Spiritual Gift of Discerning of Spirits…Why do we need it today?, Ep 2-33
Welcome Back! I am your host Dawn Simmons and in this episode of Conquering Our Unseen Enemies we are going to be discussing the Spiritual Gift of Discerning of Spirits. We will discuss what it is, what it isn’t and how we can use this gift in our lives. I will share some stories of discernment in my life and explain why it is so important in our everyday life.
As always in our Spiritual Gifts series we will start with the scriptures that reveal the gifts to us.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
To summarize what Paul shared, the 9 Spiritual Gifts are: wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, miraculous powers, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues.
The gifts can be categorized by what they provide to the receiver. The Holy Spirit is the giver of the gift and we, Holy Spirit filled believers, are the receivers of the gifts.
· Gifts we use out of the Power we have from the Holy Spirit are: faith, healings, miraculous powers
· Gifts we have where the Holy Spirit uses us in Revelation are: wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits
· Gifts where the Holy Spirit uses us and are Spoken are: prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues
Our discussion today is the beginning of the group of the Revelation gifts. Of the three Revelation gifts, discerning of spirits is often considered the least of the three, but I would argue that its importance is of equal value. The reason it is often considered the least is because it involves the spirit realm. By its very nature the spirit realm has to be an active participant in order for this gift to be in operation. In addition, the number of people able or willing to see supernatural realm activities is by and large a small population of the world and what is seen to some degree has to, for the most part, allow itself to be seen or the Holy Spirit enables you to see. So by the time you add together all of those factors, it could be considered to be the least of the three. My argument, however, is that once all of those factors are present, what it provides to us is immeasurably useful and so basic that we should not want to function without it. When we have discerning of spirits in operation, we can receive guidance and direction from the Holy Spirit on what He wants us doing. We will know when He is present and wants us to move in healing or just be obedient in giving a message to someone. Without this discernment, we are working in our own power. In addition to what most people know discerning of spirits provides, it can also prevent accidents, save lives, reveal evil participation. It’s incredibly important.
Let’s talk more about what discerning of spirits provides to us. The name is pretty clear as compared to some of the other spiritual gifts. With this gift, we are able to “discern” or perceive, recognize spirits by their nature. There is a bit of a misunderstanding of this gift in that a lot of times people assume it is only used for recognizing evil. If you have ever had a moment where you felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, and then you followed through with whatever He asked you to do, then you are operating in the gift of discerning of spirits.
Let’s take this a little deeper and then we will go into some real-life examples of this gift being used. First, 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to be ones who “correctly handle the word of truth” in other words, we want to make sure we are using the word to guide us correctly into truth, not twist it or use it in a way that benefits us. When we don’t know the word, we can be a casualty of listening or following someone who does this and leads us astray. Unfortunately, this has always been a problem. Even Jesus had Judas to deal with who was presenting as a follower but was actually corrupt. Discerning of spirits helps to reveal to us when what we are hearing or experiencing does not line up correctly with the word of God. Jesus correctly called out when the heart of a person is not correctly aligned and that is what is at the heart, no pun intended, of discernment. In addition to recognizing false doctrine, it will guide you to discern when someone is filled with or following evil rather than truth. This will serve you well in church, in Bible study, in conversation, anywhere in your life that you are hearing the Word and applying it to your life.
A great example of this is with Paul in Acts 16 when he was in Philippi. The female slave who was in divination, fortune telling, the same demonic activities psychics do today, Paul was able to discern the evil spirit in her which is why she knew who he was. She was following him and Silas for days testifying that Paul was a servant of the Most High God. Her knowledge of Paul came from her involvement with the occult. It was revealed to her by the demon influencing her, she did not discern it. Once the Holy Spirit allowed Paul to address her, Paul commanded the demon to leave. The demon was using this woman to interfere with what Paul was doing and therefore Paul had the ability to command it to go once the Holy Spirit told Paul to do so. If Paul had tried to command it to leave before the Holy Spirit allowed him to, it would not have worked. We do nothing in our own power, only through the Holy Spirit.
Let’s step back for a minute and clarify what discerning of spirits is not before we move forward. I think it is easy to think of discerning of spirits and assume it is associated with things like fortune telling or psychic activity. It’s not mind reading or anything psychological. We have discussed in the past that fortune telling or any of those divination activities, tarot cards, whatever it is, that’s not what discerning of spirits involves. Those activities are just demonic activities. The demons provide, transmit, share, whatever you want to call it, a manifestation or knowledge to the person. There is no testing of the spirit to discern what is of God and what is not. That is a transaction with the devil.
I want to share some examples where the discerning of spirits was priceless to me as well as unexpected.
