on faith

How many of you have faith? Aha, there are some who did not listen to me, they were looking down. How many of you have that conviction, that certainty of what is expected, the conviction of what is not seen? How many of you have that in your lives? Amen.

We are all on the same flight. You remember that on Wednesday I began to speak to you, in the first presentation I began to speak to you about this topic of the four dimensions of faith or our faith.

I started rather in the introduction and I was talking about faith as it relates to our salvation dynamic and obviously I'd like to elaborate a bit more and summarize what I started talking about last week and the next… screen, next frame, next page, I made a graph so that you could visualize a little bit my mental process regarding this.

And I would like you to imagine your faith as being in the center of this graph. Your faith, what has you here now, and how your faith focuses in these four dimensions, or moves in these four dimensions. And on the one hand we have the faith that directs salvation, which was one of the first things I told you. The faith that has to do with certainty, conviction. The faith that has to do with the gift of faith and the faith that has to do with the aspect of fidelity.

I talked a little bit about faith concerning salvation, but today I'm going to give you a… I'm going to reverse my recording a little bit, and I'm going to start with what is the essence of faith. In its essentials, in its essentials.

And faith has to do with believing. If I see it as believing in something, we can believe in different things. You can believe that this is black, I can believe that this is white, although it is obviously black. You may believe that when you are going to turn on a light and you press the switch, it is that when you turn on the light it will turn on. And you can believe that.

If someone gives you a promise and says, look, I promise you that one day I will do such and such for you. But you believe in that person and you believe in that word and you receive it and you believe in it and you live expecting to receive something according to that belief.

The people around you believe in different things. There are people who believe in other people. There are people who believe in political leaders. Some people believe in celebrities. There are people who believe or do not believe in different things. But when we are talking about our faith, faith, as that passage from Hebrews 11 rightly says, the certainty of what is expected, the conviction of what is not seen.

There is another passage in Philippians, Chapter 1 verse 6 that also says, “being convinced of this that he who began a good work in us, what does he say? He will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.

The most basic thing that has to do with our faith is being able to be convinced, persuaded, believe, be certain of something or someone even when our 5 senses can, as it were, they can question what we are believing about. Did they catch me there or did I lose them? What I meant was that faith goes beyond our 5 senses.

Many times people base their belief, their level of certainty on something, according to the things they can prove. What I can touch, what I can taste, what I can smell, what I can hear, what I can feel, we believe in those things. But this dimension of faith goes a little further, well, not a little, it goes much further than that, because we are waiting for things that we cannot necessarily prove through our senses, but nevertheless it is faith, it is there.

That is the certainty. When you're convinced of something, when you're convinced of something or someone, it's like it gets in between your eyebrows and there's no one who can get you out of there. Perhaps you have not come across someone who has been so inveterate, a person who can be called stubborn or stubborn and it is like he is the type of person that when he has something between his eyebrows, it is like no one can convince him otherwise shape. You can give a flip, you can pay money, you can do whatever you want, but if that person is convinced of something, it stays there.

And it may be that he is convinced of something wrong and you are trying to make him see the error, but if the person is there, no... a young man who is rebellious and you as a father are telling him, no boy, you are doing things wrong, If you keep going like this, you're going to hit yourself, listen to me." “Yes, mommy, daddy, you don't know, I know what I'm doing. I am in control of my life.” And he is inveterate, he is stubborn, on something, he is there focused on something. And he believes, or she believes, he is convinced, he is persuaded of what he is doing, what she is doing is the way to do it and what mommy and daddy say doesn't count, it's not worth it. And it's not until he hits the song that what he had between his eyebrows breaks and then he says, "Oops, wait, mommy and daddy were right."

So be patient, parents, be patient, the time has come. Think about yourself, perhaps you were not the same or are not the same in some aspect of your life. You believe something, you are convinced of something, husband, you are convinced, persuaded of something concerning your wife, you are convinced of something concerning your husband, and you are focused on that. And he does not give his arm to twist. Do you understand the idea of where I am going, what is conviction, what is certainty?

Now, when we apply that to our life of faith, that same certainty is something that defines us, it is something that moves us, it is something that drives us, it is something that takes us from a state of dormancy to a state of action, because there is something that motivates us, there is something that moves us. That faith becomes like the engine of all things, it moves us, it drives us, it gives us energy, it gives us vitality, it gives us a reason why I get up every morning and do what I have to do. to do. Because there is that faith that is driving me.

