Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the necessity of utter dependence on Jesus Christ for spiritual maturity and overcoming life's challenges. He explains that true overcoming is not about personal achievements but about allowing Christ's life to manifest through us, highlighting the importance of recognizing our spiritual poverty and need for God. The sermon calls for a shift from a man-centered approach to a Christ-centered one, where believers acknowledge their inability to live the Christian life without the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. Beach encourages the congregation to cultivate a heart of prayer and dependence, reflecting on the Beatitudes and the call to be overcomers through Christ's finished work.

All right, praise the Lord. Let's just bow our hearts tonight before the Lord and just pray for a moment. Father, we just want to acknowledge tonight, Lord, our utter dependence upon you, Lord. We want to acknowledge tonight, Lord, that the Holy Spirit alone is able to energize and quicken thy word to our hearts, Lord, enabling us to share in the reality of it, the life of it, the good of it, Lord. So we just want to give full reign tonight to the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we might come to know something more of Christ, that there might be a greater increase of Christ in our life, a greater increase of His life, His stature, and a corresponding decrease, Lord, of all that is in us, Lord, that is at enmity to you, that which corresponds, Lord, to our own way, our own will, our own desires, Lord. We just want to acknowledge that it is our desire tonight, Lord, not to simply bring teaching, Lord, in and of itself, Lord, but something of life, Lord, that would minister to us, Lord, that would change us, Lord. So we're looking to you, Lord, to be the life source behind our gathering around you tonight, Lord Jesus, and want to commit our hearts and our minds to you, Lord, for Christ's sake, amen. I want to look at some scriptures tonight, and I'm not too sure how far we'll get, but nevertheless feel that the Lord has something He wants to communicate to us tonight, and we can look into the book of Luke to begin with, and the thought that is upon my heart tonight is the Overcomer, the Overcomer. The scriptures speak much in the book of Revelation of the Overcomer. Matter of fact, in the book of Revelation, the scriptures mention, He that overcometh, seven times, He that overcometh, He that overcometh, each time the Lord addresses one of the churches, He makes that statement to the church, and there is much that is included, intended to be meant through the phrase Overcomer, He that overcometh. But before we can even get into the thought of the Overcomer, and who in fact the Overcomer is, I think we'll be surprised as we look into the scriptures to see who the Overcomer actually is, and how oftentimes Christians begin to suppose that the Overcomer consists of certain groups of people here, and certain groups of people there, and they develop Overcomer teachings, and come under the idea that unless you come under a particular end time teaching, you can't be an Overcomer. Well, that's simply not substantiated at all in the scriptures, and there's a subtle leaven in such teachings, and this leaven is that which caters to man wanting a place, man wanting prominence, man wanting to be elevated above his brother or his sister in Christ. It's a subtle attempt for man to want to go into the things of God, and somehow become something in himself, and he hides behind the phraseology an Overcomer. But I think we'll be gladdened tonight, if the Lord permits us to get this far into the thought that the Lord has laid upon my heart tonight, that the Overcomer indeed is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Overcomer, and our being Overcomers is in direct relation to our link to Him, to our union with Him, and to His ever-increasing stature growing in our life. So that to be called an Overcomer is simply to be acknowledged as having the Overcomer, the Lord Jesus Christ, ever-increasingly expressing the qualities, the features, the perfections of His life through the energizing power of the Holy Spirit through us. We must get away from this man-centered, man-grasping, man-seeking to take that which belongs to Christ, and exclusively Christ, and try and make it applicable to what He is after His old nature. The whole basis, the whole basis of the Church being the Church is upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and upon coming to salvation, coming to Christ, experiencing the new birth, God reckons the Church as being a brand-new creation, reconstituted in nature with the very nature of Christ Himself. And it is the work of the Holy Spirit to cause that nature to be formed in us so that character is realized. That character, again, is derived from and drawn from the very Christ Himself in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that the whole concept, biblically speaking, of the Church and what the Church is as being an Overcomer is connected to the Overcomer who lives in her. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory. So, as we are focused on Christ, and focused on the centrality of Christ, and focused on the centrality of the cross as the means through which God brings us to an end, and brings Christ into view as our life, it's only in that connection that we can understand what it is that God is after when He is calling out Overcomers, when He's making promises to Overcomers. Ironically, when one considers the thought of being an Overcomer, it can generate in them a desire to want to go after the Lord, to want to become something in themselves. But the fact of the matter is, being an Overcomer, or the call of being an Overcomer, it's not seen in us grasping after something for ourself, but it's seeing the finality of Christ, seeing the finality of the life of Christ. So, the call to be an Overcomer is wrapped up in the believer more and more and more, decreasing. As John the Baptist said, I must decrease that Christ may increase. How liberating, how emancipating, how freeing it is when we perceive and understand the call of the Scripture to the Church to be Overcomers as related to the person of Christ, as opposed to some kind of a call that God is asking us to participate in, in which we, in our own self, in our own energies, by our own strength, trying to reach after God to become something in ourselves. See, God's whole thought is not that we, in ourselves, become something, but that Christ becomes something in that His Son, God's passion is His Son, God's focus is His Son. The significance of the Church is not what the Church is after the flesh. God considers what we are after the flesh as crucified, buried, dead. The significance of the Church, in God's eyes, is Christ in you, the hope of glory. The significance of the Church is that we have become partakers of the divine nature. You see, God's interest in the Church is what He has put in us that comes directly from His Son. That's why He redeemed us. He loved us so much, but perceived that we had fallen so far and had become alienated from Him because of the sin within us, that we were of no use to Him. He loved us, but we couldn't fellowship with Him. The Bible says that our sins separated us from God. We couldn't understand who He was. The Bible says the natural mind is at enmity to God. It cannot understand the things of God. We could not please God because all that we could do in ourselves, Isaiah says, is as filthy rags in His eyes. He says, all of your righteousness is as filthy rags in my eyes. So here God sees the human race that He loves deeply, for God so loved the world, but yet He could do nothing with them in the state they were in. They were eternally separated from Him. So therefore, the significance of our usefulness to God, the significance of being accepted before God, is wrapped up not in what we are or what we've done for God, but it's wrapped up in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the finished work of Christ. So therefore, beloved, it is essential for us to understand that when the Scriptures, particularly in the book of Revelation, are speaking seven times of He that overcometh, He that overcometh, He that overcometh seven times, the focus of that call must be on the Lord Jesus Christ. It must be our means to overcome and then to be granted those things that God promises the overcomers. Our means to overcome is entirely 100% connected to Christ Himself and the increase of His life in us. It is not me trying to do something for God that will constitute me overcoming, but it is Christ becoming more and more and more all and all in my life. He is the overcoming one. He is the one who conquered sin and death. It is the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets me free from the law of sin and death, the Bible says in Romans chapter 8. So it is essential for us when we see what God is expecting us to become, when God addresses us as overcomers or He that overcomes, calling us to that life of overcoming, calling us to that life where we are overcoming the flesh and the works thereof, overcoming sin, overcoming the devil, overcoming the world. We know the scriptures clearly teach that the church is to be a vessel in this world that is demonstrating a life of overcoming these things. We know that that is why Jesus Christ came, the Bible says. Christ Jesus came for this purpose was the Son of God made manifest that He might destroy. That word destroy means to undo, to undo the works of the devil. But we make our fatal mistake when we hear the words of God, such as what we're just looking at now, and we fail to connect them to the Lord Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, His finished work, who He is in glory, and what He wants to be to us and in us through the indwelling power of the Spirit of God. Unfortunately, when we hear the Word of God, rather than looking to the Lord Jesus Christ as the source from which we are able to come into obedience to the Word of God, oftentimes we read the Word of God and it generates a bondage in us, an effort, a striving, a struggling to try and line up in our own strength to what God is expecting us to become. And that ends in a lot of misery, a lot of failure, it ends in a lot of condemnation, it ends in a lot of depression, and all different kinds of things. Contrary-wise, God wants us to recognize that Christ Jesus, the Lord of glory, and His finished work, and the good of that finished work being applied in our life by faith, is the source, the means through which we are able to come into an ever-increasing, overcoming life. So basically, what the Lord is after is a complete change in the way we perceive and think about these things. The normal way is man-centered, man-centered. God wants me to do this and therefore I have to somehow muster up the resources in my strength and in my power and do them. We have to get away from that mentality and we have to become Christ-centered, God-centered. We see what God is after, we see the Lord speaks of overcomers in the book of Revelation, we recognize the flesh, the world, the devil, sin, all the voluptuous powers that are enticing us, we recognize our own weaknesses, and rather than immediately try and generate strength within ourselves to try and overcome these things, we have to pray, God help me to focus my eyes on Jesus Christ, the one, the only one who is able to enable me to live the kind of life that you want me to live. It's focused in the Lord Jesus Christ. So we get out from the man-centered mentality to the Christ-centered mentality where Jesus Christ becomes my life. Jesus Christ becomes the source. Jesus Christ becomes the one. Now that brings us into a state that the Lord so longs for us to be in. Now it's against our nature, it's against our very constitution, and you know what that state is beloved? The book of Luke speaks of it. Chapter number six, verse number 20. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said, blessed be ye poor for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now for you shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now for you shall laugh. Turning from being man-centered, looking within our own self, trusting in the resources that we think we have in order to please God, and in order to do what God commands us to do, turning from that to a Christ-centered, God-centered attitude necessitates heart surgery. Now this heart surgery that the Lord is after is not physical heart surgery that's done at a hospital, but it's a spiritual heart surgery in which the Holy Spirit of God penetrates very deeply to the very depths of our being and gives us a life-changing revelation. And that life-changing revelation is simply this, that you can do nothing apart from the enabling and energizing strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed are ye that are poor for yours is the kingdom of God. In order for us to come out of man-centered mentality into Christ, God-centered mentality, where our focus is on him, the Lord must work within us a realization of our spiritual poverty and bankruptcy. He must work in us the mindset that we are utterly and entirely dependent upon him for everything that pertains to our spiritual advancement, even unto the day when he is ready to come and catch us away and transform those who are looking for him, and those who are loving his appearing as Hebrews and Timothy indicates he's coming for. There is a great need right now within the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, a great need for a reaffirmation, a reacquaintance of our utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the life that is lived in utter dependence upon God that is a life that is able to come into all that God intends it to come into. Now, the life of dependence is the exact opposite of the life of independence. Now, independence is what we are by nature, according to the flesh. We are independent. We prefer to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We have a tenacity toward, a propensity toward, an inclination toward my way, my desires, my likes. We present them and we bring them into our marriages that causes contention, it causes division, it causes arguing and bickering. It's that almighty I. It's that, it's that, it's that by nature, it's that inclination to want to be independent. We want to do it ourself. Now, it would be nice, and I'm sure everyone would agree here, that upon coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ, becoming born again, born from above, that that tendency was totally eradicated. That we would awake under salvation and we would be, we would come into a place where we were just utterly dependent upon the Lord at all times, and just as a child, just trusting Him, that would be nice. But we know that that's not what happens. We know that that's not what happens. We know and experience that that's not what happens. And we also know the Word of God teaches us that our growth is a process. So, blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of God. Beloved, this whole issue of being an overcomer, the call of the Spirit of God in the book of Revelation, He that overcometh, that whole issue is wrapped up and connected to coming to the place where we are aware of our spiritual bankruptcy, our spiritual poverty. It is essential that this work of grace be wrought in us, because it is only a life of dependence upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the continuous work of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit in us, that enables us to move on into spiritual maturity that the Lord is after. Now, I want you to turn your Bibles, if you would please, to Luke. You're in Luke chapter 18. And as you're turning there, I just want to read here in verse number 21 of Luke 6. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you that weep, for you shall laugh. When the Scriptures here speak of blessed are you that hunger and blessed are you that weep, this indicates that which follows, that which follows in the life of someone who recognizes their spiritual bankruptcy. When you realize that you are spiritually bankrupt, when you realize that you do not have the resources within yourself to live the Christian life, that produces two things. You begin to hunger and thirst. You realize that you are, in fact, a beggar with no bread. You are a beggar with no bread, and you realize that the Lord Jesus Christ is the bread of life. He is the bread of life. Beloved, I cannot emphasize enough the need for these things to become realities within our life. This is where we stand or fall. This is where we find ourselves either going on with the Lord or wandering around in a spiritual wilderness, not making any progress toward the Lord's purpose, towards the Lord's full purpose. This is where we swim or we sink. We stand or we fall along this line right here. So the initial revelation must be the poor, spiritually bankrupt, which follows a hungering. So many people want to hunger after the Lord, or should I rather say, so many people are aware of the absence of hunger in their life for the Lord. And oftentimes it bothers them, and they sometimes even feel condemned, and they