Discerning The Body Properly
Submitted by Clay Sikes

Several years ago I was fortunate enough to participate in the Skip Barber Racing Series which involved monthly races at various venues in the southern part of the United States. I participated in five seasons of this activity and had many wonderful experiences. Racing had been in my blood for many years so when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it!

I quickly realized that those who had been involved in the series for many years were often the winners and race leaders, the exception being young protégés who were gifted enough to later find careers as professional race drivers. My early efforts were extremely short on success and often characterized with spinouts and crashes. As a 46-year-old rookie, I was long on daring and short on experience and in the racing world that spells disaster. Entering my second year of competition, I began to settle down and observe the veterans, their habits and actions out of the racecar as well as in it. As the year progressed, I began to steadily improve with mid-pack finishes more customary than my normal back-marker status.

As I entered my third year I began to notice one aspect of the veteran’s knowledge that was to help me greatly. Our series is usually made up of five or six race groups each weekend who race in equally prepared cars, and while the series mechanics did a fantastic job of preparing the cars equally, for the discerning observer, small differences could be seen in the way the car handled; often a result of engine performance and chassis set-up. Since we were divided into the aforementioned five or six groups, we could observe our peers and the performance of their cars. If a particular car were not taken in our group, instructors would allow us to request a specific car. Obviously this practice was engaged only in the event we were not satisfied with the car that had been assigned to us.

Admittedly, most upstarts like myself often picked cars because of color, the number or some other external feature – the shiny and prettier the car, the more we were drawn to it. The wily veterans on the other hand, were studying and discerning things about the cars that we simply could not see. They would watch how a car handled in a high-speed corner, determine by the whine of the engine for various RPM levels at different parts of the tract and many other elements of the internal character of the car. During my third year, I too began to look at the internal aspects of the cars. I learned that the external aspect had little to nothing to do with performance. As my skills at car characteristics (character) improved, so to did my performance on the track. My all-out hard driving persona began to yield to making wise choices both on and off the tract. As I applied this practice, I began to steadily finish in the top five and even won occasionally. Often the cars we picked were not very pretty to look at, often they were the dirtiest and the most banged up from use, but oh how they performed in the race.

The church has approached an hour in which Pastors and church leaders must begin to see God’s people in the way God sees them, by their character, giftings and internal make-up, not by their shiny appearances, tithe check, position in the community, social or professional status. Some of today’s most anointed men and women of God are bruised and battered by the world’s standards, but have become a veritable depository of spiritual knowledge and understanding.

As God begins to refresh the church with new order and revelation, many of these who have suffered tremendous defeat, humiliation and rejection are being raised up into positions of power and influence in this already existing move of God. As author and lecturer Dennis Peacock has often stated, “I do not desire to partner with anyone in significant spiritual matters who doesn’t walk with a limp,” he lends credence to those, who like Joseph, made significant journeys into defeat before emerging as God’s man or woman.

We must be ever more clear on properly discerning the Body of Christ, looking not to a man’s past or outward appearance for determining his or her place amongst the Body. John-The-Baptist ushered in Jesus, yet few in the religious circles of his day as with today, would be open to him based on his outward appearance.

While many will perhaps point out that God is a God of order, we have come to an hour of recognizing and realizing, but most of all, discerning that the real order of God is spiritual and internal and more often than not, unavailable to be seen with the naked eye. As Saints of God, and most especially church leaders, we must see God’s character and calling in those God has placed in our paths. As never before, God is requiring that we operate in the gift of discernment.

As with the dirty and banged up race cars, oh how some of these have performed in heat of spiritual battle, yet still remain unrecognized or acknowledged by many church leaders who are threatened by the power of God operating in them. The time has come for us to discern the calling of those God has placed in our path and assist them to their destiny and purpose. This will only happen as we divorce ourselves from mental accent and judgment and open ourselves up to spirit led God-given discernment as to their true callings.

Visit us at  www.lighthouseprophecy.com    To Top