When I take that aspect of conviction to what our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is, this is where I return then to the point that I spoke last Wednesday, about that faith that leads to salvation. Here, then, is where I see this dynamic of how we enter into this action, into this dynamic, this relationship with God because when we did not have Jesus, when we did not have Jesus we did not believe in him, we did not have the certainty of that he could do something for us, we did not have the conviction that I needed a being like God in my life to be able to do what I had to do. That didn't exist in our system before…

Our belief was that I can do everything in Omar, that Omar strengthens me. That was our belief. I operate according to my terms and no one gets me out of there. This was how we lived before Christ.

But what is happening? It is not then until one reaches this point where we hear verses, like ah, because God loved the world in such a way that everyone who has conviction in him, who is persuaded, who has the certainty, does not perish but rather have eternal life. That is a verse that we all know.

Another verse, Romans 10, from 9 to 17 says:

“But what does he say, the word is close to you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the word of faith that we preach, that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Because with the heart one believes for justice but with the mouth one confesses for salvation. So faith is by hearing and hearing by the word of God…”

One last verse is Ephesians, Chapter 2 verse 8 to 10, it says:

"...By grace we are saved, through faith and this is not from us because it is the gift of God..."

There is a graph here that I want to show you. This graph, I hope it looks good there. That faith that is at the center is a faith that comes into action with the divine and our human dynamics. I will try to explain it as simple as possible.

Look what happens with that faith that leads to salvation. Because there is a part that we do, from our perspective there is a point where we, in our human limitation, the most we can do is believe in something, to confess it and thus start that process of salvation. That is the most we can do.

But when we do that, another dynamic comes into play, which is the dynamic of God's action, intervening in us, taking action in our lives. Because by ourselves, we cannot do it, we cannot respond by our own strength to God's action. Something also has to come from him that causes us, that provokes us to respond to those actions that God is having on our lives. Follow me?

This is how this dynamic of faith occurs and this is not only concerning that faith that leads to salvation, this is our faith in our life in general. God is in action in everything we do, motivating, infusing, feeding, fueling our faith.

But at the same time there has to be that action on our part. Look, the key verses that I mention there. Romans 8:26, who knows what Romans 8:26 is? And in the same way the spirit helps us in our… oh, what happened to the discipleship people! Biblical lightness, let's see who is looking for the Bible. Romans 8:26

"And in the same way the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness because we do not pray as we know how, however the spirit of God who knows what we need, intercedes for us with unspeakable groans."

That verse gives us an idea. The second verse is Second Corinthians 12:9. Let's see who knows this one? What's more, I give them a…

"My grace is enough for you because my power is made perfect in your weakness."

At least they know that. And Philippians Chapter 2, 12 and 13. Which one is that?

[Inaudible]

See how it says, “worked out for our salvation with fear and trembling, and what does verse 13 say? Go on, Napoleon.

[Inaudible]

"Because God is the one who does in you, the one who produces in you the willing as well as the doing."

Those two verses that I chose there confirm that dynamic, that relationship. That there is something that I have to do in response to that action that God is having on my life. I respond to the love of God. I respond to the grace of God. Some respond earlier than others, as I said last Wednesday. There are some who when they are children, or when they are adolescents say, “Yes, Lord, I confess you as my Lord and Savior” and they live all their lives, all their youth they live for the Lord.

As there are also others who are already there, at the point of death, at their last breath they say, "Lord, I repent of all my sins, I give you my life, you are my Lord, I confess you as my Savior."

And look at salvation is activated there too. There are people who throughout their lives have ups and downs, ups and downs, but like everything and those ups and downs, it is a dynamic that is seen there in action. The people, the man, the woman, responding to God's treatment that there are times when we make it stronger than another, that there are times that we get tired, that there are times that we get discouraged but there are other times that we are there, like runaway horses, looking for ways to get closer and closer to God.

And in the same way, you see God taking those actions on our lives, doing things in favor of us. That before you lived in total anxiety and suddenly a peace that you did not have before covers you and that is something that God does. that you were fighting to get a job and other people around you were getting better jobs and you were there waiting, waiting. And when you surrender to the Lord and dedicate yourself to him, suddenly a door opens for you and you get something better than what you were expecting. Those are God's actions on your life.

