A good Samaritan gets upset

Luke 10 verse 25 to 37. This is a well-known story, a parable of the Lord, the good Samaritan. This image of the good Samaritan has stuck in the sensibility of humanity through the centuries, many artistic works including the Renaissance, the Middle Ages, hopefully there Marlene would get one of the good Samaritan and put it there one of those works of art. There have been many artistic performances there of that figure the Good Samaritan. Some of the best theological and narrative artistic minds have dedicated themselves to expressing images about that moment that denotes the parable of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I want to talk a little about that parable of the Lord in this time when God has moved our hearts to dedicate ourselves to evangelizing our community and doing what I call intentional evangelism, because we do a lot of evangelism in many ways and that is why our The Church has been growing through the years but we have never had campaigns or special events like this so many dedicated solely to evangelizing or strategies but we do have many things, for example we have homes in the city that open their doors and we want to include more of them , so many things.

The radio program that many people listen to, many non-Christians listen to it, people come here to Church through that program. Through the internet we reach tens and tens of thousands in many ways, God speaks today, the sermons, this same sermon that is being seen in many parts of the world, many blessings, so many things. Bonds of love, all the social work that we do that is evangelistic in nature, in many ways.

But God has placed in our hearts a desire like never before and by the way I say this because sometimes people think that evangelism is just standing in a train station and handing over a tract, there are many ways and sometimes there are more effective ways to do evangelism. . That is important, the tracts are good but today people need other ways to receive the Gospel.

And we're going to be working hard. So I want to dedicate a few sermons to inform your sensitivity about what effective evangelism entails, the important elements when you share the Word with someone and invite them to church, what are the key elements to share the Word with someone and also make evangelistic calls and cast the net because if someone comes who does not know the Lord, we also want to give them the opportunity to know Jesus Christ through our services, that too.

So I want to spend a few weeks like I did recently with the message on the Samaritan woman, last Sunday we had Youth with a Mission sharing. In a while we are going to have a campaign also called with Billy Graham called My Hope, My Hope. This morning, in fact, the international director of that campaign to the Hispanic world, brother Eliu Camacho, was with us and that time was also very beautiful.

So we are going to open our homes in one day to present a message that Doctor Billy Graham is going to present. This man is almost 95 years old, he has his birthday precisely this year and that is why he is going to celebrate that day, and well, many things I don't have time to explain everything but great blessing, God has many beautiful things and let's go. I don't even dare to do evangelism anymore because you see how we are, difficult, that's why we have to start our new sanctuary to fill even more.

By the way, Iris and Pedro hurt me there to see them, there is space available here, it always hurts me to see my brothers with stiff necks there next to the columns. Anyway again that's why we want to share, this message is eminently about evangelism. Let me read it with you and then interpret it as we go, verse 25 chapter 10 Luke.

It says that: "And behold, an interpreter of the law" that is to say a Pharisee, a Levite, a professional of the Judaic religion "got up" I imagine that in a teaching meeting of the Lord Jesus Christ "and said to test him". What does this mean that he got up and said something to test the Lord? It wasn't that he wanted to taste, it wasn't that he wanted to test the Lord in that sense, he wanted to make him stumble rather. He wanted to see how He was going to answer to see if it would get him into trouble with the religious authorities of his time.

Then she asks him a question that he is not really interested in answering as much as seeing if the Lord slips with her and to test him he says: "Teacher, doing what will I inherit eternal life?" That is a question that many people ask themselves and I believe that it is the key question of all humanity, what do I have to do to be saved? What do I have to do to make sure that when I die I don't go to hell, I don't go to a place of eternal suffering, but rather that I can go into the Presence of the Lord because our life doesn't end here. How many know that?

We are so incredibly precious, a human being is something so extraordinary that it is not like those old cars that when their usefulness is finished, a machine comes and turns it into a metal cube, grabs it with a magnet and scraps it, a human being is not like that. A human being has something irrevocable that is the Spirit of God within him, yes or no? The breath of God is in us as human beings.

