VIKTOR SAARI MINISTRIES

 Discerning of spirits is discerning of spirits, not anything else. Too many times I hear people call it the gift of discernment, it is not discernment. It is only discernment of spirits, not discernment of people or anything else. We have to make sure to call the gifts what the Bible calls them and this gift is called the discerning of spirits.

The gift of discerning of spirits gives you insight into the spirit world and into the realm of spirits. It will take you into the motives of a spirit and show you the depths of it. It will show you the spirit behind a person or group. But, realise the gift of discernment is not fault finding. No, it does not find faults in a person; it just shows you the spirit behind them and its motive. Because God wants you to know what kind of spirit you are dealing with. He wants you to know whether it’s a spirit that is true or a spirit that is of deception and false. Because it is only the truth that sets you free! I John 4:6 gives us proof of this:

⁶We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Realise this, if you are dealing with a spirit of error, you better do something about that spirit! Either you cast it out, or you better run and run fast. Because the devil doesn’t want you to know it’s him. If you know it’s him, deal with the spirit! Know that you have all the rights and it doesn’t have any! This is the gift the devil hates the most. Why? Because, the devil is all about deception, and deception is taken away when you see the truth. Paul had this happen to him in Acts 16:16-18. He and Silas were on their way to the place of prayer when a slave girl who was with an evil spirit started to follow them.

She kept following them and shouting loudly proclaimed that they were servants of the most high God. But the Holy Spirit showed Paul what kind of spirit was controlling her and he turned to her and rebuked the evil spirit and it came out of her, that very moment. Most of us probably would have thought she was a great person and would have enjoyed the praise. But, it was the discerning of spirits that showed Paul what kind of spirit was behind her actions. This is the very reason why we have to be available so that the gift can manifest itself in our lives.

Because this is how the evil spirits will even present themselves. They will praise God, praise you and try to make you feel all good on the inside. This is exactly what the devil wants; he wants you to fall for the deception. But the discerning of spirits will let you see the truth and let you see which ones are lying spirits.

There are many other examples of this. Paul also saw through the Holy Spirit that Elymas was controlled by a spirit of error in Acts 13:6-12. Peter and John dealt with a spirit of error in Acts 8:11-24 when they met Simon the sorcerer. Jesus obviously had the discerning of spirits and He often spoke to the spirit behind a person. This is what He did when He called the spirit behind Peter, Satan. He also called Herod a fox. Understand though that He was not calling Peter Satan or Herod a fox. Rather, He was speaking to the spirit that was controlling them, at that time. He shows this also in Mark 2.5-8 when He knew in His spirit what they were thinking in their hearts:

⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves,

⁷“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?

So we see that the discerning of spirits is very important in our lives. We must be available to the Holy Spirit, so that He can manifest this gift through us and to help us. Because it takes us into the spirit world and shows us what is really going on. This is why it tells us in II Corinthians 2:10 that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. The gift of discerning of spirits discerns both good and evil spirits. This gift is what is in effect when you go to a meeting and say that the Holy Spirit had a very strong presence. Because if you are really a born again believer, the presence is always the same, the difference is the gift was allowed to flow and the Holy Spirit was more fully discerned.

So remember, just be available to the Holy Spirit, allow Him to work and be blessed!