The first one was years ago. I was on maternity leave and wanted to get out of the house and take a short walk. It was a weekday about 8am. Back then, cell phones were not what they are today, they were basic and the only one I had was for work and I wasn’t expecting any calls so I didn’t take it with me. Again, we didn’t use cell phones like we do today, I don’t leave the house without one now. Anyhow, what I did carry that day was a knife, a little pocketknife. As I walked out the door, it was by on the little table I kept by the door and I didn’t realize it at the time, but the Holy Spirit prompted me to pick it up, so I did. It was black, a benchmade with the butterfly logo. It was a cool looking knife and super easy to open. Anyhow, I did take that with me, but nothing else. I decided since it was 8 am and a lot of people were getting to work or taking kids to school not to use surface streets, but I would use this area we call a wash. In CA we have created cement riverways to collect water and wash it out to the ocean. That is a whole other discussion, but on the side of each wash is usually a walking and bike path. So let me describe this one to you in detail. This wash went through the town I was living in at the time, which was Simi Valley, as most do. It ran somewhat parallel in between two main streets. On each side of the wash were backyards. The backyards were a higher elevation, so there was a slope from the fence line of the backyard down to the walking path of about 20 feet and angled down like stadium seating angles. This no man’s land slope had trees, bushes, dirt, grass, all kids of different things along the path. It was natural, not landscaped. Then the path itself was about 12 feet wide. This particular section where I was walking was about a mile and a half with a slight curve that had a gentle bend in it about ½ mile in from the direction I began my walk. While I was on my walk, I had never walked this before and have never walked one since, but while walking I saw women joggers, men joggers, bicyclists, there were other people out. I saw one other person walking well ahead of me, a Hispanic man, older than me, about 5’7 in a white t shirt and blue jeans. At one point he turns around and passes me going in the opposite direction. I continue walking and decide I don’t think I can make it all the way to the end and then all the way back and still get to my house which was probably ½ mile from the wash. This was my first time out of the house by myself since I gave birth so I didn’t want to overdo it. I turned around but couldn’t see very far down the path ahead of me because of the curve. One thing I noticed tho as I looked around, there was no one out there but me. As I approached the curve I felt something was wrong. I knew something was wrong, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I could feel a change in my body, my temperature dropped, my hair stood up, I stopped walking to try to figure out what it was I was feeling. I knew the manifestations I was feeling was not of God, but it was also very strong. I started to take some steps slowly and look around for my best way out even tho I had no idea what was going on yet. I knew my best way out was forward, going through whatever it was because going backward was too far. I could not run fast or far. I started praying for it to be revealed to me. As I walked about 20 feet or so I saw it. The Hispanic man that had been walking ahead of me and then turned around and passed me was up hiding in a bush in that no man’s land but now he was wearing a green sweatshirt to cover his white t-shirt. He was barely visible. He was crouched over watching me, waiting. I had to decide what to do, again, the fastest way out was straight ahead so I would have to pass him. I pulled out my knife, held it up visibly and yelled something at him. It was something like, “you’re not getting me.” I walked sideways to get past him and then backwards until I was far enough away to run. We can all get an idea of his intentions, they were evil. When someone is going to do something like that, there is likely an evil presence with them and that can be discerned. Did I get some help from the Holy Spirit, absolutely in being able to discern, that was a gift given to me to use in that moment. I did turn back, of course, while I was running, only to see he had taken off his sweatshirt and was again walking down the path in his white t-shirt going in the opposite direction of me.
That was an everyday example, that saved me from something awful. The gifts of the Holy Spirit aren’t just meant for large crowds, big shows of the spirit, they are meant for individual little moments too when we need it and aren’t even expecting it.
The next story I want to share happened maybe 13-14 years ago. It was the summer. I had a few house guests and on this particular night, it was about 9:30. I walked downstairs to check on everything before I was going to go to bed for the night. I walked down the hall, I began to approach the room where one of the guests was staying. The door was open but the light was off. I came up to the doorway and just as I approached it I felt my body temperature drop immediately and then I was covered in goose bumps, not like I was a little chilly, these were some mammoth goose bumps. I turned into the doorway to see what was going on and saw the guest was asleep. There was a window opposite the doorway, a pretty good-sized window so I could see light coming in from the moon. I stood there for a second confused and then I saw a demon come from the window and slither across the floor to the foot of the bed. It went up the bed and over the guest and remained there.
Having my temperature drop and the goose bumps at the time caught me off guard, but I believe the Holy Spirit allowed me to see that demon so I could see what I was dealing with in my house. I wasn’t expecting it, so I was actually startled, but it opened my eyes to other activities going on in my house that I did not understand.
So far the stories I have shared involve discernment of evil. Again, discerning of spirits is not just evil spirits, it’s the Holy Spirit also, when angels are present and working on our behalf. I have in other episodes given you angel stories, but I will share with you one that I really enjoyed that happened in the last year or so, I can’t recall.
This was a Sunday and I was in church. During worship I don’t always sing, sometimes I am talking to the Lord and sometimes I ask Him to show me what is going on in the room. This particular Sunday I don’t know what prompted me to ask, but I did and as I looked around I saw hundreds of angels, way more than I have ever seen there before. I remember the worship was particularly good that day. There was something special about that day. Of course, I can’t remember now what that was, but what I can remember is that there were angels involved in the worship music, and then there were hundreds more that were sitting in these beautiful wood rafters. Our church does not have anything remotely like wood rafters in the celing, or anything beautiful about the ceiling to be frank. They were all there that day attending, waiting to see and hear what was going to happen there that day. The wood rafters went far higher than our ceiling in the natural. The looks on their faces were in anticipation and there was a celebration. I knew by what I saw that the message that was coming was going to be something good, something God breathed, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. If all those angels were waiting in anticipation, then I was in the right place that morning.
A lot of times having the gift of spiritual discernment works closely with visions. A person who receives visions will generally have the gift of discerning of spirits because visions require the use of the discerning of spirits and seeing into the spirit realm to reveal and explain. We will have a separate episode on visions because there are different levels and it deserves its own episode for those people who want to develop their abilities to receive and understand visions.
Most of my episodes involve the use of discerning of spirits. It would be really hard for me to function in what I do without it because I need the insight that it provides. Really, we all do. I have brought it up at the end of every episode because it is so important in developing who we are in living Christlike. I think it is a basic need and even requirement in Christianity. Without it, you have no compass. You have to be able to discern between what is of God and what is not. Truly we need to know about this gift so we can develop it with the Holy Spirit. My book that I bring up at the end of every episode is about how to develop that gift of spiritual discernment because it addresses how to discern Him from your own voice. We all need to discern Him. You may never have a demon sliding across your guest bedroom, but you may have an urgent need or an impossible situation you need to know how to walk with God through. Discerning the Holy Spirit will give you all the answers and guidance you need.
I hope you have enjoyed our time discussing the Spiritual Gift of Discerning of Spirits, and I do hope it has helped to build your understanding. We cannot fully conquer our unseen enemies until we understand everything the Holy Spirit makes available to us. If you know anyone who might benefit from this, please share.
As always let’s discuss our Top Show Points:
· Discussing the Gift of Discerning of Spirits
· 1 Cor 12:4-11
· To summarize what Paul shared, the 9 Spiritual Gifts are: wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, miraculous powers, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues.
o Gifts we use out of the Power we have from the Holy Spirit are: faith, healings, miraculous powers
o Gifts we have where the Holy Spirit uses us in Revelation are: wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits
o Gifts where the Holy Spirit uses us and are Spoken are: prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues
· Discerning of spirits is often considered the least of the revelation gifts because it involves the spirit realm. By its very nature the spirit realm has to be an active participant in order for this gift to be in operation.
· With the gift of Discerning of Spirits, we are able to “discern” or perceive, recognize spirits by their nature.
· 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to be ones who “correctly handle the word of truth” in other words, we want to make sure we are using the word to guide us correctly into truth, not twist it or use it in a way that benefits us.
· Paul in Acts 16 when he was in Philippi, Paul was able to discern the evil spirit in the female slave who was involved with divination
· We do nothing in our own power, only through the Holy Spirit.
· I think it is easy to think of discerning of spirits and assume it is associated with things like fortune telling or psychic activity. It’s not mind reading or anything psychological.
· Story of when I was on a walk and the Holy Spirit revealed to me the evil intention of the man hiding in the bush
· Story where the Holy Spirit allowed me to see the demon in my guest room
· Story of the Holy Spirit allowing me to see the angels in my church one Sunday afternoon
· A person who receives visions will generally have the gift of discerning of spirits because visions require the use of the discerning of spirits and seeing into the spirit realm to reveal and explain.
· I think it is a basic need in Christianity. Without it, you have no compass. You have to be able to discern between what is of God and what is not
We encourage you:
· To have an active Bible reading plan, it will be helpful in gaining wisdom and understanding and it is required for the gift of spiritual discernment
· If you want to learn more about how to Hear God's Voice, take a look at my book, Loving Conversations: How to Pray and Hear God's Voice. There is also a Study Guide available and two devotionals out based on the Loving Conversations Book. One devotional is for women and one is for men. Those are available on the website www.lovingconversationssalo.com.
· Follow us in Instagram
I have enjoyed our time this week and look forward to spending time with you again next week!
We encourage you:
· To have an active Bible reading plan, it will be helpful in gaining wisdom and understanding and it is required for the gift of spiritual discernment
· If you want to learn more about how to Hear God's Voice, take a look at my book, Loving Conversations: How to Pray and Hear God's Voice. There is also a Study Guide available and two devotionals out based on the Loving Conversations Book. One devotional is for women and one is for men. Those are available on the website www.lovingconversationssalo.com.
· Follow us in Instagram
I have enjoyed our time this week and look forward to spending time with you again next week!
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