You were sick or sick and a healing is operated on you. You had a conflict with another person that you couldn't see even in paint and suddenly one day you ran into that person and God gave you a love that you had to give that person a hug. Because God did it.

It's those actions, my brothers, it's those actions that go day after day, it's like one neuron informing the other. And there are times when we put up with our actions but God continues to give, continues to give, continues to inform, continues to fill.

As there is also the other dimension that there are times that God like that, haven't you felt that way? It's like God, like I stop for a moment and you stay like, hey! Hey! I'm throwing you something here. You don't answer, what happened? But it doesn't mean that God has gone off the chart. No, he's there but it's the arrow pointing at us, like it suddenly froze.

But God is still there. God is there. God is present. God helps us in our weakness. He tells us, “hey, my grace is enough because when you feel weak that's where I shine and do what I have to do in your life. I have not left you alone, I have given you my spirit, because my spirit helps you. My spirit knows what you really need and it helps you so that you can continue with that action too. Take care of your salvation, work on it yourself, make an effort, pray, fast, congregate, laugh, enjoy with your family, do all those things that produce, that lead to a life of health, efficiency, and you will see that I am going to take care of it. to do the rest. I am going to continue putting in you, not only wanting to do something but also doing it, carrying it out.”

Those are the actions of God. so there is our faith concerning what is certainty, conviction, believing in something, and when we have that belief, it then leads us to that dynamic of salvation, of entering into a direct relationship with God.

And from there then, we see another dimension of faith which is faith as the gift of the spirit. I have time, wow! They're still with me right?

Faith as the gift of the Holy Spirit. You see, you know the list of gifts, right? First Corinthians, Chapter 12, from 7 to 9 which says:

"... But to each one is given the manifestation of the spirit for the benefit because to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom, to others the word of knowledge, by the same spirit, to others faith is given by the same spirit and to other gifts of healing by the same spirit, to others he performs miracles, to another prophecy, to another discernment of spirit, to other divers kinds of tongues, and still to other interpretation of tongues. But all these things are done by one and the same spirit, distributing to each one in particular as he wants…”

But verse 9 says, "Others are given faith." Look at this graph. Look to see if you understand this graph. Imagine this graph, imagine in the center the picture of faith as something very robust, as something very strong. Just imagine the gift of faith is faith on steroids, so to speak. It is a faith on steroids, a faith that has eaten anabolics, that they gave it steroid serum and that's how it got pregnant. That's right, he turned green like the Hulk, if you will. He gave her something and she tore her clothes and…

That is faith, the gift of faith. You know why I say this, because imagine that the gift of faith, the way in which it acts is a supernatural action on the part of God that moves through that gift of faith, as if it overwhelms the faith that is in our being and the moves to an even higher exponent.

That gift of faith, you know what? It is the gift that when others say, like this is not going to work, this is over, this is very ugly, there is no hope here anymore, when those are the words that are dominating in the human being, the gift of faith, says , “ah, ah, there is still. No, you still can. No, God is not finished yet. No, there is something else to do.” That is the gift of faith.

Or rather, said, the faith informed in the gift of the spirit, influenced, impacted by the gift of the spirit. That is also a faith that the Holy Spirit makes act in us at different times, in different situations. And I dare say that each one of us has experienced that dimension of faith at some point or another in our lives, that perhaps you were in a situation like that and you were about to throw in the towel and say , “No more”, but suddenly something kind of got inside you, something kind of possessed you and you, like, wow! Wait. Here's something else to do, there's one more door I can knock on, there's one more person I can talk to. There is one more prayer that I can say, there is a little more time that I can bend my knees to find the solution.

You know what? When that faith is activated in you, it will not only infuse your life, but through your life you will infuse the life of others as well, because it is a contagious faith. It is a faith that in some way or another is going to have an effect on the people around you. That is faith, that third dimension of faith as a gift, as a gift from God.

Look, perhaps, many times we are not going to deserve that to happen in our lives, because there are people who live in such disbelief that God says, "Why am I going to reward such disbelief with such a beautiful and precious gift?"

