Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes that Jesus is our only true friend, one who tells us the truth in love, unlike earthly friends who may flatter or deceive us. He highlights the struggle we face in accepting the truth about ourselves, often preferring superficial relationships that do not challenge us. The sermon calls for a deep love for truth, urging believers to seek a genuine relationship with Jesus, which requires dying to self and embracing His words. Beach Jr. reminds us that true friendship with Jesus involves hearing and obeying His word, which can be difficult but ultimately liberating. He concludes with a plea for healing from self-love and a desire to be transformed into lovers of truth.

Thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord Jesus, thank you, Lord, Father, we thank you for your Holy Spirit and Lord, we want to look to you at this moment. For enabling and help to understand your heart, Lord, we're considering what a true friend is today. And Lord, we know that a true friend. Always tells us the truth. Never lies to us, never flatters us. Never pops us up. And Lord, we recognize that we don't have a true friend on earth. We only have a true friend in you. We have seen, Lord, in our lives that you're the only one that has ever told us the truth about ourselves. And yet you told us in perfect love. Lord, we want to confess before you that because of the weakness of our flesh. We resent being told the truth about ourselves. And we actually surround ourself with so-called friends who don't always tell us the truth about ourselves, nor do we tell the truth to others. And Lord, it's only a sign that there is no true friend other than you. And the measure to which we can be a true friend is only in relation to how much we die to the love affair that we have with our own selves and become alive to you and you alone. And so, Lord, we beg you to heal our hearts this morning from our deep love we have for ourself. Our deep love, Lord, that we have to want to preserve ourself. And Lord, this love that we have for ourself has made us unfaithful to you. We have been unfaithful to you, Lord, because we are faithful to the one that we love. We thank you, Lord, for telling us the truth. And we pray, Lord, that by your Holy Spirit and by your word, you would speak to us. We pray, God, that as our hearts begin to resist this word, which they will, you will be merciful and patient with us and forbearing. You know, Lord, the weakness of our flesh. And you know, Lord, that only in your own heart can you find dedication and commitment to the truth. And so little of that is in us. And so we pray, God, that you'll be merciful and patient but relentless and not let us go astray. But continue, Lord, to do what's necessary to etch into the depths of our being the likeness of thine own self wherein we might say, as you have said, thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. God, we beg you to do this. For the glory of your Son, we pray, Amen. And Amen. Luke chapter 11. I'm sorry, it's Matthew chapter 11. No, it's not. We'll try Luke again. Maybe it is Luke. Let's try Luke chapter 8. Ah, there we are, okay. Luke chapter 8. Brothers and sisters, God must make us lovers of truth. It is a contradiction to pray, Oh God, send revival and yet we hate truth or we only like a little bit of it. It's a contradiction. Do we understand and realize that for the Lord Jesus to show up in our midst is equal to a vision of truth? For Christ to show up in your life to speak to you is truth. If God doesn't change our heart and give us a love for the truth, like Eli, where we cry out and say, Hide not, oh God, hide not all that is in your heart for me. Hide it not, Lord, speak to me. If we don't come to that place in our walk with him, we will find ourselves surrounded by untruth. We will find ourselves surrounded by that which does not tell us the truth about ourselves. The television does not tell you the truth about yourself. Video games don't tell you the truth about yourself. Books don't tell you the truth about yourself. Soulical, fleshly friendships with people don't tell you the truth about yourself. We've just defined our whole life, haven't we? No wonder we're dull and blind and deaf and hard of hearing. No wonder. Lord, help us, we pray. Blessed is the man that is not offended by me. Luke. Chapter eight. Verse 19. Then came to him his mother and his brethren. And could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which said thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, my mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it. My mothers, my mother and my brothers, listen carefully, are them that are hearing. Are hearing. Listen, listen. The language here is not a past tense. It is a present continuous. Those who are close to me. Those who have relationship with me. Not Mary and Joseph and James. Not on the ground of natural affinity and affection. Not on the ground of association based on family ties. No, but Jesus said, my mother. Who can be closer to us than mom? Relationship. Jesus is talking about relationship now. Do you have a relationship with him? The question is not being asked, do you belong to him? My daughter belongs to me. But I might not have a relationship with her. At all. Jesus, your mother and your brethren. They can't come. They can't talk with you. They can't speak with you, Lord. They desire to see you. Oh my God. Lord, your mother and your brother. They're claiming, listen, they're claiming a place in your heart. Based on their association with you as mother and brother. Jesus, Jesus. Do you respond to that kind of a claim? Jesus, they want to see you. Stop what you're doing. Jesus, make a place in your heart for mom and brothers. You see why we only have a friend in Jesus? Which one of us could look at mom and brothers and sisters and turn from them? Which one? None of us. We only have a friend in Jesus. He tells us the truth, doesn't he? What does he say? Thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to see thee. And he answered and said to them, My mother and my brethren are these. These who are hearing the word of God and are doing the word of God. Matthew 11, 6. Verse number 2, chapter 11. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to him, Are you he that should come? Or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see. The blind receive their sight. The lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead are raised up. And the poor have the gospel preached to them. Verse number 6. And blessed is he whoever shall not be offended in me. Blessed is he that shall not be offended in me. Jesus, your mother and your brothers want to talk to you. Jesus, make a place for them. My mother. Relationship. My brethren. Relationship. Relationship with me, Jesus is saying. Do you want to make an appeal based on relationship? Are you suggesting that relationship moves my heart? That relationship gives you an advantage? Yes, you're right, it does. But behold, these, these, not mom, not dad. These who are hearing. Eli was in the house of God. But he wasn't hearing. His sons were in the house of God. But they weren't hearing. But weren't they the priests? Uh-huh. They weren't hearing. Are you in the house of God? Yeah. Do you take pride in what you've learned? Yeah. Yeah. Your history? Uh-huh. Good teaching. Uh-huh. Uh-uh. How can we be hearing and walk so directly? Look at me. Oh, yes. We're not hearing. Why? Blessed is the man that is not offended. Do you know what happens when you hear him? You are offended. Oh, yeah. Deeply offended. John, chapter 8. There's another scripture, which I thought I had the correct reference, but apparently I don't. Perhaps one of you might find it and just mention the reference, and I'd like to turn to it and read it. It has to do with the scripture that I had read earlier. Where someone from the crowd cried out after they were hearing Jesus' words, and they said, Blessed is the one who raised you, and blessed is the one whose paps you sucked. And then Jesus didn't agree with that statement, at least at that moment. If someone finds that reference, just go ahead and just shout it out. But until then, we're going to go to John, chapter 8. Brothers and sisters, let's not get lost in anything now. Let's stay focused on what the Lord is saying. Let's stay focused on what he's saying to us. A true friend tells us the truth. A true friend loves us and tells us the truth. Jesus, brothers and sisters, Jesus is our only true friend this morning. And only to the measure that we have died to ourself and are faithful to him, by the power of grace can we be a true friend to one another. There's no other way to be a true friend. John, chapter 8, verse 31. And Jesus said to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. The TV does not tell you the truth about yourself. Then why do we like it? That's exactly right. What's the verse, Sarah? Luke 11, 27. Let's go there before we... Thank you. That's a handy little computer there. What was it, Luke? Oh, 47. 27. Alright, that's it. I had Luke 11, 37. That's why I got confused before. It's Luke 11, 27. Let's just look at that. Ah, right there it is. Okay. Verse 27. Now stay here now, brothers and sisters. Stay here where we're at with the Lord's heart. Oh, may Jesus tell us the truth this morning. Huh? Did you know there's healing in truth? And there's no healing any other way? Did you know I can come and love you and hug you and embrace you and tell you how much I love you and it doesn't mean a thing unless there's something of truth that's communicated? Truth. You love yourself more than me. That's what Jesus says. Lovers of pleasure Lovers of pleasure. More than lovers of God. Oh, I know, Lord. That's them, alright. Is it them? Or is it me? Is it me? The Jews said, Why do you tell us that it will know the truth and the truth will set us free? We've never been in bondage. We'll read that in a moment. They couldn't hear the truth, could they? And you know why? Because they were of something other than God. They were of something other than God. And guess what? So are we. So are we. So were the Corinthians. They couldn't hear the truth. One says, I'm of. Of the world. Oh my. Lord Jesus, help us this morning. Help us, Lord. Lord, I pray you'll help me more than anyone else. Because everyone's sin combined together in this room on a scale would not tip it with mine on the other side. Help me, Lord. Luke chapter 11, verse 27. And it came to pass as he spoke these things a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice and said to him, Blessed! You know, Jesus is very jealous of that term, blessed. I've noticed He only lets that term rest on certain things. He wouldn't let it rest here. Watch what He does here. Blessed is the womb that bare thee and the paps which thou hast sucked. This dear woman was trying to make the woman who bore Jesus blessed because she was amazed at this man. She was amazed. She just was amazed at his words, at his speech, at his truth, at his authority. Oh, she had to pronounce a blessing somewhere. She just had to bless something. So she said, Blessed is the woman who bare thee. Someone's got to be blessed. I've got to bless someone. I see this great man. But He said, Yea, rather! Rather! Turn your attention away from anyone or anything that you might be tempted to place a blessing upon. Jesus is saying, Yea, rather! Blessed! You feel like blessing someone, dear sister? You feel like there's a blessing you want to pronounce? Don't put it on anyone. Don't put it on anything. But here's where you put it. Yea, rather! Blessed are they that are hearing the Word of Man. How many hours do you sit in front of the TV, the video, music? You're not hearing the Word of God. You're hearing all that junk that makes you feel good. Blessed is the man that is not offended in Me. Parents, what are we teaching our children? What are we teaching our children? What are we modeling for our children? What are we encouraging them to do? What are we permitting