Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the necessity of honesty with God, using Jacob's transformation into Israel and Peter's confession of love as key examples. He explains that true blessing and spiritual growth come when we confront our true selves and acknowledge our shortcomings before God. The sermon highlights that honesty leads to healing and transformation, urging believers to shed their pride and embrace vulnerability in their relationship with God. Ultimately, Beach encourages the congregation to understand that being honest with God is not a path to condemnation, but rather a gateway to grace and spiritual maturity.

I would like you to turn to two places now in the Bible, one in the old and one in the new. We're going to discover, and I'm springing off of now, the Holy Spirit is springing off of a statement that Suzanne made. Listen closely. She said, when we're honest, listen, there is a great call of the Holy Spirit right now in our midst. Every single person, young children, listen closely. This is a time to be listening. Now, whenever the adults seem fit to leave, fine. Children, I want to ask you to please leave quietly, but don't move until your teachers leave. We must deal with an issue of honesty now, as the Holy Spirit wants honesty to be a very key part. Listen, I believe that right now the Holy Spirit is going to be addressing issues of dishonesty in our life, listen, that have prevented us from receiving the full blessing of the Lord. I'm going to show you by the Holy Spirit one of the greatest revelations I believe recently the Holy Spirit has given me. Go to your Bible to Genesis chapter 33. And I want to show you by the Holy Spirit how God could not do the transforming work in Jacob's life until Jacob came to grips with being honest with God. Everybody in your own heart right now, not out loud, but in your own heart, say, I must become honest before God. I must become honest before God. The way to blessing, the way to obtain the hunger and passion that you know and I know God wants us to have is to come to where we are square, blatantly, painfully honest with God. Until we are honest with God, we will not experience the full blessing. And in this story, I want you to see the revelation that Jacob got that transformed his life and that from that day forward until the day he gave up the Holy Spirit, he was never the same. Listen, this is the revelation that you and I must come to see. Then once we read this, I'd like to take us to the book of John and show you a wonderful revelation that also coincides with this truth. Verse number 22, Genesis chapter 33. And he, Jacob, rose up that night and took his two wives and his two women servants and his eleven sons and passed over the four Jabbok. Jacob was leaving his uncle Laban and was about to meet Esau. It was a crisis in his life because years and years ago, you remember, Jacob stole the blessing from Esau and Jacob feared that ever since then, Esau had a terrible, terrible vengeance in his heart and thought maybe now was the time when Esau was going to release this vengeance and maybe kill him and his children and steal his blood. He had no clue what was going to happen. He was a hurting man. But I want you to see the way to get through our hurts and our fears is to be honest with God. Listen carefully. This is so powerful, I can hardly stand still. And verse number 24, And Jacob was left alone. God is going to cause each and every one of us, sometime in our pilgrimage with Him, He's going to cause us to have to be left alone. Now that doesn't mean that we're going to go to a monastery, but there's going to come a time when God is going to require that you must be alone before God. Your day of crossing the Brook Javik is coming if it has not already come. The day when you must be alone before God. The day when your soul must be unbared before God. Unveiled before God. The day when you must stand alone and nobody else can help you and there you must have an encounter with God. Listen carefully. And Jacob was left alone and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh. And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, this is Jacob now, I will not let you go except you bless me. Listen, we're not dealing with a man here that doesn't love God. We're not dealing with a reprobate man. We're dealing with a man who is so intent on being blessed of God that he won't let this messenger go until he gets blessed. You see the passion in Jacob's heart for God? You see the desire in Jacob's heart for God? You see the relentless laying hold of God. But God could not bless Jacob. Why? Verse 27, And the angel said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. Brothers and sisters, this is more of an account of a man giving his name to an angel. But there is a spiritual lesson here that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you and I right now. When the angel of God required Jacob