Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

You've Heard It Said Pt.12

I want to read a couple of things in a report from Pastor Charles, some good things are going on in Kakamega. It's a great letter. It gives us a feel, I think, for what's going on in the ministry in Africa and also the fruit of your faithfulness; what God's done through you all and the work of the Holy Spirit here. He just says the Lord's been good to us in every way with all the struggles, battles, and warfare that we have to go through daily to contend for the faith. He's really taken on Tony's spirit here in writing.

God is good and faithful. He's merciful and gracious. We are convinced He will bring to completion the good work that He has begun in our hearts. It was a blessing to have 38 youths over to our home last week watching a DVD over a cup of juice and a biscuit. Amen! [Uh. Twelve pizzas, wings, subs, Cold Stone (ice cream shop). Cold Stone again. More Cold Stone. Over a cup of juice and a biscuit...]

We wanted to bless them as we are blessed, to see the work of God's grace in their lives and the fruit of our Apostle's vision and labor. The following day we invited 24 single young adults, with Pastor Joseph and Rahama, and Deacon Luke and Ruth. We had another wonderful time of fellowship, going over some of their written lists regarding marriage, and helping them with the biblical principals from Apostle's teaching tapes and [the book] Adam's Rib. What a privilege to sow into these lives and to prepare them for marriage and the coming of our Lord.

A lot of exciting things that are going on, and you see Charles' heart and just reaching out to all of these youth and the young adults. I don't know about you but it blesses me of how--"just wanted to bless the youth with that biscuit and that cup of juice as we've been blessed." Praise God! What a great spirit. [Pastor continues to read the letter.]

We also had opportunity to go twice to the farm with all of the DT students, teachers, and some parents to dig a second fish pond. [I didn't know there was a first one.] One of the vocational training farming projects that we started. Is a very tedious job, walking these three kilometers to and from and working in the mud all day long. But, through it all, the Lord worked character in us and used it to further knit our hearts together in the vision and the training of our young people. [Maybe we need to dig a fish pond.] I thank God our young people have been through numerous fish ponds in the last months and some great character has evidenced in their lives. [Can you say, "Praise God for that"?]

We've also been busy working on the veranda for the rest of the vocational training kiosks to give a facelift to the front of our facility and also to provide shade from the sun and the rain. It's now looking very nice. We haven't started yet, but we'll begin soon to construct one of the two remaining kiosks. We also have much repairs and maintenance work to do in the children's church and the lower primary classes. I was walking through this morning and found much needs to be done to reinforce the mabati walls and roof, and wooden desks, frames, bamboo partitions, and curtains that are now much worn out from the much use before the missions team arrives. [They want a facelift before you all get there.]

It amazes me that the work never ceases, but thankful to God that He keeps us very busy all the time, granting us much opportunity to serve and to train our kids in working diligently with our own hands. The cost of timber and mabati [Let's see. Is that the corrugated steel there? Is it mata? Oh, it's a "b." Mabati. I was wondering, it didn't sound right to me, mabati. Okay the mabati.] The cost of the timber and the mabati is killing us but we will not die because our great God will supply all of our needs. We had good meeting this week with the leadership teams and also with our wives. Each one sharing their gratitude and appreciation for the care that we've received, the love and the oversight, [I'm leaving every time they mention me, out of the... It gets ridiculous because it's actually you all.] and the eldership of Calvary Temple, and the good work Father is doing in our lives, and the great privilege He is given us to serve God.

Apostle's teachings are helping us very much in our roles, and the headship, and helpmeets and lovers. It was a blessing to hear Pastor Joseph, that their six-year-old daughter told them to tell Pastor to begin a family members fellowship because she was missing being in our leaders and wives fellowships. We may need to find time to include them in some of our meetings, even partially. We were also blessed to hear from Pastor Tom that his four-year-old, Eric, was praying for Apostle Scott, Pastor Tony, Pastor Charles, and the church. [I guarantee you those prayers will avail much. Amen? What a blessing to see the next generation to imbibe the spirit, a lot going on here.] We are expecting Pastor Cha Cha tomorrow so we can take him to visit and know Jane's parents.

