Participants: Hal Steenson (Host)
Series Code: HPOV
Program Code: HPOV000009
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00:01 Hello, I'm
00:03 and I'd like to welcome you and invite you to join us 00:04 in our study on the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. 00:07 Today on Heaven's Point of View we'll look at the gift 00:10 of discerning of spirits. I remember in the 1970's 00:13 this gift went off the deep end 00:15 in Pentecostal and charismatic circles. 00:17 People were trying to cast demons out of soda machines 00:20 and out of pay phones if they kept their money 00:23 without giving them anything. There were large church services 00:27 where demon "specialists" would pray for people to be delivered 00:31 and would even pass out little paper bags 00:34 to catch their demon in when they threw it out. 00:37 Well, are you ready to counteract the counterfeit 00:40 today? Then get your Bible and we'll be right back. 01:06 I personally believe that there is still demon activity 01:08 in this present age, and many of these demons are associated 01:12 with religion just as they were in Jesus' day. 01:14 However, our main purpose should be Christ centered 01:18 and avoid obvious witch hunts. Philippians 4:8 tell us 01:22 what our minds should be stayed on. 01:25 "Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, 01:28 whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 01:32 whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, 01:36 whatsoever things are of good report, 01:39 if there be any virtue and if there be any praise 01:43 think on these things. " 01:44 You are probably asking, well, what is the 01:47 discerning of spirits? This is a gift that allows one's 01:51 spiritual senses and mental faculties to discriminate 01:56 and distinguish between what is morally good and noble 02:00 and what is evil and contrary either to God's divine law 02:04 or even to human law. The gift of discernment allows you 02:08 to see past the facade of those that desire to deceive. 02:13 It gives you the ability to judge whether something is 02:17 from God or from Satan, from fallen angels 02:22 or unfallen angels. The definition of the word 02:26 discern is: to perceive something hidden or obscure. 02:31 To perceive differences showing insight and judgment. 02:36 Now let me give you a classic illustration. 02:39 I laugh when I think about this! Several years ago 02:42 after a morning worship service in Mollie and my's church, 02:46 I noticed a disturbance in the rear of the sanctuary 02:49 and I approached a group of people surrounding a young, 02:52 teenage girl lying out on the pew. And she was squirming 02:55 and writhing, and all the while growling in a deep voice. 03:01 There was an older gentleman whom I didn't know 03:04 standing over her and praying very loudly. 03:08 You know the devil's not hard of hearing. 03:10 I stopped him and I asked what was going on. 03:12 and he informed me that he was casting out a demon 03:16 of rock 'n roll out of this young woman. 03:18 And I asked him if I could have a go at it, and he told me sure 03:22 but be careful because this one was a very dangerous demon. 03:27 Well, he stepped back, I stepped up. 03:30 I told her to sit up and shut up - and she did it! 03:33 I then turned to the stranger causing this problem and said: 03:37 "That demon of rock 'n roll may be dangerous 03:40 but it sure is obedient. " 03:43 After the laughing stopped and the crowd cleared, 03:47 the man asked me how I knew it wasn't a demonic manifestation. 03:51 I told him that the gift of discerning of spirits 03:56 not only allows you to recognize what's good 03:59 and what's bad, but it will also work along with 04:02 the word of wisdom to recognize what's real 04:05 and what's counterfeit and the proper way to deal 04:08 with the situation. The gift of discerning of spirits 04:12 actually examines three arenas of spirit activity - not two - 04:17 as many would suspect it's only two. Not so. 04:20 Practical application of the gift of discernment 04:24 is the heightened ability to encounter a written or verbal 04:29 attitude, to encounter a difficulty, or to 04:33 consider a projected course of action 04:35 and then determine the fundamentals of the purpose 04:39 behind the philosophy, the difficulty, or the action. 04:43 You see, first there is the divine Spirit of God 04:48 whose axis is the spiritual senses of man. 04:55 says: "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age 04:58 even those who by reason of use have their 05:04 senses exercised to discern both good and evil. " 05:10 says: "According as His divine, His divine power 05:15 hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life 05:18 and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that 05:21 hath called us to glory and virtue. " 05:24 And next there is the spirit of man - 05:27 which is merely human and abides in every human being. 