God Wants The Real You
God Wants The Real You
In our image-obsessed culture, we've mastered the art of presenting our best selves while hiding our flaws and struggles. Unfortunately, we often bring this same filtered approach to our relationship with God, presenting polished prayers and spiritual performance while concealing our real doubts, fears, and questions. Like children playing hide-and-seek who cover their eyes thinking they can't be seen, we sometimes believe we can hide parts of ourselves from God.
The liberating truth is that God already sees everything about us. He sees our motivations, concerns, thoughts, and hearts - including all the questions and struggles we're afraid to voice. This reality can feel confronting, especially for those used to being the ones who have it all together. However, God's perfect love drives out fear, and growth only happens when honesty exists. We cannot address what we refuse to acknowledge, and nothing truly deepens where everything remains filtered.
God isn't measuring our lives by worldly success or spiritual performance. He's looking at our hearts and the authenticity of our relationship with Him. The fruits of the Spirit are heart qualities that reveal what's happening internally, not external religious performance. When we approach God's throne of grace with confidence and honesty about our weaknesses and struggles, we discover that His grace provides everything we need. His strength is made perfect in our weakness, and on the other side of authentic vulnerability with God, we find incredible freedom.
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No Mask Required: Getting Real with God
In a world obsessed with appearances and carefully curated images, we've become experts at managing what others see about us. From choosing the perfect outfit to posting only our highlight reels on social media, we've mastered the art of presenting our best selves while hiding our flaws and struggles.
But what happens when we bring this same filtered approach to our relationship with God? What if the very masks we wear to impress others are actually preventing us from experiencing the freedom and intimacy God desires with us?
Why Do We Hide From God?
Many of us have learned to present a polished version of ourselves in every area of life, including our faith. We pray the "right" prayers, say the "right" things, and never let God see what's actually happening on the inside. We speak faith outwardly while internally battling doubt, fear, and questions we're afraid to voice.
This tendency to hide isn't new. Like children playing hide-and-seek who cover their eyes thinking they can't be seen, we sometimes believe we can conceal parts of ourselves from God. But this approach to faith leaves us exhausted from constantly managing our image and prevents us from experiencing the deep, authentic relationship God wants with us.
God Already Knows the Real You
Here's the liberating truth: God already sees everything about you. Hebrews 4:13 reminds us that "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
God doesn't just see your external actions and words. He sees your motivations, your concerns, your thoughts, and your heart. He sees all the questions beneath the surface that you feel too scared to bring up. He sees the areas where you're struggling, where you feel weak, and where you're carrying burdens.
For many responsible people - parents, business leaders, caregivers - this reality can feel confronting. We're used to being the ones who have it all together, who provide stability and answers for others. But with God, we don't need to maintain that facade.
Perfect Love Drives Out Fear
The reason many people remain guarded is fear - fear of rejection, judgment, or exposure. But 1 John 4:18 tells us that "perfect love drives out fear." When we truly understand God's love for us, we realize we can be completely honest with Him without fear of rejection.
Growth only happens when honesty exists. You cannot address what you refuse to acknowledge, and you cannot grow in areas that remain hidden. Whether in leadership, relationships, or faith, nothing truly deepens where everything remains filtered.
God Doesn't Want Performance - He Wants Your Heart
From childhood, we're taught to perform and achieve. We learn to measure ourselves against worldly standards of success, money, influence, or achievement. While these things aren't necessarily wrong, problems arise when they become how we measure our worth or when we bring this performance mindset into our relationship with God.
God isn't measuring your life by how successful you are or how well you perform spiritually. He's looking at your heart and the authenticity of your relationship with Him.
The Danger of Empty Religion
In Joel 2:12-13, God tells His people: "Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments." In ancient times, people would tear their clothes as a public display of repentance. But God interrupts this tradition, essentially saying, "I'm not looking for torn garments - I want hearts that truly return to me."
Even meaningful spiritual practices like prayer and fasting can become external performances if there's no heart change involved. God isn't moved by beautiful religious packaging if the heart remains closed. He wants the gift inside the box, not just attractive wrapping.
