When God gets ahead of us

And that is what the book of Acts tries to impregnate in our consciousness. Because it is there in the very formation of the church, by the Holy Spirit he chose to put it there, at that critical moment. And that this book was written to record for generations to come how God moved, what that passion was like at the very beginning, and what is the passion, the first love that we are supposed to have, and what is the role of the Holy Spirit in life? church life.

Someone has said that in this book the Act of the Apostles is not due, as it has been called many times, but rather the Acts of the Holy Spirit. And the Christian life is a dynamic relationship with the Holy Spirit. He guides us into all truth. He reflects the person of Jesus. He is Christ himself here on earth, in this new operation of God's work. And he encourages, strengthens, the paraclete, stands by our side, encourages us, comforts us, advises us, corrects us, directs us, trains us, endows us with his gifts. All these things are involved in the relationship with the Holy Spirit.

By the way, before getting fully into the subject of this morning, look at this, that every time, and this happens a lot in the book of Acts, every time someone is touched, impacted in some way by the person of Jesus, this idea of being baptized in the Holy Spirit or providing them with the anointing and blessing, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

When Saul is confronted on the road to Damascus, blinded, taken to the right street, he is waiting there. Ananias, a humble Christian is instructed by the Holy Spirit to go to Saul's house and what does Ananias do? Two things or three actually, pray that you receive healing prompted by the Holy Spirit. Number two, God has sent me to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and I believe was Saul baptized? Now I do not remember the moment, on that occasion? I think he was baptized right there.

One of the things that is done a lot in the book of Acts is water baptism as well. So, Cornelius, what's up? He receives the word, the Holy Spirit falls on him and they were baptized that same day. These are things that happen all the time. By the way, I wonder why a lot of people say, well, you have to speak in tongues, but don't insist as insistently about water baptism, because there is almost the same sequence throughout the book of Acts, this baptizing thing. to the people was something very urgent also in the primitive church.

So these things are there. Don't forget that part about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We have talked a lot about that, and we will continue to insist on it. But now, you will remember that last Sunday, we talked about this event when God enlightens Peter, confronts him. Peter sees the house of Cornelius, the centurion, a Roman soldier, an officer of the Roman Empire. I want you to preach the Gospel to him.

Peter has been prepared in a vision for his prejudices of Jew against Gentile. And God tells him, these people are chosen for me, I have sanctified them, do not call your common what I have sanctified. Peter, obediently, directed by the Holy Spirit corrected by the Holy Spirit, goes down to Cornelius's house, and while he is preaching, interestingly, the Holy Spirit does interrupt Peter's preaching, but it is only, if you observe the preaching, when Peter has completed everything that has to do with Jesus Christ, his death on the cross, his resurrection, the fact that God has raised him up as Messiah, all these things.

And at that moment he tells them, enough, enough, he sends his spirit, baptizes Cornelius and his family, they speak tongues. Well, I don't know if they spoke in tongues, they glorify God. This matter is interesting, because here it says that,

“…because they heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God…”

In the case of Saul we are not necessarily told that he spoke in tongues, in this case it is said that he spoke in tongues. There is a diversity there. I don't know if the fact that it is not said means that it was not given about languages, but there is a diversity of that, there is an ambiguity there. But I don't want to get lost in too many details.

But the fact is that Cornelius receives with his house the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they are immediately baptized in water as well. Interestingly, this generates controversy in the church and that's what Chapter 11 is about. Let's go to Chapter 11 for a moment, which is the Chapter that we are going to have, I am going to try to run through a tremendous complexity, but I am not going to read the whole Chapter, it says Chapter 11:1:

"... The Apostles, the brethren who were in Judea, heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God..."

This was great news, shock. Because remember that this violated all the patterns that existed up to that moment in that Jewish church that had converted to Jesus Christ and that believed that everything was going to stay the same, that the Gentiles were still riffraff, God had nothing to do with them. It was just God's chosen people and that Christ had come simply to rearrange the furniture. But as I said on Sunday, that God wanted to throw a stick of dynamite and blow up the whole house and violate the standards of exclusivity and tell them, no, my son came to all nations. Go throughout the world and preach the Gospel, evangelizing, discipling ethnic groups, peoples, nations, tribes, human collectivities.

