Discernment

"But he went in, and stood before his master.
And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi?
And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?"
2Kings 5:25,26.

Discernment is the ability to grasp, comprehend, and evaluate things clearly.
Discernment helps to differentiate between what is good and bad ,what is wise and foolish; to recognise the truth from falsehood, the genuine from the fake and to see through cunning facades and smoke-screens.
Generally, discernment enables good judgement which is vital in situations when one is faced with a multitude of options.

Experience is the only prophecy of wise men which they have acquired through vital information and first-hand knowledge.
Having information and experience or fore- knowledge about something is one thing but; knowing what to do about it, is another thing.
Experience teaches only the teachable.
There are basic life-truths which even children with little life experience , know.
But some adults who should possess Experience; because they lack the gift of discernment are easily led astray to make ridiculous child-like mistakes .
Have many unwise decisions have we made and wondered how we could be so gullible?
"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe". Hebrew 5:12,13.

Discerning of spirits is not a natural gift , acquired through human intelligence.
It goes deeper than knowledge and experience; as it impacts power for accurate insight and good judgement .
This gift is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; for every man to profit withal.
It is the accurate supernatural insight which enables us to know , perceive and distinguish between what is true or false;
to guide us ,generally, to show good judgement for our situations.
1 Corinthians 12 tells us about the gifts of the Holy Spirit: verses 7,4 and 10 state that:
4. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit...."
7. "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal".
10. "To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues".
There are remarkable differences in the lives and in the ministries of those persons who possess these gifts of the Holy Spirit and those who do not have them.
These gifts of the holy Spirit are available to every man who has accepted the Spirit of God into their lives.
However , the gifts of God are not for babes or for jokers; that is , they are not for "milk-drinkers".
The gifts are "strong meat", for promoting babes into adults.
The power of the Holy Spirit transforms the unteachable into masters of knowledge.
"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil". Hebrews 5:14.
This anointing power to discern spirits is given as a ministerial gift to bless , encourage, alert , warn, counsel and to guide believers.

Behind every sin , every deceit and every destruction, there are evil spirits .
The gift of discerning of spirits is the Spirit-filled Christians' power to recognise and confirm the leading of the Holy Spirit and to edify the Church.
This is the weapon to expose and to overcome every counsel of the devil.
It endues us with peace and stability in our Faith so that we are not tossed to and fro by every doctrine or be easily deceived.
The Lord knows those who are His and so should the discerning Christian know them .
In the absence of the gift to discern and to recognize the agents of the devil and their sugar-coated poisons, people fall victim to them .
Liars, fraudsters , deceitful orators and con artists, male and female; abound every where today .
Lives have been devastated and destinies derailed due to gullible and unwary persons falling victims to smooth-talking scammers who devise and hatch elaborate financial scams, "get-rich-over-night" scams, "sack-your-boss" scams , dating and love scams,"get-husband-quick" scams, "hunger/diseases/poverty alleviation and eradication" scams, "prayer and miracles" scams,"holy water/holy oil/holy candles" scam, passports/ visa scams, rent scams and numerous other fraudulent schemes !

The gift of discernment is not only for recognizing demonic spirits and their manifestations.
Inability "to see good when it comes" is the result of failure to discern the times , to recognise what is the beautiful, good and proper will of God for our lives.
This failure to see and recognise good ; is even worse and as damaging as the inability to discern what is evil and deceitful.

The Author of every thing that is good , truthful and genuine is the Spirit of God ; who establishes the will of God on earth.
May the Giver of all that is good, bless us with the grace and the gift to "see and hear and embrace good when it comes". Matthew 13:10-17.
Simeon in the temple in Jerusalem, rejoiced and praised God because he was able to discern the times and he , straightway, recognised the baby Jesus as Christ the Messiah, when His parents brought Him into the temple for His presentation.
Luke 2:21-32.
In Simeon's generation, millions who knew the scriptures by heart , word for word and who preached the scriptures eloquently; could not discern the times , neither did they recognise Christ, the Messiah , even as He stood before them and lived amongst them for 33 years!
They did not see good and did not recognise or embrace the TRUTH when He came.
Even today , some people are still , watching the skies ,praying, waiting and expecting the Messiah to come because they do not believe He has come and gone back to Heaven , over 2000 years ago; and He is coming back to the earth again , soon.

Today, millions have "missed their train"; they are left stranded at the station , still waiting for their proper train to arrive.
Unknown to them, their train loaded with blessings; has come and gone, before their eyes! They missed the train because they failed to discern the times, to recognise and board the right train at the right time; when it arrived!
How pathetic it is when people , through lack of discernment, miss out on God's blessings for their lives; just because they THINK such do not comply with "Godly standards"!
Sheer bigotry and legalism should not; never, be labelled as "Godly standards".
God's standards are based on Grace, Love and Faith.

Discernment , by the power of the Holy Spirit; enables us to recognise the will of God for our lives.
The will of God for every man is that they receive the Salvation of God , through Jesus Christ.
May God bless us with the gift of discernment to see, to recognise and to embrace God's salvation and to praise God like Simeon in the temple did. Amen.

Acceptance of the Giver , precedes the receipt of the gift.
Desire, pray for and accept the Lordship and presence of the Giver of the gifts, Jesus Christ, the Son of God; who baptises with the Holy Spirit.
Desire and receive the gift of God's salvation.
Covet and receive the best spiritual gifts.
You will be enabled to gain mastery in your life situations and be victorious over life's various pitfalls and over ravening wolves in sheep clothing.
May our portion in life be that we will see and embrace good when it comes!
If you have not done so ,today , accept the Good Shepherd ,Jesus Christ the Giver of Abundant Life; for He is knocking on the door of your heart,now. Revelation 3:20.
Be blessed abundantly as you let Him in. Amen.