Spiritual Gifts Part 8 "Discerning of Spirits
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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:
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Introduction.
Introduction.
Alison, Stuart, Peter Birthday
Discernment
distinguishing; hence, deciding, passing sentence on
Webster 1828
DISCERNMENT, noun The act of discerning; also, the power or faculty of the mind, by which it distinguishes one thing from another, as truth from falsehood, virtue from vice; acuteness of judgment; power of perceiving differences of things or ideas, and their relations and tendencies.
Discerner = Judge
Just like there are three types of prophets, there are three types of discernment.
Discerning the Secrets of the Hearts by a Vision. (Prophet only)
The Gift of Discerning of Spirits
Christian Discernment between Good and Evil
All of us have Christian Discernment if we have the Holy Ghost, but we grow in that.
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
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.
Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The Pharisees could not discern the right things.
Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
Many times we discern the group a man is in and who lets him preach rather than his spirit and motives.
I think it’s a good thing for us, as ministers, to follow our order, when we see such things in the world as we see today. And we have an order from God, is for the discerning of spirits, trying the spirit.
I believe that that is a very great lesson for the church today, is to try the spirit of anything, have discernment of the spirit.
I do not think that we should ever, by any means, ever try to judge a person by the denomination they belong to, or by the group that they are assembled with, whether they be Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, or whatever they are.
We should never judge the man by the denomination that he belongs to. We should always judge him by the spirit he has, see, the spirit.
We are to discern spirits. Watch what the man has in mind, what he’s trying to achieve. If the man, by a gift, no matter how great the gift is…
Now, there is so much in the day that we live in, pertaining to “gifts.” So many people judge people by gifts that they have. Well, I believe that these things are gifts. I believe that what we see take place is gifts, and they are God-given gifts.
But, we, if we do not use them in the right way that God intended them to be used, then we can do more harm with the gifts than we could if we did not have the gifts.
The other night I made a statement at the pulpit, saying this, that I would rather see brotherly love existing among the church, if we didn’t have one case of healing or anything else. See, we must know what these things are for.
Now, if a man comes and he has a great gift, no matter if he belongs to our denomination or another denomination, don’t judge him by what denomination he come from, how he dresses, but what you want to see is what he’s trying to do with that gift.
What purpose he has. If he’s trying to take his influence and build himself a great name out of it, I’d have discernment of spirit enough to know that’s wrong.
No matter how great a teacher he is, how powerful he is, how intellectual he is, or how his gift operates, if he isn’t trying to achieve something for the benefit of the Body of Christ, your own spiritual discernment would tell you that that’s wrong.
No matter how accurate, how perfect, how it is, it’s wrong if it isn’t used for the Body of Jesus Christ.
You’re not discerning the man, you’re discerning the spirit, the life that’s in the man. And that’s what God told us to do.
Not one time was we ever commissioned to discern the man’s group. But we was constrained and commanded by God to discern the spirit in the man, what he’s trying to do, what the spirit in his life is trying to lead him to. 60-0308 - Discernment Of Spirit
Discerning of Spirits
Discerning of Spirits
The Gift of discerning of spirits, along with the gift of wisdom, was to be used to judge the other gifts.
Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
Now, after this, before you start this, get some spirit of wisdom in there, some discernment of spirits, you see, to find out. The first thing, you know, you begin to notice that somebody’s begin to see that there’s a little something wrong, that’s discernment. 61-0112 - Questions And Answers
There’s a lot difference between a prophet and a gift of prophecy. Before a gift of prophecy really should be given in the church, it has to come before two or three judges that’s got the gift of discernment, to say whether it can even be said. 61-0212M - Jehovah-Jireh
But my gift is different.” Okay.
But what the Church needs tonight is know how to control these gifts. See? For evil spirits can come in and speak just the same as good spirits can speak. You know that. And you must have the spirit of discernment to know that. They had it in the Bible times.
Why, if they didn’t do it then, why did Paul say let one judge and the people judge and so forth. Those gifts of prophecy, everything is supposed to be correctly put in order.
For Satan can imitate every gift that God’s got. Every gift, he can imitate it. And you must know the right and wrong, and by its fruits you know it. Watch whether it comes to pass and whether it’s truth or not. And that’s the way you know the Spirit. 56-0723 - Led By The Spirit Of God
The gifts have been restored, but the restoration of gifts is not our Message. Our Message is the full Word.
Then we come into the pentecostal age. And the restoration of the gifts is a very fine thing, it was fine in the age, but we are going beyond that now. We are beyond that, just as sure as there is a world.
We’ve got to become beyond this thing, because we have done the same thing with it that they did before, make an idol out of it. “I belong to this order of it, I belong to that order of it.”
God will send somebody that will smash the thing and tear it to pieces, and confirm His Word, the full Word. 65-0119 - The God Who Is Rich In Mercy
A Prophet’s Discernment
What Bro. Branham called discernment happens one time to the Gentile Age.
Example = Elisha
Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
This gift was known by the kings of the earth.
Bro. Branham always goes back to Abraham on this.
And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
She was in the tent behind him.
Simon
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Nathanael
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Watch what Nathanael says:
Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
I don’t say your pastor or anybody would be taking the gift of discernment. They don’t have to do that; that’s not their calling. That’s not their calling, to do that. That’s to be one in an age. 64-0621 - The Trial
This was not just a gift. I heard Bro. Byskal speak on this some time ago, The Word is the discerner, Bro. Branham is constantly trying to move them away from their understanding of discernemnt
The Son of Man is the Word.