What God Really Values
The fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - are heart qualities. They reveal what's happening internally in your relationship with God, not external religious performance.
When you stop comparing yourself to others and turn off the noise of worldly expectations, you begin to hear God's voice again. Your focus shifts, your perspective realigns, and your relationship with God deepens beyond surface level.
God's Grace Has Everything You Need
Hebrews 4:16 invites us to "approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." This confidence doesn't mean being loud or impressive - it means having the freedom to come to God openly and honestly with all our flaws and mess.
A Throne of Grace, Not Judgment
Imagine two doors: one where you don't know who's on the other side - it could be someone having a bad day, someone who might judge or criticize you. But the throne of grace is different. There's a warm, inviting light, and God is standing there with open arms saying, "Come, I have a safe place for you."
This isn't a place where you get evaluated or criticized. It's a throne of grace where mercy is given and help is provided for whatever you're facing.
When We Reach the End of Ourselves
Often, we truly discover God's grace when we come to the end of ourselves. The prophet Elijah experienced this after a great spiritual victory. Overwhelmed and exhausted, he ran away and sat under a tree saying, "I have had enough."
God's response is beautiful. He doesn't rebuke Elijah. Instead, He lets him rest, sends an angel to care for him practically with food and water, and then gives him the next set of instructions. God met Elijah at the end of himself and provided exactly what he needed.
We all have moments like this - when work pressures, parenting challenges, unexpected circumstances, or just the weight of daily responsibility leaves us feeling like we have nothing left to give. But when we come honestly before God, we discover that His grace is enough. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Life Application
This week, as you continue in prayer and fasting, choose to take off the mask. Stop hiding behind performance, composure, or the need to have everything together. God already sees the real you - your struggles, fears, imperfections, and questions - and He still loves you completely.
Be honest with God about where you're struggling, where you feel weak, and what you're really going through. Tell Him the truth about your frustrations, your doubts, and your needs. He can handle it all, and on the other side of that honesty, you'll find incredible freedom.
Allow this season to reset your relationship with God from performance-based to heart-based. Let Him lift the burdens you've been carrying alone and discover that His grace truly has everything you need.
Questions for Reflection:
What masks or layers have you been wearing in your relationship with God?
What areas of struggle or weakness have you been hiding from Him?
How might your life change if you truly believed God loves you completely, flaws and all?
What would it look like to approach God with complete honesty this week?
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
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Alright, here we go. We live in a world where appearances matter, or so we think they do. From a young age, we are all taught and learn how to present the best version of ourselves, we learn how to dress the right way. How many of you tried on multiple outfits this morning before you came to church? Be honest.
Oh, there's a lot more of you in this service. Wow. So I wasn't the only one. And then I've got husbands pointing the fingers over their wives because they won't put their hands up.
We're taught to say the right things and behave in ways that gain approval. That means that as adults, we're not allowed to do the three year old temper tantrum in the middle of the supermarket anymore.
As adults, we get even better at this. We get even better at managing what we allow people to see in public and especially online. We post the highlights of our lives and we crop out all the things that we don't like about it. We celebrate the wins and we hide the weaknesses. And without even realizing it, we become experts at what we're allowing other people to see about us.
What we allow other people to perceive about ourselves. Now, when I worked as a nurse at Frankston Hospital, I began in the year 2000. And on my very first day, I chose to put on makeup. I chose to put on makeup and I wore it every single shift, even on night duty. Now, the other staff members would say, why, Katrine?
Why do you present yourself so well? The patients are asleep, they don't see you. And I did it because what if I was the last person they ever saw? And one night my patient had a massive heart attack in front of me and I was the last thing he saw. We could not get him back.
And I don't think my mascara or my makeup really comforted him in that moment. You know, it started off as a bit of a joke, but. But I actually had other reasons of why I wore makeup as well. I chose to wear makeup because it helped me feel more confident. It helped me feel professional and steady, that I looked like I knew what I was doing and I could be trusted in the situation that I was competent to do that role.