05:33 says: "The burden of the Word of the Lord for Israel, 05:37 saith the Lord, which stretches forth the heavens and layeth 05:40 the foundation of the earth and formeth the spirit of man 05:44 within him. " 05:48 says - this is just real clear - "But there is a spirit in a man 05:52 and the inspiration of the Almighty 05:55 giveth him understanding. " 05:59 "Having therefore these promises dearly beloved 06:01 let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh 06:05 and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. " 06:10 For those that are sitting there asking whether the 06:14 Seventh-day Adventists believe in demons and where they stand 06:17 on demons and demon possession, 06:19 this statement might help you understand. 06:45 Last, there is the demonic or Satanic spirit 06:48 that will try to counterfeit the ministry of God's Holy Spirit. 06:52 I Peter 5:8 says: 06:54 "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary 06:59 the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about seeking 07:02 whom he may devour. " Divination is the means 07:08 of imitating the divine. Now let me say that again. 07:11 Divination is the means of imitating the divine. 07:16 And we all know that only God is truly divine. 07:19 Hence it is a counterfeit rather than the real deal. 07:23 Now there are four classes of unfallen and there are 07:27 four classes of fallen angels that have access 07:31 to our earth realm. Now, please stay with me here, OK? 07:35 I'm going to go through this slowly. We only deal with 07:40 two of the fallen angels or what is commonly referred to 07:45 as demons. Now, let me back that up with the Word of God. 07:52 says: "Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord 07:54 and the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God 07:59 that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 08:02 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood 08:06 but against principalities, against powers, 08:09 against the rulers of darkness of this world, 08:12 and against spiritual wickedness in high places. " 08:14 Now although Jesus was confronted by Satan 08:18 in the wilderness, his main confrontations were only with 08:22 principalities and powers. For clarification, let's refer 08:27 to the principalities as the smaller demons 08:31 and the powers are the larger ones. 08:33 Now in this next scripture, please take note 08:37 that the pronouns change as Jesus stops dealing with the 08:42 little guys, the principalities, and confronts the powers 08:46 which are the larger ones. Now we are only 08:49 saying that for reference. 08:51 Mark 5 says: "And they came over unto the other side of the sea 08:54 unto the country of the Gadarenes. 08:57 And when He was come out of the ship, 08:59 immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an 09:03 unclean spirit who had his dwelling among the tombs. 09:07 And no man could bind him, no - not with chains - 09:11 because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains 09:16 and the chains had been plucked asunder by him 09:19 and the fetters broken in pieces; neither could any man 09:24 tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains 09:29 and in the tombs crying and cutting himself with stones. 09:32 But when he saw Jesus afar off he ran and worshiped Him. " 09:38 Now remember, this was the man that ran - not the demons 09:42 that were worshipping Christ. "And cried with a loud voice, 09:45 and said, 'what have I' notice this now... 09:48 'what have I' - please, please note the pronoun - 09:52 'what have I to do with Thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High 09:56 God? I adjure Thee by God 09:59 that Thou torment me not. ' 10:03 For He said unto him, 'Come out of the man, 10:06 thou unclean spirit. ' And He asked him 'what is thy name?' 10:10 And he answered saying: 'my name is legion, for' - 10:15 change of pronoun - 'we. ' " It went from singular 10:18 to pleural pronouns. "And he besought Him much that He would 10:22 not send them " - pleural - "away out of the country. 10:26 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains 10:28 a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought Him 10:32 saying 'send us' - pleural - into the swine that we' 10:37 - pleural - 'may enter into them. ' And forthwith 10:40 Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out 10:44 and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down 10:46 a steep place into the sea. They were about two thousand 10:52 and were choked in the sea. " You see Jesus didn't stand 10:56 around all night casting out one principality at a time. 11:01 He dealt with the power and the others had to leave. 11:06 Please note that Jesus did not talk to the power 11:10 while it was still in the man. He did not talk to the demon 11:14 while it was still in the man but only after it had come out 11:18 at His command. Mark 1:21-27 says: 11:23 "And they went into Capernaum and straightway 11:26 on the Sabbath day, He entered into the synagogue 11:29 and taught. And they were astonished at His doctrine 11:33 for He taught them as One that had authority 11:35 and not as the scribes. And there were in their synagogue 11:40 a man with an unclean spirit and he cried out " - please, 11:43 once again - please note the pronouns. 