Overview
- Sermon focused on "Discerning Times and Seasons" and spiritual discernment.
- Emphasis on recognizing seasons to align prayer, action, and patience.
- Four levels of discernment introduced, with teaching on the first two levels.
Discerning Times And Seasons
- Seasons determine when prophetic promises manifest; knowledge prompts appropriate spiritual engagement.
- Examples: Daniel reading books, John remaining in wilderness until his season, Jesus hidden from Herod until the right time.
- Missing or mistiming seasons wastes years; grace to catch up can be received.
- Satan tempts people to take blessings out of season, causing loss of training and destiny.
- Indicators seasons bring ease and alignment of resources; wrong timing brings struggles.
Four Signs A Season Is Changing
- Unusual desire and grace to pray privately.
- Unusual grace to give sacrificially.
- Increased angelic activity and intensified demonic opposition.
- A preceding word from God (prophecy, dream, sermon) that opens the season.
Practical Guidance On Seasons
- Ask two questions before striving in the flesh: Is this from God? Is this the season?
- Resist impatience, comparison, and premature action; these can abort seasons.
- Suffering, delay, or opposition may be part of preparation for greater destiny.
- Seasons often push people out of comfort; embrace change and reject fear that blocks progress.
- Examples of patient timing: Joseph’s route to the throne, ministry growth happening when season arrived.
First Level Of Discernment: Times And Seasons (Recap)
- Recognize the spiritual calendar; discernment enables appropriate praying, receiving, or rejecting.
- Training the spirit helps sense incoming or closing seasons.
- Seasons produce distinct spiritual behaviors and opportunities.
Second Level Of Discernment: Discerning The Holy Spirit’s Activity
- Distinguish activities engineered by the Holy Spirit from other spirits.
- Remember: the Holy Spirit is present on earth since Pentecost and active in the church.
Three Biblical Tests To Identify Holy Spirit Activity:
- The Holy Spirit confirms the Word and reveals Jesus.
- The movement produces the fruit of the Spirit (joy, peace, righteousness) as a "fragrance."
- The movement eventually reveals God’s glory and upholds human dignity.
Additional Notes On Holy Spirit Discernment:
- Holy Spirit actions can be mysterious but should preserve human dignity.
- Avoid manipulative or dehumanizing practices falsely attributed to the Spirit.
- True Spirit-led activity will not induce fear or force a person’s will.
- Controversial processes (unusual methods) may still be from the Spirit if they culminate in dignity and glory.
- Beware sincere but misled followers influenced by poor mentorship or extra-biblical practices.
Action Items
- Cultivate private prayer and sensitivity to unusual grace to pray.
- Monitor sacrificial giving as a possible season indicator.
- Learn biblical criteria to test spiritual movements against the Word and fruit.
- Pause before forcing outcomes; verify whether it is the season and God’s direction.
- Reject fear and comparison that block stepping into new seasons.
Decisions
- Commit to training spiritual faculties to discern seasons and Holy Spirit activity.
- Prioritize building people (spiritual maturity) over structures until seasons align.
Structured Details
| Sign | What It Indicates | Spiritual Response |
| Unusual desire to pray | Season approaching | Enter private prayer and fasting |
| Unusual grace to give | Season approaching | Give sacrificially with discernment |
| Angelic + demonic activity | Season transition and warfare | Engage in spiritual warfare and persevere |
| Preceding Word/Prophecy | Opens season | Position to receive and act when confirmed |
| Fruit of the Spirit present | Holy Spirit is behind an activity | Continue and expect glory to manifest |
| Human dignity preserved | Authentic Spirit activity | Accept unconventional processes if dignity increases |