Lives that reflect Christ

I would like you to go with me to the first letter of John, in chapter 2, I am going to read only one verse for now, verse 6. It says this verse, which is short but very impressive: "... He who says that he remains in him must walk how he walked…”

Let me repeat it again, “…He who says he abides in him must walk as he walked…”

What's more, I would dare to say, he must walk as he still walks today. I ask you how are you? With your feet, right? obviously. nudging. How many walk with a weird little tumbadito sometimes? How many walk loaded and burdened by life? How many of you are exasperated all the time, anxious? Wow, what are you going to do tomorrow? And everything is so, fast. How many of us walk like he walked?

A life that reflects Christ, there are several points that I would like to share with you. I want to be very brief, I don't want to go on too long, but let me see if I can at least cover 5 of these things. And the first thing I can say is that this life is a life of faith, it is a life of faith.

Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 7 says that we walk by faith and not by sight. So the mere fact that if we say we abide in Jesus, obviously Jesus is not here in a tangible way with us now, so we have to go around believing by faith that Jesus is real, that his power, his words follow still in effect today. and we walk by faith. We do not necessarily depend on things being given in a visible or tangible way for us to believe, but that our belief is there before things become visible.

Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 1, says precisely this, “…what is faith? Faith is the certainty of what you expect, the conviction of what is not seen, it is a crazy way of living but that is how the Lord has established it."

I am convinced that that son, that daughter for whom you are praying will come the day, the moment, the hour that that person will give the change that God wants him to give. I have that conviction.

I am convinced that this doubt that is clouding your head, your mind right now, that does not allow you to think well, that does not allow you to process well, that the time will come, I am convinced that this doubt, That fog that has blinded you in a moment God will remove it and you will be able to see clearly what the Lord wants to do in you and through you for others.

We live by faith. Don't you know how the money will arrive for the next week to pay your rent, to buy milk, to buy ham, cheese and bread and make the sandwich that you are going to eat the next day? But there is the conviction in one way or another that God is going to provide. Maybe I won't give it to you in the morning, but in the afternoon someone is going to invite you to eat and you are going to eat in one meal, you are going to eat breakfast, lunch and eaten, and dessert and snack too.

Point number two: this life, my brothers, is a life of light and peace. Walking as Jesus walked is a life of light and peace. I ask you when you arrive at a place, what energy do you transmit? When you enter a house, when you enter your work office, when you get on the truck and have to drive with a partner, with a colleague, when you have to sit in front of someone and do an interview and do a report, when you get home in the afternoon and the children are all rolled around and you are thinking that you have to cook, that you have to wash the dishes or things like that, what energy are we transmitting in those moments? How are we doing? How is our proceeding? We are infecting the people around us with a negative, pessimistic energy, or we are infecting the people around us with something more positive, with something from God, although there are times when it may not be possible to communicate in such a direct way, but that is reflected, that is something that can be seen through you.

And wherever you go, wherever you enter, wherever you speak, that life of light, that life of peace, manifests itself, lets itself be seen. You transmit that peace. Look how the Scripture says in First John, chapter 1, verse 7 says:

“…If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we will have fellowship with one another…”

Look at this how beautiful. If you walk in the light as he is in the light, we will have fellowship, in other words, we will have peace with one another. You know, I have to tell you, this point touched my heart a lot. As a pastor one of the privileges, I would say, that one lives as a pastor is to have counseling sessions with people. I believe that through counseling we have a front row seat in the lives of people that not everyone has. And one can know a series of stories and there is counseling, my brothers, which does not end very well due to the complexity of things, but when one as a pastor finds himself in counseling and one sees the good result that comes from it, not not only because of the intervention that one makes, but because oneself sees in a tangible way how the spirit of the Lord is touching all the people who are involved, one can say, Lord, glory to you because you are the one who is working here in this situation.

I was inspired to share this sermon today by a counseling session I had yesterday, last night. A council that, my brothers, I tell you that when I entered it I said to myself, this is done or undone here. But when I entered, since I began to pray, I felt in my spirit, Lord, you are going to take care of this situation. And as that conversation developed, I was able to see how God was intervening in each one of the people who were involved. And I said to myself, thank you, Lord, because this is the church.

The church are imperfect people but we are doing everything possible to walk in the light. And when we recognize that this is not how I can put my ego above another's, but I recognize that I have to bow down at times so that another person can also have their place, and to allow the Lord to work with us to Being able to be part of the body that can function in a more efficient way, as God wants his body to function, which is the church, look, there is nothing more beautiful than seeing that.

There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a hand saying to the foot, look, I need you, I can't cut you. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing an ear saying to the eye, look, guide me because I don't see where I am going, I can tell you what I am hearing but you are seeing. So I'm going to let myself be carried away by what you say.

