The Narrow Door

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Today I’m going to talk about discernment and evangelism, and because discernment is a form of judgment, I’ll get sidetracked into the law a little when we get there.

 

1Corinthians12:10  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: 

 

Most of us can discern spirits (I'm talking of the human spirit here, as I'm convinced this is the implication, not the supernatural kind, angels and demons). 

 

Hebrews 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

 

So mature Christians can discern another's spirit or heart.

The question here is, what’s in a person's heart, their spirit, good or evil?

If you can’t discern that, you haven’t reached maturity in God. You may not have advanced in God beyond knocking on the door, and we are all called to firstly knock on the correct door. There are many wide doors, but the door with a cross on it is the narrow door. Few knock on that door, and for the few that do, fewer than enter and begin to walk the narrow path, and fewer again continue to walk that path.  

 

Discernment is a form of judgment, and some religiously state we are not to judge others, which comes from legalism, which I will present here and now as a misled attitude. Legalism is selfish, and has no love, etc, as it’s self-preservation; they say to themselves, “I live by the law so I'm justified in what I do” and I think others should too, and I'm not judging them as the Bible says, they should live by the law” 

 

Now, what they are doing without realiseing it is submitting to an even deeper thought, so deep they wouldn’t even recognise it which is “if i focus on the law and myself, by living by it, then I can build a wall between me and everything else, including the requirement to have the fruits of the spirit…” because living by the law doesn’t require you to go beyond the law, in doing so you are in a sense saying the law is enough I don’t need to have love, joy, peace, patience etc. the fruits of the spirit because I’m justified by the law.” and that,, my friends, is selfish... saying “I’m doing it my way, I’m not going to do the things beyond the law, above the law, because that isn’t comfortable for me. I don’t want to be out of my comfort zone, so I’ll hide behind the law.” “Me me me me.” All the New Testament commands are above the law; we are to have more than the law, we are to also have the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And more, we are also to have wisdom and do what we are called to do, be generous and reach out to the lost, etc.

 

When the Bible says we are above the law, it explains that, above the law, doesn’t mean, not subject to the law, it means we are required to do more than the law by also having the fruit. 

We are to know the things to not do ( the law). As through the New Testament, things to avoid are mentioned a lot, but with them are usually references to the freedom of living God's way in the spirit, which again isn’t freedom to sin, but freedom from burden. This is the freedom to do more than meet the minimum expectation of those rules. and to freely gain greater rewards than adherence to the law can give. We are above the law because we go beyond the law; we not only adhere to the law but also bless the lives of others and our own lives by going beyond. If you really have God in your life, you are compelled to not only avoid those sins but to become a fruitful person and have compassion for the lost, etc. God will also give you things like wisdom, discernment and other gifts. Jas 2:12  You must make it your habit to speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. So with liberty there is still judgement and it’s a law of liberty, again not a freedom from law, we are to live under a higher law.

 

So people say we are not to judge. Again, usually, the legalistic people focus on that. They are treating it as a law and validating it as such. Galatians 5:4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from charis. And if you don't know what that means, go back, start at video 1 and do them all in order. Now, more specifically, the bible says Matthew 7:1  Do not judge, that you may not be judged; but people forget verse 2. “Because the way that you judge others will be the way that you will be judged, and you will be evaluated by the standard with which you evaluate others.” Firstly, it’s saying that you will judge and you will be judged by both man and God. Secondly, it doesn't say judging is a sin; it says, “because the way that you judge others will be the way that you will be judged.” So judge with wisdom, compassion, love in your heart and a willingness to help them. Wouldn't you want to be judged that way? Don’t be judgmental, in other words, condemning. I will also back this up with the many scriptures that specifically tell us to judge, but we are to do so with compassion, and we are not to judge those outside the church; what they do is their own position before God. God will judge them. Galatians 6:1, 1 Timothy 5:20, Acts 20:28, James 5:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:24-26, and more especially 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, which I’ll quote, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.””

 

So back to discernment, a form of judgement, not a condemnation as in passing judgement, but an assessment, as in judging something's usefulness, etc. 

 

So, the majority of us have this gift; we can assess another person's (human) spirit. We can tell if a person is a Christian not by whether they declare themselves to be one but by how they live. I can call myself the president of Earth, but that's not true. If I say I'm a mechanic, that's not true either, even if I do basic mechanical repairs on my car! In the same way, a person calling themselves a Christian and going to church doesn't make them one, nor does saying a sinner's prayer. An atheist can say a sinner's prayer and remain an atheist. A Christian is someone who not only says that sinner's prayer, which is akin to knocking on that narrow door, but then walks the path of Godliness (the narrow path beyond that narrow door).

