Latest / Heart Check Podcast / Discernment: Hearing God’s Voice in a Noisy World

Transcript

Discernment: Hearing God’s Voice in a Noisy World · Heart Check Podcast

0:00
Have you ever said, I feel like God told me, but then later
0:03
realized it was just Yo, what's up everybody, Welcome
0:16
back to Heart Check podcast. I'm your host, Pastor Los.
0:22
Yeah. Let's go.
0:25
Hey, man, I'm so excited to be back with you guys.
0:27
My heart check community. You guys are incredible.
0:30
It's been amazing just stepping into this journey with you all.
0:34
Today we're kind of diving into this new series where you guys
0:39
gave me some questions, some topics to dive into.
0:42
And I've kind of went through those.
0:43
I've put them into a list. And so we're going to start to
0:45
dive into some of those things you guys would like us to dive
0:48
into. And if you didn't get a chance
0:50
to send in a question or a topic that you would love for me to
0:53
talk about, e-mail us. Comment below on this video,
0:58
send a message through our social media platforms.
1:01
I would love to hear some things that you guys would like heart
1:04
check to dive into. But today we are going to dive
1:07
into the topic of discernment, specifically what it looks like
1:11
for us to hear God's voice in a noisy world.
1:15
You guys asked the question. I love this topic.
1:17
I think it's super important as followers of Jesus, if you put
1:21
your faith in Christ, what does this look like to have
1:24
discernment? And if you're wondering, 'cause
1:26
that's a pretty big word, what does discernment mean
1:30
biblically? What's the definition of
1:32
discernment 'cause that's kind of maybe a churchy word that
1:34
you've never heard before. Or maybe you've been following
1:36
Jesus and you've heard the word discernment.
1:38
I got discernment on this topic or I had discernment on this
1:41
situation. God gave me this discernment and
1:44
this certain conversation I was having or, or towards His will
1:47
in my life, whatever that may be.
1:49
I want to kind of give you guys a bird's eye view of
1:51
discernment. First kind of dive into what
1:54
that means. So then we can discuss what it
1:56
looks like for us to have discernment, a spiritual gift
1:59
that God gives to us, his children, to live out this life
2:03
as followers of Jesus, to be more like Christ.
2:05
And so biblical discernment is the Spirit empowered ability to
2:10
distinguish between truth from error or good from evil, and to
2:15
make wise and godly decisions. As you read in Scripture, Romans
2:20
one Paul says they traded the truth for a lie.
2:24
That is no discernment. But as believers, we discern
2:28
truth from lies. We discern good from evil.
2:32
We can know what it means that in this world there's a lot of
2:36
things that are the opposite of who Christ is, the opposite of
2:39
who God is, that there is people who believe lies, that they
2:43
believe in things that aren't truth.
2:45
But as followers of Jesus that have been empowered by the Holy
2:47
Spirit, we have discernment to tell, no, that's not from God,
2:51
No, that's not from Jesus, no, that's not in his word.
2:54
No, that's not truth. And so discernment is this Holy
2:57
Spirit empowered spiritual gift that allows us to tell truth
3:01
from error, to know what's good and know what's evil, to call
3:04
what's good good and call what's evil evil rather than the world
3:08
that calls what's evil good. We do not do that because we
3:12
have discernment that is empowered through the Holy
3:14
Spirit within us. So I wanted to first start
3:18
there, 'cause we're going to be using this word discernment
3:20
'cause this topic is about how do we have discernment as
3:23
followers of Jesus in a world that is so noisy.
3:26
So many things going on. I was just talking to a few of
3:29
my young adults in the ministry I lead and I said to them, you
3:32
guys live in a time period where, you know, I'm a old head.
3:35
I said to them, Facebook came out when I was a sophomore in
3:38
high school and my era of kids, it was kind of like, you were
3:42
not cool if you were on social media.
3:43
It was cool to like, say, Nah, man, I'm not going to hop on
3:46
Facebook. And honestly, some of it was to
3:47
do. Our parents were on Facebook.
3:49
I'm like, man, I want my parents to know what I'm doing.
3:50
I don't need them creeping on my Facebook page.
3:53
And so for me, we didn't really have a big influence in social
3:57
media. We didn't have a lot of
3:58
information being thrown away, but man, for you guys, young
4:02
adults this era, Gen. Z, man, Gen.
4:04
Alpha, for my kids that are coming and even us millennials
4:08
are above. We are in a new era of just
4:12
society, culture. We live in a world now that you
4:15
can scroll on your phone and hear so much information.
4:19
Some of that good, but a lot of it not and some of it truthful,
4:23
but a lot of it not truthful. And So what does this look like
4:27
as followers of Jesus living in the year 2026 and for us, for me
4:31
2026 and living in America, having access to all this
4:35
information in social media, anytime I open my phone, I can
4:39
just scroll and see different. So different opinions, different
4:45
truths that some people think are truth but are not really to
4:48
see different people who are influencing people with their
4:51
opinion that's not really backed up from Scripture.
4:54
But some of my brothers and sisters here preaching God's
4:56
truth, which is amazing. And I applaud and I pray that
4:59
more of my brothers and sisters step into this space to be able
5:02
to flood the Internet with the gospel, flood the Internet with
5:05
God's truth because there's so much false information.
5:08
I was laughing because even the other day I remember my wife
5:11
being like, oh, look at this article, This is what's
5:12
happening. And I looked at it and I was
5:14
like, you sure that's what's going on?
5:15
And I've done that before and I go to Google and when you go to
5:18
Google, I'm like, Yep, Nope, that's that's an AI, that's an
5:21
AI source, that's an AI made-up post that's not even truthful,
5:24
that's not even real. And it is crazy how much is out
5:28
there in this world. So many things being thrown our
5:30
way, even within again. And we'll talk about this today,
5:33
even people who are wolves in sheep clothing, people who are
5:37
preaching things that are not biblical, that are trying to act
5:41
like it is good, but it's not good, acting like it's biblical
5:43
and it's not biblical. It's not in God's word.