to give him his name, what the Holy Spirit was saying was this, Jacob, what is your name? Confess the truth about yourself. The word Jacob means a deceiver. A con artist. Jacob's nature. What Jacob was in his blood and bone. Not only what he was, but what he had engaged in. His actions. God required Jacob to say what his name was. And the working of the Holy Spirit in your life and my life will result in the exact same thing. This coincides with what Suzanne said. When we meet God at the point of honesty and we tell God the truth about ourself, about our desires, about our situation, as long as we put on a front, we are keeping ourselves from the very thing that we want. And there's many reasons why we fail, to be honest with God. Some have to do with fear. Some have to do with pride. But the ultimate reason of why we're not honest with God is because we haven't seen yet. We haven't come to see that as Christians we don't have to fear honesty. As Christians, listen, if we were under the law, we would fear it. If we were under the law and the damnatory power of the law, then it would be a fearful thing to fall into the hands of God and be honest because the law demands severe punishment against those who break it. But we're not under the law. We're in grace. We're under grace. Christ is ever-living, making intercession for us. Now watch this. Watch this. What is thy name? And He said, Jacob. What is your name this morning? Names indicate character. Indicate our nature. What is your name this morning? If you love God and you're wrestling with God and you want a blessing, God's saying, I'm not going to bless you until you're honest with Me. I'm not going to bless you until you confess your name. Well, I'm a deceiver, Lord. I'm a controlling person, Lord. I'm an operator, Lord. I'm a slanderer, Lord. I'm a gossiper, Lord. I'm a liar, Lord. I'm an adulterer in my heart, Lord. You don't have to be afraid of the truth. You see, as long as we pretend that we're something we're really not, we are perpetuating religion. Because religion doesn't deal with heart matters. Religion deals with outward appearance. Religion deals with how you look before other people. And how you even look to yourself. How you think you look. That's all religion. And the Holy Spirit is wanting us to lay aside religion and come into honest relationship with God. Brothers and sisters, you don't have to be afraid of being honest. The only thing you have to be afraid of is losing your pride. If you are really hung up on people thinking you more highly than they ought to, if you're really hung up on putting some kind of an outward impression on people, then you have something to fear. Because honesty will not allow you to have that veneer up. You're going to have to be honest with God and with each other. I'll tell you, we're touching something here that is a stronghold that the enemy has brought into our lives and into the church of Jesus Christ. There is such a stronghold of dishonesty. Such an unwillingness to be honest. And the reasons are myriad. We won't go into all the reasons this morning. Listen, the best of this message has not yet come. Because Jacob discovers something in his honesty that is a beautiful picture of the new covenant. Let's find out and see. Alright. He says, what is your name? And Jacob said, and he answered, Jacob. And he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. Now the word Israel means a prince with God or someone who reigns with God. You see, the power of transformation met Jacob at the point of his confession. What is your name? Jacob. You'll no longer be Jacob. Hallelujah! How do we get delivered from the thing we hate? Stop denying it. Stop repressing it like she said. Stop pretending it's not there. Stop trying to confess it away. Acknowledge it. Tell God the truth. Husbands, try telling your wife the truth. Wives, try telling your husbands the truth. I'm sorry, I don't love you the way I should. Instead of getting angry and denying it and justifying your actions, acknowledge them. Don't be afraid of truth. Young people, listen. Don't be afraid of the truth. I tell my children all the time, you should be more afraid of the consequences of lying than you are of the punishment of telling the truth. Did you hear that? You should be more afraid of the consequences of lying than you are of the possible punishment that might come if you tell me the truth. But the world teaches us the exact opposite. And so again, Jacob was changed at the point of honesty. You will not be changed any further, listen closely, than your measure of honesty before God. Do you know why there's some struggles in your life that have not been overcome for years? Because you're still playing the game of denial. You're still justifying those sins. You're still justifying that stubbornness. You're still justifying that strong-headedness. You will not squarely call it what it is. I am a proud man. I have destroyed a lot of people through my pride. God, have mercy on me. Saints, have mercy on me. Well, I can't do that. People will think, there you go, see? There you go, see? Worrying about what people think. What does it matter what people think? What should matter is what God thinks. You say, well, if I'm honest, I'm afraid to be honest. I'm terrible. I'm wretched. Wait a minute. Why are you afraid to be honest? Why are you afraid to agree with what God says? He already knows the condition. Pride. Listen, it gets better. Watch this that happens. Here's what's going to happen to you when you honestly confess. And Jacob said, tell me, I pray thee thy name. And he said, wherefore it is that thou dost ask thy name? And he blessed him there. Listen. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. Which means face of God. Listen. For I have seen God face to face. And what? My life has been preserved. You see? We see God face to face. Our lives are transformed. Our natures are changed. We grow in sanctification when we're honest with God. It all started when he confessed his name. Now listen. Here's the beautiful revelation. Under the law, honesty before God meant you were guilty. Right? When you sinned against the law, remember when Ai had to confess his sin? Achan. He confessed his sin. He stole some things. Well, under the law he was guilty and he was stoned to death. But guess what happens under the new covenant when you're honest with God? Your life is preserved, not destroyed. You don't get destroyed. God's not going to consume you. He's not going to destroy you. Listen. God doesn't set you up in order to see the sinfulness of your sin, in order to destroy you. He sets you up so you can agree with what you see and then discover I've seen God. He has spoken a change into me and I am not destroyed. My life is preserved. My life is still intact. He still loves me. He still adores me. He still encourages me. This is a word from the Lord. I have seen God face to face. What did Jesus say about seeing God? Blessed are the pure in heart. You know, pure in heart has a lot to do with honesty. And Jesus said, blessed are the pure, for they shall what? See God. Jacob saw God. How come? Because he was honest. He had a pure heart. You see, having a pure heart is being able, through the Word of God and through the life that comes from Jesus, being able to be honest before God when God deals with issues in your life and not run from them, not deny them, not justify them, not pretend they're not there, not try and confess them away, but simply tell God the way it is. Now watch this. Go to John 21. Same revelation. Same dealing of God. Different time. Different people. We have heard this story a number of times. Now, I'd like for you, if you would, to turn your Bibles to John 13. John 13. Okay? And go to verse 36. Pay close attention to this, brothers and sisters, because with this Word from the Lord's heart this morning, there is power to set our courses new. Listen. Lives are going to be changed. Your life can be changed this morning. Your destiny, the course of where you end up, can be changed through this revelation this morning. Listen to this. Simon Peter, verse 36, John 13. Simon Peter said unto Him, Lord, where goest Thou? Jesus answered him, Where I go, Thou canst not follow me, but Thou shalt follow me afterward. Peter said unto the Lord, Lord, why cannot I follow Thee now? Now, here we go. I will lay down my life for Thy sake. Jesus answered him, Will you lay down your life for my sake? Verily I say unto you, The cock shall not crow till Thou hast denied me how many times? Three times. Now, whether or not Peter really knew his heart or not, no one knows but God. Whether or not Peter was deceived or whether he really believed that he would lay his life down for the Lord is irrelevant. Just remember this story right here. Jesus said after Peter said, Lord, I will lay my life down for You. Now, in another, I think in Luke chapter 22, it's worded a little differently, this account. It actually says something like this. And Peter said, Lord, though everyone else forsake You. And of course, in the context, it's very possible he was talking about his other brothers there. The other disciples. In other words, Peter probably said something like this. Lord, even though everyone here forsakes You, I won't. Alright. Now turn your Bible to John chapter 21. This is after the resurrection. Jesus appears to them in Galilee. Peter had gone fishing. And as a result, several other disciples followed him and went fishing with him. And in verse 5 of John 21, Jesus said, Children, have you any meat? And they answered Him, No. And so Jesus is now approaching Peter and the other disciples. They were fishing all night, and they hadn't caught anything. And He said to them, Cast the net on the other side of the ship, verse 6, and you shall find. And they cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it in for the multitude