The Importance of Spiritual Discernment

The title for the message today is the importance of spiritual discernment. The importance of spiritual discernment. And so my hope, brethren, that as we go through the course of the message, you'll see that developing that ability of spiritual discernment, and it's not just simply discerning at the academic level, but this is discerning at the spiritual level. So my hope that you'll see it's an important part of our Christian calling before God, and something we must seek to develop. So to begin with, what is spiritual discernment? We'll just ask that right out the bat because we need to know what we're talking about as we move forward. What is spiritual discernment? Webster Miriam online dictionary defines discernment as the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.

That's discernment. It's the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what's obscure. Spiritual discernment, as we see it in the Bible specifically, is essentially the ability to see and understand the difference between truth and error, between right and wrong, and between good and evil. Again, spiritual discernment is the ability to see and understand the difference between truth and error, between right and wrong, between good and evil. It's the ability to make judgments and to make judgments in those things, again, not just simply at the intellectual or academic level, but at the spiritual level as well. Spiritual discernment is the ability to see the spiritual reality of a matter, as in what's the spirit behind this? It could be a person, it could be a circumstance, whatever it might be, but the spiritual reality of the matter, what's the motivation? What's the emotion? What's the attitude? What's the spiritual influence behind this?

As God's people, developing the ability to discern the spirits is one of the most important factors to our spiritual well-being, and we must learn to use such discernment regularly and well. There's an account of something which took place in the book of 2 Kings. In recent times, I've enjoyed personally going back and looking through a number of maybe what we call the Bible stories of the Old Testament, because they're not just simply stories for story's sake, but they include many important spiritual lessons for us. And in 2 Kings, there's a story that I believe is a good lead-in to this topic of spiritual discernment, because it clearly illustrates the importance of discerning the spiritual elements of a matter if you're going to have a complete picture of the circumstance. As in, there may be a circumstance that takes place, but if you only see what you can see with the eyes and not spiritually discern what truly is taking place, you're going to have an incomplete picture. And again, 2 Kings, chapter 6, if you'll go there, please. 2 Kings chapter 6, and beginning in verse 8, this accounts as a good illustration of the fact that unless you're able to discern and see spiritually as well, the picture that you have isn't maybe as complete as you would think it is.

2 Kings chapter 6, and beginning in verse 8, it says, Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel, and he consulted with his servant, saying, My camp will be in such and such a place. I'm going to go out, I'm going to camp, I'm going to stage in this spot. And he said, verse 9, The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you do not pass by this place, for the Assyrians are coming down there. Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him, and thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not once or twice. All right, so you know the king of Syria is coming, you know he's going to be in this region, and the warning was, Look out, don't go there, be on guard. And he says he was watchful there, not just once or twice. Verse 11, Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing, and he called his servants, and he said to them, Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? You know, I have this plan in my heart, and I told you this is what I'm going to do, and yet somebody tipped off the king of Israel. Who among you, he says, is the traitor? Who is the one that spilled this secret to the enemy? Verse 12, And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. And so he said, Go and see, where is he, that I might send for him? And it was told to him, saying, Surely he is in Dothan. Verse 14, Therefore he sent horses and chariots, and a great army there, and they came by night, and they surrounded the city. So this isn't just, you know, a ragtag group of soldiers that he's sending. This is a battle army. Right? This is chariots. This is horses. This is a great army of men. Again, not a small operation. King meant business. Go find this guy and bring him back to me.

Again, verse, let's say verse 14, He sent horses, chariots, the great army there, and they came by night, and they surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God, Elisha's servant, arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city, with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master, what shall we do? It's a pretty distressing matter. Gets up, comes out in the morning, looks around, here's chariots, here's horses, here's a great army, not Israel's army. This isn't a frettingly army surrounding the city. Outmanned, outgunned, so to speak, and it doesn't look like there's any means of escape, and there's no way to overcome simply by brute force. So here we have Elisha's servant. He cries out, What shall we do? Verse 16, So he answered, Elisha answered, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And I suppose maybe he kind of looked up and looked around and thought, Okay, Elisha, where's this coming from? Have you looked around today? Have you seen what's going on? But Elisha says, Do not fear, those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray, Open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, Strike this people I pray with blindness. And he struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. Now Elisha said to them, This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. But he led them to Samaria. Samaria was the capital city of Israel after this is after the split between Judah and Samaria. You know, I'll lead you right into the middle of, you know, the fortress here. And you're the ones that are going to be surrounded. Verse 20 says, So it was when they had come to Samaria that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw, and there they were inside Samaria. Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them? But he answered, saying, You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set food and water before them that they may eat and drink and go to their master. Then he prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and drank, and he sent them on their way, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.

