WEBVTT 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:07.280 How many know that we have five senses, but we also have spiritual senses? 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:14.080 And we have to develop those. 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:17.760 If we're gonna grow spiritually. 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:21.839 And so I want to speak to you this morning. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:24.719 Thank you. 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:29.280 On how to enjoy a little bit of heaven on earth. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:35.759 And when we say a little bit of just a little bit of heaven is a lot. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:12.959 No, he wants to give us a little bit of heaven now. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:18.400 So we can deal with the problems that come at us in life. 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:24.159 Tell your neighbor a little bit of heaven here on earth. 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:41.920 And so we begin in the middle of a passage where it says that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children in the land which the Lord has swore to your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:03.920 If you have a version that reads a little different, you've got the wrong version. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:08.400 A little bit of heaven on earth. 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:09.680 Jesus talked about that. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:16.080 In John 10, 10, he says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:59.840 He says, If you give yourself to the gospel, in other words, if you serve me with all of your heart, he says, You'll receive a hundredfold in this lifetime. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:08.000 Not only when you get to heaven, but here in this lifetime. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:21.759 Say, Lord, I want that in my life. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:25.280 I want a little bit of heaven here on earth. 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:30.639 Somebody says, I've had enough hell on earth, I need a little bit of heaven. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:36.960 And it's in the Word of God, it's for us. 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:37.759 We're His children. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:04.080 And that comes primarily through the Bible. 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:11.439 Reading it, studying it, hearing it like you're hearing it now. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:21.120 If you want to grow spiritually, then your number one priority is going to be the Word of God. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:30.319 But it's more than just receiving it at an intellectual level. 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:36.480 We don't grow just because we read the Bible. 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:40.879 Or because we hear the word preached. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:03.120 To understand it is to have an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:07.680 Anytime the Word of God opens up to you. 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:12.319 And suddenly you're like, I see that. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.279 It's an encounter with Jesus Himself. 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:22.800 And that's what causes us to grow spiritually. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:32.079 When we have an encounter with the Word of God, it accelerates our spiritual growth. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:42.800 When we first come to the Lord, is when our when we get the first glimpse of something spiritual. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:49.920 The first time that our eyes are open spiritually. 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.000 And there's something within us that says, Yes, I want this. 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:06.879 That's our first awakening to heaven. 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.959 That's the miracle of receiving a new heart, a new spirit. 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:18.240 Look at 2 Corinthians 4 6. 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:26.000 For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:26.959 That's salvation. 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.319 It shined in our hearts, our eyes were opened. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:01.519 And so with that first opening of our eyes. 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:26.720 Remember, he came to give us an inheritance. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:46.800 And so healthy growing salud goes beyond just I'm saved. 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:51.199 So to grow and to mature. 00:07:53.120 --> 00:08:01.759 And to experience a little bit of heaven here on earth, we have to have regular, ongoing encounters with the Word of God. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:07.759 We have to stay hungry for His voice. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.480 When you read the Bible, say, Lord, speak to me. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:43.279 Oh, I read my Bible to me. 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:48.799 No, I've come to have an encounter with you, Lord. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:50.639 Speak to me, open your word to me. 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:57.919 So that we can continue to grow spiritually. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:09.039 There's some things that have to take place in our lives for that momentum, that acceleration to take place. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:19.279 There has to be a radical shift in our thinking. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.960 We'll be happy, we'll be satisfied, I'm going to heaven one day. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:39.440 But you're having problems and all kinds of things coming at your life. 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:47.519 You deal with it the best you can, and your hope is one day I'm gonna be in heaven. 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:48.639 Forget about this earth. 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:03.200 We have to know that when we came to the Lord, we came to a place of spiritual dominance. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:13.759 But we have to have a spiritual awareness. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:20.879 We have spiritual senses and natural physical senses. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:27.840 And what has to take priority is our spiritual senses. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:36.480 But we don't live from there. 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:39.120 Look at Romans 8:5. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:46.000 They that mind the things of the flesh. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:48.000 I'm sorry. 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:53.759 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are of the spirit, the things of the spirit. 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:04.960 So just like we have physical senses, we have spiritual senses. 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:13.039 So be before anything else, antes de todo. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:16.720 We have to think spiritually first. 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:21.279 It doesn't mean we're throwing our senses away. 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:34.399 What are some of the spiritual senses that I'm talking about? 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:39.759 It's the fruit of the spirit. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:44.159 Love, joy, peace, faith. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:48.480 Gentleness. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:53.840 All of these things are in our spiritual senses. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:59.600 Galatians 5 22 says. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:07.519 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:21.759 So when we're when we're confronted with things in life, we begin in the spiritual, not in the natural. 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.639 In the natural, something happens, you may want to strike out at somebody. 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:34.559 But in the spiritual, you want to be gentle. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.360 It's two ways that we react. 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:46.480 Either the spiritual or our physical natural reaction. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:50.240 It's normal. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:51.759 It's part of our five senses. 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:02.480 The natural reaction is to strike back. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:05.679 You hurt me. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:09.519 But the spirit reacts differently. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:12.960 There's a gentleness. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:14.720 There's a love. 