Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the importance of spiritual maturity, encouraging believers to wait on the Lord for strength and guidance. He highlights that true encouragement from God is redemptive and leads to growth, urging the congregation to make tough decisions that align with their faith. Beach explains that spiritual maturity involves a transformation in speech, thought, and understanding, moving away from childish ways to embody the qualities of love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. He warns against equating knowledge or gifts with maturity, stressing that true growth is about Christ's life manifesting in us. Ultimately, he calls for a deeper dependence on God through life's challenges, recognizing that spiritual maturity is cultivated in the everyday experiences of life.

Well, the Lord is so lovely and so, he's just so encouraging, isn't he? He's so encouraging, he encourages us. How many have been encouraged this morning? Uplifted, strengthened, built up in the most holy faith. That's one of the results of being in the presence of Jesus, particularly we who trust in him. He comes to encourage us and to strengthen us and sometimes he speaks a corrective word to us, but it's always redemptive in nature. It is always seeking to correct something that we might go further along in our intimacy with him. It's never a destructive word that he wants to speak to those that trust in him and that depend upon him. I have a question for everyone. It's a rhetorical question, so you don't have to answer it, but I do want to ask, have you, as a result of last Sunday and the word that the Lord brought forth regarding our need to make some tough decisions about waiting on the Lord and not just letting it slip, has anyone begun to experience some positive fruit in your life as a result of taking some time and waiting on the Lord? You don't have to raise your hand. I just want to know. Remember Isaiah chapter 40 that we read last week? We can read it real quick now. Isaiah chapter 40. There is a weariness that has come over the house of God, a weariness, a tiredness, and this weariness and tiredness is related to a failure to wait on the Lord, to wait on the Lord. You see, because we can't live this Christian life in our own strength. And so Isaiah said in verse number 28 of the 40th chapter, hast thou not known, hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon to bind together by twisting is what that actually means, to bind together by twisting. So to wait upon the Lord is to actually find ourself binding together with him through faith. Our union with him, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 6, enables us to become one spirit with him. And so to bind together with him, to unite with him, and in that posture we look not to ourself but to him. And as our eyes are upon him, then the one who never becomes weary, the one who never faints, begins to release that from himself into us and we begin to live by the strength of another, even him. There's a reason why you're tired and weary and you can't find the strength, because the Lord is wanting to teach you that you need to trust him and wait upon him for the strength. And so may we be encouraged this morning to make it a point to prioritize in our lives the waiting upon God, waiting upon God, waiting upon God, where we will find strength, where we will find encouragement, where we will discover his voice. And as we mentioned last Sunday, this is going to place everyone into a crisis, a valley of decision. You and I are going to have to make tough decisions if we're going to follow the Lord and we're going to submit to the work of his Spirit in our life. We're going to have to make tough decisions. It's not just an emotional thing where we hear good singing and we hear good teaching and preaching. It's got to result in the word getting into our hearts and into our minds to the point where we say, we must follow the Lord. And in following the Lord in this way that he's speaking, in this way that he's leading me, I've got to turn my back to this thing and I've got to turn my back to that thing. And if we follow the Lord on this word of waiting on him, then it's going to result in having to make some tough decisions and saying no to certain things that perhaps have crowded out of our lives, this spiritual posture of waiting on God. So let's be prepared to listen to him and to let him lead us in this way. We began additionally last week talking about the heart of the Lord and the heart of the Scriptures in the New Testament in relation to God's desire to bring us to spiritual maturity. Everything that God is doing in your life right now is working toward that end. He wants to bring you to spiritual maturity. In other words, it's time to grow up. It's time to grow up. Now, listen, it's a painful process to grow up because growing up means that we have to put off childish ways. Here's an interesting Scripture that we want to start out with this morning. First Corinthians chapter 13. You might not have even read this Scripture with a contemplative heart before, but perhaps some light might be shed this morning. And by the way, this is in the context of love. Did you know that if you are going to be a partaker of mature love, you can't be a child? You can't be spiritually immature? Because the very nature and qualities of love necessitate maturity. Now, we've all tasted in measure the love of God, haven't we? But the Bible doesn't say that God's love casts out perfect fear. The Bible says perfect love, mature, developed love casts out perfect fear. And this is the road that we're traveling on. God's perfecting His love in us. He's perfecting the qualities and character of His Son, the Lord Jesus, in our life. Now, watch what Paul says here in first Corinthians chapter 13, beginning in verse number 10. But when that which is perfect is come, or that which is complete is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. Now, watch verse number 11. When I was a child, when I was a child, I spoke as a child. Now, remember now, this is the second message in this series. The qualities that are going to be in our life, evidencing our spiritual growing up. Okay? Now, when I was a child, number one, speech. I spoke. That has to do with our speech, right? Now, be careful, because you're going to start seeing some of the implications of growing up. I spoke as a child. I thought as a child. Oh, my. This is fun, isn't it? Number two, thinking. I spoke as a child. I thought as a child. So, let's read that again. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, and I understood as a child, and I thought as a child. So, thinking, understanding, and let's just make this our faults. We'll make a slight difference between the thinking, the understanding, the way we perceive things versus our faults, what we think about. They're connected, but since there's a distinction here, we'll try and make the distinction. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. So, manhood has to do with a radical change in speech, thinking, and understanding, and our faults. Now, in context, 1 Corinthians 13, that's where this verse that we just read comes from. In context, Paul is talking about love. Now, listen to what he says, beginning in verse 1. We've read this, but we're going to read it because it so relates to the foundation upon which we are building to arrive at being able to see a panoramic view of what our lives will be like when the stature of Christ Himself begins to be expressed through us by the power of the Holy Spirit, and how appropriate it is for the Lord to have gone before this in our brother's exhortation and in other different manners, laying the necessary foundation that this whole burden of the Lord has nothing to do with our self-effort. It has nothing to do with rules and regulations. It has nothing to do with an outward form of righteousness. But it has everything to do with the believer going deeper, deeper, deeper into a posture of utter dependence upon the Lord alone. And so spiritual maturity is not connected with my ability to do good. It's connected with Christ's overwhelming life and love and character bursting through this earthen vessel. Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not charity, a radical change will take place in our speech, our thinking, our understanding, and our thoughts. When the Holy Spirit progressively develops in us the qualities of perfect love, we're going to see some of those qualities now. And have not charity, I became as sounding brass or a tingling symbol. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, it profits me nothing. And so Paul here gives a list of things that can be said with our mouth, things that can be understood with our mind, things that we can know, possessing even a faith that can remove mountains. But all of this gathered together, lacking this incredible quality of ever-growing perfect love or charity, amounts to nothing. It amounts to nothing. And so spiritual maturity has to go beyond the demonstration of gifts. It has to go beyond your giftedness. It has to go beyond the fact that you might be able to prophesy. It has to go beyond the fact that you might have a lot of faith to believe God to heal the sick. It has to go beyond the fact that you might be a proficient Bible student, and you might be able to quote half the New Testament. That is not the measure of our spiritual maturity. You might have been walking with the Lord 40 years. That's not the measure of our spiritual maturity. You might be a Bible teacher. You might understand deep mysteries. You might go into the Bible, and God might open up to you incredible mysteries of the Word of God. That does not necessarily in and of itself indicate that you are progressing in your spiritual maturity. Charity suffers long as opposed to being hasty or angered easily or spilling out empty words. And so now Paul is getting into the real substance of being a man. Spiritual maturity, spiritual adulthood. He's getting into the real substance of what constitutes growing up as a Christian. These are qualities that describe the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so charity suffers long and is kind. Charity envies not. Charity vaunteth not itself. Doesn't boast. It's not puffed up. Does not behave itself unseemly. Doesn't conduct itself in an improper way. I was talking to a brother a few days ago, and he went into a restaurant, and he ordered a cup of coffee, and the waitress apparently acted in a way that wasn't proper. And this man said that he thought evil about this person. He thought evil about her. And then during the day, the Lord brought that to his attention and spoke these words to him. Verse 5. Thinketh no evil. And he burst out into tears because the Lord was so real. And he said, what kind of love is this, Lord? What kind of love is this that thinketh no evil? And he realized at that moment that he was in need of a greater measure of God's love because he was guilty of thinking evil, and he had no grounds. He just didn't like what she did. So he thought evil about her. And the Lord said, love thinketh no evil. The beginning of verse 5, doth not behave itself unseemly. Seeketh not her own. We're touching here a love that is selfless. It seeketh not her own. This love is not interested in herself. This love is not in pursuing after only the things that pertain to itself. This love is selfless, selfless. Thinking not of itself is not easily provoked. This love doesn't get irritable