Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the critical choice between being lovers of pleasure and lovers of God, urging the congregation to forsake worldly desires and embrace a deeper relationship with the Lord. He highlights the dangers of self-centeredness and the seductive nature of pleasure that distracts believers from their devotion to God. Beach calls for a radical transformation through the Holy Spirit, encouraging individuals to trust in God's faithfulness and to seek healing from their inability to fully commit to Him. He warns that the church must recognize the spiritual battle against the love of self and pleasure, which can lead to spiritual impotence in the face of challenges. Ultimately, he invites the congregation to pray for revelation and deliverance from these distractions to cultivate a genuine love for God.

Hallelujah. Lord, we bow before you and we thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness this morning in ministering to us. Lord, we sense such an awareness, Lord, in our spirits of your heart and what you're saying to us. Lord, how we long for the things that you have spoken to us, Lord, the exhortation to forsake all things that are not pleasing in your eyes and that you are doing a new thing in this hour and that being that which you have spoken in through your prophets, Lord, in the Old Testament, that you're revealing your Son and that this is the thing that you're doing in this hour. You're capturing the heart of a bride with a vision, a revelation of the loveliness of thy countenance. And Lord, we invite the Holy Spirit to make good in us this call. Lord, we just heard the need to be enabled to not look for an easy way. We know the way and it's narrow. There is a wide road, but it leads to destruction. But there's a narrow way and it leads to life and there's few that find it. Lord, may you provide each one of us with the grace, the mercy to know that way and to find it and to walk in it, Lord. We know that that way will cost us everything, that we'll have to rid ourselves of everything and we can't walk through this narrow way with luggage. We pray, God, that you'll work in us the things that you're speaking to us, Lord. And with meekness, Lord, we pray we'll receive these words, which is able to save our soul. In meekness, Lord, we pray. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. My God. Thank you, Lord. There's a real sense of God's presence in our midst this morning and we thank him for it. We want to acknowledge that he's the builder of his house and that he's building his house this morning through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the power of the Word of God. And he so longs for us to capture a vision of his faithfulness, beloved. There's so much distrust in the world that we live in today, isn't there? There's so much distrust. There's so much skepticism, cynical, cynicism. There's so much of it in the world. Nobody can trust anybody. And you know, this attitude has crept into our lives and we find it difficult to even trust the Lord. But how we need to pray that God will give us a revelation that we can feed on his faithfulness. We can actually survive because of the fact of his faithfulness. And that is the antithesis. That's the opposite of our lot in this world. In this world, we are tormented because we cannot trust anybody. So, we live in torment. We live in fear. We live in despair. We close our hearts. We get this self-survival mode, don't we? I've got to make it because, bless God, if I don't look out for myself, who will? Who's going to look out for me if I don't? How many have ever felt that? How many have ever felt tempted to receive that kind of an attitude? If I don't look out for myself, no one else will. And we get hard and callous, don't we? We get skeptical. We actually push people out of our lives when we're in that mode because we're taking care of ourselves. Because we've been hurt, haven't we? How many has ever been hurt by somebody? You've opened up your heart. You've let them in and they hurt you and they wounded you. And your response was, I can't trust anybody. So, I'm not going to open up my heart to anybody. And if we don't open up our hearts to anybody, then we're caught in this self-survival mode. I've got to do it myself. What a lonely path, isn't it? And so, the Lord reveals Himself as, I am the Lord who is trustworthy. I am totally trustworthy. As Polycarp said to his accusers, I have served the Lord 84 years and He has never done me any harm. He has never done me any evil. He has never hurt me. He has never been unfaithful to me. What a testimony that God has among those that have walked with Him for many years. And anyone here who has walked with the Lord for a significant amount of time, you too have the same testimony, do you not? He has never done you any harm. He has never done me any harm. And I praise Him for it. And so, therefore, beloved, it is so profitable and so worth our while to pray that God will give us trusting hearts toward Himself. Listen, a trusting heart toward God is a heart that will wholly lean upon God and His faithfulness and His Word. You know, we've been enjoying the pool, and one of the things that I enjoy so much are the little children, like Mariah. And actually, Mariah is really the only little, little one. She'll stand by the edge of the pool, and she wants to jump in into your arms. And she's got the most trustworthy spirit. It frightens me. It frightens me because she'll jump if you're not even paying attention. Because she has