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About Us
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SPIRITUAL SENSATIVITY-DISCERNMENT |
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These questions were in response to the Morning Light – October 28th.
2008—
(1) how does one "train themselves" to listen to the Spirit of God
(2) this gift of discernment is a gift from God--how does one receive it and know that it is working in his/her life. Training ones self to listen to the Spirit of God is a discipline. It requires time, focus and a submissive spirit that grows from an unquenchable desire to know God. Discernment is a gift—a gift of God’s grace therefore something that is held in God’s hands and according to His mercy. [Ephesians 1:8]—God is always talking, always guiding. Paul said the mystery of God’s grace is abounding TOWARD the saints. But that statement allows for the fact that a person has been ‘SET APART’ for Him since that is the simple definition of saint—one who is ‘set-apart’ for God.
To know God one must: First know about Him---faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God—and so also does discernment. Knowing the ‘acts’ or miracles or hearing a testimony of how wonderfully He moved to ‘heal, deliver, save etc. is only the doorway of intimacy with the Father. Knowing the WAYS of God creates a relationship with God that develops discernment in every situation. When something does not ‘line up’ with the Word of God then there is a twisting of truth, followed by justification to make God’s Word fit the situation rather than a situation ‘fit’ God’s Word.
The Work of the Holy Spirit within man is the ‘homing’ devise that warns the Christian that error has just been made, or he’s going the wrong way, at the wrong time or with the wrong people. Godly character is grown through roots of integrity [truth] the fruit of which is discernment and it is ‘grown’ it is not a quick fix, it takes time—Two basic requirements of Godly leadership is obedience and discernment. Without it multitudes will follow the ‘pied piper’ down the slippery slope to destruction. God looks on the heart—if something is not yet fully developed then He will---make up the difference only if the heart is turned toward Him. Man must work out what God has worked in—a ‘gift’ has to be unwrapped, it has to be understood as to usage and then it has to be used or put into action before one is familiar with why it was given or how it works.—this is the process of development and maturity. A natural parent releases a young man or woman to begin to make their own choices some will be right some will be ‘off kilter’ a wise parent allows the process unless or until the child seeks to know the wisdom of the parent and turns to ask! A parent may shout, cajole nag etc. but until the young person wants to know what the parent’s wisdom and counsel is, the young person does not nor can he/she hear. Our heavenly Father works in similar ways---discernment is within the maturation process of one growing in Grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ [2 Peter 3:18]----Christ becomes the power of an individuals personality—his attitude—he’s ability to know and understand truth giving him/her discernment of spiritual things. The gift of Discernment is one of the nine gifts owned and operated by the Holy Spirit they do not belong to man but to God. His agency [The Holy Spirit] distributes these gifts to the Body [to the corporate group] for the common good [1 Corinthians 12:7] This is not a gift for the individual to take to himself—man does not take ownership of the gifts of The Holy Spirit] Discernment is just that [it belongs to the Holy Spirit and is distributed by Him when the Body of Christ is yielded and humble, operating in a submissive, teachable spirit. Individual lives then influence society for the common good. Too much noise creates scales on the ears of those who never know the wonder of silence. You have to go beyond quietness and through the doorway of solitude to reach a dimension where the voice of God is all that is heard. This is where the development of a hearing heart [discernment]begins. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not separated they grow in the presence of God like a cluster of grapes. You cannot move in wisdom without knowledge and the two working together when applied by experience produce understanding and discernment.
The gift of Discernment is given like every gift ‘in seed form’ it is produced and developed fully through intimacy with Jesus Christ. Man is spirit, soul and body, life for the Christian flows from the spirit—discernment then effects every dimension a] in the spirit where He bows to the will of God and humility is developed, b) in the soul—where his mind is transformed to respond with the mind of Christ. c] in the body—with physical manifestations. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time or hearing/seeing the wrong thing can made a Christian physically nauseated. To know discernment is to have supernatural peace as a benchmark of life. This has a bottom line and it’s always simple….Jesus said, “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. To grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ is always the answer to every question and the solution to every need. ~ Diane
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