The Danger of the Hand Raise: Why Ritual Cannot Replace Regeneration

• Victory in Jesus 00:46:51 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asks the congregation if they are walking in the victory belonging to them in Jesus, affirming that Jesus makes them who He has called them to be.
• Heart of Stone Series 00:48:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor introduces the current sermon series based on Ezekiel, explaining the transition from a stony heart to a heart of flesh through the fullness of God's word.
• National Identity and Sin 00:49:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary with its internal wars, such as abortion and sexual immorality, calling the church to show a more excellent way.
• Seeing God 00:51:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor expresses a desire to see God today rather than waiting for heaven, citing Matthew 5:8 as the scripture for this pursuit.
• God's Favor and Grace 00:52:41 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines God's favor as unmerited grace and tangible evidence of God's delight, emphasizing that it cannot be earned by good works.
• Divine Empowerment 00:55:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes God's favor as divine empowerment that makes the impossible possible, calling believers to live in the realm of what God can do rather than just human possibilities.
• God's Presence in Trials 00:56:10 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares personal experiences of questioning God's presence during difficult times (cancer, illness, indecision) but affirms that God never leaves or forsakes His people.
• Purity of Heart 01:00:50 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines 'pure in heart' using the Greek words 'kathros' and 'kardia', explaining it means having intentions cleansed of hypocrisy and selfish ambition.
• Motivation in Service 01:01:46 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the Pharisees' bad intentions with good actions against the speaker's good intentions with wrong actions, urging believers to examine why they serve, give, and pray.
• Motivation for Religious Acts 01:02:26 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the hypocritical motives of religious leaders (showing off) with Jesus' command to give, fast, and pray with pure intentions and a pure heart.
• The Great Commandment 01:03:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor identifies loving God and loving one's neighbor as the core intention behind all spiritual activities like serving and giving.
• Purity as a Journey 01:13:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes purity not as a static state of perfection but as a continuous process of refining by the Holy Spirit to remove hypocrisy and self-ambition.
• God's Desire to Reveal Himself 01:13:56 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor emphasizes that God actively wants to be seen and revealed to believers, inviting them to the 'table of the Lord' for fresh revelation.

• Sermon Illustration 00:59:30 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his son Cade who was told to weed eat but accidentally weed-eated flowers instead of weeds; the father used this as a teaching moment to show that while the action was wrong, the heart/intention was good.
• Sermon Illustration 00:56:10 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references his own life experiences, including his wife Mary Ann's cancer, a baby with spinal meningitis, and a period of indecision, to illustrate times when he questioned God's presence but found God was never absent.
• Sermon Illustration 01:06:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his childhood physical eyesight, noting his superior vision (20/10) which led the military to suggest he become a fighter pilot, though he chose pastoring instead.
• Sermon Illustration 01:08:28 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of physical eyesight to explain spiritual sight, referencing Moses' eyes not growing dim at age 120 to illustrate the desire for sustained spiritual clarity.

• Pastoral Charge 00:48:03 ▶️ 📄
  > Turn to a neighbor and declare readiness to partake in the Lord's Supper.
• Pastoral Charge 00:55:03 ▶️ 📄
  > Look at a neighbor and verbally affirm that God has called them to the impossible.
• Pastoral Charge 01:10:22 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor commands the congregation to physically look at their neighbor and verbally ask if they are reading the Bible, serving as a direct challenge to examine their own habits.
• Pastoral Charge 01:15:46 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor calls the congregation to take immediate action based on their current spiritual state: either to begin following God, renew their commitment, or cleanse their heart through prayer.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:07:59] Yeah, come on, just say it.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:08:02] Sunday meal, brilliance of Abram, bravery of Harriet Tubman. This land is a good liberty, still blazing. Prayer is a land where we never, where we may fall, but we shall rise.
[00:16:25] Land of one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Land of these many states united, indivisible under God.
[00:16:38] land of dreams on every street and hope on every block, land of working, land of wading through the water, through our fears, land of our father's blood, land of our mother's tears, land of 250
[00:16:52] years of America, America, the young and old, America. Come on, if you love Jesus, come on,

