Students' Essays and Reflections

"What Gets Measured Gets Done" (Peter Drucker).

"If you can not measure it, you can not improve it" (Lord Kelvin).

This picture was taken of one of the students receiving their certificate of completion and passing Phase 2 in Applied Ministries. Pastor Lucky proudly stands by the banner as he waits to Congratulate Pastor Tishan Thomas who was also Congratulated by Bishop Anthony Kimani and Reverend Caroline.

QUESTION: Show how in your ministry expression Discernment is an indispensable tool.

To tackle this questions, students were expected to show evidence of Further Reading from the Bible and wider reading or Further Research into messages taught in past years. Reflection and practical application was also expected in answers to show that learning had taken place.

ANSWER EXTRACTS from the Fresh Hope Bible College Phase 2

1. Student FHBC245

The purpose of this piece of work is to show my understanding of discernment in the context of applied ministry, to share lived and observed examples of where discernment has been used and lastly prove how discernment is an indispensable tool to my ministry. This is all in the framework of Faithlife International Ministries (Faithlife) where I have been called to Pastor. Faithlife’s vision is to empower and encourage every believer in our churches to be a leader as they carry out the commission of our Lord as expressed in Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature". In this writing Pastor refers to the visionary and founder of Faithlife.

To begin I will define discernment, both from a secular understanding and from a spiritual perspective. This is because literature agrees that there is a vast difference between natural discernment and spiritual discernment (Wigglesworth, 2013). According to the Cambridge Dictionary (2019) discernment is the ability to obtain sharp perceptions to judge people and situations well. As a minister, discernment will be understood in the context of the Word of God which defines discernment as a spiritual gift.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant……….. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:1 and 10)

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 (Appendix 1) shows that the Spirit, gives us spiritual discernment. In the book Transform your Pastoral Ministry (Heward Mills 2011) it is pronounced that everything in the world is controlled from the spirit realm. This affirms our understanding in Faithlife that “we are Spirits; we live in a body and possess a mind”. Kuhlman in Buckingham (1983) says that the Holy Spirit now lives in every follower of Jesus which is supported by the bible in Acts 2:38. “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.

2. Student FHBC156

We are first introduced to discernment of spirits as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament by Apostle Paul 1. Cor. 12:10. In terms of ministry, the gift of discernment can be used as weapon against anti-tasking. Anti-tasking is replacing a task that is vital for a less vital task. It usually involves procrastinating or complete avoidance of a task. The capability to discern enables an individual to identify when people are anti-tasking or are veering off from the main task that is at hand. In John 6:22-27, Jesus discerns well that the people that have gathered are there for food rather than His teachings or ministry. Jesus was able to recognise that the people were not connected to the vision of His ministry but rather, were there for their own selfish needs to be met. The people had come not for the word but to eat food and fill their bellies.

Having this knowledge of the anti-tasking spirit at work in the crowd enabled Jesus to redirect the focus of the crowd back to the main task. In John 6:27 Jesus states that “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval". He addresses their need for perishable food as being less important to the food that He gives. When people are able to judge well, they are capable of judging the thoughts and the intentions of the hearts of people (Hebrews 4:14). I remember a situation in my ministry when I was driving in the car with a member in the church; this certain member gave me a hypothetical scenario and asked me what I would do in that scenario. Through discernment I was able to figure out that there was a little bit more to this “hypothetical scenario” than this person was letting me believe. Like Jesus, I then made the decision to address the real situation that was bothering her and through that she confessed to me what was really going on. We then were able to get the right people involved and help come up with a solution to this situation.

Discernment of spirits also prevents an individual from going astray from the will of God. In Mark 8:31-33, we see another use of the gift of discernment of spirits. In this interaction Jesus is disclosing to His disciples the things He must suffer and go through in order to fulfil the will of God and the prophecies on His life. One of the disciples rebukes him for the words he speaks but Jesus was able to discern that an evil spirit was at work in Peter. Had Jesus not been able to discern the spirit at work in Peter at that point, he might have listened and changed his might about having to die on the cross. The consequence of that decision would have been huge on many souls. It can be very easy to negatively spiral from the purpose of the ministry. In the ministry you must be able to discern when the enemy is using those around you to lead you astray.