of fishes. And so Jesus begins to reveal Himself to His disciples. And this is now, remember, this is after they all forsook Him, after Peter denied Him three times, after it seemed like all hope was gone, Jesus comes on the scene. Now let's go down to verse number 15. Now this is a very intimate and a very piercing conversation. Now when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Here in the midst, listen to the setting. Listen to what is necessary in order for us to grow in God. Listen to what is necessary in order for us to grow. If we want to grow in God, we've got to do things God's way. We can't tell God how we're going to do it. Jesus chose to talk to Peter right in the presence of all the other disciples that were there, and He asked them some of the most heart-piercing, heart-searching questions that were ever asked of mortal man. Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, Peter, lovis, the word there is agape. Jesus used the Greek word that described God-love. The sacrificing love. The love that sacrifices and loses its life for the sake of another person. This is what Jesus is saying. Peter, do you agape Me? He saith unto him, Peter, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I phileo you. Now, Peter changed the word. Jesus said, do you agape Me? And Peter said, Lord, I phileo you. That is a Greek word, and it's of a lesser character. What that simply means is to like someone. That is, to have the same interests of another person. You know what Peter's doing right now? After his denial, after his breaking, after his despair, he is responding to Jesus with honesty. Jesus said, Peter, do you love Me with this sacrificing love that I have for you? Peter said, in fact, this is what Peter said, No, Lord, I don't. I only like You. Peter, all of a sudden, because of the discipline in his life, the humbling in his life, the severe chastening in his life, having been sifted by the devil, he comes to the point where he is now a little bit in touch with the truth. And I want you to see what Jesus' response was to the honesty that he saw in Peter. Do you think honesty disqualifies us? No! The exact opposite. What did Jesus say after Peter was so honest? Peter, do you love Me with sacrificing love? No. But I like You, Lord. What did Jesus say? Feed My lambs. Jesus reaffirmed the call on Peter's life when Peter got honest and told the truth and didn't try and hide behind spiritual fronts anymore. You remember, this was the man that said, though everyone forsake You, I won't. Brothers and sisters, stop living in spiritual deception. Stop pretending you're something you're not. Stop trying to give the impression that you're more spiritual than you are. Come to grips with God and be honest with God. You think it's going to be your ruin, but it's not. It's your spiritual preservation that you're going to have to swallow your pride. Peter doesn't look like a man full of pride here, does he, Norman? He looks like a broken man. He looks like a man who said, I can't wear this spiritual outfit anymore. I can't wear this spiritual outfit of trying to be super spiritual. I can't wear this spiritual outfit anymore of trying to be something I'm not. I can't pretend anymore. I can't think that I'm the Great One among the disciples anymore. I know that I used to get into arguments with John and James about who was going to be the greatest and who was going to sit on His right hand and who was going to sit on His left hand. I know I used to go to bed at night stewing and steaming because that James thought he was more spiritual than me. He didn't walk on water. I did. He's a different man now, isn't he? Do you love me, Peter? No. No. I only like You, Lord. How could he say, yes, Lord, I agape You when he denied Him three times? You see, Jesus will always catch you. He'll always catch you. It sounded good at the Last Supper, didn't it? Oh, I'll never deny You. It sounded good, didn't it, Norm? I bet you the other apostles went, Wow! Wow! I wish I had that kind of faith. Wow! That's impressive, Peter. No, Lord, I like You. Now, did the Lord leave it at that? Nope. Watch what happens. You think that was enough, huh? You think that was enough. How many times did Peter deny Jesus? Three times. How many times did Jesus ask him, Do you agape me? Three times. What do you think was going on in the mind of Peter when three times Jesus asked him, Do you love me with that sacrificing love that's willing to die? Do you think he might have been thinking about being before the fire and that widow woman coming up to him and saying, I know who you are. You're one of those Galileans. And Peter said, I don't know the man. Are you afraid to come to grips with the denials of the Lord that you engage in in your life? Are you afraid? Why are you afraid? God's not going to reject you if you're honest. Listen, He condemned people under the law when they were found to be sinners. But He doesn't do that in