Have you ever been the target of false accusation and slander? Have you ever been wounded by someone who was focused on your faults and weaknesses without seeing your true identity? Have you been frustrated by those who were quick to point out your issues while refusing to look at their own? Have you been around believers who used their “discernment”to make themselves look better or to gain power and recognition? Have you ever slipped into patterns of negativity and false judgment yourself? Conversely, have you ever failed to discern something and paid the price for what you did not see? Or have you ever discerned something correctly only to have those around fail to listen? Sadly, we can all probably answer “yes” to these questions…
Whenever you discern something negative in someone else, immediately inquire of the Lord, asking Him whether He is trusting you to see this person’s weaknesses or whether you are merely sensing the work of the “accuser of the brethren” in the atmosphere around them. Often, the answer does not come immediately, so you must lean on the Spirit of Truth, trusting Him to bring all things into the light, both in you and in that situation. If what you are discerning is merely accusation, truth and love will cause it to dissipate, if it is not fueled by gossip. If Holy Spirit brings a hidden sin into the light, you are being given the opportunity to show mercy, to pray and to speak the truth in love, being obedient to the protocol Jesus established for us:
If your fellow believer sins against you, you must go to that one privately and attempt to resolve the matter. If he responds, your relationship is restored. But if his heart is closed to you, then go to him again, taking one or two others with you. You’ll be fulfilling what the Scripture teaches when it says, ‘Every word may be verified by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ And if he refuses to listen, then share the issue with the congregation in hopes of restoration. If he still refuses to respond, even to the church, then you must disregard him as though he were an outsider, on the same level as an unrepentant sinner.
-Matthew 18:15-17, TPT
If you are the target of slander and criticism, stay humble and open to correction, for there are often seeds of truth in even the adversary’s accusations. Stay in peace. Walk in love and forgiveness. Remember the faithfulness of God and know that, in time, He will always vindicate you, just as He did Joseph. It is His smile we seek, and not the approval of man.
The truth is that we are all in the midst of that glorious (and sometimes not so glorious) process of being changed from glory to glory. We have all inherited things from the nature of Adam that we are having to recognize, break agreement with and overcome. And the truth is that we all see each other’s issues more clearly than we see our own, simply because they are so familiar to us. They are called “familiar spirits” for a reason!
God Himself is in charge of our growth process, ordering it with kindness, wisdom and precision. He has a specific timetable for our seeing and overcoming these things that are not the real “us.” Even though we may experience the fruit of these things in our lives, God will still cover them with His grace until it is HIS time for us to deal with them. Just because we see something in someone else’s life does not mean that it is time for them to deal with it! When we see and judge someone else for what we see in their lives, we are aligning with the “accuser of the brethren” rather than with the heart of the Father. It’s easy to do, especially when we are affected or wounded by the demonic entities trafficking through people close to us. When we feel at the mercy of the blind spots of others, it’s easy to become focused on trying to make them change. But the reality is that darkness can only affect me if there is a place of agreement in me. So, if I am affected by it, that is Holy Spirit shining His light of truth on that place of agreement IN ME. First, I must allow God to deal with that place in me. Then I must receive the heart of the Father for that person and the specific heavenly strategy regarding how to deal with it. That strategy may involve having hard conversations or setting healthy boundaries, but even in that, I must stay focused upon dealing with the agreement in me first, asking Holy Spirit to “search me.” Anytime we are more concerned with other people’s issues than our own, we are out of balance. And anytime we judge something we have not been given authority over, we are trading with a spirit of lawlessness. Parents have both the right and the responsibility to discern and to mold their children’s character. Spiritual leaders and fathers have both the right and responsibility to see and help those who have submitted to their care, but only with the heart of the Father. Business owners must be aware of what is trafficking through that which they have been given to steward. But, even in cases where we have responsibility and oversight into people’s lives, we must remember that anger, a negative critical spirit, gossip and slander all violate the Law of Love.
When we trade with demonic judgment (the counterfeit of godly judgment), we are distracted and miss the whole point of what God is trying to deal with in us. We are then judged by the consequences of not seeing and not becoming free from those things He is highlighting. This is one way that we are “judged” when we judge others (Matthew 7:1).
God’s mature sons are called to rule and reign and we cannot do that without discernment. We are created in the image of Elohim and are “elohim,” which means “judges.” Where this is going is that we will judge the earth, the nations, and all of creation.
For everyone who is fed with milk is inexpert in the word of righteousness.
For he is but a babe. But strong meat belongs to those who are of full age,
who through regular use have their wits exercised to judge both good and evil also.
–Hebrews 5:13-14
We see from this Scripture that true and godly judgment is both available and necessary and that it is the fruit of spiritual maturity. The process of maturation involves us being cleansed from the demonic spirit of judgment, which defiles not only us but those who we judge unrighteously. When we are cleansed from the counterfeit, we are free to walk in the “real.”
Here are links to the audio teaching where I will show you from Scripture exactly how to tell the difference between demonic and godly judgment. I will show you how to get free from the counterfeit so that you can walk in the real, ruling and reigning from heaven to earth, displacing darkness and extending the rule of the King of Kings here.
Here is the link to the FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD
Here is the link to the AUDIO TEACHING ON YOUTUBE
And over the next few weeks, I’ll send it out in written form in bite-sized pieces.
Be sure to check out my entire website, including more free music and teachings.
This is a glorious time to be alive! Thank you for joining me in beholding the beauty of the King and in making Jesus famous in the earth!
-Virginia Killingsworth