It is important to discern the spirit at work in any person in order to better understand how to deal with it. Once you have identified the anti-task spirit at work, it is your duty as the leader to transition your audience from a place of chaos to order. In Acts 16:18, Apostle Paul uses discernment to identify the spirit working within a certain female. She was predicting the future but the spirit by which she was doing so was not the Spirit of God. Discernment helped Paul realise that although she may have seemed to be helping them in what she was saying that the spirit at work in her was not the same. She was hindering the work of Apostle Paul. Paul was aggrieved at the unhappy condition the maid was in, being possessed with such a spirit: and that the people were so imposed upon and deluded by it; and that it should be thought that there was any combination and agreement between that spirit and him. 3. Student FHBC902

R. A. Torrey [p14] says that one of the conditions for profitable bible study is the concept of ‘use it or lose it’, which that is when one receives knowledge in order to be successful or get a different outcome they must be obedient to the teachings/ instruction. This concept is derived from James 1v 22 - But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. I personally think that if I had embarked on the miracles of Jesus journey, right now I would have gained depth of knowledge, anointing and Grace and maybe activated a healing ministry gift within me.

I am learning how to live, think and behave like a leader; always future basing in my decisions and actions. Spiritual discernment plays a part in this because it is essential in applying knowledge and as a leader I know that there are some things/ teachings in his word that the natural man cannot understand unless spiritual discernment is obtained so that I may understand the hidden mysteries [R. A. Torrey, p 8-9].

"Pooling of knowledge is edifying to the church; pooling of ignorance is destructive" [R.C. Sproul 2016]. Knowledge has a way of edifying the individual as well as the church. The individual is a representative of the church therefore when they apply knowledge into their lives this edifies the church in that it also teaches others that application of knowledge yields different outcomes transforming realities. Maybe there was a healing gift that needed activating in someone hearing and applying the word, maybe someone needed the gift of special faith to receive healing in their life – whatever the purpose, my outcome could have been one these and more knowing that we gain knowledge through His word as it serves many other different purposes.

[R. C. Sproul 2016] Happiness cannot be fully discovered as long as we remain ignorant in God’s word – this also includes being ignorant to the instruction given in wisdom. In the end even if I was reluctant or maybe preferred not to speak, I can honestly say that I did not receive the happiness and joy I could have received if I had not been ignorant. Isaiah 1 v 19 tells us that ‘if you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;’ - before an outcome or result is shown/ received, an action or an instruction must be fulfilled first. Fruits don’t come first without the act of planting, therefore I cannot "put eating the good of the land first" [Kenneth E. Hagin, P31]; So I cannot expect for God to continue blessing me when I am being disobedient, I cannot expect my Pastor to trust me to speak next time when I do not honour him with loyalty to what he has entrusted me to. As I know that honour is rewarded and that obedience in one area has the ability to yield results in another area, therefore I should not be surprised when I don’t receive the expected outcome if I did not plant nor water the seed. Knowledge is required in order to know other methods to yield different results - you reap what you sow. [2 Corinthians 9 v 6]

[R. C. Sproul 2016] Truth impacts in the way that it changes one's life and sets the course for life and Ministry. To conclude I have learned that as a leader I must always live a life driven by eternity. My choice today determines my tomorrow therefore it is essential to continually gain knowledge in order to make decisons filled with wisdom so that I will not be ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of truth [2 Tim 3 v 7]. 

From the nine students, these are only a few student's essays, and only extracts of the 1,000+ worded essays written by each one of them. The College is proud to produce Bible students of this calibre. You, reader, are encouraged to seek knowledge and seek understanding also as this is not limited to a few special individuals. James 1:5-6 New King James Version (NKJV) says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach,

AND IT WILL BE GIVEN to him."

To become a student at Fresh Hope Bible College please send an email to info@faithlifeinternationalministries.org.