Be in prayer about that. Seems like they've got Cha Cha another wife. That guy goes through wives like... To help some of you that are not aware, remember his first wife died? I hope I don't have to take my shoes off to get here. His first wife died. His second wife defected and left him because he became a Christian and his third wife--and I don't know if we are all aware of this... His third wife then just defected, and in the process of this refuses paternity tests and everything, and pretty much indicating that the child is not really Cha Cha's child. She has defected and gone, and a lot of conflict between the tribes. Also, it's gone pretty far into the structure of that society. Cha Cha has been in this situation. As you remember, she was a young lady and so it appears that he's getting an old lady at this time. Not "old," I mean, you know, just not young. Well, kind of moderate looking. So, the instability of this younger woman... "Mature," okay?

It reminds me of this story I just heard, about this husband and wife, and we were just talking about menopause and some of the different things. [Pastor begins to tell a joke.] This man decided I'm going to get one of those mood rings for my wife. So, he bought one of those mood rings just to help him out. They said that they discovered when it was green she was doing well and calm, and everything. When it left a red mark on his forehead [laughter], things were a little tough at that moment. Then the phrase went on to say that maybe next time he'll buy me a diamond ring. So, with Jane we are buying her a "mood ring." Jane is Rachel's,--Pastor Charles' wife--sister. The plot thickens. [Pastor continues to read the letter.]

We are expecting Pastor Cha Cha tomorrow so we can take him and visit and become more familiar with Jane's family, not Charles, and then travel on with them to Eldoret for the Thursday's Pastors meeting. We will update you on the outcome of this visit. We are preparing for a wedding on March 31st". [What thou doest, do it quickly.] We are trying to get her the basics of what she needs and then some personal things about trying to get transportation, etcetera.

Yesterday we had a great day in the Lord's presence in both services with a record attendance, 152 in the A.M. service. With the first time visitors and children, we were over 200. Praise God! The Lord spoke to us on enduring chastening, Hebrews 12:7, and after the service some went to comfort Mama Janet, whose grandchild, who is attending Discipleship Training [DT], died of tuberculosis and pneumonia. While Pastor Joseph and I remained to meet with all the single young adults and to continue to go over their teaching on marriage, we had a great time with them. Today we went to bury the young boy, who on his death bed said, "I want to go see Jesus." As the spirit left him, his last words were, "Jesus. Jesus. Jesus." Through the Apostle's vision of DT, Mundari knew Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Through your outreach, this little guy came to know the Lord. He would have never known Him, most likely, dying at this young age of TB. It's been worth it, hasn't it? It's been worth it to just see the fruit. Here, not only are we talking about their record attendance, and young married and young singles classes, and young people getting married. Another generation already coming up in the church, a second generation coming up in Kakamega and then to see this testimony. Through the vision and DT, he [the young boy who died, Mundari] knew Jesus as Lord and Savior. [Pastor continues to read the letter.]

Our young ones sang songs to Jesus at the burial and quoted the words of Mark 10:14, "Let the little children come unto me and do not hinder them, for theirs is the kingdom of God." We shared the gospel, comforted the family, many souls were reached and touched with the glory of God. Many testifying and saying, "behold, how they love one another."

Praise God. What a testimony. Amen? Nothing in Kakamega a couple of years ago. And because of the faithfulness of Ron and Tony, and your faithfulness, some good things going on. Hallelujah! Well, I'm ready for the Lord to come back. But, I guess there's a few more to be reached, amen? So, let's just continue to be faithful and praise God for what He's doing.

Let's turn to Matthew. We'll continue our teaching, trying to make this as practical as possible, and this teaching on the Sermon on the Mount for the day that we are living in. I've had a number of people respond to me and say, I was somewhat surprised, saying that the teaching that we went through on Sunday, it was just a great help in their lives, and talking about vengeance and justice, and how it had ministered to them. And, also a couple of testimonies that have come back, commenting on how subtly the enemy can work in thinking of vengeance, and many of these things, as being to extreme cases and really not realizing the delighting in the fall of brothers and sisters that are close to us. When you get tired of seeing someone getting all the accolades and finally they stub their toe a little bit, and that twinge of delight in that that is so ugly, and confronted the loving of our enemies, and saying that I haven't really seen my enemies as being adversaries that maybe are interested in the same person that I'm interested in. When we begin to see that enemies, the word for enemies, its not always mortal enemies, but people that we are in competition with; people that are adversaries in positions, recognition. All of these different things, that reveal that ugly selfishness and pride that's in all of us.

