Faith for what?

What were we talking about last Wednesday? Of faith. What part of faith? If you remember, I have two messages; today is the third and last. Today I close, well, I can go on talking about many more things but today I am going to give -as they say- a closure to this. Two Wednesdays ago we were talking to you about this idea that when we walk, we walk by faith and we don't walk by sight. We are not dependent on the things that we see as well in the tangible world around us but our walk is by faith.

By faith in what? What was last Wednesday? Faith in the words and in the promises that God has given over our lives. There is a word that God has declared about his church and therefore it is a word that reaches our individuals as well, who minister to us, who bless us and today I would like to speak to you about faith, why? Not just faith in what? If not faith, what for? And there is, the why? It can be divided into so many aspects but look. I am going to respond to the restlessness of my heart because that passage from Ephesians that I was reading last time, Ephesians Chapter 2. Well, last Wednesday, excuse me, I was reading Ephesians Chapter 3 verse 14.

From verse 14 onwards, but rather I focused on verse 16 which says: 'That He may give you – that is God – according to His riches and glory to be strengthened with power in the inner man or woman by your spirit so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith so that, rooted and grounded in love, they may be fully capable of understanding with all the saints all the dimensions of God's love.' From that passage, as I kept reading and studying what Paul was saying here, I then came once again to that Chapter 2 of Ephesians in verse 10.

I read from verse 8. It says: 'For by grace we are saved through faith' and this is not something that came from us but rather it is a gift from God, it is something that God has given to us. It is a gift that comes from Him even when we did not deserve it, the Lord was pleased to extend His grace to us, to extend His love to us through His Son Jesus Christ to restore us and reconcile us with Him. And why do we receive that? By faith. Not by works so that no one can boast. In other words, here the works have nothing to do with it. But neither does it mean that we are going to neglect that part of the works.

Because? This is where verse 10 is: 'Because we are his handiwork.' In other words, we are God's creation. Created in Christ Jesus, for what? Look how interesting. He says that being saved by grace is by faith, it is not by works, but works are important anyway. We are created for good works. Which what? ‘God prepared in advance for us - what? Would we stray from them? No- so we can ride on them. Therefore when I say "faith, what for?" What I want to share with you today is "faith to be able to accept and live the things that God has determined for each one of us."

Faith, what for? Faith to accept and live in the things that God has determined for each one of us. I ask you, do we know in this way what God has determined for our lives? Some of us can say "more or less", others can say "no", there are others who can be so convinced that they say "yes, this is what God wants for me" and throw themselves away. And along the way, they may discover something else, but they understand that they are obeying what God has for their lives and so they go.

But the thing is, they are developing their life of faith. That conviction of that word, of that promise of that call that God has placed on his life is now developing him into a "what for?" They are concentrating on their life carrying out a certain type of works that are in line with the things that God had already determined for us. We have to trust this. Philippians chapter 1, verse 6. Paul comes out and says to them the Philippians: "Being convinced of this that he who began a good work in me will be - what? - faithful to complete it."

Being more or less convinced, it doesn't say that, it says: "Being persuaded." When it says 'persuaded' it means that one is totally convinced of, or convinced of. There is no one to get you out of there. You are totally accurate or certain. You have the assurance in your heart that there is something that God started in your life. The moment your eyes were opened to the light of Christ in the midst of your life, there is something that God unleashed in your midst and now it is your responsibility to start moving in the direction of discovering what those things are that God has about your life.

And we have to trust that through everything that one goes through in the midst of life, as Romans chapter 8 says, which says: "That those who love God -what does he say?- all things help him - to what?- to good”. And when he says "everything", as I always say when he says "everything" he literally means everything. The good, the better and the ugly, so to speak. Everything works for good, for the purpose that God has with your life. And there are times when we don't want to accept that reality and because we don't want to accept that reality then, we are living with hollow, empty spaces throughout our lives.

And since we limp from here, we limp from there, because we have not learned to receive and accept God's treatment in the midst of those things that are a little bit uncomfortable but that God uses them to form us, to guide us and to direct us in the direction He has in our lives. Therefore, we must learn to trust that God, who began this good work in us, is going to complete it through all those things, through the calluses that are stepped on or the hair that they pull on you.

Look, God is going to complete his purpose in you. You have to accept, my brothers, that it is what God is up to. When we read this verse that says -in Isaiah chapter 55- when God says: "Because I know that the plans I have for -who?- you, plans -for what?- for good and not for evil -for what?- to give them the end they expect”. Okay, let's read it, we kind of stayed there half half. Isaiah 55, verse 8. It says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways. As the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Look how it says: “For as the rain and the snow come down from Heaven and do not return there but water the earth and make it germinate and produce and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will be the word that goes out of my mouth. She will not return to me empty, but will do what I want and she will prosper in that for which I sent her." We have that certainty, my brothers. That's like who says, summary of last Wednesday. That word that God has given, we accept it and that is going to materialize in us.

Now, but here, there are times when I see that there is a problem. And this for me was something very inspiring. Today I was visiting our brother Rafael Tejada, who was here in the hospital, he was receiving some procedures on his heart. But it makes me want to laugh with Rafael because I thought he was going to be there all riotous and I did nothing more than peek through the curtain and Rafael quickly pulled a joke on me. And I "but boy, don't you have something there that they are doing to you?" He keeps making those jokes so God bless Rafael.

But the thing is that while he was talking to me we got to a point in our conversation where he comes out and tells me: 'Look, Omar, I've learned that there are times when people ask God to bless them so they can bless someone else. others'. Listen to this, there are times when people spend their time praying saying 'Lord, I want You to bless me so that I can bless another'. In whatever form that may manifest. And what was revealing to me was that this brother of mine was telling me: “Look, I don't have to wait for God to bless me before I can bless others. Because God's blessing is already upon me. What's more, being able to bless another person returns a blessing to my life”.

And he suddenly comes out and says “There are times when we make the mistake of comparing ourselves too much because we want the blessing that another has so that we can feel that we have God's blessing. Or that if so-and-so does not pray for me, I will not receive the same blessing as if this other or this other prays for me”. We have to be very careful, my brothers. You know what? Look, in this procedure, in this learning how to accept and live in this faith that God wants us to develop, we must learn something about what comparison is.

You know what? People say “never compare yourself” and guess what? Look fine. But comparing itself as such is not a bad thing. If I am here it is because I have learned to compare my life with that of others. Where the error is is if I compare myself with a sense of envy. If I am comparing myself with a sense that “ouch! I'm not a big deal because I don't have what that one has" or "How I would like to have that!" And I'm like comparing my life to a sense of greed inside of me. There, yes, the comparison has something average, it has something wrong.

But when one compares oneself in the light of "I see the example of another person and I learn from that example and know how to incorporate principles and truths into my life, into my situation, into what God is doing in me", then the comparison becomes something educational and helps the development of our personal lives. If I am here, my brothers, it is because throughout my growth I saw many of my friends that I heard people saying "don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs" and I never tried anything of those things.

And since I learned that this was bad, why? Because I saw the example of my friends that their lives completely deteriorated simply by being exposed to it. Many friends that I had in High School who even died for having that kind of life. So me, comparing those things, I said to myself “Well, I don't need to try that to know that it will destroy me. So, I've already seen it there." Obviously I steer clear of that. I compare my life to a person who leads a healthy, healthy, well-devoted lifestyle of spirit. What has, as they say, your five senses well synchronized. I mean, your six senses, to add the spiritual sense.

He has all six of his senses well in sync. That I see that he is not perfect or not perfect but he is a person from whom I can learn and I can compare like who says wow! This person has this like this, like this and like this and I can more or less adjust like this, like this or like that. But it doesn't mean that I'm going to end up imitating that person's lifestyle. Not the lifestyle, but the character of that person. Because that person is who he is, that person is who God intended him to be who he is.

Look at this story. Turn with me to John 21. The book of John chapter 21 the last verses of this book. Here is the account where Jesus appears to his disciples after he rose from the dead. His disciples are arriving from fishing and he was on the shore waiting for them, he had a "barbecue" there with a couple of fish and loaves already prepared for them to eat. And suddenly they approach and they are all eating like this and he begins to ask Pedro, 'Pedro, do you love me?'

Do you remember that story? Why what was God doing? God, I mean, Jesus was sort of restoring Peter after he denied Jesus three times, then three times, sort of, Jesus wanted to ask him if he loved him or not. He was there restoring Pedro and after all that, what does he end up saying to Pedro? He ends by saying 'Peter-verse 18 of chapter 21- truly I tell you that when you were young you used to gird yourself and go where you wanted, but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and another will gird and take you where you do not want to go'. This he told him, giving him to understand with what death he was going to glorify God. And having said this, he said, "Follow me."

Now look at what happened with Pedro. Look how verse 20 says. It says: “Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following him. The same one who at dinner had laid down next to him and had said to him 'Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?'. When Peter saw John, he said to Jesus, 'Hey, Lord, what about this one?' Since you told me how I am going to die, how is Juan going to die then? What's the joke here then? So what did Jesus say to him?

Jesus tells him 'Look, if I want him to continue living until the day I return, that's how it will be'. But then this is where the Jesus joke is. And then he says to Pedro, 'And what about you?' That's not your problem. But you saw this dynamic here, my brothers, I imagine. Here I am inferring things, I am not saying that this is the intention of what John wrote here. But I imagine that Peter, you know, in his kind of insecurity, obviously did have that conversation with Jesus. Do you love me? Yes, no, Jesus you know everything. Look, I regret it. I denied you, I know, but you know that deep in my heart I love you and whatever you ask of me, here we go.

That perhaps he said it with that sense of uncertainty, like, here and there and suddenly he sees Juan and it's like one feels uncertain about himself. And it's like, Wow! What will happen to this other one? I mean, what are your intentions with him? Let me compare myself to see if I'm that bad or that good. Let's see how it is. And that's where I see that response from Jesus as saying “Look, if I want him to do this, that or the other, I'm going to allow him to do it. But you focus on what I want you to do.

Faith, for what, my brothers? It is the faith to do what God wants us to do. For us to be able to live and develop and unfold in what He has intended for us. In me being able to know what He has for me, something that when I do that I not only glorify Him but also be able to be a blessing to others. Do you remember some Sundays ago when we were talking about the dynamics of the body? That the hand has a purpose, the foot has another, the head has another, the eye, the ear, the heart, the liver, all these organs have their specific purpose. And the body can't function if one of those isn't in place.

Therefore when we talk about our lives, the call that God has on us, I have a responsibility before God to have enough faith to know how to accept that, make peace with it, make peace with what God has in my heart and thus be able to live in an integral, honest, genuine and abundant way according to what God intends for my life. Because by doing that, my brothers, I know that then I am going to become an instrument of blessing for others.

When I fulfill what God has intended for my life, the blessing will reach the rest of the body, the rest of the people around me. And therefore when you fulfill your function, what God has intended for you, I will be blessed too. It's something that goes both ways. What do I want to get with all this? My brothers, all this that I am saying is received by faith. If you try to analyze this with a merely human mind you are going to lose your mind. [laughs].

This is received by faith. All the things that one lives with this life that the Lord intends for us, look if I try to reason with my capacity, my finite, human mind will not be able to connect one end with the other. But if I believe it by faith that God is the one who makes all things possible, that God through his word that He has spoken, He injects life, direction into my life, into your life for us then to be able to reach the height what He has prepared for us. That only through that faith in those words that when I find myself, I face the adversities of life, no matter how hard or difficult they may be, that this faith helps me to continue moving.

And not only that, but that faith helps me see doors that I hadn't seen before or helps me find the key to open doors that might have been closed before. But that this situation, God in some miraculous way allows me to find another direction and that is where God directs us. Faith for what? To know how to respond to God's call in the midst of our lives and be upright with that call, to be honest, genuine to what God intends for us.

Faith to be able to accept that, faith not to be fighting, as if to say, Ah! Yes, no, yes, no, I dare, I dare not, I can, I can't. Look, don't fight with it. Receive, accept what God has for your life. Say amen, say yes Lord. Look, I don't understand it now, but I know that as I progress, You're going to give me the revelation I need to know how to proceed. Like when Jesus told his disciples “Look, I still have many things to tell you but if I tell you now I'm going to drive you crazy. Right now you do not have the capacity to receive everything that I want to tell you. But when the Spirit of truth arrives, He is going to take care of revealing them to you because He is the one who knows the things that are in the heart of God and He is going to let each one know them in their hearts.”

God is going to bring that knowledge that we need to know how to proceed, my brothers. But have faith. Have the faith. Walk by faith don't rely on the things around you. Walk by faith. Walk based on the promises of God, on the word of God. God will not fail his word. What He has spoken about you, for you, for you and in you, He will take care of fulfilling it. Your responsibility is to accept that, live and walk in it. Walk in it. And if you get to the point of comparing yourself to yourself, what? You do what God wants you to do.

If one has to be president of the Republic of Guatemala and the other has to be an elementary school teacher in the school on the corner, so be it. If one gets to be a lawyer over there in an office of a five-star company and another gets to be an emergency responder in an ambulance racing through the streets of Boston, so be it. If one has to take advantage of the benefit of their citizenship and be able to do with it what God intends and another has to have to be, as they say, suffering for a while as things change, let this not become a limit to be able to fulfill what God wants you to do.

If one has a car and the other has a bicycle, give them a ride, particularly in winter weather [Laughter]. If one speaks angelic tongues and the other speaks neighborhood Spanish, if God invites you to speak, speak whatever it takes. We are going to stand up, my brothers, and we are going to pray. Thanks God. I was moved, I was inspired there speaking, I left ten minutes after nine. Excuse me. But Lord, I thank you because we know that your word is alive, your word is effective, Lord, and it reaches deep, Father. You know how you move us, You know how you lead us, Lord, and You know the times in which we move.

You know our time and you also know Your kairos. You know the word in which we move and You also have that rhyme word, Lord. That word that comes a specific time to each of our lives to give us direction and know how to move, Father. I ask Lord that You do keep us alert of the time in which we are living but even more, keep us alert of that kairos of yours, of that rhema of yours, Father. That time and that word of yours Lord Jesus and that our faith can stay rooted completely, Jesus. Precisely those words with which You have left us, Lord.

May our faith be grounded more and more in those works that we have been able to experience in our life with you, Lord. And may that produce hope to see even greater and more powerful things happening in our lives and through us on behalf of others, Lord. I bless each one of my brothers and sisters here tonight, Lord. I declare upon them a Spirit of faith, Lord. I declare over each of your lives a gift of faith, Lord Jesus. That when others say that there is no alternative, that is where they activate that faith and can see the impossibilities that are in you, Lord Jesus.

You are the god of the impossible my God. You are the God who is in charge of opening the doors that others have closed and You close doors that others are trying to open, Lord. All to bless your sons and daughters, Lord. So, Dad, we stick to those truths, we strengthen our faith, Lord, in that call that You have on our lives and we say yes and amen to your purposes. We say yes and amen to the thoughts that You have for us. We say yes and amen to the intentions of Your heart with our Lord. We give You all the glory and all the honor, Jesus.

Bless my brothers, my God as we prepare to leave here today, Jesus. And may this word continue to echo in each of your hearts, Lord, and may my God enliven our spirit and our hearts to continue living in the light of what You have for us. We give you thanks for your Son Jesus, amen and amen. Thank my God.