grace. If He did, none of us would be here. Lord, deliver us from the fear of honesty. Deliver us from the fear of standing naked before God. You don't have to be afraid of being naked. I'm not talking about physical nakedness now. I'm talking about a nakedness in your inner soul before God where you don't put any fronts before God. You don't say anything that's not true, but you tell God the way it is. And if you don't know, you say, God, show me the way it is. Now watch this. Verse 16, And He said unto him the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, Agape thou me? And he said unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I phileo thee. Again, Peter had to respond with honesty. You know what? It's good for the soul to be honest. You see, Jesus is staying on this point. He wants to make sure Peter's got the ground. Listen, God has a plan with all those that are His children, and that is, you meet Me at the point of honesty. And if you don't, I'll make sure that I arrayed circumstances in your life in order to expose you, not to destroy you, but so that you can begin to work with Me on the grounds of honesty. That's what God's doing here. Peter wasn't honest at the Last Supper. But through the bitterness of affliction, the bitterness of suffering, the bitterness of failure, it worked honesty in him. Alright, watch this now. Watch this. Third time. 17. Simon, son of Jonas, Lovest thou me? Agape thou me? Peter was grieved by this point. Because he said to him, the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, listen closely. Oh no, I'm sorry, listen. No, no. Listen, go back to verse number 17. Jesus makes a transition here. For two times, Jesus asked him, Do you agape me? And Peter said, No, I like you. And now Jesus is talking to him right where he's at. Listen, this is what Jesus says in verse number 17. And he said to him the third time, Phileho thou me? See, Jesus didn't ask him the third time, Agape thou me? He said, Phileho thou me? In other words, Peter, Jesus is saying, Okay, okay. I can accept that. I can see that you're being honest. So are you saying to me that you like me? Yes, Lord. And Jesus said the third time, Alright, feed my sheep. In other words, what Jesus is doing now is saying this, Since you're being nakedly honest before me, I'm going to meet you right there. I'm going to then ask you, Oh, so you only like me? Yes. Alright, fine. Feed my sheep, and I will work on that in you. When you're honest with God, God says, alright, good. Now we have something to work with. Now I have a question I want to ask you. Do you think Peter continued the rest of his ministry with a Phileho relationship with Jesus? Or do you think it grew? It grew, because you know what church history tells us? That Peter was crucified upside down for the Lord, because he said he wasn't worthy to be crucified right side up. Here's a man who was beaten, who was whipped, who was put in stocks and put in chains, who experienced great persecution, who experienced great trouble, and who ultimately was martyred, who met Jesus and said, I only like you. But you see what God can do with a man or a woman when they're honest and they tell God the way it is? He can take that honesty, just like He did with Jacob. What is your name? Jacob. What kind of love do you love me with, Peter? Phileho. I only like you, Lord. I'm a selfish person. When following You means I have to lose my own life, I choose my way, because I frankly don't want to give up my life. Good. Good, Jesus said. I like that. I like that. You're being honest. Peter, it's been almost four years now. Three and a half years. I see a quality in you that I like. Now granted, Peter, you had to go through a time, didn't you, buddy? But forget those things which lie behind. Forget the pains. Forget the sorrow. Learn the lesson. But forget it. Listen, Jesus is not harping on your past. He brought you through. He did something in your life. Stop living in your past. Stop being held by the pain of your past. God's the God of now. And so we read that Peter, having become honest before God, having become honest before Jesus, Jesus was commissioned by Jesus at the point of His honesty. His ministry was reaffirmed. Jesus demonstrated no attitude of rejection or of looking down on Him because He was honest. But rather He affirmed His commission. Verse 18, after Jesus teaches Peter, the only grounds that you can meet with God is the grounds of honesty. Remembering what Calvary's all about. Remembering the forgiveness of sins. Remembering that the New Covenant is not a covenant unto condemnation, but it's a covenant unto life. It's a covenant unto forgiveness. God must have truth on the inward parts. Brothers and sisters, we must not live a lie. We've got to stop denying the truth. We've got to start telling the truth. Tell it like it is. Many Christians never grow beyond babyhood because they refuse to be honest because in being honest, they