Discerning Who is Speaking?
OPENED EARS – WHO IS SPEAKING?
In the evening right before people fall asleep, and in the early morning right before coming awake often they have opened ears and eyes and don’t even realize God is talking to them.
In the day when there was no open vision, I am reminded when Samuel first had his ears opened that he needed to know WHO was speaking to him. He heard, but didn’t realize it was God. There comes a time when the Lord wants to reveal what was there all along- that we have actually been hearing in the realm of the spirit all our life and just not in tune to realize it. Most of this has to do with the coming of age into God’s purposes for us.
1 Samuel 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no open vision.
1 Samuel 3:7-8 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word {1697} of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for you did call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.
WORD Hebrew {#1697} : spoken, bid, commune, appointed, decree, sentence, thought, command.
=======
OPENED EARS SCRIPTURES
Isaiah 50:5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned backward.
Job 36:10 He opens also their ear to discipline, and commands that they return from iniquity.
Job 36:15 He delivers the poor in his affliction, and opens their ears in oppression.
Psalms 40:5-7 Many, O LORD my God, are your wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us: they cannot be recounted in order unto you: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. 6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; my ears have you opened: burnt offering and sin offering have you not required. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
A STILL SMALL VOICE
Now there are many ways to hear, like audible and inner audible and also the Lord’s voice and angel voices that abide with us during the day time. They are louder and more impactful than hearing a still small voice. They are not as tiny as the still small voice. Notice in the passage below it says “A” still small voice. This type of hearing is not just the Lord’s voice. When the Lord opens our ears to the realm of the spirit, it is one world – the spiritual world where the invisible life, everything living that is not seen is made known through the opening of spiritual eyes and ears.
1 Kings 19:12-13 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What do you here, Elijah?
STILL Hebrew {#1827}: quite, calm, silence still
SMALL Hebrew {#1851}: crushed, small, thin, dwarf, lean, very little thing
When we hear in the spirit world, we can hear different types of personalities:
· The Father’s voice
· Jesus’ voice
· The Holy Spirit
· Angels
· Cloud of Witnesses
· People on earth
· Our own spirit
· Our soul
· Demons
LEARNING TO DISCERN
The biggest stumbling block I have had in hearing in the realm of the spirit is the use of pronouns: I, me, my, you, us, we, they, etc! At first I got very hung up on trying to figure out who was speaking to me. I regularly tested the spirits and bound all sources of demonic and mixture just to make sure. After the demonic was clearly gone, and my faith was activated, I realized that the message was more important than who was speaking, as only good fruit comes from a good source. This does not mean that I disregard who is speaking, but I place discerning the message and more important.
Matthew 7:17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
“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.” (Heb 5:14 NKJV)
Discernment in the Greek language means judicial estimation, discern, disputation. It comes from a word meaning to separate thoroughly, withdraw, oppose, discriminate, decide, hesitate, contend, make to differ, doubt, judge, be partial, stagger, waver.
So if you wrestle with wavering in what you discern, now you know why. These words describe the process the receiver of discernment goes through! In the Bible, we have numerous examples in the Hebrew & Greek language revealing that discernment is connected to words having to do with the judicial process. The bottom line is that discernment is like a pair of judicial balance scales. A person carefully weighs evidence, both pro and con. They separate the evidence into two piles…. Good and evil, right and wrong, true and false, holy and profane, etc.
Note that discernment is the actual PROCESS of separating into two piles, it is NOT the decisions based upon what is separated. As compared to a judicial court case, the word discern would be equivalent to the process of hearing a case and separating the evidence. Discernment would be separating the facts, good and bad, then distributing them into 2 piles. In one pile would be the bad and on the other would be the good. This process is like what a jury goes through to deliberate evidence. The jury does not have the power to pass a sentence of punishment for the results of lawlessness. They merely separate the facts and decide whether someone is innocent or guilty.
When we learn to discern, and separate the holy from the profane, we are told to discern the following:
1) We Discern Spiritual Food – The message
“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.” (Heb 5:14 NKJV)
2) We Discern Prophesy – the anointed Words
The scripture says, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil.” (1 Thess 5:19-22 NLT) This Greek word test is also translated discern.
3) We Discern Spirits – the spirits of personalities
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all… to another discerning of spirits… (1 Cor 12:7-8, 10) The more acquainted we are with the HOLY Spirit, the easier it will be to recognize the unholy ones.
a. the spirit of man (1 Samuel 16:6-13)
b. the Spirit of God (John 6:63)
c. angelic spirits (Hebrews 13:1)
d. demonic spirits (Acts 16:16-18)
4) We Discern Fruits – the mouths, motives and actions of people
a. false apostles
b. ravening wolves
c. thorns & thistles
d. grapes & figs
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don’t pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles. A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit.” (Matt 7:15-18 NLT)
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matt 7:15-16 KJV)
