Complete the work, Lord!

Last Sunday I heard a phrase in Pastor Roberto's message that stuck with me in my mind and in my heart. Obviously it is a phrase that comes from a Biblical text. It was the text from Acts Chapter 1 that we were hearing about last Sunday. That is the text where Lucas is saying to Theophilus, he is saying to him: 'My dear Theophilus, in the First Book that I wrote you I began to speak to you about the things that Jesus began to do and teach'.

I don't know but I stayed, I stopped at that sentence. “The things that Jesus began to do and teach.” Obviously the Pastor kept talking about many other things and I was paying attention to what he was saying. But my head returned to that phrase again. “The things that Jesus began to do and teach.”

When I hear that Jesus started to do something, it doesn't mean that what started ended when He died or went to heaven, but that things continued. When Luke was writing to Theophilus, what he was doing was continuing the work that Jesus had begun to do and teaching Theophilus what Jesus had taught him. I started to think, “things”. I don't know but you have heard that word many times today, right? “things”, “things”, “things”. Psalm 65 verse 5 says: 'With tremendous things God will work in his justice'.

And now, Luke is saying "the things that Jesus began to do and to teach." I wonder: What are those “things” that Jesus did? And look, there is a list that we would make an entire vigil if I start listing each one of them. But I know I'm not going to do that. But I focused on one, one of many. It is in the Book of Luke Chapter 17. I want you to read this passage with me. Luke Chapter 17, verse 11.

Luke 17 verse 11. I know it's a story that perhaps many of us know, but I just want to meditate on a few things here very quickly. They are like who says my “nutshells” that I am going to throw there for you to take it with you tonight. It says –Luke 17, verse 11-: 'Jesus going to Jerusalem passed between Samaria and Galilee' – now I want you to visualize something, I am very visual.

Imagine a map of the area of Israel, you have this edge of land next to... on your left side is the Mediterranean Sea, so obviously next to here is all the land of Israel. Samaria is one of the towns that is in the same middle, a little below the Sea of Galilee. Picture the Sea of Galilee at the top, the Jordan River flowing into the Red Sea. Samaria is somewhere in between and Galilee is north of Samaria.

So imagine that Jesus was making a journey from south to north. Exactly, if you have a map in your Bible you can see it there. Now, obviously Jesus was passing from a town where He was not welcome as a Jew, yet there He was. And so He was passing to Galilee which was, as they say, the area where He left, where He was born, where He Says himself: “Wow! There is no prophet with honor in his own land." More, however, there He was going. Nothing stopped him, once again.

'He was passing between Samaria and Galilee and as he entered a village he was met by ten men with lepers who stood at a distance and raised their voices saying: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When Jesus saw them he said: “Hey! Go and show yourselves to the priests." I'm going to stop there for a moment so you understand this. In the history of the life of the Jews, they had a series of rituals with which, as they say, they could check if they were clean before God. They had spiritual rituals where they had to sacrifice a donkey or a goat or something like that, depending on the sin they had. If it was a small sin, it was a dove, if it was a big sin, it was already a very large buffalo that they sacrificed before God.

But they also had rituals that had to do with purifying their own bodies when there was some disease. And one of the things that happened to the lepers was that when they were sick with leprosy they had to go to a place away from the rest of the village. And once they were healed, what they had to do was they had to go and present themselves before the High Priest and he was the one who, as they say, he was the doctor who took off his priest's hat and went he put on the doctor's hat and he analyzed the skin of these men to see if they were truly cured or not.

And he was the one who gave the final order so that they could reintegrate once more into society. So when Jesus was telling them this, imagine that scenario. Imagine Jesus over there and these men in the other corner and from here they say: “Hey, Jesus! We know we can't get close but do something. Heal us one way or another." And maybe they were waiting for Jesus to say, "Right now I declare you healed." Just like Pentecostal style as many of us like it.

Maybe they were waiting for me to do that. Maybe one of them was waiting for Jesus to make a mud mix like that or something like he did to a blind man and throw a ball of mud like that at them from a distance. “Pah! Right now be healthy.” Or that he would take a bottle of water and throw water at them and “Now receive”. But Jesus did none of that. What Jesus did was what? He gave them an order and said: “Go now and present yourself before the High Priest”.

In other words, what he was telling them was 'you are healthy, now'. "You are already healthy, go present yourself before the High Priest so that you can see." I mean, I want us to analyze something here, my brothers. And you know that I like to think a lot. And I ask myself: how does the faith of these people work? These people according to the text, when Jesus said "go and show yourselves to the priests" and 'it came to pass that while they were going they were cleansed'.

Look how interesting. There are other texts where it says: 'immediately they left and there they were healed' but it says that 'it happened that while they were going…' In other words, I imagine that there had to be a pause between the time that Jesus said that word and that they calculated Like, “Okay, it kind of doesn't make sense but hey! You said that. Come on". If it had been me, maybe I would have said that. I don't know about you, but I make my confession. I would have said that.

If Jesus had told me: “Look Omar, go and present yourself before the High Priest and you are healed. Do not hurry". I would have – if I had had a robe or something – I would have said like “well, I have a sore here and another here. My face is disfigured. Are you sure? Are you sure what you are asking of me?" But since they knew that He was Jesus they declared it “You are Jesus, the Master. Have mercy".

If You give that word, then let's go. It was like Peter, do you remember when Peter was like that after trying to catch a fish and he didn't catch anything else, but Jesus told him “Look, cast the net right now and you'll see the catch you're going to catch? And Peter tells him “But Jesus, I already know about this more than you. I already tried and it didn't work. But at your word 'Let's do it'. ‘I’m taking you on your word’. ‘I am taking you at your word. We are going to do it, we are going to dare.

There is that element like "risk" as risk, like one taking risks many times in one's life of faith, where perhaps one would like things to be resolved, like that, in the moment. To have the whole picture clear, but what God encourages us is that how we "launch". You said so, look, I'm going to trust your word. I'm going to take you seriously at your word and we're going to get our hands on it.

Who knows? If on the way there, what happened? And 'it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. But one of them, seeing that he had been healed, returned glorifying God with a loud voice and fell face down at his feet, giving him thanks. And this was' – look how the drama unfolds, the novel. This is a novel. This is better than "Sortilegio", better than what other? What other novel is out there? "Soul mate", "Broken heart", I don't know. The devil knows better than... Hey! We have a stream of noveleros here today.

I was going to say something, but no. I confess that my wife made me watch the last chapters of "Fools Do Not Go to Heaven." I confessed. De todas formas. Look how this drama unfolded in the text. Look how this drama unfolded. In other words, out of ten people, the first thing that strikes me is that only one returned. One came back when he was on his way. Maybe the others were like “Okay, let's go talk in front of the Priest and what do I know”.

Maybe they realized they were healed but they said “Well, Jesus told us to go to the Priest, well, let's go there to the Priest. We are going to finish obeying what Jesus said.” Hey! That's fine. We're following orders. They were following orders. But you know what my brothers? Only one of them, only one. I even remember a song that says 'Plus one of them stayed when thank God and said I want to take a moment to thank you. Thank you for your love. OK.

Only one came back. What is Jesus doing? What are those things that Jesus began to do? Wherever He puts His hand, wherever He speaks a word, things change. Things change. And look, maybe there are some who are so aware of their condition that they don't realize those wonderful things that He does; but rather we continue like “I already got what I wanted, then I follow him around rolling-pin”.

More, however, there are people that this gesture of God, that supernatural miracle that He performs, there are people who traumatize their lives in such a way that they say “Wait, I can't continue like I was before. I have to go back to this person again.” There is something about him that attracts. There is something about Him that is like consuming: “I can't stay just like that, that is, after so much that I came here to Church. That I would throw myself here, cry and leave my tears on the altar and I already received what I wanted and now I'm still out there like a little bird dreaming. And not go back to the author again, to that person who made that change, who made that work?

If there is something that, if there is something tremendous that Jesus does in our midst, it is to develop a grateful heart. That is one of the greatest things that the Lord Jesus can do in the midst of our lives. You know what? A grateful heart is not just a person who is out there giving thanks to tutti li mundi. But a grateful heart is a person, look, that from the moment he gets up and until he goes to bed, and even during his sleep, somewhere deep in his being there is something that is like “Wow! Thank my Lord".

There is something that is inexplicable. There is something that "maybe, look, I'll hear bad news, that maybe something bad will happen." But there is something deep inside that knows that he is grateful to God. And that even in the midst of such adverse circumstances, they dare to say “Well, look Lord, this is difficult, this is ugly, but Thank you. Thank you because you are going to do something”. Look what a grateful heart does.

A heart that is hypocritical, that is envious, a heart that is proud, arrogant, such a heart will always be focused on its own need. He will always be focused on “me, me, me”. “I need this” or “I want this” or “nobody understands me”. And there are times when we see them here in the church, they are people whose prayer is all "I, Lord", "I want this, I want the other"; and they never hear him praying for someone else. But everything is "I".

Look, brothers, a grateful heart, your vocabulary changes completely. A grateful heart that has received that transformation from God turns its focus from "here" to "there." As did this leper. He turned his focus from his illness, from his need and turned it into glorification of that person who performed the miracle in him. And the same thing happens with each one of us or at least that's how it should be.

A grateful heart, that truly, when you experience the touch of God, is inevitable, my brothers. There is something in us, there is something that causes that touch of Jesus in the midst of our lives that will cause us to return to Him again. And when we return to Him, look, we enjoy even more than what we can receive.

Because I'm not… imagine this: the nine who left were enjoying their healing over there in the presence of the one who healed them. Those were celebrating, perhaps, with a Pharisee who was half a curmudgeon and who perhaps even began to question them “Who did this to you? Who laid their hands on you?" To find out if it was the Sabbath. Even worse. The text doesn't say anything that it was the Sabbath so I'm not going to put that in there. Delete it.

But, God knows, how many questions did that Priest ask those nine boys who arrived there. "Who did this? Who did the other? Maybe looking to get Jesus in trouble. So those nines instead of being faced with a party: “Wow! We are healed”, they faced a questioning. More, however, this only one who returned gave fire, there in the presence of Jesus. It was like "Ouch!" he went crazy there in the presence of Jesus. And Jesus began to dance there with him too. He told her: “We are going to learn to dance. It is so. Here we go".

Look, my brothers, I'm glad you laugh, but you know what? I hope that in the same way you receive this message. Receive this message with the veracity it has because this is something that only the Lord can do in our midst. And it consists. And this is something that I always say. I am not ignoring, nor am I ignoring, the difficult situations that we experience day after day. Illness situations, financial situations, in their marriages, in their families, their jobs. You name it. Fill in the blank, you put it there.

Negative inferiority thoughts that one may have. Those dark areas with which one battles day after day in his being. There are so many things that come over and over again. But the thing is that the Lord Jesus yearns, he wants to manifest himself even in the midst of those situations and when he does, he does it to do something in us. Develop in us a grateful heart. Not only does He want to meet those tangible needs that are there in front of us, but He also longs and desires to do a much deeper work in the midst of their lives.

So you know what? I'm going to do something out of the ordinary this Wednesday. I don't know if Quique is around that he can go up again. But I want to do something. I don't know, no, yes I know. I want to make one last prayer tonight, my brothers. I don't want to pray so you stay there in your seat and I over here. But I want to invite those lepers who can be found here today or lepers.

I want to invite those lepers who are here today. I don't know what kind of lepers we are, if we are one of the nine who leave or if we are the only one who returns grateful, but look, you know what, my brothers? I want to say a prayer because the only one, the only one, who can truly make that difference in us; the only one that can heal not only the wounds of our physical body but also our areas of our heart.

The only one that can truly heal the depths of our emotions where no psychologist, no psychiatrist can enter, where drugs can reach, where alcohol cannot flood. That's where He gets in. Where no precious jewel can do anything, the biggest bank account can do nothing, the biggest life insurance you can get can do nothing.

Only Jesus can do it. I consider myself one of those ten lepers who needs God to do something. May God, may Jesus say a word that imparts healing. And I want to be one of those one percent that returns gratefully. May all of us be that one percent who return grateful. That one percent can do many things, my brothers. That one percent will enjoy the presence of the one who can truly do the work in us.

The other nine, look, they superficially enjoy what happened but never experience the depth of Jesus' touch in the midst of their lives. So Lord, at this moment here we are, here we are, this group of people who recognize very well what are those failed areas, those sick areas in our lives. We recognize very well what our ailments are, we recognize very well the dramas of our lives, the novels of our lives.

We recognize very well, Lord, that Achilles tendon that makes us fall every time. But Father right now, right now Jesus, as those ten men did we approach you. Perhaps many of us come hiding because we don't want anyone to see us. Perhaps many of us approach because we feel alienated, we feel alienated, we feel that we are not wanted, that we are rejected, that we are being nudged.

Father, You know the need with which your sons and daughters approach this altar tonight. And Father in the name of Jesus I ask that You speak a word of healing over our lives. Be You saying the word, be You saying the word, Lord. You speak from the throne of the Father, Lord, transfer that Your word pierces the heavens and that it reaches here to this place and that it penetrates the depths of our hearts.

Right now, on everyone that's here, Lord. I cannot reach his heart as only you can, so Spirit of God, I ask you to support me right now. Be You now touching each of your sons and daughters. Touch them, touch them, touch them. Minister to them whatever their ailment, whatever their need.

Spirit of God, right now blow a breath of life on them, blow a breath of life on them. Blow Your healing on your children and children and heal, my God, heal those hearts. Heal those minds, heal those bodies. And God causes in us a grateful heart, Jesus. Teach us to have a grateful heart with you, Lord. Teach us to always thank you. Teach us Jesus that no matter the circumstances we can always say thank you.

Teach us Jesus that even if others turn their backs on us, even if others tell us no, even if others challenge us, Lord with their attitudes or their thoughts, we can say thank you. Thank you. Thank you Jesus. We glorify you God for those things that you have begun to do and you have taught us. They are things that have not ended but continue to develop in the midst of our lives.

Complete the work. Complete the work. Complete the work, Lord, on your sons and daughters here and right now and cause, Lord, cause gratitude. It provokes gratitude in us. Teach us to be grateful, my God, in things as simple as when we enjoy a plate of food, Lord. May we always thank you. That with each piece of clothing that we can wear, Lord, that we always thank you. That when we can look our loved ones in the eye no matter the dilemmas, that we can thank you.

When we have heating in our house with which we can warm ourselves, Lord, that we can thank you. That if we have a car where we can ride that we thank you. That if we have friends or friends, brothers or sisters with whom to share our life stories that we always thank you. Father, for those moments when we may lose things we may want, for those moments when something or someone leaves us, teach us to thank you.

That when we are waiting for an answer from you, Lord, however impatient the circumstance may be, we can thank you, Lord. Teach us to be grateful, my God with you. It is better to enjoy gratefully in Your presence than to enjoy outside of it.

Thank you. Thank my Lord. Thank my Lord. Thank you. You are so good to us. There are no words to say thank you. Thank you for the spiritual nourishment that You have given us here in this church, Lord.

Thank you that Your word here is alive, Lord. We can live it, Lord, we can absorb it in so many ways, we can enjoy it in your presence. Thank you for celebrating with my brothers, Lord, because we can laugh, we can enjoy in your presence, Lord. Thank you. Thank you for that, Lord. Because of the vitality that You have here in this place, Lord, perhaps there are many other places that would like to have it, but here we have it with You, Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, for being able to enjoy myself with each one of my brothers and sisters and enjoy and look at our faces and smile at each other, Lord, despite things. We can laugh because You live in us, because You are real. Because You are the one who makes the difference in the midst of our lives, Lord. Because you are the one who lives in our being day after day, Lord. Thanks thanks. Thanks a thousand. Thank you a thousand, Lord. Oh thank you Lord! Thank my God

Father I now declare your blessing on my brothers and sisters. That as we prepare to leave this place, Lord, we may leave here but we will never leave Your presence. May your presence accompany us, Lord, like a column of fire at night and may it direct us, Lord, to our places. Take us with good, take us with Your protection, Lord.

Carry us with joy, carry us with joy, Jesus. May these words that we have been able to share, Lord, continue to echo in our minds and when we get home, Lord, whether we eat a shortbread with a cake, be it cookies with milk or a piece of fruit or a banana, whatever it is, Lord . A little coffee, a tea, a hot bath, whatever, whatever, Father, may Your word continue there echoing in us. That every time we taste a little ice cream, Lord, that a smile comes out because we are grateful to You, Lord.

May we be reminded of this very moment, Lord, and may it bring a smile to our face, Lord, because You make it possible, Lord. That when our head touches the pillow, Lord, that there be a smile on our face because we can sleep peacefully because You are with us, Lord. And that in the morning when the sun rises or if there are clouds or if it's raining, if it's cold, whatever it is, but Lord, may that smile be there. Because we are a grateful people for what You do in us, Lord. Thanks Dad. We give all the glory and all the honor only to You, Lord. For Your Son Jesus we give you thanks. Amen and amen.