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Grace Place Atlanta COGBF
4700 Mitchell Street
Forest Park, GA 30297
Website: atlantacogbf.org
Email: info@atlantacogbf.org
Phone: (404) 241-6781
Wayne D. Mack, Pastor
/
Pastor Wayne D. Mack Sermon Notes
August 27, 2022
Divine Discernment
Matthew 16: 1-4 NKJV
16 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a
sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair
weather, for the sky is red’;
3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’
Hypocrites!
You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot the signs of the
times.
4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it
except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
And He left them and departed.
1 Corinthians 2:14
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 5:14
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have
their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
1
START HERE . . .
Did you know that one of the greatest gifts God gives to every believer at the New Birth is the
Gift of Discernment?
In an informal kind of definition, discernment is the equivalent of being able to see through brick
walls.
Not really, but the results are the same.
It is the ability to see things as God sees them or
how He would have you to see them.
This morning, I want to talk about Discernment as a way of making you aware of a divine
spiritual reality and ability that God has given to us to govern our lives in a way that pleases Him
and that keeps us from being blindsided by life.
This message is important to me because my hope is that it will stir up your pure minds to the
times we’re living in, cause you to examine yourself closely, and to raise your attention to the
traps and schemes being laid by Satan.
However, more importantly, I pray that this message will
cause you to use your God-given gift of DISCERNMENT as a virtue that empowers you to see
God at work in your life and in our times.
Before we go deeper, lets define “Discernment”.
What is it?
First of all, true discernment is “divine” which means it comes from God.
So, to be accurate,
we’re talking about “divine discernment” [also known as or spiritual discernment].
Any form of
discernment that is not “divine” or “from God” really has no value.
Divine Discernment is defined as the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is not
perceivable in the natural.
Spiritually, Discernment is the process of determining God's will and desire in a given situation
or for a person’ life.
It occurs when God guides His children to help them arrive at the best
decision.
[That’s huge when you don’t know whether to go right or left].
It also differentiates
the true nature of a thing, such as discerning whether a thing is good or evil, or holy or unholy, or
right or wrong.
One of the best things about Divine Discernment is that it belongs exclusively to God’s children:
1 Corinthians 2:14 says . .
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to
him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
2
So, why is the need for divine discernment so important.
Because the times we live in are
perilous and can’t be navigated safely without Godly discernment.
According to Matthew 24:5-7 NKJV, Jesus, our Lord said the following:
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6 And you
will hear of wars and rumors of wars.
See that you are not troubled; for all these things must
come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom.
And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
Also, 2 Timothy, Chapter 3 verses 1-5 NKJV . . .
It warns:
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal,
despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
And from such people turn away!
Unfortunately, many believers are attempting to govern their lives under these very conditions
without relying on the discernment of God.
And now, more than ever, we need divine
discernment because of the shape the pandemic has left the church in – so much uncertainty,
division, and upheaval.
Right now, the answer to all the uncertainty is Godly Discernment.
Coupled with the Holy Spirit, nothing else will speak so profoundly!
Jesus knew the importance of discernment for His children; He also knew the hypocrisy that
dogged true discernment.
So He confronted it by facing off with a group of religious leaders who
put more stock in natural discernment than divine discernment.
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