Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the necessity of being filled with the Holy Spirit while remaining grounded in the Word of God, warning against the dangers of deviating into spiritual experiences that stray from biblical truth. He highlights the Apostle Paul's mission to establish churches and the importance of writing down God's Word for believers who need to be rooted in scripture. Beach calls for a spiritual awakening where the Holy Spirit teaches and reveals the beauty of a life transformed by Christ, urging believers to forget their old ways and embrace their new identity in Him. He discusses the characteristics of the flesh life, which opposes God and cannot submit to His will, and stresses the need for believers to crucify the flesh and live in the Spirit. Ultimately, he reassures that through the Holy Spirit, believers can experience true freedom and beauty in their relationship with Christ.

...become filled with the Holy Spirit, and they deviate from the Word. They get off into a spiritual warfare and start following visions, and dreams, and feelings, and they begin to wait for certain impressions to come, and they start getting away from the Word of God. So, any time... It's either to bring the Spirit back to dead orthodoxy, or to bring the Word back to the Spirit moving. And this is the true nature and character of God's Word. Do you remember that when the Apostle Paul was hurled out into the missionary call that God had set him aside to do? He was by the Spirit of God. It was by the Spirit of God that men and women were being saved. But he was sent to heathen nations. Men and women who were not acquainted with the Word of God. So, what was the first thing that Paul had to do once he founded a church and left it for a certain amount of time? He had to, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, begin to write the Word of God down, because the believers, though they were acquainted with the Spirit of God, yet needed to be grounded in the Word of God. You see, so, even when the Holy Spirit was freshly outpoured in the New Testament, there was not just a need for people to be in tune with the Spirit, but there was a need for people to be in tune with the infallible, unchanging, spoken Word of God, which Jesus Himself was full of and quoted to defeat the devil. So, as God moves anywhere, it will always be a release to the Holy Spirit, a welcoming of the person of the Holy Spirit, a relationship with the Holy Spirit, and a renewed love, interest, and honor and respect for the Word of God, so that the Holy Spirit becomes the Teacher, not leading you into heavenly euphoric experiences where you're just walking around in some visionary land, but the Holy Spirit becomes the Teacher, enlightening the Word of God, enabling you to understand and comprehend God Himself. And this is what God is going to do. Now, in Psalm 45, this is an introductory statement. Psalm 45, Psalm 45, this is a beautiful message here, Psalm 45, and in my Bible it's entitled A Royal Wedding Song. But of course, this Psalm reveals an incredible relationship that the king has toward her beloved. And I would like to read verse number 10 as something that the Holy Spirit is crying right now to His beloved bride. Psalm 45, verse number 10. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear. Forget also thine own people and thy father's house. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord, and worship thou Him. Now, as we would meditate upon this verse and allow God's Spirit to help us to comprehend what perhaps one of the many insights that the Lord could give us, we could possibly arrive at one definite conclusion. Psalm 45, verse number 10 is a cry. It is a cry to the blood-washed child of God to forget and to put aside the former way of life that we were redeemed out of. Hearken, consider, and incline are the three words that the Holy Spirit used in order to get the attention of the reader before we were brought into the message from the heart of God. Hearken, O daughter, consider, and incline. Now, here's what God is saying. Forget thine own people and thy father's house. Beloved, spiritually speaking, we were born in Adam's house. We were children of Adam. And all that has to do with Adam's house is of flesh fleshly. Jesus said in John 3, that which is flesh is flesh, and that which is spirit is spirit. And the call of God's Spirit in this hour today to His beloved bride is to forget our father's house. To forget our own people. The own people here could represent in a spiritual sense that which we were familiar with and that which we were acquainted with in the old life. Those things that enabled us to fulfill the desires of our old life. The cry of the Holy Spirit in this hour is forget. Turn from. The Apostle Paul echoed this very heart in Philippians 3, where he said, I forget those things which lie behind. I forget the things that I had in Adam. And I'm striving toward the goal of knowing my blessed Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty. Oh beloved, if we could understand tonight that the King is so desirous of our beauty. Now let me explain here that the beauty that the King is referring to here has nothing to do with your outward countenance. It has nothing to do with the look of your physical body or the apparel that you're wearing. But the beauty here, I believe, is the same beauty that Peter reflects in his epistle. 1 Peter 3, where Peter exhorts the women. And of course, this is an exhortation to the women, but it's also applicable to all people because we're living in a generation where not only are the women very interested in how they look, but men too are becoming very preoccupied with how they look to the point where their looks are becoming more important to them than anything else. Now listen to this. Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives. While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Now look at this. Listen now. The apostle is suggesting what the husband should be beholding. Now this is the beauty that the King greatly desires. In Psalm 45, was it? Psalm 45. See, it says, if you forget your own way of life, if you forget the flesh, if you would come to where you ask the Lord Jesus to cause you to become interested in your new life and everything that revolves around your new life, listen, there is a beauty that will begin to come forth in your life which the King Himself will greatly desire. Not only will the King desire it, but men and women will behold it. They will see this beauty. It will go so beyond what you're wearing. It will be a beauty that will cause them to marvel. Where did you get such a beauty? Where did you develop such loveliness? It's so much greater than skin deepness. And there's what the world's looking for. Now listen. Who's adorning? Verse 3. Let it not be that outward adorning of plating the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of apparel. Now, I want to make it very clear that in verse 3, Peter does not suggest that the wearing of gold is forbidding. He doesn't suggest that the fixing of your hair is forbidden. Don't read in to the Scriptures. You see, he doesn't suggest that any of these things are wrong. But what he's saying is don't let these things be your motivation in making yourself beautiful. Verse 4. But let it be the hidden man of the heart. There it is. The hidden man of the heart is a chaste person. A pure person. A gentle person. A lovely person. A patient, long-suffering person. That's the beauty that the King greatly desires. Oh my! How Jesus wants that in your life and my life. Aren't you glad now that Jesus said I will not leave you comfortless, but I will give you another Comforter? The very ministry of the Holy Spirit is ordained and designed by God to make this hidden man of the heart visible to the world and to God. Now, I would like first of all to read a Scripture in John 6. John 6, verse 62. We have read this Scripture many times, and tonight we hope to be able to make an application in the New Testament regarding what Jesus actually meant. John 6.62. Jesus had just begun to describe to the multitude that it was necessary for them to drink His blood and eat His flesh. And they couldn't comprehend it. And verse 60 is the result. Many therefore of His disciples when they had heard this said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured it, He said unto them, does this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before? Verse 63, it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life. Now, in the New Testament, when Paul and Peter and Jesus are referring to the flesh, they are referring to a word that is synonymous to and equivalent to the self-life or the Adam life or the old man. These terms in the New Testament are used interchangeably. They're all meaning the same thing. When Jesus and Paul and Peter and the other apostles refer to the flesh life, they are not referring to the body. The body is not evil. The body is not evil. The body is corruptible. The body is perishing, but the body is not evil. The natural, normal desires of the human body are not evil. It is not evil to want to eat. It is not evil to have a desire for drink. Sexual desire is not evil. They are God-given. They are part of the human constitution. Now, inordinate sexual desire is evil. Or inordinate desire for food is wrong. But the natural constitution of the human body is not evil. So when Jesus refers to the flesh, He's talking about that old, self-Adamic life. The Bible says it's impossible to please the Lord, fulfill His will and purpose for our lives, and be vessels fit for the Master's use when under the power and influence of self-life. It is absolutely impossible. Therefore, the Lord incorporated in the plan of redemption a remedy, listen now, not only for forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ, but also for the crucifying of the flesh. You see, many times we are aware of the precious blood that cleanses from sins, but neglect the need to understand our identification on the cross with the flesh life. You see? And this is where the Holy Spirit will walk us through. Now, what we want to do tonight is we want to, like I said, we're going to stick right to the Bible, right to the Word of God, and as you come to God sincerely before Him, you will begin to get understanding regarding this. Oftentimes, folks will try it. And I'm reading from notes that I have written down. Oftentimes, folks will try to make the flesh life spiritual by storing the Word in their minds, learning to use the Bible, confessing quote-scripture phrases, becoming religious. But the Bible says that the flesh life cannot become spiritual. Flesh is flesh and Spirit is Spirit. The only God-ordained place for the old man is on the cross with Jesus Christ. Crucified with Him. That's the only place the old man belongs. And then the new man is to come forth. You see? So we can't dress up the old life. We can't make the old life look good. That's what religion does. Religion attempts to put a garment on self-life and make it look good. Make it look religious. Make it look like it's pleasing God. But if it's flesh, it's flesh. It's flesh. It's flesh. That which is flesh is flesh. That which is Spirit is Spirit. Now, what we're going to do now is we're going to look at the characteristics of the flesh life. The characteristics of the flesh life. Let's turn our Bibles to Romans 8. Romans 8. The main characteristics of the flesh life can be seen in the Scriptures. Romans 8, verse 7. The carnal mind, or the fleshly mind, is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God. Neither, indeed, can it be. The sinful, fleshly mind that Paul refers to here is the mind and its thoughts, words, deeds, and actions that is under the control of the self-centered, selfish life. So the first thing that we learn about the flesh life, the flesh mind, is that it's hostile toward God. It's at enmity to God. You see, the only place the flesh life belongs is on the cross. Many times, though, it doesn't want to get on the cross. But the fact is, if it's not on the cross, it only ends up being at enmity toward God. You see? Number two, it cannot submit to God because it is contrary and in opposition to Him. That's Romans 8, verse 7, the latter part. So not only is the flesh mind, or the atom life, or the selfish life, that part, that sinful self that needs to be identified experientially with Christ, not only is it at enmity to God, but secondly, it cannot submit itself to God. It cannot submit itself to God. Thirdly, 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14, The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. So not only is the natural mind, the fleshly mind, the self mind, incapable of knowing God or submitting to God, neither is it in friendship with God, but it's at enmity with God. But here we find that it's incapable of receiving from the Spirit of God. You see, it's incapable of receiving from the Spirit of God. You don't wrestle with the flesh life. Through faith and through the working of the Holy Spirit, it hangs on the cross. See, we're going to emphasize that over and over again, because positionally, your flesh life died with Jesus. See, when He hung on the cross, your old life hung with Him. When He died, you died. And when He resurrected, you were resurrected in newness of life. And that must become a reality. Only can it be given by the Holy Spirit. And then once that becomes a reality, and you believe God's Word, and you know that positionally, God has wrought this in you, then it becomes operative in your life experientially on a daily basis. And that's the putting on and the putting off. But before that occurs, beloved, it's so important that the Lord can give us this absolute certainty of what He has wrought in us when we did believe. That's the power of the resurrection. The power of the resurrection. Now, of course, we know that the flesh life, these three things that characterizes the flesh life, and also in chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians, we find that Paul said, "...and I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able." Now here's what the flesh does. "...For ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal and walk as men?" So the flesh life is the author of jealousy, quarreling, strife, contention, all of these things. And, of course, that's what the flesh life is responsible for. Now, these were some of the characteristics of the flesh life. Now, let's look at some more Scriptures that Paul speaks of regarding the flesh life, and these are possibly a little more subtle than the prior. The prior ones are a little obvious, but these are a little more subtle. But I want to emphasize that these things that we're about to look into also originate from the flesh. And only as the Lord through the Holy Spirit and through the Word of God can quicken these things to the believer, can the believer then understand the depths of the flesh. Let's look first of all in John 8, 15-16. John 8, 15-16. From the flesh we find in John 8, 15, "...Ye judge after the flesh. I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true. For I am not alone, but I am the Father that sent Me." According to the teaching here of Jesus, there is a subtle judgment of the flesh. It is a flesh judgment. So the flesh is capable of judging, but it is a wrong judgment. It's not based on truth according to what Jesus said. Judging after the flesh can be seen today when folks make false judgments about Christian ministries or anything else because they look wholly at the outward appearance. God told Samuel when he was seeking to find the man whom God had chosen to be king over Israel, do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16, verse 7. In contrast to the false judgment that comes from the flesh life, here is how true judgment is exercised by Jesus and all those who learn to walk in His Spirit. Now this is found in Isaiah 11, verse 2. Isaiah 11. We're just going to briefly look at this and contrast the true judgment that comes from the Spirit of God in contrast to the false judgment that comes from the flesh. Isaiah 11. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. Listen to this. He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Now that's what I call true judgment in contrast to the flesh. So here we want to point out that one of the subtle and more crafty works of the flesh is wrong judgment. A second one. Now this one is going to hurt, but it needs to be taught because it's in the Word. The reason why it's going to hurt is it's right down our alleyway. The second crafty, subtle work of the flesh is making plans after the flesh. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 17. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 17. We have all fallen under the subtlety of this work of the flesh. Now I want to read it from the Amplified. 2 Corinthians 1, verse 17. Now because I changed my original plan, was I being unstable and capricious? Were what I planned to do, I planned according to the flesh like a worldly man does? So here Paul, through the Holy Spirit, is enlightening us, showing us that the flesh is a master planner and is great making plans. But you know what happens to the plans of the flesh? How many times do we find that our lives are being run by mere human plans and purposes? Failures result, promises are broken, and on and on, all because of human plans based on human will, desire, and impulse. Today the Holy Spirit is seeking to do a deep work within the Christian believer in order to expose that subtle, sneaky work of the flesh which is making plans in the flesh. And He wants to identify that problem. He wants to bring the believer into an experiential death to that part of the flesh, and then in its place, the believer will experience God's plans and God's purposes which will never be frustrated. You see? So like I said, that's a sneaky one. And of course, we've all been guilty of this. But nevertheless, greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. Aren't you glad for the redemption? You see now, when the Holy Spirit starts moving, you see how the Word of God can become a book that is powerful? You see, this can just be a dead doctrine. But because the Holy Spirit is moving in our midst, is this more than just words now? I mean, is this doing something to your heart? Is this going inside? Why? Because the Holy Spirit now is hovering. I usually say hoovering, but they tell me that's a vacuum cleaner. Hoover. So I need to remember hovering in our midst. And as minds are being quickened, the Word of God becomes a book of life. You see? Now here's another subtle, sneaky trick of the flesh. And of course, this is another one too that is very, very pertinent in our hour. Thirdly, we find boasting after the flesh. Boasting after the flesh. The exalting and promoting of personalities, ministries, gifts, special talents, programs is all the work of the flesh. And it's boasting. Jesus Christ is the only Person worthy of praise, worship, adoration, and glory. And He alone should have the preeminence in our personal lives and in our services. Many of the hearts of the Lord's people have been turned away from the beauty of the Lord and His holiness and have been brought into the captivity of fleshly boasting. Now, unfortunately, I failed to get the Scripture for that, but it's like on the tip of my tongue. Does anyone recall 1 Corinthians 1.30? That's right. Thank you, George. 1 Corinthians 1.30 Boasting after the flesh. 1 Corinthians 1.29-2 That no flesh should glory in His presence. No flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Now, another subtle work of the flesh is found in Galatians 6.12. Galatians 6.12 Beginning in verse 11, Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross. The fourth subtle snare of the flesh is making a fair show in the flesh, looking to personality or talent, creates a love of making a fair fleshly show that appeals to the flesh in order to avoid the reproach and persecution that should result from clinging to the cross. Those who want to make a good impression and a fine show in the flesh simply so that they may escape being persecuted for being associated with the cross of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul was talking about. A fair show in the flesh is to substitute something that will lessen and weaken the reproach that would come as a result of wholly being identified with Christ Jesus and Him alone. What do you boast in? I boast in the blood. The blood? That doesn't sound good in the 20th century. Let's get rid of the blood. We've got to update things. No, my hope's in the blood. The blood of Jesus and nothing else. So, that's the fourth thing. Another subtle thing that the flesh can do. Here's another one. And this too we have all done. 2 Corinthians 10. One of the sneaky tricks of the flesh, the self-life. You see how the flesh life just wants to imitate the whole Christian life but can't? 2 Corinthians 10. Now, I know I'm going through these slightly quickly, and I could be spending hours on each one. But rather than doing that, we're giving you all of these and then you yourself can meditate on them and let the Holy Spirit enlighten you as He wants. You see? 2 Corinthians 10. 2 Corinthians 10. Verse 3. Well, let's go to verse 2. No, let's start in verse 1. Now I, Paul, myself, beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence and base among you, but being absent and bold towards you. But I beseech you that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. Another subtle spiritual deception that the flesh will do is the flesh will try and fight the spiritual warfare. The flesh will try and fight the spiritual warfare. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. See, Paul is saying, the weapons of our warfare do not originate from the flesh. Oh, how the flesh wants to jump in. See, the flesh just doesn't like its destiny, the cross. There's no glamour. It's got to be quiet. It's just got to be there with Jesus. Crucified with Christ. When human methods and carnal plans are used to try to win the lost to Christ, rather than the weapons of prayer, seeking God, moving God's heart, one substitutes earthly weapons and carnal warfare for the spiritual. It is expedient that the Christian believer become acquainted with God's methods of spiritual warfare. So that's another sneaky, subtle, sly face of the flesh. Now, this last one is found in 2 Corinthians 5.16. This is another one that some of these things that we're dealing with, beloved Christians, sometimes Christians never can understand these things, but nevertheless, they're in the Word. This is one too that many have not fully understood. Good. 2 Corinthians 5. Let's begin with verse 14. For the love of Christ constrains us or controls us because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. Now see what Paul's saying? We're all dead. Now see, that's the flesh. The flesh is supposed to be dead. And He died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again. Here it goes now, verse 16. Wherefore, henceforth, know we no man after the flesh. Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Another subtle snare of the flesh is that it seeks friendships in the flesh and even a knowledge of Christ in a fleshly way, not a spiritual way. Many times, this particular aspect of the flesh life will be a painful experience when God begins to deal oftentimes in this area, exposing that subtle area of the flesh life. And it's oftentimes an attempt to want to make friendships in the flesh. Our friendships need to be ordered by God. It doesn't mean that you don't love all people and appreciate all people, but there is friendships that are of the flesh and they do not edify or build but they serve as a place where the enemy usually creates a lot of confusion and trouble. So, we have just described six more other subtle snares by the enemy, our flesh. And of course, He is an enemy indeed. And many times we look at Satan as an enemy, who is, but the flesh life is an enemy too. Now, we don't want to close on this note, but we want to close on a note and our last point here that we will be looking into, of course, right from the Word is God's way of deliverance from the flesh, self, Adam-led lifestyle. Aren't you glad that God is a God of a deliverer? I tell you, God just clearly shows us the state that we're in. But then He says, but I'll be the way out. Notice what He says? He said, I'll be the way out. He Himself is the way out. He Himself. Listen, His very life. Jesus said, I am the way. I am the truth. The way out of flesh life is Jesus' life. That's it. It's so simple that sometimes we miss it. It's so simple. We want to find something other than just He Himself. Now, let's look at some of the admonitions in the New Testament. We just read one here in 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 14, For the love of Christ controls us because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. And that He died for all. They which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died and rose again. This here suggests that a way out from the flesh life is to take our attention by the Word of God and by the power and working of the Holy Spirit to take our attention away from the flesh life and onto the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we fix our gaze upon Him, then we begin to draw from Him. And as we draw from Him, then His life begins to fill our being and we get free from the flesh life. As the work of the Holy Spirit is raw in the life of the believer on a daily basis, he can then through God's power begin to abide at the cross. The place of participating in the death of self and participating in the new life of Christ. Such a state demands that the believer refuse to give place to the devil and the self-life. Now see, doesn't Paul say in Ephesians, don't give the devil a foothold. Don't give him a place. Now see, this is how when we become acquainted with the Word of God and we become acquainted with the moving of the Holy Spirit, then we can learn by faith and by the operation of God's Spirit to abide in that place of identity. The identity of I am dead in Christ and I am alive in Christ. My old life has been crucified and my new life is His life. Positionally, that's already been wrought. See, you have to already see that as a finished fact before you can really delve into the reality of it in a daily basis. The battle has already been won. It is already finished. Okay, let's look at four more Scriptures in the New Testament. Now these four Scriptures are the practical application because of the reality of what was wrought in the believer when he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. We've just seen how the flesh life is utterly corrupt. Number one, Romans 13, verse 14. Now that we have understood how corrupt the flesh life is, we must learn by God's Spirit. Romans 13, verse 14. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. The first command in the New Testament to the believer is now that you have understood that your flesh life is utterly corrupt and that it deserves nothing but the hanging on the cross where there it is rendered inoperative forever. Now that you know that, you ought not to make provision. What that basically means is don't figure out ways to fulfill the desires of your old life. Listen, you're never going to find that the desires of the old life will totally leave you. The secret to Christian victory is not to enter into some heavenly, euphoric experience where suddenly you cease from being a man and you cease from being tempted, but the place of victory is learning flesh, I'm not going to try and find a way to fulfill what you want to do. See, make no provision, Paul says. Don't provide a way. Now in Young's translation, I like what it says. Do you have yours, Joe? You don't have it? That's alright. He says don't take any forethought. Isn't that good? Don't take any forethought as to how you can fulfill the desire of that life that you know should be hanging on the cross. You see, it's going to desire sometimes. But don't take forethought as to how to fulfill it. When it desires, don't let it rule you, but in Christ, you rule it. Number two, this is found in Galatians. Galatians. Yeah, go ahead, George. Very good. Same thing. How to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Okay, number two. We must not use our freedom in Christ for an occasion to the flesh. It's the same thing, just in different language. Same thing in different language. Galatians 5, verse 13. For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the desire of the flesh. So we see that not only does the Bible say don't make a provision, but the Bible also says don't use your liberty in Christ as an occasion. In other words, your liberty in Christ is that you're set free. You're free men. But don't let your freedom go to your head so that you get under this idea that your lifestyle is free and you can just do what you want when you want. Because, listen, God didn't make us free to become servants to self. See, we've been set free from the tyranny of sin so that we can become slaves to who? God. Never forget. This was Israel's problem. God freed them. They were delivered from Pharaoh, but what did they do? They used their freedom as an opportunity to what? Serve their own desires. And instead of being free, they become captive to a greater tyrant than Pharaoh himself. You see. Number three, John 15.56 John 15. No, that can't be correct. 15.56 Well, yeah, we can read that. That's true. That's right. That's what it is. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. Here we go. For without me ye can do nothing. The third admonition is have no confidence in the flesh. Remember, without me, ye can do nothing. But the flesh oftentimes will come and seek to persuade you that you are able to do something without the Lord's help. Without me, ye can do nothing. Have no confidence in the flesh. Philippians 3. Paul, is that what you were looking at? You have then. Right, Philippians 3. That's another one. That's a perfect example. Paul's great indictment against the flesh and having confidence in what it has done. What did Paul say he counted the flesh as? Dung. Rubbish. Dung, King James Version. That's what it says, right? Dung. Now see, only God can give us a revelation in order to despise what the world would consider to be precious as dung. Do you agree? Do you see the world considering the things they've done in the flesh as dung? No. They're the very things that enable them to sit as kings and queens. Reigning. Boasting. Look what I have done. But Paul says foolishness. In comparison to knowing God, it's dung. It's worth the burning pile. That's about it. There's many other Scriptures that you could cross-reference. You could spend a year on this whole subject here. But see now, we're just getting the Scriptures for you, and I pray God will really, really do something. Because I tell you, once a people become acquainted with the Holy Spirit, the automatic thing that God starts doing if it's being led properly is now that people's minds are spiritually in tune, right to the Word. So you can't just preach the Word to people that haven't got the Holy Ghost. You've got to let God begin to move by the Spirit. Once this happens, then their minds are fertile. When they get into the Word, I'm telling you, like Helen. What's happening to Helen? God's speaking to her now through the Word. Glory. If you stay on that track and don't let your feelings, your emotions, your people turn you aside, you will enter into the most fruitful time with God that you have ever imagined possible. Just that simple, childlike, I think I'm going to read Philippians. Wow. That'll be the greatest thing that's ever happened to you, hon. Just that. Because your mind is fertile now. The Holy Spirit's got an inroad. And now you can feed on the Word of God. And I tell you what's going to happen, a fire's going to burn inside of you and anyone else, and you're going to look at the doctrines of men and you're going to go... You won't even want them. You'll want the Word. You'll love Paul. I mean, God forbid, I talk to Paul sometimes. Don't I know it sounds crazy and I don't pray to him, but I say, Oh, that's so true, Paul. You'll get to feel like you know these people in the Holy Ghost. The last one is Jude. Jude. I believe... See, I forgot to... Yes. Jude, chapter 23. Jude, verse 23. Thank you, George. Now this is a subtle one. Verse 22, beginning, And of some having compassion, making a difference, and others saved with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted by the flesh. Now, here we need to pray that the Lord will give us such clear insight, listen, into the utter corruption of self that we dread and fear it and despise it, even when it appears most beautiful to us. Once again, here we need to pray that the Lord will give us such a clear insight into the utter corruption of self, that's the garments spotted by the flesh, that we dread and fear it, even when it appears most beautiful to us. Well, beloved, that basically covers a good part of the New Testament and the teachings therein regarding the flesh and what the Bible has to say about it. And I want to remind you that the Holy Spirit Himself is only able to cause you to understand these things, but as you allow the Holy Spirit to continue to work in your life and as you meditate on the Word of God, God will give you insight and understanding into these things. Lord willing, the next study that we'll like to get into is we're going to do the same thing as we did tonight, but only instead of looking into the flesh, we're going to look into the blood and the cross. The blood and the cross and show you what God's Word says about you now that you're a believer. Your identification with Christ in His death and in His resurrection. Because in order to overcome the flesh, it's necessary that we understand what God has done for us in Christ. So that'll be the next thing that we can look into as God leads. And we trust that God will bless us as we look into His Word more and more. Amen.