Keep clean the flow of the spirit

Let's go to the word of the Lord in the book of Acts in chapter 2. For those who visit us and those who have not been for a while, let's remember that at all times that I can, that no other type of situation intervenes, visitor, a trip or whatever, I am going to be walking through the book of Acts, as you have well heard but I am going to keep repeating it until it registers. My desire through this study is to instill in us as a congregation and as individuals what I call a supernatural mindset, a sensitivity to things of the spirit, an understanding that the Christian life is not processed the way it is. that the other phenomena of human existence are processed, but that it is something that is navigated in the spirit.

The Apostle Paul says that those who are of the spirit think about the things of the spirit. It speaks of the spiritual man or the spiritual woman. And for that we have to renew our minds and one of the ways in which we renew our minds is by meditating on the word of God, meditating on those paradigms, those concepts that the word of God registers for us and when we see those texts, those narratives , study them, listen to them exposed in the different moments in which we study the word of the Lord, in our minds that idea is recorded: I am a man, I am a woman of the spirit, I am from eternity, I do not walk, I do not think, I do not speak, I don't process the events of life in the same way that the natural person, the natural man, the person who processes things in the flesh according to reason alone does.

So by studying the Book of Acts, which is an eminently supernatural book, because it is actually the Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, we can better understand what those patterns are, those habits of the spirit, those ways in which the spirit works in the lives of believers, and how we interact and relate to that Holy Spirit.

And one of the key passages in all of Scripture is there in chapter 2, it is the moment, as I was saying a few weeks ago, it is the peak moment of the Gospel process and it is also the starting point of many things that we see in the rest of Scripture.

In chapter 2, beginning with verse 1, the coming of the Holy Spirit is described. The Lord Jesus Christ tells his disciples:

Do not leave Jerusalem until you have received power from on high, until you have received the promise of the Father, why? Because he sent them to learn a supernatural task, a humanly impossible task for a handful of poor, ignorant men and women, without any kind of social, intellectual or political influence, to conquer the world, make disciples of all nations, conquer Rome, to go to Egypt and the other parts of the world that they didn't even know about, that that Gospel had to come. How was that frightened, powerless flock of people going, how were that handful of believers, how were they going to accomplish that task except God empowering them in a supernatural way?

And that is why the Lord Jesus Christ told him, Do not leave Jerusalem until you have been anointed with power from on high. So here is the awaited moment, they have been praying, they have been plotting, they have been together waiting for that visitation that the Lord told them would come and the moment arrives. When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all in one accord, together. Remember again Pentecost is not the name given to this phenomenon, to this experience, Pentecost was already a solemn Jewish holiday. It's like saying that the Holy Spirit fell on the 4th of July or Memorial Day, or any other of those holidays. But this was a solemn Jewish, religious, spiritual holiday, marking the culmination of the harvest. How nice that the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the church, the initiation of the operation of the Holy Spirit came when the 50 days of the harvest were completed. Wow! I was going to see a much more beautiful harvest, a harvest of souls.

And that day that was marked the culmination, and that had begun the day of resurrection, 50 days after Christ resurrects himself. That is to say, that period that culminates with Pentecost begins on a Sunday that was the Sunday on which Christ rose from the dead, the first fruit, he says, and the first fruit was precisely the day that began the 50 days towards Pentecost. When the first small group of ears of wheat or barley or whatever was cut, the priest cut it, beginning the harvest time. And 50 days later it concluded on the day of Pentecost.

That is, the first harvest, Jesus Christ resurrected, the scoop from the dead. A new creation of God, 50 days after that time expires and the harvest of all humanity begins, the new era of the church begins. When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all unanimous, together like your epito auto madon, repeat that, please everyone: like your epito auto madon. They were all together, he says in the same agreement, in the same place more or less the idea. They had a clear, fixed idea, they were all united.

Brothers, how important it is that the churches cultivate unity. Because there Jehovah sends blessing and eternal life, how beautiful it is to dwell brothers together in harmony.

Brethren, do you know that the precondition for any visitation of the Holy Spirit is harmony? That harmony presupposes humility, presupposes adjusting to each other. Yesterday, seeing those men, sister, I'm sorry to tell women that these men ate them. You already know you guys aren't the only show in town, you know? I'm sorry to tell you that there is another cowboy already here in Dodge City. The sisters say, amen, glory to God. No, those men are putting the batteries, sister. That's good, it's true that yes, women are eager for men to rise up, not to oppress them but to walk along with them. Amen.

But I think one of the reasons why that blessing was given, because these men are learning to work in harmony, you know? That is very important. When men hold each other, there's too much cowboy out there with two guns in the world and that's why men sometimes can't do anything and women are traveling at the speed of light and we're there with a wheelbarrow more or less and it's because we don't hold on, we don't let ourselves be broken. The woman, although apparently they call her the weak gender, but she has nothing weak. Those women wrap us in a single little finger. But I think it's because women are subject to the spirit, women are fragile before the Lord, women are like little girls, women are more sensitive to the spirit and they can be more easily subjected. We men, God has made us strong, leaders and sometimes that is also perverted, it is the dark side of the gift and then we do not submit and we are always with that violence and that attitude that we do not submit to anyone and we want our agenda be…

And I have always told the brothers, remember when I went to preach there on Tuesday, a long time ago, I told the group, brothers, we have to submit to each other, we have to love each other, we have to be meek and humble. I thank the Lord, because these men, by working together and by getting there and loving each other as brothers and putting their agendas aside, God has allowed a very beautiful group to rise up and that blessing of that Saturday, I believe that was why, so men, I encourage you, continue in that spirit, so that harshness is not heard in the environment.

I was thinking about that the other days, excuse me, do you have time? And if not, too bad. I was thinking, talking to someone, you know that when the temple was built, the first temple, the Lord said that in the space where the temple was going to be built, the hammer blows should not be heard. When God says things, he is an incredible detailer, he did not want the hammer blows to be heard in the place of the sanctuary, while the temple was being built, but rather that the stones had to be carved in another place and brought and adjusted some other. Doesn't that blow their brains out? How interesting, right?

First, I believe that in the house of God there should be no violence, in the sense of people hitting each other, criticizing each other, attacking each other, there should be harmony, peace, love, joy, goodness. Look at the fruit of the Holy Spirit, meekness. So that's very important, listen to me, men, this is a freezbee, that's free for you. Women, León de Judá congregation, unanimous, together, in unanimity, in harmony. Because? God says, I do not want violence in this place because my spirit is going to dwell in it. Reverence. And we have to be like those stones in the temple carved by God so that we can stick to each other, we will fit. It wasn't with cement, or with nails, or anything, no, it was that the stones fit so well that they could...

Have you seen the stones of the wailing wall? That is the foundation of the temple. They are gigantic stones and those stones have remained for centuries and centuries. The others were because the Romans destroyed them, but those stones, which were the foundation, are simply fitted together and that's how we have to be.

I have to ask the Lord, Lord, mold me so that I can fit in with the other brothers. You have to die. In marriage it is the same. In marriage... someone asked me the other day, well, what do you have to do to have a good marriage? I told him, die a lot. I told him immediately. It's true. Because? Because there are things in your life that maybe if you lived alone, you wouldn't have to change them. They are fine, there is nothing wrong with them, but since you now live in the light of another being with whom you have to relate and tie, there are things that if you were a solitary stone on a stony ground, there would be no problem, but since you have you have to adjust very well with another stone, then you have to carve yourself, let yourself be carved by the Holy Spirit so that you can fit in with your partner. Say glory to God. That turned out so well that I wanted to record them. Film me out there and let me hear it again. That is from the Lord.

You have to die, there are many things that one has to leave behind so that the marriage can function well. And then they say, but why do I have to leave that if that's nothing? No, it's nothing in itself, alone, but in light of your partner and your marriage, if you want to have a happy and solid and blessed marriage, it is something. And if you sacrifice it, God will bless you for it. And if you let yourself cut off that little piece, God is going to give you another, better piece, because that is what makes you stumble. One accord together, they were one accord together.

For the Holy Spirit to manifest in a congregation there must be harmony. I thank the Lord, we are not perfect, from time to time we pull our bows there, but normally this is a church, glory to the Lord, that there is harmony, there are things, where are there not? And I tell you brothers, let's protect that until the last second. Let's cultivate harmony, let's cultivate love. If there is something, some harshness, with someone, make haste to reconcile with your brother, do not leave him there languishing and bleeding, seek healing. Forgive and ask for forgiveness and fix things with your brother so that the anointing of the spirit can flow in the congregation.

Because any little thing is like... the church is like a vein, a big vein and the conflict is like growth of fat that creates arteriosclerosis in the vein, any conflict between two brothers is a little bit of fat that impedes a little bit of the flow of the spirit. The church that doesn't have a little bit of fat, the pipe is almost 80% clogged, they need one of those operations that they do... they put a probe in there to scrape everything that's inside. We have to keep the flow of the spirit clean.

I love the Holy Spirit, brothers, like never in my life. I want the Holy Spirit to descend on this congregation. And I thank God that many people come here and say, pastor, your congregation is loving. Professor Eduardo Ramírez, who was here with these twenty-something young people from Eastern University last Sunday, wrote to me, as he always does every next year, he told me, pastor, your congregation is an exceptional congregation, the Lord be the glory. These young people, he says, left so encouraged and so pleased with the warmth of this church, they felt at home. I told him, brother, this church is yours whenever you want to come. For me the most important thing is to manifest the love of Christ above all things. Everything else is secondary, brothers, the love of Christ is why it is so important.

That's why I think the writer put this here: “…they were all of one mind together…” that's why I say, wait, why? because while they prayed together, while they cried out to the Lord, while they shed tears asking for the anointing of the spirit, each day they came, they met, their spirits were united, purified, and then when the vessel was prepared, the Holy Spirit came upon their lives. They were unanimous and together.

“…And suddenly, he says, there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind which filled the whole house where they were sitting, and scattered tongues like fire appeared to them, settling on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them to speak….”

I said, that's why brothers, every day I fall more and more in love with the Holy Spirit. That is why at this time... I believe that we are at a key time in which we are going to see an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

By the way, next Sunday is the day of Pentecost. Next Sunday, we already reached the conclusion of the 50 days that mark. So next Sunday is the day of Pentecost and I believe that this season, this season that we are entering is a season like never before. I have great expectations to see the manifestation of God in a way without precedent in the history of humanity. Many things that God has spoken in my heart that I think, well, is he telling me? No, it is speaking to others everywhere. This morning I was reading a letter that had been sent to me about 3 weeks ago and I had not read it. It was there in an envelope that they sent me with some recordings, some people who have a very beautiful prophetic gift. And I was able to read that letter and many of the things that these people said about this time in which we are now living in the history of humanity and of the Church resonated in my heart. I believe that we are now entering the end times and we are going to see a glorious visitation of the Holy Spirit and I want my church to prepare itself, for my church to be ready for that coming of the Spirit of God.

And I want, myself, to be ready and prepare more and more to process that presence of God in my life and in my ministry and in the ministry of this church. It is important, brothers, that we understand this.

Yesterday I had an experience regarding that. I was going to preach, I had the second preaching in the men's congress and I had a very different sermon, I had prepared myself to preach, and I had meditated and prayed, and by the time I got there and it was more or less when the Pastor Osorio to preach, he said something to me, forget that this is not the sermon you have to preach. He preaches something else and he gave me exactly the text. And I preached on another text and I think it was a blessing.

But look at this, this is not so much the thing. I have told him that I have had to do that many times, especially at this stage of my life, and I think that is why, because as one lets oneself be guided by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit says, ok, you are helping me. listening, that's good, I'm going to give you more, I'm going to give you more. And I don't like to stand there like that without preparing something, but every day I love flowing in the spirit more and more because I know that if it's from God, God will provide. That's what's beautiful and there's nothing like a freshly baked bread of the spirit, right out of the oven.

After I finished preaching, at the end of the day, brother Hector came. Hector, come here for a second, please. Hector is a man of God, he is a man who has been quiet in our church for many years, a respectable and respectful man, very special, a very beautiful family. And brother Héctor is not given to being with... I have never heard him talk about being with a lot of boasting of the spirit or anything like that, but if you could put a microphone on please. But Hector came and shared something with me at the end and I want to just… because this is about how to live our life flowing in the spirit, the important thing is to listen to the spirit and when the spirit is moving…

Hector, tell me something you shared with me at the end of the service? God bless you. God bless you, dear brothers. For me the first time to come to speak at the request of the pastor in front of you and it turns out that yesterday when we were preparing to attend the activity of men leaving the bathroom God spoke to me, he told me, open your Bible and go to Lucas 5 and read it.

Let me read it first as the mandate that he gave me.

"It came to pass that while Jesus was by the lake of Genesareth the crowd pressed against him to hear the word of God...."

Likewise, dear brothers, when we arrived at the activity with my brother Félix, I opened the Bible to the same chapter Luke 5 and told him, look, God spoke to me this morning to open Luke 5 in my Bible, but Before telling him, I had told a brother, Brother Andrés, who is an usher here, at the entrance to the building, and I told him, I feel that this is going to be discussed here. And he told me, wait for confirmation. And likewise I left the Bible open on the table, when the pastor said that he had changed the sermon and that they open Luke, chapter 5, I was speechless. I didn't have to, it was already there. And that was a confirmation and it is something that is not accidental. That means that God is moving around us and that the pastor is being greatly used by God to manifest the message to us through him. Dear brothers, yesterday was a great confirmation for me.

Thanks Hector. Amen. Amen. The reason why I ask Héctor himself to share is simply to illustrate this idea of how beautiful it is when we learn to navigate in the spirit and listen. I believe, however, brothers, that the Holy Spirit is always speaking to us. What happens is that sometimes we do not listen to him, we are clumsy, we are not skilled in discerning the voice of God. Because when that came to me, it wasn't like an angel telling me verbally. No, it was something, a very clear impression. That passage kind of planted itself in my mind. I said, well, I don't know why but... and then I know the passage I began to think, of course it was a perfect coincidence with this moment today.

It is good to be guided by the Holy Spirit. It's good, I could give you several illustrations, but it would take me the whole sermon, but hopefully, because they are illustrations. This same week, I shared a very long illustration, but I'm not going to do it right now with the brothers yesterday, of how God led me to make a strategic phone call and opened an extraordinary door. Just listening to his voice and accessing him.

Now, one has to be very careful with that. Not every impression is from God, you have to be very careful with God, you know. I've seen people make serious mistakes, serious mistakes about that. One has to be very careful and experience, confirmation and especially when things are very delicate in life. One has to look for security and walk very carefully and soberly in the Lord.

But God wants us to learn to flow in the spirit, to listen to the spirit, that our life is continually lubricated with the oil, the ointment of the spirit. That's why he wants to baptize the congregations. And that is why at this time I am talking so much about the Holy Spirit and I encourage you, my brothers, my sisters to seek that filling of the Spirit in your life, seek that baptism of the Holy Spirit.

If you have not yet had that glorious experience, we have prayed many times here for the brothers and sisters, we will continue to do so and you too, there in your own life, seek and wait and yearn and ask the Lord for that baptism of the Holy Spirit because we cannot simply, Well, I accepted Christ one day and I'm already an evangelical, I have my card to prove it and I don't need anything else. No, there is a second experience, the one that the spirit through Jesus Christ told the disciples to wait until they are baptized with power from on high, endowed with power from on high.

Then the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and from then on, from that moment on we see the Holy Spirit manifested in the pages of the New Testament in many different ways.

In the book of Acts we see him fulfilling many functions, since he falls on the disciples. What were some of those functions? Which are the same functions that the Holy Spirit wants to fill in our life today, in your life and in the life of the church. Look, I see that the disciples received boldness. Say bold. It is a very rare word. I could say that they received courage, they received passion, they received daring, courage, one could also say, to testify of Christ Jesus.

There is Peter when at that very moment when the Holy Spirit falls many people flock to where the disciples are because they are listening to them speak in other tongues and speak in tongues, at that moment the Holy Spirit manifested himself with human tongues. They were the languages of all those Jews who had come to Jerusalem from different countries where they were, precisely to celebrate Pentecost. The Jews have always been spread all over the world and like here in the United States, for example, where the Jews speak English, or in Europe where they speak French, or German or any of the other European languages, or in Latin America where they speak Spanish. , all those Jews who lived in different parts of the world, working in commerce, in the different things that Jews have always worked in, had come to Jerusalem to celebrate that festival. And when they hear these unlearned men and women speaking in all those languages that they understand, their jaws drop. And then a large crowd came around them, and that Peter who cowered before a single servant who told him, you are one of the disciples of Jesus Christ and he said, who am I? He said I don't know that man. For now he stands like a general and preaches to them about the risen Christ. And he confronts them, he tells them, you have crucified the author of salvation. And those people fell and said, men, brothers, what do we have to do? And he said to them, receive Christ and be filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Pedro had courage, courage. And one of the things that the Holy Spirit does when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, gives us courage to testify, gives us effectiveness, gives us boldness to testify. And we see the disciples from then on testifying in different situations before authorities, crowds, officials, like Philip, before the Ethiopian, government officials, different people with boldness.

Another thing that we see, we see the Holy Spirit giving effectiveness and eloquence in the ministry. These men and women became great instruments of the Lord wherever they went. They were effective. They weren't perfect but they were effective.

I have seen that in the churches that cultivate the true balanced filling of the Holy Spirit they are blessed churches. They grow, testify, and speak effectively about the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We have to ask the Lord, Lord, fill me with that effectiveness through your Holy Spirit.

Another thing, we see the Holy Spirit everywhere facilitating miracles. Where the Holy Spirit is there are miracles, there are signs, there are prodigies, supernatural things arise about which brother Héctor spoke.

We see, for example, shortly after the Holy Spirit is poured out, Peter and John are at the door of the beautiful one, there is a cripple from birth there, and the Lord comes upon Peter, he testifies, declares healing over that paralytic and this man who He had been there for years and years lame, paralyzed, sitting begging, for the moment he stops, jumps and glorifies God and creates quite a sensation, because the Holy Spirit facilitates miracles. Where the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit is cultivated, there is an atmosphere where God can work. Faith is generated in people and then God can do the things he wants to do.

Another thing that we also see here. We see the Holy Spirit disciplining and punishing. Do you know that the Holy Spirit is not just to shake hands with people and tell them God loves you, God accepts you as you are. I believe in all that, I believe in the grace of God, I believe in the church of mercy, I have talked about love and all these things, but you know what? The Holy Spirit is also sinister, you know. He slaps the prettiest. The Holy Spirit confronts. The Holy Spirit punishes.

Ananias and Sapphira, that did not happen in the Old Testament with Elijah, that happened in the New Testament. Where the Holy Spirit is with power there is confrontation, there is fear of God. Holiness is required. Amen, brothers. That lax life that so many Christians live in today when there is the infilling of the Holy Spirit really people are afraid to do certain things. You have to speak about holiness, you have to speak the truth of God, you have to confront things that are not right. And when the Holy Spirit is in the midst of a congregation, the Holy Spirit can punish and discipline.

I have heard people say, no, that God can make a person sick, God does not make anyone sick, look, that sounds nice but it is not biblical, it is not true. There it is in First Corinthians, it says, those who eat the Lord's supper and do not discern the body of the Lord, it says, that is why many of you are sick and some even sleep. Yes or no? Who makes them sleep in other words cuts their throats? The Holy Spirit because they are not….

Brothers, where the presence of God is moving, you have to be careful. Walk lightly, you know? That is something that bothers me extremely today with so many evangelicals in this North American nation above all. I love them and they know it tremendously, but I see many churches where everything is love and acceptance and grace and that God loves you, God wants to prosper you, God wants to make you a millionaire, God wants to give you three cars and 4 purebred dogs, etc. and a lot of things and none of, yes, but God expects you to do certain things, you have a responsibility, you have to behave in a certain way, you have to walk straight before God, you have to give to the Lord, you have to let yourself be confronted, you have to die to many things.

Can't hear that part. Everything is jam and nothing to eat bread, like children. They lick the jam and then they give you the bread so you can put more jam on it. Eat the bread too. You have to look for the other part too, responsibility, what God expects of us. Where the Holy Spirit is, brothers, there is an expectation on the part of God, that his people will be governed by the principles and concepts of the word of God. Lord, help us to be a holiness church, a church you like, start with me, I say to the Lord. Father help us to take the things of your word very seriously. Deliver us from evil. Free us from temptation and help us to walk in such a way that you like us.

I see here a call to holiness. Ananias and Sapphira for me are a sample. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is seriousness. You have to be careful. It is spoken clearly. Sin is confronted, people are confronted in their behaviors, there is an expectation that you will abide by God's ways in all dimensions. I believe in a prophetic church, I believe that in this time the ministry of Elijah is going to become stronger and stronger. That last time when the prophet Elijah will come to earth, or his incarnation, or his spirit, there will be a lot of confrontation in the church.

Let's start with the church, brothers, the church has to fix many things. You have to speak clearly. I believe in that confrontational spirit. I know you have never seen it in me but…. they are supposed to laugh. I know that many times it may seem a little harsh, but brothers, I believe that you have to have a certain seriousness in the things of life, you have to walk in a certain way before God.

The church of Jesus Christ is a church that has to reflect the order of God. If we want to be blessed we have to reflect God's order. Therefore, then I see the Holy Spirit disciplining, punishing.

Another thing, I see the Holy Spirit giving prophetic knowledge, understanding, like brother Hector to whom he spoke and said, I want this passage to be preached in my church today. It is prophetic intuition.

The disciples understood that Ananias and Sapphira had not sold all the properties they claimed. They had kept part of the money. The Holy Spirit gave them prophetic understanding. Many times he gave Peter prophetic understanding so that he could go to the thing of Cornelius, prophetic knowledge.

We see the Holy Spirit also baptizing many people and filling them with his energy, the 120 are baptized, Cornelius and his friends and family are baptized, the Ephesians, the disciples in Ephesians in chapter 19 are baptized, the Samaritans are baptized baptize with the Holy Spirit. And Peter himself, when he preaches his first sermon to 3,000 people, talks about converting and receiving the filling of the Holy Spirit. That is why I believe, brothers, that the Holy Spirit is not only for super-spiritual people, it is for everyone who believes, everyone who has received Christ as their Lord and savior.

There is a passage, I'm not going to look for it, well yes, here it is, it says:

"Repent and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit because for you it is the promise and for your children and for all those who are far away, for whomever the Lord our God will call …”

The experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for all believers, it is not only for the super spiritual. We all have to seek that experience and we see the Holy Spirit from then on baptizing many people.

Another thing, we see the Holy Spirit giving revelation. I spoke of prophetic knowledge and revelation is more or less the same. Peter had his vision regarding Cornelius. The Lord spoke to Ananias and said, Ananias, go to such a street there is a man named Saul, I have purposes with that man, go, pray for him, pray for healing and for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And Ananias is surprised at first because he has heard about Saul, who is terribly anti-Christian, but he goes in obedience and God does a wonderful work there. Received revelation.

To the Apostles when they were going to preach in a certain place he says, no, and then they go to another place, not there either, then they go to another place and he tells them, that's where they have to go. How beautiful it is to navigate the tasks of the Christian life with guidance and revelation from the Holy Spirit. How many mistakes we would avoid and how much unnecessary work. There is revelation.

Another thing, we see the Holy Spirit directing the evangelistic work. The Holy Spirit coordinates the movements and decisions of the church. One of my favorite passages is Acts 13 when those Apostles and prophets are there, sorry, prophets and teachers, it says, gathered to minister to the Lord and while they are ministering to the Lord, it says that the Holy Spirit came and said to them, take Saul and Saul away from me. Barnabas for the work for which I have reserved them.

How nice it is when those who minister in the ministry are people truly called by God. Do you know that there are many people who have invited themselves into the ministry and not being called by the Lord? I believe that there is a very large number of people in the ministry right now who, sometimes with good intentions, have love for souls, have love for the Kingdom of God, God has given them certain gifts and that is why they believe that God has called them to the pastoral ministry, for example. And God has not called them to the pastoral ministry, God has called them perhaps to support their pastor, to be teachers in a church, to do evangelism, but not necessarily to lead a church. And I believe that there are many people today who have been invited but have not been called.

So that's why they sometimes live fruitless and unhappy lives in the ministry. I sometimes see people who make me feel sorry in the most respectful sense of the word because they themselves complain, they do not see fruit, they are bitter in the ministry, their life is a string of tragedies and failures and I would like to have the courage to times to tell you, brother, who am I to say that perhaps, I don't dare, say, brother, God has not called you to the pastoral ministry. How dare one tell a person something like that?

I believe that when God calls you, God prospers you and blesses you. It is not possible that you can spend 20 years in the ministry pressing the accelerator and it never starts. This is not of God. When he blesses you, God backs you. There will be tests, definitely, but there will also be a blessing, there will be growth, there will be confirmation that your ministry is from God. But many people are in love with the ministry, not in love with the God of the ministry.

But when there is word of God, God confirms and then comes the blessing. The Holy Spirit said, separate Saul and Barnabas for me for the work for which I have reserved them, and it says that they anointed them and laid hands on them and began the most powerful work in all evangelistic and apostolic history. A whole wing of the ministry was born because the Holy Spirit himself appointed, assigned, established. He says that he himself established Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists.

When a church moves in the power of the Holy Spirit, God speaks, confirms, establishes, and people flow into the gift for which God has called them. It is very important, let us ask the Lord, Father, give us wisdom, give us the movement of your spirit so that we can discern where it is that you love us, what stone I am. I am a foundation stone, a wall stone, a column stone, a roofing stone, what is the part you want me to play? Because we are all part of the body and we are all important.

And ask the Lord, the Holy Spirit, speak to us, teach us what function you want us to develop. In other words, that visitation, that coming of the Holy Spirit, among other things, unleashed all that the Holy Spirit does and should and has to do in our lives and in our ministries as well.

Another thing, I see here the Holy Spirit unleashed a whole wave of extraordinary healings and deliverances and miracles. The supernatural took control of the life of the church. Angels appear, chains fall off, tremors induce people to convert to the Lord, like the Philippian jailer. Extraordinary healings are done, people are blinded by the judgment of the spirit, the dead are raised, all because an atmosphere of miracles has been unleashed.

In Acts, chapter 5, verse 12 to 16, I see for example, it says:

"... And by the hands of the Apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch, none of the rest dared to join them but the people praised them greatly, and those who believed in the Lord increased more, great numbers both of men and of women….”

Look what an electric atmosphere there was in that place. “… so much so that they took the sick out into the streets and put them on beds and couches so that when Pedro passed by, at least his shadow would fall on one of them. And even from the neighboring cities many came to Jerusalem bringing sick and tormented by unclean spirits and all, say all, all were healed….”

Hallelujah! Hey guys, I'd love to see that. I want to see that here in the city of Boston. We have to ask the Lord, Father, send an atomic bomb here in New England for that same supernatural environment to manifest in the midst of your people. We don't want business as usual, we don't want ordinary things, we want the glory of God. We have to be restless asking the Lord for more and more of that supernatural atmosphere.

Lastly we see the Holy Spirit facilitating the spread of the Gospel through that miraculous environment. We see Paul's travels, we see Philip meeting the eunuch. And something interesting, you know what? Another thing that I believe is the presence and work of the Holy Spirit, I had never put it that way, and I think it will be difficult for you to say amen to this, persecutions, persecutions. When the Holy Spirit moves, brethren, the demons get upset. There are many demon-possessed people who, when they see the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit, begin to manifest all that crap they have inside. When the church begins to preach Christ, as Lord, as savior, and the values of the Gospel and all those people who do not conform to those values, their teeth gnash because there are many people…. When a church is moving there is persecution. Do you know that we have been persecuted? And lately there has been... the devil has been moving around: criticism in the gay community, homosexual, I'm going to say it too, let the devil get upset if he wants, it's his problem. An article came out this week accusing Senator Chan Díaz, I'm going to talk, what does it matter, of having attended one of our dinners, Alfa's dinner and why she attended the dinner, and how she has been supported by the gay community here in the south end, that's why he got, as they say, lightning bolts, lightning bolts, and lightning bolts hit him because he attended a church that is discriminatory against gays.

And what about our rights, the first amendment of the United States, which says that we have a right to our spiritual beliefs? Are we a fake cult out there eating children? We are a church, there are millions of people who believe like us in this nation, the majority of this nation, and yet they want to marginalize us and put us in a corner because we speak the word of God.

I am not going to let myself be intimidated by the devil, brothers. listen to me well And if you're listening right now, listen clearly, this church is not going to stop preaching the word of God clearly. If they want to bark, intimidate, threaten, all they want, but we're not going to compromise the Gospel. It is not that I am going to be in an active war, for what? I love that community, I have told them in so many ways when I have been able and that for me is simply a point of many other things that concern me in the Christian life in general.

But when the time comes to say that, we talk about so many other things, how we must speak against adultery and how we must speak against rancor, how we must speak against theft and all the rest, promiscuity and pornography, and divorce and all things that damage the life of the human being. We also spoke at the right time of that aspect, that phenomenon. That's all. But there will be persecution, brothers, there will be persecution for those who speak the Gospel.

When a church is filled with the Holy Spirit and is seeking the holiness of God, principalities and powers will be disturbed. When it is declared that Jesus Christ is Lord, the devil does not want to accept that and will get upset and use different ways to intimidate, but we have to stand firm, because that is what is killing this nation, cowering Christians, who are silent every day more and more the truth of God so as not to bother people, so that they don't bother with them because we believe that with that false sympathy we are going to win over people. The devil will never convert, brothers, no matter how much you dance in front of him and change your bow and paint your lips in different colors, he will continue to be the devil.

He wants you to convert to him, he is not going to convert to you. So it will be better, simply from the face and be frontal. And preach the Gospel and be clear.

So I'm going to leave it there, brothers, there are many things that we can take from this chapter 2. I want that next time we talk about tongues, the wind and the fire that manifests itself here in this wonderful passage. Tongues spread like fire and also a mighty wind. What did the Lord mean by these things? But we see here, where the Holy Spirit is moving there is boldness to testify, effectiveness and eloquence in preaching, miracles, discipline and punishment, prophetic knowledge, baptism of the Holy Spirit, revelation for the work, detailed direction of the Holy Spirit, healings and deliverances frequent and the spread of the Gospel by different ways including persecution.

May the Lord bless you, my brother. Fall in love with the Holy Spirit. Stand up. Hallelujah! Let's tell the Lord, Lord we love your spirit. We love the energy of your spirit, Lord. We love electricity, heat, the heating that your spirit gives and we want to be warmed by you, Lord. Take your church, Lord, take control of this space, Holy Spirit. Lord, take control of every little stick that's on every seat, start with mine, Lord.

We are in love with you and we want to see your glory. We want to see your glory. Spirit of God, Holy Spirit take over this church. Take possession of this congregation. Lord, we love your spirit and we ask that you baptize us and fill us more each day and help us to walk, Lord, as you want us to walk. Keep us from evil, keep us from errors, keep us from excessive enthusiasm, not authorized by you, Lord. Keep us from excesses. Help us to walk specifically directed, balanced by you, Lord, step by step. We love your presence spirit of God.

Tell the Lord, I love you and I need you and I desire you, I require you spirit of God. We want more of you. We want more of you. We want our meetings, Lord, to be meetings where your manifest presence is in our midst, Lord. We want our worship, Father, to be characterized by your presence, Lord. We bless these musicians, Lord, and declare upon them that mentality of which we have spoken, Father, in Jesus' name.

It starts with me, Father. Give us an appetite to worship, to be in your presence, to be intimate with you, Lord. Oh spirit of God, we want more of you. We want your glory. Baptize us, fill us, baptize us, radicalize us, Lord. Radicalize us, Lord.