Sometimes Miracles Take Time and Effort.

Reading from Second Kings chapter 5 verses 9 to 14, “And Naaman came with his horses and chariot, and stood before Elisha's house, and then Elisha sent a messenger saying, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored, and you will be clean” 2 Kings 5:10

"And Naaman went away angrily saying: "Behold, I said to myself, he will come out soon and standing, call on the name of the Lord his God, and lift up his hand, and touch the place, and heal the leprosy"" 2 Kings 5: eleven

“Abana and Farfar are they not better than all the waters of Israel? If I wash in them, will I not also be clean?" And he turned and went away angry” 2 Kings 5:12

“But his servants came up to him and spoke to him saying: “My father, if the prophet commanded you something great, would you not do it? how much more telling you: wash and you will be clean?” 2 Kings 5:13

“He then descended and plunged seven times into the Jordan, according to the Word of the man of God; and his flesh became like the flesh of a child, and he was cleansed" 2 Kings 5:14

How many can say glory to God? And before we start I want you to do something: I want you to turn to a person next to you and I want you to say the following Word to that person next to you: sometimes miracles take time and effort. Now remember those words because they are the title of my sermon and they are also the central theme of my sermon.

In 1997 the renowned salsa singer Domingo Quiñonez released a very interesting album with an interesting title as well as a very intriguing cover, the title of the album was "Se necesita un mialgro", as we see here on the album cover you could see Quiñónez with her hands raised and her face looking up as if she were crying out for a miracle.

Latin music historians consider this album and cover art some of the most captivating in all of Latin music history. It cannot be denied that that title and that cover played a very important role in the career of Domingo Quiñonez and also had a lot to do with the success of his album. The record company that produced this record estimates that more than a third or at least a third of the sales of this album could be attributed to the title of the record and that impressive image of Domingo Quiñonez looking up to the sky hoping for a miracle.

Now it is worth remembering that Domingo Quiñonez is a man of God, a devout Christian man, a believer who is not ashamed to proclaim his faith and his deepest convictions about Christian music and his belief in Jesus Christ, and that is what I I think it denotes and expresses this song.

When one examines the lyrics of that song, we find that Quiñonez laments the rise of violence in our society, the increase not only here but throughout the earth and throughout the world, and the premature loss of so many young lives due to that rise of violence. the violence. In this song one finds Domingo Quiñonez lamenting that continuing distance and disparity between those who have too much and those who have little, and also complains about the corruption of government systems that before coming to power promise all kinds of changes and improvements but then they become part of the problem themselves.

Quiñonez also laments that instead of improving and accepting each other over our differences of race, gender, religion, ethnicity, culture, we rather continue fighting with each other precisely because of those differences, and after regretting all those things that he points out in his songs Quiñonez raises a prayer to heaven and asks God to perform the miracle of change.

Now another interesting thing is that this fear that we see in Quiñonez reflected in a world that is getting worse and worse, and that same hope for a miraculous change is also expressed repeatedly in our own times through popular music and popular culture. , well-known movies like The Matrix, Children of Man, World War Z, I'm Legend Too, District 9, On Time, The Hunger Games, also Divergent, these and other movies reveal a deep fear that instead of things going on improvement and despite all our learning, of science, of technology, human beings seem to be headed towards a fate of worsening and final destruction, but also these expressions cling to that idea and that hope that a change can still be seen and verified in our times.

That same expression of anxiety about the human condition and that desire for a miracle to change everything can be seen in some of the most interesting series on television, for example we can think of television series like The Walking Dead and also The 100, Continuum, Gotham, and there is still one more to mention, Penny Dreadful, but even if we turn to the world of literature or our newspapers we will see the same thing and that is a significant level of concern in our collective and individual lives and in anticipation. always looking for that miracle that heals our individual and collective lives.

Now, I've mentioned all these secular examples to you because they illustrate, they tell us something, I think they're expressing a collective anxiety from around the world and a common yearning for collective change in humanity.

Now in the rest of my time with you this afternoon I want to focus on that desire that we see, that we understand for transformational change because what we see in this desire is that we are longing for different kinds of miracles in different ways, we would like to see miracles that transform and heal our collective diseases, miracles that will improve our local communities where we live, miracles that bring healing and transformation to our marriages, miracles that heal our minds and our bodies, miracles that bring revival and spiritual maturity to our congregations, that desire of these and other miracles we can see in everyone around us.

But unfortunately, what I don't normally see is that ability to rebound, that ability to keep going, persist, perseverance, dedication, that willingness to continue, that willingness to fight and stay in the fight, and also the patience that is required. to wait for the miracle to arrive, stay committed to the task and work to make possible with God that miracle that we want to experience.