And what does one do with the breath of God in a soul? Do you think that it just kind of goes away? puff, do you press the lit and disappear from the stage? It is the life of God, it is something irrevocable, it is something eternal, it is something that has to go on, it is an energy that is in you. That never disappears, that happens and acquires another way, another form and it is what is called eternal life but eternal life is hell or it is heaven and you choose here on Earth where you go.

So, I believe that every human being ultimately has a concern: how can I settle accounts with God and where do I go when I finish my life here on Earth? This man was not really interested in what he wanted to see was if the Lord responded in the wrong way to get him into trouble with the religious authorities of his time. But it is a legitimate question and we have to take advantage of that question when we talk to people and ask them, do you really know where you go when you die? And what will take you to heaven when you finish?

I think it is the most important question that a human being can ask, forget how much money you are going to have when you retire, the most important question is: what will happen to me when I die, where do I go? And every human being has a thorn in his heart, even if he is very rich, very educated, what is happening with my life? I assure you that on a deathbed in the last hours or days of a human being, even if he is an inveterate atheist all his life, people are going to ask themselves: listen to me, what if I'm wrong?, what if hell is real? what if heaven What if these crazy Christians are right after all?

And I believe that there have been more conversions in the world than you think on your deathbed. And many people before ending their lives said: you know what? I am not going to take any chances, I am going to make peace with God and they have given themselves up, and you know what? God in His mercy has received them. Now I tell you, do not wait until the last moment to settle accounts with God. Make sure your passport is stamped, your visa is in place and all your paperwork is in order and then you can live your life well here on Earth, everything else is icing on the cake.

So this man asks: what will I do to receive eternal life? incidentally something else too, right? use that question to speak to people when you preach the Gospel to them. Then the Lord, knowing what is in this man, answers him with another question, He did that many times and says well: what does the law say? what is written in the books of Moses? How do you interpret, how do you see what he says? He wanted to see where this man was, too, and he wanted to set a little trap for him that later we will see how he solves it.

And the man answers very wisely because this man knows the Bible, because he is a professional in religion and many people know religion. What's more, his parents were evangelicals, perhaps for a time they went to Church and they have read and watched Christian television programs covertly and all this, they know but they don't have a relationship like this man didn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ personally but he knows what the bible says.

Religion does not save anyone. The fact that people come to Church and know the Bible and listen to sermons does not guarantee that they will meet the risen Christ. The fact that a person comes here and puts two pesos or ten pesos in the basket does not mean that he is saved, it does not mean that he knows God. This man did not really know the substance of the Scripture and we are going to see how He reveals it right now and why the Lord relates that parable to him.

But what this man does is that he responds very correctly. He says well what I have to do is love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with all my mind. He knew the first commandment that is actually the basis of every experience of salvation, is to give your life to God, love him above all things, value the things of the Spirit.

Now what do you want to love God with all your heart, mind and strength? that's a lot to swallow there. If you love him like this, it means that you have to put him above all things. He has to be your daily bread, he has to be your north, he has to be your foundation, your point of reference. But this man knew the Bible and told the Lord very well: you have to love God first. And not content with that, he went one step further and also hit the nail on the head with regard to the horizontal dimension of spiritual life and said: "and your neighbor as yourself."

Because if you analyze the ten commandments there are two dimensions: one is the vertical dimension towards God and the other is the horizontal dimension, you shall not steal, you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not bear false witness, all these things refer to your neighbor and there is another vertical dimension that refers to God and this man knew the God slopes and answered the Lord to the heart of what he had to answer. And the Lord said to him: very well "you have answered well, now do this and you will live."

Many times the Lord spoke like this to the people to see what they would do. When the rich young man approached Jesus Christ with that same question and threw himself at his feet and said: Lord, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life? And the Lord said to him: well, keep the commandments. And this young man said: if I already did that since I was little, Lord, I know the Bible, I know religion, if that's not a problem, then why do I feel so anxious and I feel so uncertain about my life? And the Lord told him: well, one more thing is missing and he struck him right in the heart because this man had money, he had influence, he had prestige, everything that money gives.

