THE FORGOTTEN GIFT

THE FORGOTTEN GIFT
 
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.
Philippians 1:9 - NKJV
 

In my journey as a follower of Jesus and also as a pastor, I have been asked many times about spiritual gifts. In those conversations, most of the time the questions revolved around the so-called “popular gifts”, like concerns on the gift of tongues, prophecy, miracles, etc.
Before we develop this subject, and as a clarifying note, it’s very fundamental to make clear that - contrary to the well-liked belief - the Bible never states that someone “has” or “owns” a particular gift, simply because the gifts belong to the Holy Spirit, and what we experience, according to the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians, is a “manifestation” of His (Holy Spirit) gifts.
That said, I perceive there is a much needed, extremely important and often forgotten gift: the gift of discernment of spirits.
The gift of discernment is crucial because it sharpens our spiritual perception, it opens a curtain into the spiritual realm, and makes us also aware of our daily mundane challenges, in a world full of cheating and deceitfulness. Discernment has to do with wisdom that comes from above, straight from the Holy Spirit, Who knows everything and all things - past present and future, the supreme holder of all knowledge and enlightenment. The gift of discernment of spirits will help us to see with the lenses of God, it will be extremely helpful in the unveiling of the will of God in many circumstances, and even more important, to prepare us against the snares of our enemy which often come through people around us. 
 
The apostle Paul had a great experience with the gift of discernment when he was in Philippi during his second missionary journey and encountered a young lady, a slave with the “spirit of divination”, and the only way he was able to deliver her from her spiritual bondage was through discernment. In that particular case, expelling the devil was only possible AFTER discerning it, and even for the great apostle, it took him “many days” to discern what was going on.
Jesus also operated under the discernment of spirits all the time, and that is what gave Him knowledge of many spiritual realities that otherwise would not have been known. It’s very important to observe that the gift of discernment cannot be exercised if our spiritual disciplines are not taken seriously and if our decision-making processes are always involved in hurry and hastiness, without the due time to discern through the Holy Spirit paramount decisions, situations and even people around us.
I understand all the gifts are longed for and constitute wonderful presents that the Lord graciously makes available to His sons and daughters through His Holy Spirit, and my desire is that you may seek more diligently for this precious, often unwrapped and extremely practical gift: discernment. It will give you clarity in your decisions, a much better knowledge of people (and spirits) around you, and above all, peace of mind to make decisions based upon the knowledge, guidance and mind of the Holy Spirit Himself. 

Wishing many blessings to you and your family!

 
Pastor Joshua