no doubt that you are going to catch her. There's no thought of fear, no thought of harm. She's just totally trustworthy. And this quality that she has when she jumps off the pool, you can see it. As she leaps into the air, she's got this smile on her face, and she goes into your arms. You grab a hold of her, and the first thing she says is, Again! Again! I want to do it again. And there's the quality that we need to have. So I'm praying that the Lord, by His grace, will so work in our lives and so minister to us so that we can be healed. Listen, we need a healing. The body of Christ needs a healing. We need to be healed from a heart that can't trust God. If we could trust the Lord and really commit ourselves to Him, we would be in good shape. May the Lord do it. As I mentioned earlier, I have a word from the Lord, and it's a very sobering word, and I want to pray before I share it, because it's a difficult word to share. It's difficult because it is very, very crucial that we catch this revelation. But I tell you, beloved, if there's any kind of opposition that the enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ and the enemy of His seed, those who love Him and keep His commandments, is seeking to create a lot of confusion over, it's this issue that we're going to deal with this morning. It's not a profound revelation. It's a very clear revelation in the word. But might I say that there is nobody here that is exempt from the seducing power of what we're going to talk about this morning. Therefore, it is my prayer that every single person here would allow God to speak to you individually over this issue, because our success as a body together, and the success of the body of Christ, in order to come into God's full intention in this hour, hangs upon understanding by revelation this truth in the word of God, and letting the word of God so purge us, and so cleanse us, and so deliver us, so as to effect a radical change within our very beings and lifestyles. Let me tell you, the power of God is present to heal. The power of God's word is present to do a great work in our midst. We must believe that to be so. Now, I want to just read one verse from Revelation chapter number eight, and what I'd like to do is use this verse as a basis upon which we can understand a particular aspect of the verse. It says in Revelation chapter eight, verse number 13, and I beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound. Now, if we would read through, which we're not going to do, Revelation chapter nine, we would begin to discover on through to Revelation chapter 12, the three different woes. And basically, the content of the three woes has to do with unprecedented activity in the earth coming from hell. The woes essentially have to do with the powers of darkness coming on the scene, coming to the earth, and affecting the church, or seeking to affect the church in a most tumultuous, most deadly way. Now, I would like to suggest, I am not going to give some definite, this is the meaning, but I want to suggest this morning that God has whispered into my spirit one or two of the possible woes, or may I say some of one or two of the effects of the woes that we read here in Revelation chapter eight. First of all, let's understand that when the Bible says woe, woe, woe, it is not simply making a casual announcement. Woe indicates, listen carefully to what I have to say, because what I am about to say is a very serious matter. The woe, woe, woe of the Lord Jesus Christ were words that were spoken that were very heart-piercing and very, very important. They were exposing the evil, pernicious works of the Sadducees, and the Pharisees, and the lawyers of His time. They were words of rebuke. They were words of correction. They were words of intense emotion. War unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. War unto you, lawyers, hypocrites. There is an aspect in the heart of Jesus Christ, there is a part of Christ, though He is the blessed Lamb of God, the meek One who invites us to come to Him, yet He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and He searches the hearts of the church, and He knows everything going on in our life. And everything that He speaks to us comes out of a heart of love, it comes out of a heart of perfect acceptance based on the blood of Christ, but He does speak words of reproof, He speaks words of warning, He speaks words of rebuke to us, and He speaks words that help us to wake up. And this morning, there is a word that the Lord has, and it's equivalent to a woe. And I believe that these woes in Revelation 8 have the effects of what we're about to read. I'd invite you, if you would please, to turn your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. If you'll notice 2 Timothy chapter 3, you'll find that in verses 1 through 9, the Holy Spirit inspires Paul to pin some specific characteristics that would be present in the last days. And I would encourage you, beloved, to read this portion of Scripture frequently. Not only to read it frequently, but to meditate upon the word in verses 1 through 9 in 2 Timothy chapter 3. Each one of these words are one of the many building stones that make up our society today. And because we are in the world, though we're not of the world, we are of God. Aren't you glad you're of God? He that is born of God overcometh the world, and it is our faith that overcometh the world. Hallelujah. We are in the world. The hallelujah. Listen, but we don't come from the womb of the world. We come from the womb