feel troubled, and they become very distressed over it because they recognize, my, I just don't have a hunger for the Lord. Well, it's very possible that the absence of hunger in our life for the Lord is directly related to our inability to see our spiritual poverty. You see, we're trying to get the cart before the horse. You cannot genuinely have a hunger for God. I mean, that's really born of the Spirit of God. That's really something deeper than just an emotional whim, like, boy, I'm really hyped up after hearing today's sermon. Boy, I tell you, I'm hungry for God. And then a few days later, that's like a firecracker. It fizzles out and smokes, and it's gone. God wants a hunger that goes deeper than an emotional thing. God wants a hunger that is deep within our spirits, that's before the Lord continuously. Well, the only way to get this kind of hunger, beloved, is to come to where the Lord is able to show us by a definite dealing of His Spirit, by a definite quickening of the Word of God, show us our spiritual bankruptcy apart from Christ, show us that we have nothing. There is no good thing that dwells within my flesh, Paul says, Romans chapter 7. We must see that we are branches. A branch of itself can bear no fruit. Do you see your Christian life? Do you see your relationship with God? Do you see the totality of your spiritual life as that of a branch, utterly, utterly, entirely dependent upon its union with the Divine? Oh, my beloved, this is where spiritual progress is made. This is where the overcomer comes into view. It is not me becoming something, no. When one comes to the realization of their utter spiritual bankruptcy before God, that's when Christ comes into view. That's when Christ can take the place of all and all in my life. See? Oh, what a joy, what a joy to be emancipated from the striving and struggling of trying to offer to God something of ourself, something of our own wisdom, something of our own religious works. God doesn't want our religious works. God is satisfied with Christ's work, and it's only as that which is springing out of our life, which is the result of Christ's work, it's only then that God finds pleasure in it. Oh, how wonderful. Christianity is wrapped up in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Christianity has become everything but Him, and how the Lord longs for it. Now, I'm still going to go to Luke 18, so hold your finger there, but now the antithesis, the opposite of this blessed state. Jesus uses the word blessed to describe those who see their spiritual poverty. He uses the word blessed to describe those who see this, and as a result, begin to hunger. The Bible says, they shall be filled. Then it says, blessed are ye that weep now, for you shall laugh. Laugh, praise God. So there is a spiritual poverty revelation that results in a hungering and results in weeping. All of that, Jesus called, is a blessed state. You know, beloved, so many Christians, and I'm not saying that this is wrong, but it's very, very limited in its application. So many Christians equate being blessed with having a home, having food, having shelter. I could never, ever, ever say that that was wrong. That's true. You're blessed. We're blessed. But how often we limit the state of being blessed to that which relates to the physical world, when Jesus pronounced blessed, blessed, blessed so many more times on that which pertained to a spiritual inward reality. And so often, we limit being blessed to a physical state, but Jesus here is not talking about a physical state. He's talking about an inward reality. So I want to ask you a question tonight. You're blessed based on a natural understanding. You have clothes. Most of us have places to live. We have shelter. We have heat. But I want to ask you a question. Are you blessed tonight based on Luke 6 21? Are you blessed? Now the antithesis, Jesus uses the word blessed to describe these states of the heart, but he uses another word to describe the opposite, and that is woe. So Jesus is saying one kind of heart is a blessed heart. Another kind of heart is described as woe. Now in verse number 24 of the same chapter, 6 of Luke, woe unto you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. So if Jesus is talking about spiritual poverty in verse number 21, then when he says woe unto you that are rich, he is not referring to monetary richness. He's not referring to money, but he's referring to a state of the heart in which one does not consider themselves to be in need of God. They're rich. In Revelation chapter 3, Jesus describes a church. Revelation chapter 3 verse number 17. The church in Laodicea had fallen under the indictment of Jesus' words in Luke 6 25. What a dreadful state to be in. May the Lord guard our hearts. Revelation chapter 3 verse number 17. Beginning in verse number 15, actually, I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot. I will spoo thee out of my mouth. This is what Jesus is saying to the Laodiceans. Because thou sayest, watch this, I am rich. Now what did Jesus say in Luke 6 24? But woe unto you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. Now here's a church. It says unto the angel of the church, those who were professing the name of Christ, those who the Holy Spirit addressed as the church. And yet Jesus says, because thou sayest, I am rich. Now notice how these statements here describe the exact opposite of that blessed state of Luke 6 21, where we are hungering, where we are mourning, where we are poor. Notice these statements that are strong indictments against these believers here in Laodicea. Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, listen to this, and have need of nothing. And knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor. There it is. Jesus is saying, you don't realize that you're poor, but you're not blessed because you can't see it. You're not blessed because you can't see your true state. Oh, to see our true state is such a blessed place to be in. This is the secret to living a life that is pleasing to God. The secret. Thou art wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. And then Jesus's words, I counsel thee to buy of me gold, tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. They said they were rich, but Jesus said, no, you won't be rich unless you purchase of me gold, tried in the fire. And white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness does not appear. And anoint thy eyes with eye salve that thou mayest see. So you see, the opposite, the antithesis of this state is in verse number 24. Woe unto you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. Listen to this. Woe unto you that are full, for you shall hunger. Oh, beloved, how dreadful it is to be full. Again, this is a state on the inside. It is the exact opposite of dependence. Our feeling, our overwhelming feeling of our need for God is the exact opposite of dependence. To be full, to be full is to live a life of independence. To be full is to live a life of self-sufficiency rather than Christ-sufficiency. To be full is to live a life governed by my will rather than a life governed by not my will, but thy will be done. To be full is to draw from our own resources and to reach within the depths of our own tenacities and our own ability rather than to humbly depend upon the enabling and working of God's mighty Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the sufficiency that comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. So the Lord is after something here. Remember earlier we said the Lord has to do some heart surgery? This is the heart surgery that God has to do. Aren't you glad that Jesus is still a physician? You know, today when someone has a heart problem, they seek out a good physician who they feel confident is able to operate on their heart and unplug those arteries and get them going again. Well, aren't you glad when we realize how needful we are, how in need we are of a heavenly physician? We can turn to the great physician Jehovah Rapha. He calls himself in the Old Testament, I am the Lord that heals you. Praise God. He is the Lord that heals us. When God presents to us something in His Word that exposes our lack, like He's doing now, isn't He? His Word is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword and makes us to see our lack, doesn't it? Doesn't the Word of God shine and we suddenly get glimpses of our life and how in many areas it is so independent and so controlled by self-will and doesn't see its need to draw from Christ. But aren't you glad when the Lord, through His Word, shines light in that capacity? He doesn't do it to intend to make us feel condemned or to belittle us or to make us feel like, now look at the state you're in now, you better get yourself out of that state. No, He never does that. The great heavenly physician says, look to me and live. What did Moses say to the children of Israel when they were bitten by the vipers? He hung up a serpent, a brazen serpent, which represents Christ taking sin. The serpent was sin. The serpent was the cross. Christ became a curse. Moses said, look to the serpent and you'll be healed. God says, look to me and live. God is saying to us, if you see tonight your need to see how needful you are of me, look to me and I'll show you. Cry out to me and I'll show you. And that's what the Lord is after tonight. He is a heavenly heart surgeon. A heavenly heart surgeon. And He's able to do it in us. Luke chapter 18. Now, Luke chapter 18 is in an interesting setting. Luke chapter 18 follows the discourse of Luke 17 verses 20 to 37, which refer to the kingdom of God during this age not being something you can observe outwardly, not something that is being set up outwardly. That is, in a particular city, here's the capital of the kingdom of God, like Zion City, Illinois, and we're all going to go there. There's no Christian meccas. There's no Christian meccas down here. So Jesus is teaching that the kingdom of God during this age does not come with observation. Verse number 20. Then in verses 24 to 37, Jesus goes into the setting that will be present when the Lord Jesus comes again. Then interestingly, and this is very important because you don't, 17 and 18 is not broken up. The Holy Spirit's got one thought here, but the chapter is misleading. It's like you read verse 37 in chapter 17 and then you stop. And then chapter 18 comes and you think it's a whole new thought. It's not. It's the same thought. What the Holy Spirit is saying here is verses 24 to 37 talk all about the end times and how they ate and drank and married wives. They were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, also as in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. Verses 27 and 28, Jesus is saying, as in those days, so shall it be. Right before the Son of Man comes. It's going to be just like that. And then He talks about, remember Lot's wife. Don't look back. Keep your eyes focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. And He talks a little bit about losing our life that we might preserve it. And then same thought, Holy Spirit's still moving here. And then chapter 18 comes, and He spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought to always to pray and not to think. So I'm telling you, beloved, the Holy Spirit is saying here that one of the feature qualities, one of the most important qualities, that the Lord Jesus is looking for right now in the lives of those that profess His name, particularly now that the end of this age is coming to an end. And this is just what