But I also wore it truthfully to cover my imperfections. The pimples, the blemishes, the chicken pox scars I've got on my forehead, the scar next to my eye. I wore it to cover the imperfections and the flaws on my face. But here's what I learned. Makeup may work for you in hospital, and this is a metaphor today.
It may work for you in a professional setting. But cover ups don't work with God. Sometimes the mask we wear isn't foundation or mascara. It's pretending we're strong when we're actually really tired and our legs are about to buckle underneath us. It's trying to stay in control when everything feels like it's slipping out of our control and it's speaking faith on the outside, when everything internally is questioning, doubting and having fears.
And if every single one of us are on us this morning, we can often wear this mask in front of God as well. Well, we pray all the right prayers, we say all the right things, and we never let him in to see what's actually happening on the inside. So today I want to look at why getting Real with God will change your life. And I've titled my sermon today, no mask required Getting Real with God. And my first point today is, God already knows the real you.
Hebrews 4:13 says, Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Have you ever tried to play hide and seek with a baby? It's quite funny, isn't it? They sit there and they cover their eyes.
Everyone, do it with me. They cover their eyes and they think you can't see them anymore. Anymore because they can't see you. They think you can't see them when quite quickly, in front of you, you can see their little cute chubby fingers over their eyes covering themselves. We do this with God sometimes, don't we?
We think we are hiding things from Him.
But God already sees the real you. He doesn't just see the visible outside parts of you. What you're wearing, what you're doing. He sees the internal parts, your motivations, your concerns, the inside parts of your thoughts and your heart. He sees all the questions beneath the surface that you feel too scared to bring.
He sees all of that. Now, for thoughtful and responsible people, that idea is just a little bit confronting, isn't it? Much of our life teaches us that we have to manage what is visible. Many of us, parents, business people, we all carry responsibility, don't we? Every single day we carry responsibility.
We have to make decisions, we have to answer questions. We have to look like we've got it all together. Even when on the inside there's all this turmoil and things feel like they're falling apart and they're complex. Complex. You're the one who is supposed to bring the reliability, the stability to other people, aren't you?
Every single one of us has that. We have to be careful, measured and composed. And over time, that posture can become a bit of a second Nature to us. You learn to carry that posture so well that you forget what you look like.
I'm going to share with you a little bit of a real story.
How is everyone going with the fast?
There's a few little murmurs there. Fasting has a way of revealing and pulling back some of the layers that we cover ourselves with. Earlier this week in the office, I realized I was getting a little bit. Bit spiritually hungry. And that's just a Christian way of saying I was getting hangry.
Anyone else experienced some hanger this week? Yeah. At one point, there was something of a conversation happening in the office, and it wasn't a big deal, it wasn't a big issue. But as I walked away from that conversation, I went, well, the staff have just seen a slightly less polished version of Pastor Katrina this morning. It all comes out a little bit when we fast.
And I suspect that I'm not the only one that that has happened to this week. But do you know what? Thankfully, God already sees all that. He already sees the real me and the relationship that he's inviting you into is one of being real, one of being honest. It's not built on carefully managed words and putting on the right clothes, dressing the right way, or saying the right things.
It is built on honesty. Let me read you this quote. Growth, whether spiritual or personal, only happens when honesty exists. You cannot address what you refuse to acknowledge and you cannot grow in areas that remain hidden. Whether you are in leadership, relationship, or faith.
Nothing truly deepens where everything remains filtered.
There's a lot of pressure to carry a life around when we feel it's filtered, isn't there? You got to strategize. You got to burn energy. You've got to think all the time.
Yet honesty requires something really significant. It requires safety. People are only truly honest when they feel they will be accepted. If someone fears rejection, they're going to keep that guard up. They're going to monitor what they say.
They're going to live in that filtered space. If they fear judgment, they fear they're going to be exposed. They're going to hide who they truly are from you. Which is why the words of John in 1 John 4:18 are so powerful. It says, there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.
