What do you expect from Jesus? (Luke 24:13)

I want to thank God for the youth ministry of this church, brothers. These guys that you see up here who put all their passion to adore and praise the Lord, you have to know them to truly know all the things that these guys go through. And through 3 years, I have learned to appreciate the gift and the gift that these guys are. For example, I pay attention to Raúl, who is a young man who has just arrived here, who has just come to us, who is singing right here in front of us. Raúl left 'Teen Challenge'. God rescued him from the streets, has transformed his life and now he is a boy who is on fire for the Lord in a way that even I am amazed when I see him and it is a joy for me to see that, to know how God he has the power to take a person and completely transform him when that person truly puts his life in his hands.

And it's not just him but many other guys who were here, brothers, many of them are fighting with ministerial calls. I have a great burden on my heart to pray so that they can discern and understand that call that God has for their lives, and I want to share that burden with you, so that you too can pray for them. Not only for them but for all the youth that we have in our church. God has great purposes with the youth of this church, both adolescents and young adults, and I know that his purposes will be achieved. So I put that word there for the honor and glory of God and also to let you guys know that you hold a very special place, not only in the heart of God but in the heart of this church as well.

Well, back to where we came from. Brethren, I don't know how many of you participate in the Wednesday night prayer times that we have here. I recommend that if you do not do it, that you consider doing it, because it is a great blessing, taking time to pray in the middle of the week. But I remember that a few Wednesdays ago, I had shared a reflection that was rather part of a personal study that I did, I wanted to share it with many of the brothers that Wednesday, and today I want to bring that reflection and share it with you in a greater context here in the church. And I don't know how many of you have expectations regarding life and especially when we are talking about our life in Jesus.

A few Thursdays ago I remember that I was in jail, on one of the visits that I make to preach, and one of the boys there in jail who has accepted the Lord, suddenly approached me and He asked me: Pastor Omar, I have to ask you a question. Tell me: So what? That was the question he asked me. After you accept Jesus Christ, so what? After you accept Jesus, what happens, what else is there? I am hoping that I can get out of prison to be with my family again but none of that has happened yet. I'm in trouble with many of the guys who are right here in jail, who are maybe from other gangs and I don't want to look for problems with them but they do look for it with me, what else? What can I expect from this life? And that very question made me question something that many times there are people who enter the Christian life with the wrong expectations. And I understand that for one to be able to enjoy the fullness of what a life in Jesus is, we have to have a correct perspective of what it means to have Jesus in the midst of our lives, of what it means for me to say: Jesus, I love you. I accept in my heart as my personal savior, that you are the one who cleanses and washes away all my sins, you renew me before God and you are the one who gives me eternal life. What does it mean for me to make a confession like that, and what implications does it have both for me personally and for me, in view of others as well? So I would like to lead you in a reflection based on this but first let me pray. Let me say no more without praying.

God, I raise my heart right now before you, Lord, because I know that I am in front of your presence and sharing your word is a very big responsibility and I don't want to take it in a mediocre way, Jesus. I do not ask you to hide me behind the cross because I am in front of you, Lord, I only ask that you take control of my words, my heart, my body, everything that I am, my passion for you, my passion for your word, take control of all things. You know the need with which your people have come before you today, I ask that your word, as it is alive and effective, can pierce the depths of our hearts, inspire us, Lord, and give us that encouragement that we need to be able to continue forward in our walk with you. I thank you, Jesus. Today I take captive, Lord, every thought that is revealed against you, I take it captive in your name, Jesus, and I declare ears and hearts open to receive your word today. In the name of Jesus, amen.

I would like you to go with me to Luke 24. It is a passage that is perhaps used a lot when we are in Holy Week, but I understand that it is a passage that has a lot, brothers, honestly there are times that we read the Bible like this like crazy, and we read one verse after the other but we don't stop to delve into some things that are present there in writing. And in Luke, Chapter 24, verse 13 there is an account of two men on their way to the city of Emmaus or the village of Emmaus, rather. I'm only going to read some verses, I'm not going to read it all because I'm going to go through some of them, but you can follow me.

