The Discernment that Empowers Us

 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” (Luke 12:54-56).

A brief review of the present discourse reveals that Jesus taught His disciples to live every day expecting Him to show up. He exhorted them to let go of earthly treasure and to pursue heavenly treasure. He urged them to put on the armor of God, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to be compelled by His love to serve and witness to others. He taught them that being baptized with Him would cause division between true and counterfeit disciples. Today Jesus rebuked the spiritual insensitivity of the crowd and He declared that His true disciples will be able to “interpret the present time.” Here Jesus exhorts all true disciples to exercise the discernment that empowers us.

We are embraced by the spirit of discernment when we are born again. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we are born again as God’s children… “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). Because we are His children, God has placed the Spirit of His Son into our hearts… “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying” ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). The Spirit moved John the Baptist to declare that true believers are baptized or immersed in God’s Holy Spirit… “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). The Holy Spirit wants to embrace our hearts and give us the ability to understand and interpret the truth of God… “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). True born again disciples are embraced by the Spirit that wants us to discern and interpret our times to each other and to the world around us.

We are enlightened by the spirit of discernment when we seek God’s truth. The Holy Spirit loves to reveal the truth of God to truth seekers… “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13). Notice that the Spirit of Truth interprets what God has spoken, thus He reveals the truth of God’s Word as we diligently study the Bible. He also declares the things that are to come. He reveals what God is accomplishing in us as He makes us more like His Son… “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). He gives us the ability to see beyond transient trials and to discern and interpret the eternal work of God in every circumstance… “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Diligent disciples are enlightened by the truth that is revealed to them by the spirit of discernment.

We are employed by the spirit of discernment when we put our faith into action. Understanding and interpreting the times in the light of God’s truth is impotent unless we put the revelation He gives us to work in the world around us. The fact is, those true disciples with the spirit of discernment are constantly faced with a choice. We must decide if we believe what we see in the natural world or if we believe the truth God that reveals to us… “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7)). When we put our faith into action the power of God’s truth is released and made visible in and through us… “If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). Productive disciples are employed in the Lord’s work when we respond in faith to what is revealed by the spirit of discernment.

As we grow up into Christ, we become more engaged and successful in His work as we grow in…

The Discernment that Empowers Us.