easily. This love does not have a short fuse. Someone might say, well, that's just the way I am, brother. I'm sorry. Well, that might be true. But that's not the way Jesus is. And it's not about what you am. It's about who he is and becoming like him. You see, rejoice is not an iniquity. Oh, dear brother, dear sister. When you touch this kind of love, when you touch this kind of maturity, there's nothing in you that rejoices over iniquity. There's nothing in you that rejoices if your enemy falls. You're not happy about sin. This touches us very deeply, doesn't it? But rejoices in the truth, bears all things. Bears, stays under, is patient, bears. The idea of not bucking out from under something that's hard to endure. It bears. It's patient. It bears all things. Believes all things. Hopes all things. Endures all things. Love never fails. So, this perfect love is going to affect our speech. It's going to affect our thinking and our understanding, the way we perceive things. And it's going to affect our thoughts, what we think. This is what maturity is all about. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Here's Paul speaking again to the Corinthians. And listen what he says now. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, fleshly, even babes. That word babes is the same word that Paul used in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 when he was describing when I was a child. It's a word that means an infant. So, Paul said, I can't speak to you as spiritual or as mature or as those who are governed and controlled by the spiritual life. But I'm speaking to you as carnal, that is fleshly, even as unto babes or infants. I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it. Neither yet now are you able, for you are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk as men? And so, here Paul is touching on something within the Corinthian church that I believe was saddening the heart of God. Now, listen, beloved, listen. This is the same people that Paul spoke about in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. And listen to what he says about these people. Verse number 4, 1 Corinthians chapter 1. I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ. So, these believers had been given grace by Jesus Christ. That in everything you are enriched by Him. These were believers who were enriched by Him in all utterance. That word utterance is logos. So, they had been enriched in the Word. The written Word, they had been enriched. They sat under teachers. They sat under Paul's ministry. They sat under Peter's ministry. They sat under Apollos' ministry. They sat under other men who taught them tremendous things. And in all knowledge, they were enriched with all knowledge. I don't think these Corinthians lacked in knowledge because they sat under some of the greatest teachers that the first century ever knew. Now, I'm going into this because oftentimes we equate spiritual maturity to these things. If I've been taught well, if I've sat under good teachers, if I have a good knowledge and understanding of Bible doctrine, then I must be mature. Not so. How do you treat your wife? Huh? Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. So, these were believers in whom the testimony of Christ was confirmed in them. You know what that means? It simply means that it was evidenced that they were truly saved people. They weren't unbelievers. They were saved people. So that ye come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called under the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And so, Paul makes some rather wonderful statements about these dear believers. And yet, in the third chapter, he speaks of them being carnal, fleshly, walking as mere men, being governed by their fleshly nature. And in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, he explains to them all of the gifts that are operating. 1 Corinthians 14, he explains all the gifts that are operating in their midst. But yet, they are woefully immature and yet babes. Why? Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5. Now, listen, beloved. There is a reason why God is speaking this into our life at this time. God is wanting to make us to know that the end of His heart is not getting sidetracked with something that He might be doing in our life today to bless us. But He wants us to see the end is that we might be transformed into the image of His lovely Son. And both individually and corporately be a testimony of the qualities that are in Him. Not to get sidetracked. You see, I hear the Lord. I hear the Spirit of the Lord warning us, not us only, but the body, warning us, beware of getting sidetracked. Beware of majoring on the minor. Beware of getting so excited about the gift that you forget about the giver. Beware about all of the excitement of what's going on. God wants us to see His end is His Son being glorified and being manifested in a people. That's His end. That's His heart's cry. But that's going to require some tough decisions. That's going to require us to be willing for God to strip us of our childish ways. Children love to play with toys, don't they? There's a lot of toys in the church today. Did you know that? But God loves His children. But He's saying, are you going to let me take those toys away from you? Hebrews 5, beginning in verse 10, talking about the Melchizedek priesthood, called of God a high priest, that's the Lord Jesus, after the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say and are hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull of hearing. So the writer here is having a difficulty. He has revelation. He wants to share with these dear saints something of the ministry of Christ that relates to the Melchizedek ministry in the Old Testament. But he says, but