5:45
And we have to have discernment. We have to ask the Holy Spirit
5:50
to give us discerning spirits, to be able to test the spirits
5:53
as we'll read about later, that we can be able to see what's
5:56
good and be able to call out what's evil, to know what's
5:59
truth and to know what's error, to know what isn't from God and
6:02
what is from God. And so discernment isn't about
6:05
having more voices. It's about learning to recognize
6:09
God's voice above your own voice, your own desires, and
6:13
your own emotions. Because for us, we get led by
6:16
ourselves a lot. That we listen to our truth,
6:19
that we listen to our voice, that we go by our feelings
6:22
sometimes and hear me clearly. Feelings were given to us by
6:25
God. He created us with feelings.
6:27
We have emotions. That's not a bad thing, but if
6:30
our emotions and our feelings are what we lean on, what we
6:33
depend on, what we put our trust in, then that does become a bad
6:37
thing because we trust in the Word of God.
6:40
We trust in the God who's the same yesterday, today, and
6:43
forever, who's never changing. We follow Him and his truth that
6:47
has last, lasted centuries, lasted thousands and thousands
6:51
of years. A word that never comes back
6:54
void. As Scripture says, when God's
6:55
word goes out, it completes what it's going to complete because
6:59
it's from the God of the universe.
7:01
It's from the one true God. And so we have to have
7:04
discernment when we have these things happening in our lives,
7:07
when we're hearing so many voices in our life, when we're
7:10
scrolling and seeing so much information flood our news feed,
7:14
we have to ask the Holy Spirit to give us discernment.
7:17
So we hear from God's voice and not from our own own voice or
7:21
not from others voices who aren't even coming from the
7:24
Spirit of God. Cause in Ephesians, Paul says
7:27
there's only two spirits. That's four.
7:29
Sorry, there's only two spirits, the spirit of the world and the
7:33
Spirit of God. There's not other ones.
7:35
There's not multiple, multiple options.
7:37
It is two options, guys. Either you are living by the
7:39
spirit of the world, which who's the Prince of the world, The
7:42
Prince of the air has his as he's described, it's Satan, but
7:46
or you are living by the Spirit of God, the one true God, filled
7:50
by the Holy Spirit, having discernment to know what's true
7:52
and what's wrong, but that comes from him.
7:56
And so as I started this episode, have you ever felt like
7:59
sometimes where you've kind of said, and I know I've had
8:01
moments in my life where I'm like, I feel like God told me
8:04
this, but later on realized maybe it was influenced by my
8:07
own voice, by my own wants, by my own desires.
8:12
So we have to be very careful and very vigilant to be in God's
8:16
Word, to dwell in his presence, to be so near to him that we
8:21
have his desires that come out of us, that he is number one,
8:24
that we're focused on Jesus, that it isn't our own desires,
8:27
our own voices, our own wants that are making their decisions.
8:30
But we're we're having discernment that comes from his
8:33
word and from the Holy Spirit. And so today I want to ask these
8:37
three questions before we dive in.
8:39
How do I know it's God speaking and not me?
8:42
And #2 does God still speak today?
8:46
And if so, how? And last, what we're gonna dive
8:49
into, why do I feel like, why do I feel confident sometimes and
8:53
confused other times? So I don't know about you if
8:56
you've ever had some of those questions where, you know, I
8:58
don't know if it's God speaking or it's me or I don't know if
9:02
God even speaks still today to us.
9:04
But if so, how does that work 'cause I've had that question
9:06
asking me for how do I hear from God?
9:08
How do I know it's God, How I know it's not me in my own
9:11
voice? Why do I feel confident
9:13
sometimes in something that I hear from God or I feel like I
9:16
heard from God? And why other times do I feel
9:19
confused? And so I this is a very
9:22
important discussion. I love that this topic and
9:24
question was brought forward to one of my Heart Check community
9:27
members, and I think it's super important for us as followers of
9:30
Jesus. What does this look like for us
9:32
to have discernment in a world that's so loud, so busy, so
9:36
distracting, so disrupting in our walk with Jesus?
9:40
How can we be intentional to hear His still powerful voice,
9:44
his truthful voice and not listen to the Father of lies who
9:48
whispers nothing but lies in our ear, but something that we are
9:51
intentional to discern God from the world, to know it's from him
9:55
and not from us, to know it's not someone else's voice that's
9:58
trying to speak into our lives. But the the reality is we do
10:03
live in a world that says follow your heart, follow your heart,
10:08
follow your heart, you know, trust your truth.
10:11
Do what feels right. That's what the world says the
10:14
world tells us. Just worry about you, Boo, Boo,
10:16
do your thing. If it makes you happy, then do
10:19
it. Enjoy it.
10:21
But that's a lie from the pit of hell.
10:23
That's from Satan. That's not from God.
10:26
God doesn't say follow your own heart.
10:28
God doesn't say trust your own truth.
10:30
God doesn't say do what feels right to you.
10:33
No, I'm pretty sure the scriptures say we follow Jesus.
10:37
That we love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.
10:39
That we do not depend on our own understanding, but that we
10:42
depend on God's understanding. That we listen to Him, we lean
10:46
on Him, That we depend on His truth, That we follow Him with
10:51
all of our lives. That it's not just about what we
10:55
want, but when we've put our faith in Jesus.
10:57
As we discussed all through last episode, Jesus is now Lord of my
11:01
life. I've given Him authority over
11:03
all my desires, all my motives, all my decisions, all my
11:07
actions, all my thoughts, all my wants.
11:10
I am in His presence. I am still and know that He is
11:15
God over my life. But Scripture speaks against
11:18
these things when the world tells us to do what we want to
11:20
do. And so we're gonna dive into
11:22
what this looks like, to have discernment to follow Jesus in
11:27
this way that obeys Him in His Word, that we can know it's from
11:30
Him and not from us, not our own voice, or not the world's, or
11:33
not even our friends at times. And so number one, it has to
11:37
start here. Number one, God's voice will
11:40
never contradict God's Word. Too many times we are hearing
11:46
something or heard something and we say I think God is telling me
11:50
this thing. But number one, it has to go up
11:54
against God's word. The first thing that we hear
11:58
God's voice on is through his breathed out word.
12:02
Why do I say that? Second Timothy 316 through 17
12:05
says all scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us
12:10
what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our
12:14
lives. It corrects us when we are wrong
12:17
and teaches us to do what is right.
12:20
God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good
12:24
work. See, I love that verse.
12:27
Love that. So #1 if you follow Jesus, if
12:31
you put your faith in Christ, we believe that all of scripture,
12:35
all of the word of God, the 66 books and the, the Canon that
12:39
we've been given, we believe that all scripture is inspired
12:43
by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us
12:48
realize what is wrong in our lives.