of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. He that sanctifies and they that are sanctified are all one. Another translation says they all come from the same womb. We've been birthed out of the heart of God. Our origin is not earth. We don't have roots in earth. The essential maker of who we are as Christians, bless God, is God. When I go to my roots, you know, hallelujah, a lot of times people are interested in their roots. They want to study the genealogy. They want to know where their ancestors came from. That's fine. But let me tell you, beloved, if you're ever interested in your roots as a Christian, you're going to be led, if you follow them through in the scriptures, you are going to be led right to God himself. Our roots are in God. Our origin comes from God. The very life that begot us into the kingdom of God originated from God. Praise God. But these things in 2 Timothy chapter 3, these are building blocks that make up the world. And though we are of God, we are in the world. And being in the world, we are engaged in a continuous battle against the spirit that is working in the world. The spirit that is working in this world is seeking to seduce us by deception into a life contrary to who we really are in Christ. The spirit of this world is seeking to seduce you and I from living by the faith of the Son of God in the fullness of God's spirit, where there is power to say no to ungodliness and worldly lusts. The spirit of this world is seeking to seduce us into thinking that we are to fashion ourselves according to our former lusts, when the Bible says we are not to fashion ourselves according to the former lusts. So think it not strange when you find yourself barraged with intense emotion or thoughts or feelings that would, if you yield to them, lead you down a path that is not pleasing to God. You are in a war, beloved, except the fact right now, you are in a holy war. And the reason you are is because you have become associated with the Son of God and it is really Him that this war is all about. The psalm very clearly says that the nations are raging and the ungodly waters in this world are standing up against the Lord and who? His Christ. And we know essentially that refers to the Lord. But did you know that every single blood-washed child of God is united organically to Christ and the two become one? And so when the devil sees the true body, the true seed of God, he sees Christ. So don't think it to be strange if your heart is after God and you've been apprehended by God and you are after Him and you want Him and your heart cries out to Him. Don't think it's strange that you're going to be tormented and troubled on every side. Because you've become a partaker of the Holy Son of God and the one thing the devil doesn't want is the fullness of the Son of God to be manifest in the body of Christ. That's why we're here. We're not here to engage in religion. We're not here to engage in outward ritual. We're here to be broken vessels full of the Holy Ghost, full of the Word of God, empowered to display and manifest all of the myriad facets of our head, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we're here. So we're in a war. Now I want to point out two statements that the Holy Spirit wrote here through Paul that are applicable to you and I today, and I pray God will give us revelation and that with this war will come the power, number one, the power of light. You know the Bible says that when light shines, darkness is exposed. The Bible says the way to overcome the deeds of darkness is not to fight against them, but to expose light. Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil by good. And so therefore, one of the essential qualities of anything that comes from the Lord is that it's light. It brings light. It brings illumination. And where there is light and illumination, darkness has to be exposed. The deeds of darkness must be exposed. There was never a person who stood in the presence of Jesus Christ that was not radically affected in some way. Jesus has a way of affecting us when He reveals Himself to us. You can't live your Christian life and say, I'm hearing the Lord. I'm seeing the Lord. I'm understanding His Word and remain the same. It's simply impossible. It's simply impossible. He so radically affects us and changes us. Listen to this word. This know also that in the last days, perilous times shall come. The first woe, for men shall be lovers of their own selves. Now skip down to verse number four and the latter part. Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Lovers of their own selves and lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. There is a spirit from hell that is in the world today seducing every country, every company of people. When I visited Romania several years ago, the brothers that I was with, particularly the brothers in Romania, said to me before we went into one of the rather large cities, Oradea in Romania, which is a rather large city. I mean, you can't compare it to a Western city, but compared to Romania, it's a large city. There were cars in it. There were buildings in it. Buildings didn't have air conditioning though, but it was a rather large city. And the brother said to me, he said, you're going to be shocked when you walk down the streets of this city. And I said, well, why? He said, you're going to find that there is promiscuity that may exceed some of your American cities. And I said, I doubt that. But you know what? The brother was right. As we walked down the main street in this city in Romania, there was promiscuity, there