Verse 13, Luke, Chapter 24 says this: “...and behold, two of them were going on the same day to a village called Emmaus. It was 60 stades from Jerusalem (more or less 7 and a half miles if we change it to miles) and they were talking among themselves about all those things that had happened, this is the death of Jesus on the cross, and it happened that while they were talking and discussing among themselves, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were veiled so that they did not know him. And He said to them: What conversations are these that you have among yourselves while you walk? Why are they so sad? One of them answered that his name was Cleofás and he said to him: Are you the only tourist, stranger in Jerusalem who has not known about the things that have happened in it in these days? Then Jesus said to them: What things? Let's leave it there.

What things? Talking about expectations, brothers, this passage shows two men who had great expectations about the person of Jesus. You may realize that the passage does not identify these two men as Jesus' closest circle of disciples, the group of 12, 11 in this case, because Judas had already been eliminated from the picture. But the two of them were not part of that group of closest disciples. In fact, in my study of this passage, many of the commentators say that these two may be related to the group of 70 mentioned in Luke, Chapter 10. the group of 70 disciples when Jesus sent out the group of 70 to go and preach, as they say, preparing the way also in the name of Jesus, they returned and shared with Jesus all the things that had happened, how the demons came out and the sick were healed. Many commentators identify these two men as part of that group from the 70s.

Now, but there is something very interesting about this passage that caught my attention, that maybe one skim reads it and it's like it's there, But it caught my attention that after the event of the crucifixion on the cross these two men were on their way, where? to Emmaus. You know, I believe that when the Bible puts some detail there, it is for a reason. If it says that these two men were on their way to that city, Emmaus, I began to ask myself, and what is Emmaus, where is Emmaus? Obviously it tells us that it is some distance away, about 7 miles from Jerusalem, and they were walking there, but when I began to inquire about the city of Emmaus. Do you know what Emmaus means? Emmaus means lukewarm springs or lukewarm baths. That is what the name Emmaus means. So in my study I can infer that these two men after having experienced all the things they experienced at the time of the crucifixion and that perhaps their expectations went down the drain, these two men were on their way to lukewarmness, to the comfortable, perhaps the familiar, the known to them.

I don't know if you remember each other, but in Revelation it says that you better be cold or hot because if you are lukewarm, what happens to you? Outside you go And I tell myself that this is very interesting because for us there are some warm things that we like, for example, as far as I know most of us, if by a show of hands, if I ask you, how many of you bathe with warm water? They did not raise their hand. Do they bathe in hot water? Do they bathe in cold water? The ones that aren't raising their hands are worrying me, you know, because then the question I have to ask is; Do they bathe, yes or no? If you don't want to answer, then I can assume that most of us bathe with lukewarm water. Or at least on cold days hot water predominates. Or maybe some of you will eat a soup. How many of you eat a very hot soup? And how many of you add ice to two so that it cools down a bit and then you can eat it? I do that. But there are times when things are warm, warm, it's like it's pleasant, it's the same as with the temperature. If it's too cold, oh how cold it is. If it's too hot, oh, save me from this heat! Now, but when the temperature is 70 or 75, very warm, well, the warm, the warm, it's familiar, it's good, it's pleasant.

But when I take these concepts to the spiritual life, brothers, the lukewarm is a danger. The lukewarm is a danger because it shows a comfort, a spiritual stability that is totally opposite to the spirituality that Jesus wants us to live. I find it funny because one says to him: which means cold. Cold means being with the devil and hot means being with God, or is it vice versa? And what I can say is, look, either you are hot or cold with God or you are hot or cold with the devil. Both apply to God. That was something I thought when I was little. When I read that passage, he told me, well, it will be hot to be with God and cold to be with the devil, but it doesn't make sense because if the devil is in hell, hell has to be hot, heaven has to be colder, So the perspective changed. But now that I'm grown up, well I can say, one or the other, with God, or I'm cold with God, tenuous that nothing blows my lilies away, or I'm hot, on fire with the Lord.