And He said to him: well, the only thing you have to do; Go to your ATM, go to the machine 24 hours a day and take out all the money you have and give it to the poor. Get rid of all that eagerness and that attachment to money because the Lord knew that what he limped about the most was that he loved money, he loved his life, he loved his reputation, he loved the influence that he had. Do you know brother? there is nothing that can be put in front of you and God, nothing. Not a woman, not a marriage, not children, not finances, not anything, there is nothing you should love more than God. And the test of a true Christian is whether there is anything he loves more than Jesus Christ. If you are not willing to give everything for Christ, you still have a long way to go to enter the Kingdom of God.

The Lord told him: well, give it all up, come, take up your cross every day and follow me. And this man lowered his arms and says that he left sad because he had a lot of wealth. This man had not truly discovered the source, he preferred riches to peace and the salvation of his soul. So here, in this case, this man responds very well and the Lord tells him: well, you have responded well, do this and you will live.

What the Lord was saying to him was: the only thing you need to put into practice is to love your neighbor as yourself because these Pharisees did not love people, they neglected them. Their religion was a religion of scourge, commandments, religiosity, they neglected the poor, they had neglected the soul of the people and the Lord knew that what that man had was an intellectual religion but not a religion of the heart.

And this man when the Lord said: well do what you are saying and you will live. So he says that he wanted to justify himself, why did he want to justify himself? because he knew that the Lord had given him his very heart, that he had a lot of brain but did not have the heart of a servant of God. So, wanting to justify himself, he wanted to hide behind a sophistry, a philosophical subtlety, he said: well, Lord, who is my neighbor? I don't understand that, define for me who is the neighbor.

Look, those who know about philosophy, logic and academic things know that one of the most delicate ways to define things is looking for the definition of words, you have to have clear terms but you can waste a lot of time on that. This man wanted to bewitch the Lord and confuse him: ok define my neighbor according to philosophy, what does the neighbor logically mean, who is my neighbor? Is it the Jew? Are they my fellow Pharisaics? I don't know and that's why I don't practice what I'm saying.

Then the Lord told him: well I am going to give you a parable, I am going to give you a story so in the end you are going to tell me who the neighbor is. And the parable says: "Answering Jesus said: a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of thieves who stripped him" stole his money "and wounded him and left him half dead" they gave him a good beating, left him half dead, "and it came to pass that a priest went down that road and seeing him passed by. Likewise a Levite approaching that place and seeing him passed by. But a Samaritan who was on his way came near him and seeing him he was moved with mercy And approaching, he bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, and putting him on his horse, he took him to the inn and took care of him."

"And another day when he left, he took out two denarii" let's say it was 200 or 300 dollars at that time, whatever it was "and he gave it to the innkeeper" the inn was like a hotel, a hostel and he told the hotel owner or the hotel employee : "Look take care of it for me", what did he say that he said take care of it for me, he didn't say take care of it he said take care of it for me in other words this man was identified with this other human being and he loved him personally, and he saw him as his brother, his property, something that involved him directly. "Take care of me and everything you spend more I will pay you when I return."

In other words, if what I left you is not enough, put it on my account and when I return I will balance the accounts with you. The offer is generous, isn't it? Now then the Lord tells him: you have already listened, you are an understanding man, you answered me very well, you know stories and literature, tell me then, you who asked me who my neighbor is and who tried to involve me in many strange things there, who acted as this man's neighbor? Who treated him as if he were his equal was it the priest, was it the Levite or was it this Samaritan? And the man said: well the one who showed mercy to him, the one who acted as his neighbor. In other words, he was his neighbor and this man was his neighbor too.

It was inescapable, it was clear, the Lord enclosed him in his own question. Then He said: well, you know what? go and do the same. How beautiful the Word isn't it? And brothers, there is a precious image of the whole drama of the Gospel and of what God expects us to do. I say this is not just a story of someone doing good and being generous to someone else.

I have always seen this parable as a little drama about the Gospel in its entirety. For me there are two protagonists, not only the good Samaritan as the parable is called many times, but also the man who fell into the hands of these bad men is also a very important character. And for me that wounded man is an image of humanity, fallen humanity devoid of defenses.

