1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,960 It is impossible to deceive the One from whom we are expecting to receive. 2 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:17,600 Grace and peace to you all, people of God, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 3 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:24,720 By the grace of God, I'm here to share with you a message from the living Word of God, 4 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:31,440 the Word that takes us into a genuine relationship with God. 5 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:38,040 And when I say genuine, I mean a relationship without deception, 6 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,320 a relationship without pretense, 7 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:44,320 a relationship without makeup. 8 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:51,640 And, in fact, I would like to begin this message today by talking about 9 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,920 the makeup culture of today. 10 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:01,800 I know everyone here knows what makeup is. 11 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:07,880 I'm referring to those cosmetic products we mainly put on our face 12 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:13,160 to enhance or modify our physical appearance. 13 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:18,080 There are countless videos we can find on the internet 14 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:25,680 about how makeup can change, transform someone's appearance. 15 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:33,720 To many, makeup is an art to beautify 16 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:42,680 the face and even a way to strengthen someone's self-esteem. 17 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:48,400 But unfortunately for many, many others, 18 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:55,880 makeup is used to hide, to disguise, their true nature. 19 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:04,120 For you to better understand what I'm talking about, I would like us to watch 20 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:10,360 a short video about the power of makeup. 21 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:16,920 So in this video, we are looking at a makeup artist that took a stone, 22 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:22,480 an ordinary stone, and she's doing a full makeup session for it. 23 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:28,240 And we can see how she's applying so many cosmetic products to a stone. 24 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:34,240 And we can see she's putting the foundation now, concealer. 25 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,720 She really means it! And she's now putting on the powder, 26 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:46,480 and now she's going to do the eyebrows and she's going to put the eyelashes. 27 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,360 Wow, it is very interesting to see what the artist is doing. 28 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,080 Even she drew a nose. 29 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:59,200 And now she's going to put some lipstick to do the lips. 30 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:05,240 And then, voila! An ordinary object 31 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:14,160 has been transformed into a beautiful face by the power of makeup. 32 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:25,320 However, people of God, the power of makeup can be dangerous because it shows us 33 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,000 a completely false image of what the person, 34 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,560 in this case, the object, really looks like. 35 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:39,000 Makeup can hide reality from us. 36 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:44,240 And the problem is that many people today 37 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:50,400 are taking this makeup culture beyond the physical. 38 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:59,120 Before I go on, I want to make it clear that by no means am I against makeup. 39 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:08,280 In fact, today I have used some makeup to enhance my own facial features. 40 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:15,440 And this message today is not to determine whether makeup is good or not. 41 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:25,160 But what I want to call your attention to is to beware of this makeup culture that 42 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:30,400 many have fallen into even as children of God. 43 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:34,920 People want to live by appearance and not by truth. 44 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,960 There is a culture of falsehood. 45 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:43,320 There is a culture in which we are no longer sincere, 46 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,080 in which we are no longer genuine. 47 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:52,600 And many people try to ‘makeup’ their heart 48 00:04:52,600 --> 00:05:01,480 by deceiving others, deceiving themselves, and behaving as if they can deceive God. 49 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:10,400 But the true motives of the heart cannot be disguised before Him. 50 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,520 This brings me to the title of this message, 51 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:19,000 “You Cannot ‘Makeup’ Your Heart.” 52 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:24,200 So I want you, wherever you are, to say it out loud, 53 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:28,160 “You cannot ‘makeup’ your heart.” 54 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,400 And now say it to yourself, 55 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,880 “I cannot ‘makeup’ my heart.” 56 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:40,000 Throughout the Bible, the importance of our motives 57 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,520 behind our actions is emphasised to us. 58 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:54,840 In Jeremiah 17:10, the Bible says that God examines our hearts 59 00:05:54,840 --> 00:06:01,840 to know our motives, to see if they are pure or corrupt. 60 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:12,520 In 1 Chronicles 28:9, the Bible says that it is He, God, who searches the heart. 61 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:18,520 And God is the One that judges the unseen, 62 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:25,760 the secret things, as Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says. 63 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:32,520 Our motives are as important as our actions. 64 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:39,520 People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 65 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:47,200 That's what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7. 66 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:57,480 Brethren, with our lips we profess to be Christian, but are we such in heart? 67 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:03,600 Many of us consider ourselves Christians because we go to church, 68 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:10,920 because we carry the Bible under our arm, because we greet others, “God bless you,” 69 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,800 because we kneel down to pray or we worship aloud. 70 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,600 But are you such in heart? 71 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,760 Do you really mean it? 72 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:30,080 God values our intentions, our motives, because He's seeking true worshipers. 73 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:34,240 God is looking for sincere followers. 