[00:17:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:17:20] if you love our nation, can we just, can we just thank God for the freedom and the liberty and the blessings that we have in this country.
[00:17:28] Come on, can we stand to our feet this morning and just praise God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords for the great blessings we have here in America.
[00:17:39] I just want to say welcome to everyone this morning.
[00:17:43] Man, we thought it would be fitting to just say a prayer over our nation.
[00:17:49] You know, a lot of people talk about what's wrong with America, but I think yesterday was a testament to everything that is right with America.
[00:17:55] and I'm so blessed to be able to live in this free country.
[00:18:01] I saw this video yesterday.
[00:18:05] This gentleman was talking about how the American dream isn't something that you arrive at, but it's something that you carry generation to generation to generation.
[00:18:15] And he said that we may never arrive at a ending point, and that is the point.
[00:18:20] We are to carry this mantle and this torch from generation to generation.
[00:18:28] And man, I just, from yesterday, I don't know if you've ever seen the sandlot, but man, we were walking down in this neighborhood and there was all these people and the fireworks were going and just the scene that was just on the horizon when the lights would spike up in the sky and the chairs were all out there.
[00:18:46] and every difference and every complaint and every different background and viewpoint was under one unified moment.
[00:18:55] And man, I got emotional because that's the heart of God.
[00:19:01] That's the heart of God.
[00:19:02] And man, I'm just so thankful.
[00:19:03] If you're thankful to be in this country, come on, can you clap it up?
[00:19:07] Come on.
[00:19:08] Thank you, Lord.
[00:19:10] Amen.
[00:19:12] Let's pray this morning.
[00:19:14] Let's bow our heads.
[00:19:16] Let's connect our faith together.
[00:19:18] Let's pray for this great nation.
[00:19:20] So today, Lord, we have grateful hearts this morning at the milestone, 250 years since our nation has declared its independence from tyranny and its dependence on you.
[00:19:35] We just want to say thank you, Lord, for the freedoms we often take for granted and for every man and woman who has sacrificed to protect those freedoms.
[00:19:44] Lord, we thank you.
[00:19:45] today we confess that as a nation we have not always honored you in our laws our leaders in our hearts but today we ask for your forgiveness so in that you would draw us back to the humility
[00:19:56] and reliance on you that this nation was meant to always walk in or today we lift up our leaders local state and national or would you give them wisdom that is not their own courage to do what
[00:20:11] is right even when it costs them and hearts postured toward justice and mercy lord we pray for unity in our communities, Lord, in our churches, in this nation, that we would be known first as your people before we are known as any other label. Lord, today we pray for the generations
[00:20:30] to come, Lord, that they would inherit not just liberty, but they would inherit faith.
[00:20:37] Raise up young men and young women who love you, who serve their neighbors, and who carry the light of Christ into every sphere of influence. Lord, today, protect this nation. Heal what is broken.
[00:20:50] Revive what is grown cold. And may it be said of us 250 years from now that we are a people who feared you and loved one another well. In your name we pray. And the church said,
[00:21:02] amen. One more time. Come on, if you're thankful. Come on. Amen, amen. Well, hey, you guys can be seated all across the room turn to somebody say good morning we know you're tired you spent all
[00:21:16] last night just kind of celebrating and too many hamburgers were eating too many hot dogs were eating too many poppets were thrown at my ankles man no we just want to say welcome man if this is
[00:21:33] your first time here my name is trevor i'm one of the pastors here and i just want to welcome a very special group of people that's all of our first time guests if this is your first time or maybe
[00:21:41] your first time in a long time. We just want to say welcome. Multiply Church family, can we welcome all of our first time guests in the room? Come on, you picked a great Sunday to be here. Why? Not
[00:21:52] because I'm here, not because anybody's here, but because Jesus is here. So it's always a great time to be together. David said, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the
[00:22:04] Lord. And that's the posture we want to have. So man, if this is your first time, we have a little bit of information for you. There's a card in the seat back pocket in front of you. We call it a
[00:22:13] you card. The reason why we call it a you card is because we want to get to know you. And so if you would, at any point in the service, you can take that card, jot a little bit of information down
[00:22:25] on the back of that card. And then after service, you go outside to our courtyard there, you'll see a big white tent and a big sign that says new here. That is where you're going to go. If you
[00:22:34] are new, take that card. We have some leaders there. They just want to greet you, shake your hand get to know you a little bit and uh as a small token of appreciation for you worshiping
[00:22:42] with us and give that card uh to them for a free gift just saying thank you for being with us one more time for all of our first time guest church amen well who's ready to give unto the lord come
[00:22:54] on who's excited who can stir up the gift of faith and say i'm excited to give unto the lord this morning i want to report back to you you've heard me up here exhaustively saying this but man
[00:23:06] And we have 12 students that are going to youth camp tonight.
[00:23:09] It starts tonight.
[00:23:12] And why am I bringing this up at the moment of tithing and offering?
[00:23:15] It's because of this.
[00:23:16] It's because multiple of you have stepped up and you said, man, I want to sponsor a kid.
[00:23:19] If it means that a kid is going to get saved maybe for the very first time, that they're going to have the revelation of how great God loves them, and they'll be able to walk in that.
[00:23:29] They said, yeah, I want to sponsor a student.
[00:23:30] So, man, we got 12 students going, and it's because of the generous church.
[00:23:34] It's just because of you that we're able to do that.
[00:23:36] So clap it up for yourselves really quickly.
[00:23:38] I want to say thank you on behalf of Pastor Bill and Marianne and our staff.
[00:23:41] Man, we are in a generous church, and we're so thankful to God and to you for that.
[00:23:47] So if you are giving, there's three ways you can give.
[00:23:49] You can go ahead and scan that QR code up on the screen.
[00:23:52] You can text the word MULTIPLYLAKENORMON to the number 77977.
[00:23:56] Or as when we go back into this next worship song and the ushers pass you by, you can drop your tithes and offerings in that way.
[00:24:02] Can I pray for us this morning?
[00:24:04] Come on, let's connect our faith together.
[00:24:06] Lord Jesus, we're so humbled this morning.
[00:24:13] Lord, today as we have just celebrated 250 years since our nation's independence, Lord God, it's the greater tapestry, Lord Jesus, is that you are orchestrating your great plan.
[00:24:26] Lord, and today, Lord, I pray, Lord, that you would use this house, Lord God, multiply Lake Norman.
[00:24:32] Lord, and I don't just say this, Lord God, for semantics, Lord, but I really, really pray this from the bottom of my heart.
[00:24:38] Would this place be a beacon to this community?
[00:24:43] Lord, that people far off from you would see this place.
[00:24:46] They would see the steeple.
[00:24:48] They would see the cross, Lord God, and they would run to this place, Lord God, because you said that your name is a strong tower and that the righteous run to it and they are safe.
[00:24:59] Lord God, I pray that you would draw all men and women to you as this house lifts you up.
[00:25:06] Lord God, I thank you for the generosity of your people, Lord God, and the tithe that you've called us to bring into the storehouse.
[00:25:13] Lord God, would you use it?
[00:25:14] Your word says that it would be pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
[00:25:18] Lord God, we declare your word, Lord, over this house this morning, Lord, that your blessing, your hand, would be upon this house and your people.
[00:25:28] Lord, bless the giver. Bless those that have the heart and generosity to give this morning.
[00:25:32] We love you. We don't do this without you.
[00:25:35] We need you, Lord God.
[00:25:37] Bless the rest of our service today.
[00:25:40] And the church said, Amen.