was immodesty, and there was a way that the people conducted themselves that literally shocked me. And remarkably here, a third world nation that has been under communism and in depression for so many years has suddenly been seduced by the love of pleasure and the love of self that has never known before. This is a walk from hell, beloved. Every country and every city in the world is being overcome by the love of self and the love of pleasures. There is a war going on, and this war has to do with love for self, love for pleasure, or love for God. The American church, and I won't speak of the churches in other countries, the American church right now is literally being seduced by the spirit that has been birthed from hell with a specific purpose of sowing into the ranks of professing Christians the desires, the thoughts, the passion, and the running after of love for self and love for pleasure. And it is love for self and love for pleasure that renders us powerless in this world where, according to 1st John, the wicked one has his power over all. Love for self and love for pleasure. Now, I would like you, before we read some scriptures, to remember a story in the Old Testament. When God raised up Samuel to be a prophet to Israel, he fulfilled that ministry for a short time. But in 1st Samuel chapter 8, the children of Israel began to do a strange thing, and the Lord connected this with the spirit of love of self and love of pleasure that is seducing the church today. He made a connection, so I want to share this with you. 1st Samuel chapter 8, beginning in verse number 3, Samuel's sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after Luker and took bribes and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee. Listen. For they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. The children of Israel wanted a king. They rejected the kingship of God himself. God told Samuel, Samuel, they've not rejected you, they've rejected me. Now beloved, the word Saul means asked for. Asked for. The people asked for a king, and God gave it to him. Now, if you'll turn your Bibles to 1st Kings, or 1st Samuel, just follow along with me to chapter 17. I want to show you the effects that come when a people reject God. Now listen, we are not talking about ungodly nations now. We're talking about the nation of Israel. This is not a heathen nation that didn't have God's laws. This is the nation of Israel. They rejected God. And now, a few chapters down the road, look at the condition they're in. Chapter 17, 1st Samuel. Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shaco, which belonged to Judah, and pitched between Shaco and Ezekiah in Ephezim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, and there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits in a span. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail. And the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, listen to what he said, and said unto them, Why are you come out to set your battle in array? Am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. Beloved, right there lies a profound word. The Philistines said, Are ye not servants to Saul? Israel's greatest sin, they refused to be servants of God, and therefore became the servants to Saul. And in becoming the servants to Saul, they could not stand against Goliath, the enemy of God. If we read on, you'll see young David had a different spirit. The first thing David said was, How could this uncircumcised Philistine? The word that David spoke was indicating, revealing the relationship that David had not with Saul, but with God. The first thing David said was, Uncircumcised Philistine. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant. David was in covenant relationship with God. David was not hung up with Saul, he was hung up with God. David was not essentially a servant of Saul, he was a servant of God. And because he was a servant of God, he was aware of the covenant that God had made with Israel, and therefore he came to Goliath not with sword and shield, nor with the armor of Saul, but he came in the name of the Lord his God, and he wrought the victory. But the victory was there because David was of a different spirit than the rest of Israel. He was a lover of God. He was who was mindful of the covenant of God, and Israel had forsaken the covenant and therefore became servants to Saul. Now, the correlation here is this. The essential reason why Israel abandoned God was because they had given themselves over to love of self and love of pleasure, and because of that they forfeited the reign of God, and they ended up with Saul. And we know what Saul did and what happened. And so therefore, beloved, we can be sure today that though we know him and though we profess him, if in fact during our earthly pilgrimage we are seduced into this idea of being a lover of self and a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God, we will end up in the same condition where we'll find ourselves unable to stand up against the Goliath of this hour who is railing out accusations against God, against the name of God, and against the temple of God. Because if you go into the book of Revelation, the beast and the powers of darkness are taking delight in this hour, and they're railing out blasphemous words and accusations against God and his temple, and really what they're doing is they're daring. They're daring the church. They're saying, come on, show me a man who will battle against me. Show me somebody. Look what I've done with the church. Look what I've