Many times it seems like we want to magically get the miracle that we are longing for, a magical mindset, all that is required is that I sit back and just wait for God to magically provide me with the miracle, it is as if we expect that the miracle happened instantly, magically, of course, and it didn't require much effort on my part, but I think we have to get into the habit of accepting the fact that there are miracles that require time and effort, amen. I'm getting Pentecostal now (laughs).

It's a very important lesson we have to learn, you know? It's all too easy to succumb to the mindset that miracles are always things that happen immediately in a flash. After all we find ourselves immersed in a culture that always expects what? Immediate gratification, a culture used to convenience, a culture that is not very familiar with the idea of patience, of waiting, of having to sacrifice, having to fight in order to get what we want. Our era is the era of instant, the era of fast and instant food restaurants, the era of going fast, buying what you want and continuing to drive, the idea of shopping online, and also that idea No? to buy that the merchandise we buy arrives the next day, so we have become accustomed to the idea of what is comfortable, what is fast, what is convenient.

We have our microwaves and look how many use it more than necessary sometimes, (Pastor Roberto: the Lord rebuke that) we have the instant coffees, nothing like a good genuinely made coffee, we have the restaurants there that have food ready for us. we take it, we are in such a hurry that we don't even have time to sit down and enjoy the food, and we just take it, take it home or eat it on the way, if we want to buy clothes or shoes or an electronic device for the home we don't even go to the store anymore, and if we don't want to wait for the regular mail we just order them to arrive the next day, and sometimes when we want to lose weight for health reasons we have pills that promise us that we will lose weight very fast without doing no change, nothing to change the tortillas, the refried beans, the pupusas, we left none of that there, the salt.

Well, you are already getting my rhythm, understanding the point that I want to explain, right? We have gotten used to receiving everything so quickly, so easily, so conveniently that it has become tremendously difficult for us to wait, it has become very difficult for us to reconcile such concepts as patience, perseverance, firm resolutions and the fight, the sacrifice to achieve things, and generally, we tend to think that things in life are going to come to us instantly.

But I believe that we have to get into the habit of accepting that sometimes the changes are going to take time and effort to come to our lives, that many times the changes that we want are not going to come so easily and in that same way we have to Get into the habit of accepting that some of those great miracles that we are hoping for and some of the miracles that God wants to perform in our lives are going to take time and effort.

I think we need, Lion of Judah Congregation, to get into the habit of thinking that some of the things that God wants to accomplish in our lives cannot be put in there in a microwave and steamed instantly, some of the things that God wants to do in our lives cannot be put into an instant coffee pot to be enjoyed and savored in a few minutes, some of the things that God wants to do in our lives cannot be sped up, they cannot be rushed, they have to be cooked carefully, slowly in a normal oven, take your time, they have to cook slowly in a normal oven and will probably require patience, perseverance and work on our part. Amen, are you getting it? Amen, put it there in your heart.

Actually I think that the Bible is full of texts that communicate precisely that message. For example, in the Old Testament we see passages like the following, Psalm 37 verse 7: "Keep silent before the Lord and wait" say wait, "wait on Him", Psalm 40 verse 1: "I waited patiently for the Lord, he bowed down to me and he heard my cry”, Isaiah 40 verse 31 also: “But those who hope in the Lord will have new strength, they will lift up wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary”. If we go to the New Testament we will also find similar passages, Romans 5 verses 2 to 4: "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God and not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings and tribulations, knowing that the tribulation produces patience or perseverance, patience produces strong character, and that proven character produces hope in us "amen.

We also have Romans 8:25: "For if we wait" says the Word "in what we do not yet see, with patience we wait for it and we will receive it" we could continue in many similar passages, passages similar to this one remind us of the importance of patience and of perseverance in the goal we pursue.

I believe that the passage that best expresses the message and the topic we are dealing with is the one we read at the beginning of our meditation. And the passage that we read earlier tells the story of a commander of the military army named Naaman, unfortunately he had contracted a terrible disease called leprosy.

Now, as you may know, in Naaman's time contracting leprosy was practically a death sentence, it was a terribly degrading and humiliating disease, people who developed this disease often showed very ugly oozing sores, sometimes those people they lost members, extremities of their bodies because they literally rotted and fell off their bodies, fingers, extremities of the hands, nose, toes and even part of the ears themselves.

And on top of all this, as some forms of this disease were believed to be contagious, there was also a social stigma and people who suffered from leprosy often had to live isolated lives outside of common living.

Now, when Naaman realizes that he suffered from this terrible disease and knowing his final destination, he decides to travel from the northern part of Damascus descending to the land of Israel looking for that miracle of healing. He was a very important man, a soldier much appreciated by the king. It goes directly to the king of Israel who then transfers it directly to the Prophet Elisha.

