A New Heart

Opportunity to be in his presence this morning. Last week we dealt on being a slave to righteous living and where we talked about how that being a slave means that we do not, we do not have our own say. It is what the master says that we do. It is not what I feel like doing or what you feel like doing that we do.

Even if God has given us free will. But when you understand that we are slaves of to righteous living and slaves of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we will put our will under subjection. We will ensure that our will is subject to God's own will. We ensure that our will is aligned to the will of God.

Right? And we also talked about what it means to be a servant of God, what it also means to be a child and a son of God, that these are just different ways we relate to the Father. And we are a healthy Christian should be able to relate with the Father in all of these areas. Right?

It just represents your role with God. Those things represent your role because being a servant describes your role. Being a friend of God describes your role in the body of Christ and all those things. So today the Lord will have us to look at something else that is quite similar to the matter of being a slave to righteous living.

Because when we look at the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness, you will see that these people, the fact that they had a slavery mentality did not mean that they were slaves to righteous living. I say again, the fact that they had a slavery mentality because they were. They have been in Egypt for how many years and they were slaves to Egyptians, but yet these people were not able, they were not able to become slave to righteous living. That was the problem, right?

So we now try to say, okay, what was the challenge? What, why, when, why we then are able to just simply obey what God says. If after all these years, they have always been slave to Pharaoh, they have been doing what Pharaoh says, Pharaoh increased their labor and they were still able to do all the things Pharaoh told them to do. Even if they were unhappy, they still did all those things.

But now when God told them all the instructions, guess what? They were not able to abide by those things. You know, his own has been brought up as a slave. He'll be used to the slavery mentality.

He knows how to serve without his own will. Better his will is done or his will is not done, right? His own has served in one place. It would be easier for him to serve in another place.

But you see that it was not the case. In fact, they were struggling to obey God. They were struggling to be a slave to righteous living. If Moses just went away for some moments, these people have turned away.

And if you read from book of Genesis down to judge itself, you see that consistent pattern. The Israelites were struggling to obey God. Even said before Moses about to die, he told them, I know that all of you, you will still go back. I know that God was even telling them that I know these people as soon as you die.

He even predicted that these people are going to do far worse. He already knew everything, but yet he still gave them all the instructions. He told them, when you enter the promised land, I know that you people will leave God. You will serve idols and everything.

But when you do all those things, make sure you still come back to God. So you ask yourself, why was it a perpetual struggle? Why was this? Why was there this perpetual repetition of falling back into sin?

Despite the fact that they knew God, they have seen the power of God. They have have seen him doing so much. They have, they have seen a lot. They have seen all the miracles.

They have seen God speaking audibly, yet their hearts, they were still unable to serve God righteously. You see, there is a fundamental problem with the human nature. And that brings us to the topic. And Jesus, God even told them, and he told them that one day these people be able to save me.

And the topic is a new heart, a new heart, this topic. I mean, I was stretching my spirit and asking God, like what we have missed. Because so many things were running through my mind. Especially yesterday evening.

Yesterday, yesterday, basically I was reading about Samson, book of Judges and I was trying to see if you know, how terrible something was. Samson was very. In fact, I don't even know how you wonder how the Spirit of God came upon him, how God was still using him. Something was very terrible.

If even in a normal standard Christian, if you see something today, you will say this one, this one, this one, this one is hopeless. Because everything Samson did was out of his own personal desire, was not because of God. It was not because he loved God, was not even because he wanted to save Israel. He was doing everything out of his own selfish desire.

For example, the first thing Augustine used him the first time he went to fight the Israelites, sorry, the Philistines, was because the wife he wanted to marry, which was a Philistine, was a non Israelite. And God said he should not marry someone from outside there. But he went to go marry and he went there because the person he went to go and marry at the end of the day the Philistines or the father gave that his wife to another person, Samson became very angry. And the Bible said the spirit of lock came upon him.