done with the men who God raised up. They've fallen into immorality. They've become lovers of money. They're after lucre. People are no longer souls. They're people, and they've got dollar signs in their eyes. They're after building their own kingdom. The devil, Goliath, is saying, come on, where's a man? Where's a man? Look at my history. It's almost like what the king said to Hezekiah. How can you trust God? How can you cause these people to trust in you? What gods of the other nations have kept their nations from being devoured by me? Shall the Lord protect you? There is a blasphemous spirit. There is a spirit of challenge that is coming to the church in this late hour. There is a Goliath that is arising, and Israel is bound in fear. Bound, captive, held by the cords of pleasure for self. The Goliath is challenging, and we don't want to take the challenge because we're addicted to fears. We're addicted to pleasures. Where's the man? I'll tell you where there's a man. There's a man that is sitting in glory, and he has challenged the darkness. He has overcome the darkness, and now he sits as a high priest over his house. And I'll tell you, this man in heaven knows that unless we can come to a real living faith and understanding in the meaning of the gospel, not just forgiven sinners, but crucified sinners. Sinners that have died to the world. Sinners that have died to self. Sinners that have forsaken the pleasures of sin like Moses, rather to suffer the reproach of the Holy Son of God and those prophets and apostles who followed him. God is looking for a people who will look at these woes and say, woe unto you, woe! I'm following the Lord. Goliath blasphemed the armies of God, blasphemed the name of God, and challenged Israel to find him a man. And in this hour that we're living in, you see it on TV, you see it in the newspapers, you see it in the magazines, the devil has come out of the closet. He's standing tall. He's standing with blasphemies against God and against his holy temple and against his beloved Son. And he's saying, where is there a man? Where is there a man? And the thing that grieved my heart was as the Lord was opening this up to me, he brought me to 2 Timothy, and he said, the captivity of the church is the love of self and the love of pleasure. And because of this, when Goliath stands up, there is no man to arise. There is no company of people who can arise and say, I come to you in the name of the Lord my God. Because let me tell you something, to say that is more than just rehearsing a theology. You don't just come and say, I come to you in the name of God. You remember what the seven sons of Stephen did? They came to that man that was possessed, and they said, we cast you out in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches. And the devil said, Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but we don't know you. And they jumped on him and almost killed him, stripped him of their clothes, and they ran out naked. You can't take the name of God and use it as a rabbit's foot. You can't take the, this isn't, the spirit of sorcery has got to be cast out of the church. The spirit of witchcraft has got to be cast out of the church. You can't take the name of God and use it as a potion. It's not magic. Whenever someone teaches you to take the Word without a relationship and use it to get God to do something, that's a form of witchcraft. That's not the, Jesus didn't come teaching potions and incantations. He taught teaching relationship with God by dying to self. He taught relationship. But there's undiscerning leaders in the church who have given their mouths over to spirits of sorcery and witchcraft, and they're preaching it from the pulpit, and the people are going wild. It has nothing to do with the centrality of Christ and developing a relationship in our life with Jesus and dying to self. So you can't come to the Lord on this basis. We've got to know him. We've got to walk with him. We've got to know his dealings. Any genuine dealing of the Holy Spirit in the life of any company of believer, starting from the book of Acts and following church history up to this day, that encountered the true move of the Holy Spirit was forced to acknowledge their need to abandon love for self and love for pleasures. And anybody who doesn't have that awareness in their life is most likely doesn't have the Holy Spirit or is quenching the Holy Spirit and not listening to him. If God is not dealing with you about yourself and your love for self and areas of your life that aren't pleasing to him, I don't know what's... and then offers the power of grace and the Word of God and the spirit of supplication and prayer to purge us and cleanse us that we might become as he is. Hallelujah to God. Hallelujah to God. If you'll remember, a few weeks ago we preached on Babylon, the mystery Babylon, and showed how in the Word of God the essential characteristic of that harlot system is a lust for pleasure, a lust to be satisfied. There is a fullness that has come to the people of God that is not the fullness of God. It is a fullness disqualifying them for the fullness of God. Jesus said, Woe unto you that are full. Woe unto you that are satisfied. Woe unto you that don't feel the desperate need for me. And beloved, the Lord's heart toward his beloved this morning to the church is one of loving correction and warning. Do not be deceived, beloved. The enemy is not going to come to you one night and say, Hi, I'm the devil, and I'm here to destroy you. He comes in craft, he comes in deceit, he