The mandate of the Lord, to be able to humble ourselves and rejoice when those around us are exalted, and to seek others riches and not our own, and also in the opportunities, to love when we've not been treated properly. To count it all joy, especially when we are suffering, or enduring opposition and persecution for His name's sake. We are going to be experiencing more and more of that as time goes on in this generation. The admonition then, to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. That's not a quality of perfection. But, we are talking about the completeness, the wholeness, to be all that we can be. See, that's what we are being admonished in here. Grow up, be mature, be complete, be all as a believer that you can be, as your Father has given you opportunity. As He is perfect and able to make you into His image, to finish that work that He's begun in you; to rest in that and not to be weary in well doing, and realizing that in due season we are going to reap if we don't faint, praise God.

Just continue pursuing perfection and the goodness of God and resting in the sovereign justice of God; not having to have it fixed right now. But that--ability that all things are working together now for good in our lives and letting Him finish that work in us. So, it's an exciting part of that. Then He gets over into Chapter 6, and He begins to again, revealing the heart of man and identifying with our practical lives. He says, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward" (Matthew 6:1, 2). You remember, we've talked about it before and we have the historical evidence that many of the Pharisees would even have people going before them and literally sounding trumpets to bring recognition to their alms giving and in the temple, as they would sound the trumpet.

You remember the offering containers had a trumpet-like receptacle go on them, and they would stand and throw their alms into that receptacle. As it hit that trumpet receptacle, before it went into the box, it would make all of this noise as the gold or the silver would hit and clank. We think dollar bills and it's a pretty silent offering, but here they would be sounding the trumpet and men would be impressed with how much they were putting in. Either way you want to look at it, whether it's the trumpeters going on before them or them sounding the trumpet with their offerings, the motive was to draw attention to themselves. He's letting it be known that in everything that we are going to do, not only in our monetary offerings, but the offerings of our gifts that God has given us. Our opportunity to serve in the body. Don't do it to be seen of men. We are not giving of ourselves to impress others. We don't need to try to draw attention to ourselves. Let others praise us and not we ourselves. Isn't that what Proverbs tells us?

So, we just do it as unto the Lord and we are not doing it to be seen of men. Now, don't get paranoid like some people and think that if I'm seen of somebody then my offering is null and void. That is not what it is saying. I've seen people so paranoid that they almost can't give. I've seen it in church where people are going to write their checks out and are like [Pastor gestures as if hiding his writing on a check so no one can see the numbers.]. Now, some of us are just more private people and we don't want people necessarily to have their nose in our business. Many of us are reacting to this Scripture. It doesn't say that if somebody sees what you gave... When Dan's back there and doing the records, and he gets your tithe check and he writes it in the book, and there goes your blessing out the door because somebody saw it! You are cursed! It's not talking about that. It's the motive.

Have you ever been in a meeting? Some of you kids were down there last week. I haven't been in a meeting like that in years. What's the guy's name at camp [referring to Tennessee basketball tournament]? Mike Crane. Mike Crane's there and [he says], "Will anybody here give a thousand dollars for the new [whatever?] Just stand up, bring recognition to yourself. Let everybody see, you know?" Why not just say, "Here's an opportunity and we'd like to afford this to the different ministries or schools and can you give?" But, we begin to see what's behind it and I've been in meetings like that. For hours and hours I've sat in meetings and, "Who'll give fifty dollars?" Then somebody will stand up and say, "I'll match everything that everybody gives in the next thirty minutes." We've seen it all. Now, do we question always the motives of these people? Some of them might have pure motives. Just excited and wanting to inspire the giving and the project at hand.

But, Jesus is speaking very clearly here and He says the spirit of the Pharisees and the natural tendency of man is to seek that recognition. Not only that recognition but to gain some type of appreciation. So, Jesus says very clearly, look at verse 2, don't sound a trumpet as the hypocrites do. See, the word hypocrisy itself reveals the motive of their hearts, this play-acting. It's not what they really are, "... for their motive that they might have glory of men. Truly I say unto you, they have their reward" (Matthew 6:2). They got what they were looking for. People are like, "Oh, wow! Did you see what that guy gave?"

