2nd session with Bro Emmanuel…The Gift Discernment
"WHAT IS DISCERNING OF SPIRIT? This gift is the power that is given to use by God to distinguish one spirit from another. It is the supernatural ability, which God gives to certain of His people to discern the motivation behind any unusual event or manifestation. There are 3 sources of motivation underlying human events and activities. One flows from the Holy Spirit, another from the human spirit, and yet another from Satan himself. This gift enables a believer to pinpoint the exact source of any statement or manifestation, thus protecting the Church from counterfeits of Satan.
His Holiness Pope Paul VI said that the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is the Gift of DISCERNMENT. Too often we are blinded by what happens in our life and we are misguided. Every Catholic must strive at discovering the WILL OF GOD in his life. For this he has to fight against three great enemies:-The World, the Flesh and Wrong Doing.
Without proper DISCERNMENT one can easily make the wrong choice. We have two choices in life. We can either CHOOSE GOD or SATAN. God wants to draw all of us to Himself. Satan swore to take all of us away from God. We have to make our Choice. This Growth in Spirit Experience can and will help us to be on the side of God now and forever.
Jesus throughout his Life on earth taught us how to distinguish the Spirit of His Father as against all kinds of other spirits. We are thought that there are three great enemies in the world and they are the World, the Flesh and Wrongdoing. In these three instances, we are putting into exercise our FREEDOM to choose what is right and to avoid what is evil. We have to choose between GOD and DEVIL. Our happiness will depend on the right choice. LET us pray that this right choice will always be GOD and His Holy Will.
OUR task is to be able to detect and become more and more aware of the PRESENCE and INFLUENCE of the EVIL SPIRIT in our life and around us. Sometimes he is so subtle that we do not even notice him, and his effects on our life.
The purpose of this talk is to enable you to understand how SATAN works and to detect his presence and activity. ALL these to help you to resist SATAN by wearing the armor of God.
THE PROBLEM: SATAN and EVIL SPIRITS
Satan is real. Man is a psychological, social and a cultural animal AND also and above all a spiritual creature. Because of this he must confront SATAN and EVIL SPIRITS.
The MODERN WORLD dismisses the notion of a personal evil force as a fantasy devised by superstitious and ignorant men looking for a scapegoat. Many Christians who acknowledge Jesus’ Lordship dismiss Satan as a superstition. The tendency today is that people do not believe in any kind of spiritual powers be they from God or from the Devil.
Yet, Scripture, tradition and personal experience all testify to the presence of a personal evil force opposing God and his plan. Scripture speaks of Satan as an angel and asserts that he has other angels, called evil spirits. Satan and the Evil spirits are real and we must deal with them in the Christian life.
SATAN not only exists, but he wields tremendous power. Satan is a fallen angel. He still possesses some of the power his angelic nature. Man and the affairs of man are helpless before this mighty spiritual force. Man trembles in the presence of SATAN. But SATAN trembles even more in the presence of God. Satan trembles with fear in the presence of God and of His Son, Jesus. If we are on the side of God and of Jesus, we need not fear. The power of God brings freedom from Satan’s control.
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
Satan opposes God everywhere and fights him with all the weapons he can find. He often uses even things, which are good in them to fight God. Scriptures warns us that Satan comes to us disguised as an angel of light. SATAN is determined to destroy the Kingdom of God. Scripture calls Satan “prince of this world”. Satan is implicated in so many things viz. Political events, international crisis, in the cause of human sufferings: war, racism, famine, crime, poverty, and disease… You name it, Satan is in it. Satan aims at disrupting social order through people who appear to be good and who are greatly influential. He even affects the body of Christ, causing division and spreading weakness within the Church. Of course, GOD IS ALSO AT WORK in the WORLD but SATAN claims to be the ruler of this world; he has gained the office through the popular election of mankind.
SATAN also works in the live of individuals. He subjects men to emotional, physical, mental and spiritual harassment and bondage. SATAN is able to twist and deceive men so that their lives no longer reflect the harmony and goodness of God. In spite of Satan’s great efforts to destroy the world, and mankind, CHRIST’S reign will come to this World with greater impact than ever before.
OBVIOUS AREAS OF SATAN’S WORK -
SATAN unceasingly attacks men in every area of his life to take him away from the loving embraces of God. And these areas are:
1) THE OCCULT – that is Satanism, witchcraft, spiritualism and other forms of divination. People who attempt to gain spiritual knowledge of power from sources other than God run the risk of entering into spiritual communication with evil spirits. CHRISTIANS should renounce OCCULT influences, deny it and destroy anything that leads to it. The occult is a focus of satanic activity. We do not food around with the OCCULT.