[00:25:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:25:44] Amen, amen, as those buckets are being passed, if you could please stand to your feet as we enter into a time of worship.

[00:25:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:25:50] Oh, lift our eyes. We won't fear the fire.
[00:26:10] There is one who's stronger Heart pressed on each side We will not lose sight Of the one who's greater

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:26:28] One name holds every victory One hope that silence is the end One key on the battlefield There's a voice that's talking to someone about sickness.

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:38] In fact, someone has gotten a cancer report.
[00:35:43] There's also a voice that's talking to someone who continues to fall back in a habit.
[00:35:48] You've almost given up because you don't feel like you can overcome the habit.
[00:35:52] But let me tell you, the cancer is overcome in Jesus.
[00:35:57] Because in Him, He is the healer.
[00:35:59] let me tell you the habit is overcome in Jesus it is not my responsibility to overcome but to live in the overcomer who has already overcome and who is more than a conqueror hallelujah has conquered this thing already this morning I want you to know something this morning
[00:36:20] if you're fighting something I want you to just lift your hand up and don't be ashamed hallelujah because we all have things that we fight but if you're really fighting something maybe you're fighting a physical thing
[00:36:32] or a habit that you're having to overcome and if you're standing next to somebody with their hand up I want you to put your hand on their shoulder I want you to agree together because in the name of Jesus
[00:36:43] hallelujah these things are broken hallelujah in the name of Jesus sickness is healed in the name of Jesus habits are broken in the name of Jesus we declare today that you Jesus Christ who are our healer you have overcome the enemy you have overcome the world
[00:37:03] you have overcome every habit you are more than a conqueror hallelujah you rule and you reign in freedom you rule and you reign in healing you rule and you reign hallelujah God in deliverance hallelujah you rule and you reign hallelujah in the hearts of men hallelujah God I break off every
[00:37:24] assignment of the enemy i break off every assignment god of destruction i break off everything god that man would speak god or the enemy would bring hallelujah and in the name of jesus i take authority today we choose to walk in the authority of jesus christ we choose to walk
[00:37:44] in the conqueror we choose to walk in the overcomer and by your stripes we are healed hallelujah God and by your blood we are set free God hallelujah in the name of Jesus we are free indeed
[00:37:58] give the Lord a clap and a praise and thanksgiving hallelujah

[00:38:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:38:02] in the stream in the darkness

[00:42:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:42:51] over every Jesus for my family I speak the

[00:42:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:42:59] Jesus has given us victory.