Luke 18 is all about. Right in this discourse of the end times, Jesus inserts this parable to show us something of what His Father and He is looking for. What's it about? That men ought to always pray and not to think. One of the feature qualities the Lord is looking for in the church, particularly as the time of this age is drawing to a close, and the coming of the Son of Man draws nigh, is a people in whom the spirit of prayer is operated. But let me tell you something, beloved. The spirit of genuine prayer is directly related to and connected to our continuous ability to see our utter dependence upon the Lord. True prayer is born out of a realization, without me, He can do nothing. We have no need to pray when we feel confident that we can handle the situation ourself. Why should we pray about it? We can do it. So, the very presence of Luke 18 in this little parable, verses 1 through 8, indicates that God is looking for the blessed people of Luke 6 in the end times who will be there waiting for His appearing. The Lord is looking for the blessed people of Luke 8. Also, Matthew chapter 5, the Beatitudes, same thought there. He's looking for that blessed people. Now, listen, beloved. Let's not put the cart before the horse. A lot of believers are trying to work up a prayer life, but you can't do it. You can't do it. We've tried it and we have failed over and over again. We make our commitments to the Lord. We make our promises to the Lord. Listen, God doesn't want us to pray in that way. You can't have a prayer life that's really effective to the Lord until you first recognize your need for a prayer life, and you don't recognize your need for a prayer life until you go back to stage one, and that is blessed are the poor. Blessed are those who are spiritually bankrupt. Now, let's read this and let's glean some thoughts here that I believe will be encouraging to us. Jesus taught a parable that men are always to pray and not to think, saying, there was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him saying, avenge me of my adversary. Avenge me of my adversary. I want you to first notice what this widow woman is crying out. Avenge me of my adversary. Avenge me of my adversary. Deliver me from this enemy. Deliver me from this enemy. There is a cry within this woman's heart. She wants freedom from an enemy. She wants deliverance. She wants vindication from this adversary. That's very important. That's very important. That indicates the kind of attitude that God is looking for in our hearts. Now, let's go on here. And he would not for a while, but after he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge saith. All right, let's do just what Jesus said. Let's hear what the unjust judge says. Verse four, he would not for a while, but afterward he says, though I do not fear God, nor regard man. So in other words, the judge is saying, listen, I don't fear God, nor do I care about what people are thinking or saying. I just don't care about either God or man. Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest her continual coming to me, she weary me. All right, hear what the unjust judge says. Here's what he says. I don't fear God or man, but because there are two outstanding qualities in this widow woman, I'm going to do what she says. What are those two outstanding qualities? That's it. The widow troubles me, number one, and number two, continual coming, she weary me. All right, Jesus said, hear what the unjust judge says. There's qualities in this widow woman that is the basis upon which I'm going to give her what she's asking. Now watch what he says. Verse seven, and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Now see that last statement connects this whole parable to what he was speaking of in verse number 17, because in verse 17 or in chapter 17, verses 20 to 37, he was talking about the son of man coming again. So that last statement proves that this little parable was inserted by the Holy Spirit in order to show us something of what the Lord is desperately looking for in the midst of an end-time world, an end-time age that is going about their business, marrying, given in marriage, eating, drinking, selling, buying, planting, building, all the cares of this life and the desire for things, all of these things, because they see their spiritual bankruptcy, because they see their spiritual poverty, because they are engaging in genuine mourning, mourning because they realize that apart from me they can do nothing, mourning because they realize they're seeing that according to their own nature they're at enmity to me, they're weeping, they're searching for me, because of this, they are coming into a prayer, a prayer life, more than a prayer life, a prayer attitude that is indicative of a day and night continuous crying out before the Lord as this widow woman, and God is saying that what they're doing is they're crying out, avenge me of my adversary, deliver me from my enemy. Now this widow woman was crying that out, but I believe that's significant, I believe what that indicates in this very clear teaching throughout the whole New Testament, that the heart cry of the church is Lord make me like you and therefore deliver me from my adversary, that is deliver me from everything and anything that is not like you, avenge me of my adversary Lord, bring justice Lord, bring more of yourself into my life Lord, let me be governed more and more and more by you. Now beloved, this is what constitutes the heart of a bride, this is what constitutes the bride, this is what the Lord is looking for. Oh beloved, the heavenly bridegroom delights when he sees these qualities in us. Do you think the Lord wants to come back for a divided, earthly, worldly bride? No, no, no. God's thought is that amidst this end