Are You Following Jesus - Part 4 - Are You Denying Yourself - Tape 2 — Phil Beach Jr.

We thank You for Your presence here, Lord. We thank You, Lord. We thank You, Lord, for Your love. We thank You, Lord, for being a God of truth. O God, we pray You'll make us lovers of truth. Free us, Lord, from our devotion to what is not true.

Free us, Lord, from our devotion to falsehood, from anything, Lord, that is not true. Make us, Lord, lovers of truth, seekers of truth. For we know, Lord, that we shall know the truth, and the truth alone shall set us free.

Set us free, Lord, this morning, we pray. Set us free, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord Jesus. The Lord has to do a very, very radical and deep work in all of our lives if He's going to secure the testimony of His Son in and through us.

God's Love in Severe Dealings

And we need to simply accept the fact that the Lord loves us with an everlasting love, and that His dealings in our life, when they become severe, does not mean that He no longer loves us, or that He is rejecting us because of the severity of His dealing in our life.

And it is imperative that we come to rest in the Lord's love for us, lest when He begins to deal severely in our life, we begin to think that something is wrong, or that the Lord doesn't love me. Let me tell you, beloved, when the Lord deals deeply in our lives, and uproots through truth, through His Word of truth, everything in our hearts, and all of the corruption, and all of the deception, there is a great temptation for us to feel as if Jesus doesn't love us.

And it's during those times that we must pray that the Lord will help us to see that He does love us, and that our acceptance in His presence is not based upon our own righteousness, it's based upon His righteousness and His grace.

And this is why God has taken so much effort in our lives to help us to understand His love. How many have ever felt that God doesn't love you because you've seen some areas of sin, or rebellion, or something awful in your life?

We've all struggled with that. We've all struggled with that. And sometimes we're afraid that when others see our corruption, that they won't love us either. Right? And these are areas of immaturity in our life that God has to work deeply to help us to overcome.

Being Taught by the Lord

So, there's a scripture in the book of Jeremiah, which we're not going to turn to, I'm just going to paraphrase it. And it's very important that we understand this scripture, because if we're going to become disciples and followers of Jesus, this scripture will come to pass in our life.

It says that the Lord's people shall all, A-L-L, that's everyone, they shall all be taught of the Lord. Let me ask you a question. Are you being taught of the Lord? Taught by the Lord? Now, most of the time when we possibly hear the thought of being taught of the Lord, we might equate that to Bible knowledge or theology or something like that.

But that's not really what it means to be taught of the Lord because a person can be well acquainted with all the Bible doctrines and not be taught of the Lord. Jesus wants to teach us how to be taught by his Holy Spirit and by his word so that we can be instructed on a daily basis.

And so I'm asking everyone here this morning to consider this prayer. Father, I want to be taught of you. I want to learn from your heart, from your word. You can be taught of the Lord. So I'm hoping this will whet your appetite and your desire to be taught of the Lord.

Following Jesus by the Word of God

Now, as you know, we have been speaking on the topic. Are you following Jesus? Are you following Jesus Christ? And we've been asking ourselves these questions. Are we following Jesus? Next, do we have the Holy Spirit?

And then in response to that question, we say, does the Holy Spirit have us? And these are questions now that we're seeking to find answers to, not based on our feelings or what we feel, but based from the word of God.

Let me say real quickly, all right? There is a great need for the Christian church to come back to the scriptures. Things are going way out into the realm of emotion and feeling. People are actually building their lives on revelation and dreams and visions and prophecies that they're receiving.

And these prophecies are literally taking the place of the words of Jesus in the scripture. And these revelations are taking the place of feeding on the word of God. Let me tell you something. Beware when you begin to feed in your inner man upon words from the Lord or revelations or visions or dreams or impressions.

The charismatic movement is being rebuked by God. And if the charismatic movement doesn't turn back to God and turn back to the scriptures, it's going to be given over. It's going to be given over to false spirits, which already are seducing the movement.

We've got to listen that God doesn't command us to feed on anything but Jesus Christ and his word. And if you're not feeding on God's word, you can very well be led astray. There's no safety except we abide in the truth.

The truth is what sets us free. Another quick word of passing here. There is so much going on today about deliverance. But the problem with the deliverance that's going on in the church today, it's not associated with truth.

It's associated with getting a preacher's hand slapped on your forehead. Let me tell you something, brothers and sisters, not meaning to disrespect any genuine leading of the Holy Spirit to lay your hands on anyone.