And he now went to go and kill many Philistines. The second time too was same thing about woman. A woman because of a woman he went to. Everything around him was just because of woman.

And he was killing the Philistines because of that. So what am I trying to point out there? I'm saying here that there is a perpetual problem with the human nature. And if God does not give us a new heart, we will not be able to serve him genuinely.

And so let's look at Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 5, chapter 6, verse 5. So we want to look at the matter of the heart. Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 5. So he said, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.

Take note, you see the word all. So there is a problem with the human nature. I'm saying it because many people love God. But the problem is that there is no.

It is not with all. It's not with the totality of your whole being. You see, your heart, soul and might is same thing as saying your mind, your soul and your body. It's simply saying your mind, your soul and your body.

It's like the whole thing. That means your whole body should love the Lord your God. And the next one I say, and this word which I commanded this day shall be in thy heart. You see, it's a matter of the heart.

And I said I was not enough. Deuteronomy, chapter 10, verse, verse 12. Look at chapter 10, verse 12 again, verse 12. There's an emphasis on the same matter.

Verse 12 again he said, and now is determinant. Chapter 10, verse 12. Yes. And now, Israel, what does the Lord require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways and to love him and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?

So there is this repetition of all your hearts. All, all, all. I repeat, all. Some people say, where your treasure is, that's where your heart will be.

The reason why people are still going back and forth is because all their hearts is not to God. And that is not just enough. Not just your heart, your soul, your might. You have to use all your might.

Some people are using 50% of their heart, 50% of their energy. They don't want to expend everything for God. And until we do this we will not be able to serve God. All right, now, why do you think the Bible calls David a man after God's own heart?

David used all of his might, his soul, his spirit, to serve God. Now, Ezekiel 36, 27, Ezekiel, chapter 11, verse 19. And this is what God was promising us. Ezekiel, chapter 11, verse 19.

Ezekiel 11, verse 19. And it says, and I will give them one heart. One heart. This God talk, you know.

And I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take out the stony heart from your flesh and give them a heart of flesh. So this was the problem that they had. And God saw that no matter what, these people will not be able to save. But he promised Moses that, don't worry, one day I will give them a new heart.

If God had given them a new heart in the wilderness, most likely all of them would have entered the promised land. But the problem was that their hearts was far. So even I think the New Testament, the Bible says that these people serve me with their lips, or their hearts are far away from me. And that's what's happening in the church today.

Many people claim their love for God, allegiance to God. I love Jesus. I love God. In fact, people even struggling to say, I love Jesus.

But many people, you know, we can sing the hymns, we can pray the Psalms, we can recite the Psalms, we can read scriptures. All of these things can be done with the lips and with your intellect. But if the heart is far from God, there's a problem. Sometimes we pray our heart is not connected.

We can say all the. We can quote. We can pray so eloquently and use all the vocabulary. Deliver us from all the omnipotent.

God have mercy. Save us all those words and all those things. And. And we feel that because of the eloquence of the prayer, the lengthiness and how articulate the prayer is, I mean, recite so many scriptures when you are praying.

And we think because of all those ambiguity in the prayer, it means that, oh, your heart is connected. It's a lie. It's a very. It's a dirty lie.

In fact, you see, one of the most powerful prayers was the one that. In fact, it was not even much. Lord, help me. Help me finish.

And here you see God responding a cry for mercy. Lord, I'm sorry. Lord, help me. I see.

Why is it. Why is it that sometimes you see some of those prayers, three words and things are happening. Someone is praying for 30 minutes. Nothing is changing.

It's a matter of the heart. God sees our hearts More than we even know ourselves. So why do we need a new heart? Because we have a heart of stone.

If the Bible says that the heart of man is desperately wicked, who can know it? The heart of man, Our heart is extremely wicked. And if God does not remove the heart of stone, it will be a struggle. It will be a perpetual struggle for us to serve God.

