 Many times the truth will offend you before it will set you free. Here are five painful but helpful truths that will help you to draw closer to God. If you're ready to hear the truth, even if it's painful, write these two simple words in the comments section right now. Type these words, I'm ready. Painful truth number one, the flesh is self-deceptive. Here's what the Bible reveals. James chapter 1 verses 13 through 15. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say God is tempting me. God is never tempted to do wrong and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions and when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. You can get demons cast out of you, but you can't cast you out of you. The flesh doesn't come and go. The flesh shrinks and grows. The flesh gains and loses influence in your life depending upon how you act, depending upon whether or not you're walking in obedience to the word of God. Now here's the thing about the flesh that many people often overlook. The flesh is self-deceptive. Imagine someone who struggles with alcoholism. They tell themselves that they're going to go to the bar just to hang out with friends. I'm not going to do anything. I won't have a drink. I'm just going to go because I want to be with my friends. Now, in situations like this where we're putting ourselves or we can be tempted, we don't realize that we are deceiving ourselves. We can tell ourselves, I don't intend on doing anything wrong. You can say to yourself, I'm not going to sin. You can say to yourself, I've drawn a line. But the very fact that you're putting yourself in temptation's way is proof that the flesh is deceiving you. We lie to ourselves to get close to what we want. So using the analogy further that alcoholic or the person who struggles with alcoholism goes into the bar, they tell themselves in their conscious mind, I'm not going to touch a drink. I'm just going to talk with my friends. But in the back of their mind, they know what they're really trying to do. They don't realize it completely because it's self-deception. But deep within their heart, they understand that they're just trying to get close to what tempts them. And so they arrive at the bar. They're hanging out with their friends, their fellow shipping. And then they say, I'll just have one drink. That'll be it. That'll be all I do. I won't get drunk. It's not a sin. They'll say to themselves to just have one drink. And then they go further and further and further until they find themselves again in that sin of alcoholism. Now, I'm just using alcoholism as one example. But this can apply to anything that tempts you. You will deceive yourself to get what you want. This is true of dating, handling finances, being around those things that tempt us. We tell ourselves, I'm only going to go so far. We tell ourselves, I'm not really going to allow that back into my life. But again, watch for your actions. If you are excusing that closeness to temptation that's assigned to you, that your flesh is deceiving itself. That's a painful truth, one that we don't want to admit. Why? Because our pride and ego says, no, I'll handle this. Our pride and ego says, I can handle putting myself in that situation. Furthermore, the cravings of the flesh are so strong that you'll get angry at those who call you out on putting yourself in tempting situations. This must be avoided. Please realize about the flesh that the flesh will deceive you. Painful truth number two, devotion takes discipline. You are responsible for the spiritual devotion in your life. Now we understand that the Holy Spirit is the one who sanctifies us. We understand that God is the one who is completing a work within us. However, we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We must cooperate with the work that the Father is doing in our lives. How do we do this? Through walking in simple obedience and practicing spiritual disciplines, you are responsible for devoting yourself to the Word of God. You are responsible for establishing a prayer life. Yes, you do it with the Holy Spirit's help. Yes, the Holy Spirit is the one who gives you the desire and the power to do so. But you must exercise your free will to do as God desires you to do. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 15 says, The scripture here commands you to study, commands you to do the digging, commands you to do the research. You must commit your life to studying the Word. You must daily pick up the scripture and make it a part of your life. You must devote yourself to understanding the truths and revelations revealed within the Bible. The scripture says in Matthew 6-6, this is Jesus speaking, but when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father who sees everything will reward you. Here Jesus is talking about the practice of discipline in prayer. 9 times out of 10, when I talk face to face with the believer who's telling me that they're struggling spiritually, 9 times out of 10, they have an inconsistent devotion to the Word of God and they have an inconsistent prayer life. Now, I'm not bringing you these painful truths to condemn you. I'm bringing you these painful truths to help wake you up. 3. God doesn't always agree with you. Isaiah 55 verse 8 says this, My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. Proverbs 14-12 says, There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. If the Word of God never corrects you, it's not the Word you believe, it's yourself. If the Holy Spirit can never redirect you, then it's not the Holy Spirit you trust, it's your own thinking. We must recognize that the Word of God will confront and contradict some of the things that we believe, some of the things that we've been taught, some of the things that we were raised to accept. The Word of God will contradict many of the things that we hold dear. The Holy Spirit will bring correction to many areas in your life that you might hesitate to surrender. This is why we must not harden our hearts. We must not choose the path of stubbornness. When the Holy Spirit confronts you, when the Word of God brings correction, when you see that the way that you think, the way that you live, the way that you talk, the way that you are, is indirect violation of God's standard, then you have a choice. You can do one of two things. Either you can humble yourself before the Lord, or you can harden your heart and choose the way of stubbornness. You can look at that verse, you can hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you, and you can say within yourself, well, I know better. And we don't always say it that way. We don't say those words exactly I know better. That's too audacious. That's too bold. That's too flagrant, if you will. But we do it in a subtle way. We do it by ignoring the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We do it by being dismissive with what the Scripture says and say to ourselves, or maybe there's some other way around that, or maybe it doesn't really mean what it means. We must let the Lord be the Lord. We must let the King have full reign in our lives if we are to call him our King. Jesus is Lord. And Jesus must be Lord in every aspect of your life if he is truly your Lord. And so accepting this painful truth will help us to grow spiritually. God doesn't always agree with us. Sometimes, as I said, there are things that we believe do say. There are ways that we behave that contradict God's standard. This is why we must choose to embrace the path of humility and allow the Holy Spirit and the Word to bring correction. Number four, a painful truth, you need to gather with other believers. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25 says, and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Now I can already hear it. People complain about this point in scripture because they don't want to accept it. Maybe they didn't like what happened in a certain church. Maybe they were hurt by previous relationships in the kingdom of God, and they're trying to excuse this disobedience. Now I do have compassion for those who've suffered in this way, but I also have compassion for you in this, I'm telling you the truth. And it is in telling you the truth that I'm showing you the love of God because sometimes we need to hear these harsh realities. We become hurt, we become bitter, our hearts become hardened, and then we become very defensive when things like this come up. All someone has to do is read this verse, and suddenly all of the excuses come pouring out. Well, I went to a church and they did this, or I used to gather with people and this is how they behaved, or I used to be with a church or ministry and this is what I saw. And all of those stories, all of those experiences, as powerful as they are, as moving as they are, are not excuses to disobey what the word of God says. Some might say, well, I am the church. Well, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that we are the church, we are the body when we come together. It is in our assembly. It is in our connectivity that we become the body, that we become one. Spiritual growth is meant to be done in a community setting. It's spiritual pride or it's spiritual hurt that keeps people away from other believers. Some imagine that their fellow brothers and sisters will somehow contaminate their spiritual lives. This is one form of neglect of the gathering of believers. Really, there are two reasons why someone will reject going to church, categorically speaking. The first is that they've been hurt. They had a bad experience. They saw things that maybe vexed them spiritually. The second is those who are filled with spiritual pride. They treat their fellow brothers and sisters as if somehow the other saints are going to keep them from getting close to God. They say things like, well, I'm the remnant, but here's the reality. If you neglect gathering with other believers, you're not the remnant, you're the rebellious, and you need to align your life with the Word of God. The Scripture commands us to gather. There are no rogue Christians. There are no believers who are meant to serve God in isolation. This is the New Testament standard for the follower, the disciple of Christ, to gather with other believers. And again, I tell you this because I care about your soul. I'm telling you this because I care about your spiritual state. I want you to maximize the fullness of your potential in Christ. I want to see the gifts on your life maximize. I want to see your spiritual strength maximize. And in community with others, we find spiritual strength. We find fellowship. We find true accountability. We find true healing. Maybe you did have a bad experience in a church or with a leader. Maybe you are filled with spiritual pride. Only you know why you've kept your distance from gathering with other believers. But whatever your reason, you must correct this error in your life. You must open your heart again to the fellowship of believers. That is a painful but helpful truth. Finally, number five, it's not about us. I think that sometimes we get this idea that God is basing everything around our lives. I know we don't say that. I know we don't use phrases like that, like I'm the main character or it's all about me. I know we don't say those things outright. But I think that sometimes the way that we live or the way that we think really reveals that we imagine that God is orchestrating everything just for us. And that if we serve God, everything about our lives is going to be exactly as we want it. Remember this, the gospel is not about self-help. It's about self-abandonment. It's not about our dreams. It's about God's will. God will require things of us. God will ask us to sacrifice for the sake of His will. Luke 22.42. Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. Jesus surrendering to the cross is an example to you and I today that we must pick up our cross. Matthew 16.24 says, Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way. Take up your cross and follow me. You and I will be forgotten. No matter how big your name may be, once history itself has passed away, only one name will be remembered. That's the name of Jesus. I think we imagine sometimes that if we serve God, that everything's going to be arranged just as we want it. We're going to live what we want to live. We're going to make what we want to make. Our family dynamics will be exactly as we want them to be. We'll be perfectly happy and healthy and wealthy and everything will flow just so. That's not always the case. I believe in God blessing his people. I believe in healing. I believe in God causing people to be financially fruitful. But what supersedes all of that is fulfilling the will of God. Taking up that cross. There will be sacrifice. There will be heartache. There will be persecution. Not everything is going to go the way you want it to go. And so instead of waiting for the ideal situation to arrive, instead of waiting for everything to be perfect before you really surrender to God, simply accept the fact that it's not about us. And that we mustn't wait to do God's will until everything is perfect or until everything is just as we want it to be. So five painful truths that will help you to draw close to the God. Number one, the flesh is self-deceptive. Two, devotion takes discipline. Three, God doesn't always agree with you. Four, you need to gather with believers. And five, it's not about us. I want to pray with you now and I want to ask the Lord to touch your life and give you the power to live according to his will. Father, I pray that by your Holy Spirit you would give them the grace that they need to fulfill your will. I want you to say this to the Lord right now. Say, Lord, I surrender. Write that in the comment section right now. Let that be your public declaration. Write, I surrender. Father, touch them. I pray that the presence of the Holy Spirit be sensed in their everyday life. And Father, draw them closer to you as they walk according to your truth. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your power now flowing. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. And I want you to say it because you believe it. Say, amen. Hey, I know this is usually the point where most people click off the video. But before you go to the next one, and I have one to recommend, let me read a verse to you here. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 6. Remember this, a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. Here, Paul the apostle is talking about finances. And when you give to God's work, that produces a harvest of generosity in your life. That is an actual true biblical principle. I know that there's a lot of talk in the world right now about financial instability, economies tanking, dollars losing their value, shortages abound. That's what the world says. But we can know that I've never seen the righteous forsaken. Are there children begging for bread? God will take care of you. And knowing this truth frees you to be liberal to support the work of God. So I want to encourage you to give a one-time gift of any amount or become a monthly supporter by going to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate your support. We'll enable our live streams, our content releases, and help us to hold events all around the world. Don't forget to like this video if you enjoyed this teaching and also subscribe if you haven't already to Encounter TV. Click that notification bell when you do so that you don't miss a single video. Now I recommend that you watch How Do I Study the Bible? Five Simple Bible Study Keys.