[00:46:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:46:49] Amen.
[00:46:51] Are you walking in the victory that belongs to you in Jesus?
[00:46:55] Amen.
[00:46:55] You know, as his disciples, as his followers, he said, I will make you.
[00:47:01] I will make you.
[00:47:02] there's such a comfortable place for us to live in the fact that Jesus is making us who he has called us to be. He is making you. You rest in that. You rest in the building blocks of discipleship
[00:47:17] that he has called us to rest in. Now, Father, we thank you for your word and your word is truth and your word is life. We thank you, Lord Jesus, that as we enter into this time, God, of eating
[00:47:29] from the table of the Lord, hallelujah, that, Father, you will, God, speak to our hearts that the word will not return void, God, but in this word, Lord, is life and life to the full,
[00:47:43] life abundantly. We thank you, Lord Jesus, hallelujah, that you, God, are glorified in this.
[00:47:49] We give you the praise and we give you the glory in Jesus' name. And everyone said amen. Now turn to somebody and say, I'm ready to eat. Okay. Praise the Lord. And you may be seated. We continue to
[00:48:03] study on the heart of stone series. If you remember the heart of stone series had everything to do that came out of the book of Ezekiel. We took where God desires to give his people, not a stony heart,
[00:48:17] but to change the stony heart to a heart of flesh. So he's changing the stony heart to a heart of flesh this morning by giving us the fullness of his word. Now, I don't know if you've noticed it,
[00:48:32] but every single week, this heart of stone, the heart there, has changed. It started out with just the corner being flesh. We're about halfway in a fleshy heart. Amen? We're about halfway with the truths that teach us to have the fleshy heart that God has called us to have. Yesterday,
[00:48:54] all across this nation, even around the world, the United States of America was celebrated for 250 years as a nation. Songs were sung, speakers spoke, fireworks were going off like none before in this land of freedom,
[00:49:25] a land of blessing, a land of opportunity, one nation under God, one nation under God.
[00:49:37] Yet we are a nation who has made its internal wars with the likes of things like abortion, sexual immoralities, the rising of self, self-gain, and in many, self has become their own God, a lust for power, a lust for position,
[00:50:07] to be in rule at any price. You and I as the church are just called to show the world and the people of the United States and the world a more excellent way, called to show them a more
[00:50:27] excellent way among the nation. Around the world, we are called to show forth God and all of His glory. I want you to look at the person next to you, and I want you to understand that what you're
[00:50:41] looking at is the glory of God, because you're looking at the creation of God. You're looking at that which God created. How can we, unless we see God, unless we know God, unless we, the church,
[00:50:58] are one people under God, how can we show the world the glory of God? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see. You want to see God this morning? Say amen. I don't know about you,
[00:51:22] but I want to see God, and I don't want to wait till I get to heaven to do that.
[00:51:26] I want to see God today and every day. Matthew chapter 5 verse 8 is our scripture. It's the next building block to discipleship that Jesus offers as part of the Sermon on the Mount.
[00:51:43] Blessed are the pure in heart goes far beyond outward perfection. It requires singleness of focus. It requires unmixed motivations. It requires an authentic desire that more than anything, I desire to please God, which ultimately results in the spiritual capacity
[00:52:10] to perceive God's presence, to see God. I want you to know it is possible to see God this morning.
[00:52:22] I want you to know it is possible to see God. So let's begin with the understanding that we must first embrace the favor of God. We must first embrace the favor of God. When we look at blessed,
[00:52:41] we have established that we are looking at possessing the favor of God. God's favor refers to the tangible evidence of everything that God delights in, of God's approval and his goodwill being alive in our life. It is tied to the concept of grace, an unmerited favor,
[00:53:08] loving, and blessing that God extends to mankind regardless of whether they have earned it or not.
[00:53:17] How many of you know you cannot earn the favor of God? It is an unmerited favor. So if you think that your good works are going to earn the favor of God, get that out of your head. It doesn't work.
[00:53:32] It is demonstrated delight. It is the active expression that God has of his love and of his presence, similar to that of a parent showing affection to a child. We have our grandchildren from Montana here, and they'll be here for the month of July. And so every single day is a day
[00:53:55] of expressing of love and acceptance and everything, and so many times I hardly sit down that there's not somebody on my lap. There's not somebody sitting on me. There's not somebody kissing my face, holding me, even punching me and hitting me and all the things that boys like to do, you know,
[00:54:15] and all that kind of stuff, but it's the display of affection. It is the display of delight. It's a display of God's love, God's presence, where He allows us to crawl up on His lap by being with
[00:54:28] Him in worship, by being with Him in the Word, by being with Him in the fullness of He is, and experience the fullness of His affection for us, the fullness of His acceptance. It's also
[00:54:41] God's divine empowerment. It is often described as God giving an individual, you, me, the ability to do or endure things that are humanly impossible. It is the impossible becoming possible.
[00:55:03] If you're only living in your possibilities, you're missing God. Because God calls us to the impossible. God calls us to the impossible. Look at the person next to you and say, God has called you to the impossible. So I want you to get out of your head that you only live
[00:55:24] impossibility. When God ordains and God speaks and He speaks it into place in your heart and in your dream and in your vision and your understanding, God speaks outside of what is just possible for you to do. He brings you into the realm of what He can do, and that's
[00:55:42] impossible for man by himself. God establishes in you the impossible. God establishes in you the impossible this morning, the truth and the promise that God is near in relationship.
[00:56:02] Do you ever feel alone? Do you ever ask the question, where's God? Where's God in all this?
[00:56:10] Well, I've been a Christian for about 50-some years. I got saved as a baby. What can I say?
[00:56:20] Not really. The truth of the matter is this. There's been times even as a pastor that I've asked, where is God?
[00:56:38] There's a time when we were walking through Mary Ann's cancer.
[00:56:42] I said, okay, God, where are you?
[00:56:46] There was a time when a three-week-old baby has spinal meningitis.
[00:56:50] I said, God, where are you?
[00:56:55] There was a time when I was in a place in the land of indecision from the end of May to the first of September.
[00:57:06] Where do you want me, God?
[00:57:08] Where am I supposed to be and I found myself sitting, waiting on God, and I said, God, where are you?
[00:57:17] God, where are you?
[00:57:19] But God never left me, nor did he forsake me, for God is not the God who is afar off.
[00:57:27] Rather than just material wealth, it is an in deep, ongoing relationship, a relational connection that we have with God.
[00:57:39] It offers you this morning guidance and protection and keeps the heart, the mind, and the spirit aligned fully with God's righteousness.
[00:57:49] It keeps you aligned with God's blessings.
[00:57:53] It keeps you aligned with God's provision.
[00:57:56] It keeps you aligned with God's purpose.
[00:58:00] God's favor rests on those who seek wisdom, humility, and obedience.
[00:58:08] Do you hear me this morning?
[00:58:09] I want to say that to you again.
[00:58:11] And God's favor rests on those who seek wisdom, humility, and obedience.
[00:58:20] His overarching favor, His grace is a free gift.
[00:58:28] Having God's favor does not mean an exemption from trials.
[00:58:33] Noah had trials.
[00:58:35] Joseph had trials.
[00:58:38] Moses had major trials.
[00:58:40] Queen Esther had trials.
[00:58:43] Mary, the mother of Jesus, had major trials.
[00:58:47] The disciples had trials.
[00:58:49] Paul had trials.
[00:58:52] They all endured great hardships, but possessed a quiet confidence that God was with them, that His favor was upon them, that He never leaves them nor forsakes them, that He orders the steps of the righteous.
[00:59:08] So how does one walk in this favor?
[00:59:10] How does one walk in the fullness of God?
[00:59:14] Important is the state of one's heart.
[00:59:20] Is it pure?

