GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
FAITH AND DISCERNMENT
DR. JIM DIXON
SEPTEMBER 10, 2000
1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-13
In 1973, a church in Netcong, New Jersey purchased eight acres along Route 46 where they planned to build a new facility. Now, the front four acres were flat, and the back four acres were mountainous. The church decided to build everything on the front four acres. They built their new sanctuary there, as well as a fellowship hall and an educational building for children. That didn’t leave a whole lot of room for the parking lot. They put in a small parking lot, and they decided that their people could park out on the streets and in the neighborhood. But the city decided differently. The city decided that they would not grant a certificate of occupation until the church had provided ample parking for all of its people on its own property. The problem was the back four acres were unusable. It was a mountain, and they didn’t have the money to remove the mountain.
The next Sunday, the pastor, whose name was Ray Crawford, preached a sermon based on Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and it shall be done for you.” He asked the congregation, “How many of you really believe that?” The people knew where the pastor was heading, and they didn’t know how they felt about that. They kind of looked at each other. A few hands went up kind of timidly. The pastor said, “Well, Wednesday night, we’re going to have a prayer meeting. We’re going to ask God to remove this mountain at the back of our property, at the back of our new acreage. I want those of you who have faith that God is going to do that to come to the prayer meeting. If you don’t have faith, don’t show up.”
On Wednesday night, they had their prayer meeting, and there were very few people there. The pastor explained that God had called them to the new property, and that God does not call but what God also provides. He said they needed to trust the Lord’s provision. They all joined together in praying for God to remove the mountain on the back four acres.
Well, the very next morning, that church in Netcong, New Jersey received a phone call from a representative of the phone company. The phone company said that they were building a new facility on a new property and that part of their land was swampy. They needed a lot of soil to firm up their land. They said they had done a study of the back four acres, on the mountain on the back of the church’s new property. They found that it had the right mixture of sand and clay and gravel. They said, “Would you mind if we came and took down that mountain from the back of your property?” For the next 30 days, the phone company moved thousands of tons of earth, removing that entire mountain. Then they graded off three parking lots for the church where they had taken the mountain away. They also paid the church for the soil they had taken.
I’m sure there are a lot of members of that congregation who wish that they had come to that prayer meeting on Wednesday night. But, you see, the gift of faith is not a common gift. This is the first of the two gifts we will examine this morning, the gift of faith.
We need to understand that the gift of faith is different from saving faith. All of you who believe in Jesus Christ, all of you who are Christians, have saving faith, faith enough to ask Jesus to be your Savior and to commit your life to Him as Lord. That’s saving faith. But the gift of faith is different. Many Christians do not have the gift of faith.
I have one teaching about the gift of faith this morning, and that teaching is this: the gift of faith believes the promises of God. If you have the gift of faith, you believe the promises of God. Hebrews chapter 11 is a beautiful description of faith. It reads, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. It is the conviction of things not seen. By faith men of old received divine approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were created by the Word of God, so that things which appear were made out of things which are not seen. By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice more acceptable than Cain. By faith he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks even though he is dead.”
“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death. He could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him, must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not seen, constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world of the ungodly and became an heir of the righteousness which comes only by faith. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called by God to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned to the land of promise, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For they looked forward to the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive even when she was well past the age of childbearing. She considered Him faithful who had promised. Thus, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants, as many as the stars of the heavens and the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
That passage of Scripture goes on to describe the people of faith. They are people who believe the promises of God. Abraham believed the promises of God. That’s why he left Ur of the Chaldees. That’s why he left Haran. That’s why he sojourned in the land of promise. Moses believed the promises of God. That’s why he left his flocks. That’s why he stood and confronted the Pharaoh of Egypt. That’s why he led the children of Israel out of bondage and crossed the Red Sea. Joshua believed the promises of God. That’s why he fought the battle of Jericho. Daniel believed the promises of God. That’s how he endured the lion’s den. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego believed the promises of God. That’s how they endured the fiery furnace. They believed the promises of God. People with the gift of faith believe the promises of God.
I want to tell you a story about George Müller. I know many of you have probably heard of George Müller. He was as famous in his time as Billy Graham is in our time. Yet, George Müller was not an evangelist. George Müller was born in Prussia in 1805, but he was reared in England by Lutheran parents who wanted him to become a Lutheran minister. George Müller lived a profligate life in his youth and did not accept Christ until he was 20 years of age while at a prayer meeting in a private home. Then, for a period of time, he sought to be a pastor; but he wasn’t really called to be a pastor. The year was 1832, and George Müller was 27 years old when he received his call. He was called to minister to children. He was particularly called to minister to boys and girls who were orphans.