So here it says that:

"... The Apostles, the brethren who were in Judea, heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God, and when Peter went up to Jerusalem, they disputed with him..."

In other words, they argued with him, argued with him, confronted him about what had happened.

“…saying, Why did you come in from uncircumcised men and eat with them? Then Peter began to tell them in order what had happened, saying…”

You already know the story, what happened, we have already read it. We go further to verse 16. It says,

“…Then, when the Holy Spirit falls, I remembered what the Lord said when he said, John certainly baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And here it is from punch line, here is the confrontational word:

“… If God ─ that is what we have to ask ourselves, is God in the matter? ─… if God also granted them the same gift as we who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that could hinder God…”

Wow, that question we must continually ask ourselves in life, you know. Yes God, give me wisdom, discernment, illumination Lord, to discern where you are moving and how you are moving, even in situations that I do not understand, understand or expect. But if you do, who am I to get in the way, who am I to resist the move of your spirit?

May there always be that flexibility in us. That is why I would call this topic "Flexible in holiness" we could say, "Flexibility in holiness" because it is not about throwing holiness on board, throwing on board the laws and commandments of God, disregarding the holiness of God, but Nor is it about being rigid and putting our own preferences and calculations before what God may be doing with our reality, with the reality of the church.

So, if God grants the same gift, who are we? Who was I to hinder God? Look at the reaction of these people, verse 18 says:

"... Then, when they heard these things, they were silent..."

Tell your brother, shut up, from time to time you have to shut up. I ask the Lord, always Father, teach me when to speak and when to be silent, when to draw the sword and when to wait for you to clarify things, because I do not want to cut off the head of someone you love. Because then you're going to cut off my head. They were silent.

You know, brothers, that one of the marks of wisdom is to be silent. The dumber and foolish people are, the more they talk. There is a direct opposite ratio between talking a lot and wisdom. The more you know, the more you realize how little you know. And while you know more, you realize that you have to consider.

The person who has acquired a lot of knowledge has regretted a thousand times many things that he swore were true. That's true. Those who have lived a long time realize that many of the things that one considered absolutely inviolable in life when one was young, today one repudiates them and is ashamed of having supported them. Yes or no?

So one has to learn about it. These people are silent.

“…they were silent and glorified God saying, ah, so that God has given repentance for life also to the Gentiles…”

They were surprised, they were amazed, they commented with a sense of awe. There is an attitude there that I want to elaborate a little further on. But look later something similar happens. Because this is a theme that occurs many times in the book of Acts, and that occurs in our church that will always occur in the people of God. We have to learn something about it.

In Antioch, a region on the outskirts of Judah, of Jerusalem, a mostly Gentile city, there is a mix of people there, there are Jews, there are Gentiles of different races, it is a tremendous cosmopolitan city. It says here:

“… Now, those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place because of Stephen ─ you will remember that, right? ─…they went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch…”

God uses persecution. If you don't willingly preach the Gospel, God is going to make sure to strike a match in your shoes, let's say, for you to preach the Gospel.

Then because of the persecution that he spoke about Stephen "...they went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one but only to the Jews..."

See here what I said about the formation of the collective brain of the church. The theology of the church is developing. These people still need to enter into the greater revelation of God, the will of God for that nascent church that will be for at least two thousand years or so on earth. Interesting, these people thought that Christ was coming in a few months, many of them. But God had other plans.

Who knows how much time yet... I'm sorry to spoil your soup, but who knows if, or the parties or whatever, who knows yet... Christ may come before I finish this sentence, but he may also take his little time yet. Don't max out those credit cards, still brethren. There are people out there announcing that Christ is coming, I think it's May 21, or something like that. Don't rush, don't go to the roof of your house yet, it's too early. Don't buy that white coat yet, brothers, who knows, who knows.

