Faith to Discern

December 10, 2017 Background Scripture: Acts 13:1 – 12 Lesson Passage: Acts 13:1 – 12 Spiritual discernment is both a gift and the presence of spiritual sensitivity. At the beginning of this text, there is a group of Christians praying together when the Holy Spirit spoke and instructed them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the mission work they were being assigned to. It required spiritual sensitivity to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and spiritual discernment to know whose voice it was. This group of praying Christians heard and obeyed the voice of the Lord. After prayer, the laying on of hands, and a proper farewell, Barnabas and Saul were sent forth by the Holy Spirit to do the bidding of the Lord. They visited numerous populated regions on and near the Mediterranean Sea and preached the gospel where they stopped. No doubt, their route was determined by the Holy Spirit who was continuing to lead them. On one stop, they encountered a false prophet who attempted to thwart their work. Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, Saul addressed the man and pronounced a curse of blindness on him. Note that the scriptures clearly state that Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit prior to informing us as to what Saul did. This passage of scripture provides a great lesson concerning the gift of spiritual discernment. Too often, people will declare that they have a gift of discernment but it tends to be one-sided and only seems to apply to evil or demonic spirits. Spiritual discernment should be just what it says; the discernment of spirits—both good and bad. Our lesson text shows us both. These Christians were able to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit directing them and Saul was also able to discern the evil spirit that was controlling Elymas the magician. Again, it should be noted that the scripture says that Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit before he addressed Elymas. Spiritual gifts are given to Christians by the Holy Spirit according to Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. He also emphasized that it is God who works in us to bring about the effects that He desires. We are given spiritual gifts for the common good of the body of Christ. We are also being led by the Holy Spirit to use those gifts as He sees fit and not according to our own motives or desires. When the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of discernment, it is for His purpose that this is done. We should use the gift as we are led by the Holy Spirit to do so. So where does faith come in to this discussion? Faith is needed to trust God in what He is doing around us, through us, and sometimes to us. When the Holy Spirit spoke to the group of praying Christians, it took faith for them to act on those instructions. It took faith for Barnabas and Saul to leave the group and go on the mission that sometimes took them through hostile places. After Saul was shown the evil spirit controlling Elymas, it took faith for him to speak the words given to him by the Holy Spirit. Their discernment was made manifest when they acted in faith according to what they had discerned. Robert C. Hudson November 15, 2017