2) The BIZZARE = The ECCENTRIC – those uncanny and inexplicable happenings which involve changes in our normal sensory perception. It includes an eerie sense of the presence of someone or something or an unusual perception change in sight, sound, or smell… such a person will feel a hallucination-like experience. Drugs, alcohol, fatigue and illness can induce such changes. When these are not the cause, bizarre happenings may be the work of evil spirits.
3) IRRATIONAL FEELINGS – Satan lies at the root of many crippling, persistent, neurotic fears which have no rational basis: fears of people, high places, dogs, death, among others. Satan frequently causes sudden irrational impulses: to drive a car off the road, to leap from a 20-story window, or to commit some homicidal or suicidal act… some of these things may be the result of some psychological disorders but more often than none they are caused by evil spirits working to place us in bondage and to cause our downfall.
HIDDEN AREAS OF SATAN’S WORK –
4) TEMPTATIONS – Satan frequently causes daily difficulties with thoughts and emotions. Temptations come from many places, but one source is certainly Satan and evil spirits. Satan is called the “father of lies” and “the accuser of our brethren”. He is often behind unfounded guilt feelings, self-condemnation, and false or evil thoughts about God, oneself, or others.
5) ADDICTION – is a bondage to beings that by nature are no gods? Such spirits are often strongly implicated in addictions to alcohol, narcotics, compulsive eating, homosexuality, masturbation, gambling and other compulsive activity. Addictions are complicated phenomena, and we must consider many natural and psychological factors when searching for their sources. Nevertheless, Satan is often the jailer behind the bars of addiction.
EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS – ILLNESS – Spiritual Problems –
6) FEAR of God’s work etc… is other areas Satan explores to take us away, far away from GOD. Christians should never feel that their spiritual lives are immune from satanic attacks.
WARNING – CAUTION
Christians should not over-simplify or over-spiritualize the causes of their personal problems by attributing every difficulty to Satan. Many forces – not all of them satanic – operate to cause us trouble. To attribute To attribute everything to Satan can itself be a deception of Satan. However, Christians must be aware of spiritual realities. One of theses realities is that Satan and evil spirits do exist, that they operate in our personal lives, and that we must reckon with them when we deal with our difficulties.
THE SOLUTION: THE ARMOUR OF GOD
DISCERNMENT – To win freedom from a personal problem, it is usually necessary to detect its source. A doctor cannot prescribe a remedy until he diagnoses the disease. If wrongdoing has caused a problem, the remedy until he diagnoses the disease. If wrongdoing has caused a problem, the remedy is repentance and reconciliation. It will be fruitless and perhaps dangerous to deal with a problem of wrongdoing as though evil spirits were the cause. Similarly, repentance will bring no relief if Satan is at the root of a problem; a special prayer may be required. Nevertheless a Christian who is uncertain about the source of a difficulty should not fear. God loves his people and he will provide both a diagnosis and a remedy for their ills.
THE ARMOUR OF GOD – once we know that the evil spirits are implicated in a problem, we must use the right weapons to combat them. “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”.
1) TRUTH – the first essential piece of armor is the truth. Jesus calls Satan “a liar and the father of lies.” Satan is the great DECEIVER… Many of his tricks and deceptive acts go like these: “God does not love you… How could he love a person as weak and foolish as you? … God who is he? … You certainly are an incompetent and worthless human being…. No one loves you, and no one will ever love you…
WE CAN COUNTER such deceits by knowing the truth fully and clearly, and addressing it both to Satan and to the tempted mind. “God created me and loves me. He is my father. Jesus has died for me and won forgiveness for me etc.”
2) RIGHTEOUSNESS – it is the breastplate of God’s armor. We live righteously when we submit to the commandments of God. SATAN invites us (temptation) and he comes into us only if we open the door of our hearts to him.
3) FAITH – The shield of faith reminds us of the source of the Christian’s authority over Satan – the power of God. A Christian must trust, have faith, in the power of God. He must be assured that God can always handle SATAN and puts him in his place. WE can conquer with the help of GOD at all times.
4) GOD’S WORD – The sword of the Christian’s armor is the word of God. We should use the word of God to resist Satan. One must learn to command Satan out of his life, his project. WE must pray the prayer of DELIVERANCE. But this prayer must be used cautiously and with the permission of the Bishop.
5) CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY – Community is another powerful source to combat SATAN. The body of Christ is a fortress against the onslaughts of Satan. Christian community provides DISCERNMENT and also SPIRITUAL PROTECTION.
6) CERTAIN VICTORY – “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven.” Satan is real. The power of God is far greater than the power of a fallen angel."