A new heart is a heart that responds to the call of God. A new heart is a heart that is desirous to please God. It's not fake. You see, this is how you know somebody that has a hardened heart.

No matter how much the person can go to church every single point, he can be attending service every moment of his life. But a hardened heart, no matter how much they hear, they will never come into obedience. For example, they said Paul said something. They said these people having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

Many people have a form of godliness in the church, but they still deny the power thereof. They actually, in fact. And that's what the Pharisees were doing. Pharisees knew the scripture head to toe.

They can preach a wonderful sermon, they can pray. In fact, their whole life was revolving around the church. All they do all day was they were always in church, they were always in the synagogue, they were always around the church doing church activities and everything. But God was Jesus kept emphasizing something that these people are brood of vipers.

These people hearts are not there because they. They were the ones preaching the word. They were the ones saying everything. But guess what?

Their heart was hardened. That's why when Jesus came, an unbeliever could see that Jesus is the son of God. Somebody that has been reading scripture from the beginning, since all this life. Someone that has been in the church for how many years could not still see something as basic as that even self.

Jesus did miracles in the affront. He healed a blind man, he healed a lame man, he raised the dead. All of these things. Yet it is very shocking.

The most shocking thing is that the people that knew the scripture so well could not see it. Somebody that has not even heard of Jesus Christ before saw it and believed. Do you know how ironical that is? So you see that it's not enough for us to eat the scripture.

It's not enough for us to pray. If your heart has not been transformed, if you still have a hardened heart. You see, this part of your heart is a very, very, very, very important matter. Because we see a lot of people.

You know, the funny thing is that you can be anointed, but Your heart is far from God. Look at Saul. Saul was anointed. Do you know what it means to be anointed?

That means the spirit of the Lord is upon you. You have been empowered. Now something was anointed. But guess what?

His heart was still hardened. Let me tell you how hard something hurt it. Samson broke all his consecrations. They told him, number one, don't cut your hair.

They said, don't touch any dead body because you're a Nazarite. Don't drink strong wine. Don't drink wine. Those are the three consecrations they gave him.

If you read from beginning of where something like started to the end. Me, I was reading yesterday. I was, I was like, what is this? Something disobeyed everything.

Or guess what? Something. The Bible says the spirit of God was upon something. Which means that something.

It's possible that God can give you gifts, you can raise the dead. You can do so many mighty things for God. But guess what, God, your heart can still be far from God. Something.

All the things was God still use something to, to help Israelites, because God will still be done. The goal was that God wanted to deliver his children from evil. He wanted to deliver them from the hands of the Philistines, right? And God was looking for someone to use.

But Samson was a very pure vessel that makes us understand something that, see, don't be surprised that God can use anybody. And you see, sometimes we think that, oh, this person must be God does not look the way we look. He can use a madman to do his work. Which means that the fundamental thing is not about you, God using you.

It's about you being aligned to God. It's about your heart, you see. May not be that God will use you, but at the end of the day, you don't even enter heaven. May not be that you can do so many things for God, but God, you are not with God.

You are not abiding in God. Your heart is not connected with God. Don't, don't be carried away by, oh, people that know how to do so many things for God. And you think, ah, this one, this one is here.

This one, this one love God. The Pharisees were doing so many things. Look at Paul Saul, for example. Saul's heart was hardened.

I'm talking the one that became Paul later the apostle Paul. Saul's heart was so hardened. But you know, I watched a movie about the apostle, early apostles, how they look like in 2026. And they were talking about Paul.

I watch how Paul was so zealous for God, you know, you can be so extremely zealous. You are passionate for the gospel. Paul was like, you will see Paul, you think, ah, this one, this one is on fire for God. But guess what?

He was. He had so much zeal for God, but was in opposite direction. Why? Because his heart was hardened to the point that when Jesus came and when he was on his way to Damascus, Jesus appeared and said so.

So why are you persecuting me? Why are you checking against the prick? Why? Because God saw the energy this guy was doing.