Because fear has to do with. With punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. Perfect love drives out fear. Fear causes people to withdraw.
It causes people to put up the guard and keep it up. But love has the opposite effect. Love allows you to be real. It allows you to share the truth of who you are, faults and all.
People become freer when they can be honest and real with you. Free to speak honestly, free to speak to bring their real lives into the relationship. And free to stop hiding. Let me show you a visual for a moment. We've got here an opaque mug.
You can't see anything in there, can you? I can tell you that there's water in there, there. But you can't see the water level. You can't see the clarity of the water. You can't see anything else because it's hidden by the exterior.
But when I pour this water.
Just makes us all want to go to the bathroom.
You can see clearly in that, can't you? You, you can see the color of the water. You can see the level of the water. You can see if there's anything else in there. You can see the dirty fingerprints on the glass too.
But you can see everything in there. So many of us like to live our life like this, don't we? We like to hide behind the exterior. We like to put up the walls. We like to protect and rely on ourselves and what's inside.
But God already says that he sees everything. He sees all your flaws. He sees all the things that you don't want others to see. He even sees the things that you are hiding from yourself.
How many of you are playing hide and seek with yourself, burying things that you don't want to deal with.
But you know, God sees all those things. And he still loves us and he still wants relationship with us. He loves us completely. And this is why getting real with God changes your life. When you realize that he already sees everything and he still chooses you, and he still chooses relationship with you.
He accepts you. You get to be free. That weight lifts off and you get to be the free person, the person that God has called you to be. Do you know, while we're having worship this morning I was dancing down the back because I am free in God. I don't have to worry about what other people are thinking.
I don't do it very well. So I did it down the back to not inflict it on you. But I'm having fun. I can kick off my shoes. I can dance in church.
I don't have to be worried about what other people are thinking. You get to be free in Jesus. And when you get to be free and honest with God, the relationship deepens. You go beyond the surface level. As we move into week two of prayer and fasting, you get to choose this week, Am I going to be real and honest with God?
Am I going to go deeper with God beyond the surface level? I can bring in my faults and flaws, the things that I don't like about myself. I had a moment yesterday where I went, oh, there's some stuff coming up, and I don't like it. But God wants to work on that for the better part of my life. So the things I am carrying as a burden don't have to be a burden, because I can be freed and released from those things this week.
You can be honest with him. You can tell him where you're struggling. You can tell him where you feel weak. You can tell him the truth. Do you know what?
There's been some situations as we try and sell this house that I've got so mad at God. I have had conversations where I was like, God, this is so not fair. This is so hard. Why are you not doing something about it? But the beautiful thing about God is he's bigger than that.
And he can take that. He can take that frustration. He can take what I'm feeling. And in the end, he comes back and he goes, you're trying to do it on your own. I've got you.
I've already got this. Thanks for sharing all the honesty, but I am God and I've got it. Be honest with him. He will lift that burden off you. You can be free.
Because the God who already sees the real you is the same God who invites you to come freely. He wants relationship with you. Which leads me to our second point today.
God doesn't want performance. He wants, your heart can drink some of this water.
We are all encouraged to perform and achieve from a very young age, aren't we? We're actually almost compared across the world so that we can do better than other people. Now, for some people, the goal becomes money. They go after success. They want to build something significant.
For others, it's building a business and building influence. Other people go after sports and competition. And some people actually need to lift their goals a little bit because they're just going after the next maths episode. Oh, yeah, watch that flow through the congregation.
None of these are necessarily wrong in themselves. Work, of course, matters. We have to pay our bills. We have to be able to survive in this life. Rest matters.
Enjoyment matters. Building something meaningful matters. But hear these words. When success, achievement, or even other people's lives become the way we measure our own, we begin measuring ourselves by those standards. Standards.
The worldly standards. And once we start measuring ourselves, we almost always begin comparing ourselves to others. God didn't make two of you. He made you unique. There's no point comparing yourself to somebody else, because that's not what God has called you to do.
