Aware Willing Receive — Phil Beach Jr.

The Body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit

6, verse number 19, What? Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? Now, beloved, it is absolutely necessary that God himself shine the light into our hearts to make us comprehend this profound statement.

God is saying in this scripture that you do not own you. Oh, how God has to break the influence of the world upon us, if we are to understand this, because I submit to you that the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, the God of this world who is the author of all that is evil and unholy and anti-God and anti-Christ, is telling us the exact opposite.

You are your own. You can run your own life. You're not accountable to anybody. You are not under anybody's authority. Whatever comes to your mind or your heart, you can do it at the cost of anybody. This is the spirit of the devil.

He is controlling the television. He is controlling the radio. He is controlling the magazines. He is controlling the newspapers. He is controlling all the things that are in the world. And he is successfully deceiving an entire generation of men and women, making them believe that they are accountable to nobody but themselves.

And how we have to be careful as children of God that we do not allow this thought pattern to begin to usurp the authority of Christ into our life. For the word of God tells us this morning that your body is the temple of God and that it does not belong to you.

Therefore, you do not have the right to do with your body what you want. Verse 20, For ye are bought with a price. Did you know that the price that Jesus paid to buy you back from Satan was His precious blood that was shed on Calvary?

Awareness of God's Will

I want you to keep your finger right there and I want to read a portion from 1 Peter. 1 Peter 1, verse number 13. This all has to do now with number one, being aware. When the awareness of what God wants in our life becomes more and more vivid to us, it will in fact change us.

Now listen to this. 1 Peter 1, verse 13, beginning there,. Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Obedience as Willing Submission

As obedient children, oh, how our heavenly Father delights when He sees obedient children. Now watch this, beloved. Obedient children are children who simply understand what God's will is, His reign in every area, and become willing for Him to establish that reign in you by the power and working and influence of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.

That's what obedient children are. Isn't that good? Obedient children. Sometimes we think obedient children are children who don't drink, or don't dance, or don't go to nightclubs, or those kind of things.

And of course, those things aren't profitable for Christians to do because we are representing the Lord Jesus Christ. But that's not the full intent of the Holy Spirit. To be an obedient child is much more than just trying to figure out seven laws to follow, and being obedient to those laws.

To be an obedient child is to have a disposition, a character that becomes willing at the slightest move of God's Spirit in your life. To become willing to let go of something you're holding on so that Christ can take control of it.

So many times Christians appear to be obedient. They go to church, they're responsible people, they hold down good jobs, they pay money to the church, they sometimes buy food for people, or things like that.

And it appears to them and to others that they are obedient children. But that's not necessarily so. For there is an obedience that God wants to work in us that far supersedes an obedience that just follows certain good things to do.

This is an obedience wrought by the Spirit of God that makes us constantly willing for the Holy Spirit at any time, at any moment, at any hour of the day, be it seven in the morning or nine at night, to come and by His loving drawing and by His unique dealing come to us and say, Hey, I would like you to give up this thing that you're holding on to and I would like to come and reign supreme in your life in this area.

An obedient child would be one that says, Oh Lord, I've never trusted you in this area or I'm so used to controlling this area of my life. Oh Lord, oh Lord, help me. I've never done this before. But nevertheless, oh God, not my will but Thy will be done.

Take me by the hand and do it, Lord. I want you to. There's a willing and obedient child. And I submit to you this morning that Christ stands with open arms and says, Will you be obedient to me and trust me?

Let's read on. As obedient children. Boy, what a new light that sheds, doesn't it? I like that. That encourages my heart. Now notice how they compare obedient children with not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.

Because, see, obedient children are children who are willing, listen, to come under God's authority. Disobedient children are children, listen, who continue to be religious, they continue to look good before men, but in the heart there is an unwillingness to come under the authority of God.

Humility, Grace, and Holiness

See how subtle religion is? I do my religious obligations but in my heart I am lifted up and I'm not in subjection to God and God don't try to come and interfere in my life. Now that's a haughty spirit.

And see, the Bible says God resists the proud. He resists that kind of a spirit. But when God wants to come and intrude into your life and you fall on your face and say, Lord, you are God, have your way, then that's a humble spirit.

And what does God say He does to the humble? He gives grace. What for? He gives grace to become willing so God can do in your life something new. Isn't the word grace sweet like honey? How many would like grace this morning?