them to do? Yea, their ears are filled with deafness. Their eyes are blind because they're accustomed to hearing what man says. And the Word of the Lord is going to be hard for them to hear. They're not going to want to hear it. They like hearing that which builds them up, makes them feel significant, makes them feel strong. Blessed is the man that is not offended in Me. Blessed is he that is hearing the Word of God and keeping it. You know, the Lord will teach you how to keep His Word. It's very simple. You keep His Word by trembling in His presence and by grace saying, Lord, you're right and I'm wrong. That's how you keep His Word. You're right and I'm wrong. What you say is true and what I think is untrue. We must weep for our children. Oh God, help us. Help us, Lord, to model before our children a heart that trembles at Your Word. Yea, rather blessed are they that are hearing the Word of God and are keeping it. What are you listening to? I'm not talking about putting a Scripture tape on when you're driving down the road. That's not hearing the Word of God. You know that. Hearing the Word of God. Then said Jesus to those Jews, John 8, verse 31, which believed on Him, If you continue in My Word, then are you My pupils, My students, those who are learning at My feet. And you shall know the truth. There's that truth word. Truth is revealed to pupils. Disciples. Those who are learning at His feet. Okay? Whose feet are you sitting at? What broken cistern are you drinking from? Truth. Listen, and they answered Him, And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And they answered Him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man. How sayest Thou? Ye shall be made free. Oh dear friends. Oh dear friends. They couldn't hear the truth. They couldn't hear it. It was right there spoken to them, and they couldn't hear it. They missed it. They missed it. Why? They missed it. Verse 34, And Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever is committing sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abides not in the house forever, but the Son abides forever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my father. You do that which you have seen with your father. They answered and said to Him, Abraham is our father. They keep missing it. Jesus is speaking the truth to them, and they keep missing it. They're not hearing. Not only are they not hearing, but you're going to find that antagonism begins to develop. They become antagonistic toward the Lord. They become angry at Him. And it consummates in wanting to what? Kill Him. Let's read on. They answered and said to Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God. There's a perfect, perfect definition of the Lord Jesus Christ as He walks in the midst of our lives. As a glorified man, He tells us the truth as He has heard from God. He tells us the truth. But what do our ears do when we hear the truth that this glorified man tells us that he hears from God? What do we do? What do we do? But now you seek to kill me, a man which told you the truth. What was it that Paul said to the Corinthians? I love... What did he say? You love me less? The more I love you and tell you the truth, the less you love me. That's strange, isn't it? Paul was stumbling because he loved the Corinthians. But he was walking with this man and only could tell them the truth. And he found a pattern in their life. The more his love for them grew, which enabled him to tell them the truth, the less they loved him. That's true about you and I. Don't kid yourself. That's true about you and I. Not only with the Lord, but with any person that is close enough to Him to tell us the truth about ourself. We'll make sure next time we sit a few seats away from them. We're going to get to the bottom line here soon. And the Lord then is going to open up our hearts. He's going to open up our hearts and help us to see why we do this to the Lord. But now you seek to kill me, verse 40, a man which hath told you the truth which I have heard of God. Ye do the deeds of your father. Now again, remember, he's talking about relationship here. You are reflecting, listen, you are reflecting the actions of the one you have relationship with. That's what he's after here. Father indicates relationship. Okay? Now watch this. Then they said to him, we be not born of fornication. We have one Father, even God. They're still not hearing Him. Not only are they not hearing Him, but now they're maligning the Son of God. You know what they're actually saying here. We're not like you. We weren't born in fornication. We know the rumor about you. We know that you're the product of a fornicating relationship, oh carpenter, oh prophet of God, so holy. Where's your Father? Who's your Father? Huh? We know. We know about it. Don't pretend to be spiritual. You're an illegitimate child. We're not like you. Oh, the depths of human depravity. How we'll turn on the very one who loves us enough to tell us the truth. We'll turn on Him. Some of us right here have turned on the very one that loves us enough to tell us the truth. Listen. Verse 42. If God were your Father, if you had relationship with God, if you were in right relationship with God, this is what he's saying, if you were in right relationship with God, you would love me. Every time we fail to love Him, when He tells us the truth, reveals that we are in wrong relationship with Him. Wrong relationship. Listen. We have placed value on our self more than on Him. And that results in all different kinds of illegitimate relationships that we can have with many different things. Listen. Every illegitimate relationship that we have becomes a leaven that blinds our eyes and dulls our ears to His Word. And so that when He speaks to us, as He's speaking to these Jews, and we don't have right relationship with our Father, His words are hard to hear. They're offensive to us. Blessed is the man. John the Baptist was beginning to get trouble, and Jesus said, go tell John, blessed is the man. He was starting to waver a little bit. You see? He was starting to consider more about what? Himself. The moment you or I consider our self, we're at a wrong relationship. We're at a relationship with God. And we won't hear His Word anymore. Because the mind set after the flesh is at enmity to God. Jesus looked at Peter and said, Peter, I'm going to die. And Peter said, Peter said, wrong relationship. Chosen? Yes. Saved? Yes. Loved? Yes. Wrong relationship? Yes. This is what wrong relationship does, when it hears the words of Jesus. Not so, Lord. Pity Thyself. Have mercy on Thyself. He couldn't hear the words of Jesus. He was blinded. Have mercy, Lord. Wrong relationship. Listen. Thou savorest not the things which be of God. You do not understand the things which be of God. When our hearts are laid bare before the One who sees all things, and He finds something in us, something in us, that's got too big of a place in our life, He speaks to that idol. And what we do is, we stumble. We can't hear it. And He says, that mind set, He that seeks to save his life, that mind set does not understand the things of God. It's at enmity to God. Can't hear God. It can't hear God. It's got to be broken. It's got to be smashed. Thou understandest not the things which be of God, but the things which be of man. Of man. OK. OK. Listen to this. If you were, if God were your Father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but He sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Listen, brothers and sisters. This is the light that we must pray God will help us with. Because you cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father, the devil. And the lust of your father, ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning. And abode not in the truth. Because there's no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaketh of his own. For he is a liar. And the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. Verse 47. He that is of God, hears God's words. He therefore, ye therefore hear them not. Because ye are not of God. Now brothers and sisters, this not only applies to a heart that doesn't know God and that is lost in sin. But it also applies to you and I who are known by God, but know very little of God. We cannot hear His word. We do not understand His speech. Because we are of, we are out from many different things other than God Himself. The Corinthians, if you remember, brothers and sisters, they claimed to be of what? 1 Corinthians chapter 3. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual. You hear the burden of the Lord here? I couldn't speak to you as unto spiritual. Or those who were of God, of your Father, I couldn't speak to you. But as unto carnal, as unto babes, I have fed you with milk and not with meat. For hitherto you were not able to bear it. For you are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk as men? Listen, watch the language now. For one saith, I am of, who? Paul. Of Paul. Christians. Of Paul. Not of God. Of Paul. Another says, I am who? Of Apollos. Another says, Cephas. Another says, Christ. There's the spiritual group. Who are we of? Or what are we of this morning? Who are we of? What are we living by? Whose word are we listening to? These Corinthians weren't listening to the word of Christ, though they were taught. Listen. They were taught by the greatest teachers the church had ever known. They were taught by Paul and Apollos. But they weren't of God. Belong to God? Yes. But they weren't of him. They were of another spirit. What spirit are we of this morning? Now listen closely, beloved, please. Only to the measure that we are subject to and submit to the work of God in our life to purge us from what we are of. What spirit we are of. So that we can be brought into brokenness before our Father. Only to that measure will we hear Him and hear His word. And so, guess where we must go together and individually. We must go to the Lord and ask Him like Eli. Lord, speak to me and don't hide it from me. Everything in your heart. And do you know what He's going to talk to us about? Ye are of your Father fill in the blank. What are you of? What spirit are you drinking from? He has got to smash every idol every false god in our life so that we will be able to hear Him. He that is of God hears my words. He that is of God hears my word. Blessed is the man that is not offended in me. These Jews could not hear Christ because they were of something other than a broken and a contrite heart. They were of another spirit and therefore their heart was full of idols. The greatest idol being self-love. And so as we bring this time together to a close let us remember blessed are those who are hearing God's word and keeping it. Why can you not hear my speech? Why can you not hear my word? Everyone who is of the truth everyone that loves the truth hears my word. Oh God Oh God I love myself more than you. Lord I love to hear men talk more than I want to hear you talk. Lord help me. I just met a man who told me everything I have ever done. Have you met him? He'll tell you the truth but he'll say I love you. Come to me. So as we close I want to ask this question that we asked at the beginning. Do you want Jesus to be your friend? If you do then don't expect him to be like an earthly friend. If you want him to be your friend then expect him to love you enough to tell you the truth. And with that sword slay you and then whisper and say but I love you. Father we thank you that you love us. We can't say that we love you the way we should. But we can say that you love us. And we come Lord in brokenness and in trembling and we do pray Father help us to love you the way we should. Heal us from our backslidings. Heal us from our wayward heart. Heal us from our many lovers. Heal us from our many affairs. Lord they have blinded our eyes from seeing you. Dulled our ears from hearing you. We confess our sin. Have mercy. Purge us. Cleanse us. Make us of the truth that we might be set free. We look to you to do this Father by your power, your grace and your mercy Lord.