Perhaps the Bible also tells us, in the Book of James, perhaps the Bible does not say that he who asks for wisdom has to ask with faith, not doubting anything because he who doubts is like the wave of the sea that comes and goes. Whoever thinks so... What does he say next? He who thinks so does not believe that he is going to receive anything from God.

Doesn't the Bible say in another corner as well, whoever approaches God has to believe that he exists. Perhaps he also does not say, because without faith it is impossible to please God. So, for that steroid faith to apply in my life, my regular faith, so to speak, my neutral faith has to be well centered on the originator of that faith. If I live a neutral life, or rather a normal life, with more disbelief than faith or certainty, when I need that gift of faith to activate in my life, look, I don't think it will happen because I haven't honored God in these other parts of my life that require a faith, not simpler but rather a solid, genuine faith in him.

It is like saying, in the little you have been faithful, in the much I will put you. It's like the same principle applies here too. If you have not been faithful in living a life of stable, normal faith, trusting in God, why am I going to put you in something much greater? Or why am I going to let something greater manifest in you if you haven't known how to deal with this other, more basic, more essential aspect of your life.

I mean, this is me here asking questions to make us all think, right? but that's how I see it. That gift of faith is activated, it moves in us when we can say, "Look, Lord, my faith is centered in you." Others may be saying, this is not going to work, but no, I am convinced that it will. I am convinced, I am convinced that although others have told me that there is no hope, that there is no way out, I am convinced that you have the answer and even if not, as Sadrac, Mesac and Abednego said, and even if not, however, I will not bend my knees before any other idol, because I know in whom I have put my trust.

So even if I were to fall into the fiery furnace, I am sure that there will be a fourth that will appear there with me. That is faith. That's faith in steroids. Hey me, they don't get that example sooner, thank you sir. Here is the gift of revelation being given right now.

That is faith. Being able to say, “Look, Lord, even if things don't work out, even if I end up in the very middle of the fiery furnace with everything and everything, my faith is going to be centered in you. My trust will be in you. That is the third dimension.

The last dimension, I can finish, I was over five minutes, let me finish. The last dimension has to do with the fruit of faith. What Galatians Chapter 5:22 and 23 says, says:

"... Plus the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance and against such things no one can mess with me with those things, because that is the character of God that is centered there, grounded in us.

Now, but I'm going to tell you a secret. That faith of which that passage speaks is not necessarily the faith of believing, but rather the faith that has to do with faithfulness, pistis is the original Greek word, which has to do with faithfulness. And do you know what this implies, fidelity? It's the mere fact that I can say, ah, look, Camilo is a person I can trust. He is a reliable person, I dare to cross the whole world with him because I know that he will not leave me lying around.

That is faith concerning faithfulness. It's just the fact that other people can say, look, you can be counted on. You are a trustworthy person. That is that fourth dimension of faith that often goes unnoticed. There are times when I myself ask myself, “Wow, Omar, are you going to be a trustworthy person? Are you a person who can be trusted, what can other people say, look, can you count on Omar?" And then I start to think, how many times have people called you on the phone and you haven't returned their calls. Or they have written you emails and you have not responded back. Or have they come across you in a church hallway and say, “Pastor Omar, I have to meet with you, can you call me?” "Yes, yes, yes, I'll call you."

I'm making confession here, so remember what the Bible says. The Bible says, confess your offenses to each other so that you may be healed. OK? I am seeking healing and so are you.

But that's the dynamic, my brothers. In other words, those questions that I ask myself, I ask myself many times and it has run, because I know that this is the way in which I can show that one can be counted on. There are times when I ask myself concerning my wife and my children, I say to myself, “Look, when they need you the most, are you there? And if you are there, are you there with the desire to help, or are you there all flattened? sorry, no desire, or something.

In other words, when your children want to play with you, do you play with them reluctantly or do you play with them with all your passion, with all your energy? You throw yourself on the floor with them, you laugh with them, you cry with them. Can they count on you?

And there are times when I say to myself, "Look, yes, thank God I'm managing to do that." And I ask myself those same questions in many other aspects of my life, because in some way or another, my brothers, that sense of fidelity is also influenced by my faith in the Lord Jesus.