But how many can get grace with a proud spirit? Isn't it good? Isn't God all wise? So what's the conclusion? If we want grace, what must we be willing to do? Humble ourselves. Isn't that good? Now watch this.

But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Now the word holy there simply means set aside for God's use. So the Bible's saying be set aside in your body, your soul, and your spirit for what?

Be set aside and prepared for the Holy Spirit to work this in your life every day. What does it mean to be a holy Christian? Does that mean you don't wear short sleeves? Or you have shirts that cover the top of your neck?

Of course not. Does it mean that women aren't supposed to cut their hair? No. To be a holy person is to be a broken, poor, contrite man or woman in the presence of God who at any time, at any moment, is willing for God to interfere with your plans and establish His, thereby you giving up your plans.

That's what a holy person is. A broken, soft person. Want to be holy? I do. Because it is written, verse 16, Be ye holy, for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work, Ah, boy, there's a lot of insight in the Word of God.

The Believer's Judgment and the Testing of Works

Do you know what the judgment of Christians will be? It's not going to be to judge whether you go to heaven or hell. No, beloved. If you are a believer and have trusted in Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven.

Here's what the believer's judgment will be. God, you'll stand before God and let me tell you, now, oh beloved, understand this, by the gentleness of Christ, by the love of Christ, listen, now we can run.

Now we can play our little games and we can hide. We can say, well, I'm not going to go to church. Or I'm not going to talk to that person because I know that person bothers me. They always bring up that area in my life that I know is not under God's control.

Or did you ever look at maybe a message written down on paper from somebody and know that if you read it, it would convict you so you avoid it? Helen has never done that. I have. Listen, now we can do that, but there's coming a day when every blood-washed child of God will stand before Christ.

And here's what Christ will do. He, now certainly he's going to do a much better job than I've done, but he's going to somehow put this before you. And he's going to say, he will judge according to every man's work.

Listen, that means he's going to see how many times he made us aware of a certain area in our life that he wanted to reign and we became willing so that we could receive the work of God that he wanted to do in our life.

That is what the believer's judgment will consist of. Of course, among other things, this is not exhaustive, but everything else that we do, won't it revolve around this right here? For if our works are a result of a willingness to let God reign in our life, then our works won't burn.

See how it all dovetails and fits right in? If your works and my works are an accumulation of that which we have done as a result of yielding our will to Christ so that Christ established his reign in our life and his reign in our life resulted in these works that we have done for him, then these things will not burn.

These things will stand. We will receive a reward from our loving God. So what's the secret? The secret is right here. Becoming willing. Now, verse 18, this gets back to you've been bought with a price.

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

What's the price this morning? For as much as ye know that ye have been bought with a price. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm quoting another script. For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Beloved, the price that it cost to buy you back from the devil was the blood of Jesus Christ. It was the life of Jesus himself. That's a pretty high cost, isn't it? Hey, let me tell you something, beloved.

That wasn't human blood flowing through Emmanuel's veins. Do you know what that was? Divine blood. Can you, again, again, it has got to come by revelation. Can you imagine God shed his blood for you? Almighty God, deity, creator of heaven and earth, eternal, omnipotent, comes as a man and sheds His blood for you.

The whole reason why He shed His blood for you was so that He can establish His reign. So He establishes His reign in your life. Now watch this. As of a lamb without blemish and without spot who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you.

Humanity Created to Bear God's Image

Beloved, do you remember that the reason why God created you was so that you can be a vessel where God can fill you with Himself? Listen. So that all creation can look at you and see God in you and praise God.

See, the reason, here's the divine plan of God in creating man. To create a man so that that man can look to his creator and draw from his creator his life, his character, his peace, his joy, his love, his patience in so much that the creature may be filled with the character of the creator so that when eyes look upon the creature they see the likeness and image of the creator and say, Wow, what a wonderful creator!

Not a creation. See, it won't result in the worship of the creation. It will result in the worship of the creator. Guess why Jesus came? To bring that back into existence because man obeyed the devil so therefore man now is expressing who?

The devil. But God says, Oh, I love man so I'm going to come myself and redeem him. That is, listen, we're not delivered from the devil in order to become servants to our own self. We're delivered from the devil to become servants of God which God originally intended before the fall.

Now, 1 Corinthians 6,. For ye will bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. You see it? Which are God's. You belong to the Lord. Every area in your life is supposed to be, listen, exclusively reserved for the kingship and reign of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit Makes Believers Aware and Willing

How lovely. So now you know what the ministry of the Holy Spirit is for. To do this very thing. What does He do? He makes us aware and then He seeks to make us willing. John 7, 17. John 7, 17. Oh, blessed Lord.

