Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the necessity of maintaining a healed conscience, urging believers to acknowledge their faults and seek Jesus' help rather than justifying their pride or insensitivity. He explains that a broken spirit, exposed to God's light, leads to true humility and a tender conscience, which is essential for spiritual growth. Beach highlights that both saved and unsaved sinners are in need of God's grace, and that a healed conscience allows for genuine self-awareness and accountability. He encourages the congregation to embrace vulnerability and transparency in their walk with God, as these qualities foster a closer relationship with Him. Ultimately, he calls for prayer and reliance on Jesus to heal and restore our consciences, making them sensitive to the movements of our hearts.

You get hard, don't deny it. Say, help me Jesus. When someone loves you enough to tell you that you've become irritable or proud or insensitive, don't say, I have not, or justify your actions and say, well, it's because. Say, I know. Pray with me that Jesus will help me. One of the things that happens when the Lord draws near to us, and He only draws near to the brokenhearted, remember, I am the Lord, high and lofty, and I dwell in eternity, but with Him also that is of a humble and a contrite, a broken spirit. A broken spirit is a spirit that has been exposed by the light of God, and because of His grace, doesn't say, that's not true, Lord, but says, yes, Lord, it's true. Your light has shined, and I've seen myself as a sinner, even a Christian. Remember, we learned the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. A Christian is a sinner that knows they're a sinner, but looks to Jesus for help, and a non-Christian is simply a sinner that hasn't been brought to that place yet. So, if we become a Christian and then think that we don't have need, and get all self-righteous, and all proud, and all confident, and hide behind theology and scriptures, and our heart is no longer broken, then we get off the track, and the Lord lets us fall, He lets us fall, so that we can get broken again. Because a saved sinner is just as much in need as an unsaved sinner, and don't ever forget that. A saved sinner is probably more in need. So, the Lord, He comes close to the brokenhearted. He comes close to the crushed in spirit, and that happens when we see Calvary. We see Calvary, we see the Lamb of God, and we realize that the horror of Calvary, the horror of Him being crucified, the horror of them plucking His beard out with their hands, the horror was brought upon Him because of who? Me! That's what brings a broken heart. When you see that you, you, your sins, crucified the precious spotless Lamb of God. And once we become Christians, we don't forget that. It becomes more evident to us. And when the Lord can keep us brokenhearted, one of the great needs of our life, one of the great needs of my life, is for the Lord to keep me brokenhearted and tender and soft before Him. Because when we're no longer brokenhearted, pride has begun to take rule in our heart. Pride and self-sufficiency and arrogance and a sense of I can do it on my own. And the Lord says, what about the pride? His face is what? Turned away from the pride. That's it. His face is turned away from the pride. But grace comes to where? The humble, the humble in heart, the broken in heart. And so one of the things that happens when we are brought into the presence of the Lord and we're walking with Him is that He begins to heal our conscience. A healed conscience is a wonderful thing. I'm praying that for the next few minutes, not long at all, just a few moments, this is as far as we can go today, but I'm praying that something that only God can do will do right now for us. He'll show us that Jesus wants to heal our conscience. He wants to give us a tender, working conscience. Oh, the conscience is so beautiful. I'd like to just share a little personal testimony, then read a scripture and just make a few comments, and then we'll look to the Lord as we gather together to begin to learn about this renewed conscience. Because the Lord's been teaching us, hasn't He? How horrible and how dreadful our pride is. How many over the past three months have seen a dilation, as our brother Doug Riggs would say, a dilation from the Lord's own hand of the depths of the pride that lurks in your heart the past three months? And oh my, it's a horrible thing that pride is such a horrible poison. And the Lord has been showing us our need for Him and He's been drawing near to us only after we're willing to accept what the light shines, what the light shows. We've learned if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. Walking in the light as He is in the light requires a grace working in our life that will empower us to continuously agree with everything that the light shines, everything the light exposes in our heart. With this process of relationship