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:24.320 When Jesus was beaten and mistreated, the Bible says he was like a lamb, he opened not his mouth. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:29.120 That's the life of the spirit. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:31.200 The life. 00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:34.799 We must live from the spirit. 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:39.039 Our source is not our mind. 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:41.919 It's not our soul. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:44.639 It's our spirit. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:47.360 That's where we flow from. 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:51.120 Look at Ephesians 3:16. 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:54.960 Oh, I love this passage. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:59.200 Every time I read it, it does something. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:01.840 There's a jump on the inside of me. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:12.879 It says that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:22.399 We have an inner man, we have a spirit. 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.600 That's where the life of God is, that's where the power of God is. 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:32.480 That's where we live life from. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:37.679 So that we don't react in the natural, we react from our spirit. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:47.039 So we have to operate from who we are spiritually. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:53.679 We still go through this life and we navigate the physical. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:11.440 But everything, our responses, are our reactions, our decisions, they're anchored in our spirit, not our soul. 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:16.960 Everything that we need is in our inner man. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:20.159 In our spirit. 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:25.039 If you need peace, it's going to flow from your spirit. 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:28.159 The fruit of the spirit is what? 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:32.159 Love, joy, peace. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:35.440 Everything we need is in our spirit. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:49.200 And so when you need to counteract something that happens in life, you begin to breathe from your spirit. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:55.200 Let joy come. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:00.960 You can have joy in the midst of tears. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:04.320 You know that God is with you. 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:14.320 But we have to shift our thinking. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.159 From natural to spiritual. 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:25.919 Whether we're working, whatever we're doing in life. 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:30.799 When you get up in the morning, there has to be a shift. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:43.840 Our five senses, our natural reaction, our intellect, our common sense, all of that is good. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.519 But it can't override what God wants to do in that moment. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.200 Jesus always lived from his spirit. 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:46.559 They come from the spirit realm. 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:53.279 That's why when you pray, when you go to the Word of God, when you're reading and meditating. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:15.119 If we'll spend plenty of time in His Word and praying, the answers come from deep within us, not from our mind. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.480 And when they flow from our spirit, our mind catches them and our mind agrees. 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:31.839 But you have to develop those spiritual senses that we have from God. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.640 We have to develop faith. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:39.920 Love, joy, goodness. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:41.680 We have to practice these things in our life. 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:51.680 When something comes to light, you read it and you say, Wow, I didn't know that. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:55.920 Don't just put it in your mind. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:00.319 Don't allow it just to be knowledge. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:10.799 If we'll put it to practice in our life, it'll become natural to react that way. 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:18.400 We have to have spiritual senses that are alive in us. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:23.759 Because we're connected with God. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:26.400 And we're connected through his word. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:32.240 So we know how to live. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:34.559 We know how to speak. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:36.640 We know how to think. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:40.640 We know which decisions we should make. 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:46.319 And so our spiritual senses suddenly are awakened. 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:52.240 As we keep our mind on the Lord. 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:56.960 I think it's the book of Colossians. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:02.400 Keep your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:08.319 Let it be your affection. 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:13.440 So God isn't saying ignore the natural. 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:22.720 But don't let that be your affection. 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:27.279 May your affection be the things of God. 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:28.640 The kingdom of God. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:35.119 The Word of God so that He can direct our life. 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:44.960 Either we're going to direct our own life. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:49.119 Or the Lord's going to direct our life. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:56.960 If I direct my life, that means I have a strong mind and strong reasoning. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:09.200 But as we fill up with the Word of God, the Scripture says that the Word of God will direct our path. 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:22.000 Not to think that we're just natural people. 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:27.680 And we have to go through everything that everybody else goes through. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:33.920 And the way they solve their problems, the way we're going to solve our problems. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:46.799 If we go to His Word, the Holy Spirit will begin to open up wisdom and direction for our lives. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:50.960 Do it this way. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:53.920 It may not make sense up here. 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:58.880 But He's directing your path in a supernatural way. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:03.920 Doors open when they should have not opened. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:14.960 And so always be in a position in prayer where you're saying, Lord, here's what I want to do, but give me understanding. 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:24.640 And so always keep your mind on the things of the Lord. 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:31.039 It doesn't mean that you become some spiritual robot. 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:35.599 It just means you're in love with the Lord. 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:42.160 Thank you for all you've done in my life. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:45.279 You see, you're just connected with the Lord. 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:51.279 You could be at work and still be connected to the Lord. 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:54.240 Your mind could still be on him. 00:22:57.119 --> 00:22:58.240 Some of you go to work. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:01.519 And you start thinking about your husband. 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:06.240 Or you start thinking about your boyfriend or your girlfriend. 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:09.279 You see, you can do two things at once. 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:13.839 Keep your mind on the Lord. 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:16.240 No matter what you're doing. 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:19.920 That's how you begin to develop your spiritual senses. 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:24.319 And then pray in the spirit. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:43.279 When we pray in the spirit, it's like we have a spiritual engine on the inside of us. 