11:46 "cried out saying 'let us' - pleural - 'alone. 11:51 What have we to do with Thee Thou Jesus of Nazareth? 11:55 Art Thou come to destroy us? 11:58 I know Thee, who Thou art, 12:01 and the Holy One of God. ' And Jesus rebuked him 12:05 saying: 'hold thy peace and come out of him. ' 12:08 And when the unclean spirit had torn him and cried out 12:11 with a loud voice he came out of him. 12:14 And they were all amazed insomuch that they questioned 12:18 among themselves saying: 'What thing is this? 12:21 What new doctrine is this for with authority commandeth He 12:25 even the unclean spirits and they obey him. ' " 12:29 This will be a much-needed gift as we near the last days 12:34 of this age. Now let me just give you an illustration here, 12:37 OK? When Mollie and I lived in Lakeland, Florida, I had six 12:40 fruit trees in the back yard. Pink grapefruit, four tangelos, 12:43 and a Valencia. Now I wouldn't go out in the back yard 12:47 and look at the fruit and hold it in my hand and say 12:49 "Wow, this fruit needs some water " - and you can get 12:52 a hypodermic needle and stick it in the orange 12:55 and squirt water in the orange. What would you do? 12:59 I had a sprinkler system; I turned it on. 13:02 I didn't water the fruit - I watered the roots. 13:04 And when you deal with principalities and powers 13:07 the fruit doesn't affect the root, the root affects 13:10 the fruit. And so many people deal with these - cast out 13:14 two thousand demons one at a time instead of getting to the 13:16 root problem. And when re really move into the power of the gift 13:20 of the discerning of spirits then we will know what to do, 13:23 how to do it, when to do it, and where to do it. 14:25 What of the gifts? What is it? What of it? 14:29 What is the actual gift, Pastor Hal, 14:32 of the discerning of spirits? Well first let me tell you 14:36 what it is not. It is not a heart examination 14:40 because the Godhead is the only entity that correctly discerns 14:45 someone's heart. You will find that in... 14:49 It says: "For the Word of God, the Word of God is quick 14:51 and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword 14:54 piercing even to dividing asunder of the souls 14:57 and the spirit and the joints and the marrow 14:58 and is a discerner" - get this - "a discerner of the thoughts 15:02 and the intents of the heart. " 15:03 The true gift of discerning of spirits allows you 15:09 to only judge the spirit. I Corinthians 12:10 says: 15:14 "To another the working of miracles, to another 15:16 prophecy, to another discerning of spirits. " 15:19 This is not discerning of the heart of the believer. 15:23 It is only the discerning of spirits. 15:27 To try to peek into the heart of a believer is wicked in 15:31 every way. Fighting and arguing over the distinction 15:35 between the gifts and talents has little value 15:38 in discovering what gifts of the Spirit we actually have. 15:41 It would be odd for God, who made us, not to build into us 15:47 some of us, natural talents that could be used to complement 15:53 the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The flip side of that is 15:56 neither should we be surprised if the Holy Spirit gives gifts 15:59 to make up for what we lack as a natural ability. 16:04 The value of understanding the difference between 16:07 the gifts and the talents come after discovering 16:09 a spiritual gift and in understanding the temptation 16:12 and the pitfalls of obedience if natural talents are present 16:17 or absent. For those with spiritual gifts, 16:23 that intersect with natural talent, there is always 16:27 the temptation to minister 16:31 in the power of the flesh. 16:33 I have seen this happen before, and what ministers would call 16:37 the word of knowledge which we took a look at. 16:39 I have seen them look out over a congregation 16:42 and when they say well God will meet your financial needs 16:44 for the woman sitting on the third row - elderly lady - 16:47 get tears in her eyes. And he is sensitive to this because 16:52 he is a pastor, he watches a congregation. 16:54 And then at the close of the service he says: 16:57 "Well, I am going to minister in a word of knowledge. 16:59 God has shown me this lady on the third row here, 17:01 this elderly lady, has a financial need. " 17:04 God didn't show him that. He saw that with his natural eye. 17:08 Don't let your natural abilities interfere with the true 17:11 giftings of God. If this is the situation, 17:14 we must be careful not to fabricate divination 17:18 for divinity with any natural ability that God may have 17:22 given us. For those who are gifted in areas where they have 17:26 no talent, fear of failure can paralyze the spiritual gifts. 17:31 However, wow, if we are obedient to the Spirit's 17:35 low-risk promptings... why do you call it low risk? 17:39 I call it low risk because of this: we are not responsible 17:42 for the end result of what happens. 17:44 We are only responsible for being obedient to God. 17:46 When we are obedient to God, when God will tell us 17:50 what to do, prompt us with the gifts, 17:51 and we are obedient, then God will confirm the gift in us 17:57 with power and our confidence will be in God 18:01 and it will help us to remember when we are moving in the 18:04 divine will of God, we are not responsible 18:06 for that final result. We are only responsible 18:09 for obeying God. God is the one who is responsible 18:12 for the results of our obedience. 18:15 It is when we disobey God that we become responsible 18:19 for the outcome. Hear that, now. 18:21 Now let's look at some New Testament examples 18:24 of true discerning of the spirits. 18:31 "And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands 18:36 the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money 18:39 saying 'give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay 18:43 my hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. ' 18:46 But Peter said unto him: 'Thy money perish with thee 18:49 because thou has thought that the gift of God 18:54 may be purchased with money. ' Remember what I said? 18:56 It can't be earned. It can't be learned. 18:58 And now we know it can't be purchased. 19:00 'Thou has neither part nor lot in this matter 19:05 for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. 19:08 Repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness 19:10 and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart 19:13 may be forgiven thee. 19:16 For I perceive that thou art the gall 19:23 of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. ' " 19:27 Once again, let me communicate this. 19:36 Do not let it work in your life. Learn to discern the difference. 19:39 We all know that there is only one God 19:44 and He is the one that is truly divine. 19:47 Hence, it is a counterfeit rather than the real deal 19:51 if it is not divinely given by God. 19:56 says: "But a certain man named Ananias" - you all know it 19:58 but I am going to share it anyway - 20:00 "with Sapphira his wife sold a possession and kept back 20:03 part of the price. His wife also being privy to it 20:08 and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. 20:13 But Peter said: 'Ananias, 20:17 why hath Satan filled thy heart 20:21 to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of that price 20:25 of the land? While it remained was it not thy own 20:31 and after it was sold was it not in thine own hand? 20:33 Why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart? ' 20:36 Not in his head, in his heart! 20:38 'Thou has not lied unto men' - whoo - 'but unto God. ' 20:43 And Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost 20:47 and great fear came upon all them that heard these things. " 20:53 Do you know that our churches would stop being invaded 20:58 by people that come in through deception and try to 21:01 tear things down if the fear of God ruled in our churches 21:04 like it did here on this day. It goes on to say: 21:07 "And the young men arose, wound him up, 21:09 and carried him out and buried him. " 21:12 Ananias and consequently his wife Sapphira 21:15 attempted to lie to the apostles by giving only a portion 21:19 of their possessions. The Holy Spirit showed 21:21 Peter their true motivation. Never assume 21:25 there is an exact or repetitious process 21:29 or procedure that's to be performed in every case 21:34 or on every occasion. Now hear that. 21:37 It's not, it's not a program. It's not a process. 21:41 It's not a procedure. You've got to be led by the Spirit 21:43 What you might do in one deliberate service 21:47 you would never even attempt to do in another one. 21:50 The gift of discerning of spirits may not ever be manifest 21:54 through you in the exact same manner as before. 21:59 says: "And one of the multitude answered and said: 22:02 'Master, I have brought unto Thee my son 22:04 which hath a dumb spirit. ' I heard one pastor say 22:07 'As far as I'm concerned, they're all dumb spirits. ' 22:09 But we were talking about the natural tongue. 22:13 'And wheresoever he taketh him he teareth him and he foameth 22:17 and he gnashes with his teeth and pineth away 22:20 and I spake to Thy disciples that they should cast him out 22:24 and they could not. ' " Even the father knew he had a devil. 22:27 "He answered him and saith: 'O faithless generation, 22:32 how long shall I be with you how long shall I suffer you 22:36 Bring him unto Me. ' And they brought him unto Him 22:39 when He saw him, straightway, the spirit tear him 22:43 and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming 22:47 and He asked his father 'How long is it ago since this 22:52 came unto him? ' And he said 'Of a child - 22:55 and oft times it hath cast him into the fire 22:58 and into the waters to destroy him 23:00 but if Thou canst do anything have compassion on us. ' 23:04 Jesus was compelled with compassion! 23:06 'and help us. ' And Jesus said unto him, 'If thou canst believe 23:10 all things are possible to him that believeth. ' 23:14 And straightway the father of the child cried out and said 23:18 with tears 'Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief. ' 23:21 And Jesus saw that the people came running together. 23:23 He rebuked the foul spirit saying unto him: 23:26 'thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee come out of him 23:30 and enter into him no more. ' 23:33 And the spirit cried and rent sore 23:35 and came out of him and he was as one dead; insomuch that 23:39 many said, he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand 23:42 lifted him up; and he arose. When He came unto the house 23:46 His disciples asked him privately, 23:47 'Why could we not cast out this demon?' 23:51 And He said unto them: 'This kind can come out, 23:54 come forth by nothing but prayer and fasting. '" 23:59 Don't try to do it the same way every time. 24:01 We are going to take a short break, and we'll be 24:03 right back in just a few minutes. Don't go away! 24:08 If you've been confused about what the Bible says 24:10 about the Holy Spirit's amazing gifts for the church, 24:12 you'll want to order your very own copy of this 13-part series. 24:16 It's available on DVD or video cassette from 3ABN 24:20 at a very special price. This 13-part series 24:24 with Pastor Hal Steenson makes a wonderful gift 24:26 for a friend or a family member. Just call us at: 24:34 You may also order it online at: 24:53 I want to take just a few minutes here and just share some 24:56 things with you that come from experience. 24:58 Experience is a good teacher! You really learn 25:01 from experience. You learn the good and you learn the bad. 25:04 The first thing I want to reiterate is never talk to 25:07 a demon or a spirit, demonic spirit that is in someone. 25:12 Here's what happens. Back several years ago 25:15 this was a big thing, you know. Tell me who you are. 25:17 What is your name? And I remember one time 25:19 I was just observing, I was in a time of observation, 25:23 and they were going to show me how to cast this demon out 25:26 of this guy, and I remember his name was Ronnie. 25:28 And so they all got around him and they began to pray 25:31 and praying in these babbling tongues and everything 25:33 and finally one of them looked at him and said: 25:36 "All right, what is your name? " And he said: 25:38 "My name's Ronnie. Y'all ought to know me. " 25:41 And they were trying to talk to a demonic spirit 25:44 while it was in there. Jesus never did that. 25:46 He always cast it out before he talked to this. 25:50 Now there is another reason not to talk to the devil. 25:52 Somebody said: "How can you tell when the devil's lying? " 25:55 I'll tell you how you can tell. Any time his mouth moves 25:58 he's lying. Anything that he would say to you, he is lying. 26:03 The Holy Spirit is always out front drawing you, 26:05 and the enemy is behind you pushing you. 26:08 I was in a service in Fort Lauderdale, Florida 26:11 and I'll never forget this one. The pastor was going to show 26:14 everybody how to cast out demons. 26:17 Said, what you do... you find out what kind of demon they are. 26:20 Remember, Jesus didn't cast out 2,000 little principalities. 26:23 He cast out the power and then dealt with it. 26:27 And this is what we need to realize. 26:29 It is not the fruit that affects the root, it's the root that 26:31 affects the fruit. Well, this pastor 26:35 got over this man and he said: "I want to know, you foul spirit 26:38 of hell, I want to know what kind of spirit you are. " 26:43 And this is the truth, this is not a joke. 26:45 This man said back to the pastor: 26:50 "I am a lying spirit. " 26:53 And the pastor's response was: "Are you telling me the truth? " 26:58 How ridiculous! What we need to do is learn the true operations 27:03 of the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are not only 27:07 for discernment. They are for witnessing. 27:10 The discerning of the spirit is for witnessing. 27:13 And what we can do when we witness and truly 27:16 witness for God, we can tell whether that person is receptive 27:20 whether they are standing there turned off. 27:22 We can tell also before a demonic spirit 27:25 or someone that is meaning us harm ever even gets to us 27:28 Before it even gets close, we can discern by the Spirit of God 27:32 what this person is all about. What we can do is we can 27:36 receive spiritual insight through the discerning of the 27:39 spirit how to minister to someone. 27:41 Through the discerning of the spirit you will know 27:44 whether to use the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, 27:46 the gift of faith, or whatever it might be, 27:50 we can truly build up the body of Christ. 27:52 We need these gifts in the end times. 27:54 We've got too many hurting people, too many people that are 27:57 scattered and are not brought together, and the gifts of the 28:00 Holy Spirit can truly move the church into unity. 28:03 Wouldn't that be great? Well, I've got news for you. 28:06 You get ready, because it's going to happen... 28:09 and happen soon! 28:30 So far on Heaven's Point of View we've been looking at the 28:33 gifts of the Holy Spirit. But on our next program 28:35 we are going to show you how to receive the baptism 28:38 of the Holy Spirit according to scripture. 28:40 So check your 3ABN World for the dates and times 28:43 and I'll see you there. |
Revised 2014-12-17