WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.960 It is impossible to deceive the One from whom we are expecting to receive. 00:00:11.040 --> 00:00:17.600 Grace and peace to you all, people of God, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 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, 00:00:24.720 --> 00:00:31.440 the Word that takes us into a genuine relationship with God. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:38.040 And when I say genuine, I mean a relationship without deception, 00:00:38.040 --> 00:00:41.320 a relationship without pretense, 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:44.320 a relationship without makeup. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:51.640 And, in fact, I would like to begin this message today by talking about 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:55.920 the makeup culture of today. 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:01.800 I know everyone here knows what makeup is. 00:01:01.800 --> 00:01:07.880 I'm referring to those cosmetic products we mainly put on our face 00:01:07.880 --> 00:01:13.160 to enhance or modify our physical appearance. 00:01:13.160 --> 00:01:18.080 There are countless videos we can find on the internet 00:01:18.080 --> 00:01:25.680 about how makeup can change, transform someone's appearance. 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:33.720 To many, makeup is an art to beautify 00:01:33.720 --> 00:01:42.680 the face and even a way to strengthen someone's self-esteem. 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:48.400 But unfortunately for many, many others, 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:55.880 makeup is used to hide, to disguise, their true nature. 00:01:55.880 --> 00:02:04.120 For you to better understand what I'm talking about, I would like us to watch 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:10.360 a short video about the power of makeup. 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:16.920 So in this video, we are looking at a makeup artist that took a stone, 00:02:16.920 --> 00:02:22.480 an ordinary stone, and she's doing a full makeup session for it. 00:02:22.480 --> 00:02:28.240 And we can see how she's applying so many cosmetic products to a stone. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:34.240 And we can see she's putting the foundation now, concealer. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:38.720 She really means it! And she's now putting on the powder, 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. 00:02:46.480 --> 00:02:50.360 Wow, it is very interesting to see what the artist is doing. 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:53.080 Even she drew a nose. 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:59.200 And now she's going to put some lipstick to do the lips. 00:02:59.200 --> 00:03:05.240 And then, voila! An ordinary object 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:14.160 has been transformed into a beautiful face by the power of makeup. 00:03:14.160 --> 00:03:25.320 However, people of God, the power of makeup can be dangerous because it shows us 00:03:25.320 --> 00:03:30.000 a completely false image of what the person, 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.560 in this case, the object, really looks like. 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:39.000 Makeup can hide reality from us. 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:44.240 And the problem is that many people today 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:50.400 are taking this makeup culture beyond the physical. 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. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:08.280 In fact, today I have used some makeup to enhance my own facial features. 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:15.440 And this message today is not to determine whether makeup is good or not. 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 00:04:25.160 --> 00:04:30.400 many have fallen into even as children of God. 00:04:30.400 --> 00:04:34.920 People want to live by appearance and not by truth. 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:38.960 There is a culture of falsehood. 00:04:38.960 --> 00:04:43.320 There is a culture in which we are no longer sincere, 00:04:43.320 --> 00:04:47.080 in which we are no longer genuine. 00:04:47.080 --> 00:04:52.600 And many people try to ‘makeup’ their heart 00:04:52.600 --> 00:05:01.480 by deceiving others, deceiving themselves, and behaving as if they can deceive God. 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:10.400 But the true motives of the heart cannot be disguised before Him. 00:05:10.400 --> 00:05:14.520 This brings me to the title of this message, 00:05:14.520 --> 00:05:19.000 “You Cannot ‘Makeup’ Your Heart.” 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:24.200 So I want you, wherever you are, to say it out loud, 00:05:24.200 --> 00:05:28.160 “You cannot ‘makeup’ your heart.” 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.400 And now say it to yourself, 00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:34.880 “I cannot ‘makeup’ my heart.” 00:05:34.880 --> 00:05:40.000 Throughout the Bible, the importance of our motives 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:45.520 behind our actions is emphasised to us. 00:05:45.520 --> 00:05:54.840 In Jeremiah 17:10, the Bible says that God examines our hearts 00:05:54.840 --> 00:06:01.840 to know our motives, to see if they are pure or corrupt. 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. 00:06:12.520 --> 00:06:18.520 And God is the One that judges the unseen, 00:06:18.520 --> 00:06:25.760 the secret things, as Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says. 00:06:25.760 --> 00:06:32.520 Our motives are as important as our actions. 00:06:32.520 --> 00:06:39.520 People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 00:06:39.520 --> 00:06:47.200 That's what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7. 00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:57.480 Brethren, with our lips we profess to be Christian, but are we such in heart? 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:03.600 Many of us consider ourselves Christians because we go to church, 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:10.920 because we carry the Bible under our arm, because we greet others, “God bless you,” 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:14.800 because we kneel down to pray or we worship aloud. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:18.600 But are you such in heart? 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.760 Do you really mean it? 00:07:21.760 --> 00:07:30.080 God values our intentions, our motives, because He's seeking true worshipers. 00:07:30.080 --> 00:07:34.240 God is looking for sincere followers. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:38.440 John 4:23 says this. 00:07:38.440 --> 00:07:46.880 And as Prophet TB Joshua often taught us, true Christianity lies in the heart. 00:07:46.880 --> 00:07:55.000 I know that every one of you connected here today, you have a prayer request. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:59.040 You are seeking God's intervention in your life. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:04.000 But I want you to ask yourself, 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:08.560 what is the motive behind that prayer request? 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:13.000 I'm not asking you what your prayer request is. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:18.920 I'm asking you, what is the motive behind it? 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:23.880 Because it is impossible to deceive 00:08:23.880 --> 00:08:30.000 the One from whom we are expecting to receive. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:35.200 Let me give you some examples about insincerity and sincerity. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:40.120 I mean, examples of wrong motives and right motives 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:45.520 that we can find in the Bible for us to reflect on 00:08:45.520 --> 00:08:51.120 some of the signs that will help us to identify 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:57.400 in which category our own prayer requests, our own actions, fall into. 00:08:57.400 --> 00:09:05.720 And I would like to start first by reading 1 Samuel 8. 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:10.960 We are going to read verses four and five and then we will be 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:14.120 jumping into some verses in the same chapter. 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:20.320 And the Bible says, “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:23.440 and came to Samuel at Ramah, 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. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:36.920 Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’” 00:09:36.920 --> 00:09:39.920 And now let's jump to verse seven. 00:09:39.920 --> 00:09:44.200 “And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:46.720 in all that they say to you; 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:52.120 for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:56.120 that I should not reign over them.’” 00:09:56.120 --> 00:10:00.280 And then now let us jump to verses 19 and 20. 00:10:00.280 --> 00:10:06.400 “Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; 00:10:06.400 --> 00:10:12.120 and they said, ‘No, but we will have a king over us. 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:19.720 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:25.480 and go out before us and fight our battles.’” 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:33.160 Here, people of God, we read about when the people of Israel asked Samuel 00:10:33.160 --> 00:10:39.880 the prophet, who was also judging Israel at that time, to anoint a king for them. 00:10:39.880 --> 00:10:48.280 As we see, though the reasons of their petition seemed to be legitimate - 00:10:48.280 --> 00:10:55.520 Samuel was very old, and his sons did not follow his ways - 00:10:55.520 --> 00:11:01.240 their petition was born out of comparison. 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:04.040 In verse five and verse 20, 00:11:04.040 --> 00:11:13.240 they said, “Make us a king, so we may be like all the nations.” 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:20.200 The people of Israel compared themselves with others 00:11:20.200 --> 00:11:24.280 and desired to be like them. 00:11:24.280 --> 00:11:33.760 Their petition was ‘makeup’ by first saying something that seemed true and justifiable. 00:11:33.760 --> 00:11:43.000 People of God, know that when your motives are born out of comparison, 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:48.920 your prayers, your actions, are not sincere before the Lord. 00:11:48.920 --> 00:11:59.680 As Christians, we need to be careful to avoid the trap of comparison. 00:11:59.680 --> 00:12:07.880 When our prayers or actions are born out of comparison, it is because 00:12:07.880 --> 00:12:16.960 our heart is more focused on man's opinion than God's opinion. 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:22.280 Petitions out of comparison come from a heart 00:12:22.280 --> 00:12:28.000 that is more interested in pleasing men than pleasing God. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:33.360 As you are there right now, asking God for that blessing, for that breakthrough, 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:36.840 in whatever area of your life, 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:41.120 it is important, people of God, that you examine yourself, 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:44.160 that you examine your motives. 00:12:44.160 --> 00:12:51.640 Is the motivation of that prayer request because you are comparing yourself 00:12:51.640 --> 00:12:57.400 with others, because you are desiring in the carnal, in the flesh, 00:12:57.400 --> 00:13:02.000 to be like others or to have what others have? 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:07.480 And are you allowing this comparison to direct your prayers? 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:12.240 People of God, let us check ourselves. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:19.000 Let us check where our prayers and actions are coming from. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:23.200 Many of you, as you continue reading this story, you may say, 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:30.400 ‘But God finally granted their petition as He anointed Saul as the king!’ 00:13:30.400 --> 00:13:32.320 Yes, people of God. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:37.720 But the Bible also says that God was not pleased 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. 00:13:48.280 --> 00:13:53.160 The Bible says that they would become his servants. 00:13:53.160 --> 00:13:58.720 Other Bible versions say that they would become the king's slaves. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:04.480 People of God, let us not become slaves 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:12.040 of the very thing we are asking God to give us because of wrong motives. 00:14:12.040 --> 00:14:18.000 Another example of insincerity can be taken 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:26.760 from the life of King Saul and his act of worship that displeased God. 00:14:26.760 --> 00:14:31.680 We can find it in 1 Samuel 15. 00:14:31.680 --> 00:14:41.320 After having spared the life of the King of Amalek, Israel's enemy at that time, 00:14:41.320 --> 00:14:47.240 King Saul received a rebuke from Prophet Samuel. 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:54.280 But Saul justified himself by saying that he kept alive 00:14:54.280 --> 00:15:02.240 the best of the cattle to offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord. 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:06.040 And apparently, Saul acknowledged his sin, 00:15:06.040 --> 00:15:13.880 Saul acknowledged his mistake, but his vain words of repentance 00:15:13.880 --> 00:15:21.080 were nothing more than ‘makeup’ to hide the true intentions, 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:29.560 the true motives of his heart: pride and self-sufficiency. 00:15:29.560 --> 00:15:36.760 He only wanted to maintain his fame, his reputation. 00:15:36.760 --> 00:15:44.680 King Saul did not mean to worship the Lord from his heart. 00:15:44.680 --> 00:15:54.160 Offering sacrifices, worshiping the Lord, were acts of righteousness, but King Saul 00:15:54.160 --> 00:16:00.480 was rejected by God because of the wrong motives in his heart. 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:05.240 Let us reflect on these examples. 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:12.960 Let us come to God in sincerity of heart. 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:16.600 And I know that no one here 00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:23.160 connected to this service today wants to be 00:16:23.160 --> 00:16:29.840 like the type of people Jesus spoke about in Mark 7:6, 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:35.320 when He said, “These people honour Me with their lips, 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:39.760 but their hearts are far from Me.” 00:16:39.760 --> 00:16:41.080 And people of God, 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:48.640 you may also say that these examples are extreme cases of insincerity. 00:16:48.640 --> 00:16:55.560 Maybe you may think that we all know that King Saul had a wicked heart. 00:16:55.560 --> 00:17:01.920 And we may also say that at that time the people of Israel were wicked, 00:17:01.920 --> 00:17:04.240 they were not sincere. 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:09.040 But in the light of this message, I want to share with you 00:17:09.040 --> 00:17:14.840 something that happened to me in my first year of marriage 00:17:14.840 --> 00:17:21.600 so we can all see how easily we can fall into insincerity 00:17:21.600 --> 00:17:26.160 if we don't constantly check our motives. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:31.480 For those who don't know, by the amazing grace of God, 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:40.120 I am married to a wonderful, loving, caring, but most importantly God-fearing man, 00:17:40.120 --> 00:17:44.200 a man of faith. I'm married to Brother Chris. 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:47.400 And one day we were at home 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:55.400 and the time to do one of the activities that I enjoy more, cooking, came. 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:59.760 So I went to the kitchen. I opened the fridge. 00:17:59.760 --> 00:18:08.000 We had chicken and beef, so I needed to decide what to cook that day. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:10.600 So I said to myself, 00:18:10.600 --> 00:18:13.600 “Oh, well, I don't have much time. 00:18:13.600 --> 00:18:20.440 Perhaps cooking chicken will be faster and I feel like eating chicken. But still, 00:18:20.440 --> 00:18:24.640 let me ask Chris what he would prefer.” 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:30.360 So I went to see him and I asked him in a very charming way, 00:18:30.360 --> 00:18:37.280 “Mi amor, what would you like for lunch: chicken or beef?” 00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:43.240 So he replied and said, “Oh, thank you. I would like to eat beef today.” 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:48.600 So immediately, without thinking, I said to him, “Oh, you know what? 00:18:48.600 --> 00:18:53.880 I'm going to cook chicken. It is faster. I prefer chicken.” 00:18:53.880 --> 00:19:03.040 So Brother Chris corrected me and said, “Why did you even ask my opinion 00:19:03.040 --> 00:19:08.360 if you already concluded what you wanted to cook?” 00:19:08.360 --> 00:19:10.800 People of God, in fact, 00:19:10.800 --> 00:19:21.720 at that moment, I realised that the motive behind my question was not sincere. 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:26.840 Normally, he enjoys my food whatever I cook. 00:19:26.840 --> 00:19:33.040 He never demands from me a specific type of food. 00:19:33.040 --> 00:19:38.880 But when it came to this question, I’d already made up my mind 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:42.880 concerning what I wanted to cook that day. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:52.120 And this showed that I was not ready to hear something different to what I wanted. 00:19:52.120 --> 00:19:57.440 And my question was provoking because 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:02.880 it was ‘makeup’ with a fake consideration 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:08.680 to include my husband’s opinion in a very simple decision, 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:16.040 when my true motive was already to cook chicken. 00:20:16.040 --> 00:20:22.560 People of God, this can happen between God and us. 00:20:22.560 --> 00:20:26.480 This can happen in our relationship with God. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:33.440 Sometimes, when we approach God and when we make our petitions, 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:43.240 they are not sincere because we have placed our own will above His will. 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:53.360 Sometimes we make our petitions to God with nice words and smooth speech, 00:20:53.360 --> 00:21:01.920 but we are not prepared to hear something different to what we really want. 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:09.720 And I ask you again, what is the motive behind your prayer request, 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:13.480 behind your petition, behind your action? 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:21.120 Because, no matter how clever you are, you cannot ‘makeup’ your heart. 00:21:21.120 --> 00:21:28.840 And I want to ask this sincere question to every one of you: 00:21:28.840 --> 00:21:34.520 How sincere are your prayers? 00:21:34.520 --> 00:21:43.000 Now, I would like to highlight some examples in the Bible of sincere prayer 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:46.120 so we can be inspired by them. 00:21:46.120 --> 00:21:54.160 When we come to God, we don't need to be perfect to approach God. 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:57.920 We only need to be sincere. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:09.480 In 1 Samuel 1, we read the story about Hannah, Prophet Samuel's mother. 00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:17.200 She made a vow to the Lord when she asked Him for a child. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:22.880 Hannah's petition was for God to release her from 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:29.000 the distress and the affliction of having a closed womb. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:35.800 And perhaps her petition was influenced by the provocation of the second wife 00:22:35.800 --> 00:22:39.560 of Elkanah, Hannah's husband. 00:22:39.560 --> 00:22:48.200 But the true motive behind Hannah's petition was to glorify God, 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:54.360 because it doesn't make sense in the natural, from a human point of view, 00:22:54.360 --> 00:23:03.040 to ask for something that later on she will give away. 00:23:03.040 --> 00:23:12.720 Hannah’s petition was motivated by her desire to glorify God. 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:16.720 Her motives were not to glorify herself 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:22.000 or to pretend that she was better than her rival. 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:26.360 She wanted to honour God. 00:23:26.360 --> 00:23:34.840 Her petition was not ‘makeup’ with empty confessions and tears. 00:23:34.840 --> 00:23:41.480 Her petition was not ‘makeup’ by sentimentalism and drama. 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:50.760 Hannah meant what she prayed and God saw her heart and blessed her. 00:23:50.760 --> 00:23:54.280 And the test of time, people of God, 00:23:54.280 --> 00:24:00.640 showed the genuineness of that prayer, because when the time came, 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:07.120 Hannah gave her child to God’s service. 00:24:07.120 --> 00:24:14.600 How can I know if my prayer is sincere? 00:24:14.600 --> 00:24:21.040 When the motive of that prayer is to glorify the Lord, 00:24:21.040 --> 00:24:27.440 when the motive of my prayer is to do His will, 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:34.200 when what I'm asking for is to bring me closer to God, 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:39.440 when what I'm asking for is for the salvation of my soul. 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:45.520 Brethren, the right motives are critical 00:24:45.520 --> 00:24:51.360 for us to have a good relationship with the Father. 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, 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:06.520 and we are going to read verse 18 and 19. 00:25:06.520 --> 00:25:13.160 The Bible says, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, 00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:18.720 to all who call upon Him in truth. 00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:24.160 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:29.640 He also will hear their cry and save them.” 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:32.560 This is very clear. 00:25:32.560 --> 00:25:38.800 The Lord is near to those who call upon Him in truth, 00:25:38.800 --> 00:25:44.600 in sincerity, with transparent motives. 00:25:44.600 --> 00:25:49.240 And, “He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him.” 00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:57.160 Because when we fear God, people of God, we only want to do His will. 00:25:57.160 --> 00:26:05.320 Can you see how important is sincerity when we approach God? 00:26:05.320 --> 00:26:12.000 I want to conclude with another great example of sincerity from 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:17.480 our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in the prayer 00:26:17.480 --> 00:26:26.680 in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26 from verse 36 to 46. 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:31.720 The Bible says that Jesus Christ was sorrowful 00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:38.080 even to death, and He prayed three times to the Father, 00:26:38.080 --> 00:26:47.000 saying, ‘Father, if it is possible, pass this cup from Me. 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:54.320 Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ 00:26:54.320 --> 00:26:58.440 What a sincere prayer. 00:26:58.440 --> 00:27:07.360 Jesus Christ let the Father know that He was in agony, that He was sorrowful. 00:27:07.360 --> 00:27:14.080 But immediately, He asked the Father to remove the suffering from Him, 00:27:14.080 --> 00:27:23.000 He revealed His motive: ‘Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:30.080 Jesus’ motives were to fulfill God’s will. 00:27:30.080 --> 00:27:38.920 His motivation was to honour God, to glorify Him, to do His will 00:27:38.920 --> 00:27:44.800 and fulfill the plan for our salvation. 00:27:44.800 --> 00:27:48.600 He did not hide His feelings to the Father, 00:27:48.600 --> 00:27:54.880 yet He did not allow those feelings to direct His prayers. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:28:05.560 And the Bible says in Luke 22:43, that God sent an angel to strengthen Him. 00:28:05.560 --> 00:28:12.720 This means that when we are sincere to God, when we have the right motives, 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, 00:28:18.560 --> 00:28:24.160 He will not leave us, He will not forsake us. 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:28.840 He will strengthen us whatever life brings. 00:28:28.840 --> 00:28:37.000 So my brothers and sisters, we cannot ‘makeup’ our hearts. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:42.160 No matter how many layers of foundation, concealer, 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:48.560 powder, lipstick we use to disguise our motives, our true motives, 00:28:48.560 --> 00:28:52.880 God sees the heart. 00:28:52.880 --> 00:29:01.000 Today, you are here to receive a touch from God, not from men. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:05.040 So don't waste time pretending. 00:29:05.040 --> 00:29:11.080 No makeup can move your Maker 00:29:11.080 --> 00:29:15.520 to release something that you are not ready to receive. 00:29:15.520 --> 00:29:21.160 So, people of God, check your motives and be sincere 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:29.520 right here, right now before the Lord and leave aside every wrong motive. 00:29:29.520 --> 00:29:35.880 Leave aside every comparison, pride, selfish intention 00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:49.120 and focus on glorifying the Lord and submitting to His will for your life 00:29:49.120 --> 00:29:51.280 in Jesus’ name. 00:29:51.280 --> 00:29:56.800 And finally, I just want to leave you with this Bible verse. 00:29:56.800 --> 00:30:07.720 So please, go quickly to 1 John 5:14-15. 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:13.880 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:19.280 anything according to His will, He hears us. 00:30:19.280 --> 00:30:23.560 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, 00:30:23.560 --> 00:30:30.880 we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:40.760 May the Lord bless the seed of His Word in our hearts, in Jesus’ name.