During the 19th Century, both in London and throughout Great Britain, there were many orphans—children whose parents had died, children who had been abandoned by their parents, children who had been born out of wedlock and tragically were not wanted by their parents. God called George Müller to establish orphanages for orphans. By the hand of God, the power of God, and the call of God, Müller built the largest orphanage in the world. His ministry prompted the establishment of orphanages all over the earth.
God gave George Müller a verse in Matthew chapter 6, from the Sermon on the Mount. It was this verse: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” “Seek first My kingdom and My righteousness, and I will give you everything you need.” God communicated to George Müller that he was never to ask for money, that he should just seek to serve the kingdom of Christ and everything would be provided. It is a fact that in 60 years of ministry, George Müller, who had the gift of faith, never asked for a penny. Yet, God provided millions and millions and millions of dollars for this incredible ministry.
George Müller died in 1898 at the age of 93. When he died, they found his diary. Three thousand pages he had written—more than a million words. He cited 50,000 examples of answered prayer by faith. Unbelievable stories. I only have time to tell you one or two.
Once, his orphanage had run out of money. The orphanage was huge, five dormitories, each one holding 500 kids. They had run out of food. As they got up that morning, they had no food for breakfast. George Müller called all of the kids, thousands of kids, into the dining hall. They set out the plates and the silverware and the cups and napkins. George Mueller went up to pray. He said, “Lord, you’ve said, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you. I’ll give you all those things you need.’ Lord, we need food. For what you’re about to give us, we give you thanks. Amen.”
Well, the kids looked at each other and thought, “Where’s this food he’s praying for?” Just a couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door of the orphanage. It was a baker. The baker said, “This has never happened to me before, but I felt like the Lord woke me up at 2:00 in the morning and prompted me to bake bread. I have baked bread all night. He has led me here. Do you need bread?” The baker brought in rack after rack after rack after rack of fresh bread. Just a couple of minutes later, there was another knock on the door of that orphanage in Bristol, England. It was a milkman. He said, “My milk truck has just broken down in front of your orphanage.” He said, “I know we will be able to get another truck, but in the meantime, the milk is going to go bad. I have a full truckload of milk. Do you need milk?” He gave them the milk. Müller had a number of unbelievable stories like that, and they were all true. God is Jehovah-Jireh. He is the Lord who provides.
George Müller retired from working with orphanages in 1875 at the age of 70. That was the beginning of a new ministry for him. For the next 17 years, he traveled the world, giving testimony of God’s great work and God’s great provision. He inspired faith and the gift of faith in Christians all over the earth. His first trip was in 1975 at the age of 70. He was invited to speak in Quebec, Canada, but he didn’t want to go. He just stayed in Britain the prior years. He was 70 years old. He didn’t want to travel, but God spoke to him in a prayer time and said, “I want you to go to Quebec. I want you to speak. As you speak at that conference, I’m going to do great and mighty things.”
George Müller went. As he was taking that transatlantic voyage (which was at that time the only way you could move to Canada from England), the ship came into a very thick fog off the coast of Newfoundland. The captain of the ship stopped the ship because the fog was so thick they could not see. For 22 hours, they stayed stationary. George Müller began to be concerned that they weren’t going to get into Quebec on time. The captain was sitting down, and he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was George Müller. George said, “You know, I’m supposed to speak in Quebec on Saturday night. If you just stay here, I’m not going to get there on time. You’d better get this ship moving.”
The captain said, “Well, we can’t get this ship moving because we’re in a thick fog, and the fog is getting thicker. So, we’re just not going to move.” George Müller said, “Why don’t you come down with me to my room and we’ll pray together. We’ll ask God to take away this fog.” Well, the captain wasn’t a Christian, but he had heard of George Müller. He didn’t want to be disrespectful. He went down to George Müller’s room with him, and they knelt on the floor of his room there on the ship. George Müller prayed a simple prayer. He said, “Lord, you’ve told me to go to Quebec to speak at this conference; and you’ve promised that when I speak, you’re going to do great things. You need to get me there on Saturday night. I trust that you will remove this fog. Thank you. Amen.”
