SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT FINDING GOD’S WILL TOGETHER
I Corinthians 1:18-31 —God has made foolish the wisdom of the world ….so that no human can boast — Jesus is the wisdom of God …. boast only in the Lord!
Some Christians today have a vague idea that spiritual discernment should be different than worldly wisdom —particularly if you are leading an organization with a spiritual purpose—but that difference usually gets reduced to some perfunctory prayer at the beginning of the meeting, and even that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. What is it then that distinguishes spiritual discernment from worldly wisdom ? How is the journey different?
Define spiritual discernment.
Spiritual Discernment “the capacity to recognize and respond to the presence and activity of God both personally and in community”
How many practice spiritual discernment in your personal lives?
Visual Image “Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at His command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.” Numbers 9:17-18 NIV
The Challenge “Discernment presents unique challenges in contemporary Western Culture, because it requires us to move beyond our reliance on cognition and intellectual hard work to a place of deep listening and response to the Spirit of God within us and among us.” Ruth Haley Barton, ‘Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership’
Transformation “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think . Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NLT
Jesus “Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” John 5:19 NIV
Christians “If you remain in me and my words remain in you , ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7
Rhema When Jesus says “my words” he uses the Greek word rhema (not logos). That term means a specific word for a specific person, place or situation. As we spend time with Jesus—looking at him in the gospels and listening to him in prayer— Jesus will reveal something specific in our life and, by the Spirit, speak directly into it.
Rhema (continued) Voice— The Spirit may say something to us in our minds or in our ears. Vision— Jesus may show us images of people, places, events or objects. Vibe— a feeling or impression about something or someone. Whether it’s a voice, a vision, or a vibe (or some combination of the three) Jesus wants to speak a specific word to each one of us.
Spirit “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears , and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:13-15 NIV
Christians “ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God , who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you . But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double- minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:5-8 NIV
Way of Being “As important as the practices of discernment are, it would be improper to list them before the habit of discernment, because if the Holy Spirit has not been welcomed into the life of the discerner, practices of discernment will be empty and impotent. The habit of discernment constitutes a way of being, by which we are steeped in spirituality as a way of life; and spirituality becomes as necessary as the air we breathe. The habit of spirituality precedes the practices of discernment.” Ruth Haley Barton, ‘Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership’
Discernment Foundation: What does love call us to do? “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” I Corinthians 13:4-5 NLT
The Best Thing “God’s will is the best thing that could happen to us under any circumstances.” Danny Morris and Charles Olsen, ‘Discerning God’s Will Together’
Questions: (1) Does God want what is best for me? (2) Does God want to guide me into knowing what is best so I can do it? (3) Is that just in the big decisions of life or is that every decision? (4) Give examples of how that plays out in your life.
Community Spiritual Discernment —What is God saying to us? That’s a daunting question! —It’s one thing to navigate through this process personally to determine what direction the Lord is taking me, but how do I translate that to community discernment? —Do we have any examples of community discernment here at The Light?
What are some principles that we can learn from these examples?
Principles and Practices of Community Spiritual Discernment Love: the Foundation! What does love call us to do? Unity: —Jesus prayed for our unity —The goal of the Spirit is to bring the community into unity. —Humans cannot force unity! Yet it should be a primary goal! Peace: when you are in the will of God
Truth —Giving permission to tell the truth —Even if it seems to slow things down —Affirming the courage to speak difficult truths Trust —Honoring one another’s deep reservations or resistance —Trusting the Spirit of God in every person —Wait for Deeper Understanding and Unity
Indifference —Not apathy, but indifferent to everything but the will of God —‘Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.’ Luke 1:38 NLT —How many are indifferent to Women in Leadership at The Light?
Listening (individually and collectively) —To Scripture —Attentively to our experiences —To voices, visions and vibes from the Spirit —To pertinent facts and information —Emotions: especially honoring confusion, loneliness, distress and abandonment The Spirit speaks to/through multiple people, yet the purpose/reason may not be as it initially seems
Differences —Communal discernment sometimes involves differences for the purpose of contrast, allowing us to see more clearly what the Lord wants. —“No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.” I Corinthians 11:19 NIV Start/Finish: Where you start is generally not where you finish.
How do personal preferences and opinions fit into this process?
Unity and Discernment “Unity is the fundamental marker that God’s direction has been discerned.” (Unknown Quaker pastor) “To the best of our ability, we agree that this particular path is God’s will for us, so this is the direction we will go!”
Endgame The endgame is actually DOING the will of God as we have come to understand it — NOT just discernment.
Current Questions 1) What truth(s) did God speak to you about what The Light Family needs to understand about Women in Leadership? 2) What truth(s) did God speak to you about any action The Light needs to take relating to Women in Leadership?
Prayer Oh God, by whom we are guided in judgment, and who raises up for us light in the darkness: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do; that your spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Book of Common Prayer
Recommend
More recommend
