Growing in the Spirit: Spiritual Relocation, True Worship, and Knowing God Beyond the Flesh

Growing in the Spirit: Spiritual Relocation, True Worship, and Knowing God Beyond the Flesh

Growing In The Spirit · Part 1 of 5

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Teaching by Prophet Lovy L. Elias · Watch on YouTube · 28 July 2019

True spiritual growth is not the accumulation of religious knowledge — it is the relocation of your entire being into the realm where God dwells.

Growing in the Spirit is one of the most misunderstood pursuits in the Christian life. It is not achieved through more doctrine, louder prayer, or longer church attendance. It requires a fundamental shift — a movement from the physical realm into the spiritual realm where God, who is Spirit, actually dwells. Understanding this truth unlocks everything: why demons operate through distorted information rather than direct possession, why angels — not the blood of Jesus — are assigned to protect you, and why your identity in Christ was established before the foundation of the earth.


Growing in the Spirit: Spiritual Relocation, True Worship, and Knowing God Beyond the FleshWatch on YouTube ↗

Teaching Overview

  1. True spiritual growth requires relocation into the spiritual realm, not merely increased religious activity or doctrinal knowledge.
  2. The Word transforms people — not prayer — because change requires conscious decision shaped by information received.
  3. True worship is worship offered to the Father in spirit and in truth, which means entering the realm where God as Spirit actually dwells.
  4. The blood of Jesus secured righteousness and right standing before God — it was never intended as a weapon against demonic forces; angels are assigned for protection.
  5. The believer's identity in Christ, and their overcoming of the enemy, was established before the foundation of the earth through predestination.

Key Distinctions

True WorshipFalse Worship
What it isWorship offered to the Father in spirit and in truth — entering the realm where God dwellsOutward religious expression — lifting hands, shouting, singing — without spiritual relocation
Where it occursIn the spiritual realm, where God as Spirit is locatedIn the physical realm only
What it requiresDeliberate time spent in God's realm; spiritual relocationAttendance, tradition, and inherited practices
What God seeks"The Father seeketh such to worship Him"God does not seek false worship
ResultProgressive revelation and true knowledge of JesusContinued spiritual thirst despite religious activity
Prayer in the Physical RealmPrayer in the Spiritual Realm
What it addressesProblems occurring in the physical worldDemonic attacks and spiritual warfare
Where it is prayed fromThis natural worldThe realm of the Spirit
BasisCalling on God to visit the physical worldOperating from within the spiritual realm
What it requiresAwareness of God as provider and helperDwelling in the Spirit; being in that realm
The Blood's True PurposeCommon Misconception About the Blood
What it accomplishedSecured righteousness and right standing before God; appeased God's justiceProtection from demonic attack
Who it was shed forGod — to satisfy His justice against sinCommonly misapplied as a weapon against the devil
Where it is nowOn the mercy seat in heavenMisapplied as something to invoke on earth
What overcomes the enemyThe blood of the Lamb established before the foundation of the earth — already accomplishedRitual declarations of covering
Assigned agents of protectionAngels — charged by God to keep you in all your waysThe blood, misapplied
Natural GrowthSpiritual Growth
Governed byTimePurpose and revelation
How it happensBiological and circumstantial developmentSpending deliberate time in the realm of the Spirit
What produces itLiving in this worldHabitation in the spiritual realm through prayer and communion
MeasurementAge and physical developmentDepth of knowledge of God beyond the flesh — from milk to meat
Revelation KnowledgeHuman Knowledge of Jesus
SourceThe Father — revealed from the spiritual realmOther people, tradition, doctrine, observation
ExamplePeter's declaration: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God""Some say Elijah, some say Elias"
What it producesTrue knowledge of who Jesus isAn idea — but not true knowing
Where it is foundIn the realm of the SpiritIn the physical realm
ResultTransformation and fullnessContinued spiritual thirst

You Cannot Grow in the Spirit Without the Word

  • The Word of God — not prayer — is what changes people, because prayer is offered unto God, not unto man.
  • Information shapes the soul; transformation requires a conscious decision formed by what a person hears.
  • When you pray for someone to change, God sends someone to speak to them, because it is the words that produce change.

"What changes you is the word. The information you have has the ability to change you, not the prayer that you receive because prayer is offered unto God not unto a man."

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How Demons Operate Through the Soul

  • When a demon enters a person, it does not immediately take over — it begins by distorting the information held in the soul.
  • Once distorted thinking becomes normalized behaviour, the person acts on that corruption even after deliverance, unless the mind is renewed.
  • Demons can only occupy the soul — they cannot occupy the human spirit, because the spirit is the dwelling place of God.

"When a demon comes into a person, it does not start by taking them over. It starts by distorting the information in them."

Transformation Comes Through Following Jesus, Not Through Prayer Alone

  • Healing and deliverance are not the fullness of what God intends — God wants wholeness in every area of life.
  • The transformation Jesus worked was not located in the prayer or the anointing alone, but in following Him.
  • The leper who returned was made whole — every area of his life complete — while the others were simply healed.