12:50
So God's word is inspired by God.
12:55
There's over 40 different authors who wrote in the Word of
12:59
God, but each of those authors were inspired through the power
13:02
of the Holy Spirit through them to write the words that God
13:05
wanted them to write. So when we read God's Word, when
13:08
you get to open up Scripture that we in America have access
13:12
to whenever we want, some of us got it on our phones, we got
13:15
hard copies. We can literally open up the
13:17
Word of God that is from Him that He's given to us, that is
13:22
useful to teach us what is true. Remember what we talked about?
13:25
Discernment is what being able to tell the difference between
13:28
what is true and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil.
13:31
We learned that from God's Word first and foremost.
13:35
His voice is literally what gave us the Word of God.
13:40
He spoke that through the Holy Spirit, through the authors,
13:45
through the ones who wrote these words down.
13:46
They're not just the author's words.
13:49
These are God's words that were inspired by him, that were acted
13:53
upon through the fingertips of those writing it down.
13:57
This is not just some random things that we were given.
13:59
The Word of God is not just a random book that was put
14:02
together that has some cool, you know, you know, intellectual
14:06
things, some cool philosophy, some cool history to it.
14:10
No, this is literally the word of God.
14:12
It is inspired by God. It is useful to help us be more
14:16
like God. I love Hebrews 412.
14:18
It says for the word of God is alive and powerful.
14:21
Can I get an Amen? The word of the Word of God is
14:24
alive. It is powerful.
14:26
It is sharper than the sharpest 2 edged sword, cutting between
14:30
soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.
14:33
It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
14:38
God's Word is alive. God's Word transcends time.
14:42
God's Word never comes back. Void.
14:45
God's Word is inspired by Him. God's Word has been given to us
14:49
to know Him, to learn more about Him, to be more like Him.
14:54
God's Word gives us discernment to know what is from Him and
14:58
what's not from Him. It is alive.
15:00
It is not just for back then or for the future.
15:03
It's for all time periods, all people, all nations.
15:07
God's Word is alive and powerful.
15:09
It pierces through our hearts, it tells us what's wrong.
15:13
It teaches us who we're supposed to be.
15:16
It corrects us, it rebukes us. It tells us no, no, Carl's,
15:20
that's not right. That's not who you are.
15:23
That's not who you're called to live like.
15:25
It allows us to know good from evil.
15:29
And so when we open up God's word, we have to realize we are
15:32
literally opening up the Word of God, that we're connecting to
15:36
the God of the universe, the one who knows you, the one who
15:39
created you, the one who loves you.
15:41
You get to open up this word every single day.
15:44
Every single day we can open up God's Word and connect to Him,
15:48
to hear from him, to learn more about him, to be able to have
15:52
discernment on things in life because His Word teaches us.
15:56
So Psalms 119105 says your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a
16:02
light from my path. So many times when we're seeking
16:05
discernment, when we're wanting to know, what does God want
16:08
here? What should I do?
16:09
What decision should I make? Where should I go?
16:13
Don't forget that the Word of God is a lamp to your feet, a
16:16
light for your path. God guides us, He leads us.
16:21
He takes us to where he wants us to be through His word.
16:26
Do not neglect, guys, hear me, Do not neglect reading the Word
16:32
of God. Too many people, and I've heard
16:35
this from believers before, man. I got Jesus, I got my
16:37
relationship with Jesus. I'll be talking to Jesus.
16:39
You know, I'm saying my, my walk with Jesus, you know, I'll be
16:41
talking to him. I'll be having conversations.
16:43
And then they never open up God's word.
16:46
And then you know what happens? They're blown by every wind.
16:49
They're blown by every, every, you know, truth that they hear,
16:52
that they scroll on social media and they hear somebody who says
16:55
something that sounds really good, that's captivating because
16:59
someone's a really good speaker, that they're a good orator and
17:02
they're like, man, that is so good.
17:04
That must be truth. And so they get LED away by
17:09
these lies in their life, not truths, because they're not even
17:14
rooted in the truth that they're not opening up God's word, that
17:17
they're not spending intentional time to learn and grow in the
17:22
word of God. All of us have a duty.
17:26
All of us have an ability and a blessing and opportunity to open
17:31
up God's word daily to learn more about him, to let it impact
17:36
us. Because again, guys, it is true.
17:39
It is alive, it is powerful. It speaks to anyone and, and,
17:45
and everybody at any time period, at any era and any age,
17:51
whatever it may be, it's God's word.
17:53
It is going to accomplish what He wants it to because it's from
17:57
him. And so we need to be very
18:00
intentional to open up God's Word, to study it, to get into
18:03
rooms with other believers and discuss it, to meditate on it,
18:08
to memorize it, to pray God's Word over our lives and over our
18:12
family's life. Too many times we take this for
18:15
granted. We are not intentional to be in
18:17
God's Word and to learn more of who He is so we can be more like
18:22
Him. This is super important if you
18:24
are a follower of Jesus. God's voice will never
18:26
contradict God's Word. So if you are sensing something,
18:30
discerning something that contradicts Scripture, excuses
18:35
sin, or elevates self over surrender, it's not from God.
18:41
If what you are having discernment on does any of those
18:44
three things, I can promise you that that's not from the Holy
18:47
Spirit, that that's not from God, that's not from Him.
18:49
Why? Because it contradicts His Word,
18:51
which is where we hear Him first and foremost.
18:54
It excuses sin, which God does not call us to live in that way.
18:58
He has His way of living that He's given to us, that He's said
19:03
to us through His Word, which is why we should study His Word and
19:05
know it. And if it's elevating you over
19:09
surrendering to His authority over your life, if that's the
19:12
discernment you're getting on a decision or a motive or an
19:15
action you want to do or a thing that you're living in, I can
19:18
promise you that that's not from God.
19:20
God won't tell you something in private that contradicts what
19:23
He's already said in public. God's truth is His truth now and
19:28
always. Like I said, Jesus Christ,
19:31
Hebrews 13/8. Jesus Christ is the same
19:33
yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn't switch up.
19:37
We are the ones that switch up. So don't question God's
19:40
character when it's your character that's in question.
19:43
God is going to be the same now and forever.
