Seeing Through the Spirit: Embracing Spiritual Perception
Summary
In our gathering tonight, we explored the profound concept of perspective, particularly focusing on the importance of spiritual perception. Perspective, at its core, is about looking through or perceiving, and when we apply this to our spiritual lives, it means seeing through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. This spiritual perception is crucial because it allows us to discern and understand what God is doing in our lives beyond our natural senses.
We delved into Isaiah 43:19, where God declares, "Behold, I am doing a new thing." This scripture emphasizes that God is actively working in our lives, and it is through spiritual perception that we can recognize and participate in His plans. Without this perception, we risk missing out on the blessings and purposes God has for us.
We also examined the story of Adam naming the animals in Genesis 2. Adam was able to name each creature correctly because he saw through God's eyes, highlighting the importance of a close relationship with God to understand His will. This relationship is the key to unlocking spiritual perception, allowing us to see and receive the spiritual blessings God has prepared for us.
Furthermore, we discussed the necessity of perceiving and receiving God's promises spiritually before they manifest physically. This principle is evident in the life of Abraham, who believed God's promise of descendants despite his and Sarah's old age. His faith was credited to him as righteousness, demonstrating that spiritual perception leads to the fulfillment of God's promises.
Finally, we touched on the dangers of being carnally minded, which leads to spiritual death and separation from God. Instead, we are called to be spiritually minded, which brings life and peace. By cultivating a relationship with God and seeking His perspective, we can navigate life's challenges with confidence, knowing that God has a plan and purpose for us.
Key Takeaways:
1. Spiritual Perception is Essential: To truly understand and participate in what God is doing in our lives, we must develop spiritual perception, which involves seeing through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. This allows us to discern God's plans and purposes beyond our natural understanding. [03:05]
2. Relationship with God Unlocks Perception: Just as Adam named the animals by seeing through God's eyes, our relationship with God is crucial for spiritual perception. The closer we are to God, the clearer our understanding of His will becomes, enabling us to align our lives with His purposes. [11:06]
3. Faith Precedes Manifestation: Like Abraham, we must perceive and receive God's promises spiritually before they manifest physically. This requires faith, as we trust in God's word and His ability to fulfill His promises, even when circumstances seem impossible. [24:43]
4. Carnal Mindedness Hinders Spiritual Growth: Being carnally minded leads to spiritual death and separation from God. To experience life and peace, we must cultivate a spiritual mindset, seeking God's perspective in all situations and allowing His Spirit to guide us. [43:13]
5. Divine Appointments Require Spiritual Sensitivity: The woman at the well recognized Jesus as a prophet because she saw through spiritual eyes. We must be spiritually sensitive to recognize and seize divine appointments, ensuring we don't miss the blessings God has prepared for us. [38:03]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [03:05] - Understanding Spiritual Perception
- [06:15] - Isaiah 43:19: God is Doing a New Thing
- [08:33] - The Importance of Spiritual Awareness
- [11:06] - Adam's Spiritual Perception
- [15:03] - The Secret of God's Promises
- [18:07] - Spiritual Blessings Precede Physical Manifestation
- [21:50] - Ephesians 1: Spiritual Blessings
- [24:43] - Abraham's Faith and Spiritual Perception
- [28:49] - Seeing Through God's Eyes
- [30:56] - Knowing God's Thoughts Towards Us
- [38:03] - The Woman at the Well's Spiritual Insight
- [40:38] - Romans 8: Carnal vs. Spiritual Mindset
- [43:13] - The Danger of Carnal Mindedness
- [46:00] - Closing Prayer and Blessing
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. Isaiah 43:19 - "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"
2. Genesis 2:19 - "Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name."
3. Romans 8:6 - "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
---
Observation Questions:
1. In Isaiah 43:19, what does God declare He is doing, and what is the significance of perceiving it? [06:15]
2. How did Adam demonstrate spiritual perception in Genesis 2:19, and what does this tell us about his relationship with God? [11:06]
3. According to Romans 8:6, what are the consequences of being carnally minded versus spiritually minded? [43:13]
4. How does the story of the woman at the well illustrate the importance of spiritual sensitivity? [38:03]
---
Interpretation Questions:
1. What does it mean to see through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, and how can this change our understanding of God's work in our lives? [03:05]
2. How does a close relationship with God enhance our ability to perceive His will, as demonstrated by Adam's ability to name the animals? [11:06]
3. In what ways does faith play a role in perceiving and receiving God's promises before they manifest physically, as seen in the life of Abraham? [24:43]
4. How can being carnally minded hinder our spiritual growth and relationship with God, according to Romans 8:6? [43:13]
---
Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you might have missed what God was doing in your life due to a lack of spiritual perception. How can you cultivate a deeper spiritual awareness moving forward? [03:05]
2. Consider your current relationship with God. What steps can you take to deepen this relationship and enhance your spiritual perception, similar to Adam's relationship with God? [11:06]
3. Think about a promise from God that you are waiting to see fulfilled. How can you strengthen your faith to perceive and receive this promise spiritually before it manifests physically? [24:43]
4. Identify an area in your life where you might be more carnally minded than spiritually minded. What practical steps can you take to shift your mindset towards life and peace? [43:13]
5. Have you ever experienced a divine appointment, like the woman at the well? How can you become more spiritually sensitive to recognize and seize such opportunities in the future? [38:03]
6. What are some practical ways you can seek God's perspective in your daily challenges, ensuring you align with His plans and purposes for your life? [06:15]
7. How can you apply the principle of perceiving spiritual blessings before they manifest physically in your current circumstances? What specific actions can you take this week to practice this principle? [18:07]
Devotional
I'm ready to provide the 5-day devotional.