He says that this is where the interesting thing gets. The Scripture says that Naaman appears at the moment to the Prophet Elisha with his cars, his retinue, etc. made up of bodyguards, servants and of course, Naaman expected that being a general the Prophet would run out of his house to receive him personally and then of course, he would proceed to heal him immediately, but instead of going out and greeting him it seems that the Prophet simply looks at him Through the window, what is this guy doing here who thinks he's such a big deal with that large group of people who accompanies him like Trump or something like that, I think Naaman was a better guy than Trump but hey, that's purely my personal experience , this is purely, Lion of Judah is not responsible (laughs).

And then we see that the Prophet decides to give Naaman a very large dose of humility so he simply sends his messenger, his servant with very specific instructions: go to the Jordan River and immerse yourself in the waters of the Jordan River seven times. The story goes that Naaman was furious and he walked out grumbling saying something like: geez I thought surely the Prophet would come out to meet me, not only would he come out to meet me but he would move his hand across my body and I would be healed instantly, but instead the Prophet tells him: hey walk 25 miles to the murky waters of the Jordan river and dive in there, dive in there seven times, he needed such humiliating treatment, and now here comes the interesting thing.

I must confess that by this time in my life I have heard and read dozens of sermons about this story precisely, what these stories almost always do is hit and insult and ridicule Naaman for his supposed arrogance, for this if so. as a spoiled person always accustomed to preferential treatment with a bad temper and a negative attitude, I understand, I know that it is so, I can see that Naaman does manifest some of these characteristics and it is evident that he was waiting for a miracle there quickly and at the letter, but I want to give a little love to the character of Naaman and his story, I want to extend a little understanding and compassion to him, we must not be too harsh, too demanding with this character either, why?

Because if we are honest we have to admit that most of us would have reacted in the same way, yes or no? some of us might have said to the Prophet: do you know who you are dealing with? I come from Brooklyn! Some would have said that I have my blade there ready to (laughs), or we would have told them: I am a guitarist from León de Judá, or I am a seminary professor, or I am a deacon in the Church, or an associate Pastor, usher. In the León de Judá Congregation, well, I have a bachelor's or master's degree, a doctorate, I am the head of an important company, many times we have made use of that same type of argument.

Oh, I am an American citizen with certain privileges or rights, or perhaps we could say: I am an adult man or woman and I demand a minimum of respect, etc., etc. so hey, let's not be so hard on poor Naaman, we probably would have reacted the same way in his situation.

I also want to focus now on the difficulties and obstacles that Naaman had to overcome in order to obtain his miracle, let's see let's count the ways. First he had to admit: I need healing and he had to humble himself to receive some kind of healing, some of us would have just lay there dead not wanting to admit that we need help. Second, he had to travel approximately 260 miles from Damascus all the way south to the land of Israel to meet with the Prophet Elisha.

Now keep in mind brothers that 260 miles is a considerable distance at a time when there were no uber taxis, there was no jet blue, there were no gray hounds, there were no cars. My point is that your journey was neither easy nor brief.

Third, we have to take into account that at that time lepers who were suspected of suffering from leprosy could not go through certain public places, there were laws, there were regulations that had been established that sometimes required these people to go by a secluded route and that it evidently meant that their journey would have been tremendously difficult.

Fourth, when he finally reaches the Prophet's house the Prophet proceeds to humiliate him and make him feel like a second class citizen.

Fifthly, the Prophet tells him: if you want to be healed you have to travel now 25 more miles to reach the Jordan River so we see now that the journey is lengthening.

There is something else we also need to take into account. Sixth, we have to take into account the condition of the river where he had to wash. The Jordan River had the reputation of being one of the muddiest and dirtiest rivers in all of Israel, it looks a bit like the Charles River here treacherous which is for immersion, I was exaggerating a bit but that's ok; yes, it's like a river there as Charles said it's let's say like you have to go to the dirtiest and muddiest place, but you see my point, right?

And finally in the seventh place we have to remember that Naaman was told that he had to immerse himself in that murky water not twice, not three, not four, not five, not even six, but seven times, all say seven times. As you can see things were not easy for him.

However for his benefit after complaining bitterly Naaman decides to follow the instructions of the Prophet and I imagine that when Naaman dipped the first time he immediately examined his skin to see if anything had improved and there is no doubt that the second time he did as well. the same thing, and the third time, the fourth time, the fifth time as well, I suspect that the sixth time he made the movement he began to think: I don't think this miracle is going to happen.

However, we see that he obediently proceeds and submerges himself a seventh and last time, and the Scripture says that this last time after emerging from the waters Naaman noticed that his skin had been completely restored, and not only had his skin been restored but that he had been restored to the point of recovering the smoothness and softness and vitality of a baby's skin.

And of course, Naaman's skin was restored to that point, of course because that is what one would expect to happen, when God does a miracle he does it well and that is something we can always count on. But the point of my sermon is that Naaman's miracle didn't come easily, it didn't come quickly without resistance, and perhaps it concerns itself in your own life as well.

The miracles, the changes that perhaps we are also wishing for, the changes and transformations that we are waiting for in our lives require time, they require effort, but you know what? God is willing if you are willing, say it with me: God is willing if I am.

Maybe you are going to have to travel from Damascus that journey to the land of Israel, maybe you are going to have to humble yourself before God, maybe you are going to have to reach the turbulent waters of the Jordan River, maybe you are going to have to dive seven times in those waters but God is willing if you are willing. I firmly believe that God is still in the business of performing miracles if we are willing to invest the effort and time in them.

I want to end with the following: what miracle of transformation have you personally been longing for? What transforming miracle have you been crying out to the Lord for your life? What life-changing miracle have you been asking the Lord to perform in your life? Have you been crying out for harmony and healing in your home? Have you been longing for a change of situation in your marriage that is sad? Have you asked the Lord that a loved one of yours change their self-destructive lifestyle? Have you been trying in any way to free yourself from some kind of addiction but couldn't? Have you been dealing with any depressive or anxiety problem? Have you been dealing with any sense of loss, sadness, mourning and have not been able to get rid of that sadness? Is there any disease in your life, any health condition that you have been regretting? Have you been asking for true, genuine revival to visit your Church, your spiritual community? What miracle of change have you been crying out to the Lord and asking for in your own life? God is willing if you are willing.

God is always ready, He is ready to effect some change, some miracle, but the question that matters is: how ardently are you longing for a miracle of change, do you want it enough to present it to the Lord today? do you want it enough to persevere and wait patiently for it? Do you want it enough to hold firm in that hope of receiving it, to show perseverance and persistence? Once again I tell you: God is willing if you are, God bless you, amen, glory to God, amen, amen glory to the Lord, give a round of applause to the Lord, hallelujah, thank you Lord Jesus, thank God, we receive Your word Father, we received Your message Lord, glory to God, we internalized it.

Brothers, it is a challenge for all of us, we have learned over the years, especially Pentecostals, that we believe in the Power of the Holy Spirit, in the sudden interventions of God that we see through Scripture, we have become accustomed to expecting things, miracles there steamed and it is also clear through Scripture that God is interested in working on our character, creating men and women like Christ, developing the virtues of the Gospel in our spirits and the only way this is done is through of experiences that teach us, brokenness, waiting, praying in the middle of the night, that early morning that we would like the sun to rise that has been too long many times, we have cried out to God, we have cooked ourselves in the slow fire of our anxiety, our agony, our waiting and we ask where is the Lord?

We are like the disciples moved by the waves on the lake and saying we will perish, and we have been there since the beginning of the night and we are rowing all night because the wind will escort us, and we ask ourselves where is the Lord? The Lord is there cultivating patience, that is the challenge of this message for you and me, the Lord is there teaching us that He is the victorious God over the waves, over the storm, when He is on that boat that boat does not leave to sink

The Christian has to learn to wait, to persist and sometimes the Lord makes us wait longer so that we mature, so that we create psychological and spiritual complexity, and the only way to cultivate it is through waiting, through the struggle, through effort, through investment, God does not want to create chicks there that open their mouths and the eaglet comes, and feeds them all at once, He wants to create beasts that look for their food and eat it themselves, the come to digest, he does not want children but in the spirit but mature people who can eat solid food.

Receive that message in the Name of the Lord, a foundational, formative message for our Congregation. We have decades insisting as a Church, doing our job, working hard, giving, persevering, waiting, praying for a powerful visitation from the Lord and God has allowed us to grow as a Church in many ways, internally we have seen many of you grow and mature, and As a Church we have also grown, we are a relatively strong people in a very humble, very daily way, one day at a time, putting one step ahead.

I know that God wants to perform that miracle of proliferation, of flourishing and that our call also becomes real in an instant, but we also have to submerge ourselves seven times in the river. I believe that all this time of waiting has been God's formation because God gives us the miraculous and the thunderous after having learned the everyday, day-to-day prayer, hard work, paying the price, investing, giving without expecting anything but Simply be faithful to the call of the Lord, and when we have paid the price, when we have done our homework, the Lord will say: Your leprosy will be healed instantly.