He did it so much that he felt that he was right. I'm saying that there's a way you can save things, that you are serving God because your heart is hardened. You can do so many things. Taking that is for God.

Meanwhile, it is opposite. Even King Saul, same thing. He had so much. He wanted to please God, but his heart was hard.

His heart. His heart was hardened. So that's why we have to continuously and perpetually check ourselves. Say, search me, oh God, try.

Search my heart, oh God, try my motive. Am I doing this thing? Is my heart connected? Is my heart connected?

I can say, oh. I'll hear many people say, oh, if God bless me money, James, I will erect this whole church. I will do this thing. Those things are good.

But if your heart is not connected, See, look at Saul. Saul wanted to sacrifice to God, but the instruction was that don't sacrifice to God because you are not ordained to do that thing. Somewhere said, wait for me, I'll do it. God told him, kill all of them, including all the.

Don't carry anything. So because his heart was hardened, he thought that, okay, let me carry some Licatus and sacrifice to God. God will be pleased. You see, that's the problem.

God does not just want you to work for him. He wants you to work with him. He not just in one point. That's the problem.

Many people want to do things for God, but they don't want to surrender to him. They don't want to. They don't want fullness. They don't want all.

They don't want to do it with all their heart, their might. And listen, some people want to serve God with. Know that we should serve the Lord with what? All your hearts, all your soul and all your minds.

Now, we see a lot of Christians that are serving God with only their might in the sense that they want to use their resources, they want to use their intellect, they want to use their power, they want to use all their energy. You see, when they call for mission work, many People, let me tell you the truth. Some people can actually want to come provision work and you can see they can clear the whole church that is serving God with all your minds. But guess what?

When it's time for us to now come to come and pray, come and tell God to check your heart when this will matter. The heart, you see them, they are not there. But when it's time for donation, some of them can donate 10 million. You see, they are doing it with what, all their mind.

Some people don't mind entering their bank account for God. That's why the Bible says that even though I die for the gospel, if I don't have love, it's nothing. Even though I give all to the poor, if my heart is not connected, it is nothing, is it? It's a very delicate matter because you see and painful thing.

Other believers will commend you. Well done. Oh, ah, God bless you. See everyone else be like this brother.

He's very dedicated to God. See how he's using resources, doing everything. But you know the funny thing? That brother in his heart knows that he's far from God, but he's doing it with his might.

So that men will raise him and applaud him. That yes, this one is the man. See, the worst thing is when people are calling Pastor, Pastor. Hey, man of God.

Hey, I celebrate you, sir. Hey, they will celebrate though. Imagine men are praising you for heaven. He's not uploading you at all.

See, may I not be somebody that God people will be applauding. Hey, this one department of God, look at his praying, look at his preaching. Look at who's come to church, he's home, church every time. But in your secret place, in your one on one walk with God, there's nothing.

You see, some people can come to church and pray. Some people can do all the, all the activities inside the church. But when they go to their room, when they go to their houses, they find it hard to spend 30 minutes with God. They cannot pray on their own.

Their personal work, God is very shallow. But their external work with God is very, very loud. They can be doing. Hey, hey, hey.

The diving teach is on the school. They can do everything. But personally in God, nothing. That is what it means when you say people are sending God with all their might.

Something was doing this. But you know the funny thing at the end of something like did you know that something at the end of the day the Bible made it clear. Something that said to the prostitute, something that I was reading how Delilah was tempting, something yet I was like how foolish is something this woman kept telling me, Tell me the source of your strength. Tell me the source of your strength.

He kept playing with her. He lied. First time he did it. Second time he did it third time he said.

The woman said, I now I know you don't love me. You don't want to tell me restraint. The Bible made. The woman kept pressing and pressing this thing.

The Bible says that something was vexed to death. He was. In fact, he became so frustrated to the point of death. And I said, fine.

