Degrees of Spiritual Blindness

Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: 22 Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence?
Jer 5:21-22

      Jesus talked a lot about eyes and ears. He said some of us have Spiritual Eyes and Spiritual Ears, and he said some don't. He said His Holy Spirit would come to gives some of us Spiritual Discernment, but that not all would receive this particular Spiritual Gift. Among the Apostles only Paul is said to have possessed all the Spiritual gifts. All Christians have at least one Spiritual Gift. Playing Piano is not a gift, it is a Talent. Being able to Teach a Sunday School Class is a Spiritual Gift, singing in the Choir is a Talent. We have to understand the difference, Talents  are great, Gifts are Divinely Appointed. Let's start with eyes and ears before we get into discernment.
     Humans, regardless of perfect eyesight, do not see all of God's Creation. We don't see Angels in the room with us, or in the sky:
"And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an Army compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we survive? 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."
2 Kings 6:15-17

 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
Num 22:31

     In the first instance a servant saw clearly the human army that surrounded the city, but when his Spiritual Eyes were opened he was able to see the much greater Army of the Lord, with mighty Angels, great horses, and fiery Chariots ready to defend the city at God's calling. In the second verse Balaam sees Jesus Himself as Angel of the Lord, with His great sword drawn, the mightiest force in Heaven or below.
     We all have mighty Angels, at least two of them, assigned to us on a daily basis. They are in the room with us wherever we go. If we go into the kitchen they are there. If we go into a bar and drink a few beers they are there watching over us. If we go into a little church with 43 members there are at least 130 beings present within the church walls. My math is wrong you say? 43 X 3 = 129. But Jesus is there anywhere 2 or 3 are assembled so that makes 130 beings in that little country church. Only one or two perhaps of the Congregation will have the Spiritual enlightenment to understand the depth of what is going on in that worship service as a Heavenly Choir joins in. Our Spiritual Ears rarely hear the Angels singing.
     We don't see Demons either. They can be in the room with us also. Now a Demon can't invade and indwell the body of a Christian who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but much like the cartoons we see, Demons can sit on our shoulder and whisper temptations in our ears. Demons are fallen angels who followed Satan's revolt and were cast out of Heaven. They cause trouble any way they can, by giving us sinful suggestions, or at times they may make themselves semi-visible as what we call ghosts. Spirits of the dead don't return as witches known as diviners, or mediums would have you believe. The medium may think he or she is talking to a ghost, but they are actually communicating with Demons who have the ability to know facts, times and places from the dead persons former life.
     So we cannot naturally see or hear the Angels or Demons in the room but it our responsibility to at least realize they are there and understand the reason they are among us. There is a Spiritual Battle going on for this Planet.
     "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days:"
Dan 10:13
     In this verse the Angel Gabriel is telling Daniel that he first heard his prayer three weeks ago but the Demon angel, the prince of Persia, wrestled with him and prevented him coming when Daniel had first began his prayers. It took the help in fact of Micahel the Arch Angel who helped hold the demon forces off until Gabriel could give Daniel understanding and guidance.
      Elsewhere the New Testament explains:

    "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. "
Eph 6:12-13 (KJV)
     The gift of Spiritual Discernment gives those Christians who possess it, the ability to see demonic influences working against us. Sometimes it is a terrible gift to possess. We that see the truth can come off very judgmental and look pushy. We can spot false teachers, lies, plots, deceptions. Not every preacher behind a shiny new (or old) pulpit is a man of God.
     "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."
2 Cor 11:13-14
     False teachers (I think of former President Jimmy Carter) may teach a Sunday School Class for decades. Carter claimed to be a man of God, yet he wound up denying the books of Timothy and Titus and tried to split the Southern Baptist Convention. He worked hard, producing evil indoctrination tapes, in an effort to Kill an entire denomination.
     Joel Osteen is another such false teacher. Smiling and saying "it's gonna be alright", yet never preaching the Word. If ever there was a false teacher for those with "itching ears", it is Joel Osteen.
 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
2 Tim 4:3-4 (KJV)
     The fable is that there is more than one road to heaven, more than one gate, one door, one way. Osteen has been know to openly say these evil things, but Jesus told us CLEARLY He was the way, the truth and the Life and that no man came to the Father except by Him.
      How open are your eyes? Can you hear even the "still small voice" of the Lord? Are you really listening? Are you sure? Do you have a Spiritual Gift? Do you have the slightest idea what your Gift is? If you don't have a Spiritual Gift are you even Saved at all? If you are Saved, if you have accepted the Lord as your personal Savior, you do have at least one Spiritual Gift. What are they:

  1. Apostleship
  2. Prophecy
  3. Teaching
  4. Evangelism
  5. miracles
  6. helps
  7. healing
  8. Administration (governments)Elders, Deacons
  9. tongues
 10. interpretation of tongues
 11. Preaching (preaching & teaching often together)
 12. giving
 13. Love (charity)
 14. Spiritual Discernment
 15. Chastity (if you don't have it get married)
 16. Encouragement edification (encouraging others)
 17. Knowledge (Biblical understanding)
 18. Mercy

Open your eyes, find your gift, look for ways to use it for others. Open your ears for what God is leading you to do. Pray so God will answer. Study to show yourself approved. Get to work.