74 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:38,440 John 4:23 says this. 75 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:46,880 And as Prophet TB Joshua often taught us, true Christianity lies in the heart. 76 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:55,000 I know that every one of you connected here today, you have a prayer request. 77 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,040 You are seeking God's intervention in your life. 78 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:04,000 But I want you to ask yourself, 79 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:08,560 what is the motive behind that prayer request? 80 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:13,000 I'm not asking you what your prayer request is. 81 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:18,920 I'm asking you, what is the motive behind it? 82 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:23,880 Because it is impossible to deceive 83 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:30,000 the One from whom we are expecting to receive. 84 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:35,200 Let me give you some examples about insincerity and sincerity. 85 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:40,120 I mean, examples of wrong motives and right motives 86 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:45,520 that we can find in the Bible for us to reflect on 87 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:51,120 some of the signs that will help us to identify 88 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:57,400 in which category our own prayer requests, our own actions, fall into. 89 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:05,720 And I would like to start first by reading 1 Samuel 8. 90 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:10,960 We are going to read verses four and five and then we will be 91 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,120 jumping into some verses in the same chapter. 92 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:20,320 And the Bible says, “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together 93 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,440 and came to Samuel at Ramah, 94 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:31,840 and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. 95 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:36,920 Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’” 96 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:39,920 And now let's jump to verse seven. 97 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:44,200 “And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people 98 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,720 in all that they say to you; 99 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:52,120 for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, 100 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:56,120 that I should not reign over them.’” 101 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:00,280 And then now let us jump to verses 19 and 20. 102 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:06,400 “Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; 103 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:12,120 and they said, ‘No, but we will have a king over us. 104 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:19,720 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us 105 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:25,480 and go out before us and fight our battles.’” 106 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:33,160 Here, people of God, we read about when the people of Israel asked Samuel 107 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:39,880 the prophet, who was also judging Israel at that time, to anoint a king for them. 108 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:48,280 As we see, though the reasons of their petition seemed to be legitimate - 109 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:55,520 Samuel was very old, and his sons did not follow his ways - 110 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:01,240 their petition was born out of comparison. 111 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,040 In verse five and verse 20, 112 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:13,240 they said, “Make us a king, so we may be like all the nations.” 113 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:20,200 The people of Israel compared themselves with others 114 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,280 and desired to be like them. 115 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:33,760 Their petition was ‘makeup’ by first saying something that seemed true and justifiable. 116 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:43,000 People of God, know that when your motives are born out of comparison, 117 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:48,920 your prayers, your actions, are not sincere before the Lord. 118 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:59,680 As Christians, we need to be careful to avoid the trap of comparison. 119 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:07,880 When our prayers or actions are born out of comparison, it is because 120 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:16,960 our heart is more focused on man's opinion than God's opinion. 121 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:22,280 Petitions out of comparison come from a heart 122 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:28,000 that is more interested in pleasing men than pleasing God. 123 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:33,360 As you are there right now, asking God for that blessing, for that breakthrough, 124 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,840 in whatever area of your life, 125 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:41,120 it is important, people of God, that you examine yourself, 126 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:44,160 that you examine your motives. 127 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:51,640 Is the motivation of that prayer request because you are comparing yourself 128 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:57,400 with others, because you are desiring in the carnal, in the flesh, 129 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:02,000 to be like others or to have what others have? 130 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:07,480 And are you allowing this comparison to direct your prayers? 131 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:12,240 People of God, let us check ourselves. 132 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:19,000 Let us check where our prayers and actions are coming from. 133 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:23,200 Many of you, as you continue reading this story, you may say, 134 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:30,400 ‘But God finally granted their petition as He anointed Saul as the king!’ 135 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,320 Yes, people of God. 136 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:37,720 But the Bible also says that God was not pleased 137 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:48,280 and that God gave them a clear warning of what would happen to them if they had a king. 138 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:53,160 The Bible says that they would become his servants. 139 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:58,720 Other Bible versions say that they would become the king's slaves. 140 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:04,480 People of God, let us not become slaves 141 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:12,040 of the very thing we are asking God to give us because of wrong motives. 142 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:18,000 Another example of insincerity can be taken 143 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:26,760 from the life of King Saul and his act of worship that displeased God. 144 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:31,680 We can find it in 1 Samuel 15. 145 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:41,320 After having spared the life of the King of Amalek, Israel's enemy at that time, 146 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:47,240 King Saul received a rebuke from Prophet Samuel. 