"The transformation was not in the prayer. The transformation was not in the anointing, but the transformation was in following him."

True Worship Requires Spiritual Relocation

  • God is a Spirit, and He is therefore located in the spiritual realm — worship of Him must occur in that realm.
  • Growing in the Spirit is not becoming more knowledgeable about Jesus; it is spending time in the world where He dwells.
  • Worship in spirit and in truth is a relocation — not merely an attitude or emotional expression.

"God is a spirit. And those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit. In its allocation. It's a relocation."

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The Danger of Spiritual Thirst Despite Religious Activity

  • Many believers have visited the same spiritual wells for years — reading the Bible, attending church, maintaining tradition — and remain spiritually thirsty because those waters are not found in this world.
  • Jesus told the woman at the well that the living water He offers springs up from within, into everlasting life — it is not drawn from the same source repeatedly.
  • Multiple doctrines and traditions are like multiple husbands — they have not satisfied; only returning to the first love resolves the thirst.

"You've been reading the Bible, you've been praying, you've been going to the same well for years but you're still thirsty. You are still thirsty because you have still not found the waters because those waters are not in this world, they are in another world."

Don't Be Where God Used to Be — Be Where God Is Now

  • Inherited worship locations, doctrines, and traditions may have been valid for a previous generation but are not sufficient for the present move of God.
  • The Samaritan woman's fathers worshipped on the mountain — it was genuine, but it belonged to a time that had passed.
  • Spiritual growth requires continual forward movement; remaining in the past while God is in the future arrests development.

"Don't be where God used to be. Be where God is now. Don't be where miracles used to be. Be where miracles are happening now. Don't be where God used to speak. Be where God is speaking now."

Knowing Jesus Beyond the Flesh

  • Revelation of who Jesus truly is comes from the Father and is located in the realm of the Spirit — it cannot be obtained through human observation or tradition.
  • John the Beloved knew Jesus more intimately than any other apostle in the flesh, yet when he saw the glorified Lord in vision, he did not recognize Him — demonstrating that physical familiarity is not spiritual knowledge.
  • Mary Magdalene recognized the resurrected Jesus not by His appearance but by His voice, confirming that His form had changed and that knowing Him requires more than physical acquaintance.

"You will never know the Lord Jesus to his fullness unless you begin to be somebody who dwells in the realm of the Spirit."

Time Investment Determines Spiritual Growth

  • You can only grow in a world where you spend time — spiritual growth is proportional to the time invested in the realm of the Spirit.
  • Spending five minutes in prayer produces growth only to the measure of five minutes; the spiritual realm is governed by purpose, not by clock time.
  • Jesus asked His disciples whether they could not pray for one hour — because an hour in prayer builds spiritual immunity against temptation.

"Somebody who spends five minutes in prayer is not growing in the spirit. They are growing to the measure of five minutes."

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The Blood of Jesus Is for Righteousness, Not Demonic Protection

  • The blood of Jesus was shed to appease God's justice — God was the one who was offended by sin, and the blood satisfied His righteous requirement.
  • Jesus ascended above all heavens and placed His blood on the mercy seat — the blood is in heaven, not on earth as a weapon to invoke against demons.
  • The blood of Jesus has secured righteousness and right standing before God; it rendered the devil's accusations void before God, not powerless in a physical confrontation.

"The blood of Jesus is what has given us righteousness, right standing with God. It was never about the devil."

Angels Are Assigned for Protection

  • Angels are specifically charged with the task of keeping believers in all their ways — this is their assigned function, not the blood of Jesus.
  • When Jesus Himself faced danger, He did not invoke the blood — He referenced the twelve legions of angels available to Him.
  • Peter, John, and the apostles were consistently delivered from danger by angels, because that is the angels' role.

"The devil is attacking you and beating people up because they don't know how to work with angels."

Predestination and the Identity Established Before the Foundation of the Earth

  • The sacrifice of Jesus was accomplished before the foundation of the earth — the believer's overcoming of the enemy is therefore already completed, not something being worked out now.
  • Revelation 12:11 speaks of overcoming in the past tense because those who go to heaven are people who chose Jesus from before they came into the world.
  • God's foreknowledge and predestination — as declared to Jeremiah and affirmed in Romans 8:29 — mean that the believer's identity in Christ was set before birth, not determined by earthly development.

"You don't overcome the devil now. You already overcame him."


Key Definitions

Growing in the Spirit — Not becoming more knowledgeable about Jesus, but spending deliberate time in the spiritual realm where God as Spirit dwells — a relocation, not an accumulation of doctrine.

True Worship — Worship offered to the Father in spirit and in truth; entering the realm where God is located rather than performing outward religious expression in the physical realm.

Revelation — Knowledge of Jesus and His identity that comes directly from the Father through the spiritual realm — not obtainable through human observation, tradition, or doctrinal study alone.

Wholeness — Every area of a person's life being made complete through following Jesus, as distinguished from mere healing or deliverance from a specific condition.

