The idea of going to the next level has application in all of life. You can take your health, your business, your relationships, your athletic abilities or your spirituality to the next level. As I have focused on some of the aforementioned in previous chapters, I’d like to take this chapter and talk about going to the next level in spiritual things. Man is a threefold being. We are a spirit that possesses a soul and lives in a body. The body is just our earth suit, whose muscles can be strengthened and our appearance can be manipulated through exercise, dietary routines, grooming and proper rest. Our souls are the fingerprints of our spirit, the seat of our emotions and the center of our personality. This part of our being can also be enhanced through education, travel, exposure, experience and even healthy relationships. When these things are not present the under development of our souls can result in poor character, bad behavior and it can produce very little positive contributions if any at all to our community. Our spirit is the essence of our being. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord. When a child is conceived, a spirit is placed in seed form in the womb of a woman. The Scriptures tell us concerning Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah 1:5 that God knew him before he was conceived in his mother’s womb. One would say how can this be? Because God is an eternal spirit and the spirit of human beings proceed from God. When a person dies, the body which gives expression to the soul ceases to function because the spirit is no longer present. The question is; how can one take their spirituality to the next level? To answer this question properly we first need to understand spiritual things. Spiritual Weapons – The Scriptures tell us that a believer’s weapons of war are not carnal but spiritual. The word of God is a spiritual weapon. Prayer is a spiritual weapon. Faith is a spiritual weapon. All forms of praising God are spiritual weapons. The word of our testimony is a spiritual weapon. When these weapons are used properly they defeat our adversary, the devil and spiritual wickedness in high places. Spiritual Battleground – A spiritual battle is not fought in the natural arena but rather a spiritual one in the heavens according to II Corinthians 10:4 and Ephesians 6:12. Spiritually Minded – The Scripture exhorts us to be spiritually minded which will produce life and peace in Romans 8:6. I Corinthians 2:14 tells us that the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God because to him they are foolishness. It goes on to explain that natural logic won’t be able to grasp spiritual principles because they are spiritually discerned. To be spiritually minded is to have the mind of Christ, who considered Himself equal with God, but took upon himself the form of a servant and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross according to Philippians 2:6. Spiritual Gifts – Spiritual gifts are mentioned in I Corinthians 12:1-11. Spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities given to individuals by God for the purpose of edifying the family of God and they are also used as signs for unbelievers. The gift of prophecy: which is when people have an ability to hear from God and speak for God. The gift of administrations: which enables a person to organize and bring direction with divine insight and strategy in business and ministry. The gift of the word of knowledge: with this gift a person receives natural knowledge and data that has not been received through natural communications but by the spirit of the Lord. The gift of the word of wisdom: this is a unique gift where a person is inspired with instructions and directions from the Lord. The gift of healing: which enables a person to release divine healing apart from medicine, therapy or surgery and other medical treatments. The gift of miracles: this is an impartation from God to perform instant impossible wonders of all sorts. The gift of tongues and the interpretation: this is the divine enablement from God that allows one to speak in unlearned foreign languages and spiritual languages with an understanding of what is being said. The gift of faith: this enables a person to pull things from a spiritual realm into this earthly realm. According to I Corinthians 13 all of the gifts work are motivated by love, and when love is not the positive energy behind the operation of the gifts they become fruitless. Spiritual Meat and Drink – I Corinthians 10:3&4 speaks of the spiritual meat which are teachings from the Holy Scriptures and spiritual drink which are the results of praying, praising and worshiping God until one is overcome by the Lord’s presence. Spiritual Body – I Corinthians 15:44 speaks to us of the spiritual body which is a believers new temple on the other side of the grave. The Scriptures tell us that the mortal man will put on immortality and our corruptible bodies will be changed into and incorruptible body or spiritual body according to I Corinthians 15:52. Spiritual Blessings – Ephesians 1:3 speak to us of being blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly places. We’ve seen throughout the Scriptures to invest our treasures in heavenly places where they won’t rust out, neither could thieves steal them. Spiritual blessings are the fruit of the spirit, the salvation of love ones, favor, the anointing and the Lord’s grace in and on our lives. Spiritual Songs – Ephesians 5:19 tells us to be filled with the spirit by speaking to ourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs by singing and making melody in our hearts unto the Lord. A spiritual song is a song that is birthed in the hearts of man by the prompting of the Holy Ghost. These are not songs or melodies that have been written prior to being sang but they are spontaneous melodies and verses presented instantly from the hearts of true worshipers. Spiritual Wickedness – Spiritual wickedness speak to us of demonic activity that usually takes place in the heavens, yet these negative forces find their way to the earthly plain and are manifested in all kinds of evil and negative actions. Spiritual Sacrifices – Spiritual sacrifices are the new testament counterparts to animal sacrifices. In the old covenant the gifts of animal sacrifices in worship ceremonies were offered to God, but in Hebrews 13:15 believers are called upon to offer to the Lord the sacrifice of praise which is the fruit of our lips that gives thanks unto the Lord. Spiritual House – I Peter 2:5 says that we are lively stones that are built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. The term spiritual house in this text speak to us of the collective believers. In the New Testament the focus was no longer on a physical building that was called the Temple but the focus was now given to the believers who when they come together are referred to as a spiritual house whose body’s are the temples of the living God. Now that we have taken some time to define a few spiritual terms, let’s consider how to become more spiritual and push our spirituality to the next level. Like everything else that I’ve talked about so far, you will need to fight to get to your next level of spiritually. One very encouraging verse says that if you draw nigh to God, he will draw nigh to you, James 4:8. So lets begin the journey of pursuing God.   This post was an excerpt from the book: Fighting To Get To The Next Level.