the lord is near

Say with me: "The Lord is near." Wow, and that came to mind this morning as I was praying for the Lord to clarify what to focus on, this idea that the Lord is near, okay? And the first thing I want to tell you is, let's go back a little bit. Here we see the apostle Paul calling his brothers from Philippi but also us by extension to rejoice. And every day I meditate more and more on that fact that the Word of God calls us to rejoice.

I don't have all the time to develop this point, but the first thing I can say is this: note that it is a call, it is a verb, even if it sounds redundant, active. They are telling you: rejoice. It's like telling yourself: drink a glass of water, or go to the beach, or enjoy a good sunny day and go out into the countryside. They are telling you to do something as a consequence of a decision that you have to make, of a move of your will. The Word is calling you to do something to produce a rejoicing effect on you.

In other words what I want to say is that rejoicing is an action, it is a decision in other words. You can decide to rejoice or not, see? It is a call from God and the simple fact that God calls me to enter into that act of rejoicing is a revelation to me. And of course he is saying something else, and that is that rejoicing must be a persistent state of the children of God, it must be a condition and not just an isolated moment, okay?

So there are two very important things here. Because afterwards he says: Rejoice in the Lord always. It is as the Word says in another case: pray without ceasing. And one says well, what does that mean? Pray without ceasing. Does that mean that I have to pray when I'm in the street always moving my lips, and when I'm sleeping? No, it is the idea of something that is persistent, something that becomes a quality of life. It is a foundation of life. It is like a background the rejoicing, the joy of the Lord.

So that fact that God calls you is a revelation, that I am going to decide if I am going to rejoice or not. And that helps because many times we think that emotions are something that should govern us. Emotions come and go, and they decide what they do with us. But you know what?, that you have the power and you have within you the agency, and the strength to either rejoice, or get depressed, be anxious or be at peace. And there are things that you can do in your life to facilitate and make it possible for the joy of the Lord to manifest within you.

And look at what Paul says, he says: Rejoice in the Lord always. I believe that part of the Christian's ability to enjoy himself is the fact of understanding that our joy is not an easy, superficial joy of continuous laughter and telling jokes, and always having a Barbie smile on our lips. I believe that the joy of the Christian is a joy that comes, that it is something from within, from the entrails. It is a joy that the Presence of the Holy Spirit makes possible within us. And it's a joy I think it's there despite; despite the trials, despite the difficulties and struggles of life, despite the bad memories of life. One can rejoice in the Lord.

It is a joy to know that my ticket is already paid. My passport is stamped and they gave me the visa for the Celestial Homeland, amen? It is a joy to know that I am well with God and God is well with me, God is happy with me. God loves me, God has healed me, he has saved me, he has justified me through Christ Jesus and therefore all other things in life are inconsequential before the great fact that I know where I come from and where I am going, amen ?.

So it is that rejoicing, that joy of the Lord in the Lord that comes as a product of being close to Christ, knowing that Christ is with me, I am in Him. To the extent that we remain in Christ and He remains in us, then we can experience that joy of God. Many times look: when we started the service this morning look at the progression; As Pastor of the Church, I am always observing the temperature of the Church, right? You see me there but sometimes I'm there suffering or enjoying, but I don't know, I'm there thinking, giving myself therapy sometimes, right?, and seeing how things are and measuring all the different spiers of the Church.

And when we entered and started, we were there a little tight, it wasn't the same intensity, yes or no? Or I'm imagining things, be honest. And so it happens many times. Many at 9 in the morning do not know if they are saved or not (laughs). But we began and with the blessing of the brothers here who led us and the choirs, as if the warmth of the Lord was entering us, amen? And the temperature was rising to a crescendo and until the end that we were able to proclaim the Lordship of Christ with joy, with intensity. The other brothers had already arrived, the place was full and glory to God, the Holy Spirit began to manifest itself in an open and palpable way, right?

But why?. Because we decided to praise the Lord. If we sit here waiting for the joy of the Lord to come to us and for him to touch us with a magic wand, we are here all day. But when one begins to adore, when one begins to praise, when one begins to warm up the engines, things begin to flow. And then we can feel and process that joy of the Lord that was in us with our nervous system. We can experience the joy of the Lord.

I have learned like this in my life, that I am there many times that I don't even smell the lilies, but I begin to think about the Lord, to pray to cry out, sometimes even tears come out, I meditate on the good things of the Lord and how the cold begins to go away, the demons get into their hiding place and the joy of the Lord comes, right? And we have to make a decision in our lives to enjoy ourselves. You have to decide that you are going to be a person who is going to rejoice in the Lord.

It is something that has to be like a philosophical, biblical, theological position that I am going to be a joyful person. I will rejoice in the Lord. And you have to make an ethic out of that, a theme of your life, a decision. Because let me tell you: life is not going to give you the opportunity. Christ says that in the world you will find sorrow. If you think about all the problems you have and I have, all the difficulties; health problems, financial problems, family problems, friendship problems, work problems, you go and shoot yourself as soon as possible to get out of this cruel world.

And you can choose what to focus on. It is going to focus on the bad and difficult things in life that we all have or it is going to focus on the joy of the Lord, on the fact that you are saved by Christ Jesus. That God is happy with you, that God has good things for your life. That God's thoughts are good for your life. And maybe now he is going through a time of tribulation but the end is always good. It is what the apostle says, that God's end is always good. So you have to decide to rejoice.

One of the passages that I love is the passage from Abacuc chapter 13 and I am going to leave it with that around the theme of rejoicing because there is a lot, a lot to cut, a lot of cloth to cut. Look for the Sunday sermon before twelve.

But look at what Abacuk 3:17 says: "Even though the fig tree does not flourish, nor are there fruits on the vines. cows in the pens."

Now, we are talking about a man who lived in an agricultural world, right? Today we would say: even if the bank account is at zero, even if there is no soup in the pantry, even if there is not a container of milk in the fridge, even if the car is out there all upset with the wires out, even if it has problems familiarities and difficulties in my health, says: "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord." Hallelujah.

Say with me: with everything. He's saying there: hey, he's not saying like with a magic wand everything is going to disappear, right?, no no no. It's not that you're going to be like those ostrich birds either, how do you say it in Spanish?, an ostrich that supposedly sticks its head in the sand so as not to see the approaching danger. No, we are not ignorant of the reality of life, okay? On the contrary, I believe that human beings can enjoy themselves.

In other words, brothers, it is not that we ignore the negative things in life, but rather that we have to remember this: that despite everything and in the midst of everything, I like what it says: with everything, in other words dragging all the realities of life. That also reminds me of what the apostle Paul says in another passage, Romans chapter 8 I think it is. "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written because of You we are killed all the time, we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered."

The apostle Paul is there looking at the reality of life. All the things that can go wrong, all the things that can go wrong in the life of a human being. All the adversaries sworn to death to destroy us and to spoil the joy of life. And he rhetorically asks: Is there anything in this world, no matter how great, that can separate us from the love of Christ? Nothing, obviously the answer is nothing. Then he says: "Before in all these things we are more than conquerors."

Notice: before in, not after they are finished or when we are out of them, it says: before in all these things we are more than conquerors. And I remember what Abacuc says, that's why the connection that was made in my mind, with everything. Because again God calls you, son, daughter of God this morning, look at her nakedly, look at her coldly, look at her logically, recognize all the adversaries that your life has, how difficult life is, the struggles that exist. But I want this morning, the Lord wants this morning that with everything you will rejoice in the Lord.

Abacuc says: "With everything I will rejoice in the Lord and I will be glad in the God of my salvation. The Lord is my strength who makes my feet like servants and makes me walk on my heights." See there it is like a challenging joy, it is like a stone that you throw at the devil in the very forehead, the joy of the Lord. The Word says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. The writer from Abacuc is saying here: even if whatever comes my ethic of life is going to be: I am going to rejoice, I am going to rejoice in the Lord. I am going to live a life of joy, not a life ignorant of life's difficulties because we all have our struggles, but a life of joy in and despite and with all that comes my way.

I will always keep a smile on my face, I will be a person of grace. The apostle Paul then says there: your kindness be known to all men. Brothers, I think that, look, the greatest letter of recommendation, the greatest apologetic resource for the Lordship of Christ that we have is our kindness. That pleasant character in us.

A bloody, boring, annoying Christian with life, demanding of others, embittered cannot be an absolute evangelist. People need congregations when they come in that feel the joy of the Lord. And people need Christians at work who, while everyone else is gossiping and complaining about the boss and the working conditions and how little they get paid, have a nice deep smile. Not a plastic smile but a smile that has gone through the meteorites of struggle, suffering, failure, the failures of life and that still comes out victorious on the other side. It is a different smile, a deep smile.

May your kindness be known. I want our Church to be a Gentile Church. I rejoice every time a visitor comes and tells me: this Church is a friendly Church. Last Sunday two brothers came, I have known them for a long time, members of the Park Street Church, older people, North Americans. And they were sitting there, when I came I saw them, I went to greet them before starting the service, they told me: the people here are so kind. Now, I know the other part of you let me tell you (laughs). But I didn't tell you right now.

And you know the unkind part of me too, some more than others. But I declare amen brothers, yes it is true, they are people. I tell you, I live in love with my Church, because the truth is that our Church in a general sense, as a whole, is a special Church, we are a gentle Church, and I encourage you to always be a generous Church, a kind Church, a Church where laughter can always be on our lips.

I love it when the sisters come here sometimes and take off their shoes and are here in front, and I say: glory to God, they feel free, don't they?, to do that. Guys if you do make sure you have clean socks but you can do it too (laughs). Amen.

No, it's good when people feel free in the house of the Lord to relax. The alternative is all starched there: Oh Heavenly Father Creator of the Universe, You who can do everything, we treat God as if he were a hundred thousand miles away. God is present, he is here, he is within you, he loves you, he has good thoughts for you, therefore rejoice. Let us be a generous Church brothers. A gentle Church, a content Church, a Church that laughs at itself and laughs with God.

I believe that God laughs and the world trembles, the universe trembles when God laughs. God has a sense of humor too, look, he put me to shepherd you, imagine if he would have a sense of humor. The point is that we have a loving Father and we have to focus on that. I want to get away from this topic but I can't, it's so rich, so juicy. We have to be a generous Church. And you, I call you, man, woman of God to also be generous in your family, your marriage, the way you treat your children, the way you treat others.

Because you know what? If one is gentle one can feel the joy of the Lord. A demanding person who keeps accounts and has to pay for everything they did to him is never going to be happy, ever. Do you know who the happy person is? The person who gives, the person who shares, the person who blesses, the person who affirms, the person who believes in the best of others, the person who knows that there is something good in that individual although he is deep in the background but knows that there is something good in it, right?, and we try to bring out that good thing that is.

We are generous with our spouse. We give of what we have, we are not thinking of ourselves as miserable out there counting the little coins, we share our food, we invite others into the home to share our gifts. And that generates joy in us, relieves us. Be generous, let your kindness be known to all men. Let us be a generous Church, a gentle Church, distinguished by being a place where we love, share, and support one another, and you will see that the joy of the Lord will flow in our midst. That is very important.

I leave them there because otherwise I'm not going to go into what I really wanted to play, but I didn't want to leave them like that completely. Because after Paul said all that, rejoice in the Lord always and again I repeat to you: rejoice, may your kindness, your joy, your generosity, your love, your lightness of spirit be known to the whole neighborhood. Then he says: the Lord is near. The Lord is near. Notice that for many people saying that the Lord is near is like saying: oh oh, I do not want to see Him, He is going to be mad at me.

For many people to say that the Lord is near could be something of the end of the world, destruction, fire, brimstone. For Paul in this context it is an element of strengthening the call to joy. There is a link in the enlightened mind of the Apostle Paul between his call to joy and rejoice and this fact that the Lord is near. It's not some idiosyncratic claim there that he put there to fill space but rather that there is an intimate connection of Spirit between those things.

Why is it so important for us to live a life of joy and peace, which is actually what covers that whole segment of the letter, the life of peace. Because Paul ends there by saying, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard all your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Peace is the basis, without peace you cannot enjoy yourself, right? If you are anxious, nervous, insecure, you will only be able to have joy. Peace is the basis of joy and the two are united there. It's actually what frames.

But for Paul the fact that Christ is near is an element that strengthens the call to joy and peace. And you will think, let me start here because I think I will continue with this topic later, it is a very important topic: the coming of the Lord. You will notice that I don't talk very often about the coming of the Lord, actually I should talk more about the Second Coming. I talk about many different topics, many things, but the Second Coming is not a topic as can sometimes happen in other more Pentecostal Churches, we are always talking about Christ coming, Christ coming, etc.

Normally I don't deal with this subject much, but I am clear about the growing importance of understanding what the doctrine of the Second Coming of the Lord is and the elements that accompany it. And sometimes if I don't talk so much about the Second Coming it's because in my spirit there is one, it's like a conflictive relationship of elements that contradict each other and are in tension, and because I take the Second Coming of the Lord so seriously, Sometimes I don't talk about it but it is a subject of much meditation. It is a key issue that we have to be very clear about and understand what we are talking about.

On the one hand, there is the fact that Scripture tells us over and over again about the proximity of the coming of Christ. The first Christians evidently lived occupied in their minds and in their sensitivity by the imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some have even thought that Scripture is wrong there, some more liberal writers, because they say: well, simply that Paul and even the Jesus that we read about in the Gospels thought that it was going to be something very quick, or the evangelists who wrote about Jesu s' words as they thought he was going to come immediately, and sometimes they get a little confused when Christ says for example: Jesus said that this generation will not pass away until the Son of man has come.

mystery words. I don't know exactly how to explain them and I don't want to get too deep into that abyss either. But the truth is that yes, there are many assertions throughout Scripture that say that the Lord is at the gates, it is already imminent. But two thousand years have passed and Christ has not come. And we see through the centuries generations of Christians have sometimes felt a great exaltation about the coming of Jesus Christ as the Adventists for example in past times, and other groups, who saw the times and said: Christ is already at the doors and they began to live an apocalyptic life like it was coming this week, and they have even put dates on it.

You recently remembered this group, a man who I believe was well-intentioned but he began to put a date there that Christ was coming, when was it? 2011, a date he put there, and look, we are still here unless this is a dream and we are already in heaven, but right? We are still here, right? And so, on the other hand, time passes and still Christ does not come.

So we have to be very careful. It is a tension that exists in Scripture and in the life of the believer. We have to live as if Christ is at the gates but we also have to know the hour or the day that He is coming because the Lord himself said so: that is in the absolute Providence of the Father, okay? The divine human Christ said it like this: not even the Son of man himself knows the day of Jesus' coming. There is a tension there.

However, the Bible tells us to look at the times and that there are some signs that will suggest and help us understand when Christ is coming. I look at the times we live in and there are definitely so many things that indicate to me that humanity is reaching a point where its batteries are running out and there isn't much left. It's like we've come full circle and something has to happen to release some of this great pressure that's building up in the human condition.

So on the one hand we are called to live possessed by the imminence of the Coming of Jesus and on the other hand we are told not to speculate too much, because that is a mystery and no one can say exactly. Could it be right now, could it be a year from now, could it be ten years from now, could it be fifty or a hundred years from now? Who knows. Nobody knows, that is something that we have to approach very carefully and with great humility about it.

And one of the things we can say about the speculation of the coming of Jesus Christ is that. We have to not give it too much importance but not too little importance either. And the Lord kind of told us over and over again: look, be careful, that's a very delicate subject and stay in the tension of both things.

Look for example in Acts chapter 1 when the risen Christ is already ready for his ascension, the disciples ask Him an apocalyptic question. They say to him here in verse 6: "Then those who had gathered asked him: Lord, will you restore the Kingdom to Israel at this time? Before he left they wanted to ask him one last question there, are you going to restore Israel to its former glory when David was this mighty king, Israel had control over all the nations around him, now we are under the Roman boot, are you going to restore Israel?

And look how the Lord answers them, he told them: "It is not up to you the time or the seasons" that is, seasons, spring, summer, autumn, winter, the times of history. That is not your province. That the Father put in his sole power, ok? In other words, look: don't start speculating guys, that's not important right now. Look at what was important to the Lord at that moment: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

That is what you should be worrying about doing now; preach the Gospel, proclaim the Word, seek the power of the Holy Spirit, live powerful and effective lives advancing the Kingdom of God as the Father decides when he is going to send his Son and the Second Coming.

So we have to always maintain that sense of humility regarding the Second Coming. But look at something important, that's where I say yes and not live the tension. In that same passage when the Lord gets up and goes up, up and they are looking at him, what a strange thing this ascending of the Son of God says that two men appeared to him, verse 10: "And while they were looking In heaven while He was leaving, behold, two men in white garments stood by them, who also said to them, Men of Galilee, why are you looking at heaven?

This is interesting. Because now he says look, the Lord tells them: hey, don't look at the sky, look at the Earth, what you have to do. And here they say: why are you looking at the sky? So what do you mean? They just told me to look at the sky and now they tell me not to look, so look or not look? Then he says: why are you looking at the sky? "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back just as you have seen him go into heaven."

Called then, yes He leaves but He returns. It is a very clear statement at that key moment in history, they are telling the people of God: that Christ, just as you saw him rise, you will see him coming. How did Christ ascend?, in a visible body, and in the same way we will also see Him.

So it is also a call to be vigilant and aware that Jesus Christ is coming, Christ is coming and is coming soon, it is soon there that we do not know when it will happen but it is soon and we have to live in the imminence of that coming.

I believe that a person cannot be truly happy and rejoice if they are not focused on the coming of Christ one day. Because when I know that Christ is coming, that makes everything else in this world relative. I know that this world will one day be completely annulled and replaced by new heavens and a new earth. And I believe that when one is aware that Christ is coming and that this fleeting world is not everything and that all these things for which we toil and kill ourselves, having the latest model car and the latest outfit that Oprah wore on the television and now I want it too even if it's cheaper but a copy, and the title and the big house, and people kill and destroy each other to have these things as if the world were everything.

And we know that this world is fleeting. And we live life then with that sense of hey, don't suffer so much, don't kill yourself so much, don't worry so much. Yes, work, enjoy yourself, undertake a strong and productive life, an entrepreneur, but know that this world is not the last. That we are here passing through and that our true citizenship is in the Celestial Homeland, amen? And I think we always have to take a Second Coming of Christ pill.

We have to remember that the Lord is near and that Christ is coming. And if He doesn't come, I go to where He is, but somehow either He comes or I go, but somehow we're going to find each other, right? And I believe that we have to live all our efforts, efforts and experiences in our lives in light of the coming of Jesus and that we cannot, we are not here to stay. The world is an anteroom. And that has to do with many of the conversations that Doctor Villafañe had, myself and our colleague Lubomir Ondrashek who invited us there in the car, the best experience we had while driving through the mountains and roads of Slovakia and these places.

Lots of things, right? Where does not mean that we live a fatalistic or defeatist life. And that we say: well, as Christ comes I am simply going to become a monk of that, to walk with the world with a spoon so that they feed me in a house as do the Hindus and Buddhists who are possessed by the sense of the uselessness of life simply because they forget to do anything in this world and become just monks and beggars who don't care about this world at all. No, I believe that the Word calls us to live full lives, to live joyful lives.

I love the words of the wise Solomon in Ecclesiastes where he talks about never lacking oil on our heads, white clothes on our bodies, that we rejoice with our loved ones, with the women of our youth, with our husbands, with our achievements. in life, the things we can do and that we live in the present and enjoy ourselves. Carpe diem, take the day, grab it by the throat and live and enjoy life.

Because this world is full of vanity. So enjoy. We are not talking either when we talk about the Second Coming of Christ like we forget, no. God calls you to live a full life here on Earth. Work with pleasure, undertake strong things in life, be an entrepreneur, but keep in a part of your brain that all that one day is fleeting. We have to live a bipolar, bicameral life between the two things, living with pleasure, but also knowing that one day the lights will go out and that everything will end, and that we cannot take everything so seriously here in the world. rejoice.

I want the day to come when the Second Coming of Christ begins, I rub my hands together and have a crazy smile on my face, a wow look. Yes, Christ is coming soon and one rejoices and that is why one lives in the imminence, and may that sweeten and dilute all the difficulties, all the struggles of life. Christ is coming, maranatha, Christ is coming, right? And he says: come Lord Jesus, yes, come Lord Jesus.

So God wants us to understand that yes, He is coming. And we are going to look for another passage; there are many passages about this that is why I say: I am going to take a tour. Do you know that the Second Coming of Christ is not something that appears in the New Testament only? There are many people who believe that the Second Coming of Christ is a doctrine or of the Messiah, of the Son of God who is born in the New Testament. Do you know that prophetically there are many passages in the Old Testament that envision this being we now know as Jesus Christ coming at the end of time?

This is a doctrine that is in the Scriptures from the first prophets, from the first Books. The prophet Daniel who was one of the first to speak and who wrote with much understanding about the Second Coming of the Son of God came to my mind when I was thinking about it.

Look, for example, now we are going to look for a passage like Daniel 7, for example. Daniel was one of the great apocalyptic prophets and he saw many things. And there in the Book of Daniel, look for example at Daniel 7:13: "I saw in the vision of the night" he was sleeping but a very powerful, very powerful dream came to him, "and behold, with the clouds of heaven", How does the Book of Acts say that the Lord ascended in the clouds, right? And it says: "And behold, one like a Son of man came with the clouds of heaven." What did Jesus Christ call himself, the Son of man, we also call him the Son of God because He is both, he is the Son of man and the Son of God, he is the divine essence and the human essence in one person No?.

Daniel did not have the privilege that we have of knowing the name of that Son of man, we know who he is and we have him quite well described in Scripture. He says: "And behold, one like a Son of man came with the clouds of heaven", in his mind he seemed human but he is more than that, "like a Son of man who came to the ancient of days" who is the ancient of days?, Jehovah. It is a figure that he sees, perhaps this mysterious, powerful being, it seems old but it is beyond time. "And they made him approach before Him" that they did is like an invitation like when one arrives before a King and someone who is the waiter or manager tells him: come closer.

Can you imagine that moment in history when finally the Son of God, because the Bible says that He will surrender everything to the Lord and finally, right?, and every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And it says: "They made him approach before Him." What he is trying to point out is the solemnity of that scene in which that ancient of days is and this Son of man and they usher Him ito the Presence, into the immediacy of this Ancient of days, made him approach before Him.

And it says that: "He was given dominion, glory and a kingdom so that all peoples, nations and languages would serve him." It says: "His dominion is an eternal dominion that will never pass away and His Kingdom one that will not be destroyed." That deserves a round of applause, glory to the Son of God.

I believe that what was provided for Daniel in that vision was a moment to see that instant that will come. Because right now not all nations do not recognize the lordship of Christ, it is more right here in the United States there is ambivalence. I still believe in our own president if Jesus Christ is Lord, because recognizing that Jesus Christ is Lord, I cannot separate one thing from the other, but that is another matter, right?

But that moment when all nations are forced to recognize that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. In Iran, in Iraq, in North Korea, in New Zealand, in Canada, in London they will have to acknowledge that He is the Son of God, He is Lord, and they will have to hand over to Him all title deeds to all things in the world. Earth to that Son of man so that all peoples, nations and languages would serve him. His domain is eternal domain. Yours is the glory, Yours is the honor, Yours is the domain, the power. In Revelation we see over and over again that scene of handing over to the Lamb all the keys and every tongue, every knee recognizes that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Then they see that Son of man coming before the Ancient of days. Look at another passage right there, right? Because that passage in Daniel is very deep. Let's go back because this is a passage that we have to understand and then take your time, we're going to take a tour. It says: "I watched until thrones were set up and there sat an Ancient of days, whose dress was white as snow and the hair on his head like clean wool. His throne a flame of fire, and the wheels of the same burning fire. A a river of fire proceeded and went out before Him. Thousands upon thousands served Him, and millions and millions attended before Him. The Judge sat down and the books were opened."

Have you ever seen a judge come to court, and when he arrives everyone "all rises", everyone stands up? This is a mere man who maybe came from the bathroom at that time before he got to the court, but everybody: all rise, everybody rise up and he walks in with all his power and all his majesty, and then he goes and sits down and then everyone sits down, right? You are talking about that scene here, aren't you?, in which that Judge sat down to judge, sat down to determine, sat down to read and discern the fate of all men. He sat down and the books were opened, the books of what? Of history, of justice, of all the events of the universe. All of that there was now going to be judged, measured and weighed by the Ancient of days.

He says: "Then I looked because of the sound of the great words that the horn spoke" that is the other character the Antichrist, that terrible, diabolical being, right? He says: "And I looked until they killed the beast and its body it was torn to pieces, and given to be burned in the fire. They had also taken from the other beasts their dominion but their life had been prolonged until a certain time." That speaks a little of the complexity of those times, right? Before and after these apocalyptic moments of ending the whole story, that everything is handed over to him, and that all the trials are made and everything is clarified, right?

So what Daniel could see was a vision of all these things that are going to be happening and that perhaps some of these things right now are happening in the air, and in the world of the Spirit and we don't know it, we only see in the visible, human, material plane. But there are many things that are happening on the spiritual level, right? There is a struggle, there are powers that want to destroy the Lordship of Christ. They want to uproot the Name of Jesus from the cities, that name that is above all names so that they have more freedom to pervert the nations. But the Lord is going to bring everything to one place: the Lordship of Christ.

And there are beasts, and there are beings that are there right now fighting to take away Jesus' lordship and also to humiliate, take away the lordship of the Church. And here in verse 18 it says that after all these beasts and antichrist beings are destroyed, and one day I'm going to talk a little more about that, I want now to emphasize the Second Coming and the things that surround those scenes, right? It says: "Then the Saints of the Most High will receive the Kingdom." Who are the saints of the Most High? The Church of Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ, we will receive the Kingdom. Wow, rejoice brother because right now you may not even have papers but one day you are going to receive the Kingdom, you are going to be able to travel to Mars and Pluto and Jupiter without papers, hallelujah because the Kingdom will be yours. Amen, glory to God.

One day they will be handed over to us, we are going to judge the authorities says the Word of the Lord. Principalities and powers. "Then the Saints of the Most High will receive the Kingdom and they will possess the Kingdom for ever and ever." That lordship that God will return to his Church will not be taken away from us, right? Those who have believed in Jesus Christ.

There's so much here, right? Another interesting thing here from this same chapter 7, we go to verse 21 because we are jumping to different things like that. It says: "And I saw that this horn" - this is the Antichrist, an image of the Antichrist - "made war against the saints and defeated them." The Bible speaks of a time when the Church is going to be persecuted, there is going to be persecution of the Church. I am not sure when that moment is, if it is something like something definitive that is ahead or if now in countries where the Church is persecuted, there are Christians now who are persecuted in different parts of the world. But I believe that the tone, the tonality of the Bible when you read all those passages that talk about the persecution of the Church, is like something very big, very overwhelming and global that is coming.

We do not know when that time will be. One of the problems with all this apocalyptic stuff is the issue of chronology. There are so many statements and so many different scenes, and sometimes prophets like Daniel or like John in Revelation jump back and forth, back to the present and back the other way, and you often don't know when it was something of something that had happened to you. talking about something that is coming, and when they are talking about something that was in the past but is actually in the present, or that was fulfilled twice in the time of the prophet or already now, it is a tremendous mess in that sense.

That's why one has to be very careful when talking about apocalyptic things. Because we don't know the chronology exactly. The tribulation is before or after the coming of the millennium, or the rapture of the Church is before the great tribulation or after. If you read the passages honestly you're not going to know exactly what comes first and what comes next. That's where one has to have a holy humility to believe as much as we can, but also leave space in case I'm wrong.

That's the problem with so many people who believe that: oh, God told me exactly what it is and now I'm going to write a book about it, and whoever doesn't believe is a child of the devil, no. You have to be very careful with that. We do not know the exact chronology. When you read the Bible honestly, to the best of your ability neutrally you will see that it is so. So here it says, verse 25 that this Antichrist: "He will speak words against the Most High and he will wear out the saints of the Most High and he will think to change times and laws, and they will be delivered into his hand until a time and times and half a time."

What was Daniel smoking when he wrote that? Time, two times and half time (laughs). It is that he himself did not know, he is speaking there as in a trance, he is seeing things and is saying. It's like I tell you, no one knows exactly what it is. I went a little too far perhaps, forgive me. It's what happens sometimes when he's preaching, he kind of loosens up a lot and oh wait, I'm in church, excuse me. But Daniel knows that I respect him a lot, so he and I are fine.

Ok, it says, "And they'll be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time." It is said that when the Antichrist comes he will persecute the Church. There is going to be a very strong persecution of the Church, "and it will be given rights for a time." God is going to allow it for reasons that only He knows. He couldn't do it if God didn't give him permission, you know? He cannot do anything against the Church that has not first gone through the Father, perhaps to purify the Church, who knows. But the fact is that at that time of the coming, also before that definitive coming there will be a persecution of the Church. There is going to be a being like this beast with four horns and a main horn that is the horn of the Antichrist, and for a time they will be delivered into his hand.

He then says in verse 26 however: "But the judge will sit." And again this of the judge sitting down, but now with a richer image and context in which this sitting down occurs. It says: "But the judge will sit and they will take away his dominion" from that Antichrist who for a time will be given freedom to attack and persecute her, then we will see that again, "and they will take away his dominion so that it will be destroyed and ruined until the end, and that the Kingdom and the dominion and the majesty of the kingdoms under all heaven be given to the peoples of the Saints of the Most High whose Kingdom is an eternal Kingdom and all the dominions will serve and obey him." That is what prevails.

After that time of trial, persecution, difficulty has passed, the devil has been given freedom to manifest himself with all his power in history and he can persecute the Church for a while, there will come a time when the Judge will enter His Hall of Justice, He will sit on His Throne and give the last word: end of all this. And so now this mysterious being that is allowed to do so much damage is put to an end, they ruin it, they destroy it and then all the Kingdom, the dominion, the majesty of the kingdoms under heaven is given to the people of the Saints of the Most High, whose Kingdom is eternal Kingdom.

Daniel did not understand this, I believe about the Church. Of course because he was a man, this was written thousands and thousands of years ago, hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus came to Earth. So God gives us revelations but it's like you watch a movie, a video there and you see things that have no point of reference, there is nothing in your frame of reference or in your knowledge, or in a theological framework that allows you to know what is what you are seeing. It is as if you see a device that you have never seen before in the world and the first time you see it you don't know what it is, is it an airplane, is it a giant bee, what is it? You don't know what that is, you just describe it.

For thus he says: "All that is under heaven has been given to the Saints of the Most High." Meaning those redeemed, perhaps he thought that they were even simply the Jews but he is referring to the Church, all those who have believed in the Lord, in Christ Jesus, right? "Whose Kingdom is eternal and all dominions will serve and obey him." So he says in verse 28, "Here was the end of his words, that's an angel telling him all these things as a revelation. So he says, 'As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were troubled and my face was changed, but I kept the matter in my heart." No?

He listens to these words and remains disturbed, as if confused, he doesn't know what to make of all this that has been given to him, and he says that he kept all these things in his heart. That is what we have to do with the Second Coming of Christ, the imminent coming of the Lord and all these things, we have to keep all these things in our hearts. There are many mysteries.

I do personally believe that we are at a key moment in the history of humanity. I believe that we are living in a time like never before in history, and I believe that many of the things that the Lord said are applicable to the time that we are living. I think that is why the Lord pressured me a little to talk about these things. Because in this year that we have called a defining year for our congregation, one of the things that we as a Church have to remember is that we have to be a Church that is aware of the times in which we live. We live in serious times, we cannot live like carefree and carefree little sheep as if we were not in a time pregnant with importance.

The Lord wants you and I to keep in our hearts every day and in our minds that call of the Word to live in the light of the coming of Christ Jesus. When we are working, when we are thinking about getting married and having children, when we are saving to buy that house that we are going to buy in 5, 7 years, when we are building our career and we are thinking but I have to do this or that because I want to get there to the top of my profession, when we are planning for the long term let us always remember that Christ is coming. The Lord is near. The coming of the Lord is coming.

We don't know what things, I do say something. Just as I have told you this: no one knows the day or the hour that Christ is going to come, but I can tell you one thing: I believe that you and I are going to see extraordinary things. I don't know what place they are going to have in the grand scale of everything else, but I tell you this: get ready and let's get ready because we are living in difficult times. Things are going to happen. Times are coming like those clouds that are loaded with humidity and that are going to drop a lot of rain, difficult times and important times are coming.

And you know what, that does not cause me any fear, quite the opposite. The Lord says that when you have seen these things, raise your heads because the day of your redemption is near. None of that worries me, I already have my ticket purchased and my passport stamped. For me the coming of Christ is not a thing of fear but of joy, of happiness. Glory to God because finally everything I have experienced, everything I have hoped for, everything I have desired, everything I have confessed I will be able to see with my own eyes. Glory to the Lord.

So we have to live joyfully. But we also have to live a life of not being attached to anything in this world. Do not get so involved in the rush of life that you forget that Christ is at the door and that all this will one day end. The great economies and the great military movements, and the great intellectual doctrines, all of this will one day go up in flames. And one of the most powerful things is that, that every truly orthodox Christian, attached to the Bible lives overwhelmed by the idea that Christ is coming. He must live like this in light of the coming of Christ. In light of the ultimate lordship of Jesus. We have to always live that way and we have to keep these things in our hearts.

I know that Daniel was never the same man after seeing these things, nor should you live life as if this were not a reality. We are in important times, of great weight and we have to live at that height. Men of God who are expected of us to do many things including proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, our neighbors, our loved ones, colleagues, co-workers. Make sure we save as many people as possible and proclaim the Gospel, and give our time, our lives, our money to advance the Kingdom of God.

Not to be there like those who think that this is going to last for all eternity, no. Live and strive in the light of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the end of history and of all time. And remember that you are in a generation that is going to experience very important things. We are going to see very important things. I believe that I am not going to die without seeing something of the Glory of God manifested in history and in time and space. I do not know to what extent nor do I know how definitive it will be, but we are going to see great things in this time. Oh how good, glory to the Lord for this privilege of living in this moment of history, in this moment of the universal move of God. Let us collect ourselves and live as the privileged that we are, the called that we are.

God has great things for us brothers. We will live at that height. We are going to be a Church that knows that Christ is at the doors, Christ is coming soon and we live that way, let us be that type of Church for the glory of the Lord. Hallelujah.

Have a moment of reflection there in your spirit, lower your head and receive the Word of the Lord. Live your life with joy, yes, rejoice. Enjoy life, undertake great things. But know that one day you will have to give an account to the Lord of all these things. That the most important thing in all this is to remember that you are not a citizen of this world, this world is fleeting, this world will come to an end and you cannot live in love with it, you cannot establish a deep friendship with it. The only friendship you can establish is with God.

God is jealous of the love of his own. Our love has to be in the eternal, the permanent, the lasting, not the illusory. Not what is meant to burn and burn. People of God: God calls you, live life in light of the coming and closeness of Christ Jesus. Thank you Father we love you, we bless you Lord. Help us live up to this teaching Father and fill us with the sense of Your Lordship over all things and what You have in mind for this time in history. Praised and glorified be Your Name, thank you Lord, thank you. Amen and amen. Glory to the name of the Lord. Thank you Lord Jesus. We love you and we bless you.

Brothers, may the Grace of the Lord be with all of you. I bless you and I bid you farewell. Greet someone and congratulate them because they are a member of the Kingdom of God, amen and amen.