The Holy Spirit || Part 11
The Holy Spirit || Part 11, Day 4
Acts 2:1-4 NKJV
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
I Corinthians 12:1-11 NKJV
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
Discerning of spirits - the supernatural ability from the Holy Spirit to evaluate and distinguish between the spirits that are from God, and the spirits that are evil.
1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
The Bible tells us that we are to test the spirits. Testing spirits does not mean praying about it. When you pray about things, it can cause things to be revealed, but it won’t test them. The Greek word for test there is defined as to make a critical examination of something to determine its genuineness.
If I was going to test the durability or the strength of this chair, what would I have to do? Yes, I could do research on the chair. Yes, I could look at the engineering of the chair. But for me to truly test it, I have to put it under a weight load. If the chair is supposed to hold X number of pounds, then I have to put that weight on it to see if its claims are genuine or not.
When we test the spirits yes, we should always pray. We should pray about everything. But that is not testing the spirits. Testing the spirits is cultivating an atmosphere in which it can prove its validity and genuineness.
The discerning of spirits is the greatest of the three revelation gifts. The Bible calls this the discerning of spirits not the spirit of discernment. It is very important that we understand the difference between these two. It is not just differences in words. It’s not just differences in terminology.
Church you can discern things about people without having the Holy Spirit. You can discern things about people without even being born again. I know many people who have PhD’s in Streetology. Many times, their survival is determined by their ability to be able to read people. They have to have an ability to discern things about people. Over time they develop a keen sensitivity to their instincts that causes them to discern things about people before they do them. They can even discern actions, thoughts, and possibly even motivations. This is discernment. But it is not the discerning of spirits.
The discerning of spirits is a gift from the Holy Spirit that has an unction or a quickening, just like all the other gifts. This gift from the Holy Spirit helps you to discern the spirit behind someone or a deed. This is very important in the church, especially in this day and time. Because I’ve never had a Jezebel spirit announce itself before it came into the church.
I’ve never had a spirit of anger announce itself before it came into the church. I’ve never had a spirit of perversion announced itself before it came into the church. I’ve never had a spirit of division announce itself as it walked through the doors of the church. No, and they never will. They come in with people that have uncircumcised hearts or places in their lives where they have refused to allow God to move.
Let’s pray together…