Watch what this One did to the church elected. And Jesus called your attention to the same thing, would happen in the last days, “when the Son of man would reveal Hisself in human flesh,” the Word knowing the secret of the heart.
As It said, “It’s more powerful than a two-edged sword, and a Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Like all the prophets did. Like Jesus did, Himself, was called Beelzebub. And rejected here, again, in the last days. 64-0427 — A Trial
But the Word in those prophets always was able to foretell and to discern. That’s the Word for that day. That’s what identified them as prophets.
And remember, He promised that the world would be in that condition, and would receive that sign again before His Coming. 64-0427 — A Trial
To the best of my knowledge, there is no gift that stands on a platform and reveals the secrets of the hearts except for a Word Prophet. That would not be one of the nine Spiritual gifts.
This was the sign of the resurrection. If that gift could be in anyone then how did they know Jesus was the one? How did the woman at the well know?
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
This was the sign of the revealing of the Son of Man.
Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
This was the last sign.
Remember, that sign of discernment is the last message to the Gentile church. 58-0613 - The Queen Of The South
The next thing to the seed of Abraham, they’re getting their last sign, a discernment just like it was Jesus’ day. That’s the last sign to the church.
Remember; write it down. I may be gone. See if it’s right or not: last Biblical sign. 61-0312 - Jehovah-Jireh
God changed her body, and turned them back. It’s a mystery that’s to be revealed now in this day, by the Son of man, see, the evening Message.
Turned back! And that was the last sign they seen, was (what?) that discernment, before the change of the body come. 64-0719M - The Feast Of The Trumpets
And, remember, Abraham and his group never received one more sign from God, until the promised son arrived. How many knows that’s true? That sign of discernment!
And the royal Seed of Abraham, let me hear you…Let me tell you, THUS SAITH THE LORD, you’re receiving your last sign.
That’s according to the Scriptures and the revelation of God that’s in my heart, that speaks that this is the Truth. And I trust that you will believe it to be the Truth. 65-0426 - Proving His Word
Since the beginning there have always been impersonations of that sign.
I’m thankful I came up the way I did. I’ve known at least a handful of men who claimed to have the gift of discernment, and operate it from the platform.
In every case it was vague, like “someone has a headache”.
The first place, as the woman is leaving me, I see her at a table. And she’s refusing to eat, because she has stomach trouble. And she is at a place where there’s somebody looking through, or into her bowels. It’s a doctor.
And he says, she’s got something wrong in the colon. He calls it a stoppage, or a block, or something in the colon, the doctor did. I see it on the paper there that he was writing on. That’s right. That’s THUS SAITH THE LORD.
There’s two of them consulted that. That’s right. See two of them. Do you believe me to be His prophet?
Now, here’s another thing. I see someone standing by you. It’s a child, little fellow about ten years old, and he’s here with you today. And he suffers with a migraine headache.
That’s right. Amen. Now, take that handkerchief in your hand and lay it on him and it shall leave him. 56-0415 - The Deep Calling To The Deep
This lady right back here, suffering with headache. God, don’t let her miss it. O God, please. Miss Morton, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He healed you from that headache.
See, He wouldn’t let her pass by. I want to ask you something. Last night when I spoke to somebody in the building about their headache, you had a real funny feeling, and you was wondering whether that was you, or not. Isn’t that right?
Raise up your hand. I’m not reading your mind, but I’m telling you what you’ve been thinking. That’s right.
Today He wanted to be sure that it was you. It’ll leave you now, your faith has saved you. 62-0707 - Jehovah-Jireh #3
I see a woman, she don’t even realize she’s got that faith. It’s a hidden faith. She don’t even confess it. She’s suffering with a headache.
She’s sitting here looking at me, right up here. Mrs. Singer. Surprised you, didn’t it? Your headaches is going to leave you now. Now you tell your critics to answer that. 62-0708 - A Super Sign
Critics today say Bro. Branham memorized the prayer cards and thus knew who they were and their addresses. This is nonsense and very easily disproved.
First, because of the detail.
You, sir, now you believe with all your heart. We are strangers to each other. I’ve never seen you in my life.
And I’ll tell you now; this is the first time you ever seen me. You’ve never been in one of my meetings before. This is your first time. That’s right.
And you’re here suffering with something wrong in your throat. And you have a stomach trouble. That’s right. It’s gas on your stomach.
You’re nervous. You used to have a job that you’re ashamed of now. You worked at a nightclub. You was an entertainer in a nightclub. That’s right.
Your name is Edge. R. H. Edge is your name. Your wife is here with you. She’s in the meeting. If God will tell me what’s wrong with your wife, will you accept her healing too? It’s her foot. That’s right. Correct.
You’re not from this city. You’re from a place…You’re below a big city, south of a big city, about twenty-five miles, Springfield, Illinois. Now, go home and receive your healing, and be well in the Name of the Lord Jesus. God bless you, sir. 58-0112E - The Door To The Heart
(Show clip from “The Deep Calleth unto the Deep.
Conclusion.
Conclusion.
That is a real prophet. This was a gift of prophetic discernment by vision.
(Joseph’s one mistake)
We don’t want to ever limit God, He can do what He wants, but for me, give me the real thing. Give me something accurate.