TIPS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH ACCELERATION

Do you feel as if you have gone as far as you can with God and feel stuck? Do you desperately want to accelerate your spiritual growth but your head seems to be hitting the ceiling? Then this post is for you!

I would like to provide you with a list of things you can try that will allow you to unlock the seemingly closed doors that you have been knocking on. Evidently, each point is a vast topic in itself so I will only cover the bases.

Please note that this is not a 7-steps-to-intimacy thing lol, but I can testify that I have identified these as 'methods' that helped me move much, much closer to God.

USE YOUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE

How you choose to use your free will, greatly affects your walk with God. Adam and Eve is a good example...! Thanks to Jesus, we can reverse their choice today and move from curse back to blessing.

The first step is to choose to trust Him and believe in everything He says:

• that He loves you and has your best interest at heart,

• that His Word is 100% true

• and that Jesus wasn’t exaggerating when He said « it is finished ».

Choosing to believe that He loves you will remove fear and doubt because there is no fear in Love.

Choosing to believe His Word gives you ammunition against the enemy and access to all if His promises.

Choosing to believe that Jesus has indeed brought deliverance from each and every curse, will lead you into a brand new dynamic: that you as a child of God CAN walk daily in the greater works, doing everything that Jesus had done (healings & deliverance) as a natural part of your daily life and thus introduce the Kingdom of God to an aching world.

MOVE INTO THE SECRET PLACE:

How close are you REALLY to God?

The people in your life that you are closest too, are most likely the people you spend most QUALITY time with. You don’t have to spend a legalisticly predetermined amount of time with God each day, but it is definitely in your interest to start and end each day with Him with more than a rushed prayer. If you are not in a habit if doing this, don’t overwhelm yourself! Rather start with 10 quality minutes morning and evening, than burning yourself out. I promise you that you will soon notice that you have been busy with God for 30 minutes - or more - without even noticing that more time went by!

Later, you can add an additional session during the day, but the ultimate goal is to become so used to stepping into the Secret Place, that you will simply do it in your stride on a 24/7 basis. It takes a while, but once it becomes a habit, you can’t live without it!

WAYS TO ENCOUNTER GOD

Personally, I have a few methods that I alternate. They are different enough to pack some variety into our relationship (I think God enjoys that as much as I do!) and it allows me to see Him from different perspectives:

• Going on an outing: I love hiking with God. As I walk in nature I talk to Him, often out loud. I voice my struggles and get my frustrations out if my system. I also often recite a few verses as I walk and meditate on their meaning. I always include a time of listening too and very often I receive powerful revelations during this time. it doesn’t have to be a hike! You can run, cycle, swim, surf…. anything goes!

• Short scripture meditation: I take one verse, memorize it and then put on a worship song or 2 and « munch » the deeper meaning out if that verse. This takes no longer than 10minutes, but it gets my head in the right place, which is why I like doing it in the mornings so I can reap the fruit of it all day long.

• The War Room: a place where I seclude myself to fervently pray for others, but also for my own needs. I also ask God for Word and learn to listen to His voice. Sometimes He speaks through Scripture, other times through images and thoughts. The more you do this the better you will hear Him!

• Return and Rest: According to ISAIAH 30:15 “In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved, In quietness and confident trust is your strength.” Usually I do this stretched out on my bed, with the foreknowledge that I may fall asleep… which is okay! I like meditating on a portion of scripture, or on an aspect of God (like His love for me), while listening to a spirit filled meditation music. This is an amazing way of relaxing while nourishing your soul. I especially like doing this as I go to bed because it creates a positive spiritual atmosphere that favors good sleep and wonderful dreams…

• The Prayer Chair : my comfy office chair is where I listen to worship music and engage in worshiping my Daddy. I also use my imagination to project myself into situations or Heavenly places. For instance I can imagine engaging the River of the Spirit, making a mental picture of me standing in The River with my feet, and slowly going deeper while I worship Him or meditate on scripture. Sometimes I receive a vision while doing this. It’s really a time of supernatural spiritual encounters with Him.

• The coffee date: sometimes I drink coffee with Jesus! I sit in my kitchen and picture Him there. I ask Him questions and listen for answers and journal my thoughts.

• Creativity jam: my 'thing' is to paint while I listen to a nice teaching (Bill Johnson, John Paul Jackson, etc), but if music is your 'thing', use this time to worship as you play. It doesn’t HAVE to be worship music either. If your heart &mind is in the right place you can play jazz, classical or even metal - as long as it is unto His glory.

As you can see, time with God doesn’t have to be boring. Actually, if it is, then you’re missing the point!

