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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Spirit of discernment

3 October 2012

Opening Prayer/Worship

Song:

Theme: Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Topic: Spirit of discernment

Reading: Mark 9:38-50
John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone* casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ 39But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. 42 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me,* it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell,* to the unquenchable fire.* 45And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.*,* 47And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,* 48where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. 49 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire.* 50Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?* Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’

Introduction
Our call into the family of God is a call to freedom, not to continue in our sinful nature but rather to be like Jesus in our daily lives.  Our calling requires of us minds and hearts set towards doing what the Spirit of God desires we do.  In life we are constantly faced with decisions- big and small, significant/life-changing and trivial. On our own we may make lots of mistakes, but when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we become endowed with discerning hearts that ensure we keep living on God’s purpose and plan for our lives.  Some of the poor and/or wrong decisions we make may not be ill-intended but can easily be avoided if we apply a discerning heart.  Since Christian living is a Spirit-guided living, we ought to seek the Holy Spirit and His gift of discernment always.  Then we will live up to our calling- devoid of easily avoidable wrong and poor decisions.  We will be able not just to know good from evil, but do good instead of evil and avoid a life of regrets.  A discerning heart constantly reminds us who and whose we are.

Questions/Discussion
1.     What situations require (or do not require) discernment in our daily living?
Judges 14:1-4, 15:1-8, 16:4-5, 15-22
Samson’s Marriage
14:1 Once Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw a Philistine woman. 2Then he came up, and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a Philistine woman at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.’ 3But his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there not a woman among your kin, or among all our* people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, because she pleases me.’ 4His father and mother did not know that this was from the Lord; for he was seeking a pretext to act against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
Samson Defeats the Philistines
15:8 After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, ‘I want to go into my wife’s room.’ But her father would not allow him to go in. 2Her father said, ‘I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister prettier than she? Why not take her instead?’ 3Samson said to them, ‘This time, when I do mischief to the Philistines, I will be without blame.’ 4So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took some torches; and he turned the foxes* tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5When he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and* olive groves. 6Then the Philistines asked, ‘Who has done this?’ And they said, ‘Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken Samson’s wife and given her to his companion.’ So the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father. 7Samson said to them, ‘If this is what you do, I swear I will not stop until I have taken revenge on you.’ 8He struck them down hip and thigh with great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
16:4 After this he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, ‘Coax him, and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in order to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.’ 15 Then she said to him, ‘How can you say, “I love you”, when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me three times now and have not told me what makes your strength so great.’ 16Finally, after she had nagged him with her words day after day, and pestered him, he was tired to death. 17So he told her his whole secret, and said to her, ‘A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a nazirite* to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be like anyone else.’ 18 When Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘This time come up, for he has told his whole secret to me.’ Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands. 19She let him fall asleep on her lap; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken,* and his strength left him. 20Then she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21So the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles; and he ground at the mill in the prison. 22But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Esther 7:1-10
So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.’ 3Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have won your favour, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request. 4For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.’* 5Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, ‘Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?’ 6Esther said, ‘A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!’ Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. 7The king rose from the feast in wrath and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that the king had determined to destroy him. 8When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman had thrown himself on the couch where Esther was reclining; and the king said, ‘Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?’ As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. 9Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, ‘Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.’ And the king said, ‘Hang him on that.’ 10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.

Acts 4:32-37, 5:1-11
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). 37He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
5:1But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; 2with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3‘Ananias,’ Peter asked, ‘why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us* but to God!’ 5Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. 6The young men came and wrapped up his body,* then carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.’ And she said, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ 9Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ 10Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things

Mark 9:38-50 (not to be re-read; see above)

2.    How do we exercise and improve our Spirit-given discerning hearts?  
1 Kings 3:4-14
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt-offerings on that altar. 5At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what I should give you.’ 6And Solomon said, ‘You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart towards you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 9Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’ 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. 13I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honour all your life; no other king shall compare with you. 14If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.’

Psalm 119:121-128
121 I have done what is just and right;
   do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee your servant’s well-being;
   do not let the godless oppress me.
123 My eyes fail from watching for your salvation,
   and for the fulfilment of your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
   and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
   so that I may know your decrees.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
   for your law has been broken.
127 Truly I love your commandments
   more than gold, more than fine gold.
128 Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts;*
   I hate every false way.

Philippians 1:3-11
I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart,* for all of you share in God’s grace* with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

3.    List some of the things that hinder us from knowing the mind of God in our daily lives.
Proverbs 14:6-18, 16:16-25
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,
   but knowledge is easy for one who understands.
7 Leave the presence of a fool,
   for there you do not find words of knowledge.
8 It is the wisdom of the clever to understand where they go,
   but the folly of fools misleads.
9 Fools mock at the guilt-offering,*
   but the upright enjoy God’s favour.
10 The heart knows its own bitterness,
   and no stranger shares its joy.
11 The house of the wicked is destroyed,
   but the tent of the upright flourishes.
12 There is a way that seems right to a person,
   but its end is the way to death.*
13 Even in laughter the heart is sad,
   and the end of joy is grief.
14 The perverse get what their ways deserve,
   and the good, what their deeds deserve.*
15 The simple believe everything,
   but the clever consider their steps.
16 The wise are cautious and turn away from evil,
   but the fool throws off restraint and is careless.
17 One who is quick-tempered acts foolishly,
   and the schemer is hated.
18 The simple are adorned with* folly,
   but the clever are crowned with knowledge.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!
   To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
17 The highway of the upright avoids evil;
   those who guard their way preserve their lives.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
   and a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor
   than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 Those who are attentive to a matter will prosper,
   and happy are those who trust in the Lord.
21 The wise of heart is called perceptive,
   and pleasant speech increases persuasiveness.
22 Wisdom is a fountain of life to one who has it,
   but folly is the punishment of fools.
23 The mind of the wise makes their speech judicious,
   and adds persuasiveness to their lips.
24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
   sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
25 Sometimes there is a way that seems to be right,
   but in the end it is the way to death.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16
Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’— 10these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.* 14 Those who are unspiritual* do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16 ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’But we have the mind of Christ.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion
The Holy Spirit dwells within us to guide us each step of the way.  Let us seek His guidance in all we do for He alone knows the best for us.

Closing Prayer
Lord we thank You for blessing us with discerning hearts- to know and do Your will at all times.  Keep guiding us O Lord as we live for You now and forever, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

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