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:53.759 And when we begin to pray in the spirit, it ignites that spiritual engine. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.039 And it synchronizes us with the Holy Spirit. 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:02.319 Look at this passage here. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:20.559 He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself, but he that prophesies edifies the church. 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:44.880 And when you pray in the spirit, it's like you're turning the ignition switch on. 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:49.599 And it activates our spiritual vision. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:54.160 We begin to see things that we couldn't see before. 00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:57.839 Our ears are open. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:11.519 And you also are protecting yourself from distractions. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:34.559 That's where we want to be, that's where we want to live. 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:01.200 And what I do is I write it down. 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:12.880 And the first time you hear the voice of the Lord and you write it down, it may not be full clarity. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:16.960 But you're like, there's something here. 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:18.079 And so you write it down. 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.839 And keep coming back to it. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:24.480 When you come to prayer, keep coming back, say, Lord, what about this? 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:30.640 Expand upon this, Lord. 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:33.920 Don't take a word and run with it. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:38.000 Take it. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:42.079 Meditate it, say, Lord, give me understanding. 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:46.880 So that we don't make a decision ahead of time. 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:58.799 I remember when I was initially, the Lord was saying, you're going to full-time ministry. 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:05.680 And I would get excited. 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:09.039 And I'd say, What when? 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:11.039 I thought it's gonna happen right away. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:18.160 But what I would do, I would hear it, I would go back to prayer. 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:21.359 And I'd say, Lord, expand. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:27.759 And I could hear the Lord just very gently saying, Not yet, wait. 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:35.359 The Lord always drops things in our heart ahead of time. 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:40.079 Moses. 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:52.640 When he rose up against the Egyptians, that was the Lord in them that had put something of leadership in him for the people. 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:59.200 And he began to have a love for the people that were in slavery. 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:05.839 And he kind of jumped the gun. 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:10.319 At 40 years old. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:14.319 And then the Bible says he fled Egypt. 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:18.720 But that never left him. 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:23.039 But it took another 40 years before he came back. 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:30.000 To fulfill the word of the Lord he had put in his heart so many years ago. 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:35.440 And so don't run with the first word. 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:42.000 Write it down, meditate it, take it back to prayer. 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:44.640 And the day will come. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:47.839 You'll go to prayer and say, What about it, Lord? 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:54.000 And he says, this is it, this is your time. 00:28:56.720 --> 00:28:58.240 And now you're not excited anymore. 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:01.440 You're not excited. 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:05.839 All of a sudden it goes from excitement to fear. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:17.759 Because now in my case, I had to resign my job and leave the salary. 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:20.640 Because now the Lord said it's time. 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:24.319 And all of a sudden you're not ready. 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:25.759 You're like, wait, wait, can I wait? 00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:31.680 And so that's how the things of the spirit work. 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:37.839 They don't always match up with our mind and our reasoning. 00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:42.880 You catch it first in your spirit. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:46.559 And eventually your mind comes around. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:51.200 You say, Okay, Lord. 00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:54.960 Not my will, but your will be done. 00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:00.480 And so we did, we took a step. 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:05.279 And the Lord began to put things in their place. 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:11.759 But if you jump ahead, you'll see a lot of obstacles. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:14.799 You may have obstacles for five years. 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.200 Until that time comes. 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:23.839 That's when you should have gone. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:26.079 Five years later, not five years before. 00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:55.440 But one thing, remember that when it comes to the Bible, there's a difference between reading the Bible and hearing the voice of God. 00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:00.000 We read the Bible to hear the voice of God. 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:04.000 Not to fill up with information. 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:11.279 One is called logos. 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:13.680 One is called remain. 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:24.319 It's powerful, it's everything he's ever said, everything he's ever written. 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:30.160 And so I call the Bible the toolbox. 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:38.240 But the rehema of God, that's the other word. 00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:45.279 It's that specific word that God drops in your heart when you're reading the logos. 00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:51.440 So the logos is the toolbox. 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:58.640 But the rhema is the specific tool that you need for that moment and that assignment. 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:06.240 In other words, give you a practical thing. 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:43.039 And that applies across the board to everything that we need in life. 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:52.000 Spiritual growth as we come in for a landing is not automatic. 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:56.400 We need an intentional shift into the realm of the spirit. 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:03.839 Reading your Bible, hearing the word of God is the beginning. 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:14.000 It's the framework that God uses to make the scripture come alive in us. 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:20.960 So you have to evaluate your life today. 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:27.039 And you have to say, Am I reading the Bible or hearing his voice? 00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:43.599 I challenge you this week not to read the Bible casually, but to read it with a desire to understand and to hear the voice of God. 00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:53.440 Activate your spiritual senses by praying in the spirit. 00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:55.680 Pray in the spirit. 00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:03.200 Get your spiritual senses relocated. 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:09.599 Say, God, I want to hear your rama today. 00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:16.639 When you come to the house of God, I want to hear your voice today, Lord. 00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:20.719 My voice is good. 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:21.679 I have a great voice. 00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:22.880 You probably love my voice. 00:34:25.599 --> 00:34:28.559 But the only thing that will make a difference in your life is the voice of God. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:32.960 Would you stand with us today?