Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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Jesus knows you. He knew the people who were around him when he walked the earth as one of us. Among the many good people that he met, he discerned the sincerity and integrity of Nathaniel, the fiery zeal of the two sons of Zebedee, the potential in Peter to be steadfast for the truth, and the honesty and compassion of Zacchaeus. In other cases, he discerned hypocrisy, insincerity, craftiness, and covetousness. Sometimes, he would not even wait until people voiced their thoughts; he answered what they were thinking. He did this to both his friends and his enemies. He knew then, and he still knows, the thoughts of every heart. His discernment is perfect and complete. There is not one thought in your heart or mine that he does not know. Others may misunderstand you; you may even misunderstand yourself, but you are not a mystery to Jesus.
This kind of discernment is one of the qualities of the Spirit that comes into the heart of a born again person. Some may be given more discernment, and others less, but all of God's children are given a measure of discernment of unseen things. This is a fascinating power, a surprising power, and one that can be frightening until we understand it. I have had to encourage many young saints who were struggling with feelings of guilt because they were discerning something uncomplimentary about an elder in the Lord, but didn't realize it. They were worried that they had somehow backslidden and had begun to have ungodly thoughts about their brothers. Some even worried that they were being attacked by demons. As I said, discernment of spirits can be a frightening and perplexing experience if you don't understand it. Child of God, remember this. The holy Ghost that you have received from God knows everything about everybody.
One of the most difficult experiences in this life for a child of God is when he begins to outgrow those who led him to Christ. It shouldn't ever happen, but it often does. And when it does, that growing-up saint suffers very deeply with the knowledge that the Spirit gives to him. The question I want to pose to you today is this: How much discernment can you bear? Or to state it differently, how much truth about people can Jesus trust you with? Jesus knew everything about everybody, and loves us all. How much can we know about each other before the love we feel begins to dwindle?
This is one of the challenges that confronts all who grow in Christ. Many of us say that we want to be like Jesus. But are we willing to see what Jesus sees, and to know as Jesus knows? Growth in the Spirit is not a shopping trip. We cannot pick and choose which qualities of the Spirit we want, and which we do not want. More perfect discernment is a part of growing in the Lord. It is a part of becoming more like Jesus. Unbelievable as it is, some choose to stop growing rather than to receive the knowledge that comes to those who continue to grow in spirit. They cannot love as they think they should love unless they remain ignorant. Knowledge frightens them because they are lacking in the love of God. Knowledge challenges them because they feel that they are unable to love and know at the same time. These are among those in the body of Christ whom Paul calls "feebleminded", and he exhorts the rest of the saints to "comfort" them.
When I was a very young man, Uncle Joe testified in a prayer meeting in Louisville, Ky., that he didn't want God to let him know, more than he could love. This is a good prayer for us all to pray. Knowledge without the love of God can be destructive and cruel. We needn't fear knowledge, however, if we trust God to fill us with His kind of holy love, the kind that "covers a multitude of sin".
I should add that discerning people's thoughts and hearts does not mean at all that nothing but bad information will be discerned. Remember all the wonderful things that Jesus discerned about certain people? There were many good qualities he discerned, qualities that sometimes the people themselves didn't even know about themselves. When God gives His holy Spirit to a person, He is testifying to the fact that that person's heart is after what is right. After the first Gentiles received the holy Ghost, Peter stood up for them and said to the ruling council, "God, who knows the hearts, bore them witness" (Acts 15:8). This is the principal reason we should zealously desire to grow up in Christ and see what he sees and know as he knows. If God has declared someone's heart to be pure, then regardless of what we might fear that we might discern about them, what we will really find is that they are sweet and that they want to do what is right. By giving them the holy Ghost, God has said so!