The Blood of Jesus — The atoning sacrifice that secured righteousness and right standing before God by satisfying His justice against sin; placed by Jesus on the mercy seat in heaven, not a weapon to be invoked against demonic forces on earth.

Predestination — God's foreknowing and appointing of a person's identity and destiny before they were formed in the womb or before the foundation of the earth, as seen in Jeremiah's calling and affirmed in Romans 8:29.


Key Takeaways

  • True spiritual growth requires relocation into the spiritual realm, not merely increased religious activity — because God is Spirit and can only be truly worshipped and known in the realm where He dwells.
  • The Word transforms people, not prayer — because change is a conscious decision, and only information received through hearing can reshape the soul.
  • The blood of Jesus secured your righteousness before God — it was never a weapon against demons — understanding this repositions both your relationship with God and your understanding of how spiritual protection actually works through angels.
  • You can only grow in a world where you spend time — limiting prayer to minutes limits spiritual growth to minutes; maturity in the Spirit requires habitation, not visitation.
  • Your identity in Christ and your overcoming of the enemy were established before the foundation of the earth — you are not working toward victory; you are walking in a victory that was already accomplished.

Reflection Questions

  1. How much time do you genuinely invest in the spiritual realm each day — and does that time reflect the level of spiritual maturity you are believing God for?
  2. Have you been returning to the same spiritual wells — the same traditions, doctrines, or inherited practices — and still finding yourself thirsty? What would it look like to move forward into where God is now, rather than where He used to be?
  3. In what areas of your life are you settled for healing when God is calling you to wholeness? What would it require to follow Him far enough for that wholeness to come?
  4. How has your understanding of the blood of Jesus and spiritual protection shaped the way you pray? In what ways might a corrected understanding change your prayer life and your relationship with angels as assigned protectors?
  5. If your identity in Christ was established before the foundation of the earth, what does that mean for how you see yourself today — and what would change if you fully believed it?

Prayers and Declarations

[Prayer Activation — led at the opening of the teaching:]

"I pray that the Sulamanointing shall come upon you as you listen to this prayer. I pray that your spiritual ears and your spiritual eyes and your spiritual understanding shall be unlocked this day. I pray that the mysteries of Jehovah God shall be released unto you. I pray that you may know His power, that you may know His love, that you may know His might in your life this day. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. May what was impossible become possible now. I pray that my encounters with the Lord will become your encounters. I pray that every single angelic visitation that I've experienced may the Lord favor you today. May the Lord give you the grace to see the things that I have seen and be on. I unlock you in the prophetic today. I release the Sulama anointing upon you today. May angels ascend and descend upon you in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus. May the Lord be glorified through your life. May the world know that Jesus is alive by reason of him manifesting himself through you as a prophet of God. There will be a difference from this day. When you stand before people, when you pray there will be a change. That people will know that the Holy Spirit is upon you and he has anointed you to do the work of God, to be a shield for your family, to be a defender of your family. Let it be so now in Jesus' mighty name."


Scripture References

  • John 4:14 — "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (KJV)
  • John 4:23-24 — "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (KJV)
  • John 8:43 — "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word." (KJV)
  • John 1:1 — "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (KJV)
  • John 1:11 — "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." (KJV)
  • Matthew 16:15-17 — "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." (KJV)
  • Matthew 26:40 — "And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" (KJV)
  • Matthew 26:53 — "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?" (KJV)
  • Hebrews 4:14 — "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." (KJV)
  • Psalm 91:11 — "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." (KJV)
  • Revelation 12:10 — "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." (KJV)
  • Revelation 12:11 — "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." (KJV)
  • Romans 8:29 — "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." (KJV)
  • Romans 9:22-23
  • 1 Peter 1:20 — "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." (KJV)
  • Jeremiah 1:5 — "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (KJV)

Golden Nuggets

"You cannot grow in the spirit unless there is the word of God in you."

"Prayer doesn't change anyone. What changes you is the word."

"God is a spirit. And those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit. In its allocation. It's a relocation."

"Don't be where God used to be. Be where God is now. Don't be where miracles used to be. Be where miracles are happening now."

"You will never grow in the spirit if you are trying to do what used to be done. You have to do what God is doing now."

"The blood of Jesus is what has given us righteousness, right standing with God. It was never about the devil."

"The devil is attacking you and beating people up because they don't know how to work with angels."

"You will never know the Lord Jesus to his fullness unless you begin to be somebody who dwells in the realm of the Spirit."

"Somebody who spends five minutes in prayer is not growing in the spirit. They are growing to the measure of five minutes."

"You don't overcome the devil now. You already overcame him."


Resources and Further Reading

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Topics

PrayerSpiritual GrowthPropheticKingdom PrinciplesDeliverance

Related Teachings

Growing in the Spirit: Raising Others Higher Than YourselfPrayerGrowing in the Spirit: Why God Responds to His Word, Not Your WordsPrayerGrowing in the Spirit: The Power of Intention in Prayer and the Spiritual LifeKingdom MindsetGrowing in the Spirit: Critical Thinking, Spiritual Language, and Accessing Deeper Dimensions of God

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