I know the title is a little ambitious, but this message is not about me teaching you how to know everything but exploring together the secrets of discernment taught by Jesus Christ. Just as physicists have been trying to figure out the theory of everything, religions and philosophies try to discover the knowledge of everything.
For example, one of the highest goals of Buddhism is to attain the wisdom of all-knowing or omniscience (sabbannuta ñāna in Pali).
Similarly, people all over the world want to know why we suffer, why bad things happen to good people, why there are wars, why innocent children suffer, why there are injustice, etc. There are so many questions in life that need answers.
These answers cannot be described by words but discerned by wisdom.
We know Jesus knows everything, and Christians are supposed to know everything. Jesus said in John 15 that he shares everything he knows with us like a friend. So, as his friends, we should know everything. Paul said,
Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Co 2:15–16).
Notice it says a spiritual person discerns all things, and we have the mind of Christ. No one can deceive us. I think we underestimated our ability as believers. The keyword here is “spiritual.” How can we be spiritual so that we have the mind of Christ and discern all things?
Sometime back, I came across a TV show based on a book about a man who studied finance in Germany. After graduation, he wrote for a financial magazine in Berlin and became famous because his stock predictions were precise.
At his friends’ persuasion, he formed a private investment club. The baseline for joining the club was two million dollars. It was in the 1990s, so it was quite a lot of money. About a dozen people joined, betting their money on his brain.
Their return on investment doubled every year. It was lucrative. Nothing could beat that kind of return. They wondered if he had some angelic or godly insight to discern the direction of the market.
Three years later, he decided to quit. It shocked everyone. Why would you leave when everyone is prospering? They suspect his ulterior motive. So, they had him sign an exit contract prohibiting him from working in any financial industry for five years. They also froze his assets for the time being to prevent him from investing his own money.
Despite the cruel restrictions, he signed the agreement willingly and returned to China, rented a small apartment in a small town, and spent his time there quietly like a hermit. Since his assets were frozen, he lived meagerly and humbly but happily.
A local policewoman fell in love with him after he helped her solve a criminal case. Discovering his abnormal discernment, she asked him for a miracle as a gift for her. She wanted him to turn a dirt-poor and destitute village from poverty to prosperity.
He surveyed the inventory of the villagers’ talents, skills, and hard-working spirit and brainstormed a plan to relieve them from poverty. To make a long story short, in less than two years, he turned the dirt-poor village into a wealthy town of entrepreneurs.
In the story, everyone asked how he knew what he knew.
Today is Palm Sunday. Before entering Jerusalem, Jesus asked his two disciples to pick up a donkey colt, telling them where it was and what would happen when they picked it up. It happened exactly as he told them. How did he know?
Some commentators said Jesus prearranged it. It doesn’t make sense because there are other examples of his discernment. For instance, he told Peter to drop the net on the other side of the boat and catch boatloads of fish. He couldn’t prearrange that?
When he needed to pay the temple tax, Jesus asked his disciples to cash a fish from the sea, locate a coin inside the mouth of the fish, and use it to pay the tax. That means Jesus could summon money whenever he wants. But he never exploited his capability.
In fact, a colt in those days was like a BMW, Rolls-Royce, or limousine used by kings to enter the city ceremonially. It shows Jesus could summon a brand-new Rolls-Royce whenever he needed it. He knew where it was parked and how to get it for a ride.
Many instances in the Bible show Jesus’s discernment. He knew he would be crucified after arriving in Jerusalem and rise again in three days. He foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Everything happened precisely as he said it would happen.
The question is, can we know as he knows? If so, how? So, today, we will explore the secret to knowing everything based on this week’s scripture lesson. What does it require to be spiritual so that we can discern all things and have the mind of Christ? Let’s begin!
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