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Thank you Jesus. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Lord bless you. Thank you for being here tonight.

You can be seated on only announcement here. Just want to remind everybody that next Monday, Monday evening at 7 o'clock be our special call business meeting. And um I'm going go ahead and get get into the word here.

But uh I you know I was going through this series here on our on our senses, training our spiritual senses. And the last one was touch and I used it on Sunday morning here just a couple of weeks ago. Thought I was through uh with that series but just prayer study.

I don't know just impression from the Lord here. I feel like there is a not just five senses but I think there's a sixth sense. >> The sixth sense call this discernment.

>> Discernment. There's a difference between sensing and seeing. and uh just talk here a little bit here just be transparent but as as district superintendent you know one of our responsibilities as we interview applicants for for licensing uh want to be somebody wants to be licensed with UPCI they have to submit an application presptor has to review it talk with the pastor and all that kind of stuff it gets to the board and then we call them in for an interview we do this once a year in January and I think there's some on the board that they feel like as long as all the boxes are checked, the application looks good, everything is is filled out appropriately.

Well, the pastor sent them there, so we need to approve it. But I've tried to help them understand, you know what, this is we're working in the kingdom of God. Uh this is a spiritual entity, not a corporate entity.

>> And all the boxes can be checked. Everything looks appropriate on the application. But sometimes as we talk, sometimes we get acquainted with the individual.

There have been times when I kind of felt a check in my spirit and nothing that can be identified, but just a gut feeling and uh I've been inclined to kind of take the conversation a little bit deeper, a little bit different direction and and and I'll just be honest with you, there had been a couple of times that I really tried to push their buttons a little bit because I wouldn't see how they were going to respond. And uh you know, I I I was inclined to say, "You know what I think we need to I think we need to, you know, and and I tell the board and I tell them when they come in for the interview, I said, "You know what? There's three options here today." One, we can say, "Yes, you're approved.

No, you're not approved." Or we can say, "Maybe you need to wait, get a little more experience, work with your pastor a little bit more." Uh, and I there have been times that, you know, I' I felt like maybe they need to wait. Maybe we need to wait on approving them. nothing by looking at the application.

All the boxes are checked, everything looks good, but just that gut feeling sometimes. Uh there have been times, you know, when the pastor signed off on it and they found out later, you know, the pastor said, you know, I didn't really think they were ready, but I didn't want to get them mad at me, so I wasn't going to tell them no, they couldn't go. We were just hoping y'all tell him no.

And uh while I'm shaking my head, I'm saying thanks. But I can tell you tonight here, there's a dimension in the spirit that goes beyond what you can see, beyond what you can hear, beyond what you can touch. It's the ability to discern.

And because we're supposed to be doing spiritual work, I believe God expects us to be investing our efforts in advancing his kingdom, not just attending church on Sunday and occasionally on Wednesday. And because it is spiritual work, not everything involved in our work for the Lord is going to come with a clear label on it. Not every situation is going to announce itself.

Not every voice will introduce itself with truth. And please understand here tonight, deception is never clearly marked. There are times when you won't be able to explain it, but you'll feel something in your spirit.

Anybody know what I'm talking about here tonight? And this is how I feel God has impressed me to finish out this series on a sixth sense, not just five senses, but training our spiritual senses. I've taught on the taste, the the sense of taste, uh sense of seeing, sense of hearing, sense of smelling, sense of touch.

But in the spirit world, there is a sixth sense. The sixth sense could be called discernment or could also be called simply learning to walk in the spirit. be spirit-ledd.

And this message tonight has tremendous value. I feel when it comes to the spiritual maturity of a local church. And I'm not talking about being able when I talk about discernment, I'm not talking about what some people interpret, you know, as the the gift of discerning of spirits, you know, the gift of prophecy.

I'm not talking about being able to read somebody's mail. I don't believe everybody will or everybody should not be walking around trying to identify where the devils are. I don't believe everybody should be walking up to people and feeling led of the spirit to tell them their family history.

But there's a dimension of discernment that comes with spiritual maturity. And Paul also taught the church in Corinth here. I' I've been I've been trying to uh he he's saying he's saying to the church in Corinth, he said, "I've been trying to help you develop spiritual maturity, but you seem to be happy and satisfied with milk rather than maturing to the point that you can handle meat." So, how did Paul recognize that as being the reality of that local church?

He explained it in the word there. He said, "Because there's still envy. There's still strife.

There's still divisions among you. you're still carnal and not growing into spiritual maturity. So let's let's go to the word here.

What the word says, let's look first here at Hebrews 5 and 14. Says, "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Senses exercised to discern. So notice what the writer says here.

He says that there are people who have developed or they have trained their senses.