As light and darkness continue to polarize and grow into maturity in the world around us, it is imperative that we learn to discern the spiritual source of the inputs to which we are daily being exposed. This is actually one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit—and we can become more accurate in this gift through practice and fully submitting our bodies with its five senses to God.
Have you ever seen or felt or discerned a supernatural presence by the Holy Spirit—whether it be angelic or a demonic one? When we “see” or “sense” or “feel” a spiritual entity nearby, we have discerned its presence.
This teaching is devoted to the topic of “Surrendering our Senses to the Holy Spirit.” It involves the very act of presenting or surrendering the members of our physical bodies to God (Romans 6:13, 19). To whomever we present “our members,” they become slaves! So let’s present our entire beings unto God (Romans 12:1-2) as an act of worship!
Scriptural Foundations
“But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14, NASB).
“And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God … I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification” (Romans 6:13, 19).
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:4-7).
The Necessity of Presentation
The act of presenting the members of our bodies to God as a spiritual act of worship is so very vital if we are going to be able to distinguish the spiritual origins of supernatural realities. We must each do this! It is a key to accurately moving in a higher realm of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Surrendering and presenting our “five natural senses” to the dove of God is a very specific and necessary part of the process.
You can be empowered by God to discern both good and bad spiritual beings, manifestations and operations. The very presence of the Lord Himself will then rest upon our natural senses and enable us to feel, hear, taste, smell and see in another realm. We move from the natural into the supernatural!
There Is a Higher Realm Available
We need to move into a higher dimension of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and especially the gift of discerning of spirits. In general, discernment always involves the evaluation of some kind of evidence. We can only accomplish this by using our five bodily senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. We notice something; then we start sifting quickly through the incoming data. We discriminate between the pieces of evidence and we detect patterns. Then we decide what to do, based in large part on what our discernment tells us.
Discerning (or distinguishing) of Spirits is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:10). This gift is a little different from the Gift of the Word of Knowledge, in which facts are simply dropped into our minds or hearts. With discernment, you have to consider what is happening around you. Did what just happened make you afraid or full of faith? Did the room just get brighter or darker? Did you hear a noise? Did you perhaps smell or taste something? Is what happened from a good source—or a bad one?
To discern spiritual realities, we need spiritual perception. To flow in the prophetic, to see people get healed, to see people be set free from demonic bondage, we need God’s supernatural anointing! We need to detect the very source working behind the scenes. Is this thing just my imagination, or is it coming from someone else’s human spirit? Is the source of the manifestation demonic? Is it in fact an angel? Is it the Holy Spirit?
God doesn’t just take the gift of discerning of spirits and plug it into you, fully developed though. Normally, it takes a lot of practice to get good at it, and some of your “discernment lessons” will involve making mistakes. This is why it so clearly states in our theme verse of Hebrews 5:14 that “the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Let’s take practice lessons!
This is a normal aspect of any learning process—and all the more when it comes to discernment, the prophetic and flowing in the supernatural life. This is part of your maturation as a disciple of Jesus, which always stems from Bible study, experience, and discipline. Don’t forget—you can always ask God to give you more ability to discern spirits and grow into greater maturity. He wants this for us more than we want it ourselves!
So join with me in “Surrendering Your Senses to the Holy Spirit” and together let’s become more mature in our discernment for Jesus Christ’s sake. Let’s press on to the upward call in God. Yes, we can! And yes, we will by the grace of God!
Let’s Pray
“Father, in Jesus’ great name, we present our entire beings to you as an act of obedience and worship. We surrender our five natural senses to you now: our sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Holy Spirit, release Your life-giving presence upon us in a fresh manner. We need Your touch upon our lives! We desire an increase in the anointing of God to flow in a higher level in the gifts of the Holy Spirit! Here we are Lord; all that we are and all that we hope to be. We surrender our senses as instruments of righteousness for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen and Amen.” {eoa}
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