[00:59:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:59:26] So I want to say this was about two years ago.
[00:59:30] My dad came to me, and he was just wanting to talk to me about taking, being more proactive in my chores, right?
[00:59:39] Like see something and do it without him having to ask.
[00:59:43] like mow the lawn, weed eat, you know, stuff like that. And so one day I just finished mowing and I saw I wasn't able to get to a certain spot. There's a little spot that needed weed eating
[00:59:54] that was a little too close to the woods. So I went and I grabbed the weed eater. I weed did the weeds and I didn't think anything of it. I was just like, you know what? I was proactive.
[01:00:05] You know, I'm doing what my dad told me to do. I'm being more responsible. But later that day he came to me and he's like, Cade, did you weed eat the flowers? I was like, no, dad, I weed
[01:00:18] eated the weeds that was by the woods. And he's like, no, Cade, that was the flowers I just planted. And so I was like, oh no, I thought I was in trouble, you know. But I wasn't in trouble.
[01:00:34] He used that as a teaching moment, a lesson, because he knew my heart behind what I was doing.
[01:00:40] He knew my intentions were good.
[01:00:42] Even though I may not have done the right thing and weeded the flowers, the heart behind that was still good.
[01:00:50] So our verse today is blessed are the pure in heart.
[01:00:53] But what does that mean?
[01:00:54] What does pure in heart mean?
[01:00:56] Well, the Greek word for pure is kathros.
[01:01:00] And that just means one who is cleansed from hypocrisy and selfish ambition.
[01:01:06] And the word after that is kardia.
[01:01:09] I think I said that right.
[01:01:10] Um, and that just means your thoughts and your feelings, right? So if we were to reread this with those understandings, it would be blessed are those whose thoughts and feelings are cleansed of hypocrisy. So another way of saying this is just blessed are those whose intentions are pure.
[01:01:30] What do you mean when you're doing something, right? So Jesus had the opposite problem that I had. My intentions were do good, I did the wrong thing. But when Jesus was dealing with the Pharisees
[01:01:46] and the religious leaders, he pointed out that their intentions were bad even though they were doing the right thing. We see this in Matthew 6 when Jesus is talking about the religious leaders and he says, beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them.
[01:02:07] for then you will have no reward from your father in heaven, right? So when you're giving, why are you giving? Are you giving to make yourself feel good? Are you giving to be blessed by God? Why are we giving? Why do we do these things? The religious leaders gave to the needy
[01:02:26] to showboat, to make themselves look better than they actually are. But Jesus says to not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. And basically that's just him saying, I want you to
[01:02:37] give out of pure intentions. I want to get you to give out of a pure heart, right? And he says the same thing about fasting. He's talking about the religious leaders. They would throw dirt on their
[01:02:49] heads, you know, and look like they were mourning because they hadn't eaten, right? And it was to make themselves look better. But Jesus said, I want you to look presentable before people because I want you to do this before God
[01:03:03] and not before men, right?
[01:03:05] And this can apply to any aspect of our walk, right?
[01:03:09] Why are we serving?
[01:03:11] Why are we giving?
[01:03:12] Why do we pray and read the Bible, right?
[01:03:15] Why do we do these things?
[01:03:17] And these are important questions for us to ask because God cares deeply about our heart behind what we're doing, right?
[01:03:27] He looks at our heart.
[01:03:28] He doesn't look at the outward appearance.
[01:03:30] Our actions are important, yes, but what is the heart behind those actions?
[01:03:36] So what should our intentions be, right?
[01:03:39] What should we intend to do when we do these things?
[01:03:42] Well, Jesus talks about this.
[01:03:44] He says when a religious leader or a lawyer comes to ask him just what's the most important law, right?
[01:03:54] He was trying to test him.
[01:03:55] Jesus, what's the most important law?
[01:03:57] And he says, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
[01:04:03] At the bottom line, the core of everything that we do, that means spending time with God, serving others, you know, giving.
[01:04:13] It should be out of loving God and loving other people.