147 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:54,280 But Saul justified himself by saying that he kept alive 148 00:14:54,280 --> 00:15:02,240 the best of the cattle to offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord. 149 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:06,040 And apparently, Saul acknowledged his sin, 150 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:13,880 Saul acknowledged his mistake, but his vain words of repentance 151 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:21,080 were nothing more than ‘makeup’ to hide the true intentions, 152 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:29,560 the true motives of his heart: pride and self-sufficiency. 153 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:36,760 He only wanted to maintain his fame, his reputation. 154 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:44,680 King Saul did not mean to worship the Lord from his heart. 155 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:54,160 Offering sacrifices, worshiping the Lord, were acts of righteousness, but King Saul 156 00:15:54,160 --> 00:16:00,480 was rejected by God because of the wrong motives in his heart. 157 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:05,240 Let us reflect on these examples. 158 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:12,960 Let us come to God in sincerity of heart. 159 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,600 And I know that no one here 160 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:23,160 connected to this service today wants to be 161 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:29,840 like the type of people Jesus spoke about in Mark 7:6, 162 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:35,320 when He said, “These people honour Me with their lips, 163 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,760 but their hearts are far from Me.” 164 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:41,080 And people of God, 165 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:48,640 you may also say that these examples are extreme cases of insincerity. 166 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:55,560 Maybe you may think that we all know that King Saul had a wicked heart. 167 00:16:55,560 --> 00:17:01,920 And we may also say that at that time the people of Israel were wicked, 168 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:04,240 they were not sincere. 169 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:09,040 But in the light of this message, I want to share with you 170 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:14,840 something that happened to me in my first year of marriage 171 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:21,600 so we can all see how easily we can fall into insincerity 172 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:26,160 if we don't constantly check our motives. 173 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:31,480 For those who don't know, by the amazing grace of God, 174 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:40,120 I am married to a wonderful, loving, caring, but most importantly God-fearing man, 175 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:44,200 a man of faith. I'm married to Brother Chris. 176 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,400 And one day we were at home 177 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:55,400 and the time to do one of the activities that I enjoy more, cooking, came. 178 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:59,760 So I went to the kitchen. I opened the fridge. 179 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:08,000 We had chicken and beef, so I needed to decide what to cook that day. 180 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,600 So I said to myself, 181 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,600 “Oh, well, I don't have much time. 182 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:20,440 Perhaps cooking chicken will be faster and I feel like eating chicken. But still, 183 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:24,640 let me ask Chris what he would prefer.” 184 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:30,360 So I went to see him and I asked him in a very charming way, 185 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:37,280 “Mi amor, what would you like for lunch: chicken or beef?” 186 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:43,240 So he replied and said, “Oh, thank you. I would like to eat beef today.” 187 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:48,600 So immediately, without thinking, I said to him, “Oh, you know what? 188 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:53,880 I'm going to cook chicken. It is faster. I prefer chicken.” 189 00:18:53,880 --> 00:19:03,040 So Brother Chris corrected me and said, “Why did you even ask my opinion 190 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:08,360 if you already concluded what you wanted to cook?” 191 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:10,800 People of God, in fact, 192 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:21,720 at that moment, I realised that the motive behind my question was not sincere. 193 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:26,840 Normally, he enjoys my food whatever I cook. 194 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:33,040 He never demands from me a specific type of food. 195 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:38,880 But when it came to this question, I’d already made up my mind 196 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:42,880 concerning what I wanted to cook that day. 197 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:52,120 And this showed that I was not ready to hear something different to what I wanted. 198 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:57,440 And my question was provoking because 199 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:02,880 it was ‘makeup’ with a fake consideration 200 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:08,680 to include my husband’s opinion in a very simple decision, 201 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:16,040 when my true motive was already to cook chicken. 202 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:22,560 People of God, this can happen between God and us. 203 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:26,480 This can happen in our relationship with God. 204 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:33,440 Sometimes, when we approach God and when we make our petitions, 205 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:43,240 they are not sincere because we have placed our own will above His will. 206 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:53,360 Sometimes we make our petitions to God with nice words and smooth speech, 207 00:20:53,360 --> 00:21:01,920 but we are not prepared to hear something different to what we really want. 208 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:09,720 And I ask you again, what is the motive behind your prayer request, 209 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:13,480 behind your petition, behind your action? 210 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:21,120 Because, no matter how clever you are, you cannot ‘makeup’ your heart. 211 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:28,840 And I want to ask this sincere question to every one of you: 212 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:34,520 How sincere are your prayers? 213 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:43,000 Now, I would like to highlight some examples in the Bible of sincere prayer 214 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,120 so we can be inspired by them. 215 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:54,160 When we come to God, we don't need to be perfect to approach God. 216 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:57,920 We only need to be sincere. 217 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:09,480 In 1 Samuel 1, we read the story about Hannah, Prophet Samuel's mother. 218 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:17,200 She made a vow to the Lord when she asked Him for a child. 219 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:22,880 Hannah's petition was for God to release her from 220 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:29,000 the distress and the affliction of having a closed womb. 221 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:35,800 And perhaps her petition was influenced by the provocation of the second wife 222 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:39,560 of Elkanah, Hannah's husband. 