time scene where the things that were going on in the days of Noah and the things that were going on in the days of Lot are happening, amidst all this, God has a people, God has a chosen people, who are what? Crying out day and night, Lord avenge me of my adversary, Lord make me like you, Lord bring judgment on anything in my life, the judgment of the cross on anything in my life that's not like you. Beloved, only the Holy Spirit of God can cause these qualities and these features to become real in our life and God offers us the invitation to come to Him, God offers us the invitation to come to Him and say Lord, I want to know this blessed state, I want to know it more fully Lord, I've known it in part, but this widow woman Lord, she's not just praying and then gets tired and stops praying, no. One of the qualities of this widow woman is that she continuously came to the unjust judge. This is not the firecracker syndrome where we make a commitment to the Lord because of an emotional excitement and then that fizzles, no. This is a deep work of the Holy Spirit of God making known to us only what God could make known to us. Isn't it exciting to think that the Lord is going to have a people like this who omits the apostasy within Christendom that is occurring now, a great falling away from the faith, a great departure from the Lord Jesus Christ, the finality of His work, the centrality of His person, there's a great falling away, people are professing Him in word but denying Him in deed, lives are being governed and controlled by greed and covetousness and the love of money and the cares of this life and as a result the word is being choked, Jesus said, the cares of this life choke the word from bringing forth the full fruit. Isn't it encouraging to know that the word of God clearly tells us that amidst this God is going to have a people who are going to be crying out day and night, they're going to be gripped by their own spiritual bankruptcy but at the same time they're going to see the wealth that's in Christ, they're going to see the treasure that's in Christ, they're going to see the altogether loveliness of the man in glory and their hearts are going to be sold on God, they're going to go after God with everything, they're going to be willing because of God's work in them to lay everything down, yay, their very life to be after the Lord. God will have a people like this who will begin to demonstrate in a significant measure the heavenly qualities of the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, isn't that what the purpose of the church is? What is the church? The body of Christ. If the church is the body of Christ, then who is it that lives in the church? Christ. And if Christ lives in the church, then who is it that we ought to be seeing in one another and who is it that the world ought to be seeing when they look at the church? Christ. They ought to be seeing all of the heavenly qualities in an ever-increasing measure, all the qualities that characterize the head, His holiness, His love, His compassion, His hatred toward sin and His love toward God. Blessed are those who come to fulfill the story of the widow woman and learn the blessed lesson of utter dependence upon God, who allow the Lord to deal with them by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, to deal with them in such a way where they begin to see those areas where independence is yet governing their lifestyle. Where is it that we want to do things our own way? Where is it? And what do we do? We cry out, God, I want You to conquer this area of my life. I wholly look to You, Lord, but I want to make a decision. I choose Your way and I renounce my own way. I choose Your way and I say no to my way. We've got to do that. And as we take a step with the Lord and stand with Him together with the Holy Spirit in agreement with the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will then do the work that we can't do. May the Lord help us tonight to see our need for Jesus as branches. John chapter 15, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, neither can you, Jesus said, except you abide in me. There's a perfect illustration of the Christian life of branches, utterly dependent upon our Lord. If we ask the Lord tonight, I believe He'll be faithful to lay this foundation in our life. Beloved, most assuredly, our progress along the path of spiritual maturity into spiritual adulthood, where we have the mind that Paul had in Philippians 3, which is counting all things but loss and done, everything, and focusing all of our heart's desires on Christ and Christ alone. That's, Paul said, that's the mature mindset. In order to come to that place where our life is governed by that one chief thing, Christ. Let's turn there as we close tonight. Philippians chapter 3, this is a most marvelous testimony of a man in whom the Lord's dealings were very thorough, very deep, very rich. The Holy Spirit blessed us to communicate them on to us. Philippians chapter 3, verses 1 through 6, Paul speaks about all those things, particularly verse 4 and 5 and 6, that related to his own accomplishments, his own success. Though I might have confidence in the flesh, verse 4, if any other man thinketh that he hath wherewith he might trust in the flesh, I more. Verse 5, verse 6, was all of his Jewish heritage and all of the accomplishments that he did apart from Christ. All the things that he could boast in, all the things that he could take pride in, all the things that he could be proud of, all the things that he could use to exalt himself above another person. But verse number 7, this, brothers and sisters, has to become a reality to us. But the things which were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. That's spiritual adulthood. That's