Spiritual gifts II

1 Corinthians 12:10 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:

Discerning of spirits is one of the revelation gifts. This is not merely discerning of evil spirits but simply having correct judgement by the revelation of the spirit of what is right or wrong, or the intents of the heart. Have you ever been presented with a too good to be true deal which if you went ahead to execute would totally lead you to total ruin? How did you avoid it? There's a witness in you which told you not to go ahead with the deal. Now this discernment was in the negative. But there's also a discerning of where you have to choose between two good options presented to you. There you had to discern what to choose either one of them or none at all. Now this may not be because you are very experienced in that area or you had prior knowledge but by God's leading you're led to move in a particular direction. How could Abraham journey from his native land into the land where God was leading him? How could Eleazer discern which woman to choose for his master Isaac, how could Jesus tell that it wasn't Peter speaking that He was the Christ or that it was the devil frustrating God's plan by Him not going to die on the cross, how could Paul judge that it was not the right spirit which was talking through the young girl who was proclaiming that they were men of God, how could Peter know that Simon the sorcerer has a wrong attitude when he requested to receive power to cast out devil's, and how could Mary tell that it was an angel Gabriel speaking to her and not some demon which falsified as an angel of light? 

What you have to know that there are four kinds of spirits the Holy Spirit, angels, demons, and the human spirit. Failure to discern spirits leads one to fall to the wrong spirits which leads them to error. That is how cults start. Men stumble on doctrines of devils or demons and since they don't know the Word accurately, they think it's truth and their faith hits shipwreck. In natural courts the judge can take one side over the other based on evidence, common sense and past experiences. But with discerning of spirits it may not be so. Have you ever known a truth in your heart which no preacher has ever told you before but later on you hear it preached?Where do you get the confidence that that was God speaking to you either by a dream or  vision? You know it's God by discerning of spirits. That's the beauty of walking closely with God. You know things you wouldn't learn because you have ever been taught about it before. And that is where being born again is not a religion. It's walking closely with God not merely by do's and don'ts.

If you aren't sure which  spirit you are dealing with, ask your pastor or a more mature Christian. It's possible to be perfect in all you do and never make mistakes like others have done if you walk in this gift of discerning of spirits. How do you grow in that gift? All gifts grow by reason of use, by continuing in the Word and praying in tongues too. 

EK