Well then, the captain thought maybe he should also pray. The captain started to pray. George Müller touched him on the shoulder and said, “You don’t need to pray.” He said, “First of all, you don’t believe that God’s going to remove the fog. Secondly, I believe God has already done it. Let’s go up onto the deck and see what God has done.” They went up onto the deck . . . I know it’s hard to believe . . . but the fog was completely gone. It’s hard to believe, but it wasn’t George Müller who told that story. That story was told by the captain of the ship who later accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. George Müller lived a life like that, a life of faith. He believed the promises of God.
God wants to give the gift of faith to many people in this congregation. We need to pray for it. If you have the gift of faith, you’re going to view life differently, more optimistically, more positively. You’re going to see things from a heavenly perspective.
In 1994, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of D-Day. ABC television had a special where they interviewed people who were involved in the Normandy invasion. They interviewed one guy who came in off the sea and fought on the ground with the land forces. That guy said that in the midst of the D-Day invasion, he thought they had no hope, no way they could win this thing. Then ABC interviewed another guy who was in the air on D-Day, an American who was flying one of the planes. The guy said that as he looked down, he thought there was no way we could lose—no way the allied forces could lose.
Isn’t it true that you get a different perspective sometimes from the ground than you get in the air? You get a different perspective from earth than you get from heaven. The gift of faith gives you the ability to have a heavenly perspective and to see things from God’s perspective, to understand that “all things do work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.”
If we all ask for the gift of faith, it doesn’t mean we’re all going to get it. God apportions the gifts in accordance with His own will. But, you see, that’s why we need each other. That’s why we invite you to join a small group—because when you come into a small group and you have fellowship with some brothers and sisters in Christ and you make friendships there, you benefit from their gifts. If you don’t receive the gift of faith, you can be blessed by someone who does have that gift. You can be blessed by the George Müllers of this world and by their gift of faith. This can give you hope and a more positive faith in your own life. The gift of faith is a great gift of the Holy Spirit, which believes the promises of God. We all go through mountaintops and valleys. We all have storms at sea, and how desperately we need the gift of faith.
There’s a second gift that I want us to discuss this morning, and that’s the gift of discernment. Of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I think this is one of the most difficult to fully understand. The gift of discernment is also listed in 1 Corinthians 12. The two Greek words are “diakrisis pneumaton.” “Diakrisis” comes from “diakrino.” “Krino” means “to judge,” and “dia” means “through.” Together, they mean “to judge between or to judge through.” “Pneumaton” is a genitive plural of “pneuma,” which is the word for “spirit.” So, “diakrisis pneumaton” means “to judge between spirits” or “to discern spirits.” That’s the literal meaning of this gift of discernment.
Now, this gift can be understood in two ways, and I don’t think it’s necessary to choose between one or the other. Both are true. I think this gift includes both of these things. First of all, it means to be able to discern the human spirit. This gift of discernment enables you to discern the human spirit.
In Acts 8, the Apostle Peter is confronted by Simon the Magician (also called Simon of Samaria). This man, Simon, was a man that most people were very impressed with; but Peter was able to see right through him. Peter said to him, “I discern that you are in the gall of bitterness, and you are in the bond of iniquity.” Peter warned Simon that the judgement of God was about to fall upon him if he did not repent. How did Peter know that? He was able to discern the spirit of this man. He had the gift of discernment.
In Acts 5, Peter confronted Ananias and Sapphira, who had given a gift to the church. Most people thought that Ananias and Sapphira were great, but Peter understood that they had lied. He was able to discern that they had deceived the people. He discerned that they had withheld from the body of Christ and the kingdom of God. He had the gift of discernment. He could discern the human spirit. This gift is greatly needed in this world, greatly needed in counseling, greatly needed in the church.
Some of you have heard of a man whose name was Dr. Robert Linton. That was not his only name. He was also called Dr. Joseph C. Sir. He was also called Mr. Benjamin Jones. In fact, this man had many names. He had many jobs and many different careers. His real name was Ferdinand Waldo Demara. He’s known to historians as “the Great Imposter.” Most people in this world want to be somebody, but the problem with Ferdinand Waldo Demara was that he wanted to be everybody!
In 1941, he took the name of Dr. Robert Linton. Falsifying papers, he claimed to have a PhD in Philosophy. He was hired by a Trappist monastery, and he became a monk. They really couldn’t discover whether or not he really knew philosophy because he took a vow of silence. After a period of time, he grew tired of being a monk, grew tired of the monastery. He went and took another name and another job. Then, he took another name and another job.
In October of 1950, he took the name of Dr. Joseph C. Sir. Falsifying papers, he claimed to be a medical doctor and a general surgeon. (Not bad for a high school dropout.) He made his way, somehow, into the Canadian Royal Navy where he became a surgeon lieutenant and the chief medical officer on a Canadian ship during the Korean War. In that role, he actually performed many surgeries. His first surgery was performed on the captain of the ship. It was an oral surgery. He just read some books and went ahead and did it.
As he was on the ship in the midst of war, soldiers began to be injured. He did their surgeries. He amputated when it was necessary. He actually went and removed bullets. One bullet was lodged close to a person’s heart. He removed that bullet and saved that person’s life. His service was considered to be distinguished and meritorious.
When he came back to shore, he established a military clinic, where he performed surgery on military personnel. He became renowned; but as people began to check into his background, they found he didn’t have one. He had no degrees. He had no education. He was forced out of Canada and told never to return to Canada again.
So, Ferdinand Waldo Demara made his way to Texas where he got a job with the Texas prison systems. He became the organizing director of the Huntsville Prison—incredibly, he did this with falsified papers. He established a program for the interns that was considered so brilliant and innovative that it was praised by all. He then went on to become a college professor. Then he became a secondary school teacher. Then he became a psychologist. Then he became a theologian. He did all of this with falsified papers.
Finally, at a revival meeting, Ferdinand Waldo Demara accepted Jesus Christ. He resolved that he would deceive people no more. He went back to school using his real name. He completed his education. He went through theological training, and he became a minister of the gospel. He proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ for the rest of his life.
He was called “the Great Imposter,” but he often said throughout his life, “There’s a little bit of the imposter in everyone.” Isn’t that true? I mean, isn’t there a little bit of deception in all of us? I mean, there’s the person you really are, then there’s the person you want people to think you are, and then there’s the person you think you are (which might be very different from the person you really are). We’re all kind of stuck, you know. We’re all kind of messed up. How we need each other, and how we need this gift of discernment! We need people who can discern the human spirit, correct us, help us, and guide us. We need counselors. God provides people like that with gifts like that.
The gift of discernment is not simply the discernment of the human spirit. It has a second meaning that I think is more difficult. It is this: the discernment of spirits involves the discernment of demonic spirits. There’s no way around this. As you look at the Greek, the “diakrisis pneumaton,” the discernment of spirits, probably has a primary application in the demonic realm—the gift of discerning demonic spirits.
Years ago, when I was a pastor at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora, a man came into the church and, for some reason, he said, “I’m demon possessed, and I want to speak to Jim Dixon.” Well, the secretaries didn’t know how to respond to that. They didn’t know how to take that, but they buzzed my phone in my office. They said, “There’s a demon for you.” I could tell they were laughing, but I wasn’t laughing.
This guy came into my office. He introduced himself, and he told me he was possessed by a spirit being called “Shakti,” who, in Hinduism, is one of the incarnations of the third person of the Hindu trinity, Vishnu. He said that Shakti was going to become the Antichrist and had inhabited his body; but having possessed him, he was now aware of all of Shakti’s plans. There was part of him that was free from Shakti’s influence. He had written a book to divulge all of the Antichrist’s plans, and he wanted me to read the manuscript.
I read his manuscript. It was brilliantly written. But the more I talked to this guy, I realized that I really didn’t think he was demon possessed. I mean, he wasn’t normal, but he was just desperate for attention. He was one of those hurting guys who are desperate for attention. I found out what church he used to go to. I called the pastors there, and they had the same diagnosis: he’s not demon possessed, just messed up and desperate for attention.
But I must say this: in the course of more than 20 years of ministry, I have encountered in my office people who were demon possessed. I’ve met with people like that. I’ve had those occasions where I could sense the strong presence of evil. It’s times like that when you thank God that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Satan, the Bible tells us, is the archon of this world, the ruler of this world; but Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. He has all authority in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
I know this subject of demonology is a very difficult one, and I think there are many abuses in our culture and in our time. Some of you have read Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” In “Paradise Lost,” the capital of hell is called “Pandemonium.” Remember that? Of course, the word pandemonium today is normally taken to mean “confusion and chaos.” But the literal meaning of pandemonium is “demons everywhere.” Pandemonium. Demons everywhere. I suppose that in the capital of hell, there would literally be demons everywhere; but some people view earth in this way—pandemonium, demons everywhere.
On the southwest coast of India, along the Malabar Coast in the region of Kanara, there is a people group. They are so riddled with fear of demons that they think demons are everywhere. Pandemonium. In an area of 6,000 square miles, they have built 4,041 temples, each temple dedicated to a different demon. They actually believe that if they honor and worship each of these demons, these demons will leave them alone. Pandemonium. Demons everywhere. You find this in certain expressions of Hinduism. You find it in some branches of Buddhism. You find it in tribal animism all over the world. Pandemonium. Demons everywhere.