 

So how can we discern their spirit? It's actually quite simple... The fruit, Matthew 7:16  From their fruits you shall know them. Do they gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?  If a person has those traits, the fruit of the Spirit, you can see it. If they are legalistic and therefore rejecting the cross, you can see it; if they have no desire to turn from sin, you can see it.

 

I'll simplify that even more.... want to discern a person's heart? What drives them, what are they doing or talking about all the time? 

If it's constantly God and Godliness (not focusing on the law, though, or being legalistic about it), then they most likely have God in their heart, charis; if it’s anything else, then that's where their heart is. What do you do or talk about most of the time?

 

Now note this: sometimes it can be hard to tell if a person isn’t doing what God seeks, as we can bury ourselves in Christianity to hide from the world and not carry that cross. Being too Christian to have the time to tell a stranger about God, too busy working in the church building (where the non-Christians can’t condemn you), or giving your time unselfishly to that charity…  where you can hand out food and never open your mouth.

 

The first duty of a Christian is to reach the lost, not hide in a church or even a charity. Sure, we are to be charitable, but one of the main reasons to do so, is to promote God, in doing so, and if people aren’t making commitments because of your charity, then it may as well be a hare-chrishna charity, they at least try to convert people who come to them for food. They are doing more for their God.

 

You may even be willing to go one step further, and visit non-Christians regularly… spending many hours talking about God with the same two or three people every month… who may never turn to God, but are just happy for the conversation. And still, you may be uncomfortable reaching out to multiple strangers each day. Jesus didn’t say go knock on your neighbours' door and tell them about me. He said Go into all the world. Where would we be if the Apostles, after the ascension, spent their whole lives with just a few people who were never going to convert? Matthew10:14  If no one welcomes you or listens to your words, as you leave that house or town, shake its dust off your feet. Which is a protest against them. OK, so when you speak in the presence of others, they hear you, but they may not be listening. 5 verses mention these things; they imply that listening includes accepting. If, after a reasonable amount of time, your prospect has made no indication that they want God in their life, move on. You can’t “Go into all the world, by sitting in one house, or even 3 or 4 houses. Jesus never sent anyone off to a single person's house or even just a few; he sent them to multiple towns and finally, before the ascension, to all the world. We simply don’t have more than a day or 2 for an individual. Don’t spend your life trying to reach a few people (because it’s comfortable) and forsake the 10s of thousands around you, because that is outside your comfort zone. Stop hiding, even hiding behind God. For as long as you are hiding in that comfort zone, you are not submitting to the Bible and therefore God.

 

I’m not asking anything of you here; I get nothing by explaining this, in fact, it costs me to do these things (the cost of ads, website costs, etc). I’m not even talking about you in particular; I don’t know who most of you are; I’m just talking about what the Bible says, so if you are being convicted right now, I have no reason to convict you, then if you’re convicted, it must be God. My life won’t change if you agree with this or don’t; my life won’t change if you do something for God or don’t. I don’t care for my own sake. But charis compels me to speak. So, do you have the guts to stand up for God? To carry that cross?

 

Back to submitting before going back to discernment. Submission is to serve, to be under, so let's expand, and please don’t get upset with what I’m about to say. If you’re not under God, serving God, are you above God? Are you more important than what the Bible calls all Christians to do? 

 

I’ll begin to wrap up. Back to discernment again. Use it, delve into what’s really behind a person's words, actions and lifestyle. You’ll learn a lot. Also, discern their acceptance of your presentation; if they are not accepting what you’re saying, change your approach. If you have used a few approaches and you’re getting nowhere, wipe that dust off your feet and move on. If you are on a ship with someone drowning on one side, and you’ve thrown a rope to them a few times, and they don’t reach out to grab it., just remember, thousands are drowning on the other side, waiting for someone to throw them a rope. 

 

There are many reasons to work with others to promote God. I can easily do another complete message just on them, so here’s a few quick reasons. An experienced evangelist can train a new one. When one gets sidetracked, the other can get them back. When one mentions a scripture, the other can look it up. When one is going down the wrong path, the other can notice the prospect's reactions and bring it back to a better direction. When one gets lost for words, the other can take over. When one is feeling down and just doesn’t want to go out today, the other can lift them up and keep them motivated… the list goes on. Even better, when you are a part of a team or a larger ministry, as you will also have access to many useful tools and training. So reach out to as many people as you can in a direct yet alluring way. Don’t try to push them into heaven. We are to attract people to God, again another message.

 

So, please let us know what you thought about this message, or any other message. It may have inspired you to do something more. to maybe write a message yourself. Or maybe, to do something else. like forward this on to others, or post it on your page... Please do it,. do something.   Christianity isn't passive; it's active. I challenge you today to do something for God. Maybe, write a message, even a 100-word paragraph.   If you have no desire to do anything for God at all. Then please. call, text, or email. Contact us in some way as, you need revival. We are here to help. and can't help if we ,don't know what you need.

Govern well, in charis