Mind of Christ: Ep 5: Seeing Beyond the Surface: Cultivating the Mind of Christ

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host,

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Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent.

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Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed.

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Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought

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was possible. Enlarge her territory.

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Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment.

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Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent

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to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

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This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Hello and welcome to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host,

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Connie Morris, and we're continuing our Faith on the Go series.

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This topic is discernment.

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Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

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That means that the more you hear the word of God, the more faith that you will get.

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And we need faith because faith is what mountains and it's what pleases God.

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This is why this place, space was created.

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For your quiet moments, for your workday, for your commutes,

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and for those in-between places where your spirit just needs to be refilled.

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Faith on the go is for those times when fighting the battle's not yet won,

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but already finished in Christ.

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It's for the ones who keep believing.

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Come on, keep pressing in. Is that you? That's me.

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Keep walking. Even when the road gets long and you know, as it gets longer, it gets narrower.

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So wherever you are today, settle in and let the word of God strengthen your faith while you are on.

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Goal. Today is day five, a mind of discernment seen beyond the surface.

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Go with me to our key scripture, John chapter 2, verses 24 through 25.

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It says, but Jesus would not entrust himself to them for he knew all people.

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He did not need any testimony about humanity for he knew what was in each person.

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We see here that God knows us personally.

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Isn't that powerful? We want Him to know us personally so you don't go to Him

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faking and shaking because He knows you personally, according to John 2, 24-25.

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Seeing through Jesus, Sermon was one of Jesus' greatest yet most powerful gifts.

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He didn't just see people, he knew them.

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He could look past the smile, the title, crowd approval, and see the truth of a person's heart.

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When Nathaniel approached him, Jesus said, here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.

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Surprised, Nathaniel asked how Jesus knew him.

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Jesus answered, I saw you while

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you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you, John 1, 48.

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That one statement reveals something supernatural. Jesus saw him before he saw him. Wow.

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Jesus saw him before he saw him. When the woman at the well tried to hide behind

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religion, Jesus gently spoke to her reality. You have five husbands.

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You had five husbands, and the man you are now with is not your husband, John 4, 18.

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In that moment, she encountered truth wrapped in grace.

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And when Judas kissed him in the garden, Jesus didn't flinch.

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He discerned the betrayal before it came, John 13, 11.

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Discernment didn't make Jesus suspicious.

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It made him sensitive to the Father's voice. He wasn't paranoid.

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He was perceptive. To have the mind of Christ is to live with discernment,

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not judging by appearance, but by the Spirit. Discernment is more than intuition.

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It's divine insight given through intimacy with God.

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Jesus said, the son can't do nothing by himself.

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He can only do what he sees the father doing. John 5, 19.

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Discernment begins with seeing through heaven's eye.

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It's how you know when to speak and when to stay silent, when to move and when

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to wait, when to trust and who to release.

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The Holy Spirit gives discernment to protect your peace, preserve your purpose,

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and position you for God's timing.

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1 Corinthians 2.10 tells us that the Spirit searches all things,

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even the deep things of God.

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Jesus never allowed people's actions to distract them from their true needs.

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Where others saw a sinner, he saw a soul. Where others saw rejection, he saw redemption.

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Discernment lets you hear what isn't said.

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It fills what others miss and recognize God's hand in unexpected places.

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But discernment also requires humility.

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Because you see deeper, you still must choose love.

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Ask yourself, have I confused suspicion with discernment?

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Do I pray for understanding before reacting? Am I willing to see what God shows

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me and still respond with grace?

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Walk it out like Jesus. How did Jesus walk by faith?

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Number one, he stayed close to the Father.

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Jesus' discernment flowed from relationship, not intellect. Luke 5, 16.

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Spend time, spend quiet time listening for God's whisper.

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God has a way of telling you other people's secrets, but not for you to be critical

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and be judgmental and think yourself higher than you ought, but to expose their true heart.

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You know, I remember for a season, God was transitioning me from one place to another.