But let me tell you something. There's no hand that's going to be laid on you that's going to set you free. A man's hand is nothing but a man's hand, period. You or I are not going to be free by someone coming and speaking in tongues into our ear.

Tongues does not free people. Laying hands on people does not free people. Telling people about dreams and visions doesn't set people free. How many know what sets people free? Jesus sets people free.

Jesus sets people free. We've read it a number of times, but I'd like to read it again. John chapter 8. You don't have to turn to it, but listen to the words of Jesus Christ. Oh, church, listen, listen.

Abiding in Christ's Word

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him. If you continue in My Word, My Word. If you continue in My Word. John 17, 17. What does that say? Sanctify Him by Thy Word. Thy Word is truth. This is what Jesus is saying to all we who believe in Him.

If you continue in My Word. That word continue there means to abide, to remain consistently, daily, day by day, morning by morning, night by night. Continuing in God's Word. Sanctify them. Listen, the word sanctify means to set apart.

To set apart. For example, here we have an overhead projector. Did you know that I have the power to sanctify this overhead projector? I do. The word sanctify means to set apart. I can say this. As long as I use this projector, I sanctify it.

I set it apart. I designate it for the specific purpose of being used to show the songs that we're going to sing on Sunday mornings. I've just sanctified that overhead projector. I've set it aside for God's purpose.

John 17, 17. Sanctify them by Thy what? By Thy Word. Thy Word is truth. If you continue in My Word. Do you see the connection here? We cannot experience the setting aside of our inner life, our mind, our heart, our will, our emotions, our body, all that we are.

We cannot accomplish the work of being set aside wholly devoted to God apart from the in-working power of God's Word together with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Word and the Spirit working together in our heart that accomplishes the sanctification, that accomplishes the setting us aside for the purpose of God.

There is so much need in our midst and in the body of Christ for deliverance, to be free from this, to be free from that, to be free from this, to be free from that. But the focus is no longer on the truth which sets us free.

We have to return back to the truth. Listen to the words of Jesus. If you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples. Now listen carefully. Being a disciple is a lot more than just claiming to be a disciple.

It is a lot more than joining a disciple class for 10 weeks and someone says, what are you doing? And you say, well, I'm being discipled. No, you're not. You might learn something in the disciple classes.

I'm not here to say you can't be a part of a disciple group or a disciple class, but that's not what it means to be a disciple. The word disciple means to be a pupil, a student, a learner. Listen, one who sits at the feet of Jesus and is taught one who sits at the feet of Jesus and is taught.

Disciples as Pupils of Jesus

So let's put this picture together. So far, Jeremiah, they shall all be taught of the Lord. Jesus, if you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples? The word disciple means to be taught of the Lord.

It means to be a pupil under the instruction of a teacher. You know that you're supposed to give undivided attention to your teacher. Perhaps one of the reasons why I did so poorly in school until Jesus saved me was I did not give undivided attention to my teacher.

Frankly, I could care less what they were saying. And I'm sure maybe some of you might feel the same way. I could care less what my teacher was saying. I was more interested in doing my own thing, talking to my classmates.

I didn't care about what the teacher was saying. And then I suffered when we were tested. I flunked or I cheated. I remember making a deal with a certain person in school. She did all of my algebra homework for the entire semester.

Nancy Lehman. All my algebra work. Listen, the problem with that was she couldn't take my algebra test. And Mr. Grundyke couldn't understand why I got consistently hundreds and hundreds and 99s and 98s.

And all of my homework papers. And then when the algebra test came along, I got a 10 or a 15. He couldn't understand. And you know what I did? I lied. I lied my way. I said, I'm sorry, I got nervous and I just forgot everything.

I didn't pay attention to my teacher. I didn't care about anything. But a good pupil, someone that I wasn't, a good pupil listens carefully to their teacher. Let me tell you something. When you become the pupil, you're the pupil, not the teacher.

You say, well, obviously. Well, we really haven't come to grips with that yet. See, when we're the pupil, Christ is the teacher. Let me ask you a question. How well are you sitting at his feet? Now, again, don't judge it by some subjective feeling.

Oh, I'm a good pupil. You're a lousy pupil. You're a rotten student if you're not living in his Word every day and letting him instruct you with a humble and a broken heart. See, we get our own definitions.

Oh, I'm a good disciple because I listen to Bible tapes all the time. I listen to Times Square Church and Life Ministries Bible tapes and other preachers. I'm a good student. It doesn't necessarily mean you're a pupil of Jesus Christ at all.