And these two men were on their way to a warm place, a comfortable place, a pleasant place, and this was so interesting to me, brothers, because although they were men who were not from the close group of the disciples, they as They wanted to have the opportunity to experience some contact with Jesus, they had that opportunity to be there or see how right there the Lord gave them power so that they would go on a mission and they came back and had their experiences, they told them, it was something that they could see. Perhaps they were men who saw when He fed the 5,000, when they saw when He healed the sick and was there with them. But they weren't the most intimate group, it was a more superficial group that stayed there on the surface. And I understand, brothers, that when these two men go there on the way to Emmaus, once again, they were men whose expectations of Jesus were shattered, were shattered, were broken and then they said: Well, if this Jesus died all the time that He had promised, everything that He had said, went up in the air, so I am going back to my house. I go to what I know, I go to the familiar.

Do you know why I say these two men had incorrect expectations? If you read with me in verse 19 it says “... then Jesus answered them: what things? And they said to him: Of Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deeds and in word before God and all the people." Look how these two men identified Jesus, first they identified him as a Nazarene, second as a prophet, powerful in works, he did many miracles, and powerful in the word before God. Do you know what they missed? That they did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, they did not recognize Jesus as the son of God, they did not recognize Jesus as the savior and the Lord and the redeemer, not only of Israel but of all humanity. Therefore, the approach that these men had had to Jesus had not been such a deep one for them to know the real identity of Jesus and that is why their expectations were broken.

In verse 21, look how they continue saying: "....we expected that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel, and now, in addition to all this, today is already the third day that everything has happened" about the death of Jesus. They thought that Jesus was going to be a great political leader, that he was going to bring order once more to Israel. Since he was doing all these miracles, all these signs, well they thought; Well, this is going to be the man who is going to restore the political order of Israel, we have hope, so we are going to get closer to be able to be part of that kingdom too. But that was not the intention of Jesus. Jesus' intention was to restore the heart of Israel and reconcile it once more with God, it was not to bring a political order, it was to restore hearts with their Creator. But there in the middle of that road to Emmaus, these men were wondering, questioning themselves, the confusion they had.

Look, when you get confused there are times when you think, say or do things that don't make sense or direction. That happens to a confused person, they cannot coordinate well, they do not have the ability to have a stable mind and emotions to be able to make decisions that can help them move forward. And in that case, these two men, at least had the great idea of going together and not going one way and the other the other. If they had gone alone, their confusion would have been even greater, but at least being together they had the opportunity, as they say, to vent to each other and to be talking to each other. Tell me your confusions and I'll tell you mine. One may think: Omar, but that sounds like a blind man leading another blind man. I'm not saying it, they were two blind men walking their things just the two of them. But they were together, brothers.

I'm going to get on with this they were together. There are times when one gets confused, one closes in on oneself. There are times when the person's reaction is to close in on himself or herself, and disconnect from the rest of the world. But these two men decided to leave together, and it was on that walk that Jesus appeared to them. Look at this, how interesting, brothers. Pay close attention to this, because there is a point here. One can think that if Jesus had his closest group of disciples, that then Jesus was only going to reveal himself to them, because they were his close disciples, it was his most intimate circle and one can then understand if Jesus is going to reveal himself, well He is going to reveal Himself only to those who were closest to Him. But here I can see that Jesus decided to reveal Himself not only to an intimate group, but also to those who were not part of that team, of that group. . And He approached them.

If you realize, brothers, in the Great Commission, in Matthew the Great Commission, if you read it correctly, not only were the disciples the only ones who were there with Jesus, there were other people besides the disciples and When Jesus gives the Great Commission, he did not give it to the twelve only, he gave it to everyone present. God's revelation is not only for an intimate, select group, God's revelation is for everyone. God's revelation is to reach the whole world.

And that is the example that I can see here, of how Jesus approaches these two men and makes them understand things that they had not been able to understand because they were not at dinner with Jesus, they were not there when Jesus washed their feet to his disciples, but there goes Jesus and he approached them. And this walk is very interesting, in that walk Jesus begins to reveal to these men all the things that were to happen with respect to Him from Moses to the prophets. He began to reveal the Scripture to him, if you see where it says in verse 27: "...and beginning with Moses and continuing through all the prophets, he declared to them in all the scriptures what they said about him", all the things that they had to happen with regard to Jesus. But maybe these two men were so caught up in their own frustration that they couldn't understand that. When this passage says that their eyes were blinded there are many writers who say that it was God who caused their eyes to be blinded so that they could not recognize Jesus when He was walking with them. But there are others who also say that because of their own confusion and their own frustration he did not let them see Jesus, he did not let them recognize that Jesus was with them.

And brothers, this is something very interesting because many times we can be involved in a situation and we are so focused on it that we do not realize that we have Jesus, so to speak, in our very noses, and we do not recognize him . Because? Because we are involved in a situation, our mind, our emotions, even our body, every cell of us is so involved in it that it cannot recognize the presence of God in our midst. But there these men go, they were getting closer to the place where he was arriving and Jesus pretended that he was going in another direction. Look how it says, verse 28: "..they arrived at the village where they were going and he pretended to go further, but they forced him to stay saying: Stay with us because it is getting late and the day has already declined". And that action of Jesus was so interesting to me. He first appeared to them on the road; second when they were getting closer He made as if he was going in another direction. And this makes me understand two things: 1) that Jesus does not impose himself on anyone. That phrase that we say, that the Holy Spirit is a gentleman who will not force anyone, that phrase that we often hear from preachers and even from people when they talk about their experience with the Lord, I understand that the Lord does it is not imposed on anyone. He is not going to cause you to, as it were, twist your arm behind your back to say: Accept me now. No, Jesus is not going to do that.

On the contrary, in Revelation it says: I am here, I am at the door and I knock. what does he say next? If someone hears my voice and gives me permission to break the door and enter then we are fine. I am going to come with the SWAT team of the police, break down the door and I am going to enter, I am going to be dwelling with them. No, what he says is: if anyone hears my voice and opens, then I am going to enter, I am going to live with them, I am going to have dinner with them, I am going to share with them. Jesus then entered because these men invited him to be with them. Look how interesting. What did they end up sharing? They ended up sharing a tremendous cake of bread, “...And it came to pass that while he was sitting with them at the table, he took the bread and blessed it, broke it and gave it to them, then their eyes were opened and they recognized him more. He disappeared from your sight". And then I come to the verse that I like the most in this whole passage. Look how they say: “our hearts did not burn within us while he spoke to us on the road and when he opened the Scriptures to us. What was the moment where these two men could understand that they had Jesus in front of them? When they were sharing bread. But if you look at it in a deeper way, it was when they were gathered in fellowship with Jesus. That connection of brothers, that connection of sharing what they have, what is yours is mine and what is mine is yours, it was there that God's revelation became clear before them.

Guess what, brothers? This passage represents many things about our walk in our Christian life with Jesus. Everything, all this passage has something to say to us. Many times, brothers, we come to accept Jesus with incorrect expectations. We come to Jesus because we want Him to take care of our wife, or take care of our husband. We came to Jesus because I have some children who are bandits and they are causing me work and they are in jail all the time, and I come to Jesus so that He can fix them, so that He can take care of them. I come to Jesus because I am broke and I need money and I need the Lord to provide me with money. I come to Jesus, because I have a problem in my family, be it in Puerto Rico, in Guatemala, in Patagonia, there in Argentina.

And then I come to Jesus so that Jesus can take care of that situation, and you know what, although I know that the Lord can take care of all those situations and much more, but if that is what is moving you to accept the Lord, you are making a wrong decision. Because? Your decision for Jesus is because you want to have an encounter and a relationship with Him. The main purpose of Jesus is to restore and reconcile your heart with God, it is not to give you money, it is not to give you a job, it is not to fix your child who is in jail. The initial purpose of Jesus is to cleanse you of all sin and restore your condition from a fallen nature, to a fully restored nature and reconciled once more with your Creator, God and Father of each one of us. That is the initial purpose of Jesus. A person who comes here to the altar: Yes, I want to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and I confess it and here I am but I have these problems and blah blah..... and the list goes on.

And then he walks out of here, comes back and sits down and continues to lead his normal, run-of-the-mill life. Do you know what that is? I give value to that, I know that it starts something in the person, but if the person only remains in that decision, they are staying on the surface. It is happening to you like these two men, they knew Jesus only from the surface and did not have the initiative to get even closer. They did not have the initiative to get to know Jesus much more deeply, they just kept seeing all these things, we are going to leave it there. That's not enough. I know that this man is going to do something and I hope then that he does it, but his expectations were totally incorrect, and if we make a decision for Jesus, who also remains like that on the surface, brothers, sooner or later our expectations will go down. frustrate. Because? Because we are waiting for the Lord to do something, because the intention of our hearts is: yes, Lord, I want you to put a, b and z in their order and that is the only thing I want from you.

But the Lord is looking at you and is saying: You want me to do from A to Z, but I want from A to Z in your heart. And what will happen to that part? If I don't have that part first, the rest isn't going to fall into place. And then when the Lord does not work as we expect, what happens? We rebel and where does each one run? Everyone is on their way to Emmaus. Each one of us, including myself, when the things that I am praying for, the things that I am waiting for from the Lord, do not happen, one falls down. Well, I hoped that the Lord would do this, I hoped that by this time in my life I could have achieved this, this and this and I still haven't achieved it. What's happening? Because I have my expectations wrong, I'm leaving with my tail between my legs on the way to Emmaus. I'm on my way to a warm bath, I'm on my way to what seems to be comfortable, to what seems to be familiar to me. In other words I am escaping, I am escaping from what the Lord truly wants for me.

When the Lord asks for your life, he is asking you for something very big. Many times one's life, one takes great care of it, one wants to have control of that life and when the Lord is saying to you: No, I want total control of your life... You are asking me for something very big. Giving my life to the Lord has some demands that many times, include or most of the time, include a very big sacrifice on our part, brothers. And when we don't think within ourselves that we can't live up to those expectations that the Lord has of us, then we take the escape route: Ok, this is not for me. There are many people who can react in different ways. There are people who, in their reaction, when what they expect from the Lord does not happen, they get depressed and isolate themselves and stay there, they forget that there is a God. There are other people who do it even worse: there are people who, when they do not receive what this supposed Christian faith promised to give them, not only get depressed and frustrated, but they become critical experts on the Christian life and dare to to say that it is not worth living for God.

But there are also people who, although their expectations may not be met, and perhaps they experience a period of frustration with everything and that, they remain firm and persevere until they achieve what they are looking for. And this is the example, brothers, that I understand that we must follow. And maybe you or someone you know can identify with those other examples that I mentioned, but each one of those situations brothers serves a specific purpose in you. Even when your expectations are not fulfilled, they are not met, this can help you to discern and identify what moved you in the first place.

I recognize, brethren, a little testimony here, that I don't think I've ever shared before. When I arrived here in Massachusetts, I was studying at the seminary, about 25 minutes west of here, I remember that I arrived here convinced of my call to the ministry and that I was willing to resist anything and the first snow did not come. Speaking of hot and cold, the first snow just arrived, brothers, and I found myself in my little 10 by 10 room, sitting in a little corner on the floor, saying: Lord, this is not for me. What am I doing here? I used to think sometimes, in the country where my uncle Eldo and my aunt Marisa, shepherds and his wife, a little country house there in Ceiba, I remember that I always went there, and part of my routine was climb to the top of the mountain where I could see the entire east coast of Puerto Rico.

That was my meeting place, my little heaven. On that mountain up there. I used to think about that and when I looked out the window what I saw was all white. And the snow didn't fall from the top down, it fell from the side as well. I said to myself: what am I doing here? I could have studied there in the seminary in Puerto Rico, and I here. My girlfriend is there, my family is there, my friends are there, what am I doing here? Brothers, I do not deny it, for 3 months I fell into a depression, for 3 months, a very strong depression and I cried every night and did not tell anyone, my grades began to plummet. One night I called my mother: Look, prepare the things that I'm going to go back. I remember that she with tears in her eyes, at least I didn't see her but at least I heard them, with tears on the phone she told me: Omar, I would like you to come here too, but the Lord has called you for something and for something you are there.

I remember that those simple words, and that moment of frustration and depression in which I was, turned into a moment of intense discernment, brothers, that you have no idea of the pain that caused me. At one point I was deciding: Lord, either I serve you or I go back to how everything was before, or I accept what you have for me here, or I take my bags and go on my way to Emmaus. I mean, it's not that Puerto Rico is a warm place, but you get the message. At least the water is warm there.

That fight that I had in my heart, brothers, helped me to identify what my intentions were and the reasons why I was here. It hasn't been easy, but I told myself: Lord, if you have something with me, I want it to be fulfilled to your capacity. If there is something that you want with this vile glass, do it Lord. If you, through this process, want to break me and change my perspective so that I can understand even more what you want to do with me, do it. Brothers since then I am still here.

Look at the purposes that God had that I am here now talking to you. Have I grown? yes, I have grown, but do you know what that was for? That experience helped the Lord tell me: Omar, it is not enough to know me halfway, you have to go deeper. You have to know me more. The little that you saw and lived there in Puerto Rico is not enough, you have to live more. I am challenging you to live longer. And that same challenge that I received is the same challenge that I extend to you today. God challenges us day after day not to stay on the surface and brothers, there are so many biblical passages that reflect this.

Look at the vision of the prophet Ezekiel, when he was with this man of God who appeared to him and these rivers came out of the temple. Do you remember that vision? The angel measured a certain distance and he walked and the water was ankle deep, then he measured again and it was knee deep, then up to his waist, then higher up to his neck until he could do nothing but swim. Depths, brothers, it is not enough to be from the group of 70, you have to be part of the group of 12. It is not enough to know the signs and miracles of Jesus, you have to know him where he can see my feet, the keys that I have and let him wash my feet.

And something that many times people go unnoticed is the mere fact of how God reveals himself through their body, how God reveals himself through his church, that image of how Jesus sat with them at the table, broke the bread, shared with them and their eyes were opened, the confusions left, but their eyes were opened at that moment. That is the same thing that happens when all of us meet Sunday after Sunday, Wednesday after Wednesday, Saturday after Saturday, or in any other cell or in any other activity where body and spirit meet: God's revelation is given. And this is where a lot of people can't understand or accept this.

Because there are people who, due to having the wrong perspective, arrive at church and the only thing they can see is a group of sick people, with bad habits, with bad habits, with character, with attitudes, I don't get along with this person , and because I don't get along with that person, I don't want to see him or I don't want to see him, and therefore, what is the decision? I don't go to church... oh it doesn't happen here, that's in other churches. Well, so that you can tell others who are in other churches then.

Brethren, we can never be mistaken that what the church means is a body, and it is the body of Christ. And here we do have a lot of people with different backgrounds, with different ways of thinking, with different ways of approaching life and doing things in life, but through that same diversity, it is that the Lord reveals himself to each one of us. It is through me sharing with brothers who are from Brazil that I can see how the Lord has revealed himself in their lives and how that same experience can nourish mine that I am from Puerto Rico, and we are both here in Massachusetts. It is through this diversity that I can see a boy who is in jail, who was in a program whose life is a disaster, and suddenly the Lord transforms him and he shares that experience with me, and that gives me understand that the Lord is in action in the midst of his people. It is through this, that although perhaps I may have a problem with someone in the church, but because we have the correct perspective that you are a child of God, that I am a child of God and although perhaps I I disrespected you and you disrespected me, but because we have the right perspective, those things can be healed and restored and we can move on, seeing the revelation of God in our midst.

I want to give you a very recent example, just taken out of the oven: I am going to use my dear brother Miguel as an example. Miguel, do you give me permission? Don't worry, I'm not going to put you in the spot so much. How many of you say that Miguel has a unique character? At least those who know Miguel. Miguel has a unique character. I have young people up here who can say the same thing too. But for me, Miguel, he has become such a vital part of my life, the first time I met him he came and greeted me with a kiss. He planted it on my cheek. And I was like: Aha? Either you are Puerto Rican or you are from somewhere in Europe who greet each other with a kiss. I was half stunned, like what is this? But that showed me something about him. If you know him to any person, he greets the person like this. I started to get to know Miguel and I was able to identify a lot with him, but there came a time when Miguel and I had an exchange, we had a little problem and I: here Miguel went with me, I'm sure Miguel said the same from me: Omar left here with me, forget it. But I understand that he is a servant of God and he understands that I am a servant of God and there was a day, I go and visit him at home, we sit in his basement and we start to play a little bit of Play Station . Since my wife doesn't let me have it, every time I go there, well, that's where I let off steam and heal a little and go play Play Station there with Miguel.

But suddenly we stopped playing and started talking about what happened. And, brothers, there is nothing better, there is nothing better than being totally honest and transparent with a person. I thought that from that problem that Miguel and I had, I thought that we were going to be enemies forever, but when we sat down to talk in the basement of his house and we even ended up crying together. Brothers, that was an "eye opener", that was an experience to open our eyes and let us know that the Lord that he and I serve, goes beyond what the two of us can experience. And now brothers, he has become a person who has helped my life, my relationship with the Lord, my ministry to grow to a much higher level, and I am sure that in the same way, although he is much older than me, I am sure that I have also helped his life to grow and develop as well.

Now what's the point, with me mentioning these things, brothers? I say, so that we don't lose perspective, and that we come together as the body of Christ has a very particular purpose. That concept of us being the church, the body of Christ surpasses any difference that you and I may have. That if you are from one culture and I am from another, and perhaps I say a word that may be offensive to you, but not to me, because of that small misunderstanding, well... polar opposites, well, I no longer unite with Omar for what happened. That cannot be so in the body of Christ. In the body of Christ, if I said something wrong, I have to approach you and say, I think that this word that I said hit you wrong, right? And I think you should let me know: Look, Pastor Omar, this in my country means this, this and this.

Not long ago I was taking some pills, and in Puerto Rico we say that when a person takes a lot of pills, I say that I'm going to sound like a maraca, because of the many pills that I sometimes take, between vitamins and headache pills or something, and there are times when I end up saying: I'm going to sound like a maraca. But I said it in front of a person that their culture "sounding like a maraca" meant that she was a prostitute, and when I said that the person looked at me like Pastor Omar, you don't want to say that in front of me, and I : but what does that mean? It's a maraca and it's like: Oh, Omar, no!! In the communication we were able to understand, I was able to understand what it meant to that person and she was able to understand what it meant to me. But if there wasn't that interaction, brothers, we couldn't even get to three and two. And it is the example that I see with these two men, it is the same.

Not only were they sharing with each other, but in that sharing Jesus is present and in that meeting is where their eyes are fully opened so that I can understand what their situation is, what their condition is in front of the one another and in front of Jesus too, and the same thing happens, brothers, when we are here. Do you want to meet the Lord? Ah, I'm going to stay in my house just praying as it says in the Bible, I lock myself in the room and the Lord who hears me in private is going to reward me in public. Look, if it's okay, but that's not enough. That is not enough, you have to be here too, seeking the presence of the Lord here in the Congregation of brothers and sisters. It is not enough to stay on the surface, it is necessary to go even deeper. It's not enough for me to come here and pray; Lord I accept you, and now, there it stays. If I accept you, what do I have to do? what are the implications for my life? how do i look for you? how can i learn to pray How can I learn to read the word? how can you learn that? Connect with the body of Christ and you will know.

I invite you to stand up, brothers. Each one of us has an Emmaus. Listen well, each one of us has an Emmaus. What does that mean? Each of us has a comfortable place where we go when things don't go our way. There are some people that their Emmaus is a bottle of rum. There are some people that their Emmaus is a night club. There are some people whose Emmaus is to close in on himself or herself. There are other people whose Emmaus is to go and spend all the money they have. But whatever your Emmaus may be, that is not the path that the Lord wants for you. He can reveal himself to you on that path, but that is not the final direction he wants you to take. The final decision He wants you to make is the path that leads to Him, the path that leads to Jesus. It is a path that has life standards that go above the standards of this world, since standards are so difficult, many times, people cannot understand it and have wrong expectations when they make a decision to enter that path. . But, brothers, I want to tell you today that I prefer that you live that path than that you live the path of today. I would rather you be on the path of the standards of Jesus than the standard paths of a mere Emmaus.

God reveals himself to you. God, listen well, God reveals himself to you, to your person, to your heart. He doesn't just reveal himself to the pastors and deacons of the church, God reveals himself to you. Because? Because you are important to him. You, man who listens to me, you are important to the Lord. The Lord wants something with you. You, woman who listens to me, the Lord wants something with you. Young man who listens to me, child who listens to me, the Lord wants something with you. There is something He sees in you that He wants to use. How are we going to respond? We are going to have egocentric expectations where we only want the Lord to work on our behalf, or we are going to have the correct expectations of the Kingdom, that if I approach the Lord it is to be close to Him. And that once I am in contact with that heart of God, you know what? We already know, everything else comes in addition. But do you know what is in the center of God's heart? You and I. People, people are what is in the center of God's heart, they are his creation and the Lord moves in us to also be a blessing to others.

Many times this can be experienced through a warm heart, many times it can be experienced in the peaceful circus as well. But one way or another the Lord reveals himself to your life. And I want to invite now, at this moment, if there is someone who has not made that decision to say: Lord, I do not recognize you as the Nazarene, I do not recognize you as a prophet, I do not recognize you as a good man, I want to recognize you as the Messiah, as the Son of God, as my Lord and as my savior. If there is someone who has not made that decision, I want to open this opportunity for you to make that decision, that you can raise your hand and say Lord, I want you to be the Lord of my life. I want to give that opportunity so that you can raise your hand and make that decision now.

I want to pray for this brother right here in the front. I want to pray for your first.

I want all of us as a church to be able to pray for him as well. Make that decision today. He's taking that step today, making the Lord Jesus, the Lord and Savior of his life.

Jesus right now as a church, as a body, we lift up this son of yours before you, Lord. Father, James belongs to you, he is yours Jesus.

We love you, Lord Jesus. He belongs to you and you come right to his side when he's on his way to Emmaus, Lord Jesus. And it is right there where you reveal to him, you reveal to his life, that you love him, that you care for him and that you want to restore his whole life completely. Father, I pray that your holy spirit may be upon him right now and that you may make him a new creature completely, Lord God. His mind, his spirit, his heart, his body that every cell that is within him, Lord Jesus, may come to know who you are. But that that decision may not stay on the surface, that it may go deep, deep within you, every day, Lord Jesus. I pray that you may move him to the depth of your love, even more every day. God I give you thanks for him and I pray that you may continue to cover and guide him.

And now, brothers, I want to say a prayer for us too. I know that all of us have expectations of something that the Lord expects, that we expect from the Lord. Many times you may have experienced frustration because those expectations have not been met, at least as you expect, but I am one of those who believe that Jesus also works behind the scenes, that even when you are not realizing it, the Lord is doing something in your favor, but recognize that what the Lord wants is your heart day after day, night after night. That is the most that the Lord desires, to have you. You know why? Because once he has you, once he has your heart, everything else flows. Not only the things for your own life, but also for those around you. Brothers, let us not take the time for us to meet as a church in vain because that is where the Lord also reveals himself to your life in a greater, deeper way.

I now make a call to all of us, brothers and sisters, not to stay on the surface, not to settle for being from the 70s, but to enter the innermost circle of the life of Jesus. I want to challenge all of you today to this and if you want to accept that challenge, if you feel that way, listen well, I want you to raise your hand, because I want to pray for you and if you want to come here to the front, I invite you to come to the front, I'm going to stand here too. I invite you, brothers, that if you want to have a time of prayer, I believe that it is necessary for us to take this opportunity. How many of you have been on your way to Emmaus when perhaps you did not receive what you expected from the Lord? But, even on the way to your Emmaus, the Lord is present, the Lord is present in your life.

We cannot let anything blind our eyes, but we always have to keep our eyes open before the Lord, to see how the Lord works many times behind the scenes in our lives, even through painful situations but the Lord is there . I even dare to say this, if you also want this opportunity to reconcile that contact, that relationship that you have with the Lord, I invite you to come here too. I know that the Lord is here, if you want to reconcile that experience, that first encounter that you had with him, I want to invite you to take this opportunity to say: Lord, here I am. I need to renew my vows with you. I need you to come and touch my life one more time and open my eyes so I can see clearly where you are in me, I can walk firmly in your direction, not in the direction of Emmaus, not as a way of escape , but that I can walk towards you.