with the Lord and a renewed love and a renewed awakening to the beauty and preciousness of God's Word, there is a healing that begins to occur. It's a delicate healing. It's a delicate and a precious healing. It's the healing of the conscience. Suddenly the Lord breathes into our conscience and it starts working in ways that we've never, ever, ever would have imagined. And it's because when Jesus draws near to us, He heals that part of our spirit that God put in there that helps us stay true to what's going on on the inside. We've got to learn to stay true to what's going on on the inside. What is it that the Lord spoke to His servant Samuel when Samuel was looking to find a prophet, a king for Israel? He went and he looked at the sons of Jesse and he looked at their outward appearance and he said, oh, this one here must be the Lord's anointed. He had a nice countenance, nice hair. The Lord said no. And then he went to another and another and then finally the Word of the Lord came to Samuel and God said to Samuel, Samuel, listen to me. This is what the Lord's saying to us today. Listen to me. Man looks on the outward. Man is wholly preoccupied with the appearance that can be seen with the natural eye, perceived with the ear. But God said to Samuel, but I see the heart. I go right into the depths of the heart and I see exactly what's going on. Even when what's going on inside and what appears is totally different. Now the conscience is something God put into us to help us stay true to what's going on on the inside. We need a healed conscience because God doesn't work where people won't let God make the inside right. He won't work. It's not about outward stuff. It's the inward heart. God says, I will come and dwell where? In them. And we live in a society that's all outward, all outward, and heart issues are no longer even dealt with. The Holy Spirit doesn't deal with outward things. He deals with heart issues. And so one of the evidences that the Holy Spirit is working in your life and that Jesus is walking close to you is that you have become aware of what's going on in your heart. And you're tender toward that and you're aware of it and you're constantly looking to Jesus to keep the heart right before him and to keep the heart right before others. Earlier this week, I spoke unkindly to Colette and I went to work and the Lord seized the opportunity to give me a great lesson. And with this lesson came such a blessing. And this is where this living word was born. I went to work and I wasn't yet ready to work. I went there a little early and I saw some friends and I've befriended a lot of people at work. And one of the ladies that I befriended works at customer service. Her name is Bernice. She's probably 50 ish or so. She's a sweet lady. And she said, how are you, Phil? And within within one second, I heard a whole commentary from the Lord. The Lord gently nudged me and made me to know that the knee jerk reaction would have been this. Oh, I'm doing fine. How are you? Isn't that what we do? What does that really do? It teaches us to what? It teaches us to lie. It does. Most of the time when someone says, how are you? I know it's courtesy and it's the custom, but it teaches us not to be true to what what's really going on. And so we become accustomed at little children to just say things that aren't really true. How are you? Fine. How are you? Good. Great. Have a nice day. Thanks. You too. I mean, it's so untrue. And this is what the Lord does when he draws near to what people he delivers them out of unreality. And so in a moment's time, I I heard the voice of my father and I knew what he was saying. And he said and she said, how are you? And I said, not too well, because, you know, Phil's usually jovial. And it is the way I am in my personality, I'm not doing too well. She said, Phil, why? I said, my conscience is troubling me. She looked at me and she said, what? Conscience? What's that? She didn't say that, but that was the reaction. Oh, he's such a great teacher, isn't he, Carrie? He's such a good teacher. I said, my conscience is troubling me. She said, what's wrong? I said, I was unkind to Colette before I left. And all the way to work, my conscience was bothering me. I've got a car up. When I take my lunch and just tell her I'm sorry and my conscience bothered me, her mouth opened up. Her eyes were as wide as wide can be. And this is what she said. Oh, my God. I never heard of such a thing. That's incredible. Would you talk to my husband? That's just what she said. Would you talk to my husband? Now, listen, listen. I told her that at about quarter to two by six o'clock that night, several of the ladies in customer service came and said to me, I can't believe it. Will you talk to my husband? Will you? And through that, listen, through that little act of being vulnerable and honest, something lasting was imparted. Something lasting was imparted. Unbelievable, unbelievable. Another illustration of being