Keep your discernment alive

Spiritual discernment helps us recognise what God is doing before everything becomes obvious. In this message, we examine how sentiment, fear of people, uncontrolled desire, anger, bitterness, and familiarity can weaken our ability to perceive clearly.

Drawing from passages including Matthew 16, James 1, Hebrews 12, and Mark 6, this episode encourages believers to remain spiritually sensitive, free from offence, and attentive to even the slightest signal from God.

Transcript

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There are moments when God is not authoritative. He is just giving a signal. Spiritual discernment helps us recognize what is happening beneath the sofa. It helps us detect danger before it matures. Recognize what God is doing before it becomes obvious, and respond while there is still time to prepare. Good morning and welcome to this expression of igniting your day. Today, I want us to pray around something simple. Yes, Lord, keep my discernment alive. In everyday relationships, we often speak about sensitivity. We may be joking with someone and fail to notice that they are no longer comfortable. You may continue speaking without recognizing that the atmosphere has changed. That is natural sensitivity. But there is also spiritual sensitivity. We call it discernment. As believers, there are things God may want us to recognize early. There are patterns we need to notice, dangers we need to detect, and movements we need to understand before they become obvious. That is why discernment is so important. Discernment gives you time. Think about Elijah. After praying for rain, he sent his servant to look towards the sea. Eventually, the servant returned and reported seeing a cloud about the size of a man's hand. It was not yet his tongue, it was only a signal. But Elijah understood what that small signal meant. You see, people who recognize the slightest signals often have more time to prepare. If you recognize something only when everybody else can see it, your preparation time is already reduced. Why don't you pray this morning? Lord, make me sensitive to the slightest signals. Yes. Psalm 123 verse 2 presents the picture of servants watching the hands of their masters. That is attentiveness. That is where spiritual sensitivity comes from. You see, but there are certain things that can weaken people's spiritual sensitivity. Matthew chapter 16 gives us a powerful example. Jesus began explaining that he would go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise again. Peter objected. His reaction sounded loving. Peter did not want Jesus to suffer, but Jesus recognized something more. Peter's emotion was standing in the way of divine purpose. That is the danger of sentiment. You can genuinely love someone and still allow that emotional attachment to prevent you from seeing the situation clearly. Sometimes something needs to be confronted, corrected, or addressed, but because of our relationship with the person involved, we become silent. Sentiment asks, how do I feel? Discment asks, what is God saying? Sentiment asks, how am I feeling? Discernment asks, what does God want me to do? Matthew chapter 12, verse 50 reminds us that the true priority is doing the will of the Father. So we must become people who can say, no matter how strongly I feel, I choose the will of God. Lord, help me take your side in every matter. That should be your prayer. That you will take God's side in every matter, no matter how you feel. Number two, the fear of people can weaken discernment. Proverbs chapter 29, verse 25 says, The fear of man bringeth his snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. The fear of people creates a trap. Think about King Saul. At a critical moment, Saul admitted that fear of the people influenced his actions. Pressure affected his obedience. That still happens today. What will people think? What will people say? How will they respond? When those questions become louder than what God wants, discernment begins to weaken. No human being should become so large in your eyes that you can no longer obey God freely. Why don't you pray this morning? Lord, deliver me from the fear of people. Help me choose you when obedience and public opinion come into conflict. This is especially important for those entrusted with spiritual responsibility. The fear of people must never silence the truth God has entrusted to us. Yes. Number three, personal desire can distort discernment. James chapter 1, verse 14 says that a person is tempted when they are drawn away by their own desire. Notice those words, drawn away. Desire has the ability to pull your attention away from what deserves careful examination. Sometimes discernment requires patience. You need to look long enough to recognize what lies beneath the surface. But when desire becomes too strong, you begin seeing what you want to see instead of what is actually there. That is dangerous. Paul gives us an important principle in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 12. He says, He will not allow himself to be brought under the power of anything. That is spiritual maturity. There are things we may appreciate. There are opportunities we may desire. There are things that may look attractive, but nothing should become so powerful that it controls our ability to discern. Our declaration must therefore be I will not be brought under the power of anything. My desires will not become my master. Hallelujah. James chapter 1, verse 19 to 20 tells us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, because human heart anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. Anger affects interpretation. Offense affects interpretation, and bitterness can completely distort interpretation. One thing I have come to understand is this bitterness colors interpretation. A person can receive something pure and still communicate it through the filter of personal pain. You can begin interpreting every action through the lens of an old injury. That is why Hebrews chapter 12, verse 15 warns about a root of bitterness. Bitterness often begins quietly, but if it is allowed to grow, it begins affecting how you see people, how you interpret situations, and how you respond. We must refuse to allow yesterday's wounds to become today's interpretative lens. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 31 to 32 tells us to put away bitterness, anger, and malice, and instead be kind and forgiving. Kindness is not a small Christian value. Kindness protects relationships, kindness protects communities. Kindness should become part of the atmosphere we create anywhere we go. Listen to this. Yes, our homes should indeed feel like home. May we be so kind that when life outside becomes harsh, our children know there is a place called home. May we be so kind that when situations and circumstances become unbearable outside, may our children remember that indeed there is a place called home. Number five, familiarity can deaden discernment. Mark chapter 6 records Jesus returning to his own country. The people heard his teaching, they saw the wisdom, they knew about the mighty works, but they also said, Is this not the carpenter? They knew his family, they knew his background, they thought they already understood him, and familiarity prevented them from recognizing what was standing before them. That is the danger of familiarity. You can become so accustomed to someone that you stop recognizing what God has placed in them. You can become so accustomed to a place that you stop appreciating what God is doing there. You can become so familiar with scripture that you read without reverence. You can even become familiar with mercy. Think about the 10 lepers Jesus healed. 10 were healed, but only one returned to give thanks. That should make us ask ourselves: Have I become too accustomed to something God is doing in my life? Have I experienced His mercy so consistently that I now consider it normal? Here is something we must never forget. Consistency does not and should never turn mercy into entitlement. What God repeatedly does for you is still mercy. What you have experienced for years is still mercy. What has become normal to you may still be a miracle. Why don't you pray this morning? Lord, never allow familiarity to rob me of reverence. Help me see people the way you want me to see them. Help me recognize your hand even in things I have seen many times before. Yes. My dear friends, keep your discernment alive. Yes. So what are the things we have mentioned and dead in discernment? Number one, sentiment. Number two, fear of people. Number three, personal desires. Number four, anger, offense, and bitterness. And number five, familiarity. Friends, let's keep our hearts clear. Let's keep our desires submitted. Let's refuse to let offense interpret life for us. We must also refuse to allow people to become bigger in our eyes than God. And we must never become so familiar with God's mercy that we lose our sense of wonder. Thank you very much this morning for being here. And I look forward to sharing time with you again tomorrow. Have an amazing day ahead. God bless you.