Everyday Church
The Reason for Discernment
(upbeat music) - Hello, friend. Welcome to today's podcast, Everyday Church, with Pastor Jason Kiefer. Everyday Church is a daily podcast where believers learn together, grow together, and serve together. - Hey, my friend. It's great to be with you today on the Everyday Church podcast. And I hope you're having a great day in the Lord. And again, it's just always be able to, it's good to be able to get together in God's Word. Man, he's been doing some amazing things in my life. And I'm thankful for that. I'm always thankful for his grace and just reminded of his goodness, amen. And so I hope that whatever you're doing today, man, I just hope that you'll be led of the Lord. And what a great idea, great thought that we can just get together and begin that. Or maybe you're in the middle of the day, you can just come and just kind of have your thoughts directed by the Word of God. And so we're gonna pick up today in first John chapter four. We're better than halfway through first John. And this one goes quick. And this is a great thought that we're gonna talk about, actually, not just today, but over the next couple of days, dealing with the thought of discernment, discernment. I can't help but notice on social media through the news, it's always worse during an election cycle. It always gets worse. You can't help but notice the disinformation that floats around out there, right? The lack of truth and not even, it's not even hidden. I mean, it's intentional. Man, it is intentional. And you can fact check things and people and show them, you know, real sources, viable sources. And people don't care. People don't care. And so this is a great thought as we think about discernment, right? And what is discernment? What does that mean and how does that apply in our life? Well, remember John's talking to people that are dealing with, they're struggling with their faith in Christ, their relationship with God because of these false teachers that are coming in. And John is essentially gonna be telling them, look, it's not just what you hear, the spirit, the spirit. It is what you hear, but the spirit, I think the spirit behind what you hear, also really bears witness. And so first John chapter four, we're gonna just deal with the first verse today. And today we're just gonna kind of deal with the thought of discernment. How do we define discernment? Like what is it? What do we, why, well, let me answer this. Why do we need to be discerning, right? That's a good question. Why is it that we should pay attention to this and give thought of whether or not we're discerning in division? So he says, beloved, believe not every spirit. Believe not every spirit. So he says this after having just said and hereby we know that he abieth in us by the spirit which he hath given us. So he says, the spirit singular is how we know that we abide and how we dwell in him and he dwells in us. And then he goes on to say, beloved, believe not every spirit. So there's other spirits out there that we should be aware of. And the spirit of deception is what he's gonna deal with here. And he says, but try the spirit, test the spirits, be discerning, know, know by the spirit that's confronting you or know by that spirit of, whatever someone's coming to you with, they're trying to teach you in their case and what they were trying to teach them was not true. Know the spirit behind that. Why? He says, because, well, he says, try the spirits, whether they be of God. So not every spirit is of God. And we need to know that. But then he says this, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Many false prophets are gone out into the world. You remember when Jesus said that, he said, I send you out as sheep among wolves, sheep among wolves. Jesus knew that these apostles were gonna be going out with truth and they were going out into an area, an environment that was not conducive for sheep. In reality, he calls them wolves and they were false teachers. And so John is now confronting these very false teachers that Jesus was talking about. As sheep, they would need to be aware of these wolves, this deception, that they try to come and the message they try to bring may sound good. It may tickle ears, it may be feel good or whatever. But John says, stop. You gotta know it by the spirit. Is it the spirit of God? That's what's gonna define that. And why do we need to be discerning? Well, we need to be discerning because if we're not, we run the risk of being deceived. We run the risk of being deceived. And I think that for a discerning individual, you know, what is a discerning individual? What is someone who has discernment? Maybe you've heard people say this. I'll say, well, God's given me the spirit of discernment. Usually when you hear that, just the way it's presented, oftentimes the pride that can be in that should be a red flag right there. I think very discerning individuals are not people that need to let people know they're discerning. I think the scripture is very clear on discernment. I think in Hebrews chapter five, Hebrews chapter five, in fact, I'm gonna turn over there and read that. Hebrews chapter five and they're in verse 11, I'm sorry, 13, verse 13. The scripture says this, "For everyone that uses milk is unskillful "in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. "So there's milk, there's the milk of the word, "and there's the meat of the word." Remember Peter said, "Desire the sincere milk of the word "that you may grow thereby." So there is a need for milk, but there's the need for us to grow beyond milk and grow to the meat of the word. 'Cause in verse 14 in Hebrews, he says this, "But strong meat belong to them that are full of age, "even those who by reason of use have their senses "exercise to discern both good and evil, "to be able to determine what is good, "and what is evil, what is right, and what is wrong." And so John is telling them, "The Spirit of God in you, as you grow in truth, "is going to be able to help you to determine "whether that teaching is true, "or whether that teaching is false." There's many people, there's many good people, good-hearted people that have been led astray because they did not discern through the Holy Spirit, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Discernment is not based upon what you know. It's based upon the Spirit of truth within you that enables you to take that knowledge and then determine what is right and what is wrong. It's not simply knowledge, but yet it is the spiritual knowledge that works within you, the knowledge that comes, yes, through the study of God's word, but also through the Holy Spirit revealing truth to you as only he can do. And so what do we know about Hebrews chapter five when we read about this idea of discernment? Well, first we know this, is discerning individuals or those who have grown past using only the milk of the word. They've grown beyond using just the milk of the word, the very basics that you need when you first get saved. I remember when I first got saved, I just had a very strong desire for God's word. I remember immediately, I told my mom, "Hey, I want a Bible for Christmas." Or my birthday was right after I got saved or something. I don't remember, and I knew what Bible I wanted, and I wanted a study Bible, and I had a desire for God's word. What I was learning at that