19:46
What he says lives forever. It doesn't contradict what
19:51
you're hearing. And so if something you are
19:53
having discernment on contradicts God's word, then
19:56
it's not from God. So ask yourself, is this thing
20:00
is this decision? Is this purpose or calling that
20:04
I'm having from God? Let's first open up God's Word
20:09
to hear His voice. Let's see what His truth says so
20:12
we don't trade the truth for a lie in our lives that we live
20:15
out who He calls us to be because we know who He is and we
20:19
learn about who He is through His word #2 Discernment is a
20:26
spiritual gift, not just this feeling.
20:32
Now listen, I've had moments in my life with discernment that I
20:36
get this actual feeling over a situation, over something that's
20:41
going on. Even with spiritual warfare is
20:43
happening in my life, there is discernment that this is not
20:46
good. I do feel something.
20:49
But I want you to hear why I worded it as discernment is a
20:52
gift, not just a feeling is because sometimes I think we
20:56
just go off of our feeling rather than something that's
20:59
being empowered through us through the Holy Spirit.
21:03
And so we learn in First Corinthians 1433 that God is not
21:07
a God of disorder, but of peace. And so if something that I'm
21:12
trying to discern discern is just confusing and it's chaos
21:16
and it's not feeling like I'm at peace in it, that's not from
21:20
God. Discernment isn't gonna be
21:23
something that's feel feels chaotic, but it's something that
21:27
is a gift that is given to us through the power of the Holy
21:31
Spirit. And so Hebrews 514 it says solid
21:34
food is for the mature who by constant use have trained
21:38
themselves to distinguish good from evil.
21:42
Discernment is something that's developed, that's matured in us.
21:45
The more we're in God's Word, the more we're obedient to
21:48
Jesus. Our spiritual maturity will
21:51
cause an overflow of discernment in our lives.
21:54
It's not something that just happens, but it's something that
21:57
is developed that we grow in. The more we walk with Jesus, the
22:01
more we've we've the more we've walked with Christ, the more
22:06
we've been in his word, the more we've learned about him, the
22:09
more we've done life with him, the more we've been a part of a
22:12
body of Christ that we've had godly counsel in our lives.
22:15
Discernment grows and as the spiritual gift is overflowing in
22:19
our lives because knowing if you have the gift of discernment
22:22
looks like recognizing patterns, like sensing things that are
22:27
evil, that are not good, that spotting deception within maybe
22:31
a room within a person, being able to have deep intuition
22:34
about hidden motives, feeling different from others.
22:38
I'll give you a little bit of a example about this one time I
22:41
was in a place and there was this guy who started talking to
22:47
me and he said he was a believer and, and he traveled around the
22:50
world and he started talking about how he had healed these
22:53
people and, and kind of had these got this, you know, word
22:57
from the Lord. And he would go to this person
22:59
and ask them if something broke, do you have something broken in
23:01
your body? And to be incredible because
23:03
then God would give him this word and then he'd go and pray
23:05
over this person and it'd be that.
23:07
And he started then going on to this tangent and saying some
23:10
things that weren't even in Scripture.
23:13
And so I started to get this just feeling in, in my body that
23:18
was just like fiery and that I had my skin feeling like it was
23:22
crawling and all it felt like that that what he's saying is
23:26
not from God, that this literally the stuff he's talking
23:31
about isn't even in Scripture. And so I went right away.
23:35
God kind of took me to 1st John chapter 4 where John says, dear
23:39
friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the
23:42
Spirit. You must test them to see if the
23:44
spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false
23:48
prophets in the world. There are people that are going
23:51
to preach and teach things that are not from God that are not in
23:55
his word or they're going to preach and teach things that
23:57
best fit their narrative that best fit what they want.
24:01
It's just crazy that we're we're hopping into this episode and I
24:04
didn't even plan it this way, but my last episode, God, are we
24:07
are we our guys? My last episode was what we talk
24:10
about. Am I following the Jesus that I
24:12
want, that I want him to be, or am I following the Jesus of
24:16
Scripture? Is my life obedient to Jesus
24:20
that's revealed through God's inspired word, or am I
24:24
cultivating and constructing a Jesus that best fits who I want
24:28
him to be? And right here, John's saying,
24:31
guys, you cannot just believe everyone that claims to speak by
24:34
the Spirit. This guy was talking to me and
24:36
was claiming to speak by the Spirit that he was filled with
24:38
the Holy Ghost, that he was a follower of Jesus.
24:41
But he's saying things that don't align with Scripture.
24:44
He starts bringing stuff up that isn't even in the Word of God,
24:48
and he's trying to speak that over me.
24:50
And all I could feel was this uncomfortable feeling in my
24:53
spirit that this was not from God.
24:57
We have to be very careful. The only way we first and
25:00
foremost can know that. The only reason I even knew that
25:03
was number 1 was the empowerment from the Holy Spirit within me.
25:06
It's God. But also through time in God's
25:10
Word, I could tell what he was saying was not from God 'cause
25:14
it wasn't in God's Word. It it contradicted Scripture.
25:18
And we have to be intentional to spend time in God's Word.
25:22
Scripture tells us guys, that we will be blown by every wind,
25:27
that if we just don't know God's word, that anything that's
25:32
taught by us, anything that we hear, that it would just lead us
25:35
down past that are not truthful, that are not from God, that are
25:38
not good for us. And in Ephesians 4414 is where
25:42
this is said, Paul says, so that we may no longer be children
25:46
tossed to and from by the waves and carried by every wind of
25:50
doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful
25:54
schemes. Paul's telling us, guys, we got
25:57
to be in our word. We can't just expect ourselves
26:01
to be able to discern things when we are not ourselves in
26:05
God's Word to be able to just to do it, to be able to discern it
26:10
in the first place because we don't know his truth.
26:14
So we have to know this guys. Discernment grows through
26:17
practice, not through preference, not through what we
26:21
want it to be. Discernment is something we walk
26:23
with Jesus that we ask the Holy Spirit to give us discernment on
26:27
issues on things that are happening in our lives and
26:30
around us. I love in first Corinthians
26:32
1412, Paul says, and the same is true for you since you are so
26:37
eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives.
26:40
Seek those that will strengthen the whole church.
26:43
One thing we need to understand, guys, is that spiritual
26:45
discernment, these spiritual gifts that come from the Holy
26:48
Spirit, they are given to us to edify and build up the church.
