Discerning God’s Gifts in you!

The Power of self evidence! The absolute God given authority of a specialty, the reality of knowing your strengths and weaknesses! What an outstanding way of saying that the power of the individual lies in knowing thy self! It lies in the self confidence, love of self and the discernment of what God has planned for you and what your God given strengths are! GLORY! Ok listen, this is where we get started in being able to take those gifts of knowledge and discernment and put them to work for you, through you, for your families and communities and truly learn to love, trust and be strengthened in thy self to the honor of God’s Holy name!

Let’s open in prayer….Jehovah…Father of Light, Love and Life, creator over the Heavens and the Earth, Powerful Father God, we thank you for allowing our minds to be able to comprehend this day and be aware of our very existence! Thank you Lord! Father we ask for an open mind as we look through your word in discovery and understanding of the plans you have set forth for each of us, understanding that we all have God given gifts and that you talk to us in many different ways! We are forever yours Father, forever in your debt and loving care; thank you Father for loving us so much! Amen….

Ok church, good afternoon, greetings, blessings and salutations to all….lets not waste any time and let’s jump right into it!

Discerning God’s Gifts in You! The power of self evidence and the ability to understand what your God given strengths are and what God’s plans are for you…

FIRST, we must understand 4 very important factors of the power of discernment, self confidence, self love and faith in God’s way!

Discernment is a term used to describe the activity of determining the value and quality of a certain subject or event. Typically, it is used to describe the activity of going past the mere initial perception of something, to making detailed judgments about that thing. As a virtue, a discerning individual is considered to possess wisdom, and be of good judgement…ok, so stay with me here, we will make it through;)

Ok…Now In Christianity, the word “discernment” may have several meanings as we will see. It can be used to describe the process of determining God’s desire in your life. In a large part, it describes the interior search for an answer to the question of one’s vocation, namely, determining….”why am I here, what do you want me to do today, what am I good at….Are you talking to me Lord or am I making it up in my head based on what I want?”….Hello, sound familiar?…ok, let’s keep going….

Now…Track with me here…This can also be the “discernment of spirits”, the act of judging from what spirit (whether good or evil) the impulses of the human soul emanate. This judgment can be made in two ways. The first is by a charism or spiritual gift divinely granted to certain individuals for the discerning of spirits by intuition (1 Corinthians 12:10). The second way to discern spirits is by reflection and theological study. This second method then is an acquired human knowledge; however, it is always gained “with the assistance of grace, by the reading of God’s word, of works on theology and asceticism and the correspondence of the most distinguished ascetics.

Ok, so understanding discernment, we must now look at Self Confidence and Self Love….

It takes dedication to realize you are a good human being that is worthy of respect and love. Recognize your insecurities. What does that voice in the back of your mind say? What makes you ashamed of yourself? This could be anything from acne, to regrets, or friends at school. Whatever is making you feel unworthy, ashamed, or inferior, identify it, give it a name, and write it down. You can also tear up these written pieces to symbolize the elimination of negativity and start feeling positive on those points. Realize you’re worth It. You need to realize that you are worth it. Make sure you don’t diss yourself but point out the good things. Everyone has good things. Trust me. Remember that no one is perfect. Even the most confident people have insecurities. Just tell yourself that you are awesome. “I am awesome and My God has proven and He says I matter…” At some point in any of our lives, we may feel we lack something. That is reality. Learn that life is full of bumps down the road. But your perfection comes from one who makes no imperfections, your strengths are passed down to you from one who is almighty, all powerful and all knowing! Trust in him that you are great by his design and love yourself as perfection in progress created by perfection perfected!:) GLORY! Can somebody help me a little here, you are created by perfect perfected!!! Come on now!:) Stand tall on that note…:) ok….here we go

Now…understanding discernment and self confidence and self love…Let’s look at faith…..ok, stay with me…Look….what i’m attempting to do is have you understand that…you can’t just have faith….Oooopsss…..that’s right…I said it folks….but listen….I’m right….You can’t just have faith….hear me….

YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN OBJECT OF YOUR FAITH….CAN SOMEBODY SAY HELLO!!!! YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN OBJECT OF YOUR FAITH….YOU CAN’T JUST HAVE FAITH IN FAITH ITSELF!!!!