So, God wanted to prepare the church and then he says that they did not announce the word because they were still on this issue. We Jews are the people of God, and this mob no longer deserves to receive the word. Many years of Jewish history had taught him this, but it was man's commandments, it was man's theology. It had nothing to do with God's beneficent intention, to save all of humanity. It had nothing to do with the reason why God had constituted the Hebrew people, which was to be a light to the nations, to be an example of holiness in the midst of a completely corrupt, idol-worshipping, sensual, materialistic community.

They became, instead of being a blessing hospital, they became an elite club, just us and the world to hell. So, they don't speak the word to anyone:

“… but there were among them some men from Cyprus and Silene, thank God, for restless people. In the church, the restless sometimes break many dishes and things, but they also bless the church because they keep us on tiptoe, to see what God is doing.

I have always learned, restless people are like restless children, sometimes they are intelligent and that is why they are restless, and you have to respect that genius of God in them too. I have learned through the years to spy on what God may be doing in my Congregation so that I can catch up with what God wants to be doing. God sometimes uses the most unexpected things.

There were some people here, look what happened, they say:

“…There were among them some men from Cyprus and from Silene, who, when they entered Antioch, also spoke to the Greeks announcing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus…”

Who knows how those first conversations took place? Maybe you were at the market buying something, and the person who was selling you the oranges said, hey, you're one of those Christians, tell me something about why you're a Christian. So, here for now you have to talk to him. And that person said, wow, I want to accept Christ. And what does the person do at the moment? Well, come to the house tonight, we have a time of prayer.

You see, sometimes God works through weird ways, weird circumstances. So the Holy Spirit moves, not necessarily an audible voice coming. Maybe I don't know, God put it in his heart to share a piece of advice, and that advice became a testimony and that testimony an invitation to receive Christ, and when he comes to see, the person is accepting the Lord.

Reality is malleable, dynamic, unpredictable, sometimes it forces us, it puts us in situations like this, and we have to understand what happened, why, what happened at that moment.

Then, they announced to the Greeks, "...they announced the Gospel of the Lord Jesus and the hand of the Lord was with them..."

That is what I have to ask myself many times. Is the hand of God in this? What signs are there of God's affirmation in this person? What fruit of the spirit is that person bearing? How is God blessing the ministry? How does that person, that ministry reflect the values of the Kingdom of God? And maybe there's a little bit of weeds there between the wheat and one has to sometimes say, ok, let's see what happens? Wait a little more.

The hand of God was with them, why? Other people came to the Lord giving their lives, they were showing that they had a true and direct relationship with God. The Lord was blessing that place while other places might not be bearing fruit, something was happening there that suggested that God was moving there.

“…And a great number believed and turned to the Lord…”

Strong words, they turned to the Lord and a large number believed. It is clear that these people were genuine.

"...And the news of these things came to the ears of the church that was in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch..."

Find out, Barnabas, what is happening there.

"... And this one when he arrived and saw the grace of God..."

He saw the grace of God, he saw the manifestations of the blessing that was there. It was genuine. He was a man of the spirit and spirit speaks to spirit. I say, look, go above all the foliage and external foliage of things. Don't be a mechanic. Things of the spirit must be sought in the spirit. It's good to be systematic and this and that, but in the long run the spirit speaks to the spirit. And when you have communion with the spirit, when you live in the spirit, when you know the word of God, when the spirit of Jesus is within you, you know a tonality, that even if you don't know music theory , you know if it is out of tune or not. You don't have to be a musical genius to know when someone is singing out of tune, right? The ear… something resists.

And so it is in the spirit. I believe when one is soaked, that's why I tell you brothers, be intimate with the spirit of God. Pray. Read the word. Let this word permeate with you and you with them, the patterns, the way of thinking of Scripture get inside you and format your mind, so that the spirit of Jesus becomes more and more real in your life every day. Because that will give you a tonality when you compare it with the tonality that is out there, you will see consonance or dissonance.

And when there is consonance you are going to say, there is the spirit. Notice what he says interestingly about Barnabas. Says:

"...He saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and exhorted all who with purpose of heart remain faithful to the Lord, because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith..."

He was a good man. What a beautiful thing that is. He was a good man. What does it mean? Noble, generous, friendly. I wasn't there, I don't want anyone to get into this little personal club of mine. No, he said, I want everyone to be saved, everyone to proceed to salvation, as the Apostle Paul said. He was generous, he wanted people to be saved. He was generous and open and he also had fellowship with the Holy Spirit and had faith that God could do anything.

So that allowed him to recognize, this is from God, this is genuine.

“…And a great multitude was added to the Lord. And after this Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul and finding him he brought him to Antioch and they congregated there for a whole year with the church, and they taught many people and the disciples were called Christians for the first time in Antioch..."

Look how many blessings came as a result of acknowledging God's grace and staying open and flexible. There begins the powerful ministry of the Apostle Paul. Barnabas is funny, he doesn't say, you know what? Now I'm going to want a megachurch there with all these people who are converting and I'm going to be a pastor and I'm going to have my Cadillac or my Mercedes, what Cadillac? That's already cheap, that doesn't work today, my Masseratti, I don't know what other big car of those? A Bentley so that people know that I am the great Apostle.

No, he said we are going to look for people, we are going to make a team here. Saulo is a man filled with the Holy Spirit, he has the power of God in his life, he is a teacher, let him come, the more the better. We are going to have a big party here and we are going to share the Gospel with everyone we can.

How good it is when people are generous, when they are not looking to build their own mausoleum or their own reputation and name, but are open. And they were first called Christians there. The church's reputation spread.

So there are many things here, look, I don't have time. I'm going to cut now to finish this. I just want to point out a few things. When God Gets Ahead of Us, what a nice title for a sermon, "When God Gets Ahead of Us." What's going on here?

I see a dynamic in the book of Acts. I see anointing, those themes always come up again and again, anointing, which leads to expansion. There is church growth, which leads to persecution. And it is also interesting that this anointing that leads to expansion also causes two things: definition is necessary, we must define the theology of the church, we must define what we believe in. And also, there's another point about that, it's imperfection. Because you also see the imperfection of the people, these stubborn Christians with their own idea, the disputes between them. There is a lot of that: anointing, expansion, persecution, definition and imperfection.

These 5 themes recur over and over again throughout the Bible. What we see here is a growing church, an expanding dynamic church that has to define itself. The conduct of Peter and the Apostles is instructive for us as a church. Especially when we find ourselves in situations where there are differences of opinion regarding doctrine or something similar.

We live in times when there is an incredible effervescence of doctrine in the world. Every denomination and every preacher. Television is a swarm of theologies. There, the whole world, is a market with all kinds of fruits, good and bad, rotten and in good condition. And sometimes you don't know the difference between one thing and the other.

Today, there is incredible sophistication and theological diversity in the world. And the world is a world in flux, in continuous change, a critical capacity, a capacity for any madman or any enlightened person to sell their wares on the internet, on television, on the radio. It is a world, also where people come to church with all kinds of germs and viruses and emotional, spiritual, mental, physical, incredible illnesses. It is a world that is a swarm of diversity. And to that world the 21st century church is called to minister. And that is why flexible churches are required, that have the eye of God, the noble heart of Barnabas, that have the generosity to see what God might want to do and that also have the confidence that God is not going to hurt me. throwing away a banana peel because I simply offended him or something, thinking I was doing his will. God is more gracious and merciful than that.

And that they then dare to proceed tentatively on the path of ministry and pastoral care. Pedro, interestingly, look at what Pedro does, when these people criticize him and accuse him, and attack him, he reacts with humility. He does not accuse the conservatives of being rigid and malicious, he listens to their accusations and proceeds, he says, to tell them in order what happened.

He tells them what happened, proceeds with humility. One of the things we have to do, brothers, is right away when someone criticizes you, questions you, take 10 breaths, count to a hundred, take an aspirin or two, and then respond. Take time and consider and try to respond meekly to what they are demanding an explanation from you.

“… The others listen to him… ─ just as the others listened when he told them his story of what had happened.

Another thing, before the evidence of the approval of the Holy Spirit, the conservatives, in this case lower their heads, and adjust their perception so that God is speaking even to the Gentiles at this time. They listen to the evidence, it is clear, what God did, it was not Peter who laid hands on them, it was God who sovereignly sent down his spirit and they submit to the evidence of the approval of the Holy Spirit and adjust.

Interestingly, this process took time to develop because it is only later, I think it is in Chapter 14, that the great council is held in Jerusalem that the officially assembled Apostles consider what is happening, receive the evidence, and then issue a statement. papal edict, so to speak, pastoral about the gentiles, and what should be done with the gentiles now that they are… they recognize that it is God who is working and the church then expands its theology.

That is what is happening here. the church is being programmed. It took time, months, who knows, I don't know if it was two, three years, how long. Things take time. It is only after the council is given that the final verdict is given.

I say here, you have to give time to time. You have to be attentive to what God is doing. We cannot be stubborn and entrenched in our preferences if God is doing something else and heading in another direction.

Sometimes God will do something in our family or our life, God will do something in your marriage, in your life that you did not expect. And we have to observe, look at something that must be said, it is very easy to forget, observe, pray, reflect, consult, wait, and adjust to what God is saying.

God can even use a donkey to talk to you. He used the Balaam rod to speak to him. The donkey saw an angel when Balaam couldn't see him, imagine. God can use a child, God can use an alcoholic, God can use a person that you would never expect God to speak through. God can even use your wife, my brother, imagine that, to speak to you and bring revelation to your life.

Brethren, one has to remain open to God's revelation from wherever it comes. The church of Jesus Christ in these particular times has to be flexible. Because God loves to bring revelation where you least expect it. I believe that God was ironic when he sent Ananias, a humble believer, to minister to the Apostle Paul who was going to write two thirds of the Gospel, from the New Testament. Because God likes the Ananias.

I adore humble, simple people, the more illiterate and spiritual, the more I love them and the more I seek their word and their advice. Do you know why? This is how God works. God uses the little one, God uses the unexpected, God uses the circumstances. Keep your eyes open and when you see something different from what you expected, shut up, consider, whisper, be amazed and give time to time. Because maybe God is telling you something.

Sometimes God's gifts come in very humble packages. What's more, sometimes in supermarket bag paper. Look at Jesus how he came, a manger, fragile little boy, from a totally illiterate woman probably. God is an ironic God, he has an incredible sense of humor. So we have to adjust to that unpredictable way of God working.

I have seen God work in my life and ministry in strange and unexpected ways. And you have witnessed many of those strange and unexpected ways. God has used people I didn't expect, it has helped me stay flexible and know again that God is sovereign and uses strange tools to carry out his will in our lives.

Sometimes God wants him to sculpt a great statue of our life and he comes with an electric saw there, ringing, and one says, Lord, but I thought it was a delicate chisel, and a very pretty little golden hammer. No, no, it's just that I have a lot to break. First I have to give you a few blows and then I'll use something more delicate.

God uses what he wants. That is something that I have clearly understood in my life. God uses circumstances, mistakes, failures, blessings, exalted people, little people, beautiful situations and ugly situations and everything is raw material for his great work of art. Learn from the Lord. That's how he works and we have to stay flexible to his weird ways of operating.

Here he uses Cornelius, he uses Greeks and people who don't seem... but those are the people that God wanted to use those people for his glory. So, learn from Maria. When María saw things in that strange son she had, she didn't say, this boy is going to be a criminal or whatever. Look how he left us three days without letting us know where he was. No, she says that she kept things in her heart, kept quiet and kept things in her heart. Because she said, it's a mystery, I remember what the angel told me that time, so something must be happening here and she kept quiet.

We have to do that many times in life. Before you say that this is from the devil, think a little, who knows if it is a little angel in disguise. Give God time to develop all your intentions.

Quick things. 1. What happens when there are differences in the church, differences in doctrine, strange things that are happening in a Congregation, there is evolution, there are changes that are taking place in a church, there are diversity of opinions, there is even conflict? How should we work?