[01:04:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:04:18] I have been blessed and privileged this summer to have Cade and Keegan.
[01:04:36] Keegan plays the keyboard.
[01:04:37] I'm working with them as interns.
[01:04:40] And you just heard his first time at a pulpit in a service giving forth a message or a point.
[01:04:53] Next week, Keegan will be joining me as we bring forth the message.
[01:04:59] Great job, Cade.
[01:05:00] thank you so much for seeking the Lord and for sharing truth. Our third point is that as we are called to be pure in spirit, pure in heart, that we shall see God. What does it mean to see God?
[01:05:23] What does it mean to have eyes to see? If I were to come up to you and ask you, tell me your experience of seeing God. Would you back off from me and say, well, I don't know that
[01:05:38] I've seen God. The truth of the matter is, if you know God, you've seen God. Seeing the many is a mystery that we have a tendency to take for granted. We accept it on different levels.
[01:06:00] Think about your own physical ability to see. As a kid, I was told to eat my carrots because it will make my eyes better.
[01:06:13] My dad used to say, have you ever seen a bunny with glasses?
[01:06:20] I thought it was the dumbest statement, still do, but I used it anyway.
[01:06:27] In school, we learned the parts of the eye and how they function together, cornea, pupil, the optic nerves, and all the things that are parts of the eye and how they work.
[01:06:41] We learned about nearsightedness and farsightedness, others seeing diagnosis or problems. And I always wondered why some could naturally see more clearly than others. As a junior, when I took an aptitude test and the military came in and they looked at
[01:07:02] our stuff and they wanted to find out who would be great in the military. And you have to understand that at that point, I was only one year away from needing to register for the draft because of the
[01:07:14] Vietnam War was going on at that time. They told me that after they gave me a physical that because of my eyesight, I could see 20 feet away what most people had to be 10 feet closer to be able to see.
[01:07:32] Because of that, they told me that I should go in the Air Force and I should become a fighter pilot.
[01:07:39] Well, I had no desire to go in the Air Force and I had no desire to be a fighter pilot.
[01:07:44] But if I hadn't have been a pastor, I probably would have become a doctor birthing babies because I absolutely love that.
[01:07:56] I just love babies.
[01:07:59] School, we learned a lot of things about the eye, and it made you always wonder, why do your friends have to wear glasses but you don't?
[01:08:11] But I pray over my eyes, and I say to God, God, in Deuteronomy, the 34th chapter, the 7th verse, you said, Moses' eyes did not grow dim even when he was 120 years of age.
[01:08:28] Keep my eyes like you kept Moses'.
[01:08:31] Keeping my eyes from growing dim is a physical thing.
[01:08:42] Seeing God we're talking about this morning is a spiritual understanding.
[01:08:48] And you will see God.
[01:08:51] when we live sincere undivided and with every intent and follow through based out of uncorrupted motives which k just brought to our understanding we are now postured to embrace the promise of seeing god as he said it's a state of the heart the promise of they shall see god
[01:09:23] does not say maybe. It doesn't say might. It's a declarative in promise. It is prophetic in that it is for the now. God actively and in presence tense moving in your daily by daily moment by moment life, as well as for the future. It has eternal implications that we will see God
[01:09:58] face to face. The pure in heart see Him even now through faith. And where do we see Him?
[01:10:07] We see Him where He reveals Himself. We see Him in His world. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. We see him in each other as his body, but we see him best and most clearly
[01:10:22] in his word. We see him best and most clearly in his word. Look at the person next to you and say, are you reading the word? You see, if you're not reading the words, you can't expect to see him.
[01:10:41] The word see means that you will gaze upon, you will look at, that your eyes, your understanding will be whole. In other words, when I read, it's not something I don't understand, but rather when
[01:10:55] I'm in the word and I read the word, as I began to see God, understanding begins to come to me and the revelation of the person of God himself, the revelation of the person of Jesus Christ,