He's called you to be an individual. We compare our progress, our position, our influence, and our success. But when it comes to our relationship with God, he's not measuring us by any of those standards. They are standards in the thoughts of our mind. They are the standards of the world.
God is not measuring your life by how successful you are. He is looking at your heart and the relationship you have with Him. In the book of Joel 2, 12, 13, it says, even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart. With fasting and weeping and mourning, rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.
And he relents from sending calamity. In Joel's time, people would literally stand in public and tear open their clothes, rending their garments as a public sign of repentance. It was emotional, it was dramatic, and it was something that others could see. But God interrupts that tradition, and he says, I'm not looking for torn garments. He is looking for hearts that truly return to him, that surrender to Him.
All the external things don't mean anything. If the inner part of your life is not changing.
Even something as meaningful as prayer and fasting can become quite external. We focus on what we're giving up. We focus on how we're feeling. We focus on how we are being with other people. But if there's no heart change in your 21 days of prayer and fasting, what is the purpose?
Just to torture yourself and put yourself through that for nothing.
God is not moved by performance. If the heart remains closed. Let me show you this beautiful box. Isn't it pretty? It's pretty, it's sparkly.
It's all the things that I like. I like gifts. This box is perfect. The way it's designed, it all looks gorgeous on the outside. It's very significant, but.
Pastor Margaret, would you join me again? Pastor Margaret, would you show what's inside that box to everybody?
A big fat nothing. Big fat nothing is in that box. It's totally empty. The wrapping is beautiful, but the gift is actually missing. That's really disappointing, isn't it?
Thank you, Pastor Margaret. Let's give her a hand.
Sometimes, spiritually, that is what performance looks like. The outside appears committed. The language looks great. The practices look impressive. But inside, there's no heart.
The box is empty. The heart has never been really surrendered. God is not interested in your beautifully wrapped religion. He wants your heart inside that box. Joel's words are powerful because of the timing.
It says, even now, even now, if you feel distant, even now, if you feel like your faith has become routine, even now, if you feel like you are coasting spiritually, even now, even now, come back to me. It doesn't say, go and perfect yourself. It doesn't say, go and fix yourself first and then come back to me. It says, even now, come return to me with all your heart. Because God created us for relationship, not performance, he desires your heart.
Galatians 5:22 23 says, but the fruit of the Spirit is. Say it with me. Me. Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. What I did not have in the office the other day when I was hangry against such things, there is no law.
These fruits of the spirit are heart qualities. They reveal what is happening internally in your life and the relationship that you are cultivating with God. This season of prayer and fasting gives us that unique opportunity to reset with God, to change our perspective to what is important to Him. And for some of you, you might find this season the most freeing of all. If you give up social media and stop comparing yourself to other people, if you give up all the tasks and all the things that you are busy with, turn your phone on to do not disturb.
Turn your task list onto do not disturb and allow time with God. It's going to turn off all the other noise, isn't it? And you know what happens? You begin to hear God's voice again. He shifts your focus, he shifts your perspective, and your eyes come back onto Him.
He does something in your heart and that flows out of you to show those beautiful fruits of the Spirit. Our focus shifts, our perspective realigns, and our relationship with God begins to deepen below surface level. Who wants that? I want that. I want to be free in God.
I want to have a real relationship with Him. I want to share my heart with him. You imagine if I'm married to my husband Daniel, but I don't ever share my heart. What is that? That's a weird arrangement.
That's not real. That's not true. That's not honest. Honest. I love my husband.
I love sharing every day with him. God wants to do the same thing with your life. So what are you actually focused on right now? Are you focused on building a big empire? Are you focused on sports and Competition?
Are you focused on comparing your life to someone else's? That just takes you down a really bad rabbit hole.
When we begin to trust in God and be honest and real with him, we become free. When we give him our whole heart, we realign, our perspective shifts. And we also begin to learn that we were never supposed to do this life on our own. Which leads me to point three this morning. God's grace has everything you'll ever need.