You know why we don't want to be a pupil? Because we don't like to be told what to do. Just a few moments ago as we were singing, Suzanne had to come and get me. She had my son Andrew. What was wrong?

As soon as I looked at him, I knew what was wrong. He had that look on his face. He had told Suzanne consistently in the nursery, no, no. She said to do something. No, I'm not going to do that. So Andrew and I had to visit the men's room.

And it wasn't to go to the bathroom. Andrew doesn't like to be told what to do. And he needs to be taught that he has to do what he's told. He's not his own boss. He's not the boss in our house. He doesn't tell Mommy what to do.

He doesn't go around saying no. He doesn't pick and choose what he wants to do. But that's just what we're doing as Christians. You say, well, brother, I'm not doing that. Are you a pupil? If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples?

Now watch what happens when we come into the ranks of being a disciple. I mean, we can go on here about being a disciple. A disciple is taught. A disciple doesn't teach. A disciple is taught. You know, if you enroll in a class and think you already know the subject, what value will it be?

Very little. Alan, you were a school teacher, and you probably could do very little with students who thought they knew the subject better than you. I mean, I don't think they would be interested in his teaching.

Anyone else a teacher ever? Carrie, were you a teacher? Carrie was a teacher. The very fact that you enroll in a class presupposes something. It presupposes you need to learn what that teacher's got to teach.

You need to learn something. This is where we break down right now. You know how many of us just don't believe that we need to learn? We're unteachable. We're very unteachable. And you know what? It's demonstrated through life.

We get so angry, and we get so mad, and we get so fussy and rebellious when someone tries to teach us, or when life comes and works in our life in a way where we have to submit, we get angry. Why? Because we're really not students at heart.

Are you a student at heart? Are you a pupil? Do you say every day, Jesus, teach me something new about you and help my pride not to get in the way? But what if Jesus wants to teach you and you someone that you don't think is able to teach you?

Then all of a sudden, well, bless God, I'm a pupil, yes, and I'm a student of Christ, yes, but this is ridiculous. See, again, the Lord finds us out and He shows us. Someone who's not as smart as you, the Lord might want to teach you a whole lot of things.

Truth, Freedom, and Discipleship

So let's follow this through now. Let's think this through, beloved. I believe the Lord is on a campaign. He is out to shake us from the things that we're trusting in that are leading us astray. We dealt with this many months ago.

False peace. This is not your rest. You shall know that... Oh, no, I don't get ahead of myself. If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples. All right? So right now we can conclude from that scripture and from the whole New Testament.

If we are not continuing in His word, then we can't claim the title of disciple. You are my disciples indeed. And listen, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. I find that oftentimes when I interact with saints, and I hear them say, I want to be free.

They want a fix. They don't want freedom. They want a band-aid. They want an easy way to deal with a problem, but they don't want to pay the cost. Then are you my disciples. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

Brothers and sisters, listen carefully. Knowing the truth is in direct proportion to being a disciple, which is in direct proportion to abiding, continuing in the word. I hope you're following this. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

Being a pupil of Jesus Christ, at His feet, in your heart, at His word, with a meek heart, that the engrafted word might come in and cause us to grow, is the means by which God sets us free. And this freedom is not a freedom of anarchy, or a freedom of lawlessness, or a freedom from boundaries, or a freedom from rules.

It's a freedom from the slavery and tyranny of self, and sin, and Satan, and the world. It is a freedom from the slavery of that which is not according to the kingdom of God, so that we can become slaves to righteousness.

Slaves to God's will. Slaves to obeying the words of Jesus Christ. Those who claim to have freedom in Christ, but are walking in anarchy and rebellion and doing their own thing, are not experiencing freedom in Christ.

The freedom that Christ comes to bring, that comes from knowing the truth, that comes by being taught by the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit in His word, the freedom that comes makes us slaves.

But see, we don't equate freedom with slavery, do we? We equate freedom with, no one tells me what to do. And all you need is a few teenagers and you'll discover that real quick. A teenager understands freedom.

No curfew. My younger brothers and sisters are told they have a bedtime, but I don't. That's freedom to the teenage mind. That's not freedom. That's not the freedom that Jesus is talking about in this particular scripture.

In context, He's talking about sin, being free from sin. Freedom. So, ask yourself this question. Are we following Jesus? Do we have the Holy Spirit? Does the Holy Spirit have us? If the answer to those questions is yes by the grace of God, then here's the next question.