Here in the United States, there are 6,000 spiritist groups who practice occultism and divination in the conjuring up of spirits. They believe in pandemonium, demons everywhere. Even in the body of Christ, there are some Christians who buy into this idea of pandemonium. You’ll find some Christians who say, “Well, everyone who has an addiction is possessed by a demon. If you’re addicted to tobacco, you are possessed by the demon of tobacco. If you’re addicted to alcohol, you are possessed by the demon of alcohol. If you have a problem with your temper, you are possessed by the demon of rage. If you have a problem with gossip, you are possessed by the demon of slander and gossip.” Pandemonium. Demons everywhere.
But when you go to the Bible, you get a little different picture of the spiritual realm. You see, we understand, biblically, that demons are not omnipresent. They’re not so great in number as to be everywhere. We also understand, biblically, that while Satan is real and there are, indeed, demonic fallen powers of darkness—and you have to be utterly naive to think that there is not supernatural evil in this world—we also understand, biblically, that demonic possession is relatively rare. This is not Satan’s normal strategy, nor is it the normal strategy of the demonic powers. In fact, demonic possession is virtually not mentioned in the Old Testament. There are only ten descriptions of demonic possession in the New Testament. Paul doesn’t speak of them. He does describe the Antichrist who will come by the inworking or the activity of Satan. John does not describe any demonic possessions. Neither does Peter.
Satan would like it if you were just preoccupied with demonic possessions. He’d like that because that’s not even close to his major strategy. You see, his major strategy is the strategy of deception. What he wants to do with people in this world is not so much to possess them. He just wants to deceive them. He wants to deceive them so that they will be forever and eternally lost. He wants to deceive people so as to lead to their ruination. That is the strategy of Satan.
Some of you saw the movie “The Phantom Menace,” a George Lucas production. That movie, a prequel to the Star Wars Trilogy, was a box office success. It sold more tickets than any other movie in 1999. Largely, this was because of its special effects. There was a scene in that movie where there was a pod race. There was this huge stadium packed with screaming crowds in the midst of this pod race. Of course, it was all special effects. There wasn’t really a stadium filled with screaming people.
What George Lucas and his special effects people had done was to build a tiny little model stadium, and then they filled it with colored Q-tips to look like people. Then they had taken fans, and they had blown the Q-tips to make it look like moving people. Then they played the soundtrack for the background noise. They played the sound of a San Francisco 49rs football game in the background. If you listen closely as Anakin Skywalker is taking his pod into the stadium and the crowds are yelling, you can hear the word “Niners.” But, you see, it’s all deception. You think you’re looking at this huge stadium filled with screaming people, but you’re really looking at a little model and colored Q-tips. It’s all deception.
Satan is the master of deception. I mean, the deception in “The Phantom Menace” is relatively innocent and unimportant; but Satan is the master of deception, and his deception is not innocent. It’s malignant. He is seeking to lead people to destruction. He seeks to infiltrate, by demonic powers, citadels of power in every culture, society, and nation. He seeks to work within Hollywood, movies, and television. He seeks to work in the media. He seeks to work in public and secular higher education. He seeks to work in churches. He seeks deception everywhere.
The Bible says that “the Spirit expressly says that in the last days, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” What are doctrines of demons in the Church of Jesus Christ today? Theological liberalism, which takes truth right out of the gospel. Fundamentalistic Pharisaism, which takes love right out of the gospel. You see, Satan is at work even in the churches. He’s at work everywhere, and that’s why we desperately need this gift of discernment in the body of Christ.
We need to discern how Satan and the demonic powers might be working in an individual’s life through possession, oppression, or any kind of harassment or influence. We need to discern how Satan might be working in the culture and how Satan is working in the world. We need the gift of discernment of spirits.
In World War II, Nazi Germany changed the road signs in Europe to try to confuse the allied forces. Satan is doing that in the world today. He’s creating a new morality, trying to confuse the masses, and leading them to moral destruction. Don’t let it happen to you. Pray for discernment, so that you might be able to discern the human spirit and also demonic spirits in terms of Satan’s strategy and how he’s working in this world. We need this gift in our midst. We need it in our small groups. We need it in the body of Christ.
Well, our time is up, but these are two very important gifts of the Holy Spirit: the gift of faith—believing the promises of God—and the gift of discernment. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.