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26. DISCERNING OF SPIRITS AND SPIRITUAL ATMOSPHERES (Part 3)

Gift of

3. The purpose of the gift of discernment.

1) To lift the veil of the unseen world Lifts the veil of the unseen world, the world we really must deal with if we want to be effective in the Kingdom of .

The gift of discerning of spirits is not the "gift" of suspicion or judgment. will never reveal secrets or give us the insight to gossip or defame any person. Like the other gifts of the Spirit, this gift is always for edification, building up the Body of Christ and bringing redemption where evil spirits are still ruling.

It is essential to understand that the gift of the Holy Spirit operates under God's control. We cannot do it at will.

Discernment can come in different ways. a) It can come through an impression or a where you can actually see something that is not there in the natural.

There are many examples in the . John the beloved is an example. He had a vision of three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the best, and the false (see 16:13-14).

In my experience, the Holy Spirit will often give me an impression, a picture, a thought or a vision when I minister to a person or when I enter a region where I will minister. I will always ask Him what to do with the thought, feeling, or impression.

We need to respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As you can imagine, the gift of discerning spirits has great potential; therefore, it is crucial to use wisdom while exercising it.

b) He also speaks through dreams. It can be a warning or directive dream in preparation for what is coming or giving us insight into what is going on concerning a situation we prayed about or that God wants to highlight for us.

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2) To enable us to see as God sees.

1 Samuel 16:7 "But the said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

With this gift, we can go beyond the outward appearance and see the condition of the heart to protect us from deception. Satan comes to God's people disguised as an of light, with evil intentions to destroy us.

NOTE: Not all revelation comes from God, and indeed not everything that appears spiritual is from the Holy Spirit. When we have an insight into what is taking place in the spiritual realm, our first response should always be . To ask the Holy Spirit if whatever is happening is from him or another source.

Sometimes, the gift of discernment is a "knowing" that can feel similar to a gut instinct, but it originates with the Holy Spirit. It can often be a warning from God. If we sense pride, perversion, occultism, or any other form of evil, our spirits will grow uncomfortable. We may not know precisely what is wrong with a person or their message, but we will sense danger and recognize the warning to be on guard.

3) To 'diagnose' people's problems to know how to help them. In this case, discernment will often work with a word of wisdom or revelation.

4. The gift of discerning of spirits is not just to discern evil spirits.

The gift of discerning of spirits is not just to discern evil spirits. Various kinds of spirits confront us in our Christian walk.

1) Discerning of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. It is crucial to discern the Holy Spirit and learn to discern the Holy Spirit when believers meet together. When He moves, through whom He moves, and how He moves. We need to be in a relationship with Him to recognize Him and know what God wants to do at that particular moment.

I have seen the Spirit of healing move at a crusade in Indonesia. The Spirit just took over during high praises, and people stood up out of their wheelchairs and started to run around. I also saw how a strong wind came, and blue, and the Holy Spirit impressed it on my heart that a wind of change

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started to blue, and inner healing started to manifest everywhere. The Evangelist preaching turned to me, shouting: "Tonight it is inner healing". People repented and cried everywhere as inner healing took place.

Like the blind Bartimaeus begging at the side of the road (Mark 10:46-52), we need to discern when there is a divine moment to receive. Then we have to put aside all our human plans and tap into the divine move of the Holy Spirit and what He has in store for us. • In the form of a dove: is an example of this in scripture. He saw the Holy Spirit descending upon as a Dove. The Bible does not say every person could see the Dove descending on Jesus, but John was given spiritual discernment (John 1:29, 31-34). • Tongues of Fire: The Holy Spirit manifested to human senses as tongues of fire. This was a discerning of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3-4)

2) Discerning : • Ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:50-5) • In the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43) • At the resurrection (John 20:1-12) Peter and John saw the linen cloth and handkerchief at the empty grave but Mary saw the angel. • On a difficult journey at sea (Acts 27:18,22-26).

3) Discerning the human spirit. • Jesus discerned a guileless or genuine spirit in Nathanael

John 1v47 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said concerning him, See! Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor falsehood nor duplicity!

• Jesus discern the heart of man

John 2:23 23 But when He was in Jerusalem during the Passover Feast, many believed in His name [identified themselves with His party] after seeing His signs (wonders, ) which He was doing. 24 But Jesus [for His part] did not trust Himself to them, because He knew all [men]; 25 And He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man [needed no evidence from anyone about men], for He Himself knew what was in human nature. [He could read men's hearts.]

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• Peter and Simon the sorcerer Peter saw through the outward conformity of Simon to the inward crookedness and wrong motives in his heart (Acts 8:18-23).

• Paul and the faith of the crippled man Paul discerned that a man who was crippled from his birth had faith to be healed in (Acts 14:8-10). Paul spoke about the spirit of faith.

2 Corinthians 4:13 Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak

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