26:53
It is for the good of the body. It's for the good of brothers
26:56
and sisters in Christ, so we can encourage one another that we
26:59
can build up one another in truth.
27:02
And so when we're asking for discernment, when we are seeking
27:05
what it means to have discernment from the Holy
27:07
Spirit, this is given to us. So we can encourage one another
27:10
that we can speak God's truth over one another, that comes
27:12
from His Word, His voice. That when we pray over each
27:16
other, we can pray for discernment for one another.
27:19
That we can ask God to give us a leading from his Word, to be
27:23
able to speak over one another when we're maybe struggling with
27:26
something, when we maybe need correction, when we need rebuke,
27:29
when we give each other godly counsel.
27:32
This gift from the from discernment from the Holy Spirit
27:36
is for us to be able to help one another live out this life.
27:39
So how do I know if it's God speaking to me and not me?
27:43
You got to open up God's Word. You got to know His Word.
27:46
You got to study His Word. You got to be filled.
27:48
Have His word written on your hearts as Scripture says.
27:51
We have heart checks through God's word that we have to know
27:55
it, that we have to store it up like a treasure in our souls and
27:59
in our minds and in our hearts daily.
28:02
Jesus as he prayed, God, give me today my daily bread.
28:05
Give me the spiritual resources that I need, that you have
28:09
unlimited in your word that you've given us this inspired
28:13
word from you that's alive and powerful.
28:15
Lord, fill me with it. Let me understand it.
28:17
Let me seek you in it. Let me fill my mind and my heart
28:21
and my soul with it. But God does still speak to us
28:26
through the Holy Spirit. And one thing that teaches us
28:30
this is Jesus when he's talking to the disciples and the
28:32
Gospels. John 14, chapter 14 through 16.
28:35
If you haven't read those, go read those later.
28:37
But I'm going to read a little bit through John 16.
28:39
Jesus explains to us who the Holy Spirit is and why He has to
28:44
go back to heaven because He then can send the Advocate as He
28:49
describes the Holy Spirit to us to dwell within the believer,
28:53
His followers, He says in John 16, verse 8 through 13.
28:56
And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin and
29:01
of God's righteousness and the coming judgment.
29:03
One thing the Holy Spirit does, it convicts us.
29:06
It does not condemn us, but the Holy Spirit convicts us.
29:09
It reminds us who we are in Christ.
29:12
It reminds us who we're supposed to be, how we're supposed to
29:14
live it. The Holy Spirit teaches us God's
29:17
truth and he convicts us of God's truth that when we are in
29:23
that sin, when we're making those decisions that are not
29:25
from God, the Holy Spirit is who convicts us and reminds us who
29:30
we are in Christ Jesus. And he goes on to say in verse
29:33
9, the world sin is that it refuses to believe in me.
29:37
Righteousness is, is available because I go to the Father and
29:40
you will see me. More judgment will come because
29:43
the ruler of this world, Satan, has already been judged.
29:48
Verse 12. There's so much more I want to
29:50
tell you, but you can't bear it now.
29:52
Verse 13, when the spirit of truth comes, He will guide you
29:56
into all truth. He will not speak on his own,
30:01
but will tell you what he has heard.
30:03
He will tell you about the future.
30:06
How cool is that? Guys?
30:08
Jesus is saying the Holy Spirit will speak what I've only told
30:11
him to speak to you. That Jesus is telling the Holy
30:15
Spirit to tell us what we need to hear.
30:18
That when we have that conviction, when we are feeling
30:22
that nudge, that pull, that that discernment of this is not from
30:27
God, that is Jesus speaking through the Holy Spirit to us,
30:29
that He will lead us into all truth.
30:33
And remember guys, God's truth is what in his word, that God's
30:37
voice is revealed to us through his word and through his Spirit
30:39
within us, that the Spirit will speak that truth to us.
30:44
That it will, the Holy Spirit will convict us.
30:47
He will remind us who we are, that he will lead us to all
30:51
truth that advocate our helper. That's amazing.
30:54
It's incredible that we have access to Jesus through the Holy
30:58
Spirit, that again, Jesus is our high priest, that he has bridged
31:02
the gap between US and God the Father.
31:04
And now through Jesus, he's given us, he sent us the Holy
31:08
Spirit to help us hear from him, to learn from him, to be more
31:11
like him. And so are you even praying and
31:15
asking the Holy Spirit to give you discernment in life to help
31:19
lead you more into who God caused you to be.
31:22
Because #3 the danger of confusing desire with direction.
31:28
God's direction is not from your desire, but from His desires,
31:32
from His will for your life. Because Jeremiah 17, nine says
31:36
the heart is deceitful above all things.
31:40
That Proverbs 1412 says there is a way that seems right but leads
31:45
to death. That's not from God, that's from
31:48
the world. So we have to be super
31:50
intentional to make sure we're listening to God and not our own
31:53
voice, that we're being in God's Word, That we don't get caught
31:57
up in confusing our desire with God's direction in our lives
32:02
'cause that's gonna lead us farther from Him and farther
32:04
from His path and His and His desires and His wants and His
32:08
will for our life. So we have to have a heart
32:11
check. We have to ask ourselves, am I
32:13
listening to God or am I listening to my own voice?
32:18
Do I want clarity in this question or this issue or this
32:22
situation that I'm in? Do I want clarity from God or do
32:25
I just want confirmation? Do I just want God to confirm
32:29
what I already what I want? Do I want clarity?
32:32
Do I want to be corrected? Do I want to hear God's truth?
32:35
Do I want to be convicted or do I want God to just agree with
32:38
what I want Him to agree with? We live in a world that wants us
32:42
to just affirm what people wanted to want them to affirm.
32:47
But that's not how God functions.
32:48
God's truth is his truth. It's the truth, the absolute
32:52
truth. God's intention for marriage was
32:57
between one man and one woman. That's God's truth, God says
33:04
through his word, John 14-6. Jesus says I am the way, the
33:08
truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father
33:10
except through me. There is no other way to heaven.
33:15
Your uncle being a good guy isn't going to lead him to
33:17
heaven. The people who say, well,
33:20
there's many ways to heaven because there's just people who
33:22
believe these other things and they're really kind.
33:25
Yeah, I believe they're nice people, but if they haven't put
33:29
their faith in Jesus, they're not going to heaven.
