How to Develop Spiritual Discernment Through Exercise | Aug 14, 2025 | MSOP

Melchizedek School of Priesthood | Aug 14, 2025 You must understand that God operates by the principle of not giving holy things to dogs or casting pearls before swine. This is not God being cruel, but rather His wisdom in recognizing that your ability to receive and treasure spiritual realities depends entirely on your level of spiritual maturity and development. Recognize that your spiritual journey can be understood through the structure of the tabernacle, which represents three distinct stages of growth. In the outer court, you are governed by natural thinking, where the sun and moon (representing worldly systems and carnal perspectives) influence your decisions and values. Here, even though you may have received God's life, you still struggle to properly value spiritual treasures because you judge everything through fleshly, natural eyes that see spiritual things as foolishness. As you progress to the holy place, your perspective begins to change because you are no longer illuminated by worldly systems but by the lampstand (God's Word) and showbread (the Spirit). In this place, your understanding becomes enlightened, and you begin to see the true value of what God has placed within you. The ultimate goal is reaching the most holy place, where complete sonship is realized and you can fully steward the Father's inheritance. Understand that you already possess an invaluable treasure—Christ Himself dwelling within you. However, your ability to recognize, lay hold of, and properly steward this treasure depends on your willingness to exercise yourself spiritually. Just as physical muscles require consistent exercise to develop, your spiritual capacity requires deliberate, ongoing discipline and practice. The key difference between spiritual children and spiritual sons lies not in what they possess, but in their level of development and responsibility. A child may inherit everything but lacks the maturity to handle it properly, while a son has been trained and proven capable of stewarding the father's estate. This development happens through spiritual exercise—deliberately replacing worldly pursuits with God-focused activities. You must create structures in your life that promote spiritual growth. This means establishing consistent times for prayer, worship, and meditation on God's Word. Start small but be consistent—even five minutes of genuine engagement with God daily will begin building spiritual muscle that enables you to receive more. Replace time spent on worldly entertainment with activities that stir your desire for God and build your spiritual capacity. Recognize that being carnally minded places you in enmity against God, even if you're unaware of it. In areas where you haven't exercised yourself spiritually, you will find resistance to God's ways and an inability to receive what He wants to give you. The natural man cannot receive the things of God because they are spiritually discerned, and spiritual discernment comes only through exercise and practice. Do not expect to receive holy things or pearls while maintaining a dog-like or swine-like nature in your spiritual life. Dogs return to their vomit, and swine return to wallowing in mire—these represent patterns of returning to worldly values and priorities after encountering spiritual truth. Break these cycles by building new patterns of engagement with God. Understand that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. This leading doesn't mean hearing God's voice about trivial decisions, but rather being so influenced and intoxicated by God's Spirit that your very nature begins to mirror His character. This transformation requires you to mortify the deeds of the flesh through the Spirit's power. Build desire for God through consistent practice. Your appetite for spiritual things can be cultivated and increased through regular engagement with worship, prayer, and God's Word. Make these encounters as meaningful and en