Neither Alex or I knew we were sharing the same scripture this morning. Guards up to something. Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. When the Bible says we can approach God's throne with grace and confidence, it doesn't mean we can be all loud about it or impressive about it. We don't have to have the perfect words or the perfect prayers or spiritual language.
It means we have freedom to come to God openly, honestly, with all our flaws and with all our mess without pretending we can come to him and be our real selves. Free to dance, free to do things. Freedom without that weight. You know, Imagine if there's two doors here. Imagine there's a door here on the left, and you don't know who's going to be opening that door, who's on the other side of that door.
So you come up a little bit weary, don't you? You come up and you're unsure. I could be opening that door and it could be my spouse in a mood. It could be the boss having a bad day. It could be somebody who's spiritually hangry on the other side of that door.
But when you come to the throne of grace, this door, you can enter that confidently. There is a beautiful light that is shining out that door. It's warm, it's inviting. And God is standing there saying, come, I've got open arms for you to come. I've a safe place for you to come.
He's inviting you to come. Come in without hesitation. Come in knowing you are welcome. That's what Hebrews is telling us in this scripture. It's not a place where we get evaluated or criticized.
So many of us are living life feeling like that. I'm being judged all the time. I'm being judged right now while I'm preaching. We are judged wherever we go. But with God, we don't have to be.
We can come to him real without that feeling of insecurity. It's a throne of grace where Mercy is given. Mercy is given to you to help you. God's grace is not just about forgiveness. It's about being a present help in our time of need.
Need and the challenges we face in life.
Often the place that we really find grace is when we come to the end of ourselves. And in the Old Testament gives us a powerful example through the prophet Elijah in the Book of Kings. Elijah has just experienced one of the greatest spiritual victories in Scripture. Yet after the pressure and intensity of that moment, he becomes overwhelmed. Overwhelmed.
And he runs away. He's exhausted and he goes and hides in the wilderness and he sits under a broom tree and he says, I have had enough. Have you ever said that? Every single one of us has said that. I have had enough.
It's in this moment where God's grace and his help comes. We reach the end of ourself and God is there. And you know what's so beautiful in this scripture? Is that the way that God responds. God doesn't rebuke Elijah.
We are so used to living in the rebuke of our mistakes or not being able to do it. God lets him rest and then he sends an angel to literally practically look after him, to feed him, to give him water. And then he gives him the next set of instructions. Sometimes we can't even think, we're so exhausted, but he gives us the next set. Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you.
It's all God's beautiful grace in that moment. God meets Elijah at the end of himself and provides the strength he needs for his next step.
We all have life, life moments like that when we get to the end of ourself. The pressures at work, the pressures of parenting, the pressures of the business or the job or any of the things that you're doing. Unexpected circumstances, disappointments. Sometimes it's just the weight and the responsibility that we're carrying. Every day.
They can all leave us feeling like we've got nothing left to give.
But when we come honestly before God, we discover that his grace is enough.
His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Suddenly there is strength he didn't have before. There's peace. You didn't think that was possible. And grace to keep going when you didn't think you were going to finish.
That is what living in the grace of God looks like. When we realize that everything we truly need is found in him. The pressure lifts off, doesn't it? We don't have to do it on our own. We no longer have to manufacture or fake that own strength.
There is grace for the moment you are in. There's grace to keep going, grace to forgive, and even grace to begin again. When it all falls apart.
Maybe today you don't feel strong and hopeful. Bring it to him. Maybe you feel tired and you're overwhelmed. Come to him. Maybe you feel like you're at the end of the situation in your workplace, in your marriage, in your parenting, in any other circumstances.
And there's things that you cannot control. You don't have to give up, but bring it to him and allow him to be the strength of your life. Allow his grace, his mercies to help you. That door is already open, just standing here open, waiting for you to come. And that's the invitation this morning.
It says, come in.
So why does getting real with God change your life? Life?
Because when you take off the layers and when you take off the mask, the relationship becomes real. God already knows you. You can be free in him, honest with him. He loves you. He created you for relationship, and he wants to do life with you.
You can find mercy and grace and help in Him.