33:31
There's only one way to heaven. There's only one way to eternal
33:35
life, and it's through Jesus Christ, faith in him.
33:39
These are God's truth that people don't want to hear.
33:44
God through Jesus fulfilling the law.
33:47
He says I've not come here to abolish the law, I've come to
33:49
fulfill it. Jesus came to raise the bar.
33:52
Jesus says you have heard the commandment that says you must
33:55
not commit adultery, but I say anyone who even looks at a woman
33:59
with lust has already committed adultery in his heart.
34:04
Jesus raises the bar. Jesus says, if you're going to
34:07
be a follower of mine, you are called to think, act and talk
34:12
like me. Everything that you say, think
34:14
or do should flow from a place that's of obedience and
34:18
representation of me that God says he knew as the as the
34:23
Pharisees try to trip up Jesus and say to him, well, didn't you
34:27
say that, you know, in the law of Moses we could divorce people
34:31
that we could do these things that we wanted to do?
34:33
And I love that Jesus says back to them, he responds to these
34:38
people who are trying to basically trip them up, these
34:40
Pharisees who are saying, well, I mean, it's said that he could
34:43
do these things. Even in the law of Moses, God
34:46
said we could do these things. And I love that Jesus replied,
34:50
Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard
34:54
hearts. But it was not what God had
34:56
originally intended. God said, yeah, you guys can
35:00
divorce. We're going to do this law.
35:01
We're going to do this law through Moses.
35:03
We're going to allow divorce. The only reason he's a lot, it's
35:06
not a prescription for all of us that we can do this.
35:10
He's saying he allowed this to happen because people's hearts
35:13
were hard. They wanted to do what they
35:14
wanted to do. We want to do what we want to
35:17
do. We want to be in sin.
35:18
We want to make decisions that we want to make.
35:21
And so God had allowed them. He had, as Romans one says, Paul
35:25
said he gave them over to their sinful desires.
35:28
And I can promise you guys right now, you do not want God to just
35:31
give you over to your sinful desires, to take his hands off
35:35
you, to say, all right, this is how you want to live.
35:38
I'll let you live that way. I'll let you do what you want to
35:42
do. What do we talk about earlier?
35:44
The world says, follow your heart, trust your truth, do what
35:48
feels right. That is not the way you want to
35:52
live 'cause that way leads to spiritual death.
35:56
That way leads to a life after this life that's separated from
36:00
God forever in hell and everlasting fire.
36:04
That living that life is not who God calls you to be.
36:09
You've put that faith in Jesus. Follow Jesus with all your
36:12
heart, mind and soul and strength.
36:13
Love Him with all of you. Ask Him for discernment, to not
36:18
get confused with your own desires rather than His
36:21
direction in your life, rather than His truth.
36:23
Ask yourself, am I listening to God or am I listening to my own
36:27
voice? Am I wanting clarity so I can be
36:30
convicted of my sin to live more like Jesus?
36:32
Or do I want Him to just confirm my sin, to confirm my narrative,
36:36
to confirm who I want Him to be in my little mold, who I want
36:40
Jesus to be so it fits my comfortability, rather than do I
36:45
want to be more like Christ? Desire is loud in our lives.
36:51
God is often gentle and is still small voice.
36:55
He whispers to us, that is not who you are, that is not who I
37:00
created you to be. You are mine.
37:03
I bought you with a price. You are my son, you are my
37:05
daughter. You are chosen, you are loved,
37:06
you are holy, you are set apart. I have a purpose for you.
37:11
That is what God does in our lives through discernment,
37:15
through the Holy Spirit in US. Don't get caught up in
37:18
contradicting scripture, excusing sin, and wanting to
37:22
live how you want to live. Ask for discernment.
37:27
Listen to God's voice. Shut stuff off guys.
37:30
Isolate yourself with Jesus. Turn off all loud noises, turn
37:34
off your phone, go out into nature and spend time daily in
37:41
your words so you can understand what truth is.
37:45
I understand God's voice, that question of man, Carlos, I don't
37:49
know God's voice. I don't know if it's from him or
37:51
it's from me. And again, I ask people, do you
37:54
read your word? And sadly, for most believers,
37:58
it's. Yeah.
37:59
I mean, I, I, I read it here and there, you know, maybe once a
38:02
week, maybe every couple weeks, maybe once a month
38:04
intentionally. And then I look at him and I
38:07
say, how do you expect to know God's voice when you don't know
38:11
God's word? I can't know what God's truth is
38:15
if I don't spend time in His truth.
38:19
It's easy, as we said, to get blown by every wind, tossed and
38:23
turned by every false doctrine. We hear everything that's
38:25
preached at us that we just take it as, Yep, that's what it is.
38:30
That we show up on Sunday morning and that's the only time
38:33
we read God's word. That we take everything the
38:35
pastor has said from the pulpit as truth.
38:38
As someone who preaches from the pulpit, I want you to be in your
38:42
word. I want you to seek Jesus on your
38:45
own time. Also gather, gather in Sunday
38:48
morning, gather throughout the week with brothers and sisters.
38:50
Getting God's Word in community 'cause that is also super
38:53
important in a time when we receive discernment through
38:56
godly counsel. But first and foremost, guys, we
38:59
follow Jesus one-on-one. We read His word.
39:04
We will be accountable to God for all the things we did or
39:08
didn't do in this world. Just us with God, not others,
39:12
not our pastor, not our church members, us.
39:16
We will face God face to face on our own.
39:20
And so are you seeking God in His word?
39:23
Are you being intentional to spend time with him?
39:26
So how God actually speaks to us?
39:30
He speaks primarily through His Word.
39:32
God speaks most clearly through Scripture to us, through His
39:37
inspired Word of God that's alive and active and powerful
39:42
and sharper than A2 edged sword. And then he speaks through the
39:45
Holy Spirit as we read. As Jesus said, the Holy Spirit
39:50
will only speak the truth that I've told Him to guide you into.
39:53
He will tell you what I've told Him to tell you.
39:57
So we hear from God through the Holy Spirit as well, that He
40:00
gives us conviction, not condemnation.
40:03
Romans 81 There is no condemnation for those who
40:05
belong to Christ Jesus, but the Holy Spirit definitely convicts
40:09
us as we read in the beginning. Guy Second Timothy 316 All
40:13
scriptures inspired by God, useful to what?