I have already said a few things. Number 1. We must try as much as possible to preserve the unity of the body at all costs. For me unity is absolutely important, it is something inviolable because that is where Jehovah sends blessing and eternal life. Unity is something we have to preserve as much as possible. It is the non plus ultra, it is one of the clearest elements. Sometimes you will have to say things that will shake you a little but in the long run unity is absolutely important, you have to maintain it. We often step on the unit with dirty shoes and sometimes we don't even look at each other, whether we are dirtying the floor or not. we are careless Unity is very important. Unity must be preserved as much as possible.

Number 2. When there are differences in doctrine or any kind of differences, gossip must be avoided. The word m, you have to avoid gossip. Gossip kills. What happens is that we disguise it. Brother, I am calling you because it is necessary to pray for the pastor. We put a veneer of spirituality on it. Don't tell anyone, this is between you and me so we can pray. You know when it is, we have to be frank, be clear, go in front of the person. Let's avoid gossip. Gossip is a cancerous virus that spreads in incredible and terrible ways and damages the environment of a Congregation or a family.

Number 3. You have to resolve things in a legitimate way, instead of using inappropriate means, going around the side, cutting paths and going to the other person and trying to get your way. The race must be run legitimately, says the Apostle Paul. Things must be done according to the spirit of Christ, according to the spirit of the Gospel even if they take longer, even if it is more difficult. But if you do it that way, God will bless you in the long run. But when you do things improperly, you may get away with it temporarily, but they charge you interest in the long run. Be wise. So you have to use legitimate means.

Number 4. You have to go where the people involved, as much as possible, have the courage to talk to your brother, in a spirit of meekness, respect, love, considering yourself first and trying to ensure the insecurities of the brother or the sister. Put a lot of shoe polish on yourself first, oh, brother, I love your way of speaking and being, and you have been a great blessing to my life, and then, stick the knife in, but after having prepared it well first. Talk to him with love, talk to him in a way that is organic. Go to the person involved.

Number 5. You have to listen to the other side and assume goodwill and love for God and the word. Don't demonize your opponent. Because many times we say, ah, that's because that person is clumsy and doesn't know about things of the spirit. Or that person is a sinner, or whatever. No, many times they simply have to disagree with you and they need you to clarify certain things. It assumes good will in people, instead of assuming the opposite.

I always say, I assume good purpose in people until they prove otherwise. And many times they prove the opposite to me. But as much as possible I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. It assumes goodwill in people.

Number 6. It's not about anyone winning. The only one who must win is the Holy Spirit, that God's will be done and that the body of Jesus Christ be built and strengthened. Sometimes I don't want to give in because I don't want him to win. No one wins, and you don't win either. It is a question of how we can reach a consensus that glorifies God and maintains the blessing of my church. Let's get rid of that me, me, me thing. That has always killed the church.

Number 7. You have to give time to time. Sometimes things take time to define themselves. There are people who start badly but little by little they learn and improve, until they adjust to the will of God. Do not rush, remember the parable of the wheat and the tares. Do you remember the parable of the wheat and the tares? The Lord told him a parable, wheat was sown, at night the enemy sowed tares and the next day the two things were mixed there. And the people came to the owner of the land, do you want us to uproot the weeds? And the owner very wisely said, no, wait for them to grow more because tares often look like wheat. Wait until it grows enough to be able to discern clearly, because we don't want to run the risk of uprooting the wheat with the tares. And then tear it out and that's the posture of a son, a daughter of God. You have to give it time. There are people who sometimes do not promise anything, but end up being incredible spiritual geniuses. They bless your church and they bless your life. Do not immediately proceed to chop off heads. Wait. Give the Lord time. God is stronger than you think. The glass floor on which God has his feet is about 10 inches thick, it doesn't break easily. Give the Lord time for him to tell you what to do. Give it time.