My source of rest is my head because my hair, my strength will leave me. Can you imagine somebody tempting you to the point that you still succumb? I'm saying that. How do I even get there?

I'm saying that Samson saved God with all his might, but his heart was not there. You recheck. I said, the reason why Samson was attacking Philistines was not because he wanted to help Israel. It was all of personal gain.

It was revenge. They killed the first person he wanted to marry. The second person wanted to marry. They deceived her.

All of them was just because of selfish desire. His heart was not with God. But the funny thing is that God was still using him. I am saying that God can still use you, but your heart may be fat on him.

So don't be too excited. We should not be this kind of. We are too excited. We won't go.

So many people won't. They just want God to use them. They want God. God, bless me.

Bless me so that I can do work for you rather than all those things. Can you just stay with God? Can you first stay with God? You see, everybody wants to be the one to.

They want to be the one that will bless people. They want to be the one that will stand on the puppy. They want to be the one that will be doing things for God. But they don't want to stay with God.

They don't want God to walk in them. They don't want God to set their heart. They don't want God to put them into the furnace. They don't want God to mold them.

You know, when God was taking Ezekiel, one of them, he said, come. He said, I wanted. I wanted to go to the potter's house. I want to show you something.

He was not showing you. The prophet. Look at that potter. What is he doing?

He said, I was molding the clay. Whenever he can mold the clay to a point and bring it, and the potter cannot look at it. And look, this thing is not yet okay. He will not scatter it again and mold it and make it with this.

If you see that it's not still good, it's scattered again. Not as the prophet. Do you think I cannot do like this to the Israelites. Many people don't want to go to the pottery, to the potter's house.

Many people don't go to the potter's house because they fear that, ah, if I allow God to do me like this, God can just scatter my business, can scatter everything I'm doing and just transforming. Many people don't want to go through that refining process. Many people want to enter into the furnace where God is going to keep trying you like a silver, a silver sneet. He'll put you in the silver in the furnace and he's going to keep working in you.

Do you know how they usually refine silver? He continued. He put it, remove it. And the goal is that until you can see a perfect reflection of his face on that silver, he's not going to stop putting into the fire.

Removing. And he's going to be checking. Are they drossing? Drosses are impurity.

He will keep removing those impurities. Maybe there's more sand. You keep removing it, checking it, putting the fire remove. You look at himself.

Is my face showing there? Until you see a perfect reflection on your face, it's not going to stop. That is what it means. When God walks on your heart.

I am saying that don't be too excited to work for God when God has not walked in your heart. I go and ask Saul. Go and ask people of old, many people, God used them, but unfortunately they were not qualified. And I say it again at the end of the day, sir, you'll be surprised that Saul.

Sorry. Something was mentioned in the hall of faith in Hebrews chapter 11. That's the funny thing. I was like, hey, this guy that did all of these things, he broke all the consecrations.

Why was he mentioned as one of the fathers of faith? Samson? I didn't even see one. Good.

I was trying to check. But one thing I saw about Samson was that at the end of his life, he acknowledged God. And he said, God, give me strength one last time. One last time.

He acknowledged that God was strength. That was his heart talking. And that's now look at what Samson did. He did what he said in dictionary.

Said the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind. That's what he did that last day. His heart was connected with ask God. That's when they have removed his eyes.

And he said, Lord, I acknowledge you strength one last time. I may destroy them. And he wanted to die with them. He used his heart.

His heart was connected in that prayer. He used all his might and all of his soul was connected. And he pulled down the whole thing. He killed the people he killed.

The day he died was far more than all the people he killed all his whole lifetime. That all the times he using his energy. So the topic is a new heart. We need to check our hearts, right?

We need to check our heart and ask God. Lord, remove the heart of stone from me and give me new. This is how you know where your heart is hardened. Whenever you hear a truth, you see, you know, many Christians today, we have read the scripture.

But they are setting part of the scripture that you don't want to accept. It shows your heart is hardened. You pick the one that satisfies you. When the one that now comes to you comes, you just brush it away.

