Today, we kicked off our gathering with a little game. We presented what appeared to be normal Oreos…. But one Oreo had toothpaste. One lucky… or unlucky student…. Had to examine the two options and discern which had toothpaste and which did not. If they didn’t have discernment they chose wrong.
Discernment is one of those things that we are called to have. Romans 12:2 challenges us with this idea:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We are all called to operate in this manner with everything. In the game, students got up close to the objects, smelled them, and examined them. They tested it to the best of their ability without touching it to discern if the objects were regular Oreos or toothpaste Oreos. These are logical things that we do, but 1 Corinthians tells us that there’s a specific spiritual gift. This is found in 1 Corinthians 12:10
[spiritual gifts are given] to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits…
Today we are going to break down what this gift is.
The Gift of Discerning of Spirits is the god-given ability to perceive or distinguish the spiritual source behind different things. There are 3 sources for all things.
1 – God/Holy Spirit – John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and Truth.” With this, we not only have the Holy Spirit speaking or doing things, but you also have God’s angels doing things.
2 – Satan/Demonic Spirits – Satan was once a spiritual being that was cast out of heaven. Ezekiel 38 describes Satan’s downfall caused by his pride. Interestingly enough, Jesus refers to this in Luke 10:17-20 when he rebukes his disciples for being prideful about their operation in the gifts of the Spirit.
3- Humans – We don’t think about this often, but 1 Thessalonians tell us God created us in 3 parts: spirit, soul, and body.
Things that come from God, obviously, lead to life everlasting. They lead to peace. They lead to godly attitudes and actions.
Things that come from Satan are the opposite of this. Jesus says in John 10:10 that Satan:
“…comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
Meaning his influence destroys families, lives, and anything else it comes in contact with.
Things that come from man are shaky and often emotional. It may not be a bad thing, but it may also not be a good thing. Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful. Proverbs 14 teaches us that there’s a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death. Meaning things like “trusting your heart” is not something you should be doing.
What is the purpose of operating with spiritual discernment?
- Protect and guard the body of Christ from false prophets or deceptive teachings.
- Bring clarity and direction where there’s confusion. Remember, confusion and deception are from Satan (2 Corinthians 11:12-15)
- Deliver those oppressed by demonic Spirits – Acts 16:16-18 – A Possessed girl who followed Paul and Silas around. She followed them, saying what was technically correct, but what she was doing was bringing confusion and chaos.
- Identify those who serve Satan by purposefully opposing the work of God (Acts 14:9-12 – Story where Paul and Barnabus are summoned to a man’s house to present the gospel, and a Jewish magician was there trying to oppose them. Paul could tell what was wrong and called out the issue.)
The operation of this gift, as always must be done with LOVE. It’s for the sake of love that we share truth with people. It’s with love that we share that truth.
Adventures in Student Ministry 