12.11.19 RECAP

Just in case you missed study on Wednesday night, here are the notes over Chapter 10 from "Girls with Swords"

“Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:10-12

Living in this temporal realm we can’t see the whole picture. There is more than meets the eye, therefore we need the sword of LIGHT and DISCERNMENT. The shadow realm that we live in on this earth today distorts our perspective. We must have light brought to our situations in order to see what is actually before us. Our tempering must go far deeper than what is seen.

What season are we living in? A season pregnant with EXPECTANCY and WARNINGS. No other time in history is it more important to walk in light.

Throughout the New Testament, the believers are warned that the earth’s last days will yield an environment life with offense, false teaching, and everything else that breeds deception. 

Read Timothy 3:1-5. Does this look like the world we are living in today? 

Notice Paul doesn’t say our difficulties will be due to economic collapse, earthquakes, and wars. 

The condition of the earth, her nations, or their banks is not what strains our time. Our struggle arises from a darkened condition of the human heart.

We’re warned about the dangers of self-deception. We want to be on guard and alert but not in constant fear of deception as it will also lead you down the wrong road. Living in fear leads to awful decisions, because fear gives horrible counsel (unless it is the fear of the Lord).

“God never gave you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

The Word of God is the lamp that lights our paths. Without it we would all be running around in the dark, afraid of what we cannot see. Psalm 119:130 says “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”

Without the insight of God’s Word, it is easy to mistake an enemy for a friend and someone’s past for their future, because the shadow realm distorts our perspective. But when light is brought to a situation, you see what is actually before you.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” We must go beyond what we can see with our physical eyes.

Good fencers see what is coming. They instinctively know the move their opponent will make next, and adjust their posture to counter the attack. Paul tells the church in Corinth to “reaffirm their love for a brother who had been formerly disciplined…so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

What are Satan’s schemes designed to do? How do we overcome them?

To divide us from God and each other through the isolation tactics of guilt, judgment, shame and suspicion. How do we counter these attacks? With LOVE, POWER and a SOUND MIND. You will need these 3 qualities to walk in discernment and wield the Word of God:

First step is LOVE:

Philippians 1:9 “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.” 

Where love is stunted, the darkness of deception abounds; where love flourishes, knowledge and discernment increase proportionally. 

Hate lives in the dark; love lives in the light. Read 1 John 2:9-11

Haters stumble as they walk in the dark, clueless about where they are headed because they are blinded (self--deceived). Lovers walk in the light, know where they are headed, and get there without stumbling. 

As women we have an advantage in the areas of finesse and intuition.

One way we can hone these is through the practice of LOVE.

Core discernment training from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

*Love doesn’t react; it is patient and kind

*Love doesn’t keep a list of past sins. 

*Love trusts God, so it endures.

*Love celebrates truth.

*Love doesn’t consult the past.

*Love looks for the best.

*Love extends itself into the future.

Second step is AUTHORITY or POWER

There is no authority without power, and not legitimate power without authority. Both are gifts from God. You must know your position. Read 1 Peter 2:9

Regardless of your natural lineage or job, this is your true identity and assignment.

In Christ, you are a chosen race of daughters, descendants of a royal priesthood, and ambassadors of a holy nation. You are His prized possession, redeemed to proclaim all that he did when he called you out of a life of darkness to live forever in the glory of His light. 

Third step is a CLEAR and SOUND MIND 

Webster defines sound as being free of injury, disease, flaw, error, or defect; the ability to reason logically; well founded and well grounded. ONLY GOD could give His people this perspective in a world that is so broken, unhealthy, and diseased in all its logic and reasoning processes. 

The Word of God has the power to renew your mind and change it from unsound to sound. 

What is discernment?

Discernment is about knowing what really is going on so that heroic daughters can turn what others see as a disadvantage into an advantage. The discerning warrior will know how to turn evil around for good. Discernment can be likened to distinguishing a light in the distance. There is always more than what we can see with our natural eyes. ALL we can see was made by what we cannot see. In our culture today, there is so much darkness that it obscures the light on the horizon. 

To accurately SEE we must look within and listen to the inner voice of our hearts which is the Holy Spirit. He is our counsel. Discernment is a power that must be trained through constant practice. Only then can we distinguish between good and evil. 

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and help them to become what they are capable of being.” Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

We do not grow in discernment by labeling people and things. We need to grow in our ability to discern. True discernment understands that the shadowed darkness of one’s past can serve as a distant light in someone else’s future. “Your scars are lighthouses for people that are headed to the same rocks you hit.”

Don’t you just love Lisa Bevere’s testimony? In the past she lived an immoral, sexually promiscuous life. Those skilled at “labeling” called her a “sexual train wreck.” But describing the wrapping of a package doesn’t mean you know the contents. A couple welcomed her into their home and saw her true identity...who God had made her to be. Where others saw a failure, they saw someone whose scars could be used as lighthouses...whose pain could be used to redeem others. She learned to draw the good from the evil and redeemed her choices by way of example so others would not journey down the same road. 

We all need someone in our life that makes us feel welcome and safe, not watched and judged. Someone who can look beyond the surface, beneath our brokenness and see into the realm of what might be, who God has created us to be. Our past, our mistakes can be a light for others.

How do we distinguish when darkness is masked in light? 

The ability to distinguish between good fruit and bad fruit is an increasingly necessary skill. Read Luke 6:44-45.The most accurate indicator of what is stored within us is what comes out of our mouths. Out of the heart the mouth speaks.

Sometimes we can say what sounds right but feels wrong. And sometimes we can say something that sounds wrong, but it feels right. Listen with your heart...then listen to your heart. This is an intuitive response. Women can shine here.

Intercession 

Is it simply a matter of praying?

It starts with prayer but true intercession rarely ends there.

Intercede means to “intervene, mediate, negotiate, arbitrate” and “ARISE”. So some of the ways we intercede is to speak up or advocate for someone, speak into a conflict that needs a resolution, and stand up for the downtrodden and silenced. 

The Word shows us when we should get involved, where to find answers, and ways to right what’s been wronged, and it directs us to the light at the end of the path. 

We have a team of INTERCESSORS within our ministry that is lead by Judith Street. 

Our ministry is thriving under their intercession and we are very thankful for them.

“God’s Word never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.” Oswald Chambers

Intercession happens whenever light encounters darkness. 

Ex’s of Jesus interceding:

When Jesus was confronted with a woman accused of adultery, he rose up in intercession, because he discerned the religious leaders had brought her there to trick and trap him. They were twisting God’s Word into an instrument of judgment. He discerned the real issue and spoke light into their darkened hearts. “As they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7

Jesus empowered her to walk sinless in the light of her future...the very thing she couldn’t do while bound in condemnation of her past. 

Sisters...let’s LAY DOWN OUR STONES OF JUDGMENT and PICK UP A SWORD OF LIGHT. Discernment has the power to light the world for others. 

Jesus also interceded when he stood before the entrance of a stone grave and raised Lazarus from the dead. Read John 1:41-44.

Discernment and true intercession have the power to release restrained captives into their destiny. 

Discernment realizes when others are blind and then intercedes based on their ignorance rather than on their actions. 

The Cross ended our separation from God, but His intercession didn’t stop there. Jesus not only rose from the grave; he ascended into heaven.

Throughout his earthly walk, Jesus discerned the work of the Evil One, then interceded by bringing light, truth, and healing into the darkened days of earth. One of the most dramatic works of discernment was when Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.

It is time to strengthen ourselves in the Word and light this world with true discernment and ARISE in LOVE, FORGIVENESS and INTERCESSION.