[01:11:07] the revelation of the person of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit becomes literal life to me and understanding to me.
[01:11:16] It becomes fullness of understanding.
[01:11:19] The fullness of understanding belongs to us who seek him when I search for him with all my heart.
[01:11:25] If you seek me, you will find me when you search for me, how with all your heart.
[01:11:34] In the present, you will see God move.
[01:11:36] You will see his hand at work.
[01:11:39] You will witness His goodness in your life now.
[01:11:43] And as the Holy Spirit works in your life to refine you.
[01:11:46] And can I tell you the process of the Holy Spirit is a continual process.
[01:11:51] A continual refining.
[01:11:53] You never reach the peak where you are perfect.
[01:11:56] But rather we literally set our eyes upon that perfection.
[01:11:59] For God called us to be holy as He is holy.
[01:12:03] In other words, be pure as He is pure.
[01:12:05] Be perfect as He is perfect.
[01:12:07] But the Holy Spirit is refining us all the time that we come into that place where we're embracing fully what it is to be one with Christ and to be like Christ.
[01:12:23] In the present, you will see God move.
[01:12:25] You'll see His hand at work.
[01:12:27] You'll witness that goodness.
[01:12:31] The pure heart cleansed from hypocrisy, cleansed from self-ambition, cleansed from being a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God.
[01:12:42] cleansed from pride and divided loyalties has one primary goal to seek God and to follow God's will it is guarding one's thoughts it is guarding one's heart one's conscience no bitterness no unforgiveness no jealousy nothing to cloud our spiritual vision nothing to hinder
[01:13:12] our relationship with God.
[01:13:16] You are in a continuous process.
[01:13:19] Purity is a journey of becoming.
[01:13:21] It requires relying on the Holy Spirit to continually renew the mind and soften the heart and cause the heart to be the fleshly heart against becoming hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
[01:13:37] It opens your eyes to see revelation brings you to becoming a person with understanding and the interaction of God's presence in your life.
[01:13:55] Why?
[01:13:56] Because God wants you to see Him.
[01:14:00] God wants you to see Him.
[01:14:03] I don't know, that should put a smile on your face.
[01:14:05] That should put a hallelujah in your heart.
[01:14:08] That should put joy in you that you say, hallelujah, God wants me to see Him.
[01:14:13] God wants to reveal Himself to me.
[01:14:15] God doesn't want me to live in the dark, but He wants me to live in the fullness of light.
[01:14:19] God wants me to see Him.
[01:14:29] It is a process of new every morning.
[01:14:34] Today I see God through Him revealing Himself in ways that I did not see yesterday.
[01:14:40] It is the refreshing.
[01:14:43] of the newness of his life.
[01:14:46] It is the coming to the table of the Lord and being filled.
[01:14:50] And some of you, literally, your hunger is not a hunger because you desire more of God.
[01:14:55] It's a hunger because you haven't come to the table of the Lord and eaten.
[01:14:59] And God is calling you to the table of the Lord.
[01:15:02] God is calling you to that place of being one with him, to come to the table of the Lord, to be filled with the fullness of God, to be filled with that fresh revelation because God desires to reveal himself to you.
[01:15:17] It is the waiting on him.
[01:15:20] It is the be still and know that I am God.
[01:15:25] It all begins with saying yes to the call of God as he says, come, follow me, and I will make you.
[01:15:37] I don't have to go any further than that.
[01:15:40] And I will make you.
[01:15:42] God is in the process, morning, of making you.
[01:15:46] for some today is the day to begin that journey because you're not on that journey of saying yes to the voice of God saying come follow me for others today is the day to renew
[01:16:00] bring in line that commitment you once made been a little weak with that commitment relationship with Christ has become now I lay me down to sleep instead of that fervent praying without ceasing aware of His presence
[01:16:23] 24-7 yet for others it's the cleaning out of your heart and your eye the things that are causing you not to see clearly if you know Christ then it is the day to say search me O God
[01:16:43] and know my heart today I desire to ascend to heal the Lord and see my God to do so I know I must have clean hands I know I must have your heart