We in the church, my brothers, look, I tell you this, our church is not perfect but we are fighting to be, and part of that fight all of us, in the different ways that we interact with the life of the church, have to always fight and aspire so that our church is a church where the light of the Lord can be seen and where the peace of God can be seen and felt and that we can live it. May all of us be agents of peace and agents of light and not agents of strife.

We cannot let the contest win in the dynamics of the life of the body of Christ. If you come across someone who suddenly starts pulling you to one side, and starts talking to you, look, so-and-so, this so-and-so, you have to be careful with this person because he is like that, because he is like that, watch out for the crook . Great care! Great care! These dynamics occur in the church, in any church. And ours is exempt from that. So if you are dealing with someone who is… consuming another person, stop. Just here. It's your responsibility, it's my responsibility. You have to care for the welfare of the church.

And you know that you are taking care of the church when you see, okay, Jesus I'm walking how you want? I'm walking how you walked? That if I see contention to cut it and be able to resolve that situation, to seek a resolution between two parties that are in discord, and instead of me being a party that fosters more discord, that I can be a party that can promote peace and unity and integration. We have to reflect that light and that peace.

Number 3, connected with number 2, is a life of love. Ephesians 5, look how beautiful, I love this passage, Ephesians 5, verse 1 and 2. It says:

“…So be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love – there it is again – as Christ loved us and sacrificed himself for us…”

Do you know that you have to sacrifice yourself for the life of another person? You are not here in this church as a consumer, you are not here to come and see how the church can help me. That is the mindset of a person who has not fully understood the dynamics of what it is to be part of the body of Christ. But a person, a mature Christian, a Christian who abides in the Lord, is the kind of person who knows that when he is part of a church, he is there to sacrifice and to be a blessing to others, not just sit around as if out… give him a drip, okay, give me the medicine I need today and I'll come back again on Sunday so they can give me the same drip again.

Those are consumers in the church, there are also, sure, there are. But those of us who have understood those mysteries of God, know that many times when we sacrifice ourselves, those personal desires, to serve others in a genuine way, to foster that unity, to foster that peace with each other, there you then you experience a much greater blessing from God than if you merely sit there in the pew listening to what the pastor says every Sunday. That has its place, it is not that I am, as they say, lowering that level, that has its place, in a service like this, look, you come, sit down, receive the word of the Lord, amen, glory to God. But this is only a small part of what their role is in the life of a church. Because with what he receives here he has to go back and give it, impart it, live it with other people around him.

Promote that love among all, that if a Dominican does not get along with a Uruguayan, we will see how we connect that. If a Colombian doesn't get along with a Puerto Rican, how do we connect that? If a Honduran doesn't get along with a Mexican, how do we make that connection? If a Costa Rican... is that this is the gift of Costa Ricans, they get along like everyone else. That's what comes from being in the same middle of Central America, you get along with everyone. You are the navel that grabs everything.

My brothers, I tell you in this church I have learned that our ethnic background goes down to a second or third level, that in a church like this we have to understand that our citizenship is from heaven and not from here. You are from Puerto Rico, ah, how cool, what town are you from? Ah, I was the same, cool, very good. But here that's like… where are you from? Rather, where are you going? For heaven. Me too, we'll see you up there. See you there, I'll accompany you on the road, come on. Even if you have a different accent, even if you eat pupusa and I like rice with beans and chops, no problem, we got there like who, but we have to encourage, walk in that love, my brothers.

We have to walk in that love. Let's not let, my brothers, never, never let your differences with other people get in the way of what God wants to do. That is one of the biggest mistakes that any church can divide, fostering that sense of intimidation at times, because there are times when that happens, it's like we intimidate and intimidate people, look, if you don't do this, Well, I'm not going to do this, or if you don't do this, then I'm leaving here. Hey, no, how are we going to live like this in church? It's like walking in an eggshell. Let me be careful so that so-and-so doesn't get offended.

Look, I forgot to say this, in the previous point that I mentioned. How am I going to forget this, Omar, please. He says, the point that he was talking about a life that reflects light and peace. He says, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and then look how he says, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

Do you know what that means? What if in that relationship of communion, of being in communion with others, if the moment comes when I rule against you, do you know what is there? The blood of Christ to forgive me for that fault, to forgive your fault and that we can continue working and living in communion as he wishes. There is the best ingredient of all, the blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin.

If I offended you with my character, with my conduct, look, don't kick me, but declare the blood of Christ on my life so that my character continues to be transformed and that I can walk as he walked too.

The fourth point, walking as he walked, is a life that reflects stability, it is a defined life. We are not playing two bases at the same time. I am neither cold nor hot, either I am cold or I am hot. not lukewarm Why is it that the warm does not like? I eat food sometimes lukewarm. I take lukewarm baths.

The point that I want to make, look how it says Ephesians, chapter 4.

"... I beg you to walk worthy of the vocation with which you were called..."

I love this word, vocation. How many of you have heard that word? Vocation. Vocation can often be understood as calling, too. But called many times people limit it to what is the pastor's call, the evangelistic call, the missionary call. But vocation, my brothers, is a much more encompassing word, because if you are a nurse, in that vocation God can use you to bless someone. If you are a hairdresser and that is your vocation in that chair, cutting your hair, pulling someone's hair to straighten their curly hair, God can use you for who knows if untangling a couple of tangles that person has in their life too .

And that is your vocation. You don't necessarily have to be standing at the altar, but by cutting your hair you can bless that person. And that you can live, that you can walk in the light of that vocation, when he is talking about your vocation here, it is the mere fact of living in the light of the call that we have to the Lord in our lives and that we have to make a difference. in everything we do. That is the vocation in which we walk. And to be able to be stable, defined in it, that this is what defines us. Maybe I'm going to have to elaborate a little more on this point.

Point 5, it falls from the bush, it is a spiritual life. We have to understand, my brothers, that when we walk in the spirit we have to feed that spirit and not satisfy the desires of the flesh. That is what Galatians says, chapter 5 verse 16:

"...Walk in the spirit and do not satisfy the desires of the flesh..." that today the desires of the flesh are being stimulated everywhere from the moment you get up until you go to bed, and even when you sleep as long as you he has seen in the day his mind continues to process it. And that little voice is there saying, feed me, feed me, give yourself this little joy, it won't do anything to you. A little voice inside that is telling you, eat a little more of that pork rind, it won't hurt you. You put your hand in your pocket and there is that little voice that tells you, don't worry, put it, put it there in the black number 23. You will see.

That girl, check her up and down so you can see. That well-formed man, my brother, let me greet you. Let's not satisfy the desires of the flesh. Hey, we have to be careful with that, when those thoughts cross your mind, Lord, I take every thought captive to your obedience. I ask that your spirit fill me, Lord, please. Bless the sister but help me Lord.

You can, sure you can. But look, you know how it can be done, my brothers, this is a habit. Feeding the desires of the flesh are habits that we are developing throughout our lives. When the spirit of God enters us, it begins to fight in there. It is the idea of developing a totally new habit so that then the dynamic of the spirit dominates over the dynamic of the flesh. Habits that one has to do, habits with his eyes, habits with his words, habits with his thoughts, habits with the way he acts. These are things that one has to fix.

When I was young, I was a flirt, I was a flirt and I admit it, I like to flirt with girls when I was young. I would throw my compliments at them and that was a habit with which I grew up and when I began to enter into the seriousness of my call, I understood that the Lord told me, be careful, if you don't correct that, that could get you into trouble. issues. Maybe you want to bless a little sister, but with your behavior the little sister is going to believe that you are throwing another play, and you have to be careful. And I had to do… I still have to make the effort to take care of myself in how I proceed, in how I greet.

If there are times that you see me hesitate, I don't know whether to shake your hand or give you a hug, that is my mind processing, I must be careful how I do it. The spirit speaking and my own mind processing as well. Precisely for this reason, because I want to take care of anything that could be misunderstood by another or by me. And be careful with that.

Point number 6, it's a life of diligence. Ephesians chapter 5, verses 15 to 17, this is the idea that says:

"...Watch carefully how you walk, not as fools but as wise, making the best use of time, seeking to understand the will of God..."

The days are bad, you have to seek to understand the will of God, in everything you do, in every move you make, in every conversation you have, in every decision you make, whether to buy 1% milk or whole milk, even in those things, be diligent, seek to understand God's will, take advantage of time.

With that colleague of yours at work that you are crazy to tell him, look, accept Christ and your life changes, but the dynamics have not allowed it that way. Be diligent, measure the time, use the time well, take the opportunity.

What's more, if you have to pray, Lord, please let something happen so that I can, as they say, put the spoon in here. Let's be diligent. This idea of diligence also has to do with the idea of being alert, Lord, what are you doing, what are you doing in this person's life? What are you doing in me?

Last week a brother here in the church came out and asked me, Omar, what do you feel the spirit is leading you to do these days? How do you see that the spirit is calling you to focus your energies? And that question took me by surprise and I had to answer, I don't know. It doesn't mean that I'm being careless, but the thing was that the question caught me off guard. And at the time I did not know what to answer. If he asks me now, I know that I will answer him. Because it made me think, that question made me think about that passage, I'm walking diligently, I'm walking alert, Lord, what are you telling me? What are the signals that you are sending me? What are the ways in which you are disturbing my spirit for me to live, to speak, to proceed with people? What do you have in your hands? I want to know your will, Lord.

I cannot go around like a fool and see a mere daily routine. I have to walk wisely seeking to understand God's will for each day, even in simple things, even in a phone call that I make to someone. I have to understand God's will in that.

So, my brothers, how are you doing? How are you walking? Are we walking in the light of what Christ wants for our lives? In those 6 points that I mentioned are 3 and 3? 4 and 2? 5 and 1? Or none? How are you doing? How am I walking?

I know, my brothers, that if we want to remain in him, as that passage with which I began in First John chapter 2, verse 2 says, the one who says that he remains in him must walk as he walked. If you read the previous verses, all of this focuses on us staying in that commandment that Jesus gave us to love one another. If I live in love as he commanded, I can say that I am staying in him and that I am walking as he walked.

Because Jesus walked in love, even the confrontations that Jesus did, Jesus did inspired by love, the love of God that moved him, so to speak, to get inside people and say, hey, look, wake up. Reconsider. Even at the moment when Jesus looked braver than he made a whip and began to hit the merchants with songs and took them out of the church, that abrupt gesture of Jesus was inspired by love, love for the house of the Lord.

Now, I'm not saying that you start picking up whips and start hitting people around you. No, careful. I leave that to Jesus nothing else. Nobody is selling pigeons here.

But my brothers, I believe that this message is rather to bring us a sense of being alert, that is, how I am walking, my brothers, in everything you do, in all your interactions with different people around you, with your husband, with your wife, how are you doing? What are you reflecting to your husband or your wife? Here within the church, if you are a leader, a leader, you in your ministry, what energy are you transmitting to other leaders in other ministries? What are you promoting? Are you fostering an atmosphere of peace? Are you fostering an environment of work, of service, of ministry, of communion where differences can be put aside and we can work together? Or are you throwing stones at the other side?

You are demanding many signs and you are forgetting that, no, I have to exercise my faith even if I don't see signs, I have to believe that this is going to happen, and I have to keep holding on, making an effort, keeping my hope in those things that I am waiting, that the moment will come when I will see them and when I see them something new will emerge that my faith will continue there inspired, moving, moving forward.

That is the life that the Lord wants, that we can reflect. And it's not like you're going to get like this now, like you're going to reach an extreme and you get anxious like, oh, I'm doing this, that, and then you're like... oh,... no, no, look, you're who you are and the way you are, that you can reflect Christ, that God speaks to you, that God moves you, that God worries you.

What's more, through a person's conversation, if a person suddenly tells you something that you don't like, okay, what are you going to do with it? Are you going to put a line and a cross on that person and I don't talk to him or her again? Or in the maturity that the Lord gives you, you are going to say, let me examine this, let me retain the good, the bad that I didn't like, let me leave it there to soak, on standby, and then I'll go back and visit it again to see what there is that truly the Lord is speaking to me.

That is the dynamic of walking as Jesus walked. The life of Jesus was very dynamic. Different people around him and he wants to have that same dynamic with you, he wants to have it with me, with all of us, he wants to have that dynamic. And he wants to see how that vessel is taking its final form that he wants it to have. And he is sure that the work that he began in you he will finish it. He is sure of that, he already sees it.

We are in the process. Let us walk as Jesus walked, my brothers, let us encourage one another to walk as Jesus walked. We are going to stand up and we are going to pray.

Lord Jesus, how beautiful and beautiful is your word. How beautiful it is to be able to expose ourselves to this teaching, Lord. How beautiful it is to be able, Lord, to open our hearts and let that word penetrate very deeply and reprove what is there, Lord. No one but you knows our hearts, you know how deceitful the heart can be, the Scripture also says so, but Father, here we are, we expose ourselves to you, Lord. There is nothing we can hide from you. You know very well the areas of this message that we have to work on and I ask you, Lord, that please, that your grace, that your love, that your favor, Lord, rest upon us. That we can be patient with ourselves as you are too and that at the same time we can be intentional, Lord, in working in the direction that you want us to go, Lord.

Lord, you use any situation in life to teach us, to show us your way, to teach us how to walk, how to live, how to think, how to speak, how to proceed. So, Jesus, I pray that over each one of my brothers and sisters as we prepare to leave here, to go to our homes, I ask that this word continue to echo in us, Lord, and that we may continue to growing in the light of it, Lord, and that we can reflect your life in the lives of others, Lord. Understand that people around us are at different stages in their life of faith and we have to learn how to deal with each one of them.

Help us, Lord, to be able to impart that life of faith, that life of love, that life of unity, that light that we can reflect, that defined, stable life, Lord, that spirit, that spiritual life that is defined by you, Lord. , that we can reflect all these qualities and many more in every moment, Lord. That we can interact with others around us. Take us safely to our homes, Lord, take us with your peace and may this word continue to reprove us, Lord, as only you can. Bless us all, grant us your peace, your love in our hearts, through your Son, Jesus, we pray and thank you. Amen, Lord.

Brothers, may the Lord bless you, may the Lord keep you, forward in the Lord. Say hello to each other, you're fired. Blessings.