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And he just, I just kept, I have a heart to believe everybody is good.

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But God didn't want me to be ignorant.

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And so he began to show me people who were around me, who were in my dreams,

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and they would show up as different animals.

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It was kind of a weird dream. But yet when I understood the big picture,

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he'd show me their heart through these animal characters. It was different.

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And so when you stay close to the Father, he shows you people's heart.

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He shows you people's intention to keep you safe, right?

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He said he would never leave us or forsake us. I mean, he's right beside us

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whispering in our ear so that we can know the intent.

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And it can be good intent, too. It's not always bad intent.

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It's good intent. And matter of fact, he can't even tell you what will make

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this person happy if you buy this certain thing, if you do this particular thing.

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It's just so interesting that when you stay close to the Father and you listen

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for his whisper, you will get your answers.

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You will have a mind like Jesus.

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Number two, test every spirit. Not every opportunity, word, or emotion is from God.

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Measure it against his word, 1 John 4, 11. And the way you do that is you just ask.

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Do you think something as God or not God? Where is that in the Bible?

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And how does that relate to me? Those are specific questions.

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And you'll find out you can weed out a lot of.

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Tactics from the enemy by questioning the intent of an action.

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And how does that work, right? So you're asking him, Lord, sometimes you think

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it could be you too, right?

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Is this me or is this you? What's going on? And many times he'll show you,

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no, that's the enemy. That's you.

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And then you start to weed out those voices and begin to hear God's voice overall,

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right? So you want to test every spirit.

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Number three, discerning timing, not just truth.

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Jesus knew when to speak and when to wait, John 8, 6 through 8.

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It says, wisdom is knowing when to reveal the truth.

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And just because you have that discernment, just because you know that secret,

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sometimes, many times, you just have to wait.

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And sometimes you won't even use that information.

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As a police officer, it's like gathering evidence. You don't need that information

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yet because it's not up yet, but you may need it.

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And so you want to discern the proper timing when to use it and when not to

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use it and how to use it. Wisdom is how to use it.

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Number four, respond in love, not pride. Jesus corrected without condemnation. John 8, 1.

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And discernment reveals to heal, not to humiliate.

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And so the way Jesus approached the women at the well, he didn't just blurt out her business.

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He just says, hey, this is you. It revealed a little bit about who she was.

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And that made her even closer to him because he didn't say it in such a demeaning

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way. He said it in a way that it's loving.

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You can tell somebody's a business to them in a way that's not condemning to them.

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And so discernment reveals to heal, not to humiliate.

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If you have a vendetta against someone and you know something and you do that,

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you know how quickly that just dies out.

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When you hurt somebody's feeling so bad because you know something about them

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and it's kind of a payback, a vindictive attitude, there's no reward in that.

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It's that reward for a minute maybe to see them cry, but at the end it hurts

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because that was a real person and real human.

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Remember Jesus said he knows. He already knew. He gave that information to you.

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So see how you would handle it.

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And you know, if you handle it wrongly, you won't get any more information because

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he's not out there trying to hurt his people.

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He's trying to heal them. And if you're that vessel to heal,

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that he will use you more and more. If you're that vessel to hurt,

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he's going to shut it down.

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He is definitely going to shut it down. Number five, daily for spiritual eyes.

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I think that covered that in most of the episodes.

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Ask daily for the word of God, the wisdom of God, the mind of Christ,

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the mind of discernment.

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So you can ask him every day, Lord, give me the mind of discernment so that I can heal and not hurt.

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Give me the mind of discernment so I can heal and not hurt. And then that's

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when you ask for these spiritual eyes, right?

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And number five, pray as Paul did, that you have the heart, that my heart may be enlightened.

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I want my heart enlightened. Why? Because if I have the heart of Jesus,

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then I have the mind of Jesus.

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Then my heart, I'm not going to go out and intentionally hurt people.

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There's many times God revealed things to me about people.

