Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, THAT your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 THAT ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till (with a view toward being ready for) the Day of Christ. 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
| Day 16—If we will function in the Kingdom of Christ, we must be proficient in testing all matters. |
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The ability to put a matter to the test can best be devised in us by the Holy Spirit. To test a matter, it frequently is necessary to discern the motivating spirit that operates from behind the scene. Paul gave a list of functions of the Holy Spirit that we generally call “the Gifts of the Spirit.” In I Corinthians 12:10 he called one of them the discerning of spirits. This is the ability placed in the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit to put spirits to the test.
I Corinthians 12:10—To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
(MSG) 7-11—All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts,, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.
Why is it necessary to put spirits to the test? It is because there are often seducing spirits that drive people to do certain things. Sometimes the work of these spirits is not good, even though on the surface of the matter things seem all right. This is often the case in determining the motive behind a person’s actions, or in determining why they desire to do a certain thing, or why they wish to go to some certain place. With this operation of the Holy Spirit in place in the Body of Christ, many a person can be saved from some disastrous involvement, or from an association with someone that will lead to harm.
DEAR LORD, there are many times when I made wrong decisions because I did not heed the guidance of Your Spirit. These were acts of immaturity, or greed, or fear that I really did not want to admit were motivating me. Please set me—and these I hold before You—free from any more of these involvements, or actions.
Instructions that will keep us free from falling prey to greed—Ephesians 4:11-19
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