So as we move into week two, the 21 Days of Prayer and fasting, maybe it's time to take that mask off. Take those layers off.
When I worked as a nurse, I chose to put on makeup every day. It was part of my routine. It helped me feel confident. It covered the floors. It helped me feel steady and confident and competent to do my role.
But imagine if I never removed it. Imagine if I never took the makeup off. Layer after layer, every single day. That makeup wouldn't enhance anything anymore. Would.
Would become sticky, gross, gray, creating more mess.
It would build up and be gross, and you would stop seeing the real me. And metaphorically, that's what I'm saying to you this morning. Don't be hiding anymore. Take off the layers, Take off the mask. Take off the composure that you're putting on or the performance you're putting on.
Because I have learned that with God, you don't need all the layers.
The real you is the one that God invites. The real you is the one that he created and loves. No mask required. This week. Let's get real with God.
We're going to take a couple of moments now.
This week, what are you going to do? Do? Are you going to be honest and real with God? Because on the other side of that, you are going to find so much freedom this week. You can choose to be the real you.
Flaws, blemishes, imperfections, everything with God. And he will still love you. He still wants you to come. He wants to have a heartfelt relationship with you and he wants to be able to give his grace to you and lift you up and carry you through and hold you through, hold you through even the prayer and the fasting and the strength that you need to be able to do that through every circumstance of life. I don't know what you're going through.
You might be sitting here this morning going, oh my goodness, this is so hard. One I might be about ready to pack in the fast. God understands that. But God wants your heart more than anything else. He wants real relationship with you.
So we're going to stand this morning and we're going to sing together. And in this moment, it's up to you to choose what you're going to do. God, am I going to be real with you or am I going to keep going the way that I'm going, Hiding the things away from myself, hiding the things that he wants to deal with in your life, Hiding the things he wants to deal with because it's better and healthier for you. You get to choose this morning. Let's sing together.
Come on, let's declare. Christ alone.
In the Savior's life Through my soul he is Lord Lord of all.
Christ alone.
Nation.
For your glory.
It's all for your glory.
Jesus.
Jesus, We're going to do a couple of things this morning. We're not going to rush this moment. It's too important. But if everyone can just close their eyes for a moment. I just want to give an opportunity.
If you don't know Jesus this morning, if you don't know this loving Heavenly Father that I've been talking about, the one that wants real, honest relationship with you, that one that knows all the things that you don't like about yourself or all of the things that you think are so bad that nobody would ever love you, God wants to know you. He gave his life on the cross for you, that you may have freedom and love and know who he is. So if that's you this morning and you have never known God, just raise your hand for me. We want to pray with you this morning.
Thank you, Lord God. Thank you, Jesus. Lord God, I thank you for the hands that are raised. Let's all just pray together this morning. Lord God, I come to you as a broken person with imperfections, Lord, things that I don't necessarily like about myself.
But I know, Lord Jesus, you are God, you are good and you want good things for me. And I just accept you this morning as my Lord and Savior. I Lay my life down to you as the king and Lord of my life for all the days of my life, Lord, in your mighty name, Amen. If that was you this morning, we've got a Bible out in the foyer for you. You can go and have a chat with one of our team.
You can come and see me, but I also want to do something else this morning. I don't think God's finished yet this morning. Sorry. I'm going to get even more real and take off my heels.
There's some stuff that some people are going through. You're feeling shame, you are feeling broken, and you are feeling at the end of who you are. God wants to meet with you this morning, and if you want prayer for that, you're welcome to come. We're going to open this altar as we worship together. But there's also other people.
You're hiding stuff from yourself because it's too painful to bear. And God is saying, I invite you to come this morning. I love you. I want to want to be real with you. So if that's you this morning, you can come as well.
We're just going to continue to sing and worship, and if you have to go, but we're going to have some ministry time now, you are welcome to go be in the foyer and eat, but otherwise we're going to stay. And just this morning, will you choose God today? Will you choose God as we continue to go into these 21 days of prayer and fasting? Not just the external elements, you know, God couldn't care if he didn't give up food at all. But if you chose to stay with him and spend time with him, that's what he wants.
