Attracting God's Attention — Keith Malcomson

Attracting God's Attention — Keith Malcomson

I want you to turn in your Bible with me here this morning. I hope you have your Bible with you, Isaiah chapter 66. Isaiah chapter 66, and just as you turn there and find your place, let me just say something, especially to those online or who will watch afterward, but also to all of you.

In the past week, we've gone through about 50 messages in this school of Christ here you've gathered in, and we're just coming aside for this time. The subject is Christ. All of the lessons, although we deal with everything of repentance, the conflict for the church, faith, prayer, et cetera, the one sole subject is conformity to Christ.

Conformity to Christ as the Purpose of the Church

That is the subject, and the Holy Spirit moves in our midst to conform each life, deal with every heart, to make us more like Jesus Christ. That's why we call it the school of Christ. It is a school in which you learn the person of Christ, and when we lose that as the sole object of the gathering of the church, there's something very terribly wrong.

We'll be continuing this school over the next two weeks. We'll have about 100 other messages amidst all the prayer, the seeking of God, just making an altar where you are. It's a very precious time for us just to hear from the Spirit of God, allow Him to deal with us, to deal with issues in our life, to deal with the call of God on our lives, to prepare us for the things that lie ahead, and it's a very precious time.

But here this morning, we are in the midst of our prayer series. This is part seven of our series on prayer, and then we're gonna move this afternoon into another new series again. We have 19 series in a school of over 150 lessons, and this is a time of consecration, a solemn assembly, a coming aside to meet with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our message here this morning as we turn to Isaiah 66, verse two, attracting God's attention. Can I just say one thing here, and I wanna emphasize this before we preach this morning. I want you to be so very conscious.

You're getting taught so much, it can be overwhelming. And then in the midst of the Spirit of God teaching and the Word of God being opened up, you can begin to see your lack, how far away you are from all that you've heard in the past week and all that you will hear in the next two weeks.

It can be overwhelming, but please don't think that all of this teaching in this three weeks is to be accomplished in one moment of time. This is the outworking of an entire lifetime. The Word of God is being presented to you, open to you so that you have a vision.

I know that you're not the completed work in two weeks time. I know that. I'm a work in progress. I understand that. But do you know what he's doing? He's presenting to you a vision of the Christian life, a vision of the church, a vision of his plan and purpose, not to discourage you, not to depress you.

And it can be overwhelming when you see it and see what you are and see the lack. I understand that, but please be assured it is by the grace of God that you are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, God's precious son.

And as you see this vision, it's not for you to accomplish, but it's to submit to God and to begin to pray and say, Lord, change me, change me. You have an eternal plan to change me. I have never, ever, I need to be careful what I say, but I've never been discouraged by hearing the Word of God come like this.

You know why? I know I can't accomplish it. All I do when I hear the preaching of the Word, Lord, will you work this in me? The Word of God never comes expecting or demanding anything unless the Holy Spirit is there to accomplish it.

I know that. I've learned some secrets along the way. And so when I hear it and I go, oh boy, you know all I do is open my heart and say, yes, Lord, yes, Lord, I long for it. Will you work it in me? You wouldn't speak to me about these things if you weren't here to accomplish it.

This isn't the old covenant. This is the new covenant where when he speaks, there's not a lessening of the intensity in the new covenant, but you know what? He is here to work it within you. So don't be downcast.

Don't get weary in all of this, but have faith in God. Read in from Isaiah 66 in verse two. For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord. But to this man, and notice this carefully, but to this man will I look, even to him that is of a poor and contrite heart and that trembleth at my word.

My message attracting God's tension. Let's pray together. Let's lift up our hearts. Let's open up and ask for the grace of God here this morning. Lord God, we pray right now in Jesus' name. Let nothing distract us here this morning.

Lord God, that we might have faith in you and that we wouldn't be overwhelmed by the teaching and the word of God. But oh God, that you'd stir us, oh God, to receive of the grace of God, to have faith that what you have spoken, you're willing to accomplish in us.

It's not by our works or our power, but it's by the power of your Holy Spirit. My God, conform this church. Conform us as individuals to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And even this morning in this message, we want to attract the attention of the most high God in Jesus' mighty name, amen.

Prayer as Spiritual Warfare

Attracting God's attention. Saints of God, in this series, we have seen the prayer closet is the battleground. That place of prayer isn't a place of entertainment or of great joy always. It's where you fight your battles.

Most Christians don't realize the intensity of the war. When they go to prayer, they look for nice feelings, but realize they encounter a warfare that is so raging that they can easily get discouraged in the place of prayer.

It is the war, the place of prayer. That's where you fight the war. That's where you win the war. That's where you overcome the devil. That's where you overcome this old nature or this Adamic nature. This prayer closet is the place where we meet with God.

We contact God and we reach God. The battle is either won or lost in the prayer closet. That's gonna decide what your Christian life is every single time. We are not businessmen in the church, or us preachers in the church.

We're not businessmen. We're not psychologists. We're not social workers. You know what we are? We are soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible says in 2 Timothy 2 and verse three, that we are to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

I wish this was taught in every church of our generation. You're not coming to church to be entertained, to have nice feelings, to feel nice, but you're here to be raised up as soldiers who are gonna go back out and stand on the battlefield.

There are injuries in this war. There are battles to encounter. I wish I could tell you it was a picnic, but saints of God, this is a warfare and you engage in it in the place of prayer. The greatest problem that I see in today's church and generation is inconsistency.

We are too easily distracted from those disciplines of prayer that lead to excellence. If you don't get a victory in prayer, you'll never be the Christian that God wants you to be. It says in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 18, but we all with open face beholden, notice that word beholden, beholden as in a glass, the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory unto glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord.

Saints of God, we become like what we behold. Notice that word behold in this verse. It means to gaze intently upon. It means to behold earnestly or steadfastly to do not take your eyes off that thing.

It means to fasten your eyes on something and let nothing take your eyes off that thing. We are told that we are to behold his glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Set your eyes on the glory of Jesus Christ.

Don't let anything hinder you from gazing intently and earnestly on the glory of Jesus Christ. Usually what happens, we come to church, we sing for 30 minutes, we take a faint gaze at the Lord Jesus and then get distracted with all the things of this world the rest of the way, but very few in the church gaze intently day by day in their Christian walk.

Saul's Crisis Prayer and the Need for a Life of Prayer

It says in 1 Samuel chapter 13 and verse 11, we capture a picture of this very thing in the life of King Saul in the Old Testament. Saul has just offered up a burnt offering. Listen very carefully to what it says.

And Samuel said unto him, what has thou done? And Saul said, because I saw that the people were scattered from me and that thou camest not within the days appointed and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash, therefore I said, the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgad.

And I had not made supplication unto the Lord. I forced myself therefore, and I offered a burnt offering. Do you see what has happened here? Saul is not a man to seek the glory of God. He was not a man of prayer.

It says in verse 12 here, I have not made supplication unto the Lord. Saul was a man that only prayed in a crisis. It's only when the Philistines are coming, he is not a man of the altar of prayer. He's not a man that's given over to prayer.

Only in a crisis will he be driven to this place of prayer. He had fought wars very often, but he had never built an altar of prayer. He is not a man of prayer. And you begin to see that in this chapter.

In 1 Samuel chapter 13, Saul offers a sacrifice. Why did he offer the sacrifice? He was in trouble. Like many Christians of our day, they get in financial trouble, they get in physical trouble, they get in social trouble, and suddenly they go to prayer.

God, where are you? God, you've got to help me. God, I need you to change everything. This is an entire picture of our church in this day and generation. Always living on a crash program, only building an altar when our life gets in trouble, only seeking God earnestly when we need him to do something for us.

Trouble comes knocking on our door and we offer up a soul sacrifice. We build a soul altar. There is an altar of prayer that isn't a real altar of prayer. It is a soul altar of prayer. It might sound right.

It might look right. It might have all the right elements, but really God will not deal with it or have his way with it. There are many who are deeply involved in the work of God in this generation. They're evangelizing.

They're leading our worship. They're preaching in pulpits. They're involved in the social work of the church, and yet they've never built an altar onto God. That doesn't mark their life. They would rather minister unto men than to minister unto God.

If you haven't ministered unto God, you have no right to minister unto men. If your life isn't consumed with being dedicated to God, you have no right to minister in the house of God. To know the presence and the power of God, we must live in his glory with eyes looking upon his glory, not just glancing at his glory on a Sunday morning.

We need Christians again who are utterly consumed with gazing on the face of Jesus Christ, and out of that place of gazing intently on his glory, they then come to the house of God to minister. Since our gatherings would be different, our preaching would be different, our worship and evangelism would be different if we came directly from the presence of God with the very fragrance and smell of heaven, of the throne room of God upon us.

Following God's Presence Rather Than His Blessings

We are talking about living in the glory. It says in Numbers chapter 19 and 17, listen to this, when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that, the children of Israel journeyed. And in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.

Notice this very carefully. When the cloud moved, Israel moved with the cloud. You keep moving when God moves. It isn't a time to stand still. When God is moving, sometimes the cloud would stop for long periods of time, months on end, or it might only stop for one single day.

But if you're seeking after God, you're gonna follow the cloud of his presence. In a desert place, the cloud might have stopped for an entire month. Or when you reach the water oasis with all of its freshness and beauty, that cloud may only have stopped for one day at that beautiful, plenteous oasis.

This is where the church goes wrong. You see, when we reach an oasis and the cloud begins to move, we go, I don't wanna go to the desert. I wanna stay in the oasis. We have a church generation that seek for the blessings, seek for the provisions of God, but we're not really being led by the spirit of God.

If the cloud moves away from the blessings, we wanna stay with the blessings, so we lose the cloud. We seek after what God gives and provides instead of seeking after the provider. When the cloud moved on, Israel had a choice.

Are you gonna stay with the oasis? Or do you desire the manifest presence of God? I would rather have the cloud in the wilderness than to be absent of that of his presence and have all of the blessings around me.

The oasis for the moment seemed wonderful. It had everything that you needed. It was a temptation to stay at the oasis rather than following the will, the plan, and the purpose of God. It may seem unbearable to walk out into the wilderness.

It may seem unbearable to leave the provisions of God, but you have to be sure that you're following God and not just enjoying his blessings. If they would have ever left that cloud, it would have meant disaster.

If they would have stayed at that oasis with all of its blessings, I tell you, eventually it would become unbearable. The cloud was their covenant by night and day. It was the fire of their guidance. They would have frozen at night if they didn't have the fire of his presence.

You could have all the blessings of God, but if you don't have God himself, saints of God, you could get what you seek for. It says in the Psalms that God gave them the desire of their hearts, but sent leanness into their souls.

I see it all through the church, men and women seeking the blessings, seeking comfort, seeking the things that'll satisfy their heart. Very few are seeking after the glory of God. It's all me, me, me.

It's all about what I get out of this, my ministry, what I can have, but there are very few that are seeking for the manifest glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Had they stayed, they would have starved at that oasis because the manna only fell where the cloud moved.

If it means going out into that wilderness where it seems impossible to be fed, but I promise you, if you follow the cloud, God's provision is gonna be there. In a wilderness, in a desert place, in the backside of the desert, if you follow God, God is gonna provide for you.

The oasis of the natural life represents the alternatives of the devil to draw you and me away from gazing upon God's glory. Saints of God, fix your eyes this morning on the glory of God. The oasis often was a place of ease, a place of comfort, a place of provision, but if you set your heart upon the oasis and do not live in the light of God's glory, you yourself, you will be unprotected and have no covering from the enemy.

Your heart will begin to grow cold for there is no fire where you're abiding. There'll be no substance because no manna falls there. The cloud is where the manna falls. The water flows out of the rock and the fire begins to burn in the darkness of night.

The cloud is our covering in the midst of the wilderness. It is God's glory. It is the glory that changes us from one degree of glory to another into the likeness of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You may say, all that you've heard taught the past week, who can possibly live this? Absolutely no one unless the Holy Spirit works in your heart since you're being led by the pillar of fire even in the midst of the school.

You're being offered what this Christian life is, but if you gaze at the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll be changed. In Ezekiel chapter 44, verse nine to verse 14, the prophet is shown a vision of the temple, which is a picture and type of the church.

The Zadok Priesthood and Ministry in God's Sanctuary

And it is told there that certain people are forbidden to minister in God's temple. They're not allowed to. It says in verse nine, no stranger, no uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh shall enter my sanctuary.

We have no problem understanding that. No stranger, no sinner in the house of God, no homosexual on the guitar, no immoral person standing in the pulpit. We understand that. No one with a confused doctrine out evangelizing.

We have no problem with that. They aren't allowed to minister in the house of God, but it doesn't stop there. It goes further. In verse 10, listen to what it says. We get a shock. It says, and the Levites that are gone away from me when Israel went astray, which went astray from me after their idols, they shall even bear their iniquities.

Then in verse 13, and they shall not, what a word. They shall not come near me to do the office of a priest unto me, not to come near to any of the holy things in the midst of the holy place, but they shall bear their shame and their abominations, which they have committed.

I believe there's many in the church who should be in ministry, who should be functioning in the church, but God himself has said, you're forbidden. You're not gonna minister. Oh yes, you're in the house.

Yes, you're born again. Yes, you can be forgiven, but you're forbidden from ministering on the holy things. How you've lived, what you've done for years, how you've functioned in the church, I forbid that you come and minister of the holy things.

Listen to what it says in verse 14. But I will make those Levites who should be ministering, preaching, dealing with holy things, I'm gonna make them keepers of the charge of the house for all of the service thereof and for all that has to be done there.

The Levites were ordained for ministry, the hidden things, the secret things, the spiritual things. It says in Deuteronomy 18 and five, for the Lord thy God has chosen him, Levi, and all of thy tribe to stand to minister in the house of the Lord and his sons forever.

No, they are forbidden from this ministry, what they were called for, what they were chosen for, what they were born for, what they were trained for. God actually says, you are forbidden. I cannot use you in this ministry.

Your entire life was about being given to this ministry, but I'm telling you, you will not function in this ministry in God's house. Their ministry is now confined to the outer court, not the inner court, not the secret place of God.

You're not gonna minister unto me. You know what's gonna happen? You have to stay in the outer court. You're gonna minister to men. Have we not seen it in our day in the generation in the church? We have an entire church generation.

It's all about man. That's why the preaching changes. The worship is about man. The preaching is about man. The church service is about man. It's all man-centered. Do you know what we have lost? We have lost a ministry that ministers in the inner place, in the holy place, in the secret place.

Ministry has moved from there, where it's all about God's glory, ministering unto God, standing on behalf of God. And now we have a church ministry that's gone out into the outer court, and it's all man, man-centered.

This is the crisis that you and I have lived through in the church, where we have lost the conscious awareness of what ministry itself is all about. Their ministry is now confined to the outer court, and those who are ordained and set apart to ministry have been reduced to custodians in the temple.

Why is that? Listen to Ezekiel 44 in verse 10. Because they went astray from me after their idols. This is a picture of much of the ministry of our generation, set apart for ministry, prepared. You have all the desires to minister, all the longings, all the prayers, yet living so far away from the holy place, so far from intimacy with God, so near your idols, so intimate with heart, inward idols, that you're excluded from ministering unto God himself.

You see, if you could minister unto God, it's easy to minister unto men. When your focus is a priority to minister to man, or to be in the pulpit, or to be in worship, or to be in evangelism, or to go do something for God, when that's your focus, you have lost all sense of reality.

If you ministered unto God, if he was your goal, if he was your consuming gaze and attention, it would be easy to minister to man at the right time, in the right way, in the right place. Pastors today are caught up in serving tables.

Go to the average church. They're social workers. They're psychologists. They're counselors. They're running after people. Everything is about man. I better not say that. I might lose Jimmy Jones, who gives a nice offering in the basket.

Everything is centered around men. Oh, I don't wanna lose the young people. I'll stick them on a guitar. I want them to hang around here long enough. All of that is so typical. Most of the ministry of our day, running to and through in the outer court, giving widow's bread, instead of preparing the word of God, a thus saith the Lord, not intimate with God in prayer.

Again, we need a generation of preachers, of pastors, of leaders, who are men of prayer. That's what we need to get back to. Pastors have lost their way, and crisis has come to the church. They are religious executives.

They are stewards. They are deacons in the outer court. They're sweeping up, instead of standing in the presence of Almighty God. Like the Levites, we have gone astray from God after our idols. We've got caught up in entertainment, games of religion, gimmicks, the latest strategy for church growth, the latest thing to entertain people, the latest style of worship.

All of this may have some element of good in it, but most of it is a distraction from purely ministering unto God. Ours are not the idols of wood and stone. You're not gonna be here. I can remember the day Mary chucked out all her idols.

She'd come to me one day. She was under conviction. God's dealing with her. She's beginning to see what the gospel is. Says, Keith, do you think the Lord of mine, if I just start moving all my statues and idols an inch a day?

I knew that wasn't the answer, but I said, sure, Mary, you just do that. She kept coming in under the gospel. I'm preaching. You must be born again. All the time. She's scared to throw those idols out.

You know why? They meant so much to her. They've been there so long. It's very hard. She cannot lift a hammer to them. Well, her unsafe son just helped her by throwing them over the wall in a bag. That got rid of the whole lot of those idols.

First time Candace went to that house, she'd come back. She said, the place is filled with idols. I mean, filled. They're everywhere. I think they should carry some little didgeridoo round in her handbag.

Yous know what you're like, those idols. But you know what? In the church of this hour, our idols are not made of stone. They're not in the image of the Virgin Mary or some saint or some angel. You know what our idols are?

They're things of the heart. They're things of the inward man. They are idols of presumption and they're idols of the perception of men. If you form a view of God in your mind and it's not biblical, it's not according to the word of God and you begin to worship that God, you are worshiping an idol.

It's not the biblical Christ. It's not the God of the Bible. But you worship that God. You serve that God. You actually say, I can sin. He's a God of grace. He'll accept this. You know what? You are an idolater.

You are just like a Mary worshiper. You are worshiping a false Christ, one that's made in your mind. That's the idols that we have in our day and generation. We perceive ourselves to be more important than we are.

Hasn't it happened across all of the church ministry? You can't even get near them. They're the untouchables. They're the anointed. They need a special airplane. What did Copeland say? He said, oh, I can't fly the normal flights.

I need to buy, what is it? His 10th airplane, whatever it was. He said, he actually went on record. Can you believe it? And said, I can't go on those planes. You know why? They're all sinners that travel on that.

And they're all those demons. I have to protect the anointed. I'm going to preach. All those demons would jump on me and disturb my spirit. Have you ever heard the like of it? That these men get exalted above their own intelligence.

It becomes despicable. That is idolatry in the church, I want to tell you. We tend to make God dependent upon us. I'm the center of his will. Everything depends on me. I can disobey God, but his grace is still going to be there.

His plan is still going to be there. His glory is going to be there. I don't need to obey him. He's a God of grace. He'll wait on me. He'll follow me. I want to tell you, there is great confusion in the church of our day.

And they've lost the glory. They've lost the pillar of fire. And now they create a church atmosphere of the five senses. It's all made by sound and by feeling and by sight. Get the music right. Get the lights right.

Why are they so radical in the past 30 years on getting the lighting right? What's that got to do with a spiritual atmosphere? Why are we toning everything down? Why are we trying to get the atmosphere right?

You know what we're doing? It is idolatry because we lose the cloud. We lose the glory of God. We don't want holiness anymore. And we create something that's man-made. How dangerous to create an atmosphere that affects your five senses.

Those five senses can deceive you and lead you astray. Whatever threatens or gets in the way of the principle of consecration, absolute given to God is an idol. And it will lead you astray without any doubt.

It doesn't matter what it is. It could be your wife. Your wife could be your idol. You young guys getting married, you better not let that wife, that girlfriend, that fiance, become your idol. Does your partner, your wife, will she hinder you in the will of God?

Do you put her, I didn't say ministry, note that. I said the will of God. If she, you know I said to Candice and you two guys, you better have this in place. I said to Candice, you'll never be first in my life.

She looked at me, said Keith, you'll never be first in my life. It'll never happen. Jesus Christ. You know, when I put Christ first, I love her like she ought to be loved. If I love him and believe me, you wives, you better make sure your husband loves Jesus more than you.

If he loves Jesus more than you, you're very safe in that marriage and he'll love you. He'll serve you. He'll do everything for you that he ought to do. Why? Because he's walking right with God. Your family must not take precedence over Christ or it becomes an idol.

Your little child could become an idol. Your job could become an idol. Your business could become an idol. Your farm could become an idol. Your hobby could become an idol. Your day off could become an idol.

Whatever gets between you and a pursuit of the glory of God is an idol. Paul defined this principle in this line, in these words, Philippians chapter three and 13. This one thing I do. In Paul's life, Christ had no rivals.

You know, ministry could be an idol. I believe one of the great idols of our generation is ministry. I've seen men would kill me to get in the pulpit. I've seen people manipulate just to maneuver to get into a worship team.

I've seen people do all sorts of things to get notoriety, acceptance or a position. You know what that is? That is your idol. What are you serving? What are you pursuing? Are you pursuing the glory of God?

Are you pursuing death to your own ambitions and your own motives? If you're dead to all ambitions, you're a very safe person to be around. I learned a long time ago in the church, having people who are not crucified are very dangerous.

To be surrounded by people, uncrucified Christians is very dangerous. They're ambitious, they're proud, they're arrogant, they're selfish, they're self-centered. They're all of those things and more.

They're gossips, they're liars, all within the house of God. I'm not talking about the world this morning. I'm not dealing with that world out there. We know about that. I'm talking about what I found in the house of God.

I mean, right across generations, many churches, many different nations. I do know what goes on in the house of God, but Paul gave no rival to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was sold out to this because he had no other single ambition.

When the cares of this world and the preoccupation of your life begins to threaten your consecration to God, there's something wrong. You say, oh, I'm a faithful, hardworking man. Why does that get in the way with your walk with God?

Oh, I'm just loving my wife and caring for her. Why are you neglecting your Bible? Why are you neglecting the place of prayer? You say you're a hardworking man or woman. Why are you neglecting Christ and putting him first?

There's some people will choose a job on a Sunday and miss the house of God. They make a decision. They make a conscious decision. They don't need it. They could take another job. They don't need the money.

None of you are on the breadline. If you are, please come and speak to me and I'll help you. I'll give you an offering right after this gathering. Don't all come in a one-hour, please. But I'm telling you, do you know what?

You choose. You've got a choice, a job that isn't working on a Sunday and a job that is. Why do you choose that? What drives you? What leads you? You know what? Do you love Jesus Christ? If you don't love him, it's very easy.

I'll take that job. I'll be out of the house of God Sunday. I'll get there the odd time. You're not under constraint to do that. That's a choice. I understand people who have to work. I understand that.

There's no burden. There's no laying of a legal burden upon them. I'm just telling you, when it's within your power and choice, if you make that choice and it doesn't bother you, you are dead. You're in serious trouble.

You don't care about the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, you're making decisions all about you. If you cared about God, you would choose the house of God. Let the pay drop. Let the job go. I want to serve God.

What is your idol here this morning? You see, they undermine our spiritual intimacy. That's what an idol does. It challenges your prayer life, your time in the word of God, your holiness. You will identify your idol when you see what is undermining your walk with God.

What is it in your life? Is it a person? Oh, all my grandchildren. It's too much. They're drawing me away from the place of prayer. Then they are your idol. You could put grandchildren in the place of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you think the Lord will understand? Well, Lord, I just had all these bairns. I had all these kids. I had to mind them. Did you? Would you not have been better on your knees in prayer, crying out to God, fasting and praying, shutting them out for a time?

You've got plenty of time with them, believe me. But saints of God, that could be your idol. If there's one thing that God shows us, it is his hatred for the lukewarm. He says in Revelation 13 and six, because they are lukewarm, said this to a church, a great church, the best of churches.

LCC, you better take this on board. The best of churches. He said, because they are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. This shows the hatred that God has for the lukewarm in his house.

He hates a lukewarm condition. Yet we see much of this in the church of our day. When we have seen these things that come between us and God, that is your idol. What is hindering you? What consumes your time?

What takes your money? Some people say, oh, I can't give to God. I've got this and this and this. I know that's your idol. That's what you worship. That is your God. You sacrifice your time. You've got plenty of time.

You give it to your idol. You've got plenty of money. You give it to your idol. As we heard this week, when you're in the world, you thought nothing of emptying your wallet, emptying your purse, drinking, partying, discos out in the world, new dresses, new hats, new whatever.

You would empty your bank account. You'd go into debt for all of that. You guys, you thought you didn't even have a good night unless you woke up Sunday morning. Your wallet is empty. You don't know what you've done.

You're a mess. You feel awful. You don't even think you've had a good night until that's your condition. You come to the house and you drop a Euro into the offering basket. And I'm saying this, we never make much of money.

It just reveals your heart, doesn't it? It reveals the attitude of your heart. One of the greatest gods that oppose the real God is mammon, is money. Money is such a real thing, possessions, that it reveals your heart in almost every way.

We give a small donation. I've had people give a small donation and they come to tell me, all proud. I gave five Euro, I gave 10 Euro. And they're waiting for a response. First of all, don't tell me. I don't keep track of your money.