true to your conscience and learning to be responsive to the Lord when he nudges you and helps you understand why your conscience is bothered. By the way, I did call Colette. We made it OK. And I was listening to some some information that was being spoken about another security officer. And what was being said was true. But the spirit that it was being said in was wrong. And I agreed with what the officer was saying. But in agreeing, I put my approval on the wrong attitude. And afterwards, my conscience troubled me. And I'm walking around the mall patrolling. And this thing inside of me is sad and I'm troubled. And I'm bothered. And I said, Lord, what's wrong? And the Lord showed me my conscience is extra sensitive because Jesus is drawing very close to this sinner. And when Jesus gets close, he makes everything that God intended to work, work real good. Really? He really is the restorer, isn't he? He makes everything work. You know, God made us wonderfully. And I know sin is a mess. But, you know, when God deals with the sin, he also heals who we are. We become whole as people. You know, he makes us whole. He doesn't. He's not against us. He's just against our sin. He loves us. And so he's making me whole, but he makes us whole by showing us how horribly sinful we are. It's an irony, but it's true. So he showed me that my conscience is working so ever tender now. And so what I had to do is I had to go back to that officer and I had to say, listen, my conscience is bothering me again. Mouth open. I said, you know what you said about so-and-so? Yeah, it is true. He said, but your attitude isn't right. And I don't want to give the impression that I agree with your attitude. I don't. He didn't say anything. And I had peace in my conscience to turn your Bibles, if you would, to second Corinthians. Do not fear. We will not be going into a lengthy discussion here. But you know why I'm excited? Because right now, Jesus is confirming his word. And he's healing the conscience. He's healing that part in our spirit that he created that helps us to stay in touch with what's going on on the inside. Listen, I beg you, brothers and sisters, pray and ask Jesus as he draws near to you. Now, remember now, let's keep this the way it needs to be. He draws near to the broken hearted. Draw near to God. He draws near to you. Confess your sins. Confess your faults. Stand before God and say, Lord, I'm all wrong and you're all right. Don't be so quick to deny criticism when it comes into your life. It's most likely true. And if it's not overtly true, it's potentially true. You seem to be a little proud these days. No, I'm not. That proves right. There you are. Thank you, brother. Tell me what you see. Thank you, brother. I appreciate that. And I pray God will help me not to because I know that without the grace of God, I am a proud man. Are you quick to deny when God is trying to help you see that you're a sinner? So remember, as we stay broken hearted before God and stay close to him and pray, God, give me humility so that I can stay transparent. What are the three words? Remember, vulnerable. Vulnerability, accountability and transparency. Vulnerability, accountability and transparency. They are three qualities that are a must that we can only find through the grace of God. If we are to maintain a close walk with Jesus, when we lose accountability to him, when we lose vulnerability to him and when we lose a sense of transparency before him, we are no longer broken hearted and we're setting ourself up for some kind of a fall. So that we can be wakened out of our pride and come back to Jesus in humility. But when we when we're walking close with him, one of the things he does among many things is he starts breathing on our conscience and makes it work. Let me tell you something. If you know anything of what we're talking about this morning and you sense that you have a conscience, cherish it, guard it. Don't ever, ever, ever, ever sin against your conscience. Don't ever sin against it. Say, Jesus, help me to be true to my conscience. Help me every time it bothers me to stop and wait and ask you for guidance so that you can give me an understanding of why my conscience is troubled. It is the destruction of the conscience in this country that is leading us down a road of destruction. It's a destruction of our own conscience in our families that's bringing havoc in our families. That's why relationships are breaking down. My conscience was troubling me last night as I was praying for my children, because I realized that I don't have what it takes to be a good father and I neglect them and I don't spend time with them and I'm not sensitive enough to their needs. My conscience was troubling me. So what do I do? Well, how can I? I'm a busy man. You do that and you're going to destroy the only thing in your life that can help you stay in touch with the reality. You don't do that. You don't justify your actions when your conscience smites