Fascinating story, really. It's an account of God's direct intervention on behalf of his people. But the reason I bring it to you is to illustrate the point of spiritual discernment. To show the fact that apart from having spiritual discernment, apart from having our eyes open to see the complete spiritual element of any matter, the picture is incomplete. The picture is incomplete.

When the servant of Elisha looked around with purely physical eyes, he saw the army that opposed them, or surrounded. He cried out to Elisha, saying, Master, what shall we do? And Elisha said, He who is with us is more than he who is with them. God opened his eyes. And when his eyes were open of that servant's eyes, he could see. He could see the spiritual element that was in place. He could see the reinforcements that God had sent. And he could see the deliverance. And he could discern why it was Elisha said, Do not fear. God is with us. You know, Elisha could rightly judge the situation from the beginning, because he could discern the spiritual element, even if his servant could not. He could see that their cause was not hopeless. He could see from the start that God had given the enemy into their hand. Brethren, the importance of spiritual discernment is real. And again, it gives us the ability to see the complete nature of things as God would have us to see. And the Bible is full of these stories. The Bible is full of examples of the servants of God using spiritual discernment to ascertain the truth of a matter, or even the truth of an individual. Acts chapter 8. We've looked at a circumstance. Let's look now at an individual.

Acts chapter 8, and we'll pick it up in verse 5. Acts chapter 8, verse 5. The time frame here is following the stoning of Stephen. Saul, the destroyer, has gone on his rampage against the church. Acts chapter 8 and verse 5.

It says, Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and he preached Christ to them. The multitudes with one accord he did the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits crying out with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in the city, but there was a certain man called Simon who previously practiced sorcery in the city, and he astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom all gave heed from the last to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they had believed Philip, as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed, and when he was baptized he continued with Philip and was amazed, seeing the miracles and the signs which were done. So it's interesting to note here that Simon, and Simon Magus, as we would identify him, also believed the gospel, also believed the teaching, and he was baptized by Philip, and would appear, at least on the surface, that he had repented, he had believed in the gospel, he had accepted that God's kingdom would be coming, he accepted that Jesus Christ was the Messiah that had been sent, it would seem to be so, or did he? By his outward presentation, Simon seemed to be a changed man, but again, what was his inner spirit? What was his inner motivations? Verse 14 says, Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who when they had come down they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet it had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, says, then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit. Start to get now a glimpse into the spirit, into the attitude and the motivation behind this man. It was greed, it was self-promotion, Simon's desire was a desire to be someone special, someone who could impart this gift and be somebody great among the people. He said, Give me that power. It was a focus of a self-serving attitude, and it was coming to the surface, at least here for the apostles to see.

Verse 20, But Peter said to him, Your money perish with you, because you thought the gift of God could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. He says, Repent therefore this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness, and you are bound by iniquity.

Poisoned by bitterness, bound by iniquity. How could Peter see this? How could he perceive what it was that was coming from this man's heart? Well, it wasn't with human eyes. Again, it was by discerning the spirit. You see, Philip had baptized Simon by judging his actions, by judging his words. It seemed like he was perhaps a man who had repented. So it seemed. It seemed he believed in the gospel and said, Yes, I'm committing to this way of life. And Philip baptized him. But you see then now Peter comes along to lay hands on him and discerns that he is really a bitter and a poisoned person at heart. And he says, You need to go and repent. He could discern the spirit of this man. When Simon sought to buy the ability to give the Holy Spirit, his motivations became clear and a judgment could be made. Brethren, for you and I, God has called us to exercise this type of spiritual discernment in our lives today. Exercise spiritual discernment. He's called us to test the attitudes, to test the motivations, and to test the spirits around us, and to use the Holy Spirit of God to discern what it is that surrounds us. My point isn't to say, now let's start looking at each person, look at our spouse, look at our neighbor, look at our friends, and try to determine, alright, what's their spirit? What manner of spirit are they? That's not my point. But the point is, God by his Spirit directs us to be tuned into the spiritual elements around us. We're going to make sound judgments and decisions in life. You and I, again, must test the spirits for our own good. First John chapter 4.