I see. I learned that thing. I asked God to help my heart because it's easy for us to preach scripture that is condemning people that are outside. The prostitute, the unbelievers, all sinners will go to hell.

Anyone that those ones is okay. When it comes to the one that talks about you, it's not for you. We have to ask God to search our hearts. A heart that is open will be able to receive and accept what Christ is saying.

See, that's why the Pharisees were never able to accept Christ despite all their knowledge of God. You see? And let me tell you something about a new heart. A new heart is only given by God.

It's not by reading. It is you that has to come to God and say, God, you me a new heart. He said, I will give them a new heart and I will put a new spirit with them. And I'll take all these stony hearts out of their hearts and I'll give them a heart of flesh.

Now see verse 20. But Ezekiel, chapter 11. Ezekiel, chapter 11, verse 20. Now say that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and do them and they shall be my people and I will be their God.

Do you see that that means in order for me to be able to walk with God as I. If I ask now, is it possible? As I mean, Christians don't believe that it's not possible for somebody to work with God without sinning. Enoch did it.

Even without the Spirit of God. Enoch, the Holy Spirit has not come that time. But Enoch worked with God until he was not Enoch. Work with God for me to be able to walk with God and keep all of his commandments and follow his precepts.

I need a new heart. It is impossible for a new creature to serve God well without a new heart. He said, verse 21, verse for them whose hearts worketh after the heart of their distestible things and abomination, I will recompense their ways upon their head, said the Lord. So this matter is a very delicate matter.

And Matthew 5:8 says, Blessed are the pure in heart. Let's check it. Matthew 5:8, we're already behind time. Matthew 5:8, it says, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

That is why the Pharisees did not see God. They could not see that Jesus was God or Jesus is God. They could not see that Jesus is the Son of God. They could not see that that was the promised Messiah, no matter how much they saw it, no matter how much they read the scripture, because they were not what?

Pure in heart. I'm saying that many people can be in church today, but they will never see God because their heart is not pure. God has to walk in our hearts, Lord, take away the heart. He said, since the prayer of David, I say, who is David?

I think every believer has a mood how to go and study David and a character. He said, create in me, Father, a new heart. Where did he get the knowledge? Where did he know that?

Okay, the problem is, because I don't have a new heart. Where did he get that knowledge that, oh, it's because of my heart? He said, father created me a new heart so that see the condition, so that I can worship you. That means if I don't have a new heart, I cannot worship God.

I cannot worship God in spirit and in truth. See, it's not a matter of how long you have been in church. It's not a matter of how far you have gone with God. You, God could have don't use you and heal like 1000 lepers.

You'll have raised plenty dead people. I'm saying that in all those things, you might not have a pure heart. So we need to. We need to ask God.

We need to bear God. We'll be wrapping up shortly. We're wrapping up shortly. Let me just read this last chapter.

Okay, last two chapters. Romans 2:29. Romans 2:29. Now I want to see what a new heart looks like.

Romans 2, verse 29. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly. Okay, let me. From verse 28, for he is.

Sorry. Okay, let me just read 29. But he is a Jew. Which is one inwardly.

And circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. To so that for you to understand it, I read from verse 27 of his 20. Therefore, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee who is by the letter, and circumcision thus transgress the law.

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly. Neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. Okay. Anyways, he's just trying to talk about circumcision.

You know, before circumcision was always outwardly, but now there's a new circumcision, that the Bible is always circumcised. He said, circumcise your heart. When God gives you a new heart, it looks like circumcision. So we no longer need to be circumcised outwardly.

Now, you see, the Pharisees were circumcised outwardly, but there was need for an inward circumcision. That is what sets you apart from the world. If God does not circumcise your heart, you don't have a new heart yet. And you know how circumcision is.

