If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of
God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where
other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it
into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into
intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us
not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct
penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be
completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us,
becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “. . . he will
ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to
death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all
your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him
yourself.
One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as
saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us
discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls
before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5).
We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us,
namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not
that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we
awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us
regarding the people for whom we intercede.
Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we
are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the
people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly
that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with
us as intercessors.
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