What's missing in today;s church? Part III

The couple of weeks I have address that true biblical love and being on the agenda of God is what is missing in today's church. This is not missing in every church but by and large with the American church we are moving by our own heartbeat rather then the heartbeat of God. Today in my observation what is missing is a lack of true spiritual discernment. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the discerning of spirits. This is understood in understanding what is of God and what is of man or of the enemy. Time here does not permit me to be in depth but the church seems to lack the ability to know what is right or wrong and what is true spiritual anointing and charisma of the individual. When we lack the ability to know right from wrong we will begin to allow ungodly behavior that will hinder one's ability to mature as a disciple of Christ. Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sing against you." The concern in this area is that we begin to allow the culture to determine what is right or wrong rather then allowing the Word of God to determine what is right or wrong. I realize that not everyone who is even a serious student of the Bible will agree on everything here but when the church begins to allow clearly stated sins as being OK we are missing something. A clear example of this is allowing sexual immorality within the church. We must be careful not to be misled into legalism to define right or wrong but we must be careful to allow the grace of Christ to so impact our lives that we allow the Spirit to guide us into all truth and to live a life pleasing to God. The other area of my concern in the lack of discernment comes in confusing the true anointing of God and the charisma of a person. This is not always easy but here are three things that have helped me over the years to discern whether a person is walking in the anointing of God. First, Is the cross central to their message? If Jesus does not remain at the center then it becomes an easy transition for self to be the center. Second, Is there a commitment to honor the Word of God? Properly handing the Word of God ought to be a given but somehow the church overlooks how some handle the scriptures because they sound so good. That is a huge mistake, the Holy Spirit authored the Word of God and it is the same Holy Spirit that brings the anointing and He never contradicts Himself. Third, Is the character of a humble servant present within their character? This is not always easy because we know some evangelists or prophets from a distant but let us be aware that true anointing can only function in a person who is wholly dependent upon the Lord, humility. I encourage you to keep your observation skills active so that proper discernment can take place. This is just a quick overview of why it is my opinion that true biblical discernment is missing in today's church.
May the God of peace and strength be with you and help you to know right from wrong and you will begin to growth in your spiritual discernment abilities.

Pastor John