Circumcision is extremely painful. You know, the people that were circumcised, they were circumcised at an old age. The first people that were circumcised at an old age. The Bible made it clear that when he got circumcised, it takes them about three to seven days before they could recover.

Do you know how painful? And usually in the third day, it becomes extremely painful. So God is not saying, circumcise your heart. So that means when God wants to give you a new heart, it's a very painful process.

In fact, it's going to hurt you so much. Brethren, we need a new heart. We need to ask God that he's going to give us a new heart. Because without a new heart, everything that we just do, you can be working for God.

God will say, oh, they are working for me. But these guys, God wants a relationship with us more than this. All these outward things work on your inside before you start doing the outside. So we just read to close Hebrews 3:8, where he says we should harden, not our hearts.

Hebrews 3. 8. He said, Harden not Your heart as in the provocation in the day of temptation, in the wilderness. That was what made them destroyed.

This writer is talking about what happened in the wilderness. They harden their hearts in the wilderness. That's what the Bible was saying here. How do you not?

He said, wherefore, as the Holy Ghost said today, you see is the Holy Ghost talking to. He said, as Holy Ghost. Holy Ghost said. Can you imagine this Holy Ghost talking as the Holy Ghost said today?

If you hear his voice, if the Holy Spirit talks to you today, this is something he's saying to the church. He said in Revelation, he said, let him that hears hear what the Spirit says to the church. That means it's possible that your ears can be open but you don't listen because your heart is hardened. Let him hear what the spirit is saying to the church.

Harden not your heart. The Bible says, quench up the spirit. You are still quenching the spirit. Harden not your heart.

When Jesus was talking. I wish we could be there when Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, telling you you would think that Jesus is the wrong person. I, I, I might not even want to blame. I will not lie.

It will be hard for me to blame the Pharisees. Because if Jesus Christ was here today, many in fact, you'll be shocked that it will be the elders and pastors and many people that are on the pulpit that will be discriminating Jesus Christ. You'll be shocked because what he was saying was very contradictive of what you have read all the time. It was because you cannot receive what the letter killeth the spirit.

Give your life. It's not something you can receive by reading the Bible like love the Lord your God. That's what they were doing. They were trying to receive the things of the Spirit by their canal mind.

You are trying to use your mind to receive God. You can't. You can't. That's why you cannot blame them.

As I said, see, you need the spirit of God to receive what the Spirit is saying. See, this thing is a very hard matter for you will be surprised that many people that have gone deep in God, they have been 10 years, 30 years with God. This matter of hardening of heart is still there that they cannot listen to a child telling them, sir, I don't think this thing you are doing is right. Because their heart is hardened.

They shut up. What do you know? How many years have you gained? He said, when your father proved me and saw my works, 40 years.

They saw the hand of God for 40 years. But yet their heart was still hardened. That's why some people think, oh, when you start doing miracles, do you know that somebody can do raise the dead in this shot? And somebody.

There are people that still don't believe. They have to still. In fact, when you still see the miracle, they have to become stronger to become more hardened. They will see the move of the Holy Ghost and they will say it's witchcraft because your heart is hardened.

Wherefore I was grieved with that generation. I said, they do always hear in their hearts and they have not known my ways. That means it's possible. I can see that's why the Bible says that the children of Israel they saw the act of God.

Moses knew the ways of God. It's possible that many of us have seen the act of God. We know that God has healed, he has raised the dead, he has done a lot of things. But you don't know his ways because you are not intimate with him.

The matter of a new heart is a matter of intimacy with God. You have to be like Moses, that like a friend, like Abraham. Abraham was a friend of God because he was so intimate. He knew the father's business like close hand.

He knew how to bring God into his premises. There some people that they can stand with p. They know how to bring God to come into here and touch somebody in that end. Touch somebody here. They know how to, huh, he said, so I swear in my ro.

They shall not enter into my rest without a new heart. You cannot enter into God's rest. That's how many people are still restless till now. Many people have never experienced rest yet.