GIVE YOUR SPIRIT PRECEDENCE OVER THE FLESH :

According to Romans 8 we are not supposed to walk according to the flesh,but according to the spirit. Many of the troubles that we have in this world comes from the fact that we are still allowing our flesh to reign our lives!

There are a few questions you can ask yourself to find out whether it is your flesh or your spirit man that rules your daily life :

• Do you easily become offended or irritated or triggered in any way…? Then your flesh still has the upper hand…

• When you get up in the morning and « feel » irritated or emotional, is that what sets the course of your day? Your feelings? Choosing joy to be your focus IN SPITE OF your feelings is something that a thriving spirit man does...

• When you choose to go watch a movie, do you consider how the contents may impact your soul or do you just go watch whatever, regardless (oblivious?) of the consequences? The flesh is not concerned about spiritual consequences…

• Do you watch crime reports, read articles that stir fear and engage in negative conversations that leave zero space for faith and Trust? Is gossiping okay in your books? When we don't exercise control and discipline over our words, we are not walking according to our spirit man's guidance.

• Does it shock you when TV shows allow blasphemy? Or have you simply become used to it and think that it’s okay as long as you don’t do it yourself ? The spirit man becomes uncomfortable in the presence of blasphemy, so if it isn't bothering you, you are 100% in the flesh.

I’ll share a powerful secret with you (let him who has ears to hear LISTEN):

• what you lend your ears to will determine what you hear. If it is anything that does not honor God you will also have a hard time hearing His voice.

• what you lend your eyes to will determine what you see. If it is lust, violence and other filth, you will not be able to see things from God’s perspective and you wont be able to have an unhindered flow of Godly visions and Godly dreams. You will look at people with lust or judgementalism instead of eyes of love.

• What you use your imagination and thought life for, will determine the fruit that you bare. If you use it to entertain lust, bitterness and negativity, you will display selfishness, anger and judgementalism.

We can only change from flesh- to spirit guidance by choice and commitment. In the beginning it feels like hard work because we have to constantly realign our thinking, but the more we surrender to Holy Spirit, the easier it becomes!

BECOME MINDFUL OF HOLY SPIRIT :

This is an extension of living from the spirit because when we DO live according to our spirit man, we will be mindful of Holy Spirit’s presence in and on us. After all, we are His temple and God won’t dwell in a defiled temple...

If you desire to have more of Him, then do the following exercise, first for an hour, then for a day, eventually for a week or more, until you come to a place where you are doing it 24/7. It’s called « The dove exercise ».

To explain where it comes from, recall the baptism of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit came as a dove and REMAINED on Him. Now, a dove is a very skittish bird and will fly off easily. If you had one on your shoulder and would like for it to stay, you would no doubt consider all your movements!

Imagine Holy Spirit being on you like a dove and that any ungodly thoughts, words or actions would scare Him away. This will (and should) impact your daily life choices (what music you listen to or what you watch on the TV, what converations you participate in, etc.).

REMOVING STRONGHOLDS FROM YOUR MIND

The enemy often « hides » itself in thought patterns that allow him right of entry into our lives. We can be as « christiany » as we want to, but if we entertain destructive mindsets we will remain in bondage. For a comprehensive view I want to encourage you to listen to the linked teaching by Bill Johnson. ( https://youtu.be/605ciBotGvE )

In short : we can’t cast out strongholds like we would demons. They are to be torn down by changing the way we think about things. Being constantly negative and fearful about things actually invites more fear in, and eventually cause health issues, etc. If we don’t allow God’s love to permeate our thinking, we will always be judgemental, take offence easily, etc.

Walking in divine health is possible, but we need to replace our carnal thinking with the mind of Christ.

Once again this is a choice that we have to exercise and a discipline we have to maintain. Luckily, Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness - if we are willing, he will help us change.

CHANGE THE WAY YOU TALK

Changing the way you talk will change the way you walk !

Often we annul our own prayers without even realizing it. For example, if you are praying for God to heal you from backache, and then you go out and talk to someone telling them how horrible your back is and that you are just going to have to make the best of it, you are not speaking faith over your situation. You don’t have to lie about it, but the Word does say that God calls things that are not as though they were, and we are to be imitators of God… So if someone tells you how badly things are going in South Africa, instead of complaining about corruption and crime, say: "You know what, I believe that God is able to change things and that this country will become a safe haven again." You aren’t in denial about the current situation, but you are speaking faith instead of fear.

While there are still many more tips and tricks, you now at least have something to start with and work from!

May the Lord bless your willing heart and accelerate the process. May your effort cultivate a great harvest, both in your own life and in the lives of others!