THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT Series

Tasting Words

Can you taste the difference between a deluxe pizza and a Hot Pocket? What about the difference between sugar and Splenda or some other artificial sweetener? Can you taste the difference between the message of Jesus Christ and the wisdom of the world?

As a pastor I sometimes encounter what I see as the lack of discernment for real trust in Christ and trusting one’s own thoughts. The risk is making an authority out of your own opinion, rather than trusting the greater authority of the Bible. If you have ever been tempted to doubt the value of the Bible because someone says, “the Bible is full of contradictions,” then you are giving in to an argument that is superficial and has no authority. Or if you give in to the world’s wisdom that the Bible is the same as other religious books, than you devalue what Jesus did to save the world.

The message of the cross must never be seen as “just another religious option.” It must be our passion. This series, “The Need for Discernment,” will try to teach how to increase your passion for the One who deserves it.

"Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning. For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food. Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.” Job 34:2-4

Some essential steps to discerning the Truth include:
• Understand that asking Jesus into your heart brings you into the covenant of grace.
• Living in that covenant includes receiving God’s blessings and responding in a life of worship and trust (Heb. 9:15 and Heb. 13:20).
• Make a personal declaration of faith that you believe the Bible to be the Word of God (Psalms 119:105).
• Test other teaching sources in light of the Bible and sound doctrine (Rom. 12:2).
• Learn to listen to the insights of the Holy Spirit to understand the deeper meaning of the Bible, (Ephesians 1:17-18).

These first steps to increase discernment will put your heart and mind into the position of believing and not falling to temptation of unbelief by agreeing with the cheap wisdom of the world.

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.” Phil 1:9-11