spiritual maturity. Being able to say and really, truly have the reality of this profession in our heart. What things were gained to me, I count loss for Christ. What Paul is saying in verse 7 is, I've lost my life. He that seeks to save his life shall lose it, but he that loses his life. Paul saying in verse 7, I've lost my life that I might gain Christ. Verse 8, verse 7 refers to his religious accomplishments. He says, what things were gained to me, those I count loss for Christ. Verse 8 is even more inclusive. Verse 8 becomes all-inclusive. Verse 7 was just his religious life. Now verse 8 is comprehensive. Yea, doubtless, I count all. That word all. Oh, may the Holy Spirit make that real to us. Do you know what that entails, beloved? All. That's inclusive. That entails everything. Paul's not playing church here. Paul's not playing games here. Yea, doubtless, I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung. So not only does he, not only does he count all things loss, but he considers those things to be dung, refuge, garbage, trash, in comparison to knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and coming into a life where Christ's life, Christ's will, Christ's very character is being demonstrated. That should mean more to us than anything. Doesn't mean we become monks in monasteries. It means we live our life among the world, in the world, but we're not of the world. We use the world's goods but don't abuse them. We may have possessions but possessions don't have us. Nothing has got us but a passion for Jesus Christ. Now, that's quite a confession there. That's a confession born out of spiritual maturity. Here's the question tonight as we close. Do you want the Lord to make good in you this kind of profession so that you can say these things like Paul and truly, truly, truly mean it from your heart and know that it is true? Know that when you say I count all things loss, I count them but dung, that's really true. Do you want that to be true in your life? If you do, may I say beloved, that the only way these things will be true is if we go back to the fundamental basics. Blessed are the poor. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are they that hunger. All of those states of being blessed indicates a heart that is utterly dependent upon God, recognizes its need for God, recognizes that apart from Christ it can do nothing and is in a constant posture of reaching out to Christ to draw by faith the sufficiency that comes from Christ and pouring contempt upon and disowning self-sufficiency and all that that entails. The only way to come to the realization of Philippians 3 is for that heart condition to be raw in us, but not just raw in us as a past experience, but maintained and fanned into flame by an ever-present relationship and walk with the Lord and a constant dealing with the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. That's the way to spiritual maturity and spiritual adulthood in Christ Jesus. So when our aspirations are set on spiritual maturity, we didn't even get into the overcomer tonight, the life of Joseph. That's all right though. I feel like the Lord wanted to lay a foundation and the foundation has been laid in the scriptures and we just talked about it now. But when our hearts aspire toward spiritual maturity and we consider the call of being an overcomer and we say, Lord, I know positionally I'm an overcomer. That's not the question. Judicially, I know. I know that God sees Christ now. He doesn't see me. I've settled. We're not talking about a judicial thing. We're talking about the Lord wanting to make good in us experientially all of those realities that are already settled in God's heart because of Christ's finished work. That's what we're talking about tonight. We're not talking about, you know, the fact of our position. That's settled. But God wants to see it in experience in us. And when we have our hearts set on that, there's no coming to it unless we are possessing and maintaining by God's grace a heart of dependence upon Christ. So let's bow our hearts tonight before the Lord and just express our desire to Him. Father, we sense our overwhelming need tonight, Lord, for Thee. We thank Thee, Lord, for the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee, Lord, that You are fully satisfied with Christ. You're satisfied with His atoning work. You accepted His sacrifice. Raised from the dead was Your approval of Your Son. Seated down at the right hand of Your Majesty, Lord. And Lord, we pray that tonight, You will enable us to focus our heart's eyes upon Jesus Christ and see that everything in our Christian life is wrapped up in Him and a continuing coming to know Him in ever-increasing measure. Holy Spirit, I pray tonight that You will challenge each one of us over this issue of dependence or independence, sufficiency in Christ or sufficiency in ourself. Lord, help us to see that this is the fundamental foundation upon which we must stand if we're hoping that spiritual maturity will be arrived to, Lord. We know the believers in Hebrews, according to the very Holy Spirit record, should have been, teachers, should have been spiritually advanced, but weren't. They weren't. They had gotten their eyes off of Christ and the finality of His work. Lord, keep us from getting our eyes off of Christ. Keep our eyes off ourself, Lord. Help us not to look to others, Lord. Help us to look to You. We commit this work of the Holy Spirit into Your hands, Lord, and pray You'll give us humble hearts, dependent hearts. Free us, Lord, from the cares of this life that have ensnared us. Free us, Lord, from those things that are numbing our hearts from passion for You. We're a needy people, Lord, and we look to You, Lord Jesus, and we pray in Christ's name.