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And I'll pray for them because the part is so heavy. because a lot of times

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people that are angry or coming at you the wrong way, it's like, wow.

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I asked a lady the other day, and like I said, I'm on an HOA,

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and I asked her, I said, why are you so angry?

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Why are you so angry? And then I decided at that point that I deserve to keep

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my peace. We cover that. I want my peace.

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And so instead of having to go back and forth with her over stupid stuff,

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I decided just to block her. Only way I'm going to communicate with her is through email.

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I don't need to have her texting me about anything.

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Now, God may change that, but for now, I'm going to have my peace because I

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want to see her through God's eyes.

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And I can't see her through God's eyes if I'm continually, she's continuing to be negative.

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And then it starts a little bit of a text argument.

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It's like, that's not needed. Why? Because I'm the president.

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You know, you still have to come and follow the rules, right?

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So it's not like I'm being a big head, but it's like, you're not, you were the president.

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You're not. You lost it. But I don't want to lose my presidential privileges.

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So I am wanting God to give me the mind of Christ.

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And I've been praying that a lot lately. And that's how this devotional came

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out, where I want the mind of Christ.

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And then he said, do you know what that is? And I said, you know,

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no, don't tell Jesus, you know, right?

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You better say you don't know and let him teach you.

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And I said, so this is that birthing of this devotional is how do I have the

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mind of Christ. We talked about being the bride of Christ.

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I want the mind of Christ, too. I don't want to just have the fancy dress,

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right, and be chosen for the dinner.

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I want to walk in there with wisdom, humility, come on, peace.

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I want everything that Jesus has. And I want you to have that same, same thing.

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And that's why I share this podcast with you. Let's pray.

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Holy Spirit, you see what I cannot see.

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Teach me to perceive life through the eyes of Christ. Sharpen my spiritual sight

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and silence every distraction that dulls my discernment.

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When you reveal truth, help me to walk in wisdom, not pride.

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Guard my heart from deception and keep my spirit sensitive to your leading.

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Let me see people the way Jesus did, with clarity, with compassion and courage. In Jesus' name, amen.

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I decree I have the mind of Christ. My eyes are open to truth.

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My heart is led by the Spirit and my steps are guided by divine discernment.

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I see beyond appearances and respond to heaven's wisdom and love. Let's think about this.

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Where is God calling you to see beyond what's visible?

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And how can discernment help you respond with wisdom instead of reaction?

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I just share that instead of reacting.

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And my question to her was, why are you so angry?

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Why are you so angry? And she didn't respond right away, or maybe I didn't give her a chance.

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But why are you so angry? So the Lord showed that to me because I spent a lot

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of energy just really kind of tit for tat with her.

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And I'm like, that's not God-like.

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I don't have to be tit for tat with you. I deserve to have my peace.

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And so when you think about that, where are you reacting at instead of walking

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with the mind of Christ, walking in your peace, in your humility, in your discernment?

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You know, where are you not doing that?

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So that's something to think about, but it's time to get ready for the next episode, right?

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So let you know that you've been listening to Faith on the Go with your host

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Connie Morris from the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I pray that this word has energized your faith and reminded you of God's promise.

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According to Isaiah 55.1, it says, So shall my word be that goes out of my mouth.

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It should not return to me void, but it should accomplish what I please.

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And it should prosper in the thing for which I sent.

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We want God to prosper his word, right?

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So we have to be careful of what we say and what we do and how we act.

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And be confident in this. He who began a good work will carry it on to completion

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until the day of Christ Jesus.

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Philippians 1.6. So keep believing, keep walking, and keep trusting because

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God will finish what he started.

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I'll see you on the next episode. Thank you for listening to this episode.

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And before we close out, I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14.

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Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper

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you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

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So today we receive that truth.

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You said when we call on you, you will listen. So we pray.

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You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found.

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So we pursue. You said you will restore us from captivity.

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So we declare freedom over every place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small.

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Thank you for always drawing near when we show up and faith. In Jesus' name, amen.