Quotes
And so if we want a biblical perception or spiritual perception, which is one, I'm going to categorize as one and the same thing, is looking through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, having a deep spiritual awareness or discernment that is rooted with a relationship with God. So needless to say, I think it's very important, and I want to teach you tonight how important it is to have a spiritual perspective. [00:03:11] (33 seconds)
You're going to miss what God has for you. Okay? Pretty simple teaching, but the benefits are eternal. So we want a, so if we're not careful, even in ministry or Wednesday night Christians here, we can just, you can serve God, you can love God, but you're missing what He has for you because you're not seeing it through the eyes of the Spirit. [00:03:44] (32 seconds)
The only reason you will not perceive or know what God is doing and give heed to it is if you lack spiritual perception. So he says, look, I'm doing something in your life. It's going to come into view. Shall you not know it? You know what it says? Shall you not know it? Shall you not perceive it? Shall you not see it through my eyes? If you don't, if you don't see it through my eyes, you'll never know it. [00:07:21] (40 seconds)
You cannot have the perception of God unless you have a relationship with God. Well, I'm a Christian. I understand that. But, so let's go a little bit closer. But the closer the relationship you have with God, the clearer your perception is in what God has for you. that's why it's important. I mean, most people, the only difference between us being Christian and the people in the world who are lost, who are not Christian, is we're going to heaven and they're not. [00:12:33] (37 seconds)
But it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ears heard, nor enter into the hearts of men. Here's the secret. You ain't seen it, and you haven't heard it, but it's there, it's a secret. What's the secret? The secret, the things which God has for you. God has something for us, but it's a secret because we don't know what it is. [00:15:03] (35 seconds)
You must be able to perceive them so and receive them so before you can see them manifested in the physical. You've got to see them as spiritual blessings. You've got to perceive them as spiritual blessings. You've got to receive them as spiritual blessings before they will manifest in the physical. [00:17:40] (27 seconds)
If God tells you something, you've got to learn to perceive it, which is to see it and receive it. If you've read it in the Bible, you've got to read that word and you've got to perceive it, you've got to see it in the spiritual realm, and you've got to receive it in the spiritual realm. [00:23:45] (19 seconds)
All Abraham had to do is to see it and believe it and he counted, he had faith and counted for righteousness and what happened? He received everything that God had. Church, when God gives you a word, when you receive something from God and you receive it because your relationship with him, you can't look at it through the eyes of your natural senses, you've got to look at it through the knowing of your spiritual senses and say, I've got to look through the eyes of God and see what he is saying. [00:26:08] (36 seconds)
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 10. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. Watch this. For what man knows the things of a man except for the Spirit of the man which is in him. Even so, no one knows the things of God except for the Spirit of God. [00:30:56] (26 seconds)
And the devil comes in and just takes it away from us because we have not. But whenever I know the thoughts that I have saith the Lord. And then the Bible right here tells us that when we're walking close with a relationship with God through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, not in the natural because we can't even comprehend in the natural. But in the spiritual realm, we realize that God has something for me, that God has a plan for me. [00:31:52] (34 seconds)
How can, so here, I want to teach you real fast. How can you be robbed of spiritual perception when you're more carnally minded than you are spiritually minded? Because when we get carnally minded, it's death, it's separation from God. We're not including God in this. We're not, we're not receiving life and peace. But whenever we're spiritually minded, that means that life and peace comes through knowing what God has, what He can do, and what we can do. [00:43:13] (34 seconds)
And let me tell you something, if God would tell Abraham, I mean Adam, that that's a pig and that's a frog and that's a horse, I promise you, you can get close enough to Him, He'll tell you exactly what He's going to do concerning your situation. And in the hour we're living in right now, I'm here to tell you, it's time to have a relationship with God and start listening to what He is saying. [00:43:59] (23 seconds)
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained only on this specific sermon. Do you have any questions about it?