Am I Crazy? The Gift of Discernment In Bob Jones 1999 Shepherds Rod book, he prophesied about the year 2000: One of the most notable promises given this year is the release of spiritual discernment on a greatly heightened scale. Universally, the Church has been dreadfully lacking in spiritual sensitivity. Not only is spiritual sensitivity needed in rightly dividing the Word, but also in discerning one another within the Body and the revelations given to us by the Holy Spirit. These spiritual revelations will also be discerned through the five natural senses. The sense of taste, smell, sight, sound and touch will become increasingly sensitive to the realm of the Spirit, providing additional illumination of the times and seasons ahead and the things that we ought to do in preparation for them... The five natural senses will become sensitive to spiritual reality. By the year 2000, I had already been operating in the gift of discernment for almost nine years and I had certainly been called crazy! I could find no one who was experiencing what I was experiencing and I could find no literature to support what was happening to me. It is now 2014, and what a change there has been. In any seminar I do, I find at least 80% of those present begin to discern through the five physical senses. Many are surprised that the sensations on their body are not physical pains that need medication, but are actually a physical reaction to spiritual activity around them. Others are delighted to know that the ringing in their ears could be that they are hearing sounds in the spiritual realm: angels singing in tongues, the saints singing a new song, or activity in the heavenly places. The good news is that Hebrews 5:14 is still true: But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Not only can we train our senses to discern good and evil, but we can allow the Holy Spirit to train our senses to know what specific spiritual beings are present. But, why is this important? (Photo by Jennifer Page Open Heaven via elijahshopper) The context of Hebrews 5:14 is a treatise on Melchizedek. Melchizedek is the high priestly function of Jesus Christ. Discernment is activated so that we can understand when Melchizedek is interceding for us and then spiritually discern the results of that intercession. And here is the great news! When we discern like this then we can be doing what the Father is doing! (see John 5:19) Discerning Melchizedek In the spring of 2010, I began feeling that we should gather together at the beginning of Pentecost, the evening of May 22 at sundown; so I invited whoever wanted to come and join me at Aslans Place (our ministry center). I arrived at 7:30pm and a small group assembled as sundown approached. As we waited, we could feel the presence of the Lord increasing and, as the sunlight disappeared, we felt a slight breeze moving through the room. At 7:50pm, the anointing rapidly increased and we felt we were to stand and join hands; but then, all of a sudden, I started running backwards. Now, I want to tell you that I have not even run forward in a long time! I ran backwards around the living room at a full run, seven times. On the final return to my chair, the Lord sat me down and I asked, Okay, what was that all about? Each person had a different idea. One said I was unwinding; another said I was undoing; and another said I was going backwards to something. I was mystified and wondered for many weeks what this meant. Also during the spring of 2010, the discernment of something new began. I was on the phone with my friend, Pastor Rob Gross from Kaneohe, Hawaii, and together we realized that I was discerning Melchizedek. As I pondered what it meant to discern Melchizedek, I kept saying to others and especially to Rob, I do not get this. I listened to a set of tapes and read a couple of books about Melchizedek but still was not satisfied – I knew that there was something more the Lord wanted me to understand. This was a mystery that I was to comprehend, but what was it? In searching out the things of God I often say I need my ah ha – the moment of clarity when all that the Lord is trying to communicate finally makes sense. My ah ha moment in regard to Melchizedek finally came when I understood that the Lord had taken me back to the very beginning of my training to discern good and evil; and I remembered that the Lord had given me Hebrews 5:14 just after I had conducted my first seminar on discernment, Discerning the Battle. (Photo via flickr) I had returned home from Virginia following that seminar when my friend, Dr. Tom Hawkins, called and said The Lord gave me a verse for you. That Scripture was Hebrews 5:14, and it became the foundational verse for the call of God on my life to teach discernment: But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (NKJV). Now, years later, my ah ha moment occurred when I realized that this verse is right in the middle of the passage about Melchizedek. Intercession of Melchizedek After twenty years, the Lord had brought me back to the beginning days and showed me that discernment is really all about recognizing the intercession of Melchizedek. Its about knowing what the Lord Jesus is interceding for in His function as the eternal High Priest, Melchizedek; and then doing what the Father is doing. All these years I had been in training, learning to discern many different kinds of spiritual beings: angels, seraphim, cherubim, elders, rulers, elemental spirits, orbs, powers, etc. Now I knew that the purpose of my training had not been just to recognize these beings, but also to understand Melchizedeks intercession as the High Priest before the Father. By discerning the spiritual being(s) present, I would be able to see what the Father was doing because He has trained me in regard to their purposes and functions; and I would know how I was to respond based on my discernment. I would understand how to do what the Father is doing. For years I was told that discernment (the use of the physical senses to know what is going on in the spiritual realm) is not necessary and, indeed, unbiblical. I now understand that not only is discernment necessary but it is essential to entering into, and understanding the new realms that God has for us.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 16:13:36 +0000
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