It may be your neighbor, it may be the person who lives next door in your neighborhood, it may be the person who punches the machine in there day after day with you in your factory. It may be a housewife, it may be a friend of yours who does not know the Lord, it may be a stranger you see on the street there on Olvany Street or in the Neacast collecting coins at night, they are our neighbors and they are beings who they exemplify what Christ is saying here. This man is a symbol of a humanity without Christ that needs people like us who have the solution to their need and their problem.

Notice that it says that a man descended, descended from where? from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was actually a drop in quality; Jerusalem the beloved city, the city of God, Jericho a city that was a sinful city in the Old Testament and that God had forbidden to be rebuilt. This man was descending both geographically, perhaps it was a descent from mountain to valley but it was a descent going down. And I see that here my brothers that the person without Christ goes down. The man who does not have Jesus, the woman who does not have Christ for those people, brothers, life is a continuous decline.

The person who does not have God and depends only on his youth, for example, when he gets old it is winter for them. Someone has said that for foolish people old age is winter but for wise people it is spring. I see many amens out there, it seems that I am touching someone (laughs) and it is true. Look, when you have Christ, brother, when you have the Word of God, you are not afraid of him at the same time, you are not afraid of the fact that your youth is going into decline, you are not afraid of death. You know that the life in Christ is a life of ascent to ascent, of improvement to improvement.

The Word of the Lord says that the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that increases until the day is perfect. The Word of God also says that the righteous will flourish like the palm tree, will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. It says that even in old age they will bear fruit, they will be vigorous and green to announce that Jehovah my strength is upright. By the way, I don't want to say that it will be a dirty old man, but simply that a greenery is going to be greenish, I've wanted to tell that joke for a long time and I hadn't had a chance (laughs).

No no, it means that you are going to be like a leafy tree, always green, even when you continue to grow, the Lord will be a blessing. Boys get tired and tired, young people falter and fall, but those who hope in Jehovah will have new strength, they will raise wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not get tired.

Brothers for the children of God life is upwards. For those who do not know the Lord, it is in decline because what motivation does he have? a person who only knows money, fame, influence, sensuality when he is getting old, what does he have left? simply a dead end, emptiness, darkness, anonymity, silence, loss unless there is no hope of eternal life where then a wonderful valley of possibilities opens up human life is a dead end, it is down that we go. And you have to tell people that. What good is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?

You have to tell people that what matters is that eternity with Christ, with God everything is possible without Him we are going down. Then it says that this man descended. Second place says that he fell into the hands of robber robbers who stripped him and wounded him and left him half dead. When one has Christ in his heart and knows the Word of God, that Word gives you defenses for life, it helps you walk this dangerous path that is the world. I don't know, but the longer I live, the more I realize that the world is dangerous and that there are many traps, there are many holes in the night into which you can fall, there are many beasts, there are many error doctrines, there are many things that can take a man, a woman and put her in the habit of gambling, of liquor.

This morning there was a sister here that one day I want her to share her testimony, a precious person who spent many years of her life as a victim of gambling. Do you know that gambling is one of the most terrible addictions out there? people talk about drugs, crack or heroin but there are people who have a gambling addiction that is eating them alive and this sister tells how when she was addicted to gambling she lost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, a sister professional, sometimes without eating for 24 hours because he didn't want to get away from the gaming table and how he lost so much money, he didn't lose his house because his children took it away from him early so he wouldn't lose it. And finally she met Jesus Christ who freed her from gambling.

And I want her to share that Word with you one day. But how a beautiful professional person, with children, with a reputation to defend, a woman falls into the trap of vice, you raised your hand, stand up sister, look at this beautiful woman, how did she live like this for so long and I promise that she Bring your testimony one of these days because I know that she is an evangelist, but we are going to do it at some point, sister, and we are going to look for it very soon, but people live like that.

