Didn't See That Coming - Discernment
Have you ever bought a knockoff handbag from Canal Street in NYC? The purchase of an imitation product isn't just limited to handbags or New York City. We can venture out to many places for this purpose, but we'll never feel truly confident about the knockoff because we'll always know something is missing.
This isn't limited to a story about buying knockoffs or counterfeits, it has massive implications in our lives and faith.
Acts11
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
The church has been scattered by persecution, but God uses this thing that seems like an obstacle as an opportunity. And all sorts of people, who some thought had no business coming to faith, are coming to faith.
This leads to another challenge for the church, but the tools they use to handle this are not prayer, worship, fasting, meditation, or scripture reading, although those are all good things we ought to do. In this case, they use discernment.
So, what is discernment, and why is it important?
Discernment is separating things from each other. It's like weeding things out.
As Christians, we might think discernment is about distinguishing right from wrong, but what if it's more subtle and harder than that? Think about the world we live in today. It's filled with cover bands, AI, and deepfakes. This is where we run into trouble because it's not that simple.
Discernment isn't necessarily the differentiation between right and wrong, it's surgically separating the difference between right and almost right.
Knockoffs and counterfeits are almost there, but not all there. There's a difference between the real and the fake, even if it looks like it's the right shape, size, or color. Something's still off.
So, how can you spot it?
The only way you know is if you are so familiar with the genuine article and immersed in what is true.
People trained to spot counterfeits instinctively know all the characteristics of the genuine article by heart, touch, sight, and smell.
There will always be a new knockoff, so you can only keep up or keep current if you study the genuine article. If you do that, you'll always be able to spot the counterfeits.
Christians are often guilty of being more familiar with the latest hot-button culture-war issue than they are with the words of scripture, the character of God, and the spirit of Jesus.
So, how do we become intimately familiar with the genuine article?
John 14
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever,”
In the Book of Acts, the Gospel spreads to the Greeks. Is this in line with the Jewish law? No. But it's in line with God's heart and His demonstrated course of action through history, pursuing people, often to ridiculous degrees. This is revealed in His Word and through His son, Jesus.
Impending hardship invites a response of generosity in advance. Is generosity in line with God's Word, nature, and demonstrated way of working?
Think of discernment as a 3-legged stool.
You need to have all 3 to have balanced discernment. We usually pick and choose 2 we like, because the third one is difficult. And it's a different third one for each of us. We cling hard to the 2, but it only stays stable with all 3 intact.
Unfortunately, we live in a world of 2-legged stools.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
This isn't limited to a story about buying knockoffs or counterfeits, it has massive implications in our lives and faith.
Acts11
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
The church has been scattered by persecution, but God uses this thing that seems like an obstacle as an opportunity. And all sorts of people, who some thought had no business coming to faith, are coming to faith.
This leads to another challenge for the church, but the tools they use to handle this are not prayer, worship, fasting, meditation, or scripture reading, although those are all good things we ought to do. In this case, they use discernment.
So, what is discernment, and why is it important?
Discernment is separating things from each other. It's like weeding things out.
As Christians, we might think discernment is about distinguishing right from wrong, but what if it's more subtle and harder than that? Think about the world we live in today. It's filled with cover bands, AI, and deepfakes. This is where we run into trouble because it's not that simple.
Discernment isn't necessarily the differentiation between right and wrong, it's surgically separating the difference between right and almost right.
Knockoffs and counterfeits are almost there, but not all there. There's a difference between the real and the fake, even if it looks like it's the right shape, size, or color. Something's still off.
So, how can you spot it?
The only way you know is if you are so familiar with the genuine article and immersed in what is true.
People trained to spot counterfeits instinctively know all the characteristics of the genuine article by heart, touch, sight, and smell.
There will always be a new knockoff, so you can only keep up or keep current if you study the genuine article. If you do that, you'll always be able to spot the counterfeits.
Christians are often guilty of being more familiar with the latest hot-button culture-war issue than they are with the words of scripture, the character of God, and the spirit of Jesus.
So, how do we become intimately familiar with the genuine article?
John 14
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever,”
- Jesus says, “I am the way. So that place I told you about – I’m how you get there.” This is more than about getting into heaven.
- He also says, “I am the truth and I am the life.” Truth is the structure we build our lives on, and life is how we operate within that structure. We operate through constant discernment.
In the Book of Acts, the Gospel spreads to the Greeks. Is this in line with the Jewish law? No. But it's in line with God's heart and His demonstrated course of action through history, pursuing people, often to ridiculous degrees. This is revealed in His Word and through His son, Jesus.
Impending hardship invites a response of generosity in advance. Is generosity in line with God's Word, nature, and demonstrated way of working?
Think of discernment as a 3-legged stool.
- Who God is - Character
- What God says - Word
- What God has done and is doing - Action
You need to have all 3 to have balanced discernment. We usually pick and choose 2 we like, because the third one is difficult. And it's a different third one for each of us. We cling hard to the 2, but it only stays stable with all 3 intact.
Unfortunately, we live in a world of 2-legged stools.
- Social justice movement = love and action, but no Word.
- Professional church-goers = Word and love, but no action.
- Angry fundamentalists = Word and action, but no love.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
Recent
Archive
2024
May
June
July
August