Denying Self and Carrying the Cross

Are we denying ourself? Are we disowning ourselves? And are we carrying our cross? This is part two of last week, where we talked about, are we disowning ourselves? Are we denying ourselves? Listen carefully for the next few moments.

Because this may be a very timely word that the Holy Spirit wants to speak into your life today. This may be an answer to possibly a prayer that you've been praying for a long time over issues and struggles and problems in your life that the hands of preachers couldn't free you from or books couldn't free you from.

This may be it. This may be it today. This may be God's word to your heart today. And I believe it is if you'll listen and ask God to open up your heart. If you are a disciple, a pupil, a student, having come to the place where you have said, Lord, You are the teacher and I am the pupil.

You are the master. I am the servant. You've got what I need. I will stop trying to teach You. I will stop trying to tell You what to do. Lord, I'm asking You to change my heart. We need a major deliverance in our midst and in our lives and in our homes.

We've got to take the posture of being a pupil before Jesus Christ. I don't know what God has got to do to smash our hearts and to break our hearts, but we have got to get off our high horses and humble ourselves in the presence of Jesus Christ.

We need to follow the lesson of Moses when he stood before the Lord in a burning bush and God said, Take your shoes off. This is holy ground. Too many people have their shoes on. We need to take our shoes off.

We need to come back to a reverence of the Lord Jesus Christ and a reverence of God's Word. And as we become a disciple, and we continue in the Word of Truth, let me tell you something, the Word of Truth becomes your final authority.

If the Word of Truth is not your final authority, that is, if God's Word is not the thing that you live by and die by, you're not a disciple. You may belong to the Lord, but you're not one of His disciples.

I believe the Lord is tired of His children saying, Well, Lord, this is how I'm going to do it. This is how I'm going to live my life. When God says, Listen, I showed you how to live your life. I showed you what to do.

You shall know the truth when you abide in His Word, and the truth shall make you free. Here is what the truth shall make you free from. This Word will address many troubles that are going on in your life today.

Listen, Christians are supposed to be troubled by the devil. They're supposed to be troubled by a world system that hates them. They're supposed to be troubled by the evil prince of this air. But today, the troubles that most Christians are experiencing have nothing to do with that.

They're troubles that are brought upon ourselves because we do not have the power to deny ourselves. And if you haven't come to learn this yet, you will. Living for yourself and trying to claim to be a Christian at the same time is impossible.

It won't work. Your life is going to turn into a mess. Your relationships are going to turn into a mess. Your friendships are going to turn into a mess. Your finances are going to turn into a mess. Everything will turn into a royal mess if you are trying to name the name of Jesus Christ and at the same time live for yourself.

Oh yes, you can be well acquainted with God's Word. You can be well acquainted with Bible doctrine. You can be involved in all manner of religious activities. You can go to home meetings. You can go to Times Square Church.

You can come here Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, 3 o 'clock, Times Square Church. Sunday night, 6 o 'clock, Times Square Church. Wednesday night, Calvary Assembly of God. Friday night, a prayer meeting and street meetings.

And then start the whole thing up again on Sunday morning. And you can be a self-centered human being living for yourself. But it can't be if you become His disciple. Because if you become His disciple, you'll be taught of Him.

And guess what He'll say? It's time to get off my throne. If you're a religious addict, you'll never hear the Lord say that. Because religion never bothers you about your self-centered living. It actually promotes it.

If you're a disciple of modern Christianity, you won't need to worry about a thing. They'll equip you to be a self-centered person. Modern Christianity will feed you with just what you want to hear to get what you want from God.

That's what modern Christianity will do. But if you become a disciple of Jesus Christ, He'll stop you plum right in your tracks. What are you doing? What are you doing? Who are you living for? How many want to go there?

You hear people say, I don't want to go there. If you touch a sensitive issue in their life, I don't want to go there now. I don't want to go there. Don't talk to me about that. Well, you know what Jesus is saying?

You might not want to go there. But you're going to have to go there. We're going. You might not want to go there, but we're going there. Now, when we don't want to go there, we walk away from the person or we threaten them.

Don't you say that. Don't you say that. I'll leave. Don't you say that. How many have ever said that? Don't go there. Jesus is saying, He's quoting. I hear him quoting Psalm 139. Whither shall I go? Huh?

Where shall I go? Where shall I flee from my presence? You go ahead. Go anywhere you want. And after you're done and after you're after you're all burned out from running, open up your eyes and guess who you're going to be facing.

