Discernment

Discernment

Discernment- The ability to find the root of the matter, and it relies on intuition as well as rational thought.

• Spiritual Discernment is the ability to judge as to whether an action is an act of the Holy Spirit or a familiar or false spirit.

Trans: There are four principles that we can employ that will help us with discernment.

I. Discover the Root Issues

1. Ask the Lord to show you the root cause of the problem or symptoms that are revealed.
2. Most leaders never have the entire puzzle before them when they make decisions. They have pieces here and there, and the gaps are filled in with discernment.
3. Discernment allows the leader to see the partial picture and fill in the missing pieces intuitively.
4. There discernment can take them right to the heart of the matter.
5. There are many times that I hear of situations, and long before they surface and the facts come to light I have already discerned what is happening behind the scenes.
i. Discerning of Spirits
ii. See through people and their motives, lies etc.
iii. God gives us true discernment, but there are things that we can do to help ease our task.

II. Enhance Your Problem Solving

1. If you can see the root issue, then you can solve the problem.
2. The closer you are to your area of giftedness, the easier it is for you to see or discern the root causes.
3. So if you want to tap into your potential of discernment, then work in your areas of strength.
i. Of course the Spirit of God can reveal things to us at any level.

III. Evaluate Your Options for Maximum Impact

1. Never ignore a “Gut Feeling”; but also, “never believe that it’s enough”.
2. Discernment is not relying on intuition alone, not on intellect; but it is a combination of intuition and intellect.
3. It is in that area of intuition where the Spirit of God deals with us concerning issues. This is where that “Gut Feeling” comes from.

IV. Multiply Your Opportunities

1. People that lack discernment are seldom in the right place at the right time.
2. I believe that it is a leaders discernment that creates his own luck so to speak. It is not really luck, but blessings.
3. Illus. Of a fisherman going fishing. He has intellectual knowledge of how to fish, when to, where to, etc.; but when he gets there he allows his gut to take over as he see conditions changing, current changing and so forth.

Application:
• Are you able to cut right to the heart of the matter and deal with it?
• Are you able to see the root cause of the problem without having every detail?
• Do you trust your intuition as much as your intellect? If not, you need to cultivate it.

To Improve Discernment, do the following:

1. Analyze Past Successes- See what you have solved successfully in the past. What was the root issue to that problem? What made you succeed? If you can look back and see the heart of this problem in just a few words, then you can probably look forward and do the same thing with new problems.
2. Learn How Others Think- Read biographies of others discerning leaders, by learning how they think you can become more discerning.
3. Listen To Your Gut- Try to think of times when your intuition spoke to your and you were right on the money. Look for patterns that will give you insight into you own intuition.


Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor Worship Center