Make Your Love of God, Your love of Thy self, Self confidence show you the object of your Faith and what your Faith should be strengthened in! *****Would you have faith enough to walk out on a 1″ thick Ice pond!? You have Faith right??? Come on, Do it! You have faith, right? OR would you allow your mind to be opened and allow God to speak into your life, along with your self love (preservation) and your self Confidence (Common sense and self awareness) to speak into your life and simply say this…….”You know….I think I DON’T have faith in that 1 inch thick piece of ICE; maybe we should cross where the ice is 10 inches thick!!!” Now I would have faith in that! What about you?? Come on, don’t make it more difficult than it is….You have to have an object of your Faith…Not just Faith in Faith! God gave you all of these tools to use…USE THEM….why would you try and cut down a tree with a garden hoe, vs. using an axe!!!!! True…you could have faith that you could pray the tree down….eventually, it would fall…probably after you’re dead and gone….and yes, you could have faith the the garden hoe would bring the tree down…and yes, eventually it may come down with you dying of exhaustion….or YOU CAN HAVE FAITH IN THE FACT THAT GOD GAVE YOU THE WHEREWITHAL AND THE TOOLS TO USE, TO DISCERN THE FACT THAT YOU NEED TO USE THE AXE AND BRING THE TREE DOWN AND WARM YOUR FAMILY, BUILD A HOME AND COOK YOUR FOOD, IN A TIMELY MANNER, THE WAY HE INTENDED!!! HAVE FAITH IN THE FATHER AND HE WILL SHOW AND PROVIDE YOU THE WAY! God’s People are you with me here?…somebody say, “Praise God!” Alright then….let’s finish up….

God, talks to us all…you know it’s God, when you put his principles to the test! Listen carefully; you understand Discernment, self love, confidence and faith….now bring them all together and decide…Look at the things you excel in, have pride in and are great at! IT’S NO ACCIDENT!!!! If you truly want to feel rewarded and satisfied….DO WHAT GOD GAVE YOU THE GIFT TO DO, THAT IN WHICH YOU’RE MOST HAPPY WITH DOING!!!! IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE! Even if it were….you have just taken the class and you have passed….Listen, watch, learn, excel and do what comes easiest with the least amount of self destructiveness….do what your’e passionate about and succeed! He has told you what it is…be still in his word for a minute, listen to him and have faith in the situations and time spent building and working on it!!! Stop wasting Time and get to it! Discern, have self confidence, love yourself enough to go for it and have faith in it! It is God Given!!!!

Praise God!

In closing…
Listen family, brothers…sisters..discernment is not just another word for deciding.
God has already decided. God has chosen life for us all. God has chosen you, with your unique gifts and abilities, and given you the freedom to match them up with the needs you see around you!!! Hear me! He has given you the abilities…cultivate, communicate and capitulate to his will!!! DO YOU! Proudly boldly DO YOU! Not me, Not someone else…DO YOU!

Discernment isn’t just about what you’re going to do — it’s not what you’re going to do with your life; it’s not deciding which school you’re going to go attend or what job you’re going to have.
Discernment is about being open, curious and attuned to what God is up to — with you and with your community. And it’s being confident that you have a part to play in the story of God’s love for the world. Discernment is considering what God has given you. YOU!!! Here me again…YOU!!!
What are you good at? What are you passionate about? What brings you joy? What experiences, circumstances and challenges have formed and prepared you for a new thing God may be doing with you?
Discernment is noticing what God is doing in the world. What are the needs of your community? Where is the Gospel Good News of Jesus being lived out and proclaimed? Where else does it need to be? What is the part you’ve been given to play in this story of God’s love for the world?

By now you’ve realized that discernment isn’t about a decision. It’s about always being ready to ask the questions … and then being engaged in living the answers! I am who I am and I DO ME!

Praise God, family, Stand Tall in all you Do! Don’t Give up!! God is Good! He has talked to you!!! Listen…Discern and know! Continue to Hit it and Hit it Hard and be a Holy Example to the world that God’s Gifts run proudly in YOU!!!!

Now, hopefully you understand if it’s YOU speaking or God speaking! Allow God to speak and follow his lead…You be the object of your Faith backed by the faith, love and wisdom of the Living God!

May God Bless you all and have an Outstanding Sunday!

Rev. Gerald F. Poe Jr.
Defender of the Faith Missions and Ministry