Wide Awake

Declaration:

My eyes are on Jesus

My heart is tuned to His Spirit

My ears are listening to His voice

My mind will believe what He says

My voice will declare the truth of His word

We’ve been in the series of Blueprints. We’ve discussed various truths from scripture and it’s all pointing towards the goal of God’s people coming to maturity, walking in unity, and becoming complete in Christ.

Today, we’re continuing on the subtopic of the Gifts of the Spirit and we’re discussing the gift of discerning of spirits. The term “Wide Awake” has been on my mind and I’ve titled our message today, Wide Awake.

KEY VERSES:

Mark 16:17–18 NKJV

17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

1 Corinthians 12:1–3 NASB95

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Being wide awake means that we’ve entered a state of full consciousness. One of the synonyms for awake is aware. It’s simply being watchful, informed and prepared. This is a prevalent theme in the word of God and I want to study it as we discuss the gift of discerning of spirits. Something we must take note of, this is not simply discernment. I have heard that a lot. There are people that have a natural ability to go with their gut, but this is a supernatural gift that is far better than the natural in every way.

Discerning of spirits - supernatural insight into the spirit-realm. The revelation of plans & purposes of spiritual things. You might see and understand the motivations or activities of the spirits of people, evil spirits and angelic spirits & God’s spirit.

**You might be someone who sees, someone who hears, someone who smells, someone who knows or someone who feels. This gift is often closely partnered with other gifts like the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, prophecy or interpretation of tongues.

Before Christ, we were asleep, not fully aware of the situation or our surroundings. We didn’t know of the battle and who it was that we were battling.

I often think of King David as a young man. Before he became king he was hired to play music for King Saul. At this point, he was rejected by the Lord because of his sin and unrepentance. Occasionally, an evil spirit would attack him and the one thing that would calm him was David’s music. I wonder how aware David was of what was going on in the spirit? We have a number of Psalms that speak of his enemies and the wickedness of men, but this man was facing spiritual warfare!!

The hope we have now is that when we choose to partner with Christ and die to our flesh, to our old way of life, we became alive and awake to new life in Him. We can then ask Him to show us how He sees our neighbor or boss or family.

Be ready (at all times)

Peter, James & John (after Peter declared he’d never betray Jesus) -

v41!

Matthew 26:36–41 NIV

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

10 virgins -

Matthew 25:1–5 NIV

1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

When it was time and the bridegroom returned, they weren’t ready and they didn’t get to enter into the kingdom. This isn’t just a story, this is unfortunately the state that some will find themselves in at the end of days.

What is your foundation?

Matthew 7:24-27 The Wise and Foolish Builders

What materials are you using? Who’s in charge of the building?

Rock or Sand

Temporal or Eternal

Ephesians 2:19–22 NKJV

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

The good news is that when we become alive in Christ, we are able to build on His firm foundation. If you ever tried to do something of any value or good before, it wasn’t ever going to be what it will be in Jesus.

What’s your motivation?

This is one of the areas that the Spirit helps us practice his gift of discerning. He wants to protect His flock and He gives us the ability to know when danger is near. This is why it’s important that each person does their part in the body. We are to work together to guide, protect, equip and love the body of Jesus.

Jesus will always motivate and equip you for His mission. He gives skill and the ability to speak on His behalf so that others listen. Your own desires and wants transform or change altogether.Your foundation determines your motivation. If your foundation is on THE ROCK, then your motivation will align with His.

Never Stop Testing

James 1:2-4 (testing your faith) -

James 1:2–4 NKJV

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

1 John 4:1 (testing the spirits) -

1 John 4:1–3 NKJV

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

1 Thess 5:12-22 (test all things) -

1 Thessalonians 5:12–22 NKJV

12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

Closing

What’s our response?

We need more faith!

I can’t get away from it. I met a young boy yesterday. Going through more than most people go through in their whole live and he’s barely 7. He needed prayer, so we prayed a prayer of healing over him.

The immense amount of love that I knew Jesus has for this boy, WOW! It was so thick, I was crying before we even started praying. He told me a little about what he was going through and I just marveled at his strength and courage. I remember telling him that I wish I was that strong ( I told him I hate needles and getting my finger pricked), he said, “You are strong. Just keep praying!”. WOW! Again!!

So, as I was leaving the thought in my mind came - Lord, did you send me to pray healing over this precious boy or did I just go to receive encouragement? God’s response - YES!

Today, I can’t get away from the faith this boy had. Christy’s bubble thought was, if we just have faith as small as a mustard seed. Maybe you’re here and you don’t understand the gifts, you don’t understand the call of God on your life or you don’t understand your situation and you don’t know how you’re going to get through. I’m telling you that we need faith. Faith to believe that He’s already gone before us. Sometimes we’re the carrier, sometimes we’re the receiver but we need each other. Because if we all can have that mustard seed of faith and we all get into a room together, there’s nothing that He can’t do in us!!