It's good that you're there. Were you at the nine o'clock service? Or was it that we talked before? ok but now she serves the Lord, she is released. But brothers like her, there are people who have professions, have money, are company executives, own great fortunes but are secretly addicted to alcohol, pornography, alcohol, adultery, fear, depression, anxiety, Why do you think that so many people commit suicide nowadays? Why do you think that so many artists live in crisis, constantly detoxifying themselves? because it is that brothers and there are so many Christians who fall into so many things because they do not live the Gospel as it should be lived.

But the Gospel when lived as it should be lived is a protective fence around one. It frees you from so many things because either Christ frees you directly with His blood or the wisdom of the Word of God teaches you to live and to avoid mistakes that you make and that continually assail you. There are thieves. The devil says in the Bible that he only knows how to steal, kill and destroy. The world is a forest of beasts that are looking at you from behind the undergrowth and you only see their phosphorescent eyes at night.

And man without God is like an unsuspecting rabbit walking in the weeds waiting for a wild beast to claw at him and eat him because he has no defense, he does not have Christ, he does not have God, he does not have the wisdom of the Word and there is many Christians alike who do not know the Word. I tell you one of the most important things we have to know is to have that wisdom from the Word of God. How to live, how to make decisions, who to marry, how to manage my money, how to resist temptation, how to struggle when I'm sick and someone says, you know what? you have a heart condition that will affect you all your life.

How do I deal with those things? How do I deal when I have a sentimental failure or so many other things that happen in life? The Word of God is a refuge, it is a defense, it is a support. That is why you have to know it, study it, that is why the Bible says wisdom, above all things acquire wisdom because with that wisdom thieves cannot come into your life and rob and kill you. And we have to tell the people out there: look, come to the Gospel so that you know that knowledge that can save you and help you walk correctly in life.

We have to tell the community out there: look in Christ and in the Gospel is the solution to man's problems and there is refuge for our community. This man, symbol of lost humanity, falls into the hands of thieves, they strip him, they hurt him, they leave him half dead and here comes the possible answer; a priest passes, a religious professional, a Levite passes another professional, neither of them stops. Why are they examples of this Pharisee, this Levite who just asked the Lord why Christ put that there? it was by stabbing this man who did not understand the love of God. And that's why a priest says, today an evangelical pastor could say he saw this man lying on the floor and said: oops I'm so sorry I have an appointment at 12:30 and it's 12:25 I can't miss my appointment, so Hopefully someone else will stop by and help.

And also a Levite who was a lesser character than the priest, but also because there was no love in his heart. The first thing that we have to be as a Church is a Church of love and mercy. We have to ask the Lord to break our hearts, I know what I am asking the Lord in this time of my life now that we are dedicating ourselves: Lord, break my heart with what breaks your heart.

That the souls out there who get lost and go to the abyss of hell do not leave me alone while I sleep. May my Church become a Church of fishermen and hunters of the Kingdom of God, bring souls to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, farmers who sow the seed of the Gospel in the city. People who sympathize with the suffering of the fallen.

There are many people who are half dead like this, single mothers who need God's Word to teach them how to deal with loneliness and with their adolescent children. You need to announce to a man and he's here eating a wire working sixteen hours a day and tell him: you know what? You can come to the House of God on Sunday, take refuge there, receive the Word, move on, people who invite others.

We have to be a Church of mercy that invites each other to our homes. For how many is Christmas time a time of solitude? Not Christmas is a time of loneliness, depression, they have no one. How many people have nowhere to go after the service except a lonely apartment? and we're going home, yes we'll see each other there, we'll see each other in the restaurant as we go there, there are people who need you to look and feel sorry for them.

The way in which we are going to be an effective evangelistic Church is by being a Church of mercy and love. I see here my sister Mayra Rodríguez nodding her head and Mayra is a person who has a truly missionary heart, I thank God for her. God knows whom he honors He honors. There are hearts here that are very special and when I cannot visit someone in a house or one of the pastors or in a hospital, Mayra and her team, who are incredible warriors and warriors, are also there visiting people informing me: Pastor died so-and-so Give your daughter a call or something.