it's hard to speak these things because you're dull of hearing. You can't hear. There's an inability to hear what God wants to say. Watch what he gives as the reason. For when the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. There's that word again, babe, infant. But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, full grown, spiritually mature, even those who by reason of use. So maturity has something to do with using something. Reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Oh, this is good. This is a whole nother thing now that we have to look at. We're laying the foundation of spiritual maturity. We saw in 1 Corinthians it's going to affect our speech, our thinking, our understanding and our thoughts. And now the writer of Hebrews gives us another aspect of spiritual maturity. And that is this spiritual maturity will result in using our spiritual senses for the purpose of discerning and making a distinction between good and evil. We get that? Listen carefully now. Spiritual maturity, according to the writer of Hebrews here, but strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even to those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern, to distinguish. That word discern means to distinguish between good and evil. So by way of comparison, if the spiritually mature are characterized by being able to use their spiritual senses to discern and distinguish between good and evil, what would be the characteristics of the immature? Not having the capacity to use their spiritual senses to discern the difference between good and evil. Therefore what? Gladly following after what is evil and not good. Now let me tell you, when the Bible in this context is talking about follow after something that's evil and not good, it's not talking necessarily, although it could be included, in following after something overtly evil like going out and getting drunk or engaging in immorality. But the simplest thing of being unkind, you see the qualities of love indicate that which is good. And the inherent qualities in the corruptible fleshly sinful nature indicate that which is evil. And babes or infants or even adolescent Christians think it oftentimes not to be wrong to follow after that which is evil. If we say an unkind word and don't find in ourselves a conscience that is smitten by God and an immediate desire to go and seek reconciliation and restitution, I'm sorry, forgive me. We are demonstrating a weak ability to discern between good and evil. Now in that state we could be very gifted. In that state we can continue to prophesy. In that state we can still give thousands of dollars to missionaries in other countries. In that state we can still be reading two hours a day in the Bible and on top of that reading three biographies about missionaries. We can be doing all that. And we might think, we might be deceived in thinking that because we're doing all that we're pleasing God and we have spiritual maturity in our life. Not so. Not so. You see, spiritual maturity is not linked with what you're doing. Spiritual maturity is linked with the measure of Christ's life. Christ's life. Bursting through your broken earthen vessel so that you can't glory in it. You can't get the credit for it. You can't say, look at me, how spiritual I am because of what I'm doing. No, Paul said, it's no longer I but Christ that liveth in me. If I'm doing good, I can't take the credit for it. If I'm excelling in the spiritual life, I can't get up and say, look at what I'm doing. No. Because it's not about me, it's about Him. And there's got to come by the work of the Spirit, by groaning and by travail and by intercession that's brought by God and awakening back into the church of God to begin to glory no longer in flesh or in what we do or what we say or what we think we know, but to glory in Christ alone. There is 11 in our lives and it is 11 of glorying in ourself. But God will take special means to get at the root of that in our lives. So, spiritual senses, discerning, distinguishing between good and evil. That is another quality of spiritual maturity. One of the evidences that will be growing in your life as spiritual maturity is occurring is you are going to be ever so sensitive to what's going on the inside of your heart. And you're not going to crowd out what's going on the inside of your heart by external things. We're avoiding the things that pertain to the heart which the whole book of Proverbs says guards your heart. Guards your heart for out of it proceeds the issues of life. Your heart is the most important thing you own. It's the greatest gift God has given you apart from His Son. It's your heart. It's the essential you. It's who you are. It's what's going on on the inside. The world within your heart is more important than the external world. But we're more concerned about the external world than we are the inside. But God is more concerned about what's going on in the inside. And so, you will become increasingly aware of what's going on in your heart. And you will be distinguishing through the Word of God and through the Spirit of God and through the mind of Christ growing in you. You will be distinguishing between good and evil. And you will be casting down that which is evil. You will be putting aside what is evil. And you will be pursuing after that which is good, that which pertains to the loveliness of Christ. Is that what you want? We read Ephesians chapter 4 last week, which is another scripture representing the heart of God. That we all might grow. That we all might become a mature company of believers. Each one uniquely joined to Christ and uniquely related to one another. Let me just say by passing Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4, verse 14, that we henceforth be no more children. Guess what? Same word again. Infants. Infants are tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. Infants are characterized by always wanting another teaching, always wanting another thing, always being tossed to and fro, always looking for a new teaching, a new revelation. But the very purpose of maturity is to prevent that from happening. But in verse 15, But speaking the truth in love may grow up into Him. What does it mean to grow up into Him? What does it mean to grow up into Him? Simply put, to grow up into Him simply means that that life that was placed into us at new birth will reproduce after its own kind. It's very simple. A seed reproduces after its own kind. Now, that life in us is not reproducing the deity of Jesus Christ. There's a distinction between the manhood of Christ and the Godhead of Christ, the deity of Christ. And God is not reproducing the deity of His Son in the church. No, He's reproducing the quality of that character that's in Him as Son of Man. It's the manhood of Christ. You see, it's not imitating. Spiritual maturity is not me imitating the life of Jesus. I'm trying to act like Jesus. So I'll put on outwardly acts of kindness or whatever it is. No, Christianity is not imitating. Oh, if we can get this revelation, it'll transform us. It'll change the way we think. It's not trying to be like Jesus. It's literally being born into the family of God and possessing the very life of Christ. And this life reproduces after its own kind. That's why it has nothing to do with human effort. And so the qualities and character of Jesus that comes forth in our life is truly replicating the kind of quality and nature and character that is in Him. That's the work of God. And so to grow up into Him is to see an ever-increasing expression. The very life of the Son of God. The very life that He has manifesting in our lives. Now, this requires what happened to Paul. Pouring contempt upon all his own righteousness, all his own goodness. Let me tell you, dear saint, you have to be brought to the place where you pour contempt upon every form of hope and self-righteousness that you have in yourself. If you're going to come into the full intention of God's heart and look totally to the loveliness of the Son of God as all of your righteousness and as the substance of all the spiritual maturity that's going to come in your life, speaking the truth may grow up in Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together. Now listen, listen, we're looking, we're still building a foundation. We're going to get in another time more specifically. We're going to look at the specific qualities that will characterize your life. As maturity begins to grow in you. This is just the foundation. So we're looking at different levels of foundation here. Now another level that marks the mature is speaking the truth in love. And it says here in verse 16, from whom the whole body fitly joined together. The mature recognize God's design to join them together with others. One of the characteristics of an immature person is this, I don't need anybody. I can do it myself. They don't want to relate to anyone. They don't want to be interrelated to anyone or anything. They want to do it themselves. But God's purpose for the body in coming to spiritual maturity is seen here in verse 16. The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies. So not only is it a coming together, but it's a recognizing the unique contribution that you have to your brother and sister and what they have for you. You see what we're seeing here? Maturity is characterized by a fitting together with others and a supply and a give. Supply and a give. Verse 16, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part. See that which God is doing in your brother, that which God is doing in your sister, as a mature person, you will become increasingly aware of, interested in, and desiring the input and contribution of your brother and sister into your life. Knowing that that very thing will add to your spiritual development and it will add to the whole body's spiritual growth. In other words, maturity is characterized by no longer thinking it's just all about me. It's all about me. That's one of the childish things that we put off. You let people speak into your life. You don't get defensive. You know, some people refuse to stay committed to other believers. You know why? Because they don't want people speaking into their life. It cramps their style, doesn't it? Cramps our style. I don't want Norman to get too close to me. I don't want him to get too close. He might see some of my weaknesses. He might see some of my sins. I might have to give an explanation to him as to why I do certain things. If you're an island unto yourself, you will have to submit to the Lord's dealing sometime in your life and learn what it is to walk together with other people and not find fault with them and not criticize them, but to accept them as Christ accepts them and to let them speak into your life. The result is it increases to the edifying of the body in love. One more scripture that I'm going to read and then we're going to close for now. We're laying the foundation. It's found in Colossians. This is Paul speaking about his calling. Verse 25, Whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to the saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Whom we preach, this is Christ, Paul saying whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Whereunto I also labor striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Paul was saying that the very energy of God that was working in him, the grace that was working in him, enabling him to strive, enabling him to pray, enabling him to preach and teach had one end in mind, one purpose, one goal. And