[01:17:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:17:06] come on can we thank Cade and Pastor Bill for that awesome message can we all stand together as a church just everyone stand if you can stand please um um so Pastor Bill said something very specific
[01:17:45] he said there's got to be a starting point and then when he said that I felt in my heart and my spirit. I'm not saying thus saith the Lord, guys. I felt in my heart, the spirit was saying
[01:18:05] these words. This is for the skeptics. This is for the skeptics. Everything I've done, everything you read about, everything you have an inkling that maybe it could be true. Just the little bit of maybe a half a step, a millimeter step forward towards God. He says with wide open arms, this
[01:18:30] this is for the skeptics now here's what i want to do this morning some of you in this room you have an idea of god or a thought about god and you come into this house and you're like man i'm just
[01:18:53] trying and you wouldn't even admit like hey i'm just trying this i don't really know for sure i'm just trying this and yeah i've seen god move in my life but man maybe it's just not for me
[01:19:03] Maybe I'm just not good enough, or maybe I'm just not like them, so I can't get that.
[01:19:15] And I would echo, this is for the skeptics.
[01:19:22] Jesus died for people that don't really know, but they want to know.
[01:19:31] Everything, every cell, every fiber of your being, man, you were created to know him.
[01:19:36] and that is why you feel the pounding of your heart.
[01:19:40] That's why you feel the draw of the Spirit because, yeah, maybe you're a little bit skeptical, but man, he died for you.
[01:19:49] He died for you.
[01:19:53] Or maybe you're standing in the place of a skeptic that you know, meaning you have a family member, a loved one, a friend, a coworker that you pray for, and they're skeptical about this Jesus.
[01:20:08] yet i just keep envisioning christ's arms open wide on that cross saying now he didn't say this but i just this is this is for this this is for you this is for all of you that might might doubt
[01:20:27] me this is for all of you that have to intellectualize it to really understand me listen how can we understand the god of heaven and earth that's why faith is so important and so this is what I want to do this morning. If you want to make today the starting point where you're
[01:20:44] saying, yeah, I'm a little bit skeptical, but I really want to dive into this relationship with Jesus. I want you to do something very specific. I want you to lift up both hands, both hands.
[01:20:55] The reason why I want you to lift up both hands, because I believe that if you, this is a sign of surrender. And a lot of times, a lot of us are facing strongholds that the anointing can break,
[01:21:06] but man we sometimes get in the way and we we just need to open up we need to say god i surrender to you i surrender i'm a skeptic but lord every bit of my skepticism lord god i surrender it
[01:21:17] to you every bit of my my my doubts i surrender it to you every because here's the thing you don't get to intellectualize your way into a relationship with god no you have to take this
[01:21:28] thing by faith and so god's not scared of your skepticism or your doubt man run to god in all of your doubt and watch, watch. I'm telling you, as I stand upon this stage today, I am a living
[01:21:47] testimony of being a skeptic, being a runner, being someone who is denying and doubting because no, no, no, it just wasn't for me. No, God is who he says he is. But man, you got to do this.
[01:22:00] You got to open up your heart to him. So if you would be so bold, even in your doubt to just say, I'm going to raise both hands.
[01:22:10] I'm going to raise both my hands because it's a sign of surrender.
[01:22:13] I just want you to do that now so that I can pray for you all across this room.
[01:22:17] All across this room.
[01:22:19] I just want to pray with you.
[01:22:20] Why?
[01:22:20] Because I don't want to jot down how many people were saved on Sunday at Multiply Lake Norman to go and tell some higher up that we got a lot of people getting saved.
[01:22:30] No, no.
[01:22:31] I want you to do that because it's for you.
[01:22:34] It's for you.
[01:22:37] The good news is really good news.
[01:22:43] So if that's you, every head bowed, every eye closed, I just want you to raise your hand.
[01:22:48] Nobody's looking around.
[01:22:49] Nobody's trying to embarrass you.
[01:22:50] There we go.
[01:22:51] I see it.
[01:22:51] Amen.
[01:22:54] Thank you, Jesus.
[01:22:57] Amen.
[01:22:58] Thank you, Lord.
[01:23:00] Come on.
[01:23:00] There's more people in here, man.
[01:23:02] Come on.
[01:23:03] Don't let the devil try to steal this moment from you.
[01:23:06] There's more.
[01:23:07] Amen.
[01:23:08] I see those hands.
[01:23:11] You can put your hands down.
[01:23:14] Church, look up at me.
[01:23:14] multiple people just raised their hands that should excite you people are getting saved it's not for us we get to live in the blessing the gift of life that he's given us but man when
[01:23:33] somebody says god i'm gonna take you at your word and i don't even know if it's true but i'm gonna step forward that is amazing why because it's the power of the word of god we can give god praise
[01:23:44] for that those of you that raise your hands i don't want you to repeat after me church let me just pray for all of us before we go. Father, thank you. Thank you, Lord God. You desire none
[01:24:02] shall perish, Lord God. You will accomplish your work on this earth. Lord God, you are still drawing people. Your word still is alive. Lord, and today we are thankful. Lord, I pray for those that raise
[01:24:19] their hands today. Lord, I pray, Lord, that they would fully jump into, Lord, what it means to be a disciple and a follower of Jesus Christ. Lord God, I pray that you would give them divine
[01:24:33] revelation. Lord, I pray that they would have a strange infatuation with your word. Lord, that they need it. Lord God, it's their nourishment. Lord, your word says that man shall not live on bread alone, Lord, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And
[01:24:51] today, you've given us that word. Those people that raised their hand, Lord God, would you let your word be their nourishment, their nourishment. They can't move, God, unless they've opened up your scripture. They can't live, God, unless they've opened up your word, Lord God. I pray
[01:25:07] that bold prayer before you, oh God, that they would be transformed into the image of Christ every single day.
[01:25:15] Lord, I pray that the devil would flee from them, Lord God, because not to remind them of their skepticism, Lord God, but flee from them because now you've entered their hearts.
[01:25:25] We thank you, Lord God, for their bold confession this morning.
[01:25:29] We love you and we praise you.
[01:25:31] Come on, if you love Jesus, can you give it up for the King of Kings?
[01:25:37] Amen.
[01:25:38] Hey guys, before we go, if you did make that decision, we have a table in the back.
[01:25:43] We want to put a Bible in your hand.
[01:25:44] We want to pray with you.
[01:25:45] stop by that table in the back right before on your way out if you made that commitment today but for the rest of us hey retreats are coming up if you haven't signed up for retreats i believe
[01:25:56] the deadline for the women's retreat is july 15th so you need to sign up okay you got about a week and a half almost two weeks left to go ahead and sign up and then men's your deadline is july 22nd
[01:26:10] July 22nd. So you want to sign up? It's going to be a powerful, impactful time. Listen, this church is growing. We need the people to get more people to things like this so they know that there's a
[01:26:22] community for them out in this area. So hey, continue to love Jesus and change the world.
[01:26:27] We'll see you same time, same place next week. We love you.