The Joy of the Discerning Life

Intro

Good morning, Welcome to harvest! Both, for those of you joining us online and of course those of you with me here in person. My name is .... and I am ....

Prayer.......

We live in an age of folly, where it does not take much effort to run into someone thinking, saying, and doing something that scripture refers to as foolishness, and even evil.

I remember as a young boy, probably in my early teen years, I was hungry, and usually if you’re hungry between meals, there wasn’t anything like snacks, so there was a coconut tree in our yard, and i did what any other hungry teen would do at that time, I picked a coconut, it was little difficult to get to, but I did. I reached for the cutlass, some of you might call it a machete, to shave or husk the coconut, now anyone who is thinking clearly would husk the coconut on the ground, if you are more skilled, you can husk the coconut in your hand. But you wouldn’t be able to guess where i placed the coconut to be husked? Now i’ve done a lot of unwise things in my life, so much so that i couldn’t remember all of them if I tried. But I specifically remembered this one because I have a scar right here (thigh) to prove it. So I have a scar to prove my folly ..... Now this brand of folly was a little on the lighter side. And like me

Some our foolishness might cause us a little discomfort, pain, or deep regret, but sometimes it can cause much more. When we consider the actions of those police officers in the united states whose foolish, evil actions cost another human being their life. Then we get a deeper understanding of the destruction that foolish actions can lead to.

Today we continue in our series called “overcomer”. And we are in chapter 3, so let’s read together, or follow along as i read.

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:

5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;

6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

If we can summarize one thing paul is asking of the Philippians and therefore you and i, it would be that we need to be discerning.

When we talk about discernment, we are not referring to some mystical thing out there we might have, but don’t know if we really have it.

Discernment, biblically, is the sound judgment which makes possible the distinguishing of good from evil, and the recognition of God’s right ways for his people.

Discernment is necessary for the understanding of spiritual realities and, on a practical level, for right government and the avoidance of life’s pitfalls.

Out of his deep concern for the Philippians, Paul cautions the Church to be vigilant, sharp, and wise. He cautions them to be discerning.

In this text let’s look at 3 marks of discernment that if understood and applied, leads to a joyful life:

Mark #1

1. Discernment is for your protection. 3:1

Verse 1- 1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

So paul is definitely repeating something here that he has mentioned before. He says in essence: “ I have no problem reminding you again to be discerning, not because i have a big mouth, but because it is safe for you”. it safeguards us. That’s what that word safe refers to. Discernment protects us. it goes before us as if we have royal guards surveilling the premises looking for threats and snares that could bring us harm, filtering out the bad from the good, getting rid of the evil and keeping the good. That’s what discernment does. I love a good action movie and when I thought about what’s said here a a movie scene came to mind.

Here’s a clip of discernment in action.... [Jason Bourne Video Clip]

You see that? He’s keenly aware of his surroundings and what actions to take if a threat should show their ugly head.

That’s why you need to be discerning, because the devil (the bible says) is like a roaring lion seeking to devour you, your family, your friends, your career, your faith in Christ.

One of the reasons not accepting Christ as your Savior and Lord so dangerous is because you have made the most powerful being your enemy, God. Some people live however they want, with no regard for what our all-wise God has to say, if that’s you, you have more than enough reason to be scared, because your own folly will lead to your judgement.

For us christians, there is such a thing as removing ourselves from under the protection of God. Listen to what happen to Isreal.

Isaiah 5:11-13

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!

12 They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.

13 Therefore my people go into exile or lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.

Any act of sin places us in harms way, and that’s what happens here with Israel.

Over and over again Isreal does not heed the Lords warning and this is the result. And we are no different. In first Corinthians 11:30 Paul talks about people who have gotten sick and even died because of a failure to remain under God’s protection by being discerning.

Discernment is for your protection, I encourage you to use it!

Point number 2....

2. Discernment distinguishes good from evil, right from wrong. 3:2-4a

He goes on to warn them in verse 2.

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also.

The Apostle Paul further encourages the use of discernment by distinguishing two opposing category of people. In verse 2 he tells them to look out for the dogs, evildoers, and flesh mutilators. These three derogatory labels belong to jewish false teachers. Whom we can call Judaizers. They believed that accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord alone was insufficient for Salvation. Therefore they wanted members of the Church to follow the Old Testament ritual like circumcision. John Mac Arthur Says this about this verse:

“3:2 dogs. During the first century, dogs roamed the streets and were essentially wild scavengers. Because dogs were such filthy animals, the Jews loved to refer to Gentiles as dogs. Yet here Paul refers to Jews, specifically the Judaizers, as dogs to describe their sinful, vicious, and uncontrolled character. evil workers. The Judaizers prided themselves on being workers of righteousness. Yet Paul described their works as evil, since any attempt to please God by one’s own efforts and draw attention away from Christ’s accomplished redemption is the worst kind of wickedness. false circumcision. In contrast to the Gr. word for “circumcision,” which means “to cut around,” this term means “to cut down (off)” or “to mutilate.” Like the prophets of Baal (1Ki 18:28) and pagans who mutilated their bodies in their frenzied rituals, which were forbidden in the OT (Lv 19:28; 21:5; Dt 14:1; Is 15:2; Hos 7:14), the Judaizers’ circumcision was, ironically, no spiritual symbol; it was merely physical mutilation (see note on Gal 5:12).” John MacArthur

This was the type of people Paul was cautioning them and by extension us, to be discerning of and stay away from. So Paul says those are the evil and wrong. That’s the first category of people. Second category:

the good and right:

Verse 3 says we are the circumcision, meaning the true people of God who deal with their sin, not by ritually beating ourselves, increasing our church attendance, or being more generous, but by truly repenting and avoiding every appearance of sin. Why are we the circumcision? here’s the evidence: because (1) we worship by the Spirit of God, no true worship is from a place of our own strength, as John 4:24 says we worship in Spirit and in truth, with all of our being in accordance with the scripture.No. 2 (why we are the circumcision), we glory in Christ Jesus, all the credit for everything good in our lives goes to Jesus, and no. 3, we put no confidence in the flesh, everything we do must be by the empowering of the Holy Spirit, apart from him we can do nothing.Apart from him, I can’t preach, I can’t sing, I can’t play an instrument, I can’t be a godly husband, I can’t be a good employee, name anything you think you can do, and do it apart from the Spirit of God and it fails before it starts.

Paul says you need proof? verse 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. I have reason for confidence in the flesh, but you don’t see me boasting!

So he’s showing us if don’t have discernment I’d make all kinds of foolish decision because i can’t distinguish good from evil, i can’t distinguish right from wrong.

Discernment is for your protection

Discernment distinguishes good from evil, and right from wrong

Also, Here’s the other thing:

3. Discernment exemplifies what it knows to be right. 3:4b- 3:11

Paul wants us to know that this is not just some theoretical thing. This is truth that I have exemplified and you should too.

Listen to what he says here, verse 4b:

If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:

5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, the day appointed back in genesis for circumcision of babies of the tribe of Benjamin, one of the most faithful tribes of all time, a Hebrew of Hebrews, he had at least one Hebrew parent as to the law, a Pharisee; very strict works righteousness

6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; Acts records him as being such a zealous Jew that he used to journey hundreds of miles to weed out and persecute christians as to righteousness under the law, blameless, paul kept all of the external laws in such a rigid way that no one could accuse him otherwise.

In today’s vernacular, we would say; paul was born in wedlock, got dedicated at a ripe young age, came from a christian family, grew up in church and around christian circles, went to bible school and passed with honors, read his bible, and prayed 3 times a day, he was at church every Sunday for both services. But none of these rituals can get anyone to heaven.

He says in verse 7 whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Worthless!

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

This is an exemplary life. We can’t fake this. We can pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and do this! All of Pauls achievement his degrees, his financial gifts, his recommendations were all worthless. He knew this, out of a God given discernment, and he demonstrated that discernment all through his life.

How about you? Are you pressing towards maturity? Are you growing in discernment? Are you exemplifying it?

Here’s where some of us are at:

Hebrews 5:12-14

12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Some of us are still children in the faith, because of our companionship with foolish actions. In order for us to experience the Joy that Jesus died to give us, we must grow in having constant practice in distinguishing good from evil. We must be discerning.

I know sometimes that’s pretty challenging, so let me make it a bit more easier to apply. Everyone one of us have friends right!

So let’s give discernment a personality, now any discerning person would have a certain type of friend.

the bible says bad company corrupts good morals. So to help with that, here are five friends of discernment and 4 enemies of Discernment:

5 Friends of Discernment

Humility vs 12 - Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Paul demonstrated this. - I’m not there yet but i’m advancing.

Perseverance vs 13-14 - 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I’m not where i want to be, but i’m not where i once was, I am pressing on.

Maturity vs 15 - 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. I’m at a mature place in my development.

Committed vs 16 - 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. I am dedicated to growing to be more like Jesus.

Teachable Vs 17 - 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. I wanna learn to be better.

4 Enemies of Discernment

Aimlessness vs 18-19a - 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction. I’m going but i’m not sure where i’ll end up.

Sensuality vs 19b - their god is their belly. I will do anything that feels good.

Scandalous vs 19c - and they glory in their shame. I wanna be famous no matter what the cost.

Worldliness vs 19d - with minds set on earthly things. I need to fit in with the people around, I care more about what they think than Jesus.

We can’t continue to live this way and expect to win at life. We need to be discerning, and let discernment foster real meaningful friendships with the right group.

If you’re to make discernment your friend you will experience joy unspeakable and full of glory

Let’s pray!