Jesus, you can't outrun him. You're going to have to deal with this sooner or later, brothers and sisters. Thank you, Lord, for the truth that sets men's lives free. I love thy law, O Lord. If you are a disciple following Jesus, you will be empowered to deny yourself.

What It Means to Deny Yourself

The word deny. Means to refuse oneself. To give up oneself. Listen, to give up one's rights. To give up one's preferences when they oppose God's will. To give up one's opinions when they oppose God's word.

To give up one's tastes when they create unnecessary disunity and conflict with others. You demand your way over a non-essential issue and you divide your whole family. Now you tell me if that makes sense.

To hold on to your silly opinion, your silly desire and create havoc in your whole family. Disharmony. You break the spirit of your wife and your children or your husband. All because you want to do it your way.

Let me tell you something. You know where I've come to? I've come to the place in my life where I choose my battles wisely. I choose them wisely. I try not to make a strong stand on non-essential issues.

I just simply let others. I'm not going to fight over something that's just an opinion. And therefore result in breaking the harmony of my family. And I'm specifically talking about our families. You know what I'm talking about.

You want to go to A &P. Your husband wants to go to ShopRite. So you have a fight over it and you don't talk to each other for a week. Does that make sense? Why is it happening? This is why. Don't you love this thing?

This is great. This is why. Because we're not being taught of the Lord how to deny ourself, are we? See, that's not part of the Christian package today. We're not taught to deny ourself. We're taught to go to God in heaven and say, Ask Barbara Eden, I dream a genie.

Ask God whatever you want and He'll give it to you because He loves you. That's the most perverted statement I've ever heard. Any parent knows that's stupid to say that. Anything my little son asks me for, I'm going to give him because I love him.

Yeah, why do we buy into that and think that's the way God is? Kevin, Grace, you love Grace, don't you? She's so sweetheart. Are you going to give her anything her daddy asks for? Anything. Why, Kevin?

She wouldn't know what to do with. She'd get in trouble. What if she's asking for something that you as her father foresees would bring great harm to her? So what you're saying then is true love doesn't only say yes.

True love says no. Every parent will hear this sooner or later from their teenager. You don't love me. Why? Because you won't let me do that. Okay, if that's what you think, I'm sorry. Now, if you're a weak parent, and you're not secure in your love, and you don't see that truth is what establishes a relationship with your child, then you might, well, maybe I should let him do it.

But God help us to grow in our capacity. And so, therefore, our problem is that we're not denying ourself. We're not disowning ourself. Mark 14, verse 66. Peter was around a fire. You remember? And the Scripture says that Jesus predicted that Peter would deny his Lord three times, right?

Well, Peter denied the Lord three times, but in one instant, he used a phrase of words that truly captures the meaning of what it means to deny yourself. He cursed, and the Scripture says, I don't know the man.

I don't know the man. Do you know what it means to deny ourself? It means to say, I don't know that person. I don't know that person that lives in me, and all of his desires, and all of his impulses, that would lead me away from God's will and God's heart and God's way.

I don't know that person. There is a Christian message going out today that is catering to the very person that God commands us to disown. Brothers and sisters, when the Holy Spirit comes into your life, and when the manifest presence of Jesus begins to abide in your life, and you become a disciple after hearing the call of Christ, and God conquers your will and conquers your heart, and takes the fight out of you, and you sit down and take your proper seat as a pupil at the feet of Jesus, you will be taught of the Lord to deny yourself, and God will not let you live a life of indulgence.

The Laodicean Church and Self-Indulgence

He will not let you demand your own way at the expense of hurting others and hurting your own life. This is going to be a tough lesson for the 21st century fat Laodicean church to learn. Because she says, I am rich, I am increased with goods, and I am in need of nothing.

Does that sound like a life of self-denial? No. That sounds like a people who know nothing about denying themselves, who know nothing about disowning themselves, and who know nothing about carrying the cross.

A Christian religion void of the meaning of the cross. Oh, we'll take the meaning that we're forgiven. Praise God. We'll take that part of the message. Because we like that. Because then that helps us not to feel guilty.

We're forgiven. So we'll take the message that we're forgiven. We'll take the historical Jesus that He died for my sins, and that I'm forgiven, but we'll pervert the meaning of forgiveness to mean now that I'm forgiven, I can do what I want, live the way I want, and I can still claim forgiveness.