it was that through that grace that was working through Paul into the church, he would be able through that grace to present every man, not some, every man perfect, mature. This is not a judicial standing. We are perfect the moment we come to Christ judicially. God says you are clean because Christ has washed you. This is not just a judicial standing, but this is an actual groaning of the Spirit of God to move us never out of the judicial standing of being perfect in the eyes of God, but to move us along the road of maturity so that our life lines up with our judicial standing. It's one thing to be innocent and perfect and free and forgiven, but it's another thing if you abide in Him, you will not practice sin. Now, if you happen to fall into sin, God still sees you as perfect because you're in the Son. You're under the blood. But God's goal is to bring us into such a union with His Son so that not only judicially do we know the state of being blameless, but through His life and His Spirit and His holiness living through us, we are learning to walk in the good of that in our daily life. And that's what Paul's heart is after. So having laid this foundation, we're going to look next time at the Word of the Cross as the means to secure this maturity in our life. The Word of the Cross. We're going to explain what the Word of the Cross is and how it affects us and how it becomes the means to every level of greater maturity, greater spiritual maturity. Every level of maturity that we enter into, we must enter more deeply into the meaning of the Word of the Cross in our life. And then we will finish this by looking into nine or ten different specific qualities that will begin to be expressed in our life as spiritual maturity begins to be developed in us and how these qualities will affect everyone in your life. So I trust you'll continue to bring paper and pen and listening ears. And let's look to Jesus to continue this great work of revealing His Son and all His loveliness to us. So in closing, I want to say this. I want to ask you a question, all right? In closing, are you prepared by the grace of God to let Jesus take the very thing that you're going through right now in your life? Let's bring all this great teaching now down to where we live. Are you prepared to take what Jesus is doing in your life right now and what circumstances are going on in your life right now? Are you prepared to let Jesus help you through whatever's going on? Affirm that He's going through whatever you're going through. He's going to get in you more of His Son. And you are going to allow what you're going through to bring you into a deeper dependence upon Him. A deeper dependence upon Him. Cast your fear on Him. Because what's happening now in your life is the thing that God is going to use to bring about the reality of this truth. It's not disconnected. Many believers get in trouble when they try and disconnect their spiritual pursuit after God with what they're going through in their real life. You get in trouble. You know what you end up? You end up getting into hypocrisy then. Because you resist and rebel and resent what's going on in your life practically, but yet you're always talking about, oh, I want to become like Jesus and I want to grow into maturity. And it's like you live two lives. You have one life where you're always talking about the heavenly things of God. And then when you come down to real life in your real life, you're all full of bitterness and resentment. You're missing it. You don't realize God's going to fulfill all of those desires to be like Him, not somewhere up in a cloud. He's going to do it in the fire. He's going to do it in real life. He's going to do it through what you're going through now. So receive His grace in what you're going through now. Stop looking for some unreal world to enter into and realize God works out His spiritual purposes through the humdrum of everyday life. That's where He's doing it. So let's rejoice and rejoice and say, thank you, Jesus. Can you say as we close right now, thank you, Jesus, for whatever you're going through? Can you really say it from your heart? If you can't, it probably means that you haven't quite yet got it. God is going to use what you're going through to bring about the truth of this message. Okay? He's not going to bypass it. He's going to use it. I've got to stop. Praise the Lord. Let's bow our hearts and pray for a moment, okay? As we've been praying and everything, I know, but let's just bow our hearts and pray. Thank you, Lord. Father, we thank you and praise you for your presence this morning. We thank you, Lord, for the Word. And we pray, Lord, that this morning you will birth in us an awakening to see that your goal is bringing us along into spiritual maturity and that it's going to require putting off childish ways. Give us the courage and grace when you begin to strip us, not to faint, but to trust you. Amen. Lord, help us, we pray, to rejoice in what we're going through right now, recognizing it's part of the plan that we need to go through to come into spiritual maturity. Help every person here to be able to say, Lord, I thank you for what I'm going through. Everyone here, ask God to help you say that in your heart. Lord, I thank you. Lord, I don't understand. I don't understand why, Lord, but I thank you. And I look to you for your grace. I'm going to sing a song now. The Holy Spirit is going to minister. If you want special prayer, I want to invite you. You can sit at your seat, lift your hand. Someone can come and pray for you just for a few moments. And if you just want special prayer, I want to invite you to lift your hand and someone will come and pray with you as we sing this song for God to touch you. We'll stand together with you in Jesus name.