Will you choose that this morning? Let's sing together. It's all for your glory.
It's all for your cross Glory it's all for your glory.
Jesus.
Glory it's all for your glory.
Jesus oh, it's all for your glory it's all for your glory.
It's all for your glory Glory it's all for your glory.
Jesus Christ alone Christ, I know you are we make strong yes, Savior's love through the cross he is.
Come on, let's sing. Christ alone Christ alone Call a church you believe in weakness Strong in the spirit through the soul.
Lord Christ alone Christ alone.
Just looking at these as I walked up.
And then we have some of these in our hearts. Then we have some of these. Wiping away the tears, the shame, the hurt, the burden.
Beautiful thing about Jesus Christ is you don't have to be perfect 21 days of prayer and fasting is not about being perfect. It's about seeing a perfect God and wanting to seek him more. Hunger for him, live your life for him, serve others. A dwelling place, a freshness, full of the Holy Spirit. I want to encourage you this morning, church, grab a hold of this truth.
Not just for the 21 days of fasting, but beyond that, what is something that goes God's challenging you with? What are the endless masks that you continue to wear? Sometimes for many of us, just to get by, one of the masks that he's pulling off the layers that he's taken off one by one so he can reveal a beauty inside of you.
I want to encourage you, church, live that out. Really. Seek him, Seek him, seek him, withdraw. Seek him with happiness. Right.
Have a smile when you journey with him. Right. You're not perfect. No one's perfect. But that's okay.
We serve a perfect God. Amen. Amen. Amen. They're going to continue praying, but I've asked the team to finish off with a song.
And many of you didn't catch the song in the beginning, and it's called hallelujah. So why don't we praise the Lord before we finish the morning? Amen. Amen. Why don't we lift up our hands before we do that?
I'm going to pray for each and every one of you, and we'll launch into this. Father, we thank you, lord. Have your way this morning. Continue to breathe life over your people as we continue to seek you more and more and more and more we thank you, lord. You are the king of kings and lord of lords.
In Jesus name we pray. Church. Amen.
Come on, let's sing this together. Are you ready? Ready.
Hallel hallelujah. You get all the praise we say hallel Hal. You get all the praise always I've got a God who is for me. He's known for making way he won the battle so I wouldn't have to oh glory belongs to his name. I've got a God who's been faithful far more than I could explain through every season in spite of my weakness he gave me the stone I could say I came to pray I came to praise and that's why I woke up today.
I came to pray. Come on, we sing, we sing alle haluj. You get all the praise we say alleluia. You get all the praise. I've got a king who is risen he brought my shame in the grave you held it back and now I'll never have to he did it all every day I came to pray I came to praise that's why I woke up today came to pray come on, we say we sing al, al, al.
You get all the praise we sing alleluia you get all the praise away I'm singing in the morning I'm singing in the night I'm singing in a battle that's how I fight I'm singing it holy I'm singing it, I'm singing it holy no matter what I'm singing in the morning I'm singing in the morning I'm singing in the night I'm singing in the battle that's how I fight I'm singing it holy I'm singing it I'm singing it holy the rest of my life I'm singing holy the rest of my life I live al that sing you lift your voice.
You get all the praise.
You get all the praise away Come on. I came to pray I came to pray I came to pray Devil, get out of my way.
I came to praise yeah. Thank you, lord.
What an amazing day in church. Hey. Well, bless your family. Join us for coffee, tea, and morning tea out in the foyer. We would love for you to stay and connect with you.
Bless you.
Related Bible Verses
Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
🔗 Click here to read Hebrews 4:13 on Bible.com
1 John 4:18 (NIV)
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
🔗 Click here to read 1 John 4:18 on Bible.com
Joel 2:12–13 (NIV)
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
🔗 Click here to read Joel 2:12–13 on Bible.com
Galatians 5:22–23 (NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
🔗 Click here to read Galatians 5:22–23 on Bible.com
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.