How many of you have ever been in a meeting where you saw somebody give a million dollars? I have. But you know, Jesus has taught us in different places that--I saw a guy in a meeting give a million dollars. Unfortunately, it wasn't in one of the meetings that I was holding, but I was present. Most people go, "Ewww." But, you know, that million dollars may not have been as much as that little lady that gave ten. See, that's the economy that the Lord has given us, isn't it? In fact, He says, this woman that put in the two mites, she gave more than everybody put together. Why? She didn't give of her abundance, she gave of her necessity. She gave all that she had. As it pertains to giving, Jesus is trying to set that spirit here. Don't be impressed with people that are trying to impress you with their giving. Come to understand those motives and don't be caught up into that, for they have their reward, the Scripture says. But, "When you do your alms don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matthew 6:3). Now, that doesn't mean don't balance your checkbook.

But, He's telling us again to make sure that we are in that prayer closet. This is in our heart before God and it's not something that needs to be brought before men and to receive recognition. It says, let your alms or your giving be in secret. I like this phrase here, "that your Father which seeth in secret Himself, shall reward thee openly." Proper motive in giving, cheerful giving, giving to honor God. Not giving out of guilt or obligation, constraint, fear, law, but giving that's done in secret, in the secret chamber of our hearts, in the prayer chambers. The giving that is giving totally to honor God, Father sees that. You remember about Cornelius? He says, "Your giving has gone up before you as a memorial unto God." That's quite a testimony. You think God doesn't pay attention to what we are giving? I should save this message for when we start the new sanctuary, here shortly, huh?

God takes note. God is very aware. There's a lot in the Scripture about money and about giving, and the motive behind it. God loves this cheerful giver, prompt to do it, the Greek [translation] tells us. What I want you to see as it pertains to where we are in this hour. In a day when money is being lavished upon ourselves. When most of us have more than a paper cup of juice and a biscuit. To be able to be thankful for what we have to give to the Lord. Amen? To be ready to distribute, as 1 Timothy 6 says, in our wealth. Every person in this room is wealthy. You say, "Not me, man." Compared to those in Kakamega, you are wealthy. Amen? Thank God your five-year-olds aren't dying of tuberculosis. Amen? We are wealthy! From starvation and much of what is being battled around the world, we are a blessed people, praise God!

Our giving is done in secret. Most of you, your giving is done that way. None of you are looking for accolades. Most of you are giving systematically and cheerfully here, and you don't have to go to Africa yourself and give a hundred dollars to one of the pastors so they would know who you are in your giving. We are just giving, and I just want you to know God loves that spirit and that's why we as a people are blessed. Amen? We just need to rejoice in that and not get caught up in this day of the needing of recognition. I think one thing that irritates me the most is like these stars. Whether they are personalities, movies or sports, and they come and there is this big thing. They are going to raise, they show up and they are raising [money]. And at the end of the thing everybody's like, "Hey! They are all clapping!" And the celebrities present them with a check for $50,000.00. The guy could have written it [a check] and never missed it. He was there raising it from everybody else. It's this society that we are living in.

Each one of us are God's instruments and He's talking about the purity, and to realize Father is aware and He will reward you openly. What we do in humility, what we do in secret, we do to honor God. God's going to make a way for us, a provision. When we give it is given unto us, "For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38). We want to continue to move in this way of humility and not the recognition of men. He goes on into the fifth verse [of Matthew 6] and He said, "And when you pray." So, the Lord wasn't leaving it with just a teaching on giving and on the monetary. He's trying to--again He takes another subject. What is it that He's after? He's after that root of pride isn't He? Of recognition of men. Of wanting to be appreciated. I need to be appreciated. Somebody needs to recognize what I'm doing. Don't people around here know how good I am, how important I am? Somebody needs to recognize this and if not maybe I'll do something here that will impress somebody. Maybe I'll wash more windows. Maybe I'll sweep the parking lot with a toothbrush. Maybe... something to get somebody's recognition as to what I'm doing around here. So, He's addressing different subjects and He addresses the giving. Now He says, "And when you pray, don't be like the hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be [say it with me], seen of men" (Matthew 6:5).

Now the first subject He's said that they might have the glory of man and this says that they might be seen of men. "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him" (Matthew 6:7, 8).

So He speaks toward this subject matter again. He takes a very important part of our lives, prayer, and He says when you pray, don't pray to be seen of men. Now, there are always people that go to the extremes and this doesn't mean that we can't pray publicly. It doesn't mean that when we are out ministering that we can't, in a public setting, lay our hands on somebody and believe God, or else there would have been a rebuke or reproof for the apostles and as they ministered to the lame man at Gate Beautiful. We realize they honored the Lord. Jesus himself, praying publicly before men to the Father as He took the offering of the loaves and fishes, and broke them, and said Father bless this. A lot of people have taken these things to the extreme, to the place where they say there shouldn't be a public display of our praying; our piety should be at home. That is not what's being said. The motive is, I'm praying to be what? Seen of men.

Now, surely people don't do that. Surely we don't come on Tuesday and Thursday night early enough so everybody will know that we are here. Surely we don't just grit our teeth and stay an extra fifteen minutes so we can be the last ten percent staying in the room on Tuesday or Thursday, and people impressed with our life of intercession. Surely we don't make a big deal out of the fact that, "Well you guys can go on out and have pizza if you want, I'm staying to pray"? We are going to see Him talk about fasting here in just a moment. It's between you and God. If you're going to forgo what others might be doing in the natural, and you're going to be spending that time with the Lord then do it. But you don't need to advertise it.

Now, are there times when we might want to bring instruction or reproof to our brothers or sisters, when things may be out of balance? Yes! Let's look at the motives of our hearts. Most of us are more mature than this and we don't need recognition and attention. We don't need to sound our own trumpets and we don't need to appear spiritual. We are very confident in our spirituality. We don't care what anybody else thinks, and that's a good place to be, but Jesus is obviously taking a long time in this sermon to address a subject here of men wanting to be seen of men. Aren't you glad that we are so humble this doesn't apply to us? Praise God! We're a group that...I should just not even waste our time.

So, let's not just talk about the motive, let's talk about the mechanics here a little bit. He says, okay so now your motive is right, you are praying in secret, you are praying just to edify the body of Christ, you are praying to seek the will of God and the mind of Father. In the midst of all of this intercession, understand one thing. We are not like the hypocrites. We are not like the pagans. They think they're heard for their, what? Some people just like to hear themselves pray or--I'll say it another way--talk. Have you ever been out to lunch with people and the food is cold by the time they are through? Pray at home! If I'm out eating with you and you pray, make it quick. We don't need to bless all the missionaries, get prayed through, give a dissertation, and quote the 119th Psalm. We are just eating here, folks! Your prayer should be done... Well, you know, bless God, amen. We need to receive these blessings, the provision of God with thanksgiving. Amen? Thanks, let's eat!

Now that may sound trite in a way, but I'm serious in this. It's about the heart of thanksgiving, amen? It's about being thankful. Give us this day our daily bread, thankfulness for what God has provided for us. You can be the most thankful person there is and pray one of the most sanctified prayers by just saying, thank you for this food and eat, amen? [Pastor starts a prayer to explain further.] "Oh, Father! We thank You for Your great bounty in the Lord, the great provision and people are starving in Africa, and the democrats are in the Congress..."

So He says you are not heard for your much speaking. Don't try to impress people with how much Scripture you know. Have you ever prayed and tried to impress people with how much Scripture you know? How many of you have ever thought that somebody was doing that? Come on, how many of you ever thought? I've been in meetings where...It's worse among preachers. I used to go to a lot of preachers meetings. I don't do that anymore.

We had what was called General Counsel. Can you imagine? Preachers are a mess. They are folks just like you, who with egos and looking for reputations, many of them thinking that they know better than everybody else. "I'm the man of God, I can hear from..." Can you imagine putting ten thousand of them in the same room? We used to go to meetings like that, ten thousand preachers. Dear God, somebody would make a mistake and ask one of them to pray. It's like none of us had ever prayed before. Okay, he's going to pray for all of us together, make up for the last ten years, [Pastor uses an exaggerated prayer as an example] "And Edersheim, on page 143, stating his dissertation on the temple, and the tabernacle, and the candlesticks, and the incense. We have candlesticks in purple, in gold..." That's not praying, that's teaching!

Just as little children: hearts of thanksgiving and appreciation. Now, what are we doing here? We are talking about the hearts of men. Though we'd all like to think that we are above that, there are those tendencies at times to want to show our spirituality by how we conduct ourselves, how we schedule certain parts of our lives to be seen of men. Most of us don't deal with that here, but it's a spirit that we have to identify. So, don't think that you are going to be heard for your vain repetitions. We realize that there's another subject addressed here. I'm not on the subject of prayer. We've taught so much over the years on that. But we also realize that what we are talking about here is praying from the heart and not in mindless prayer such as takes place many times in praying the rosary.

You are talking to somebody; "How do you think the Redskins are going to do? I think they'll do okay." They are going through their little beads, "Our Father... "They are doing the "Our Fathers," and "Hail to the Redskins," "Hail Marys," the different things that they are doing. I've never understood that punishment. Okay, we are going to punish you. Well, it's not really punishment; we know it's not called punishment. Forgive me Father for I have sinned. Okay, that was a big one! Twelve "Our Fathers" and twenty-four "Hail to the Redskins". They think they are heard for that. But, don't pray like them. He said. Pray after this manner, "Our Father which art in heaven." He goes on in just a moment and gives us the capsulizing of what we've called the Lord's Prayer. So He says, here's how I want you to pray. But pray knowing this, your Father already knows what you have need of, amen? Rest in that. This is telling me that many of these long, vain, repetitious prayers were prayers that were trying to set a course or set an agenda.

Now remember they're wanting to be heard of men? So they are praying, to set an agenda in your mind of what God's will is. People trying to affect the community by their praying. People trying to set course for others by how they address God and you'll hear that many times. People trying to pray in a way to set doctrine for others, to set a course. He said pray in secret, pray in your closet. Let God reveal His will. Don't let it be done through the power of suggestion. We've talked about that before, haven't we? "Father, you know, I'm just believing you, Father, for that seventy-five dollars that I need for my rent, or I'm going to be evicted this week. It was, seventy-five dollars, Lord, that I'm needing. I'm just believing that you might lay it on somebody's heart, Lord, because your word says..." A lot of prayer is to be heard of men, to manipulate, to try to cause, through a spiritual vehicle, your will to be imposed. Be very careful about that; just pray in secret and when God answers you know that it's the Lord, there's no doubt in your heart; there's no doubt in anybody's heart around you. God has answered, amen? This is an answer to prayer.

I've prayed this way many times. When Janet went home [to be with the Lord], Star and Kimberly went and had a picture taken together, just the two of them. It's a great picture. I remember yesterday morning walking through this one room, just as I was headed out to staff meeting here, I was walking by--and I look at the picture all the time but, not every day by any means, but on a pretty regular basis. But, I remember yesterday morning just something, you know how it is sometimes? Just something is different. I walked by and I stopped, and I looked at the picture. I looked at it and I just said, "Father, give me my son back," and left. That's not vain repetition, not a lot of time, to be able to see the response that night. Not a word sent, no manipulation, no "I'm praying for you."

Just times that Father hears your heart, and being able to minister to the Lord, and realize the hand of God in our lives, that we aren't heard for our much speaking, but the sincerity of our heart and our lives as we make intercession for one another, and pray and believe God. What a tremendous thing that the Lord is doing. "Knowing this, that our Father knows what things we have need of before we ask." In other words, prayer is not just informing God on what's going on. That's not wrong to cite things as we are praying. But don't think that you are informing Father. It may be to just clarify in our own minds of what it is that we are really looking for and believing for. Much of the pagan's mentality was that there was a lack of knowing, that the gods had to be instructed and informed. But He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, He knows the beginning from the end, our Father knows what we need before we even ask. He's the one that puts the faith into our hearts. When you pray, pray after this manner.

We will talk in our next session a little bit about the Lord's Prayer and this day. We've talked recently about how difficult it is. How many of you have been really conscious lately since we've spoken to this over the last year or so? How many of you have been conscious lately of, in your praying, being able to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread"? It's been something that I've tried over this last years to really guard my heart in, seeing Father as the very daily provider of all that we have need of. Most of us here, myself especially, so much abundance; the need to realize the source is our Father. The One who knows what we have need of even before we ask. So I start my prayer this way, "Father, what do I need?" I'm getting ready to pray and I need something to pray about. How many of you already go in knowing what you are going to pray about? He knows what our needs are. Do you always know what your needs are? How many of you have come to realize that you don't always know what your needs are? How many of you are very keen of what your lusts are? We are pretty clear on the lusts, but we aren't always aware of our needs. We come to find out, as we spend time in the Lord's presence, that what we really need isn't what we thought we needed. What we came to God for wasn't what we need to be there about. So this spirit and humility, to where we know He knows what our needs are even before we ask. So I come and ask Father, "Father, what do I need? What is on the priority list, number one in the needs of my heart right now?"

I don't know my own heart. I don't know what I need. I know what I lust, I know what I want. How many of you know what you want, anybody? It's the same thing every time. I want more! "Well Pastor [you ask], more of what?" More of everything that makes me happy. You mean materially? Yes. Spiritually? Yes. I want more of everything. I want to be absolutely as spiritual as any man can be and have everything in addition, that's all. Is that asking for too much? Now somewhere you've got to sort some things out, amen? Because, it probably isn't going to work that way at all times. As you pray [ask], "What am I praying for? Am I praying to be recognized of men in this arena, in the spiritual arena, in the material arena?" It doesn't matter. Praying to be recognized in the spiritual arena is just as much pride as praying to be recognized in the material arena.

What I'm looking for is fellowship with the Lord. Can you see, and we'll end with this, the value that He's putting on this prayer closet? That's where your treasure is. It's in the secret times; it's in the quiet times. It's in those places when nobody knows. There is no trumpet sounding, there's no TV cameras running, there's nobody around to observe, to sing songs of "David has killed his thousands" or "Saul has killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands." It's just you and God, and a heart content to worship Him, to glorify Him and to be used of Him, and to be absolutely free from all of the hypocrisy and Pharisaical aspects of the religious arena that reeks in many fellowships and is present here. We aren't absent from this. So this is what He's addressing, and to make you fellowship with Him and your pursuit of Him pure so He could reward us openly.

Father, we thank you for your Word, and we just ask as you continue to work in our lives and in a generation when it's personalities, men being exalted: sport arena, everybody, the superstars. Your kingdom isn't made up of superstars. It's made up of widow's mites, of saints praying in secret, of each member just content to do its part without glory and praises of men so that this body, your church, could be built up in you Jesus, who get all the glory. We are not always there, Lord; we are not always in that mindset. We are not always in that place of vulnerability, and yet we ask that you continue to work in our hearts. Let us realize that the greatest among us is servant of all. Purify our hearts. Father, in this day of the rise of religion, spirituality and the spirit of antichrist, the false prophet, the whore church; as churches arise in great influence to be seen of men as they stood and looked and wondered at what men had built. You called it a whore. We want us to keep ourselves free from that and pure, Father. Free from men's methods and ways that you might be all in all. That's our heart's desire, in Jesus' name, amen.

Let's stand together. We'll take just a moment as Gary plays for us. I think it's real obvious that Jesus was concerned with, as He related to His church, don't get caught up in this hour. We are living in it, beloved, this hour with all of the mega-ministry. Don't mistake what we are saying. We are not saying that big is bad. We are saying let's always keep the motives that Jesus addressed here as the hallmark. I want to be a part of that. I want to be a part of what honors God. I like what MacArthur's [John MacArthur, Grace to You Ministries] teaching this week on his program, when he's talking about how to find a good church. He said, number one above everything else, go to the church that emphasized God and not men. A church that's about God, about honoring God, and not fixing men, and not making men better. It's not about programs and it's not about recognition. It's about putting God first that He might be all in all. Beloved, the society that we are living in, the spirit of this age, is about the glory of men. Let's guard ourselves from that.

Let's sing it together. [Song, Give Me One Pure and Holy Passion] Oh, we thank You, Jesus! Go in peace. God's love go with you.

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