1. Give warning
2 Kings 6:9-10 NLT
But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, "Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there." So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God, warning the people there to be on their guard. This happened several times.
2. Confront
Acts 10:15 NKJV
And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common."
3. Exhort
Acts 9:17 NKJV
And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
4. Uncover sin
2 Sam 12:7, 9 NKJV
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.... Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight?
5. Disclose man’s thoughts
Acts 5:4 NKJV
While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
6. Identify healing
John 4:50 NKJV
Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
7. Reveal God’s thoughts
Acts 9:15-16 NKJV
But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
8. Perceive what is missing
1 Sam 10:22 NKJV
Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD answered, "There he is, hidden among the equipment."
9. Ignite faith
John 4:39 NKJV
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."
10. Give encouragement
John 1:48 NKJV
Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
In the above list, I used some Old Testament scriptures as examples of the Holy Spirit’s gifts because God has never changed. It was the same Holy Spirit back then, as it is now after Pentecost. The only difference is the Holy Spirit came upon the prophets, priests, etc., and did not dwell within them.
1 Cor 12:7,10
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: ... to another discerning of spirits...
The gift of discerning of spirits is the ability to discriminate different spirits. There are four types of spirits: man’s spirit, God’s Spirit, angelic spirits and evil spirits.
1. MAN’S SPIRIT
Samuel went through the process of discerning the spirit of man, in choosing David to be king. God told him not to look on the outward appearance, when going through the selection process. He discerned the brothers who stood before him, refusing each as the choice to be king over Israel. God allowed Samuel to go through this process until David stood before him. The Lord then spoke and said, “This is he.” (1 Samuel 16:6-13)
Sometimes I have heard the hearts of people and discerned these things were in their desires, prayers, and possibly thoughts. Other times I have heard their souls, and knew these did not align with God’s Word for their life, and so I have prayed for them.
Acts 16:9 NKJV
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."
2. GOD’S SPIRIT
Eli discerned God’s Spirit was talking to the boy Samuel, when Samuel did not know that. So often. we hear the Lord’s voice speaking to us in the early morning hours and do not perceive it is Him.
1 Sam 3:1-10 NLT
Meanwhile, the boy Samuel was serving the LORD by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had just gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly, the LORD called out, "Samuel! Samuel!" "Yes?" Samuel replied. "What is it?" He jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am. What do you need?" "I didn't call you," Eli replied. "Go on back to bed." So he did. Then the LORD called out again, "Samuel!" Again Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you need?" "I didn't call you, my son," Eli said. "Go on back to bed." Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before. So now the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you need?" Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, 'Yes, LORD, your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went back to bed. And the LORD came and called as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel replied, "Yes, your servant is listening."
3. ANGELIC SPIRITS
Hebrews 13:1 says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” (NKJV) The Lord’s angels are not always obvious in their appearance. Sometimes we need to discern that they are angels! The scripture also says that the enemy can be disguised as an angel of light, therefore we must discern whether the angel serves the Lord or the enemy.
2 Cor 11:14 NKJV
And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
I have seen a lot of angels in dreams and picture visions. Angels that love the Lord have very lovely countenances that express God’s love and joy.
4. DEMONIC SPIRITS
Paul opposed the evil spirit that was actually saying something good: “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” Paul discerned the spirit to be one of divination, and rebuked it. (Acts 16:16-18 NKJV)
THE PROCESS OF DISCERNING
Some Greek definitions for discerning have negative connotations: dispute, oppose, hesitate, contend, differ, doubt, be partial, stagger, waver. These words also happen to describe the process the receiver of discernment goes through. The enemy is a liar and deceiver. He tries to camouflage his works by attempting to look good. When the receiver of discernment is confronted with something that appears good on the outside, but isn’t, it becomes a stumbling block to his spirit. His flesh sees and hears that it is good, but his spirit is disputing, opposing, hesitating, contending, differing, doubting, staggering, and wavering against the outward appearance.
I had an occurrence when I heard a spirit say to me that there would be a break through in a meeting that I was attending. It was a good message, and even said something about the Lord. But my spirit hesitated even though it was a good message and then suddenly I knew that this was a religious spirit. I rebuked it in Jesus’ Name, and it gave me all kinds of clack, being very angry because the Lord had made it manifest. It was a lesson that not all things heard are the Lord’s voice, even though they sound like His voice. Christians need discernment, especially when it comes to the supernatural.
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Words from the The Quickened Word are excerpts from the journals of Sandy Warner. To better understand how God speaks, read Sandy’s book, “101+ Ways God Speaks, And How to Hear Him.”
Words from the The Quickened Word are excerpts from the journals of Sandy Warner. To better understand how God speaks, read Sandy’s book, “101+ Ways God Speaks, And How to Hear Him.”
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