John 7, 17 Do you have a new international version, Danielle? May I see that? I'm going to read it from the King James and then I'm going to read it from the new international version. If any man will to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.

John 7, 17 If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Thank you, Danielle. Now we see the next step. Jesus not only seeks to make us aware, but He seeks to make us willing.

The Willingness to Surrender to God

John 17, 7 Yes, just making sure that everyone's paying attention. I see you are, that's good. Now I'll put it what I intended. John 7, 17 Beloved, did you know that the ministry, if you have the Holy Spirit this morning, a very, very major, number one priority burden of the Holy Spirit in your life this morning is to come to the seat of your affections, the very root of who you are, and to reveal where you are saying no, God, and then shed abroad into your heart the love of God, the ruling of God, the reasoning of God, insomuch to change your will so that rather than saying no, God, you say, yes, Lord.

What sweet release comes to the soul when they give up? How many have ever given up? Tell me if God flooded your life with such joy when you gave up. Let me ask a question. Why are you holding on? See, if we think about these things, do you feel that in holding on, you can do a better job than the Lord?

Willingness and Obedience

Okay, number two. The Holy Spirit seeks to make us willing. Isaiah chapter 1. Remember, beloved, in Christ, through His power, He can do these things. Verse 19. Isaiah chapter 1, verse 19. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.

A brother shared with me recently that to be willing, according to the Hebrew language, is actually coming to God and saying, Abba, Father. To be willing is to say, Abba, Father. Or, yes, Daddy. Yes, Jesus.

Yes, Jesus. Okay, Lord. Oh, how wonderful. And thirdly, after God makes us aware and then strives with us to make us willing, then God makes us receptive and we receive. 1 Peter. Well, I thought that was the Scripture, but it's not.

It slipped my memory. It says, even receiving the salvation of your souls. I can't recall where it is offhand. If somebody knows offhand, even receiving the salvation of your souls. I'm sure it's somewhere in Peter, but I can't find it offhand here.

I thought it was 1 Peter chapter 1. Well, let's wait ten seconds here. We'll come across it. So we can make this complete. Huh? Verse 9 chapter what? Chapter 1. Yes, that's it. Thank you, Danielle. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 9.

Receiving the Salvation of the Soul

Now listen now. Verse 8. Whom having not seen ye love, and whom though ye now see him not, ye believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Now see, receiving, listen, receiving results after we become aware and we are made willing, then we receive. 1 Peter 1 verse 9. Everything that God does in a believer's life follows these three steps.

There's got to first come an illumination, an awareness. That comes by the word of God and the influence of the person of the Holy Spirit in our life. How many have ever had a moment where you went, wow, this is what God's word means.

And God illuminated something to you. Okay, the very next thing God will do then is once he shows you something, then he will make you willing so that you want him to establish that in your life. There's a lot of Christians who are here but have never gone the second step with the Holy Spirit.

Then once you go the second step and you are saying from your heart, Abba, Father, yes, Lord. Yes, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for showing me how poor I am. Thank you, Lord, for showing me. Lord, you have humbled me.

You have lowered me, Lord. You have taken the wind out of my sail. You've weakened me. How many have ever been weakened by God where he has taken the fight out of you in a certain area of your life and you sort of just say, oh, I give up, Lord.

Have your way. That's the second step. And then the third step is then God calls you to receive that miracle of grace. It's imparted to you. And then that's when the increase of Christ's reign in your life and his character in your life grows.

That's what it is to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what the Lord is saying to us this morning in love, in patience, but with great eagerness to work these in our life.

Prayerful Surrender to God's Next Work

Now, I don't know where you are this morning, but guess what? I don't need to know. Jesus does. Now, what we'll do right now is we're going to sit and pray, glancing at this and saying, okay, Lord. Ready?

Here we go. Where am I? You might say, well, praise God. God's made me aware. He's made me willing, and I've received. All right, go to the next thing. Go to the next thing that God wants to start the whole thing over again in your life.

You know what? The Holy Spirit is right here. His presence is here. So I just want to sit and wait, and if someone has a song, or if... I know the rapture couldn't happen because certainly she wouldn't be the only one to go up.

At least someone else. No, wait, we're one flesh, so she couldn't go out without me. God would never divide us. Hi, brother.