Of the true meaning of forgiveness. That's license to continue in sin. So the Laodicean church is characterized by an unwillingness, an inability, because Jesus is outside, an inability to deny themselves.

So therefore, their entire life... And let me tell you, Laodiceans are very religious people. They're not atheists. They're not the ones marching down the streets in New York, in the major cities saying, throw out God, throw out religion, throw out Christianity.

No, they're the ones in the churches singing, shouting, hallelujah to God. But they're not being taught of the Lord. They're being taught the traditions of men. The rudiments of this world. The traditions of the world.

The teachings of men. They're not abiding in His Word. Continuing in the truth. Luke chapter 14, 25 -33. Jesus tells us that we must forsake all that we have. Listen to the words of Jesus here. Luke chapter 14, verse number 33.

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple. Now is that in the Bible or not? Is that only in my version or is that in your version too? Now listen, if the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Christ and to bring His words to our remembrance and to produce in us the spiritual realities that God's Word demand be in us, then wouldn't it seem to be reasonable that the chief ministry of the Holy Spirit would be to take these sayings and work them in us?

The Holy Spirit and Living Martyrdom

Then how come multitudes and multitudes and multitudes of people claim to know the Holy Spirit, but not only know Him, claim to be filled with Him, filled with His presence, filled with His power, filled with His unction, filled with the Pentecostal blessing, and yet there is no teaching in their life, for the most part, regarding denying self?

Amazingly, it's just the opposite. So many who claim to be full of the Holy Ghost are full of self, full of their own ways, full of assertiveness, a taste for the things of this world, a real taste for the pleasures of life.

It doesn't make sense. Is it possible that it's not the Holy Spirit at all that we're filled with? Is it possible that we bought into the lie and we're basing our belief that we are filled with the Holy Spirit on criteria other than what the Scriptures teach?

I don't care what it is. You might have talked in tongues. You might have had a weird experience. Someone might have come to you and went like this and said, you got it, you got it. Are you basing the fact that you believe you're filled with God simply on that?

I would encourage you today to turn and run from those ideas that you have and go back to the Word of God. If you are filled with the Spirit of God, you will be a living martyr. Tear ye in Jerusalem until you be what?

Endued. The word endued there means clothed upon. It means like a clothing. And you shall become my what? Witnesses. Where does the word witness come from? Martyr. You shall be my martyrs. Excuse me? Being filled with the Holy Ghost means I become a martyr?

Absolutely. It's what Jesus said. A martyr. If not a literal martyr, you become a living martyr. And a living martyr is one who what? Denies self. Disowns self. Carries the cross. And lives for the glory and honor of another one.

Even the Lord Jesus Christ. What will we deny when the Holy Spirit gets a hold of us? Listen carefully. What will we deny when the Holy Spirit gets a hold of us? Soul. Flesh. Sin. The world. And Satan.

When we become a disciple of Christ and begin to be taught by the Holy Spirit and live under the government of God's kingdom, it is inevitable that we will be taught by the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, to deny and disown ourselves.

These are the five things that the Holy Spirit will teach us to disown. Each one of these things. The soul. The flesh. Sin. The world. And Satan. Are in opposition to God's kingdom. Listen. God's ways.

God's will. God's holiness. God's plan. And if we do not learn by the power of the Holy Spirit to deny these things, then we will live on a crash course with the things of God. Now, we can't go into detail right now with these because we're going to break them down.

We're going to go through one at a time. But let's just begin by reading Luke 14, verse number 26. If any man come to me and hate not his father, his mother, his wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, listen, his own life.

The word life there is soul. Soul. So we must hate our own soul. Listen. He cannot be my disciple. Now listen carefully. We're not going to go too much longer. Just hold steady for a few more minutes.

Denying the Soul: Mind, Will, and Emotions

We have the word soul up here. Alright? Jesus said that we have to hate or deny or disown our own soul if we want to be His disciple. Now, soul can be broken down into three areas. Mind, will, and emotions.

Mind, will, and emotions make up the soul. Jesus said that if we want to be His disciple, please listen carefully, beloved. If you have the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit has you, this is what He will teach you.

This is what He will teach you. All shall be taught of the Lord. Jesus said that we must disown, forsake, hate. In another place, He said, lose. 2, 3, 4. These are four words that describe the way we must look at our soul.

An aspect of our soul. If the Holy Spirit is working in you, you will be taught of the Lord what it means to disown, forsake, hate, and lose your soul. If you're not being taught of the Lord these things, that means that you need to pray, Oh God, I want to become a pupil.