First John.

Chapter 4. John lived late in life. He lived past and out to the end of the Apostle time frame of the early New Testament church. Much of what John wrote was actually towards the end of what we say the the Apostles ministries and the experiences there. So there's things in John that you see that came along later, even after what began immediately after Jesus Christ. So first John chapter 4 and verse 1. John says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. So this is very important. John is saying we need to understand the spirits behind certain individuals, behind certain matters, because there have been and there will be false teachers. And he says you might hear their words. You might hear their words and you need to be able to test the spirit, to test the attitude, to test the emotions behind the words, and to make a judgment. Brother, when you test something in this manner, again, it's not just an intellectual exercise, because we can all look at the facts on the ground and you can make a decision regarding something based on an intellectual decision, based on testing the the academics of a matter. But testing in this way goes beyond that. When you test the spirits, you hopefully are already testing the facts on the ground, but you are also, again, testing the emotions, the attitudes, and the spirit behind the words. Again, John said test the spirits whether they are of God. And you should be able to hear something if they are. You should hear a spirit of love, of peace, and of truth, all wrapped into one. Love, peace, and truth. Testing the spirits. That's what you should hear. You should not hear a spirit of anger, or bitterness, or resentment. Again, he says test the spirits to know what you should receive.

As God's people, we're called to judge these things as a package, because the spirit of a matter will often be as telling, or frankly even more telling, than the actual words that are being spoken. And John says listen for those things. Consider those things. Hear those things. Test them, and rely on what God's Spirit allows you to see and hear.

Verse 2, he says, By this you know the Spirit of God, that every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. John is actually describing a false teaching that was a major issue in his time. Not so much an issue in our time today. You don't usually go out there and hear somebody say, well Jesus Christ didn't really come in the flesh. That's not a teaching that is prevalent in our time today. But again, at the end of the age of the apostles, this is something that was coming to the surface. It's Gnostic thought. Because you see the Gnostic teachings, and they taught that the physical world was evil, and that anything physical was evil. So you see, if Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was literally physically in the flesh, how could he be the perfect Son of God? How could he be perfect if he was flesh, if he was evil, if he was corruptible? So the Gnostic teaching that came forth was that Jesus Christ didn't really come in the flesh. He was a spirit, or he was a vision, or he was a ghost in some manner as it was described. And what would be the problem with that? Well, it comes into conflict with the fact that Jesus Christ literally died in the flesh, gave up his life, and was literally dead for the sins of you and I. So to say that Christ didn't come in the flesh, would it be to say he didn't really die? Which would be to say that his sacrifice was not what you and I thought the Scripture portrayed it as. And John is contending and defending against the concept of this spiritual deception. He said every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Verse 4 says, you are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Sounds a lot like what we heard from Elisha when he said, you know, don't fear, because those who are with us are greater than those who are with them.

John says, he who is with you is greater than he who is in the world. Satan is the one who influences this world, and there is a spirit in this world, and there's a driving force behind that spirit. And the point here is that as the prince of the power of the air that now works in the sons of disobedience, Satan is real and he is active, but God is greater than Satan.

Far greater.

You and I serve God, and therefore you and I don't need to fear the adversary. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Verse 5 says, they are of the world. Therefore they speak as the world, and the world hears them. He says, we are of God. He who knows God hears us, he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So if you know God, you have the spirit of God either working with you or dwelling in you, and you have that personal and that direct relationship, then you will know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error when you see it. Because it's God's spirit that will help to make those things plain.

There are diverse spirits in this world, brethren.

There's the adversary that promotes a spirit of deception.

There are simply, even apart from that, people's carnal nature by which they're able to come out and produce deceptive spirits. Lying spirits. Not that it's a spiritual being, but I'm saying the spirit behind the nature of an individual. The carnal human being has the ability to do that as a choice, even apart from God. So there's the spirit of the devil, there's the spirit of those by their own nature that would choose not to walk according to God, and there's the spirit of God. And you need to be able to discern what is behind those things if you're going to make a proper determination. And John says, test the spirits. Test them. That's the instruction. Test the spirit, whether it is not of God or not. Verse 7 says, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. So we're talking about a relationship here.

Love's the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. Okay? If that spirit is stirred up in you, if that spirit is dwelling in you, you'll be displaying the love of God towards one another. But here John says, love is also the evidence of knowing God. As in, if we love one another as God loved us, and we love God, we love the Son of God, and we express that love, it's not only evidence of God's Spirit in us, it is evidence of knowing God and having a true relationship with Him.

Our love for one another, brethren, actually says a lot about us as the people of God.

Our mind you of Jesus Christ's words, he said, by this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. And I don't think we can ever overstate that or ever emphasize that point. As John 13, verse 35 says, by this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. It will be the evidence of being a disciple of Jesus Christ and having a true relationship with God. Love is an identifying sign of God's people, and it must not be esteemed lightly. Brethren, love must not be mocked. It must not be ridiculed.

Verse 7, once again, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested towards us, that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And this is love, not that we love God, but that he has loved us and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to also love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love has been perfected in us. It's a very high calling, brethren, to love one another, not just in word, but in action, to live it, to express it, to do it each and every day. Sometimes, sometimes loves a challenge. Sometimes loves a challenge, but it's a challenge we should be up for. Verse 13 says, by this we know that we abide in him, and he in us because he has given us his Spirit. And so this leads us into another concept regarding spiritual discernment, and that is, it doesn't come apart from the active involvement of God's Holy Spirit. Spiritual discernment isn't a ability of the carnal nature. It doesn't come apart from God's Holy Spirit. First Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 6.

First Corinthians 2 and verse 6, and I apologize, I may keep you a little bit long today. First Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 6 says, However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom of God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew, for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, eye is not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed them to us through his Spirit, as in, it's only by the Spirit of God that you see these spiritual elements, that you understand the things of God, that you can actually make the comparison between what is of God, what is of the Spirit of this world. Verse 11, For what man knows the things of man except the Spirit of man which is in him. Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit of who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Again, the things of God must be discerned spiritually, and that spiritual discernment doesn't come apart from the Spirit of God working with us and in us. It is our spiritual compass. It must learn to yield to it. Verse 15, But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one, for who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. So again, the point is, by the indwelling of God's Spirit, we have the ability and the discernment to identify the difference between the Spirit of this world and the Spirit of God, and we identify and we cling to the things which are excellent. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 9.

Philippians 1 and verse 9.

Again, the Apostle Paul, he says, In this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment. They may approve the things which are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and to the praise of God.

And so what we find is that it's through knowledge and spiritual discernment that the excellent things of God are determined, they're grabbed hold of, and they're lived. Again, you can have the knowledge and the conditions on the ground, brethren, but you also have to have the discernment of the things of God, again, to see the whole picture. There's another Old Testament account involving King Solomon this time that helps to illustrate this point once again, because we can have access to knowledge, we can have access to both sides of an issue, we can study that issue through thoroughly on both sides, and yet even after doing that, perhaps at times we're uncertain.

Perhaps you have this side of the issue, this side of the issue, you've looked at them both, you have to make a decision, and you are uncertain. Again, we must test the spirits. Let's notice 1 Kings chapter 3. 1 Kings chapter 3, you'll recognize this account as the cut the baby in half account. Quite a story.

1 Kings chapter 3 and verse 16 says, Now two women were harlots, and they came to the king, and stood before him. And one woman said, Oh my Lord, this woman, and I, we dwell in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house. And it happened that the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth, and we were together.

No one was with us in the house except the two of us in the house. And this woman's son died in the night because she lay on him. You know, I imagine it was, you know, she brought him into bed to nurse him, she fell asleep, she rolled over on the baby, and she smothered him.

Verse 20 says, So she arose in the middle of the night, and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept. And she laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was dead. But when I examined him in the morning, indeed he was not my son whom I had borne.

Then the other woman said, No, but the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son. And the first woman said, No, but the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. You can probably imagine how heated of a debate this would have been. They didn't have reality TV in the day, but I imagine this would make Judge Judy rather tame. High motion here. This is a serious issue. Verse 23, And the king said, The one says, This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one.

And the other says, No, but your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one. Then the king said, Bring me a sword. And so they brought a sword to the king. So here you have Solomon.

He has both sides of the story, right? Both sides of the issue. What's the truth? Well, that's still yet to be discerned. The king said, Bring me a sword. So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child into, and give half to one, and half to the other. Then a woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son.

You start to see the spirit behind this woman, the motivation. She yearned with compassion. And she said, Oh, my lord, give her the living child. By no means kill it. But the other said, Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him. So the king answered, and he said, Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him.

She is his mother. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. There's an incredible judgment that Solomon made. Would have been a difficult decision, but he determined the truth of the matter. But the additional significant point was the manner in which he reached the truth. He tested the spirits of these two women to see what was in their heart, to determine their love, their care, their compassion, the motivations behind their actions.

Brethren, God has called us to develop the same discernment today. And again, why would we need spiritual discernment? Well, because there are diverse spirits out there, and we need to be able to understand what is the spirit of truth, what is the spirit of God, what is the spirit of the adversary, what is the spirit of the carnal nature, what is the spirit of error. There are diverse spirits, and we need to be able to determine for our own spiritual good. Solomon's discernment came through the wisdom of God, and our discernment comes very much in the same way through the spirit of God, which is either working with us or dwelling in us. It is the spirit of wisdom.

So thus far, we've talked about the testing of the spirits of people, of other people. We've talked about testing the spirits in terms of events and circumstances. What about testing our own spirit?

What about the spiritual discernment of ourselves, of our own nature, in our own heart? Is that important? Does the biblical record indicate that we need to test the spirit of ourself to see what is inside? Indeed, it does. Just look at a brief example. 2 Corinthians chapter 13. Chapter 13 verse 5. 2 Corinthians 13.5.

God would have us to look at our own attitude, to our own motivation, our own intent, to make a determination. 2 Corinthians 13 verse 5. Paul says, Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified? The point is, if the spirit of God and Christ dwell in us and we are yielding to that spirit, we ought to be able to make an accurate assessment, frankly, if we're honest with ourselves. But it's like I mentioned in the sermon last week, brethren. We all have blind spots. We all have things in our lives that maybe we don't see through our normal sweep of vision, and we actually have to get out of our comfort zone a little bit to turn and look, to see what's there, to examine it, to pull it into the light for the purpose of making a change. Paul says, Examine yourself. Examine your motives. Seek to understand your own heart and your own attitude, your own emotions. Seek God's help in the process. Ask God to show you your true nature. Ask Him to give you the true zeal and desire to change, to overcome, and become more like Him. You see, the danger of not examining ourself is that we leave issues in our life unresolved. We leave issues in our life that if they're not attended to, they can lead to an open door for Satan to come in and introduce another spirit.

If the door is locked, the adversary cannot enter from the outside. How does the adversary enter? You open the door from the inside. You open it a crack. He kicks it open, and he comes in. So we must examine our own spirit and our own selves to see if there's anywhere in our life where we're giving the devil an opportunity for a foothold. Let's notice an example which took place in King David's life. It's telling. 1 Chronicles 21. 1 Chronicles 21, verse 1.

It says, On the surface, this, you know, really might not seem like a bad thing. David, maybe he wants to just, you know, conduct a census, see how many people are in the nation. I mean, after all, he has to care for them. He has to see their needs are provided. So he's got a census now of Israel and Judah. And what could be so bad about that? Well, that's not quite, rather than what's happening here. David is actually conducting a count of the fighting men of Israel. He wants to know how big his army is. David wants to know how powerful the might of the nation in battle would be. And he's analyzing his ability to make war. Again, we can ask the question, what's the problem with that? You consider what God said. I'll be your God, you'll be my people. If you submit to me, I'll be your defender. I'll fight your battles for you. I'll go before you. I'll be your rear guard. Look to me. Trust in me. Don't trust in yourself. But David here counted his army. He wanted to analyze his ability to make war. He's looking to his physical strength and might and his own abilities, rather than looking to the might and the power of God. Verse 4 says, Nevertheless, the king's word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed, and he went through all Israel, and he came to Jerusalem. Then Joab gave the psalm of the number of the people to David, and all Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword.

If you add those together, and I think I did my math correctly, David had an army which numbered one million five hundred and seventy thousand men.

That's a big army. Even by today's standards, one million five hundred and seventy thousand. With an army of that magnitude, a king could begin to think that they have the might and the power by their own hand for conquest, for going out and conquering the other nations, for acquisition. Or maybe a king would count that army and say, you know what, let's just make that number known to the nations around us. Nobody would dare challenge us. Our safety, our tranquility here can be secure simply in the numbers that I command. Verse 6, it says, but he did not count Levi, Joab did not, did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king's word was abominable to Joab, and God was displeased with this thing, therefore he struck Israel. So David said to God, I have sinned greatly because I've done this thing, but now I pray take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly. Again David, a man of God, a man that the scripture calls a man after God's own heart when he was acting accordingly, I would say. This man sinned against God. Now there's a penalty, now there's the admission of guilt from David, and this account is telling in regards, brethren, to the importance of examining our spirit, examining our own motivations, because if we go back to verse 1, chapter 21, it says, now Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. How was Satan able to get his foot into the door of David's mind? How was Satan able to get a foothold? How was he able to provoke David, to prod David, to move him in this way? Well, the answer is David still had war in his heart.

David still had war in his heart, and it was the opening which granted access for the adversary to come in and influence him. David was a warrior. David had a warrior's heart, and you know what? There were times in his life when that heart served David well. You remember the Battle of David and Goliath? Again, nobody would stand up for God. People of God cowered in fear, and David says, who's this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? David said, I will fight for God. And he took the fight to the enemy. He ran to the enemy with the fight. So David had a warrior's heart, and that heart had served David well. It had served the nation. But in this specific circumstance, in this specific problem, this came about because there was something about David's nature that had a hard time letting go of the warrior within, and simply trusting God completely. Again, he needed to examine and consider what was there. In battle, David was valiant and victorious. He did his part. He had the heart. He had the attitude. He had the desire to serve God, but he should never forget that the victory always came from God. History, brethren, is dotted with individuals who excelled at war, individuals who were victorious at war, individuals who would jump out of the trench and lead the charge up the hill in war. They would be the first to run the line. And you know what? They were heroes. They were called heroes of war. They were heroes, and they were decorated. But you know, once the war was over and they came home, some of those same individuals struggled to simply find a role for themselves in peace. As long as there was a war to be fought, they were there. As long as there was a battle, they excelled. That was their element. But again, in times of peace, those same individuals struggled to simply find their place and to find peace within themselves.

Coming home to peace, they never quite felt like they belonged. David was a warrior who would have to learn what it meant to trust God, to fight for him, rather than to look to his own strength, to count his own army, and to consider his own abilities as a warrior. And brethren, the adversary, the devil, found the opening. Right? He found the chink in David's armor, and he's looking for the chink in our armor as well. Be on guard. Examine yourself. Test your spirit. See what is there. Ask God to reveal to you what is there, and then humble yourself before him, wholly dedicated to him.

The Bible reveals the day is coming when this whole world will be under the sway of a spiritual influence. As a false leader, a false religious leader, that will rise up again, full of a different spirit. And as God's people, the warning for us is to be on guard. The warning is to exercise spiritual discernment, to make it a necessary part of our spiritual lives, so that we will be able to see and to understand and not be deceived when that spirit is revealed. I want to conclude today in Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews 5 verse 13. God says, search your heart, test your heart, make your heart wholly mine, and exercise these principles. In Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 13, it says, For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness. For he is a babe, but solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use. Again, we're talking mature people, full age. We're talking reason of use, as in, you put this into practice.

Solid food belongs to those who are full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. God has called us today to have spiritual discernment. He showed us in his word what it is. He's called us to exercise it and to put it into use.

From the spiritual discernment is the ability to see the spiritual reality of a matter. It allows us to answer questions like, what is the motivation? What is the attitude? What is the spiritual influence behind this circumstance? As God's people developing the ability to test and discern the spirits is one of the most important factors of our spiritual well-being. We must seek to be of those who are mature, to be of those who by reason of use, and again, by maturity and by yielding to God, have our senses exercised to discern both good and evil.