40:16
Teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong.
40:19
It corrects us and it teaches us what is right.
40:23
It prepares us to live out who we're called to be.
40:26
It equips God's people to do every good work, all the good
40:30
things He planned for us long ago.
40:33
And he when he speaks through the Holy Spirit, guys, it is
40:38
peaceful, not chaotic. I wanted to bring that verse up
40:43
from First Corinthians, 'cause we have to realize God is a God
40:46
of order, not disorder, not chaos.
40:49
So when we hear from God, when we've been given discernment, it
40:53
shouldn't feel chaotic. It shouldn't feel confusion.
40:57
You shouldn't feel like, man, I don't know, is this real?
41:00
It should feel like peace because it's from God.
41:03
It's not from the world, it's not from your own voice, but
41:06
it's from Him. But then we also hear God's
41:10
voice through godly community. Proverbs 11/14.
41:15
I love this verse. It says in the multitude of
41:17
counselors there is safety. Godly counsel is so important in
41:22
our lives. So if you are not connected to a
41:25
local body that you're not doing things with brothers and sisters
41:28
in Christ, getting into God's word, sitting in a circle,
41:32
really doing life with brothers and sisters.
41:34
I encourage you find a local body, find a community that you
41:39
can plug into, that you can do life with, that you can belong
41:42
and be known and become like Jesus with one another.
41:46
That is super important because God speaks through his children,
41:51
through your brothers and sisters.
41:52
You can get that encouragement, You can get that discernment,
41:56
you can get godly counsel on things, but you first and
41:59
foremost pray. You seek out discernment through
42:01
the power of the Holy Spirit. You be in God's word, but then
42:04
you get around brothers and sisters who can also correct
42:06
you, also help you point you to God's truth to and encourage you
42:11
to disciple you to pour into you always have people in your life
42:14
who are doing that for you because it's so important.
42:19
But I pray God, I pray guys. I pray guys, just like Paul says
42:24
in Philippians one night, he says, I pray that your love will
42:26
overflow more and more and that you will keep on growing in
42:29
knowledge and understanding. Understanding is another way of
42:33
discerning that we have the power of the Holy Spirit in US
42:39
that now biblical understanding in our lives because we have
42:42
knowledge of God that we're spending time in his word, that
42:45
we're learning more about him, that we're knowing more of who
42:49
he is, but also not just learning about who he is and,
42:53
and puffing our heads up with a lot of knowledge.
42:55
But then he also says, Paul says understanding and biblical
42:59
understanding is the spiritual ability to comprehend, discern,
43:04
and apply God's truth, wisdom, and will to our lives.
43:08
Moving beyond just, I know all these things, but actually
43:12
having our heart aligned with God's will, his, his teachings
43:18
and commands over our life to actually live it out, to not
43:22
just know about God, but to live like God.
43:26
So biblical knowledge is knowing about God, but biblical
43:29
understanding gives us discernment to live out who God
43:33
is, to be more like him. And so we ask God to give us
43:38
discernment, give us understanding, help us be more
43:41
like you, to actually live this out.
43:44
This is super important in our lives.
43:46
God, we have to be in God's word, we have to listen to his
43:52
voice and we have to be around godly community in order to be
43:55
more like Christ, to have that discernment to not just be
43:59
isolated with him, which is very good, have the isolation with
44:05
him, but then also have the community with believers as
44:08
well. So it's it's a both end.
44:11
We have to be intentional to be seeking God through his word,
44:14
having that one-on-one time, but then also having time with
44:17
brothers and sisters and being connected to a local community
44:20
as well. And I just want to give you guys
44:23
some things you can mark down. These are common discernment
44:25
killers, rushing decisions. Be quick to listen, slow to
44:32
speak, slow to become angry, as as we're told in James 1.
44:36
So be quick to listen vertically and horizontally.
44:41
Be quick to listen, slow to speak.
44:44
Don't be so fast to say, well, this is what I want to do, this
44:47
is what I want to happen. And then just rush into a
44:48
decision. I told you guys, however many
44:50
episodes ago, a time in my life where I rushed a decision and
44:53
made a decision without prayer, and that was not discernment.
44:57
And then I lived a year that was apart from God, that wasn't
45:01
blessed by God, wasn't favored by Him because I rushed a
45:04
decision in my life. So #1 rushing decisions is a
45:08
discernment killer. But another discernment killer
45:10
is ignoring Scripture. I'll say it again, over and over
45:13
again, guys, you've got to be in God's Word.
45:15
You got to know His truth so you can know His voice.
45:19
Do not ignore Scripture in your life #3 avoiding accountability.
45:26
This is huge. Do not avoid accountability in
45:30
your life. Have brothers for you guys.
45:33
Have brothers in Christ in your life who you trust and you've
45:36
welcomed into your inner circle to have accountability with you,
45:40
to let you know, no man, that's not it.
45:42
That doesn't align with Scripture.
45:44
That's not who God calls you to be.
45:45
Have brothers in Christ who are iron sharpens iron moment.
45:48
When iron sharpens iron, sparks fly.
45:51
It's not fun, it's not enjoyable, but it's needed.
45:55
So have brothers in Christ, sisters, have sisters in Christ
45:58
who will look at you and say the hard things that aren't just yes
46:01
women or men that aren't just yes men that would just say,
46:04
yeah, man, that's cool. Like even though they feel it in
46:06
their spirit that yeah, that's not good, man.
46:08
That's not who God calls you to be.
46:10
That's not really going to be God's blessing over that.
46:12
But you know what? Do your thing, you know, have
46:15
people in your life who are going to give you biblical
46:18
loving accountability that get the log out of their own eyes
46:21
before they get the speck out of yours.
46:23
Have some people like that in your life.
46:26
So rushing decisions, ignoring Scripture, avoiding
46:28
accountability #4 seeking signs instead of obedience.
46:34
So too many times I think we can get caught up in as followers of
46:37
Jesus that God show me this thing.
46:39
I need to have this big old lightning from heaven moments to
46:43
know that this is what you want for me to know that this is what
46:46
you have to. Sometimes we seek discernment in
46:48
a way that I need to have this huge sign, this vision, this
46:51
dream. Not to say God doesn't do that
46:53
and can't do that, but if we're so focused on, I need it to be
46:57
this big old thing and we get so caught up in that that we're not
47:00
even really obeying Jesus in our walk with him.
47:03
That's a problem. Discernment comes from daily
47:06
walks with Christ, from daily obedience, from daily eating of
47:10
His bread, from daily prayer, from daily counsel, from being
47:15
with brothers and sisters. This is just an important thing.
47:17
Don't get too caught up in needing God to give you this wow
47:21
moment to know what it is. Rather, see how He moves in just
47:25
the little decisions you make, in the little steps that you
47:28
take 'cause I promise you God will open doors when He's, when
47:31
He wants to, when it's supposed to happen.
47:33
Remember, God's will is pleasing, good and perfect, and
47:39
so His timing is always perfect. So trust in Him, but take steps
47:43
of obedience daily with Him, seeking Him rather than seeking
47:46
science. And last but not least, only
47:49
praying after deciding. This is a huge one.
47:55
I say this all the time to people I counsel and I disciple.
47:59
Pray over every situation, every decision, anything happening in
48:04
your life, every resume you fill out, every job you go to, every
48:08
person before you go on that first date and the second day
48:11
and the third day and etcetera. Pray over everything in your
48:15
life. This is what Paul means when he
48:17
says pray without ceasing. That our lives should look like
48:20
everything that's happening, anything that's going on, I'm
48:24
praying over it. First that I'm asking God, is
48:27
this a person for me? Is the is this a person I should
48:30
seek and be in a relationship with?
48:32
Is this the right job for me? Is this the right school for me?
48:36
Is this the right decision I should make?
48:39
Is this the way I should treat this person?
48:41
Is this the way I should respond in a certain situation?
48:44
Pray over everything. Don't just pray after you
48:48
decided what you already decided because you want to do what you
48:50
want to do. Rather pray before you even make
48:53
a decision. So common discernment killers,
48:57
Russian decisions and ignoring scripture, avoiding
49:00
accountability, seeking signs instead of obedience, and only
49:04
praying after deciding. I'll I'll say this to the
49:07
avoiding accountability guys. If you don't want
49:10
accountability, you probably don't want discernment.
49:13
We have to be willing to be in accountability in a biblical
49:17
way, in an honest and true and authentic Christ centered
49:21
relationship if we want discernment 'cause God also
49:26
holds us accountable and then He gives us people in our lives to
49:29
have accountability with. So if you don't want
49:31
accountability, you probably don't want discernment in your
49:34
life. You probably don't want to be
49:35
able to tell what's good from evil and know what's truth from
49:38
lies. To be able to be more like
49:40
Jesus. To have the discernment to test
49:42
the spirits and know what's from God and not what is and isn't.
49:47
So I'm going to leave you guys with a couple practical
49:49
discernment questions. You know, for a heart check
49:52
moment for you #1 ask yourself when you have these moments,
49:55
when you're praying through things now, when you start to
49:57
take these steps, when you start to listen to God's voice, to
50:00
listen for him through his Word, to listen for him through the
50:03
Holy Spirit, but then to also listen for him through your
50:07
community, your godly community. Ask these questions.
50:10
Does this align with scripture? Does this glorify Jesus or
50:14
elevate me? Does this require faith or just
50:17
comfort? Am I willing to obey even if God
50:21
says no? It's a big one and #5 would I
50:25
still choose this if no one applauded?
50:28
Would I still choose to obey God in this?
50:32
If I get no recognition, I get no pat on the backs that there's
50:35
really nothing worldly of treasure wise that's coming in
50:39
this, but obeying Jesus in the treasure that waits for us in
50:43
heaven, the reward that's in heaven for us.
50:46
Would you still choose this if no one applauded?
50:49
So ask those questions to you guys because the reality is
50:51
culture's gonna tell you follow your truth.
50:54
Do you Boo Boo, trust your feelings, do what makes you
50:58
happy. But don't forget the biblical
51:01
Jesus as we talked about last week.
51:03
He says what? Deny yourself, pick up your
51:08
cross daily and follow me. Discernment isn't about finding
51:13
what feels right, it's about submitting to what is right.
51:19
It's not about just making me feel good and having all the
51:23
fuzzies. And man, this is so good.
51:25
I love this 'cause I love it and I want this to be what is my
51:28
life 'cause it makes me feel good and it's the most
51:31
comfortable. Now.
51:32
Discernment is about submitting to what is right, to what is
51:36
truthful, to what is biblical, to what is good, to what is from
51:41
God, not from the world. So again, guys, discernment
51:46
flows from surrender. So just as we talked about last
51:50
week, if Jesus isn't Lord of your life, his voice will feel
51:54
optional, His commands will feel negotiable.
51:57
That we can say, oh God, I don't know if I want to do that.
52:00
I want to do this part. I do like this part that you
52:02
command me to do, so I'll do that, but I don't like this one.
52:04
So we try to make it where it's like we can negotiate God's
52:07
commands and teachings over our lives.
52:10
His voice is not optional, it's number one, it's priority.
52:14
His commands are not negotiable. But when He is Lord, obedience
52:19
becomes clear, direction becomes grounded, and peace follows
52:23
surrender. So I'll end this with this guys.
52:26
The goal isn't to hear God perfectly, It's to follow Him
52:31
faithfully. And my prayer for you guys is
52:34
that's what your life starts to look like.
52:37
So let me pray over you and we can get up out of here.
52:39
Lord Jesus, we love you and God, we praise you for who you are.
52:43
Lord Jesus, I thank you so much for your word that we can open
52:47
up your Holy Spirit inspired word that comes from you God, to
52:52
learn more about who you are, but not just learn more about
52:55
who you are, but to then live it out to be like you, to live like
52:59
you, to think like you, to speak like you, Jesus.
53:02
So I pray just as Paul prayed God, that our love will overflow
53:07
more and more and that we will grow in knowledge and
53:10
understanding God, and we will be more like you.
53:13
God, give us discernment in our lives that leads us to you and
53:17
leads us to a life that looks more like you.
53:20
I love you God. I pray for your blessing and
53:21
favor over all those listening right now, God, and I pray for
53:24
you to give us discernment and fill us with the Holy Spirit
53:26
God, so we can be people who remember who we are and you God,
53:31
and that we can know your truth and stand on it as our firm
53:35
foundation. We love you Jesus, we praise
53:37
you. We say all this and your holy
53:40
and powerful name, Amen. I love y'all.
53:43
God bless.