Discerning of Spirits 1 Corth . 12:10 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: Acts 16:16-18 16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 1 John 4:1 1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Matthew 24:24 (KJV) 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Introduction: We as the people of God must be aware of the works of the enemy. He is very cunning and deceptive. What is discerning of spirits. Discerning of Spirits is a revelation manifestation of the Gift of Holy Spirit and God revealing to you information about the presence or non-presence of spirits. This information is usually regarded as concerning demons AKA devil spirits. But it also includes the presence or non presence of angels and of the holy spirit. The definition of “Discerning” is: To perceive with the eyes or intellect; detect. To recognize or comprehend mentally. To perceive or recognize as being different or distinct; distinguish. Another way of saying it is that you are perceiving spirits, detecting them, recognizing and mentally comprehending their presence ONLY through the Gift of Holy Spirit. Discerning of Spirits is not guesswork; it is not going on your own past experiences and it is not based on your education, your intellect or expertise in the matter. Discerning of Spirits is very similar to another manifestation of the Gift of Holy Spirit called Word of Knowledge. Whereas Word of Knowledge is wide in its scope of information, Discerning of Spirits is very specific in its function. Since they are so very similar, meaning that you are receiving knowledge in both of them, the question arises, “Why has God made a similar but separate and distinct manifestation just for dealing with spirits?” The answer is because it is THAT important! It is literally about life or death. It is the most vitally important information you could possibly ever need from God in order to survive. The Spirit Realm The spirit realm existed long before the physical realm and still exists today. It is all around us. Spirits are real, they are very real. The spiritual realm is infused with the physical realm in which we live and has a deep influence on it. These influences range from good coming from God such as the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-22, “Love, Joy, Peace, Endurance, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Self Control”. And we are subjected to bad influences from the devil. What are some of these bad influences? They are works of the flesh known as pain, suffering, anger, hatred, sickness, and yes even death to name just a few. You can see this influence in nature, both in animals and in natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, fires and hurricanes. But you can see the influence on people especially well. Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. That means we are wrestling with demonic powers. We must keep in mind that not everything that happens is because of a spiritual influence. Our planet is an active living place, and things just happen in the due course of living. However, there are times when people and/or natural events are influenced and even amplified by the spiritual realm. How do you know the difference between normal due course and spiritual influence? With Discerning of Spirits! Although the spiritual realm has a huge influence on the physical world, it is not easily perceived as such with the five senses. Among non believers, and unfortunately a lot of uninformed Christians, this influence is known as the Law of Attraction, and the favorite pet peeve “God’s Plan” among many other names. There are way too many people in the world who dismiss this spiritual influence as trivial or even ignore it completely. That can be a very deadly mistake. There are many different kinds of “spirits” in this world, including angels, devil spirits, and the Holy Spirit found within Christians. All people, Christian or not, will encounter many different spirits throughout their lifetime, whether they recognizes them or not. Through the manifestation of Discerning of Spirits, God is able to inform the Christian if that person, thing or situation is under the influence of a demonic spirit. Because of the spiritual battle that rages around all of us, the most common aspect of Discerning of Spirits is dealing with the demonic forces of this world. We are all involved in a spiritual war and Christians are behind enemy lines. That is why God singled out Discerning if Spirits as a separate manifestation from general Word of Knowledge; because it is THAT important. Conclusion 2Cor 2:11 "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 00:24:01 +0000
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