have to give up their pride. They have to give up the image they have. The image that they've created. The image that they're perpetuating. They have to give it all up. It has to die. And so many Christians live their whole life in spiritual infancy. All because they won't be honest. But at the point of honesty, Jesus meets us and then He speaks our destiny. Verse 18. This is not only the destiny of Peter, this is the destiny of every single child of God that comes to the point of honesty where they deal with God honestly and they are no longer living two lives. Jesus will reaffirm His love for you. He'll reaffirm His call on your life. And then He'll speak these words, Verily, verily, I say unto you... You see, when we're honest with God, God starts speaking to us. I have heard over the years, many Christians say, you know, Phil, I just don't hear the Lord speak to me. I just don't hear... I read the Word, but God doesn't speak to me. And you know, most of the time, it's because they're not honest. Do you want to hear God speak to you? Every word that God speaks is truth. So if you're living a life that is full of lies and self-deception, you're not going to hear God. He's not going to reinforce your delusions. He's going to speak the truth. Now Jesus starts speaking to Peter. Listen closely. This is a word for every one of us. Verily I say unto you, when you were young, thou girdest thyself, walkest whither thou wouldest. Jesus is now showing Peter that while He engaged in the life of immaturity, while He engaged in the life of not being honest, because one of the qualities of being a child is being dishonest. Putting on fronts. Wanting to appear to be something that we're not. Wanting to impress our friends. And Jesus addresses that whole realm, that whole stage of our Christian life and says it's characterized basically by doing what you want when you want to do it. You dress yourself. You go where you want to go. You do what you want to do. You serve God the way you want to serve God. You do it your way. You call the shots and then you ask Me to bless you. And God says that's fine. If that's where you're at, I'll walk with you. But when you're ready to be honest and when you're ready to allow Me to deal in your life, not that I might destroy you, but that I might bring you to spiritual maturity. Not that I might ruin you, but I might cause you to grow. When you're ready to lose your pride and to lose your stubbornness and to lose your antagonistic spirit. When you're ready to be naked before Me and to take off all those fig leaves you're putting on. Stop dressing up yourself. Be naked before God. When you're ready to do that, God says I'll speak a word into your life and I'll change you. I'll make a Jacob into an Israel. I'll make a liar into a truth teller. I'll make a self-righteous, arrogant man into a humble servant. But when thou shalt be old, when thou shalt come to know maturity, when thou shalt continue to be honest with Me, when you continue to deal honestly with people, when you cease from being a child. When I was a child, I felt like a child. I acted like a child. But when I became an adult, Paul says, I put off childish ways. But when thou art old, here is what it is to be a Christian. Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee. We don't like being led. We like leading. We don't like being told what to do. We like telling what to do. We don't like being on the end of being a servant. We want to be the master. We want to be the master of our destiny. We want to be the master of our... We want to tell God how our life is going to be. Don't we? Come on, don't be afraid of honesty. I'm not angry or upset. I hope I'm not coming across like that. I'm just excited. When thou art young, you do what you want to do. But when you are old, you stretch forth your hands and another one girds thee, and another one leads thee, and another shall gird thee and carry thee, whither thou wouldest not. In other words, when you become old and mature and put off childish ways, you give up the rights of your life. You give up the rights of telling God how you're going to serve Him, when you're going to serve Him, and you become a servant. You lay out your hand and then God is the one that leads you. And many times, He's leading you down a path that you never would have chosen for yourself. That's what Jesus meant when He said, Thou shalt go and thou shalt be carried whither thou wouldest not. You would never choose in your own self where God is going to ultimately lead you when you become old. 1 Corinthians 13. The love chapter. Paul ends with some profound words. And I believe that these words have been grossly misapplied. 1 Corinthians 13. Charity never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. And whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. Now remember, Paul is dealing with a bunch of immature Christians. He's dealing with Christians who want to do it their way. They want to have church their way. They want to have relationships their way. They're governed by selfish ambition. That's the context through which you have to read the next following words. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. In other words, you're overly inflated over the fact that God has given you some knowledge. That's what He's saying. You're overly inflated in that God has given you some prophecies. But that's not a sign that you've arrived. That's not a sign that you've come to spiritual maturity. You only know in part. You only see in part. Everything you're doing is only in part. It doesn't mean you've arrived. But let me tell you what it does mean to arrive. Let me tell you what it does mean to satisfy God's heart. Not that you get up and show off and prophesy and speak in tongues and impress people. This is the spirit that Paul is under. But he's saying, when that which is perfect... Now mind you, that word, perfect, is the same word that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 6. We speak wisdom among them that are perfect. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. Now some have come to believe that this means that when perfect love comes, we stop prophesying. No, that's not what it means. When perfect love comes, we stop speaking in tongues. No, that's not what it means. What it means is this. Paul explains it. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, and I thought as a child. But when I become a man, same spirit here that Peter was hearing from Jesus. When you're a child, you're selfish. But when you're a man, you put away childish things. In other words, Paul is saying, listen, follow after love. Follow after charity. Because the qualities of love represent spiritual adulthood. And spiritual adulthood will free you from all of the dreadful sins that you're drowning in right now. Spiritual adulthood will free you from all of the sins of jealousy and anger and all of the sins of backbiting and fornication and bringing people to court. Paul's passion was that they might pursue after the perfection, the adulthood that comes through perfect love. Love is not self-seeking. Love doesn't demand its own way. Love doesn't look down on another person. Love is gentle. Love is kind. Do you know why Paul had to write with such authority to these Corinthians? Because there wasn't one person in their midst who could stand up and say, brothers and sisters, we better get honest with God. That's why Paul had to pull apostolic authority. That's why he did it. Why did he have to write such a letter dealing with all these issues? Nobody, nobody in the church had enough maturity to stand up and say, guys, girls, we need to repent. We are acting like children. And so God had to use Paul, who was hundreds and hundreds of miles away, and write a letter and send it by a messenger in order for the Lord to rebuke this church. Honesty. Are we prepared this morning after hearing the Word of the Lord for the Lord to give us honest hearts? Can you see what happens with honesty? Jacob, what is your name? Honesty begins when we say things the way they are. Not the way we want people to think they are. Not the way that we want it to appear in our spiritual pride. But we say it the way it is. Not under the fear and condemnation of the law. But under the love of the new covenant and the grace of Jesus Christ. Honesty will not result in your condemnation. It will result in your healing. Now, is that good news or what? What is your name? That's what God asked Jacob. Peter said, Do you love me? See, same thing. When Jacob said Jacob, God said, I'm going to change you to Israel. I'm going to give you a new nature. I'm going to make you a prince. And when Peter was honest with Jesus and said, Nope, I only like you. Jesus met him, commissioned him, and then worked with him and brought him to spiritual maturity. Let's be before the Lord for a few moments. That's all I have from the Lord. But I do have a sense, and I'm going to close with this, a sense of gentle importunity in my spirit, as though the Lord would be saying, Don't miss His heart, brothers and sisters. Don't miss His heart. His heart now is this. Don't be afraid of naked honesty before God. Don't be afraid. It is your healing. It is your restoration. Yes, it will destroy your pride, but you don't want pride. Pride is an enemy. Father, I commit this word into Your hands, and I pray the Spirit of Truth will succeed in securing, in our hearts, honesty. That we will humble ourselves and not allow our pride and our self-righteousness to hinder us from cooperating with the Spirit of Truth and being honest. And not to fear that our honesty will result in any loss spiritually. But it will cause a gain spiritually. And the only thing we'll lose is the wretched life of sin and pride. Do your work, Lord, by the power of Your Spirit. Amen and amen. Let's be before the Lord for a few moments and let Him work.