Spiritual Discernment is defined as a decision-making process in which an individual makes a discovery that can lead to future action. In the process of Christian spiritual discernment God guides the individual to help them arrive at the best decision. That is essential in this Christian journey; because, we need the Spiritual Discernment afforded by the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us each step of the way. Sometimes we face very difficult decisions and are uncertain as to the way to go, until the doors all shut before us and around us. That does not mean we throw up our hands and quit. Rather with hope filled expectation we await the Holy Spirit to open the right door. At other times we face severe tribulations and wonder if we could have gotten off track, only to find the Holy Spirit filling our heart with peace and joy amid the trials.
Certainly, this was the case for Paul as he embarked on his second missionary journey. He was provided with abounding faith in his heart, along side a mind filled with spiritual discernment for the journey. The ups and downs of life presented themselves all along the way, yet he remained focused on Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior every step of the way. Early along this journey he met Timothy who became as dear to him as a son would be. After Timothy accepted Christ, Paul recommend he be circumcised. Not because it was needed for salvation, as Paul had fought to prove in the previous chapter. Rather this was done to open more doors for Timothy as he grew in the ministry of Christ. As Paul later wrote, “take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak” (1Corinthians 8:9).
The meeting continued as the Apostles and elders met. Jewish leaders and new converts had wanted to teach a doctrine proclaiming a necessity of circumcision and the law being part of the requirement for Gentiles to become Christians. Paul and Barnabas had not been able to persuade them any differently, so the council met. Peter reminded them that even though he had been skeptic, God had clearly shown him that Gentiles and Jew alike were to be saved by grace alone through faith alone. The Jewish nation had proven their own inability to follow God by the works of the law-a yoke they could not bear. The Holy Spirit’s baptism of Cornelius happened just as with the first Jewish believers, not requiring circumcision. Then James speaks of when the ruins are rebuilt, and people seek God as he quotes Amos.
Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
16 ‘After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
Says the [d]Lord who does all these things.’
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart. Ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). In this world we are in some ways under a yoke of some kind—whether it be the yoke of Government, the yoke of work, family, finances, health or even our own fleshly desires. Yet, Jesus bids us to take his yoke upon us that we might find rest. How is the Yoke of Jesus different and not the same as the Old Testament law? And how does His yoke provide us rest from all the other yokes that bind us?
In Acts 15, there rises a new challenge for the early church. There were many who spread a doctrine regarding the believers needing to all be circumcised and brought under the Mosaic law in order to be saved. There arose such an uproar among the believers in the church of Antioch that Paul and Barnabas were sent to the elders and Apostles in Jerusalem to secure an answer. Paul and Barnabas had stood for the truth of salvation through grace alone by faith alone; but their words were being drowned out by the crowds who questioned their authority in the matter. So, they returned to speak to the council in Jerusalem.
There in Jerusalem the council met. The Holy Spirit evidently strongly fixed within the council, filling every member with wisdom and truth to respond.
Think of this. Paul and Barnabas on their first Missionary Journey to spread the news of the gospel. There was no doubt as to the call of the Holy Spirit on their lives. They could have comfortably remained teaching and preaching in Antioch. Afterall, they were leaders in that church. Already having faced the opposition, the church was flourishing. Surely that was God would allow them to remain, growing that church and teaching them in the faith. But instead God called them to leave that church and go out into the world. They surrendered fully to the calling of the Holy Spirit. No hesitation! No questions asked! Off they went, embarking on a treacherous journey and leaving the familiar behind. What gave them the strength to persist in faith and missions, regardless of what treacherous trials they might face?
What if God calls you out of your comfort zone into lands unknown? Perhaps it is merely a new job He has called you to (or even has shoved you into by it being the only open door). It may not have been what you wanted or what you had planned. Yet, it is where God’s Sovereign Hand had placed you. Remember there are no “oops” in God’s plan for your life. Have you landed in a place where you feel silenced? “Surely God does not mean for me to be a witness here!”, you think. Still this is where He placed you. Or perhaps you see the need for ministry but feel yourself to be the wrong person for the task. You want to; but you feel your faith is not big enough. How do you persist in faith and missions, when you see your own failures looming?
As we continue through the book of Acts, it becomes clearly apparent that we must make God first in all we do. Paul and Barnabas, called by the Spirit, began their missionary journey. Every step of that journey was met with hardships; yet, there were the joys along the way. The great joy known by Paul and Barnabas was knowing that many came to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The mission, they knew was God’s mission, not their own. Therefore, when people revolted against them, they did not plead or beg with them. Instead, they would shake the dust off their feet and move on. This was a symbol that they (Paul and Barnabas) were not responsible for them nor their salvation. But the question then comes, “Are you ever Responsible for another’s salvation?”
You are called to tell them of the truth of the gospel. But if they walk away and even close the door of communication with you, you must know how to walk away yourself. Oh, yes keep them in your prayers that the seed you left will flourish one day. But that will be left in God’s hands and their choice. In fact, Paul after preaching a beautiful sermon to the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia, knew some were saved. Yet, then there were those who denied Christ, particularly after Paul preached also to the Gentiles who eagerly accepted the gospel truth.
