BEING SENSITIVE AND DISCERNING

1. THE NATURAL PERSON does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, AND HE IS NOT ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED.
2. THE SPIRITUAL PERSON JUDGES ALL THINGS, but is himself to be judged by no one.
3. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” BUT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST."
   1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (ESV)

"BUT solid food is for the mature, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE THEIR POWERS OF DISCERNMENT TRAINED BY CONSTANT PRACTICE TO DISTINGUISH GOOD FROM EVIL."
Hebrews 5:14 (ESV)

• In relating with other people, you have to be circumspect and be sensitive. That is, being discerning!

• You weigh words and actions of whoever comes into your Life.
  NOTE: This teaching is not about being suspicious OF people who come your WAY. It is about being sensitive and discerning.
• Whatever you want to become in life would be through relationships. Thus, you need other people to succeed and get to the top in life. God created Man, human beings in general, a relational being.
• However, as a Believer, you have to be circumspect and know the relationships that God would want you to cultivate and the ones to shun.
• Relationship is by choice and not by Force! Albeit, God ordained relationships are to be kept and treasured jealously.
• Any relationship that would be detrimental to your life, your relationship with God, and the fulfillment of the assignment given to you by Him, should be shunned completely.
• Someone may be relating with you and such a person's heart might not be right with you.
• A person with a wrong and wicked heart might be wishing you Dead and that may be oblivious to you:
  "A RIGHTEOUS SHOULD CHOOSE HIS FRIENDS CAREFULLY, for the way of the wicked leads them astray" (Proverbs 12:26 NKJV).
• If God wanted to stop your relationship with someone, and He puts a full-stop, do not try to put a comma, Let it be stopped as God does want it.
• If you sentimentally perpetuated a relationship that God has brought to an end and continued with it, you may have a dirge to sing afterwards.
• If God has stopped or concluded a relationship of yours with Someone, let it be as God wanted it to be.

• NOTE: If you are faithful to God, and sincere in your heart with Him; If He sees danger in the path you are treading, in your relationship with someone, for He knows the intent of every heart (1 Chronicles 28:9)—He would not hesitate to sever you from such a relationship.

• Walk with God and cooperate with Him on how He wants things to happen and be done in your Life.
• Let God choose who to relate with and allow in your Life, and who NOT to relate with, or allow at all.
  ALSO, in all you wanted to do, let Him do the choosing: "A MAN'S [woman's] HEART PLANS HIS [her] WAY, BUT THE LORD DIRECTS HIS [her] STEPS" (Proverbs 16:9).
• Wait on Him and let Him direct. Let God lead and you follow (Proverbs 3:5,6).
• You may not like what God is doing; how He leads and directs, but do follow anyway:
  "THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT TO A MAN [woman], BUT THE END IS THE WAY OF DEATH" (Proverbs 14:12).

• If God says you should stop, please do.
I. If God says you should stop relating with someone, or stop going to a particular place, I would enjoin you to obey.

• Some believers have lost their lives because of wrong relationships. While some others have not been able to fulfil God's plans and purposes for their lives because they permitted wrong persons or people in their lives.
  II. God can equally tell you to be careful or wary of Someone:
  14 ALEXANDER THE COPPERSMITH DID ME [Paul] MUCH HARM. May the Lord repay him according to his works. 15 YOU [Timothy] ALSO MUST BEWARE OF HIM, for he has greatly resisted our words" (2 Timothy 4:14,15 NKJV).
  READ: 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14; Philippians 3:17-19; 2 Timothy 3:5
  III. God could also tell you NOT to share certain things with certain people:
  "DO NOT TRUST IN A FRIEND; Do not put your confidence in a COMPANION; GUARD THE DOORS OF YOUR MOUTH...." (Micah 7:5). (See verse 6 also).
  READ: Proverbs 13:3; 17:27,28

14 THEN Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” So he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.”
15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you.”
16 So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” BUT ABOUT THE MATTER OF THE KINGDOM, HE [Saul] DID NOT TELL HIM [his uncle] WHAT SAMUEL HAD SAID."
1 Samuel 10:14-16 (NKJV)

"AND A PERSON'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD."
Matthew 10:36 (New American Standard Bible)

• Perhaps it would have been wise If Joseph kept the dreams, what God revealed to him, to himself. Sharing of the Dreams led to a series of the unfortunate events afterwards (Genesis 37:5-11).
• If God warned you concerning your relationship with someone or people, you would do well to take precautions and OBEY. If you do not, you might regret later.
• If you are loyal to God and sincere in your heart in all you do with Him; If He sees danger in your relationship with someone, He would endeavour to cut the person off from you.
• Ignorantly as a human being, I personally have been sentimentally drawn some people whom God has separated, back to my Life, but the experience has been costly.
• Do not be sentimental about whatever God has revealed or told you about someone or something.
• If you did allow sentiment, you might lose your life in the process.
• If you are in a place, or cultivated a relationship, or Whatever, because of sentiment, what people will say; you are endangering your Life and Ministry.
• Many have died, lost their lives prematurely, because of sentiment.
• Sentiment is defined by a Dictionary AS a feeling or an opinion, especially one based on emotions: feelings of pity, romantic love, sadness, and whatever, which may be too strong or not appropriate.
• There should be no place for sentiment in relating with people.
  IF your relationship with someone is basically on sentiment, you are endangering your Life. You will not be a victim of evil in Jesus' name.

• Ask God about whoever comes into your Life.

• Do things with people based on what God tells you about them.
• Pray that God will help you in any instruction given you about your relationship with other people.
• Deal with people in Prayer. Challenge and change whatever the devil has planned concerning your Life, Ministry, and home.

• Do not take for granted whatever God has told or revealed to you about someone or people.

• If you wanted to be nice, be in the good book of everyone, you will definitely not please God and you will endanger your Life (Galatians 1:10).
• God will not change His mind. Your level of obedience as a Believer determines your success in life and Ministry.
• Tell God to reveal things to you about the people, even what may be hidden to you about your family.
• When you take God and His Words spoken to you seriously, you begin to see the wickedness of man's heart:
  9 “THE HEART is deceitful above all things, AND DESPERATELY WICKED; Who can know it? 10 I, THE LORD, SEARCH THE HEART, I TEST THE MIND, EVEN TO GIVE EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WAYS, According to the FRUIT OF HIS [her] DOINGS" (Jeremiah 17:9,10 NKJV).
• Pray about what you have read in this piece, and ask God to help you in the application of it in your Life.

"HE WHO KEEPS HIS COMMAND will experience nothing harmful; AND A WISE MAN'S HEART DISCERNS BOTH TIME AND JUDGMENT."
Ecclesiastes 8:5 (NKJV)

• It is my prayer that you will not be a prey in the hand of the wicked—the devil, in Jesus' name.
Peace!