"WHAT IS DISCERNING OF SPIRIT? This gift is the power that is given to use by God to distinguish one spirit from another. It is the supernatural ability, which God gives to certain of His people to discern the motivation behind any unusual event or manifestation. There are 3 sources of motivation underlying human events and activities. One flows from the Holy Spirit, another from the human spirit, and yet another from Satan himself. This gift enables a believer to pinpoint the exact source of any statement or manifestation, thus protecting the Church from counterfeits of Satan.
His Holiness Pope Paul VI said that the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is the Gift of DISCERNMENT. Too often we are blinded by what happens in our life and we are misguided. Every Catholic must strive at discovering the WILL OF GOD in his life. For this he has to fight against three great enemies:-The World, the Flesh and Wrong Doing.
Without proper DISCERNMENT one can easily make the wrong choice. We have two choices in life. We can either CHOOSE GOD or SATAN. God wants to draw all of us to Himself. Satan swore to take all of us away from God. We have to make our Choice. This Growth in Spirit Experience can and will help us to be on the side of God now and forever.
Jesus throughout his Life on earth taught us how to distinguish the Spirit of His Father as against all kinds of other spirits. We are thought that there are three great enemies in the world and they are the World, the Flesh and Wrongdoing. In these three instances, we are putting into exercise our FREEDOM to choose what is right and to avoid what is evil. We have to choose between GOD and DEVIL. Our happiness will depend on the right choice. LET us pray that this right choice will always be GOD and His Holy Will.
OUR task is to be able to detect and become more and more aware of the PRESENCE and INFLUENCE of the EVIL SPIRIT in our life and around us. Sometimes he is so subtle that we do not even notice him, and his effects on our life.
The purpose of this talk is to enable you to understand how SATAN works and to detect his presence and activity. ALL these to help you to resist SATAN by wearing the armor of God.
THE PROBLEM: SATAN and EVIL SPIRITS
Satan is real. Man is a psychological, social and a cultural animal AND also and above all a spiritual creature. Because of this he must confront SATAN and EVIL SPIRITS.
The MODERN WORLD dismisses the notion of a personal evil force as a fantasy devised by superstitious and ignorant men looking for a scapegoat. Many Christians who acknowledge Jesus’ Lordship dismiss Satan as a superstition. The tendency today is that people do not believe in any kind of spiritual powers be they from God or from the Devil.
Yet, Scripture, tradition and personal experience all testify to the presence of a personal evil force opposing God and his plan. Scripture speaks of Satan as an angel and asserts that he has other angels, called evil spirits. Satan and the Evil spirits are real and we must deal with them in the Christian life.
SATAN not only exists, but he wields tremendous power. Satan is a fallen angel. He still possesses some of the power his angelic nature. Man and the affairs of man are helpless before this mighty spiritual force. Man trembles in the presence of SATAN. But SATAN trembles even more in the presence of God. Satan trembles with fear in the presence of God and of His Son, Jesus. If we are on the side of God and of Jesus, we need not fear. The power of God brings freedom from Satan’s control.
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
Satan opposes God everywhere and fights him with all the weapons he can find. He often uses even things, which are good in them to fight God. Scriptures warns us that Satan comes to us disguised as an angel of light. SATAN is determined to destroy the Kingdom of God. Scripture calls Satan “prince of this world”. Satan is implicated in so many things viz. Political events, international crisis, in the cause of human sufferings: war, racism, famine, crime, poverty, and disease… You name it, Satan is in it. Satan aims at disrupting social order through people who appear to be good and who are greatly influential. He even affects the body of Christ, causing division and spreading weakness within the Church. Of course, GOD IS ALSO AT WORK in the WORLD but SATAN claims to be the ruler of this world; he has gained the office through the popular election of mankind.
SATAN also works in the live of individuals. He subjects men to emotional, physical, mental and spiritual harassment and bondage. SATAN is able to twist and deceive men so that their lives no longer reflect the harmony and goodness of God. In spite of Satan’s great efforts to destroy the world, and mankind, CHRIST’S reign will come to this World with greater impact than ever before.
OBVIOUS AREAS OF SATAN’S WORK -
SATAN unceasingly attacks men in every area of his life to take him away from the loving embraces of God. And these areas are:
1) THE OCCULT – that is Satanism, witchcraft, spiritualism and other forms of divination. People who attempt to gain spiritual knowledge of power from sources other than God run the risk of entering into spiritual communication with evil spirits. CHRISTIANS should renounce OCCULT influences, deny it and destroy anything that leads to it. The occult is a focus of satanic activity. We do not food around with the OCCULT.