223 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:48,200 But the true motive behind Hannah's petition was to glorify God, 224 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:54,360 because it doesn't make sense in the natural, from a human point of view, 225 00:22:54,360 --> 00:23:03,040 to ask for something that later on she will give away. 226 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:12,720 Hannah’s petition was motivated by her desire to glorify God. 227 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,720 Her motives were not to glorify herself 228 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:22,000 or to pretend that she was better than her rival. 229 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,360 She wanted to honour God. 230 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:34,840 Her petition was not ‘makeup’ with empty confessions and tears. 231 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:41,480 Her petition was not ‘makeup’ by sentimentalism and drama. 232 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:50,760 Hannah meant what she prayed and God saw her heart and blessed her. 233 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,280 And the test of time, people of God, 234 00:23:54,280 --> 00:24:00,640 showed the genuineness of that prayer, because when the time came, 235 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:07,120 Hannah gave her child to God’s service. 236 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:14,600 How can I know if my prayer is sincere? 237 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:21,040 When the motive of that prayer is to glorify the Lord, 238 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:27,440 when the motive of my prayer is to do His will, 239 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:34,200 when what I'm asking for is to bring me closer to God, 240 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:39,440 when what I'm asking for is for the salvation of my soul. 241 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:45,520 Brethren, the right motives are critical 242 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:51,360 for us to have a good relationship with the Father. 243 00:24:51,360 --> 00:25:01,480 And that's why I want you to go with me in the Bible, to Psalm 145, 244 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:06,520 and we are going to read verse 18 and 19. 245 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:13,160 The Bible says, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, 246 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:18,720 to all who call upon Him in truth. 247 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:24,160 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; 248 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:29,640 He also will hear their cry and save them.” 249 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,560 This is very clear. 250 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:38,800 The Lord is near to those who call upon Him in truth, 251 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:44,600 in sincerity, with transparent motives. 252 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:49,240 And, “He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him.” 253 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:57,160 Because when we fear God, people of God, we only want to do His will. 254 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:05,320 Can you see how important is sincerity when we approach God? 255 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:12,000 I want to conclude with another great example of sincerity from 256 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:17,480 our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in the prayer 257 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:26,680 in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26 from verse 36 to 46. 258 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,720 The Bible says that Jesus Christ was sorrowful 259 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:38,080 even to death, and He prayed three times to the Father, 260 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:47,000 saying, ‘Father, if it is possible, pass this cup from Me. 261 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:54,320 Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ 262 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:58,440 What a sincere prayer. 263 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:07,360 Jesus Christ let the Father know that He was in agony, that He was sorrowful. 264 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:14,080 But immediately, He asked the Father to remove the suffering from Him, 265 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:23,000 He revealed His motive: ‘Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ 266 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:30,080 Jesus’ motives were to fulfill God’s will. 267 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:38,920 His motivation was to honour God, to glorify Him, to do His will 268 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:44,800 and fulfill the plan for our salvation. 269 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,600 He did not hide His feelings to the Father, 270 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:54,880 yet He did not allow those feelings to direct His prayers. 271 00:27:54,880 --> 00:28:05,560 And the Bible says in Luke 22:43, that God sent an angel to strengthen Him. 272 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:12,720 This means that when we are sincere to God, when we have the right motives, 273 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:18,560 even if it is not the will of God to give us what we are asking for, 274 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:24,160 He will not leave us, He will not forsake us. 275 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:28,840 He will strengthen us whatever life brings. 276 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:37,000 So my brothers and sisters, we cannot ‘makeup’ our hearts. 277 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:42,160 No matter how many layers of foundation, concealer, 278 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:48,560 powder, lipstick we use to disguise our motives, our true motives, 279 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,880 God sees the heart. 280 00:28:52,880 --> 00:29:01,000 Today, you are here to receive a touch from God, not from men. 281 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:05,040 So don't waste time pretending. 282 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:11,080 No makeup can move your Maker 283 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:15,520 to release something that you are not ready to receive. 284 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:21,160 So, people of God, check your motives and be sincere 285 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:29,520 right here, right now before the Lord and leave aside every wrong motive. 286 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:35,880 Leave aside every comparison, pride, selfish intention 287 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:49,120 and focus on glorifying the Lord and submitting to His will for your life 288 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,280 in Jesus’ name. 289 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:56,800 And finally, I just want to leave you with this Bible verse. 290 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:07,720 So please, go quickly to 1 John 5:14-15. 291 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:13,880 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask 292 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:19,280 anything according to His will, He hears us. 293 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:23,560 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, 294 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:30,880 we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” 295 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:40,760 May the Lord bless the seed of His Word in our hearts, in Jesus’ name.