Number 8. Trust in the inherent strength of the church of Jesus Christ. And above all in the grace, patience, and mercy of God. I think that this is important because sometimes people believe that the church is made of absolutely pure glass, from China, as they say in English, a tableware. The glass of the church is practically unbreakable. The church of God that has Teflon walls, they get dirty and you come back with a cloth, you clean it and it stays the same. I believe in the strength of my church. That a few come around and make me a little uncomfortable and be different from what I expected. Glory to God. My church is fine, we clean the chair and everything remains the same. The church of Christ is strong and can contain strange, different things, we can give ourselves time, we can allow processes. You have to want the church to be all holy people with ties and well-behaved. No, I believe that the church should be for people in process. That means that it is a strong church and it is progressing, it is evangelizing, it is bringing new people. Let the adulterers come, let the alcoholics come, let the womanizers come, let the people with all kinds of mind traps come, let them come. The church of Christ is powerful to resist them, put them well and return like the demonic Gadarene in his 5 senses, well behaved and well dressed. The church of Christ is strong and we have to understand, have a much higher self-esteem than we really have.

Number 9. Pray and commend our cause to the Lord. We have to pray. When someone disagrees and you see what is happening in your church, pray, but truly pray in the Lord and ask God to work and clear things up.

Number 11. Put yourself in the other's place, try to visualize their situation, perhaps then you will be able to better understand their behavior.

Number 12. Ask yourself, does my reaction and behavior reflect the love of God and the character of Jesus Christ? You know what? God cares more about love than correct doctrine. And that is scandalous. But that has to be qualified a lot. Because that also sometimes one can jump into an abyss with that. But honestly, there are people who are so doctrinal that they are Pharisees and God passes them by and does not recognize them. God cares more about that love of Christ, the heart of Christ.

Now, once again, brothers, there is a lot to be done on that, I don't have the time to clarify it. I know that I have already exceeded myself. But it does not mean either that we are going to pull, I said, holiness or flexibility in holiness. There are things we have to stop and say, you don't come through here. There are also clear things from the Gospel that we cannot compromise. I am clear on that.

But there is also that the love of God is very important to him. So, brothers, some advice. Let's stand up.

Take a moment to reflect. Something touched you, right? Did you drop something? A little bit of water, I don't know, amen. A full bucket of water fell on me this morning. Amen. But ask the Lord that in your marriage, in your family, in your life, God will do something.

Where are my musicians? Come over here immediately brothers. They're so excited about my preaching that they haven't come out yet, imagine. They are so touched there. Brothers, ask the Lord to give you wisdom in your life.

In any situation, in any relationship, in marriage, friendship, work, church, fatherhood, motherhood, in all these situations there are things that we must learn. The spirit of Jesus, the spirit of Christ, the love, the mercy, the generosity of God. That is what I ask the Lord, always Father, I ask the Lord that our church reflect those values, rather than an evangelistic church, a large church, a church with money, a church with ministries, my desire is a church that honor the God spirit of Jesus, that when people see her in her processes, in her daily life, say, it seems that God is there.

Do you know what my goal is? For example, that the people who work here every day, 5 days a week, our staff, we have many in different ministries, that these people from Monday to Friday reflect the character of Jesus, our relationships, among us. Because there we are living day by day, we have to solve problems, we have to resolve differences.

I ask you, Lord, allow the daily processes of this Congregation to glorify you. On Sunday it is sometimes very easy to be spiritual, you put on a little cologne and a tie, even the biggest devil looks like a little angel. But it is in everyday life, it is in daily life with the woman and the man with whom you go to bed and get up, every day with those children who cause you problems, with those work colleagues, that is where values are tested. of the gospel.

I say, Lord, help us to reflect the character of Christ. Help us to reflect the love of Jesus, the integrity, the sincerity, the transparency, the meekness of Jesus, help us Lord. Did you know? If you die enough God will give you the answer to your prayer. You have to die to live as that beautiful chorus says. Let us ask the Lord to manifest his grace in us.

Father, we say yes, we say amen, we say welcome Holy Spirit with your words, your revelations into our lives. We want to give you the best and we want to offer you, Lord, our lives. Always keep us as a church of love, of integrity, of justice, tolerance, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, assuming only enough, not having a higher concept of ourselves than we should have, but thinking of ourselves sanely, Father.

May it be so, Lord, may your rich word run and move within us, not only now but as we leave here, tomorrow until we meet again. And all the glory and all the honor are exclusively for you Lord. Blessed and praised be your name. Thank my Lord. Thank you. Amen. And amen. Glory to the Lord. God bless you, my brother, my sister.