comes with wiles, he comes hidden. He dresses up as a what? As a minister of righteousness, as an angel of light, a messenger of light. He doesn't come with the pitchfork and the horns. So this requires a divine revelation from God. As we search the Word, you'll find this truth is everywhere in the Bible. When God opens it up, it's everywhere. What was the first seduction based on? Adam and Eve was in the garden, and the devil hath God's shed. Don't you know that God's withholding something from you? Pleasure, love for self, wanting myself to get something that's not God's provision. Lover of pleasure, and she looked and saw that the fruit was what? Pleasant, pleasurable to the eyes, that it could make one rise. Oh my God, if that's not the birth of Mystery Babylon, I don't know what is. If that's the birth of it, then Revelation 18 is speaking of its maturity. God always does things in fullness. He'll show you where something is born, and then he'll show you at the end of the Bible where it's coming to fruition. But likewise, when we see Jesus, he said, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. We saw one, but now at the end, we see many sons who are in his image and in his likeness. So just as the devil birthed his system, and it's coming into maturity, so God's kingdom is coming into maturity, and it's taking on the image of his Son. So the whole system of Babylon, and remember 17 and 18, is simply the marriage between the worldly system and the church. The two become one. They both sit on the beast, the harlot and the system. They both have the same clothing on. They're both sitting on the beast, which means they're both deriving their springs from the world. So that's a picture of pleasure, love for self. My God, have mercy. Brothers and sisters, listen carefully. God's so longing for our love, why does he speak to us like this and force us to face this awful dilemma of being lovers of self and lovers of pleasure, or at least being seduced and tempted to be that, and at times falling into that trap. We're all guilty. Why does he do it? It is not because he shows himself to be unkind and mean or hurtful, but he does it because he knows that it's the very thing, the very thing that can keep us from the intimacy that he so longs for in our life. Now listen to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. The words of Moses, or the words of the Scripture regarding Moses. Hebrews chapter 11 verse number 25, beginning in verse 23. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child and they were not afraid of the King's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. Hallelujah to God. There God is capturing the heart of a man and is saying to the church, pray that you might be found with such a heart that is able to refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Number two, that you'll be able to choose. You see, the Christian life is not passivity. It's not just going into la-la land. No, it's choosing, refusing. By the power of grace, when God comes into a life, he liberates us, he empowers us, we become radical. What did Polycarp say? Please don't tie me up. There's a man that had a mind. There's a man that knew what he wanted. There's a man that had decision. Don't tie me up. Please, I'll stand at the stake without ties. The grace of God liberates the church to refuse the blessing of the world, to choose the blessing of God, and to esteem, that is to place value upon the suffering of Christ above the temporary pleasures and treasures of this world. That's what we need today, beloved. I have a lot more, but I'm not going to give it. I just sense a release of my spirit. May God take the words that have been spoken this morning. May God search our hearts and minister grace and love to us, and may God speak to us about this issue. May the Lord take each one of us into our private prayer closet, and may we say, Lord, show me any area of my life that is currently under the power of love for self or love for pleasure that's taking me from that devotion that you want me to have for you, Lord. I come to you, Lord, as an open book. Speak to me, Lord. Deliver me. I don't want to be bound by the addiction of pleasure and love for self. I want to be like David, a man who walks in covenant relation with you, God, who loves you. Search me, O God, and know my heart today. Shall we bow our hearts and ask the Lord to search us? A few moments, we want to make special time to pray for Carrie and Alice. We're so glad that they came to visit. We want to have a special time of prayer. I want to pray for them, invite Norman to come, and just pray the Lord's blessing and anointing and provision upon their lives. But we'll do that in a few moments. Now, Father, we want to come to you, Lord. Search our hearts with your word. Speak to us, Lord, we pray. Confirm your word in us. Deliver us, Lord, from the spirit of seduction. Deliver us from being a lover of our own interests, our own ambitions, our own comforts, our own plans, our own joys. Deliver us, Lord, from the littleness of our own world. Deliver us, Lord, from the lover of pleasures. The world is full of pleasures, Lord, but yet your word says that you are to be our pleasure, and from you comes pleasures evermore. God, only you can do this, and I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit you would effectually work in us these things. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. Lord, we look to the power of the Holy Spirit to do this in us, Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah.