Living joyful lives despite our scars
Dr. Roberto Miranda
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: In this sermon, the speaker talks about how God wants us to live emotionally healthy lives that reflect the abundance and fullness of God's children. He emphasizes the importance of balance and how Jesus reflected that balance between justice and grace. The speaker believes that we all enter the Gospel deformed and unbalanced, but God wants to adjust and tune us up to put our lives in balance. He also talks about how we all have scars and wounds from life, but if we analyze them through God's lens, they can make us deeper, richer, and more balanced. The speaker ends by emphasizing two principles: first, that God wants us to live happy lives, and second, that we live in a world that is deformed and full of dangers, tribulations, and suffering.
We live in a world with two principles: a good principle of God who wants to bless us, and an evil principle of Satan and his demons who want to harm us. This world is full of dangers and tribulations, and innocent people sometimes suffer because of the conflict between these two principles. God is involved in a project of restoration and healing of the world, but there are many forces at war with each other, and sometimes innocent people suffer as a result. We need to understand this and be patient, knowing that God is working to heal the world. We need to be prepared for the struggles and difficulties of life by continuously strengthening ourselves in the Lord through prayer, reading the Bible, and developing our faith. We are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil, and we need to be equipped with the armor of God to stand firm against the devil's attacks. It takes work and discipline to live a healthy, victorious life as a Christian, but God has given us the resources and weapons we need to fight against the pains and deformities of life.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of nourishing oneself spiritually, as God does not do everything for us. He uses the analogy of a Roman soldier putting on armor to resist the devil and stand firm in the face of adversity. The speaker highlights truth as one of the most powerful resources for emotional health and joy in life, as lies and misinterpretations can lead to neurosis and character deformations. The devil is the father of lies and wants to falsify God's truth. The speaker encourages listeners to make a pact with the truth and resist the lying spirit that has fallen in the world.
In order to live a successful life, we must make a pact with the truth, commit to speaking and interpreting the truth, and dress ourselves in the breastplate of justice. Justice is an incredible protector that helps us live healthy lives and protect us from the attacks of the enemy, and God calls us to be people of justice. We must treat each other equitably, fairly, and with generosity, and never harm or do wrong to others. God's justice involves holiness, and we must walk in that balanced Word. By living in truth and justice, we can live in peace with ourselves and with others.
We live in a world with two principles: a good principle of God who wants to bless us, and an evil principle of Satan and his demons who want to harm us. This world is full of dangers and tribulations, and innocent people sometimes suffer because of the conflict between these two principles. God is involved in a project of restoration and healing of the world, but there are many forces at war with each other, and sometimes innocent people suffer as a result. We need to understand this and be patient, knowing that God is working to heal the world. We need to be prepared for the struggles and difficulties of life by continuously strengthening ourselves in the Lord through prayer, reading the Bible, and developing our faith. We are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil, and we need to be equipped with the armor of God to stand firm against the devil's attacks. It takes work and discipline to live a healthy, victorious life as a Christian, but God has given us the resources and weapons we need to fight against the pains and deformities of life.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of nourishing oneself spiritually, as God does not do everything for us. He uses the analogy of a Roman soldier putting on armor to resist the devil and stand firm in the face of adversity. The speaker highlights truth as one of the most powerful resources for emotional health and joy in life, as lies and misinterpretations can lead to neurosis and character deformations. The devil is the father of lies and wants to falsify God's truth. The speaker encourages listeners to make a pact with the truth and resist the lying spirit that has fallen in the world.
In order to live a successful life, we must make a pact with the truth, commit to speaking and interpreting the truth, and dress ourselves in the breastplate of justice. Justice is an incredible protector that helps us live healthy lives and protect us from the attacks of the enemy, and God calls us to be people of justice. We must treat each other equitably, fairly, and with generosity, and never harm or do wrong to others. God's justice involves holiness, and we must walk in that balanced Word. By living in truth and justice, we can live in peace with ourselves and with others.
I want to continue this series that we have started on how to live healthy lives, emotionally healthy lives, lives that reflect the abundance and fullness of God's children. We cannot tell the world that there is a difference in the Gospel unless our lives reflect it, and God is willing to bless us. And He wants that in the midst of trials, struggles, tribulations, anguish, we can win, we can counteract evil, we can live lives that are better and better every day, lives that are even nourished by trials and difficulties, and reflect the faithfulness of that wonderful God that we have.
So I want to talk about, we already started about three weeks ago, four weeks ago, interrupted by trips and vacations, all kinds of things, but as much as possible in these next Sundays, we are going to be talking; The trips and things are almost over, we need one more and then we are here with the Lord's help for a long time, and we can be very continuous in teaching this topic on Sundays.
But again, we want to focus on that point. That God wants us to be emotionally healthy and healthy, that we do not live in neurosis. May we not live in depression or anguish, or anxiety. May we reflect the grace and beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most balanced and attractive being that has ever walked this world is called the Lord Jesus, because the Lord kind of summed up that perfect balance between justice and grace. When I look at Jesus portrayed in the pages of the Gospel I see him speaking the truth but also having mercy, rebuking but also inducing hope.
I think, for example, of that woman with the issue of blood, how the Lord healed her and then, not wanting her to leave alone like that, secretly called her and listened to her story, and blessed her, and then returned her. The Lord is like a perfect set of different attitudes and He in His life and in His Person reflects balance, reflects coherence, he does not go to one side too much or to the other, he is not there with a whip to always hit and rebuke, and not only talk about duty and commandments, but is also there to heal a wound, to forgive an offense, to instill hope in a sinner, to heal a sick person, to free a demon-possessed person, to speak to us of the mercy of the Lord; it is a perfect balance. And that is what we should look for.
In solitude He could be calm, in the storm He was safe. On the cross he thought of his mother, of the thief who was next to Him asking for mercy, when He rose again He went to look for His disciples and to comfort them, and to teach them that He was alive and that there was hope before returning to the Presence of His Father. It's a wonderful balance. He spoke of hell and he spoke of heaven, he spoke of a just and holy God, and also of a merciful and patient God with us, a beautiful balance.
We, however, tend to live unbalanced lives and sometimes we are too heavy in our judgments or too demanding of others, of ourselves, sometimes we are too merciful and kind, and like: oh, not everything is fine because God loves us very much and He will never punish us when we offend him so live the life you want because God loves you too much to send you to hell, we are always out of balance. And God wants our personalities to be healthy, balanced, well-adjusted personalities.
And of course, when we enter the Gospel we all enter deformed, we become unbalanced because life unbalances us and sin unbalances us. And when you enter the Gospel one of the things that God wants to do is adjust, like a machine that is out of adjustment, the divine mechanic wants to come and do a total tune-up; get that engine humming like that softly, adjust the valves and get the right air in the tires so they're not over inflated or under inflated. He wants to put your life in balance.
I believe that the trajectory of a child of God on Earth is a continuous going towards that process of balance, going towards that process of greater perfection until Christ is formed in us says the Word of the Lord.
You have to look at your life as a construction and restoration project, and continuous restoration. That's how I see myself, although I'm almost perfect (laughs) but I still need a little bit, right? But all of us have to see ourselves as God's project under construction, continually working, God continually working in us and leading us more and more towards that balance so that we can have peace, we can have rest, we can be a blessing to others. And we need that emotional health, and God's Word is full of good advice in that direction.
So during this time we are going to be meditating on how to get out of trials and difficulties, how to repair ourselves from the wounds and distortions of life, how to overcome fears, anxieties, neuroses, the distortions of life. How to forgive, how to heal our memories, the memories that hurt us and the pain received in the past. How to find peace and conformity in the midst of the things we have acquired and achieved; we all have projects that never happened, we all have losses there in the past. No human being leaves this world unscathed let me tell you.
I believe that if you look there in your body somewhere you will find a scar, yes or no? what body that has spent time here in the world has not had a scratch, a fall, that peeled the knee. Right now if I look at my hands here I have when a dog bit me when I was about fourteen years old, and I look and I still have the scar there. And so it is with all things. If you look there in your psyche you will find something; a wound, a scar, something that did not turn out as you expected.
But the Word of the Lord teaches us that we can live joyful lives despite that, despite all the tests as we sang this morning, right? the Lord is with us and leads us forward. Know what? I believe that all the losses, all the sufferings, all the things that we have experienced if we analyze them through God's lens will make us deeper, richer, with more complexity, more balance. I have always said that the smile of a man, a mature woman of God, experienced in life, is a smile that has a tinge of sadness. The smile of a person who has lived a long time is never a superficial and mechanical smile, and just like a child, there will be a hint of pain there.
The powerful people that I have known in my life, profound, wise, when you look into their eyes you can see there a tiny portrait of pain, something that happened in their lives: failures, sins, they failed many people, they offended, they did not achieve everything, they failed in things. But the secret is that these people learned to take those things and use them as fuel for the fire of blessing and grace in their lives. So they walk with a certain tinge of sadness, but in the midst of that they can also laugh, they can rejoice, they can praise, they can celebrate, they can enjoy a good meal, they can enjoy a sunset or a sunrise, they can comfort someone. Even sometimes when they have their little things that they are dealing with.
Who can say that he doesn't have something right now that he would like to have that he doesn't have or that he isn't suffering something that he doesn't want to suffer, or that he has a son, he doesn't have a son, a daughter who needs something, that one would like to give him something that can not? we all have. But the difference is, as the apostle Paul says, "Even in the midst of all these things we are more than conquerors." In the midst of the agendas to complete, we can find peace in the midst of the storm, we can find security and confidence for myself, stop licking our wounds for a moment and licking the wounds of others, and bless others too. God wants us to be healthy.
One of the passages, I'm going to be skipping here because now I feel free to, but it's Third John, I think it is? let's see if I'm right here quickly, it's when Juan says to Gaius: "Beloved, I want you to be prosperous in all things and that you have health as your soul prospers" listen to that. I think clearly, John addressed this Word to the person to whom he intended the third letter, Gaius, but the Holy Spirit recorded it for a reason and it is because those ideas are applicable to all of us.
And Paul in his desire for a blessing for his friend is reflecting the desire of the Holy Spirit for a blessing for all of us. There is nothing that Paul says here that God does not say: Amen, I want that for all My children, and God wants us to be prosperous in all things, and to have physical health, as well as our souls to have health, right? God wants healed and prosperous children.
There is a video that I want you to see, Nick Vuijic is a young man who has blessed the world with his story, his testimony, a young man who was born, let's see, I am not going to get ahead of myself, but he has won and has moved on, I want you to See this. If you can turn off the lights please;
(video plays)
His parents were pastoralists and they suffered the tremendous trauma of seeing their baby born without limbs. However, Nick Vuijic has found sufficiency in his life and has found a peace that surpasses all possible explanation, recognizing that God had a purpose in that limitation. And he's learned to walk with a little bit of a limb left, to move, to swim, to hit a ball, limitedly, but he does, to climb some stairs, and a number of things that he's been able to do that no one would think of. that a person, with the limitations that he has, could do. And Nick has spent his young life traveling all over the world, winning hundreds of thousands of souls to Jesus Christ with his story of inner healing.
And reflecting the fact that we can take advantage of any limitations that we find. When I see the victory that this young man has achieved without arms, without legs, but with an incredible heart and tremendous faith, and how he has been able to be successful financially, professionally, be an incredible motivator, travel all over the world, get married and have a child; so it wasn't as limited as it might seem up to a point. Incredible, a wonderful story.
And this boy reflects an incredible sense of humor and joy in life. Every time I read his story or see his story, you can see his story on YouTube, you can get his story or read his posts, you're like, wow, what am I complaining about? We can take advantage of everything brothers, whatever your situation. That's why Paul says: I've learned to be content whatever my situation, and Nick Vuijic's life reflects that victory in everything, and that's what God wants. And that's what we've been talking about and will be talking about.
The last time we talked, I told you that there are two extremes that should frame our experience in life: on the one hand, I believe that everything we live we have to live recognizing one thing, and that is: God wants us to live happy lives. . And I believe that you have to make that your starting point, and the thought that animates your life.
If you are a young person who is just beginning to live, I want you to always think that God has not called you to fail but that God has called you to have victory in all things, that God has good things for your life. If you are a person who is already in the twilight of your life and you are at the end or you are a middle-aged person, or whatever, I want you to know that there is still a lot that you can do, there is a world to ahead, never give up. Never think that like: my time has passed, never think that like you no longer have space to yearn for great things, dream great things, undertake great projects, complete things that you could not when you were young, because if God is with you you can do feats with His Power.
No matter what season we are in, we have to believe that God has good purposes for us and that should be at the center of your life, always this idea that God wants you to be happy, that you live a life in abundance That is a beginning.
The other principle is a contrary and negative principle, and it is the fact that we live in a world that is deformed and full of dangers, tribulations, sufferings, and that this world is permeated by an evil principle and personality called Satan and his demons. that they will also be wanting to do harm in this world.
Look at the drama that is going on right now in Gaza, in the Middle East, in Israel. It occurred to me a moment ago for the first time, that the world is very similar to what is happening in Gaza, where there are two powers: Israel and Hamas, and there are two powers, two interests that are fighting against each other, and in the middle there is an innocent population, up to a certain point; One can say many things about the Palestinians, but there are children, there are little girls, babies, old people who are not belligerents, they are not soldiers, and the fact is that the war is taking place in the territory where they inhabit.
And in order for one group or another to win, they are so enmeshed one inside the other and the space is so limited that there are many innocent people, who have nothing to do with the war, who are losing their lives and suffering. And so it happens in the world, this world is a field of war. That's why sometimes we blame God and say: why does God allow this?
It is that there are many things that are intertwined in this world, and we have destructive powers that do harm, and there are people who give power to Satan, and there are parents who fail their children, and there are people who oppress and steal, and destroy , then the world is in such a great conflict that sometimes even the innocent suffer and suffer. And God wants to heal this world, but there are a number of forces and principles that are at war with each other and innocent people sometimes die; a child that we pray for or a deformed creature is born, and it is because there are a number of factors that are struggling in this world, and we have to be patient. While we are in this world there are going to be wars that are going to take place, shots that are going to get loose, innocent people that are going to die and sometimes we ourselves are going to be part of those casualties, of those innocently injured people and we have to understand this . That is the nature of that fallen world.
And God is involved in a process of taking territory, destroying the tunnels of the enemy, using His Church to proclaim the Gospel and save souls, and one day the Lord will put an end to this war. In the meantime, let us know that we are going to suffer, and there are going to be losses, and there are going to be suffering of different kinds.
So we live between these two principles: a God who wants to bless us, who is committed to us, who has invested all the Power of His Kingdom in our favor, and an enemy who has sworn to kill, steal and destroy, and that God is involved in a project of restoration and healing of the world, and one day He will put total healing on the world. And when we are in our heavenly homeland or when history ends and God establishes that restored world that He is going to restore, then we will understand that everything made sense, everything had a purpose, that what God allowed was allowed for the better, that even those losses we experienced and did not know why, the Lord will explain to us.
That's why I think it says: "It will wipe away every tear" because we can understand why such a thing happened, and the person who was crying without knowing why this happened to me, why the other thing didn't happen to me, why they didn't give me what I? the Lord will tell you: Look, it was because of this. Look now at the world in the light of My eternal understanding and you will see as God sees, and all will be well.
But meanwhile we live in these two principles and it is important that you know it, because when struggles and problems come into your life you are going to have to know what to do with the experience that you are living and you cannot be surprised when there are tests and there are difficulties, but God wants you to have the necessary weapons to, in the midst of that, live a healthy life.
And that is what we are talking about, not only that we heal our wounds but also that we accumulate health and vigor, and supernatural strength to live full and victorious lives even in the midst of struggles, because God has great things and great resources.
And in these next few weeks we are going to be talking about those principles that help us like the ones that I just enunciated right now and that healthy, biblical, healthy perspective that allows us to process the different things in life that come our way. And as I say, I like to be complex and balanced, that's why I can't just stand here and tell you that everything is fine, victory; Yes, there is victory, but there is also a process and there is a fight. I like to talk about both things, but in the end, the positive of God prevails.
But many times if we give people the beautiful and the good, and we don't tell them about the difficult, then we leave them halfway and they are not prepared to face life with the necessary complexity. I believe that in itself we are more than winners in everything, but that everything means that there is also struggle and tribulation, and anguish, but God wants the balance at the end of everything to be very positive.
And so we can see the Bible through a lens so that God gives us resources. And let me just quickly pick one of those passages, out of many passages that we have. And actually, by the way, I wanted to: the next time I share with you, I'm going to talk about a principle, but before that, in the very little time that we have left, I want to leave another principle in advance in your heart.
But the principle that I want to talk about later is that, we have inherent worth in Christ Jesus; You are worth for what God thinks of you, not for what others think of you, not for the money you have or for the achievements you have achieved, or for everything you have done in the world. Your value, your esteem should depend on how God sees yourself, and you cannot be measuring yourself how others see you or the circumstances because if you do so, you will be like a yo-yo, up and down. down all the time, going up and down and out in the open, and that is not possible. The child of God is measured according to how God sees him and there are words in Scripture that teach us this.
But before this: I want to see, it's like the Bible offers us an amount wherever it wants. If we learn to see the Bible as a source of advice, wherever you read you will find great teachings and simple, practical advice for living your life.
Look, for example, in Ephesians, the Letter to the Ephesians, in chapter 6 there is a passage that we are going to refer to on many different occasions, but here the apostle Paul talks about what we have to do when the moment of testing comes. Paul says in verse 10, "Therefore, my friends, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, put on the full armor of God so that you can stand firm against the wiles of the devil." Paul is inviting the Ephesians to strengthen themselves.
Listen to me, which wrestler or which runner is the one who waits for the day of the competition to then start exercising? meanwhile he's eating twinkies and donuts wherever he wants, and sleeping until twelve o'clock, and the day of the race arrives, and that day he starts acting hysterical and working out. No, the athlete, the athlete lives a life of continuous strengthening, right? of continuous preparation so that when the day of the race or fight arrives, it is simply putting into practice what he has already developed, has strengthened his body, and that is how the children of God should be. There are many Christians who wait until the devil is hitting them in the back so they can come to Church and ask the Lord: Pastor, pray for me, and glory to God, it's good, it's necessary, that's why we invite people to come forward here.
But what we have to do is live a life of continuous discipline in the Spirit, right? read the Word of the Lord, pray at all times, develop the muscles of faith, know the resources that God has given us, come to Church, enjoy the fellowship of Christians and believers, study the Bible, arm ourselves with different things so that when the day of the test arrives, we will be powerful and strong, and know exactly what we have to do. Because? because when the day of the test arrives, your mind is going to be so attacked that if you don't have that there alive inside of you, you won't know what to do.
Soldiers prepare so that when they're in the middle of war and bullets are whizzing through their heads, their body knows exactly what to do, and so they drill and exercise continuously, continuously, until it's done. it becomes a natural thing in them. Because when you are in trial, your mind is confused, you do not have time to read the Bible many times, it has to be alive within you, the Word of God has to come out spontaneously. Those verses that you have learned, those songs that you have learned will begin then and will flow from your bowels, and you will not know where they come from. They come from your spirit, you have invested time, you have spent time strengthening yourself in the Lord.
That is why Paul says, right? "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" put on all the armor of God, all the resources that are in the Word of the Lord and the Word of God is a treasure of resources and weapons that we can use to fight against the pains and the deformities, and the trials, and the weight of life, so that we can stand firm against the stalking of the devil. That was not a strict Pentecostal who wrote it, that was the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, the devil is real.
The Bible says, "Be sober and watchful because your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." The devil wants to damage your marriage, he wants to damage your health, he wants to damage your finances, he wants to manipulate your emotions, he wants to fill you with anxiety, he wants to question what God has declared about your life, and you have to stand firm to know how to counter the enemy. . When he comes, you have to have the necessary weapons to tell him: Get away from me, Satan, because that's what the Lord says, that's what the Word of God says. That is why we have to be strong at that moment for when the enemies of our soul come.
It says: "Because we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this century, against the rulers of the darkness of this century, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly realms" write that my brother, my sister. We are in a field of war and there are spirits that want our destruction. They do not want our children to prosper in the Gospel. They want to fill society with evil and bad energy. They want to destroy our marriages.
You are not fighting against circumstances, you are not fighting against poverty, against disease. In reality he is fighting against those who originate these things and they are the powers of the devil, that is the mafia that governs all the bad things in this world. Behind the poverty, the oppression, the unjust riches, the national wars, the ethnic hatreds, behind all that there are demonic powers that are manipulating the world and sowing evil in the world and they want to come into your life and do harm, and you have to live
Because that is the problem, that we sometimes live like innocent bunnies in a jungle where there are snakes and wild animals that want to tear us apart, and many Christians sin in innocence. And we believe that coming to church and spending ten minutes there while we think about other things, and that others sing, and us, and with that we kind of punched out the card and already did what we had to do, no. It is a very difficult world and we have to know how to strengthen ourselves and fight against the forces of evil, that is the only thing.
This world every day becomes more dangerous, more difficult, and healthy men and women are required in the Spirit to live victorious lives, to be able to snatch our children from the teeth of the devil, and to be able to preach the Gospel effectively, brothers, and to be able to be happy in the midst of struggles and trials. It takes work, God doesn't do it all for you.
Listen to me: gird your loins, feed yourself, take your spiritual vitamins. Pay the price because God doesn't do it all for you; there is a part that you have to do too. If you want to be a healthy, vigorous, plump and strong Christian you have to pay the price, you have to consume vitamins, you have to eat red meat from time to time and nourish yourself spiritually in order to live a healthy, victorious life.
And he says: "Therefore take the whole armor of God" say: all of it, it is not just a small part, it is the whole armor of God, all the advice of the Word of God. You have to know how to worship, you have to know how to do spiritual warfare. You have to know how to live a holy and pure life before God, you have to know how to confess when you offend the Lord. You have to know that you have to serve and give to the Lord in order to be materially and physically prosperous. You have to know how to forgive yourself and how to forgive others, how to exercise the love of God, it's the whole armor of God.
Because if you give a lot of money but do not forgive your brother, then your armor is fragile, the devil is going to get into that hole of rancor or judging others too much, or being too critical, or being harsh with your loved ones. The idea is: Lord, swing me and help me put on the full armor of God. And here what Paul does is point out some of those resources, he does not exhaust them all but uses the image of a Roman soldier who puts on his protective gear and all his militia resources in order to be victorious in war. It says: "Take on the whole armor of God so that you can resist on the bad day, and having finished everything, stand firm.
Look: the first thing I see here is that it says: "So that you can resist the resistance." Do you know that many times the only thing you will be able to do when you are in the middle of the test and the fight is to resist? stand firm. You will not have the strength to even say: may the Lord rebuke you. You are not going to have mental clarity to go to this, to the other. How many have not woken up one morning and have not had the strength but simply to say: Lord, I commend my life into Your Hands? Have mercy on me, help me finish this day, right?
There are times when the only thing you can do in your life is stand firm on what God has declared, and you know how powerful that is? The Bible says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." When you can't do anything else, simply stay firm until the bad day passes and it will pass, if you give time to the Lord, the time of rest will come.
Many times difficult situations will happen in our life and look at us here, alive and still kicking. Something worked out, some solution worked out, provision came from somewhere, God did something weird and there came the solution. Brother Nick was preaching last Sunday from this place in Jerusalem, or was he from Samaria? one of those places back in the Old Testament, and there was no food anywhere. And this nobleman who says: but where is he going, if God would open the window of heaven? and look how simple the answer was: God sent an army noise, the enemy army left, left all their possessions and the next day there was plenty of food. No one would have thought of that solution, do you understand? but God laughs at problems and sometimes He likes to give such simple solutions in your life that later you say: wow, but how did I not think of it before?
God has a solution for your life but while that solution for your life comes, don't worry, as Cervantes said, just stand firm on what God has declared. Hold on tight and at some point the devil will have to come out with his tail between his legs and run away, because it says that way, right? There is no evil that lasts a hundred years or a body that resists it, right?
The Word says: God has not given us any test that we cannot overcome or resist, but along with the test He sends the way out, the solution, but unfortunately many of us leave before God's blessing arrives. Before the solution arrives, before God has fulfilled His purpose in our life, we stop praising, we stop adoring, we stop serving, we stop going to church, and then the devil serves himself with the big spoon, when God says : He does not stand. Tell your friend next door: hold on, hold on. Wait for the day of God's blessing, wait for God's dawn. After night comes morning, comes the day to worship the Lord and celebrate, but no, don't leave before God's process is over.
God is a god of processes and he takes time sometimes, and the more time passes the more we learn, the more we are strengthened. We sometimes want steamed solutions, right? We go and at once we want God to put the pacifier in our mouths and help us right away, but no. You have to learn patience, you have to learn meekness, you have to wait long enough to see that I am real, I am faithful, I do not forget my promises and sometimes we have to wait, we have to resist. Sometimes all we have to do is resist and stand where God has said and that is incredibly powerful.
"So that we can resist in the bad day" in the bad day. Notice that Paul does not say: if the bad day comes, but: "So that you can resist on the bad day" is that there is a kind of day that is called the bad day. What is that bad day? It is the day of adversity, the day of suffering. The day when what you didn't want to happen happened. The day when the doctor told you: you know what? You have cancer and you have to have surgery. The day your husband told you: look, I want to get out of this marriage and I fell in love with the secretary, and we're going to live in Hawaii with the money we saved together. The day they took your house. The day you lost the job you thought you were going to get a gold watch at twenty-five and ready to retire. The day you failed the exam and couldn't get into the graduate school you wanted, or were told you're going to have to take another course, or wait a year to graduate, or any of the millions of negative things that can happen in the life of a man, a woman.
When those times come, because sometimes it can be a day, but sometimes it can be a week, sometimes it can be years, and we are there at that time, in that furnace of testing. And part of what we have to learn is that bad days come to everyone. And when that bad day comes then you have to go to the closet and take out the armor; don't take it off, put it on better. You must have it already on, you must not be looking for it where it is, you have it on, so that when the attack comes, the war comes, the affliction comes, you simply make use of what is already inside of you.
The bad day comes, the bad day comes to all of us and not one but many times, and then part of it is to arm ourselves with that truth, because I say: that is one of the most powerful resources and we will talk more about that for emotional health and the joy of life is simply getting used to the idea that evil happens to every man, every living being and that no one can pretend that certain things in life don't happen to them, it's up to all of us. One day it will be your time and another day it will be someone else's but you always have to go through those times, and the sooner we get used to that idea and learn to be happy within that recognition, the happier we will be for the rest of our lives.
"So that you can resist on the bad day, and having finished everything, stand firm." The idea is of a soldier who has a position to defend, and the arrows come, and the attacks come, and he stands firm in his position. And the bullets are whistling, the arrows or whatever, the projectiles, and the soldier is there: you are not going to pass through here, he stands firm in his post instead of turning his back and running away.
That is what many people are doing at this time, many pastors, many churches, God help us and I think I say it simply because it is not for us but for the grace of God, but there are many people seeing what is happening In the world, this society that is disregarding God and assuming many things, many Pastors are laying down their arms and are saying: well, if that is what is happening, we are going to join them, if that is the new sexual fashion or Whatever it is, we're going to say: come in, come in, everything is fine, go ahead because if we don't we're going to be left alone. And so they lower the price of the Gospel and they are turning their back on the devil, the Church is turning on him.
You never turn your face to the devil, you face the devil. You have to resist the devil and when everything is over, you will see that you can stand firm. If you hold your ground you will see that the devil will not be able to defeat you, hold your ground. And when it's all over, when God's total process has taken place, you'll be there in your position. But if we start to run away then the devil is served with the big spoon. Each one of us has to stay in his position until God has completed the purpose.
One day society will realize that: wow, we did an atrocious thing and they are all destroyed and undone, and then they go to seek God again, and there is the Church ready to serve them, and to heal them, and to bless them; I could tell you many examples of that throughout history. The Church has to resist, stand firm and not doubt God's purposes in all its life as well as in your life.
"Having finished all stand firm. Then stand" that insistence on firmness again, "gird your loins with truth." I will not be able to exhaust but I will be able to tell you some. Look: the truth. "Dressed with the breastplate of justice, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all take the shield of faith with which you can quench all the fiery darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, praying at all times and watching with all perseverance and supplication." There you have a roster, an assortment of resources, right? the truth.
I am not going to tell everything but I am going to give two others quickly. Truth, emotional health, peace, sanity is born from a love for God's truth, from being able to properly and fairly interpret the events that happen in our lives, to be able to interpret them correctly. Much of the neurosis in the world is born from lies, the misinterpretations that come when we suffer certain things. The false ways of seeing ourselves. The distortions that the devil wants to bring to what God has said.
The devil is the liar par excellence, he is the father of lies, he is the father of falsehood and error. Psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, all health counselors understand that neuroses and character deformations come from the lies we tell ourselves and the lies we accept about what has happened to us, the lie about how God sees us or God's purpose in our life.
The devil is always based on wanting to falsify the Truth of God. That is why when God tells Adam and Eve: Do not eat from that tree because the day you eat from that tree you will die. God told them a truth but what does the devil do? He comes and begins to sow doubt, and says: ah, so that God told them that this is so? That is not true. If you eat, your eyes will open and you will see things that you would not see. God is a man as I said, uraño and killjoy that what he wants is to prevent you from enjoying everything that He has for you. Adam and Eve accept that lie, sin, and death enters the world.
We have to ask the Lord: Lord, help us to live in Your Truth. Help us to understand the truth of Your Word because the Word of God is the Truth, Christ is the source of all truth. And when we study the Word of God and ask the Lord for revelation, God teaches us to see life in a true way instead of living with all the lies that we tell ourselves.
One of the things you have to do is make a pact with the truth. I say to the Lord: Lord help me to always make a pact with the truth, I see what I see instead of saying that I am seeing something else that is not true. That is what is happening in this world, right now brothers I tell you: in this world now and in this nation a lying spirit has fallen. I have never in my life seen anything as amazing as what I have seen in the last three, four years in this nation. It is as if a false administration has fallen in Washington, our rulers, in the culture, in the churches, in the theology of the Church, it is a spirit of lies and that is what the Word of the Lord says, that in recent times a spirit of lies and seduction would fall.
And only those who make a pact with the truth, because if we make that pact then we will. If you live in the truth, you don't have to fear anything my brother, and I know that, well then, how do I know the truth? don't look, many times it is simply saying: I am going to live the truth and I am going to stop hiding other things, a long process of explaining. But many times we lie to ourselves, we hide things that are in us and we throw them to others; oh! It was my dad who didn't affirm me! it is this unjust society that has caused this and that! instead of us saying: no, I have responsibility, I can change my destiny, I can be different. The problem is not my husband, my wife, the problem is me. My dad who sexually abused me didn't do it because I provoked him or whatever, but because he was a bad man or just misdirected.
And you have to see things as they are and then forgive, but do not try to hide it because if you repress the truth of what has happened to you or what God wants you to do then you will be in a state of lies, and that is going to hurt you in your life. Am I explaining myself more or less? We have to accept the truth, we have to make a pact with it. We have to commit to speaking the truth, interpreting the truth, because that is what sets us free. Christ has said: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." And the Word of God is the greatest source of truth that I know of.
That is why when you interpret the Word of the Lord and you are hardened by the tone and color of the Word of the Lord, you can then be a person capable of reading the reality of the world in which you live and see yourself as God. see yourself, and see the processes that you are living with the accuracy and precision that God wants you to see. When you live in the truth, no one can hurt you, no one can take anything from you, because you are safe in the Truth of God. That is why Paul says, right? "Loins with the truth."
And a last one: "Dressed with the breastplate of justice" I will perhaps continue there then. I told you a while ago that there are so many things that are intertwined that what we are going to do is: we end here and then we move on, okay? take those three, four little things that we shared today. We have to dress ourselves in the breastplate of justice and I ask that the musicians come in, with the brothers of, and let's go now.
Justice is an incredible protector that helps us live healthy lives and protect us from the attacks of the enemy, do you know why? because God calls us to be people of justice. The Bible says for example: "Husbands, do not be harsh with your wives so that your prayers may not be hindered." If we are being unfair with our children, with our spouse, husband or wife, with our friends, with our brothers in the Church, that will be an impediment to our emotional health, we will feel guilty in some way.
The children of God have to be just, treat each other equitably, treat each other fairly, give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. When you have to apologize ask for forgiveness. When you offended someone, admit it and don't be afraid, apologize. When you know that you are doing something that is hurting a person, stop doing it and rectify your path, treat people well with generosity, use the balance of Jesus Christ in life. Never do harm, never do wrong. The children of God are like those doctors who take an oath: first and foremost never to harm.
We are good people, we cannot hurt anyone, we cannot steal from anyone, we cannot stop giving people what they deserve. We have to live in justice and always be good people.
And another thing about justice is that justice is not our justice but God's justice, He is the norm, God's justice also involves holiness. That is why I believe that there is a logical union between truth and justice. If you do not live in the truth you cannot do justice, if you do not live in justice you cannot live in the truth either, and the truth is how God defines it, not how we define it, justice is like God. There are people who want to be more just than God and that is one of the problems of this time as well.
I'm sick of hearing this, this argument: "God is too good to condemn someone to hell." Know what? God is too fair not to condemn someone to hell if they deserve it and if they don't do what they have to do. God is love but he is a consuming fire.
Justice is often a balance between two extremes, between extreme mercy and extreme judgment, there is a balance called justice, and we the children of God have to look towards the justice of God and the holiness of God, we have to walk in that righteousness that God has established. Do not try to violate the holiness and justice of God, walk in that balanced Word.
Ask yourself: Lord, what do you want me to do, how is it that you call me to live? And you know what? God is by definition fair, even if it seems unfair to you, if God said so, go to the bank with it, because that is what you have to do in your life. And if you live like this, you will live in peace with yourself and with others. God's truth, God's justice, resistance to evil when the day of difficulty comes in our lives, keeping ourselves balanced between a damaged world and a God who is committed to our living successful lives, these are some of the teachings that God has for you on this day, receive them in the Name of the Lord.
Father: thank you, thank you because you want happiness for us, thank you because you want us to pass the exam. Thank you because the resources of the Kingdom of God are committed to our favor, thank you because You give us all the weapons we need to live victorious lives and we just have to make use of them. Thank you because if we resist the devil will flee from us. Thank you because You call us to live true lives, and thank you because in Your justice Lord we can be protected and guarded; in the holiness of God, the justice of God we have security.
Bless this people Lord, in the midst of struggles and afflictions we receive Your promise on this day. Thank you Holy Spirit, in the Name of Jesus, amen and amen, glory to the Name of the Lord. I hope you were not in too much of a hurry to receive something this morning, we are going to have a very sacred moment. I tell them:
So I want to talk about, we already started about three weeks ago, four weeks ago, interrupted by trips and vacations, all kinds of things, but as much as possible in these next Sundays, we are going to be talking; The trips and things are almost over, we need one more and then we are here with the Lord's help for a long time, and we can be very continuous in teaching this topic on Sundays.
But again, we want to focus on that point. That God wants us to be emotionally healthy and healthy, that we do not live in neurosis. May we not live in depression or anguish, or anxiety. May we reflect the grace and beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most balanced and attractive being that has ever walked this world is called the Lord Jesus, because the Lord kind of summed up that perfect balance between justice and grace. When I look at Jesus portrayed in the pages of the Gospel I see him speaking the truth but also having mercy, rebuking but also inducing hope.
I think, for example, of that woman with the issue of blood, how the Lord healed her and then, not wanting her to leave alone like that, secretly called her and listened to her story, and blessed her, and then returned her. The Lord is like a perfect set of different attitudes and He in His life and in His Person reflects balance, reflects coherence, he does not go to one side too much or to the other, he is not there with a whip to always hit and rebuke, and not only talk about duty and commandments, but is also there to heal a wound, to forgive an offense, to instill hope in a sinner, to heal a sick person, to free a demon-possessed person, to speak to us of the mercy of the Lord; it is a perfect balance. And that is what we should look for.
In solitude He could be calm, in the storm He was safe. On the cross he thought of his mother, of the thief who was next to Him asking for mercy, when He rose again He went to look for His disciples and to comfort them, and to teach them that He was alive and that there was hope before returning to the Presence of His Father. It's a wonderful balance. He spoke of hell and he spoke of heaven, he spoke of a just and holy God, and also of a merciful and patient God with us, a beautiful balance.
We, however, tend to live unbalanced lives and sometimes we are too heavy in our judgments or too demanding of others, of ourselves, sometimes we are too merciful and kind, and like: oh, not everything is fine because God loves us very much and He will never punish us when we offend him so live the life you want because God loves you too much to send you to hell, we are always out of balance. And God wants our personalities to be healthy, balanced, well-adjusted personalities.
And of course, when we enter the Gospel we all enter deformed, we become unbalanced because life unbalances us and sin unbalances us. And when you enter the Gospel one of the things that God wants to do is adjust, like a machine that is out of adjustment, the divine mechanic wants to come and do a total tune-up; get that engine humming like that softly, adjust the valves and get the right air in the tires so they're not over inflated or under inflated. He wants to put your life in balance.
I believe that the trajectory of a child of God on Earth is a continuous going towards that process of balance, going towards that process of greater perfection until Christ is formed in us says the Word of the Lord.
You have to look at your life as a construction and restoration project, and continuous restoration. That's how I see myself, although I'm almost perfect (laughs) but I still need a little bit, right? But all of us have to see ourselves as God's project under construction, continually working, God continually working in us and leading us more and more towards that balance so that we can have peace, we can have rest, we can be a blessing to others. And we need that emotional health, and God's Word is full of good advice in that direction.
So during this time we are going to be meditating on how to get out of trials and difficulties, how to repair ourselves from the wounds and distortions of life, how to overcome fears, anxieties, neuroses, the distortions of life. How to forgive, how to heal our memories, the memories that hurt us and the pain received in the past. How to find peace and conformity in the midst of the things we have acquired and achieved; we all have projects that never happened, we all have losses there in the past. No human being leaves this world unscathed let me tell you.
I believe that if you look there in your body somewhere you will find a scar, yes or no? what body that has spent time here in the world has not had a scratch, a fall, that peeled the knee. Right now if I look at my hands here I have when a dog bit me when I was about fourteen years old, and I look and I still have the scar there. And so it is with all things. If you look there in your psyche you will find something; a wound, a scar, something that did not turn out as you expected.
But the Word of the Lord teaches us that we can live joyful lives despite that, despite all the tests as we sang this morning, right? the Lord is with us and leads us forward. Know what? I believe that all the losses, all the sufferings, all the things that we have experienced if we analyze them through God's lens will make us deeper, richer, with more complexity, more balance. I have always said that the smile of a man, a mature woman of God, experienced in life, is a smile that has a tinge of sadness. The smile of a person who has lived a long time is never a superficial and mechanical smile, and just like a child, there will be a hint of pain there.
The powerful people that I have known in my life, profound, wise, when you look into their eyes you can see there a tiny portrait of pain, something that happened in their lives: failures, sins, they failed many people, they offended, they did not achieve everything, they failed in things. But the secret is that these people learned to take those things and use them as fuel for the fire of blessing and grace in their lives. So they walk with a certain tinge of sadness, but in the midst of that they can also laugh, they can rejoice, they can praise, they can celebrate, they can enjoy a good meal, they can enjoy a sunset or a sunrise, they can comfort someone. Even sometimes when they have their little things that they are dealing with.
Who can say that he doesn't have something right now that he would like to have that he doesn't have or that he isn't suffering something that he doesn't want to suffer, or that he has a son, he doesn't have a son, a daughter who needs something, that one would like to give him something that can not? we all have. But the difference is, as the apostle Paul says, "Even in the midst of all these things we are more than conquerors." In the midst of the agendas to complete, we can find peace in the midst of the storm, we can find security and confidence for myself, stop licking our wounds for a moment and licking the wounds of others, and bless others too. God wants us to be healthy.
One of the passages, I'm going to be skipping here because now I feel free to, but it's Third John, I think it is? let's see if I'm right here quickly, it's when Juan says to Gaius: "Beloved, I want you to be prosperous in all things and that you have health as your soul prospers" listen to that. I think clearly, John addressed this Word to the person to whom he intended the third letter, Gaius, but the Holy Spirit recorded it for a reason and it is because those ideas are applicable to all of us.
And Paul in his desire for a blessing for his friend is reflecting the desire of the Holy Spirit for a blessing for all of us. There is nothing that Paul says here that God does not say: Amen, I want that for all My children, and God wants us to be prosperous in all things, and to have physical health, as well as our souls to have health, right? God wants healed and prosperous children.
There is a video that I want you to see, Nick Vuijic is a young man who has blessed the world with his story, his testimony, a young man who was born, let's see, I am not going to get ahead of myself, but he has won and has moved on, I want you to See this. If you can turn off the lights please;
(video plays)
His parents were pastoralists and they suffered the tremendous trauma of seeing their baby born without limbs. However, Nick Vuijic has found sufficiency in his life and has found a peace that surpasses all possible explanation, recognizing that God had a purpose in that limitation. And he's learned to walk with a little bit of a limb left, to move, to swim, to hit a ball, limitedly, but he does, to climb some stairs, and a number of things that he's been able to do that no one would think of. that a person, with the limitations that he has, could do. And Nick has spent his young life traveling all over the world, winning hundreds of thousands of souls to Jesus Christ with his story of inner healing.
And reflecting the fact that we can take advantage of any limitations that we find. When I see the victory that this young man has achieved without arms, without legs, but with an incredible heart and tremendous faith, and how he has been able to be successful financially, professionally, be an incredible motivator, travel all over the world, get married and have a child; so it wasn't as limited as it might seem up to a point. Incredible, a wonderful story.
And this boy reflects an incredible sense of humor and joy in life. Every time I read his story or see his story, you can see his story on YouTube, you can get his story or read his posts, you're like, wow, what am I complaining about? We can take advantage of everything brothers, whatever your situation. That's why Paul says: I've learned to be content whatever my situation, and Nick Vuijic's life reflects that victory in everything, and that's what God wants. And that's what we've been talking about and will be talking about.
The last time we talked, I told you that there are two extremes that should frame our experience in life: on the one hand, I believe that everything we live we have to live recognizing one thing, and that is: God wants us to live happy lives. . And I believe that you have to make that your starting point, and the thought that animates your life.
If you are a young person who is just beginning to live, I want you to always think that God has not called you to fail but that God has called you to have victory in all things, that God has good things for your life. If you are a person who is already in the twilight of your life and you are at the end or you are a middle-aged person, or whatever, I want you to know that there is still a lot that you can do, there is a world to ahead, never give up. Never think that like: my time has passed, never think that like you no longer have space to yearn for great things, dream great things, undertake great projects, complete things that you could not when you were young, because if God is with you you can do feats with His Power.
No matter what season we are in, we have to believe that God has good purposes for us and that should be at the center of your life, always this idea that God wants you to be happy, that you live a life in abundance That is a beginning.
The other principle is a contrary and negative principle, and it is the fact that we live in a world that is deformed and full of dangers, tribulations, sufferings, and that this world is permeated by an evil principle and personality called Satan and his demons. that they will also be wanting to do harm in this world.
Look at the drama that is going on right now in Gaza, in the Middle East, in Israel. It occurred to me a moment ago for the first time, that the world is very similar to what is happening in Gaza, where there are two powers: Israel and Hamas, and there are two powers, two interests that are fighting against each other, and in the middle there is an innocent population, up to a certain point; One can say many things about the Palestinians, but there are children, there are little girls, babies, old people who are not belligerents, they are not soldiers, and the fact is that the war is taking place in the territory where they inhabit.
And in order for one group or another to win, they are so enmeshed one inside the other and the space is so limited that there are many innocent people, who have nothing to do with the war, who are losing their lives and suffering. And so it happens in the world, this world is a field of war. That's why sometimes we blame God and say: why does God allow this?
It is that there are many things that are intertwined in this world, and we have destructive powers that do harm, and there are people who give power to Satan, and there are parents who fail their children, and there are people who oppress and steal, and destroy , then the world is in such a great conflict that sometimes even the innocent suffer and suffer. And God wants to heal this world, but there are a number of forces and principles that are at war with each other and innocent people sometimes die; a child that we pray for or a deformed creature is born, and it is because there are a number of factors that are struggling in this world, and we have to be patient. While we are in this world there are going to be wars that are going to take place, shots that are going to get loose, innocent people that are going to die and sometimes we ourselves are going to be part of those casualties, of those innocently injured people and we have to understand this . That is the nature of that fallen world.
And God is involved in a process of taking territory, destroying the tunnels of the enemy, using His Church to proclaim the Gospel and save souls, and one day the Lord will put an end to this war. In the meantime, let us know that we are going to suffer, and there are going to be losses, and there are going to be suffering of different kinds.
So we live between these two principles: a God who wants to bless us, who is committed to us, who has invested all the Power of His Kingdom in our favor, and an enemy who has sworn to kill, steal and destroy, and that God is involved in a project of restoration and healing of the world, and one day He will put total healing on the world. And when we are in our heavenly homeland or when history ends and God establishes that restored world that He is going to restore, then we will understand that everything made sense, everything had a purpose, that what God allowed was allowed for the better, that even those losses we experienced and did not know why, the Lord will explain to us.
That's why I think it says: "It will wipe away every tear" because we can understand why such a thing happened, and the person who was crying without knowing why this happened to me, why the other thing didn't happen to me, why they didn't give me what I? the Lord will tell you: Look, it was because of this. Look now at the world in the light of My eternal understanding and you will see as God sees, and all will be well.
But meanwhile we live in these two principles and it is important that you know it, because when struggles and problems come into your life you are going to have to know what to do with the experience that you are living and you cannot be surprised when there are tests and there are difficulties, but God wants you to have the necessary weapons to, in the midst of that, live a healthy life.
And that is what we are talking about, not only that we heal our wounds but also that we accumulate health and vigor, and supernatural strength to live full and victorious lives even in the midst of struggles, because God has great things and great resources.
And in these next few weeks we are going to be talking about those principles that help us like the ones that I just enunciated right now and that healthy, biblical, healthy perspective that allows us to process the different things in life that come our way. And as I say, I like to be complex and balanced, that's why I can't just stand here and tell you that everything is fine, victory; Yes, there is victory, but there is also a process and there is a fight. I like to talk about both things, but in the end, the positive of God prevails.
But many times if we give people the beautiful and the good, and we don't tell them about the difficult, then we leave them halfway and they are not prepared to face life with the necessary complexity. I believe that in itself we are more than winners in everything, but that everything means that there is also struggle and tribulation, and anguish, but God wants the balance at the end of everything to be very positive.
And so we can see the Bible through a lens so that God gives us resources. And let me just quickly pick one of those passages, out of many passages that we have. And actually, by the way, I wanted to: the next time I share with you, I'm going to talk about a principle, but before that, in the very little time that we have left, I want to leave another principle in advance in your heart.
But the principle that I want to talk about later is that, we have inherent worth in Christ Jesus; You are worth for what God thinks of you, not for what others think of you, not for the money you have or for the achievements you have achieved, or for everything you have done in the world. Your value, your esteem should depend on how God sees yourself, and you cannot be measuring yourself how others see you or the circumstances because if you do so, you will be like a yo-yo, up and down. down all the time, going up and down and out in the open, and that is not possible. The child of God is measured according to how God sees him and there are words in Scripture that teach us this.
But before this: I want to see, it's like the Bible offers us an amount wherever it wants. If we learn to see the Bible as a source of advice, wherever you read you will find great teachings and simple, practical advice for living your life.
Look, for example, in Ephesians, the Letter to the Ephesians, in chapter 6 there is a passage that we are going to refer to on many different occasions, but here the apostle Paul talks about what we have to do when the moment of testing comes. Paul says in verse 10, "Therefore, my friends, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, put on the full armor of God so that you can stand firm against the wiles of the devil." Paul is inviting the Ephesians to strengthen themselves.
Listen to me, which wrestler or which runner is the one who waits for the day of the competition to then start exercising? meanwhile he's eating twinkies and donuts wherever he wants, and sleeping until twelve o'clock, and the day of the race arrives, and that day he starts acting hysterical and working out. No, the athlete, the athlete lives a life of continuous strengthening, right? of continuous preparation so that when the day of the race or fight arrives, it is simply putting into practice what he has already developed, has strengthened his body, and that is how the children of God should be. There are many Christians who wait until the devil is hitting them in the back so they can come to Church and ask the Lord: Pastor, pray for me, and glory to God, it's good, it's necessary, that's why we invite people to come forward here.
But what we have to do is live a life of continuous discipline in the Spirit, right? read the Word of the Lord, pray at all times, develop the muscles of faith, know the resources that God has given us, come to Church, enjoy the fellowship of Christians and believers, study the Bible, arm ourselves with different things so that when the day of the test arrives, we will be powerful and strong, and know exactly what we have to do. Because? because when the day of the test arrives, your mind is going to be so attacked that if you don't have that there alive inside of you, you won't know what to do.
Soldiers prepare so that when they're in the middle of war and bullets are whizzing through their heads, their body knows exactly what to do, and so they drill and exercise continuously, continuously, until it's done. it becomes a natural thing in them. Because when you are in trial, your mind is confused, you do not have time to read the Bible many times, it has to be alive within you, the Word of God has to come out spontaneously. Those verses that you have learned, those songs that you have learned will begin then and will flow from your bowels, and you will not know where they come from. They come from your spirit, you have invested time, you have spent time strengthening yourself in the Lord.
That is why Paul says, right? "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" put on all the armor of God, all the resources that are in the Word of the Lord and the Word of God is a treasure of resources and weapons that we can use to fight against the pains and the deformities, and the trials, and the weight of life, so that we can stand firm against the stalking of the devil. That was not a strict Pentecostal who wrote it, that was the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, the devil is real.
The Bible says, "Be sober and watchful because your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." The devil wants to damage your marriage, he wants to damage your health, he wants to damage your finances, he wants to manipulate your emotions, he wants to fill you with anxiety, he wants to question what God has declared about your life, and you have to stand firm to know how to counter the enemy. . When he comes, you have to have the necessary weapons to tell him: Get away from me, Satan, because that's what the Lord says, that's what the Word of God says. That is why we have to be strong at that moment for when the enemies of our soul come.
It says: "Because we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this century, against the rulers of the darkness of this century, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly realms" write that my brother, my sister. We are in a field of war and there are spirits that want our destruction. They do not want our children to prosper in the Gospel. They want to fill society with evil and bad energy. They want to destroy our marriages.
You are not fighting against circumstances, you are not fighting against poverty, against disease. In reality he is fighting against those who originate these things and they are the powers of the devil, that is the mafia that governs all the bad things in this world. Behind the poverty, the oppression, the unjust riches, the national wars, the ethnic hatreds, behind all that there are demonic powers that are manipulating the world and sowing evil in the world and they want to come into your life and do harm, and you have to live
Because that is the problem, that we sometimes live like innocent bunnies in a jungle where there are snakes and wild animals that want to tear us apart, and many Christians sin in innocence. And we believe that coming to church and spending ten minutes there while we think about other things, and that others sing, and us, and with that we kind of punched out the card and already did what we had to do, no. It is a very difficult world and we have to know how to strengthen ourselves and fight against the forces of evil, that is the only thing.
This world every day becomes more dangerous, more difficult, and healthy men and women are required in the Spirit to live victorious lives, to be able to snatch our children from the teeth of the devil, and to be able to preach the Gospel effectively, brothers, and to be able to be happy in the midst of struggles and trials. It takes work, God doesn't do it all for you.
Listen to me: gird your loins, feed yourself, take your spiritual vitamins. Pay the price because God doesn't do it all for you; there is a part that you have to do too. If you want to be a healthy, vigorous, plump and strong Christian you have to pay the price, you have to consume vitamins, you have to eat red meat from time to time and nourish yourself spiritually in order to live a healthy, victorious life.
And he says: "Therefore take the whole armor of God" say: all of it, it is not just a small part, it is the whole armor of God, all the advice of the Word of God. You have to know how to worship, you have to know how to do spiritual warfare. You have to know how to live a holy and pure life before God, you have to know how to confess when you offend the Lord. You have to know that you have to serve and give to the Lord in order to be materially and physically prosperous. You have to know how to forgive yourself and how to forgive others, how to exercise the love of God, it's the whole armor of God.
Because if you give a lot of money but do not forgive your brother, then your armor is fragile, the devil is going to get into that hole of rancor or judging others too much, or being too critical, or being harsh with your loved ones. The idea is: Lord, swing me and help me put on the full armor of God. And here what Paul does is point out some of those resources, he does not exhaust them all but uses the image of a Roman soldier who puts on his protective gear and all his militia resources in order to be victorious in war. It says: "Take on the whole armor of God so that you can resist on the bad day, and having finished everything, stand firm.
Look: the first thing I see here is that it says: "So that you can resist the resistance." Do you know that many times the only thing you will be able to do when you are in the middle of the test and the fight is to resist? stand firm. You will not have the strength to even say: may the Lord rebuke you. You are not going to have mental clarity to go to this, to the other. How many have not woken up one morning and have not had the strength but simply to say: Lord, I commend my life into Your Hands? Have mercy on me, help me finish this day, right?
There are times when the only thing you can do in your life is stand firm on what God has declared, and you know how powerful that is? The Bible says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." When you can't do anything else, simply stay firm until the bad day passes and it will pass, if you give time to the Lord, the time of rest will come.
Many times difficult situations will happen in our life and look at us here, alive and still kicking. Something worked out, some solution worked out, provision came from somewhere, God did something weird and there came the solution. Brother Nick was preaching last Sunday from this place in Jerusalem, or was he from Samaria? one of those places back in the Old Testament, and there was no food anywhere. And this nobleman who says: but where is he going, if God would open the window of heaven? and look how simple the answer was: God sent an army noise, the enemy army left, left all their possessions and the next day there was plenty of food. No one would have thought of that solution, do you understand? but God laughs at problems and sometimes He likes to give such simple solutions in your life that later you say: wow, but how did I not think of it before?
God has a solution for your life but while that solution for your life comes, don't worry, as Cervantes said, just stand firm on what God has declared. Hold on tight and at some point the devil will have to come out with his tail between his legs and run away, because it says that way, right? There is no evil that lasts a hundred years or a body that resists it, right?
The Word says: God has not given us any test that we cannot overcome or resist, but along with the test He sends the way out, the solution, but unfortunately many of us leave before God's blessing arrives. Before the solution arrives, before God has fulfilled His purpose in our life, we stop praising, we stop adoring, we stop serving, we stop going to church, and then the devil serves himself with the big spoon, when God says : He does not stand. Tell your friend next door: hold on, hold on. Wait for the day of God's blessing, wait for God's dawn. After night comes morning, comes the day to worship the Lord and celebrate, but no, don't leave before God's process is over.
God is a god of processes and he takes time sometimes, and the more time passes the more we learn, the more we are strengthened. We sometimes want steamed solutions, right? We go and at once we want God to put the pacifier in our mouths and help us right away, but no. You have to learn patience, you have to learn meekness, you have to wait long enough to see that I am real, I am faithful, I do not forget my promises and sometimes we have to wait, we have to resist. Sometimes all we have to do is resist and stand where God has said and that is incredibly powerful.
"So that we can resist in the bad day" in the bad day. Notice that Paul does not say: if the bad day comes, but: "So that you can resist on the bad day" is that there is a kind of day that is called the bad day. What is that bad day? It is the day of adversity, the day of suffering. The day when what you didn't want to happen happened. The day when the doctor told you: you know what? You have cancer and you have to have surgery. The day your husband told you: look, I want to get out of this marriage and I fell in love with the secretary, and we're going to live in Hawaii with the money we saved together. The day they took your house. The day you lost the job you thought you were going to get a gold watch at twenty-five and ready to retire. The day you failed the exam and couldn't get into the graduate school you wanted, or were told you're going to have to take another course, or wait a year to graduate, or any of the millions of negative things that can happen in the life of a man, a woman.
When those times come, because sometimes it can be a day, but sometimes it can be a week, sometimes it can be years, and we are there at that time, in that furnace of testing. And part of what we have to learn is that bad days come to everyone. And when that bad day comes then you have to go to the closet and take out the armor; don't take it off, put it on better. You must have it already on, you must not be looking for it where it is, you have it on, so that when the attack comes, the war comes, the affliction comes, you simply make use of what is already inside of you.
The bad day comes, the bad day comes to all of us and not one but many times, and then part of it is to arm ourselves with that truth, because I say: that is one of the most powerful resources and we will talk more about that for emotional health and the joy of life is simply getting used to the idea that evil happens to every man, every living being and that no one can pretend that certain things in life don't happen to them, it's up to all of us. One day it will be your time and another day it will be someone else's but you always have to go through those times, and the sooner we get used to that idea and learn to be happy within that recognition, the happier we will be for the rest of our lives.
"So that you can resist on the bad day, and having finished everything, stand firm." The idea is of a soldier who has a position to defend, and the arrows come, and the attacks come, and he stands firm in his position. And the bullets are whistling, the arrows or whatever, the projectiles, and the soldier is there: you are not going to pass through here, he stands firm in his post instead of turning his back and running away.
That is what many people are doing at this time, many pastors, many churches, God help us and I think I say it simply because it is not for us but for the grace of God, but there are many people seeing what is happening In the world, this society that is disregarding God and assuming many things, many Pastors are laying down their arms and are saying: well, if that is what is happening, we are going to join them, if that is the new sexual fashion or Whatever it is, we're going to say: come in, come in, everything is fine, go ahead because if we don't we're going to be left alone. And so they lower the price of the Gospel and they are turning their back on the devil, the Church is turning on him.
You never turn your face to the devil, you face the devil. You have to resist the devil and when everything is over, you will see that you can stand firm. If you hold your ground you will see that the devil will not be able to defeat you, hold your ground. And when it's all over, when God's total process has taken place, you'll be there in your position. But if we start to run away then the devil is served with the big spoon. Each one of us has to stay in his position until God has completed the purpose.
One day society will realize that: wow, we did an atrocious thing and they are all destroyed and undone, and then they go to seek God again, and there is the Church ready to serve them, and to heal them, and to bless them; I could tell you many examples of that throughout history. The Church has to resist, stand firm and not doubt God's purposes in all its life as well as in your life.
"Having finished all stand firm. Then stand" that insistence on firmness again, "gird your loins with truth." I will not be able to exhaust but I will be able to tell you some. Look: the truth. "Dressed with the breastplate of justice, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all take the shield of faith with which you can quench all the fiery darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, praying at all times and watching with all perseverance and supplication." There you have a roster, an assortment of resources, right? the truth.
I am not going to tell everything but I am going to give two others quickly. Truth, emotional health, peace, sanity is born from a love for God's truth, from being able to properly and fairly interpret the events that happen in our lives, to be able to interpret them correctly. Much of the neurosis in the world is born from lies, the misinterpretations that come when we suffer certain things. The false ways of seeing ourselves. The distortions that the devil wants to bring to what God has said.
The devil is the liar par excellence, he is the father of lies, he is the father of falsehood and error. Psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, all health counselors understand that neuroses and character deformations come from the lies we tell ourselves and the lies we accept about what has happened to us, the lie about how God sees us or God's purpose in our life.
The devil is always based on wanting to falsify the Truth of God. That is why when God tells Adam and Eve: Do not eat from that tree because the day you eat from that tree you will die. God told them a truth but what does the devil do? He comes and begins to sow doubt, and says: ah, so that God told them that this is so? That is not true. If you eat, your eyes will open and you will see things that you would not see. God is a man as I said, uraño and killjoy that what he wants is to prevent you from enjoying everything that He has for you. Adam and Eve accept that lie, sin, and death enters the world.
We have to ask the Lord: Lord, help us to live in Your Truth. Help us to understand the truth of Your Word because the Word of God is the Truth, Christ is the source of all truth. And when we study the Word of God and ask the Lord for revelation, God teaches us to see life in a true way instead of living with all the lies that we tell ourselves.
One of the things you have to do is make a pact with the truth. I say to the Lord: Lord help me to always make a pact with the truth, I see what I see instead of saying that I am seeing something else that is not true. That is what is happening in this world, right now brothers I tell you: in this world now and in this nation a lying spirit has fallen. I have never in my life seen anything as amazing as what I have seen in the last three, four years in this nation. It is as if a false administration has fallen in Washington, our rulers, in the culture, in the churches, in the theology of the Church, it is a spirit of lies and that is what the Word of the Lord says, that in recent times a spirit of lies and seduction would fall.
And only those who make a pact with the truth, because if we make that pact then we will. If you live in the truth, you don't have to fear anything my brother, and I know that, well then, how do I know the truth? don't look, many times it is simply saying: I am going to live the truth and I am going to stop hiding other things, a long process of explaining. But many times we lie to ourselves, we hide things that are in us and we throw them to others; oh! It was my dad who didn't affirm me! it is this unjust society that has caused this and that! instead of us saying: no, I have responsibility, I can change my destiny, I can be different. The problem is not my husband, my wife, the problem is me. My dad who sexually abused me didn't do it because I provoked him or whatever, but because he was a bad man or just misdirected.
And you have to see things as they are and then forgive, but do not try to hide it because if you repress the truth of what has happened to you or what God wants you to do then you will be in a state of lies, and that is going to hurt you in your life. Am I explaining myself more or less? We have to accept the truth, we have to make a pact with it. We have to commit to speaking the truth, interpreting the truth, because that is what sets us free. Christ has said: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." And the Word of God is the greatest source of truth that I know of.
That is why when you interpret the Word of the Lord and you are hardened by the tone and color of the Word of the Lord, you can then be a person capable of reading the reality of the world in which you live and see yourself as God. see yourself, and see the processes that you are living with the accuracy and precision that God wants you to see. When you live in the truth, no one can hurt you, no one can take anything from you, because you are safe in the Truth of God. That is why Paul says, right? "Loins with the truth."
And a last one: "Dressed with the breastplate of justice" I will perhaps continue there then. I told you a while ago that there are so many things that are intertwined that what we are going to do is: we end here and then we move on, okay? take those three, four little things that we shared today. We have to dress ourselves in the breastplate of justice and I ask that the musicians come in, with the brothers of, and let's go now.
Justice is an incredible protector that helps us live healthy lives and protect us from the attacks of the enemy, do you know why? because God calls us to be people of justice. The Bible says for example: "Husbands, do not be harsh with your wives so that your prayers may not be hindered." If we are being unfair with our children, with our spouse, husband or wife, with our friends, with our brothers in the Church, that will be an impediment to our emotional health, we will feel guilty in some way.
The children of God have to be just, treat each other equitably, treat each other fairly, give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. When you have to apologize ask for forgiveness. When you offended someone, admit it and don't be afraid, apologize. When you know that you are doing something that is hurting a person, stop doing it and rectify your path, treat people well with generosity, use the balance of Jesus Christ in life. Never do harm, never do wrong. The children of God are like those doctors who take an oath: first and foremost never to harm.
We are good people, we cannot hurt anyone, we cannot steal from anyone, we cannot stop giving people what they deserve. We have to live in justice and always be good people.
And another thing about justice is that justice is not our justice but God's justice, He is the norm, God's justice also involves holiness. That is why I believe that there is a logical union between truth and justice. If you do not live in the truth you cannot do justice, if you do not live in justice you cannot live in the truth either, and the truth is how God defines it, not how we define it, justice is like God. There are people who want to be more just than God and that is one of the problems of this time as well.
I'm sick of hearing this, this argument: "God is too good to condemn someone to hell." Know what? God is too fair not to condemn someone to hell if they deserve it and if they don't do what they have to do. God is love but he is a consuming fire.
Justice is often a balance between two extremes, between extreme mercy and extreme judgment, there is a balance called justice, and we the children of God have to look towards the justice of God and the holiness of God, we have to walk in that righteousness that God has established. Do not try to violate the holiness and justice of God, walk in that balanced Word.
Ask yourself: Lord, what do you want me to do, how is it that you call me to live? And you know what? God is by definition fair, even if it seems unfair to you, if God said so, go to the bank with it, because that is what you have to do in your life. And if you live like this, you will live in peace with yourself and with others. God's truth, God's justice, resistance to evil when the day of difficulty comes in our lives, keeping ourselves balanced between a damaged world and a God who is committed to our living successful lives, these are some of the teachings that God has for you on this day, receive them in the Name of the Lord.
Father: thank you, thank you because you want happiness for us, thank you because you want us to pass the exam. Thank you because the resources of the Kingdom of God are committed to our favor, thank you because You give us all the weapons we need to live victorious lives and we just have to make use of them. Thank you because if we resist the devil will flee from us. Thank you because You call us to live true lives, and thank you because in Your justice Lord we can be protected and guarded; in the holiness of God, the justice of God we have security.
Bless this people Lord, in the midst of struggles and afflictions we receive Your promise on this day. Thank you Holy Spirit, in the Name of Jesus, amen and amen, glory to the Name of the Lord. I hope you were not in too much of a hurry to receive something this morning, we are going to have a very sacred moment. I tell them:
