prepared to forgive us before we ever sinned against Him. His
mission was to give up his life so that we could have Life. Paul said we
must die daily that others might live. He died to his own right to a
natural reaction and chose to become a expression of Jesus, in the flesh.
It’s not that a minister never feels a hurt but that they chose a lifestyle
of forgiveness before the other sins; they don’t take offense in the first
place.
John 17:18 “As You sent
Me, I sent them.” We have the same mission that Jesus had; we can
choose to let Him manifest love and peace through us. We are called to have
covenant relationships where we love others with the unconditional love and
acceptance of Jesus Christ, when they need it the most. True spiritual
discernment sees the weakness of the other as an opportunity to bear them up
in prayer and will die to its own convenience so that the other can live.
False discernment is
slow to hear, quick to speak and quick to anger. They may judge by
surface symptoms and surface causes, without discerning the heart intent or
root causes of outward behaviors. They are not motivated by love and
peace. They may be unaware of the anger that is inside of them that comes
out of their own dysfunctional past or injustices suffered. For instance,
we might judge that one who is dependent on prescription drugs, when we
should minister healing to the pain and rage that is smoldering inside.
Those operating out of a
critical spirit will have a desire to expose the other’s weakness, will
attempt to elevate themselves and will forget their own deep need for the
grace of God every day. Rick Joyner says that when we sow criticism, we
reap blindness to our own faults, which in turn causes us to reap more
criticism of ourselves.
True discernment will
not gossip but may report a matter to spiritual Leadership. It will
only report the facts without adding fleshly interpretations, suspicions,
innuendos or conclusions. It is motivated by Christ’s heart of love, to
restore that person to life and godliness.
Before God can give us a
spirit of discernment, love and forgiveness must mature in us. We
cannot be used to free others from captivity, until we can be trusted not to
react sinfully to their carnality or immaturity. We cannot react to what
they think, say or do. To walk in offense, criticism or judgment is to walk
in self-deception ourselves. We cannot prevent feelings from coming but we
can choose not to add sinful reactions, which produce sinful emotions.
When we are in
self-deception about our own hurts, sins and strongholds, our thoughts
about the behavior of others are not trustworthy. Often we will project our
own woundedness or sinful motivations onto others. It's not that a
minister never feels a hurt but that they chose a lifestyle of forgiveness
before the other sins; they never take offense in the first place.
Have you noticed?
Accusers accuse you of the self-deceptions in their own life?
Prophetic people can be the
first to mistake suspicious thinking for prophetic perception if they are
operating in pride. (A wise counselor hears both sides of a story.) A
prophetic gift is no substitute for a humble heart that repents readily
and keeps short accounts with God. A tendency to “slice and dice”
others is not prophetic gifting, but judgment with condemnation. Rom 2:1-2
states, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge,
for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge
practice the same things.”
The gifts of the Holy
Spirit have to pass through the condition of our own heart as they are
ministered. God’s law says that we will reap what we sow, more than we sow
and later than we sow. If we have sown seeds of judgment and dishonor when
ministers have appeared harsh, contentious and high pressure, we will reap
that seed sown in our own ministry.
I grieve for those who
are bitter, blaming others who have not recognized their “call to
ministry.” They feel self-righteous when they judge and criticize those who
will not support their “mission.” A spirit of accusation has caused them to
think they are discerning others rightly, when they are actually projecting
what is in their own heart. Their friends and leadership know that they
will not see clearly to minister restoration until the instinct to judge,
blame or accuse has been crucified.
When we receive the
grace of God to see the log in our own eye, we will not rush to accuse
another of having a spec in their eye. When others find us trustworthy to
minister without judgment or condemnation, they will ask for our discernment
and value our insights. Can God trust us to be ambassadors of His grace to
those who have failed miserably, who justify their sin and can barely feel
remorse, much less true repentance?
To receive true
spiritual discernment, we must still ourselves before the Lord – on the inside –
as a lifestyle. We must choose to aggressively become calm and be willing to
hear His heart and mind in the situation. As we receive His love, peace and
grace, we will be able to overflow it to others. God’s desire to bring an
outpouring of great grace that will enable the church to be healed and to have
enlarged hearts that discern by agape love and will not judge by
outward behavior.
Can God trust us to take
that one by the hand – who was the perpetrator, not the victim? To
guide them to the throne of grace, where there are won by the kindness and mercy
of God? To be a safe harbors for ships which are in serious danger of
shipwreck? To be happy when He not only restores but promotes them?
If so, God will trust us
with the secrets of men’s hearts and enable us to discern the roots of
the matter. Probably, they have lost the ability to trust a
perfect God, much less fallible ministers. They don’t care how much we
know; they want to know how much we care. They need trustworthy people to help them to trust
again. When we remember how much grace it takes for God to love us, the
“unlovable” will come to us for His unconditional love and true discernment. |