time from God's word is far different in a sense than what I'm learning now. I mean, I've been saved for 22 years, and I haven't always grown. I haven't always been in a state of growing. There's been times where I may have grown stagnant, I may have grown cold and different, all those things. But I think it's safe to say that God has allowed me to grow over 22 years. I'm not learning what I learned 22 years ago. I know that, I know that. And I'm learning sometimes to apply it, but I do know it. Now, the things that I'm learning and still learning, they're helping me to grow in my ability to determine the difference between right and wrong. And I would say that a discerning, someone who is discerning, you can take the knowledge of God's word, and it works, in fact, he says in Hebrews, it works through your senses. You hear, your ears perk up when you hear something that you're just like, "I don't know." That doesn't sound right. Maybe someone can make a really compelling argument in different areas. But you just sense that, you know, I don't know, I know truth, that's not matching up. You may have to go back to God's word and research and do some study, but you know in your heart, that's not adding up, because you've grown past using only the milk of the word. And then he says there in Hebrews, he says he is on skillful in the word of righteousness for he's a babe. Someone who is not discerning is not skilled in righteousness. He doesn't know how to walk in righteousness. So that means that someone who is discerning knows how to walk in righteousness. They know how to walk in righteousness. And so it's important that you know how to walk in righteousness so that you're not deceived, and so that you're not, and Jesus said this, so that we wouldn't be overcome by the evil one, right? And we have to be careful of deception. And so the other one is they've matured in the faith. There's a maturing process. And spiritually you can endure more now than you could earlier in your walk with the Lord. Why? Because you've matured. You now look at things different. There was some Paul said in Corinthians, he said, when I was a child, I put away childish things. Or when I became a man, he said when I was a child, I speak as a child, understood as a child. But when I became a man, he said, I put away childish things. What's he saying? Well, a child speaks as a child, but when they mature, they begin to speak differently. They begin to think differently. And a maturing Christian is going to, he's going to grow in his faith. And he's going to begin to look at things from a faith standpoint more than an immature Christian can do. He's going to grow in holiness. So he's going to, as he matures in holiness, they're going to begin to look at things in their walk with the Lord as what's holy and not holy, and how they can be more holy through the power of Christ. So someone who is not that, they're not a discerning person. They wouldn't discern if someone wasn't walking in holiness. But they wouldn't discern if the message that somebody was given wasn't by faith. And so John says, he says, you've got to try the spirits. You've got to know if that spirit is not a faith, but that's not of God. And if you're maturing the faith, you're going to pick up on that. You're not going to be deceived by that. If that spirit, that message that you're hearing is not one of holiness and separation unto God. Well, you're going to pick up on that. You're going to know that because you're matured in the faith. You're able to discern that and able to pick that out. And I would say one of the greatest hindrances in people's lives today and their walk with the Lord is the idea that they were people are not discerning. They're not taught to be discerning, to pick up on what is the enemy trying to do? What is this message that's different? How is the Satan trying to use that to kind of thwart my walk with the Lord, you know, come against that? And so the other thing is they have the ability to hear and know the difference between good and evil. So he says they're back in Hebrews, he says, they by reason of use have their senses exercised to determine both discern, I'm sorry, both good and evil. So someone who's mature in the faith and is a discerning person that can choose between what is right and what is wrong. And that's not always as easy as you think it is. That's not as easy as you think it is. And you're able to understand this is why I have to choose this because this is right according to God's word. This is why I can't go that direction. This is why I can't make that decision because that spirit of discernment rises up in you and you understand the difference between right is wrong. So the reason we need to have discernment is so that you and I are not deceived. And so Satan, this is important, Satan will use parts of truth to keep us from the truth, right? So all the way back to Adam and Eve in the garden, no discernment there. What do we know of Eve in the garden? The one thing we know of Eve in the garden and Paul says this in his writing is that she was deceived. She was deceived, no discernment, no discernment. She, Satan came in and said, hey, half God not said. He started to question God's truth. Well, that's not what he really meant. Really the truth, Eve, is this that God knows that when you eat that fruit, you're gonna become as a God and God doesn't want that. And so he distorted the truth early and then he bends the truth, Eve doesn't pick up on it. She eats the fruit and from there on, destruction is set in. And so a lack of discernment can really lead to some serious consequences. So as you go throughout the day today and we're gonna pick up on this thought tomorrow or in the next episode. Why discernment? Why is it so important to have that spirit of discernment? And so it is so that we're not deceived. And so I hope that the Lord will help you to grow in that and that you'll not be deceived. I don't want anybody to be deceived. I've been deceived, we've all been deceived and the Lord, truth can help us. Truth with the spirit helps us to be discerning. Hey, I hope you have a great day today. I hope this is a help to you as you go throughout the day. And if I can be a help to you or an encouragement to you, hey, just let me know, send me a text, do something and comment on it, share this, blast it out there, help me out. It's not hard, just be a part in some way. But let's communicate the everyday church platform is so that you and I can be working together. I can learn from you, we can learn together and what God wants us to do. Amen, let's go to the Lord in prayer and ask that he'll be with you today. Father, thank you for your mercies, for your goodness to us, for your love for us. Thank you for grace and Father, thank you for discernment. Father, that helps us to know and understand truth. Father, how it works in our life. And so that we are not deceived. I pray for my friends today that are watching this or listening to this, God that this will be a blessing in their life and a help to them. We love you and thank you and your name we pray. Amen. (upbeat music) Thank you for listening to Everyday Church, a daily podcast where believers learn together, grow together and serve together. If this episode was an encouragement to you, be sure to hit like, share it and subscribe for future content. (upbeat music)