2) The BIZZARE = The ECCENTRIC – those uncanny and inexplicable happenings which involve changes in our normal sensory perception. It includes an eerie sense of the presence of someone or something or an unusual perception change in sight, sound, or smell… such a person will feel a hallucination-like experience. Drugs, alcohol, fatigue and illness can induce such changes. When these are not the cause, bizarre happenings may be the work of evil spirits.
3) IRRATIONAL FEELINGS – Satan lies at the root of many crippling, persistent, neurotic fears which have no rational basis: fears of people, high places, dogs, death, among others. Satan frequently causes sudden irrational impulses: to drive a car off the road, to leap from a 20-story window, or to commit some homicidal or suicidal act… some of these things may be the result of some psychological disorders but more often than none they are caused by evil spirits working to place us in bondage and to cause our downfall.
HIDDEN AREAS OF SATAN’S WORK –
4) TEMPTATIONS – Satan frequently causes daily difficulties with thoughts and emotions. Temptations come from many places, but one source is certainly Satan and evil spirits. Satan is called the “father of lies” and “the accuser of our brethren”. He is often behind unfounded guilt feelings, self-condemnation, and false or evil thoughts about God, oneself, or others.
5) ADDICTION – is a bondage to beings that by nature are no gods? Such spirits are often strongly implicated in addictions to alcohol, narcotics, compulsive eating, homosexuality, masturbation, gambling and other compulsive activity. Addictions are complicated phenomena, and we must consider many natural and psychological factors when searching for their sources. Nevertheless, Satan is often the jailer behind the bars of addiction.
EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS – ILLNESS – Spiritual Problems –
6) FEAR of God’s work etc… is other areas Satan explores to take us away, far away from GOD. Christians should never feel that their spiritual lives are immune from satanic attacks.
WARNING – CAUTION
Christians should not over-simplify or over-spiritualize the causes of their personal problems by attributing every difficulty to Satan. Many forces – not all of them satanic – operate to cause us trouble. To attribute To attribute everything to Satan can itself be a deception of Satan. However, Christians must be aware of spiritual realities. One of theses realities is that Satan and evil spirits do exist, that they operate in our personal lives, and that we must reckon with them when we deal with our difficulties.
THE SOLUTION: THE ARMOUR OF GOD
DISCERNMENT – To win freedom from a personal problem, it is usually necessary to detect its source. A doctor cannot prescribe a remedy until he diagnoses the disease. If wrongdoing has caused a problem, the remedy until he diagnoses the disease. If wrongdoing has caused a problem, the remedy is repentance and reconciliation. It will be fruitless and perhaps dangerous to deal with a problem of wrongdoing as though evil spirits were the cause. Similarly, repentance will bring no relief if Satan is at the root of a problem; a special prayer may be required. Nevertheless a Christian who is uncertain about the source of a difficulty should not fear. God loves his people and he will provide both a diagnosis and a remedy for their ills.
THE ARMOUR OF GOD – once we know that the evil spirits are implicated in a problem, we must use the right weapons to combat them. “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”.
1) TRUTH – the first essential piece of armor is the truth. Jesus calls Satan “a liar and the father of lies.” Satan is the great DECEIVER… Many of his tricks and deceptive acts go like these: “God does not love you… How could he love a person as weak and foolish as you? … God who is he? … You certainly are an incompetent and worthless human being…. No one loves you, and no one will ever love you…
WE CAN COUNTER such deceits by knowing the truth fully and clearly, and addressing it both to Satan and to the tempted mind. “God created me and loves me. He is my father. Jesus has died for me and won forgiveness for me etc.”
2) RIGHTEOUSNESS – it is the breastplate of God’s armor. We live righteously when we submit to the commandments of God. SATAN invites us (temptation) and he comes into us only if we open the door of our hearts to him.
3) FAITH – The shield of faith reminds us of the source of the Christian’s authority over Satan – the power of God. A Christian must trust, have faith, in the power of God. He must be assured that God can always handle SATAN and puts him in his place. WE can conquer with the help of GOD at all times.
4) GOD’S WORD – The sword of the Christian’s armor is the word of God. We should use the word of God to resist Satan. One must learn to command Satan out of his life, his project. WE must pray the prayer of DELIVERANCE. But this prayer must be used cautiously and with the permission of the Bishop.
5) CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY – Community is another powerful source to combat SATAN. The body of Christ is a fortress against the onslaughts of Satan. Christian community provides DISCERNMENT and also SPIRITUAL PROTECTION.
6) CERTAIN VICTORY – “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven.” Satan is real. The power of God is far greater than the power of a fallen angel."
By Bro Emmanuel, St Anthony Church (Woodlands)
Every Wednesday, 8pm at St Thomas Room.
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