you. You go down before God and you say, Lord, have mercy on me, help me. Then you go and you say, I'm sorry, forgive me, forgive me. And then you look to Jesus for help. You look to Jesus for help. Are you in touch with your conscience? Or do you no longer care about it? Has it become hardened and seared as with a hot iron, like the scriptures say? That phrase means, you know what happens when a hot iron touches you long enough? What does it do? It burns you and kills the what? The nerves. And if your conscience is seared as with a hot iron, the Holy Spirit is saying, it doesn't work anymore, doesn't bother you anymore. Jesus, please heal our conscience. I thank God for this lesson he's been teaching me this week. Second Corinthians, second Corinthians, chapter one, verse 12, second Corinthians, chapter one, verse 12, for our rejoicing is this the testimony of our conscience. Stop. Stop. We don't have to go any further for our rejoicing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you. But I just wanted to stop there. Our rejoicing is this the testimony of our conscience. Second Corinthians, chapter one, verse number 12. Brothers and sisters, can you say this together with God's word that you rejoice over a clear conscience. Or a conscience that you know is working, that you know is functioning, and that every time it functions, you are looking to the Lord to help you understand what it's saying and what the Lord would want you to do in order to be true to your conscience. A healed conscience is imperative if we are to know the abundant life that Jesus is offering us. As we walk with him and as we walk with one another, a healed conscience will mean that you become ever so aware and sensitive, not so much to what you see with your eyes and what the mirror reveals to you, and what others say about you, and oh how we so govern our life, don't we? How many allow the mirror to determine when to get a haircut? Or someone saying, boy you need a haircut. Most all of us probably rely on those two sources of information to move us to action. Is there anything wrong with that? No, there's nothing wrong with that. But brothers and sisters, you can't look in the mirror and see what's going on on the inside. And you can't rely on what others are saying. God has given us his word, he's given us the Holy Spirit, and he's given us a conscience. And that's the only reliable source and guide that we have that will help us stay true to what's going on in the inside. And so if we are to have an abundant life with the Lord, we have to have a healed conscience. And when we do, we will be ever so sensitive to its movement. And we will not push it aside. But now let me just say in closing, the greatest enemy to a healed conscience is pride. Because pride will not listen to the tender call of conscience. Pride will tell conscience, conscience, get away from me, you trouble me. But a broken hearted sinner, finding grace at the feet of Jesus, will come to conscience and say, thank you for reminding me. And then we go to the word of God and the Holy Spirit and the word of God and the Holy Spirit sort out for us why our conscience is troubling us and gives us understanding. So I want to challenge you as we close to begin to pray, Lord, heal my conscience. Draw near to me. Help me to see where I've not been tender in my conscience. Help me to see where I've pushed the voice of my conscience away. And heal me, Lord. Heal me, Lord. Heal me today. The conscience is that part of us created by God to know and be aware of one's self. What's going on in one's heart. That part of the Spirit which bears witness to the movements of our heart. A conscience that is empowered and enlightened by the Holy Spirit always prompts us to choose the right and reject the wrong. The conscience that is being exposed to the power of the Holy Spirit will always bear witness to the way of love and testify against any action, thought, word, or deed that is not according to love. That's what a healed conscience will do. Let's bow our hearts for a moment. Father, Jesus is so lovely. We thank you for him. We thank you, Lord, that he himself claimed to be the great physician. What an appropriate name for we who are so sick and so needy and so desperate for help. Lord, draw near to the brokenhearted today and begin to breathe upon our conscience. Heal it. Restore it. Make it work again. Help us to hear its troubling sounds and teach us, Lord, to look to you when our conscience troubles us. Please, Lord, do this work that only you can do. Never, ever disregard your conscience. It's always a reliable information. It's always giving you reliable information about something going on in your heart. And when you go to God's Word and God's Spirit, he interprets the meaning of why your conscience is troubled. Never turn your ears to your conscience. And, Father, we just thank you and pray you'll continue this great work in our hearts. For Jesus' sake, amen and amen.