Why Are They Unable to See?
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Text: Psalms 19
I. I’m sure it has happened to you. You’re talking to someone and the point is clear and obvious to you, but the other person can’t see it.
A. You can see it in the apostles when Jesus stated he was going to die - Mark 9:31-32
B. Some people turn ideas of morality totally upside down - Isaiah 5:20-21
1. We can see it in our culture today, such as people arbitrarily deciding what gender they are, or claiming there are more than male and female genders
C. What is lacking is discernment
1. Discernment refers to the ability to see things accurately
2. Solomon wanted discernment to make accurate judgments - I Kings 3:9-12
3. It is something that can be taught - Ezekiel 44:23
4. It is something that comes from God’s word - Psalms 119:66
5. It is something that can come with maturity and practice - Hebrews 5:14
II. What is needed for good discernment
A. You need the right standard
1. You can’t go by your own views - Proverbs 14:12
2. Truth is found in God’s word - John 17:17
3. God’s word is powerful. It can even discern the thoughts and intentions of people - Hebrews 4:12
B. You need the right information
1. Having a standard is no good without knowledge of it - Hosea 4:6
2. Abounding in more knowledge - Philippians 1:9-11
3. But you also need to know what is going on - Proverbs 18:17
4. You need the facts first before making judgement - Proverbs 18:13
C. You need the right application
1. You need to be approved to God first - II Timothy 2:15
a. Popular to claim that using principles, such as command, example, and necessary inference are not what God wants
b. Yet, the ones making the claim are those wanting to change the Bible’s message
2. Unstable people distort the message - II Peter 3:15-18
3. In other words, you need to be logical and reason well - Ephesians 5:17
D. You need the right attitude
1. You have to receive the word with meekness - James 1:21
2. You have to want to obey God - John 7:17
3. David’s attitude - Psalms 119:97-104
4. Note how strong the desire must be - Proverbs 2:3-9
5. You can’t get discernment without effort
III. The limitations of discernment
A. Have you ever wondered how Solomon, with all his wisdom, ended up turning from God? - I Kings 11:1-4
B. The simple answer is that it is hard to apply discernment to yourself - Psalms 19:12
C. There is a natural bias that is hard to overcome - I Corinthians 4:4
D. But we have to try - II Corinthians 13:5
E. We have to resist measuring ourselves by ourselves - II Corinthians 10:12
F. Thus, before we can judge others, we have to look at ourselves - Matthew 7:1-5
IV. God wishes for us to be discerning
A. God wanted Israel to be discerning, but they were not - Deuteronomy 32:28-29
B. Truth is spiritual appraised - I Corinthians 2:14
C. We need discernment not to get drawn into false doctrines - II Corinthians 11:1-4
D. We have to test everything - I Thessalonians 5:19-22
V. It isn’t what I think is right
A. God’s ways are always right - Hosea 14:9
B. Paul’s prayer is my prayer for you this day - Philippians 1:9-11