Does not the Lord Jesus remain faithful to us? Is not the Lord Jesus a person who can be counted on, who can be counted on, who is trustworthy, who I can call and I know he will answer me? If he is like that with me, why am I not going to demonstrate that dimension of my faith with others as well, that I can be faithful, that if they tell me, "Look, I am going to tell you something and it is in complete confidence, I can count on with you?" "Look, yeah, talk to me." But if you're thinking of jumping off the Tobin Bridge, believe me I'm going to tell someone.

It's true, I have to do that. No, Pastor, don't tell anyone that… No, well, I'm sorry, well, if you're going to jump off the Tobin Bridge, I'm sorry, but I can't talk to you then. I'm not the person to talk to. If you jump off the Tobin Bridge, I'm going to tie you to a rope so you don't get to the bottom, stay hanging for a while and confess all your sins and then after that I'll pull you back again.

No, no, not from the head, because... I can't tie him up from the head. Better to break an ankle than break his neck. No no. but do you understand what I'm saying, my brothers? It is important that we understand these four dimensions of our faith because sooner or later my brothers, you know what? You will find yourself there. Sooner or later you are going to find yourself there, at some point you are going to find yourself asking yourself, how do I believe the things that I believe? Perhaps you have been there, who knows if you are, and who knows if there will come a time when you will question yourself, do I truly believe all the things that they preach to me, all the things that the pastor says on Sundays? I really believe that?

And you know what? When that time comes go through it. When that time comes I went through it. Because it is important that we think, reflect through those things. That will help our faith to strengthen even more. When that sense of certainty is further strengthened, that sense of salvation from that faith, of me believing in an almighty Lord who has much greater purposes than mine, and who can do much more than I can think or understand, That faith is then going to infuse those other aspects of my life and it is going to help me so that if I am in a bit of a tight situation, instead of saying, no, there is no way out here, then I can experience that faith as a gift that tells me, “No, no, no, God still has something else, there is something he can do. He has the way out. I have to wait for what I do not see, I have to have the conviction of what is expected, the certainty of what is not seen because if I already see it, if I already have it, then there is nothing more to wait for. ”

We have to keep hoping for those things that God has there in store for us. That is what fills us with strength, with energy and it may seem ironic, because other people will tell us, "but why are you going to have your strength in something that you are not seeing, that you are not touching, that you are not enjoying right now?" “Look, I don't know why, but the Lord does it that way. The mere fact that I am waiting for those things that are to come fills me with strength and energy to continue with what I have today, with what I am living today, with the ailments I have today, with the challenges that I have today, with the achievements that I have today. That faith keeps moving me so that I can keep moving in the direction that God wants me to move, in order to achieve those things for which he reached me.”

Eyes on the Lord Jesus, the author and finisher of whom? Of our faith. So, brothers, let's stand up. Tonight you will leave here with a renewed faith. Today you leave here with a faith in steroids.

Father, and that is my prayer, Lord Jesus, that all of us, including myself, including my brothers and sisters who are watching on the internet, that today we will walk out of here with a faith on steroids, a strengthened faith, Lord, knowing that you are the author, the one who consumes, everything begins and ends with you. You are the alpha and the omega, Lord, you are the one who puts in us both the wanting and the doing, you are the one who moves us, the one who fills us with your grace, your mercy, Jesus, for us to be able to enjoy those things that you have for our lives and that through our lives we can reach and reach others.

So, Jesus, look even when the world, even when society, when the people out there are saying that there is no hope, that it cannot be done, that this is over, Lord, that this faith is activated in us, that gift of faith, that certainty, that conviction, that persuasion is activated in us, my God, and drives us to move forward trusting in you because you are the one who has the last word, whether we see it in our time or not, Lord , we put our trust in you, we put our conviction, our certainty, our faith is in you, Lord Jesus.

Thank you we give you for your word, Jesus, thank you for each one of my brothers and sisters. I declare upon them your blessing. Take us safely to our homes, Lord, that our bed, at night, Lord, be a nest, my God, where we can rest in you, recover our strength so that tomorrow if you allow it, we can lay hands on it to everything that tomorrow may bring.

We give you thanks, we bless you, we give you glory, honor, only to you because you deserve it. We love you, Lord Jesus. We pray in your name. Amen. Amen. Thank you Lord Jesus. Hallelujah!

Brothers and sisters, God bless you.