And that's a very big topic, that word rest. You think rest is about sleeping? The biblical definition of rest. When you hear it, you will know that.

Okay, it's a deeper thing. So I think we'll just end there. And the prayer point is just simple. Lord, give us a new heart.

A new heart. I don't just want to be the one doing things for you. I still say it again. I don't know why I'm emphasizing this thing.

It's not enough for this for you to do things for God when you are not submitted to him. People want to do things for God. You don't to submit to him. You want God to bless you with the money so that you'll be able to donate to the church millions.

You think that's what God is looking for? No. God is looking for your heart first. He wants your heart.

That's why I told disciples, stay with me first. Before you go out. He made sure that he stayed with them first for years. They were eager.

They're like, ah, sir, when will we start doing this thing? They were like, when are we going to start doing the gospel? Oh, God, stay with God first. He said, tarry in Jerusalem to be and do it.

He wanted to stay with him first. Stay with God first. August, wait. Stay with God first.

Don't be eager to go and do things for God when you have not stayed with him. You don't even know him enough. You don't know God enough. You want to do things for him.

No, it's not like that. This is why many people are perishing. Many people. You enter problems, you will not be wondering why.

That's why God is afraid. God is like, ah, I want to bless you. But if I bless you, if I give you this, your contract, you will leave me. You don't know me enough.

Can you just stay with me? Just stay with me for just two more years. Three more. Just stay with me, please.

God is begging many people today. Stay with me. To be in a haste to be the one to do the work. Stay with me.

I pray the Lord will give us an understanding. You see? And it's not that God does not want to give you the child. It's not that God does not want to bless us with that thing I'm looking for.

He's not interested in your heart. And even the funny thing, sorry to extend this a little bit. It's possible that I can be praying and fasting because I want God to bless me with that thing. But you have not submitted to me.

That's the problem. See this woman? We submit to God. The devil flee.

Submit to God, resist the devil and flee from you. This woman will just say, lord, have your way. I'm going to do what you want me to do. Look at Hannah.

The day Hannah just said God. You know what? Fine. If you give me this child, I'll surrender him to you.

That was just. Hannah has been praying for years in the temple. Crying, crying, crying. Guess what?

God did not even hear anything until the day God. She just said, fine, Lord, if you give me this child, I'll give him to you. The Bible tells me instantly. The Bible, Girat?

The Bible says it was God that shot Hannah's wound. Jesus. Sometimes you think it's devil that is doing some things. God can shut down your business.

I'm saying it because he. He can do anything just to make sure he gets your heart. He shot down. He shot.

He shot the womb of Hannah. Hannah has been crying for years in the temple. All her peers were having children. They were oppressing her to the point Hannah cried.

The Bible knows how to write the prayer of Hannah. There's a prayer they say Hannah's prayer. One of the most powerful prayer in the scripture by a woman. I'm saying that until some of the things that you're looking for, if you can just say, lord, here I am.

I surrender not 99.9, 100%, anything you want to do. You are the potter, I am the mold me. Break me. If you want to bend me today.

Bend me. Break me. If you want to kill me, kill me. But Lord, I surrender to you.

Many people cannot say this prayer. That's when you know that you say this one is a hard thing. And you see, you say, people, I've given my life to Christ. Oh, God, you above your life to Christ.

We'll go to God in prayer. Maybe we just did that thing so that you want to make heaven. You don't give your life to Christ. Many people, God is their Lord.

Sorry, he's their Savior. He's not yet their Lord. God wants to be also your Lord and not just your Savior. Your savior is the one that will save you from death, from sin, from sickness and all those things.

But when he's your Lord, you become a slave. That's the part people don't want to do. That's why I said this message is connected to last week's topic, Save the Righteous Living. So we go to God in Prayer and we ask God to bless this world and joy extend to other people.

Looking for a generation of people that will be intimate with him, not just seeking his hands, but seeking his face. Shall we go to God in prayer, brother?