And how good it is to know that there are compassionate people who are doing the work of the Gospel in different ways, praise the Lord for that. Amen in front of her. In front of her is Marta Garzón working with the people of the Shriners, what a blessing too. That is evangelism, brothers, that is disseminating the Word of God in all possible ways, not just giving a treaty and we'll see each other some day. You don't have to make friends, you have to work. I thank the Lord for those brothers who work on Saturdays. Are any of the team that distributes food on Saturday mornings here? Are those who go there?

Maybe they were at the nine o'clock service. But there are brothers who at six or seven in the morning are down there in the basement preparing sandwiches. One takes the bread and opens it, another takes a piece of ham, puts it on top, another puts the cheese, another puts a little mayonnaise, another binds it together and wraps it up and takes it there to Olvany Street and Mass Avenue where there are sometimes hundreds of people walking around and they stop there to eat because the brothers bring a cup of chocolate or coffee that they make here and take it there. What a blessing, evangelism.

They pray with them and bring them to church. Do you know how many homeless people are coming to the service in English? a large group. Transvestites, transgenders are coming to the service in English because brothers are bringing them a piece of bread and I want this to continue more and more every day, becoming the normality of the Church. There are brothers who for years and years have been quietly going to the shelter there on Olvany Street, what is it called?, Woodsmelon Center there and they go faithfully on Tuesday nights, quietly without anyone knowing, also taking the Word of the Lord, sometimes bringing food and evangelizing people.

That's what it's all about. God wants you to be one of those good Samaritans who does the whole job. It is not only saying: Christ loves you, it is also that your whole life is blended with these people, that you announce the Word and that you feel that God wants you to do that work. Because we have to be a Church like this, brothers. Each one of you is a spearhead in your neighborhood, we are the salt of the earth and you are a grain of that salt. León de Judá has to become a salt shaker and you a grain of the salt shaker. What a beautiful image amen.

And when we leave here it's like the Lord takes the salt shaker and does this over Boston, some go to Rocksberg and others go to Highpark. That was good for me, write it down for me so I don't forget, that image is good, we have to remember it. Some go to the South End, others go to High Park. Some go to Chelsea, some go to Ice Boston, others go to Walltown, Watertown, Salem, Lawrence, Providence taking a little bit of salt. You are the light of the world, the light is not hidden under a bed, it is placed on the ceiling so that it illuminates the entire room, the entire living room, from above.

And we have to be compassionate people, people of mercy, twenty-four hours a day people, twenty-four hours a day committed to announcing the Gospel and doing works of justice wherever we are. Preach the full Gospel, a 360 degree Gospel. If someone needs food, if they need counseling, counseling. If you need release, release. If you require the naked Gospel, the Gospel we preach it to you. If you need a phone call there it is. If you require an ear that listens to your problem, we simply empathetically give you that moment to listen to your pain.

If you need a plate of food in our house on a winter night to soothe your loneliness a bit and to make you feel part of a family, we will also give it to you, host you, offer our homes. Sister Reina used to say: she knows the most difficult thing is for a person to give their home for. Listen to me how difficult this is, my house where I take refuge in winter when people arrive in winter at four in the afternoon and that snow is falling, they come home and immediately make their meal, sit down to watch a soap opera or something like this with a plate of food in front of the television, no one gets into my house because this is my refuge, because tomorrow I have to go out there again to be cold.

right yes? how difficult it is to say: no, I am a soldier of the Kingdom of God. And either go to a cell in another place for others to know the Lord or open my house and make me uncomfortable. Because one day the Lord is going to give me a vacation for ten thousand years up there in the sky. Here I go to work for the Lord, my house my money, my family is for the Kingdom of God.

So we have to bother. This good Samaritan was upset. He stopped his schedule, got off his horse, got dirty with this man's blood, forgive the graphic nature of this. He healed his wounds. He got off his horse and put the man on it. He became uncomfortable in every way, he became involved with him. I imagine that while this man was falling off his horse or whatever he was with his body attached to his body. That is what we have to do. In many ways our life has to be permeated with a community.

And I tell you brothers that what God is waiting for is that we take it seriously. I feel that God is endorsing this message of Evangelism like nothing else that I have stated in all the years that I have been a Pastor. Because I see the blessing, I feel the electricity in the air. I feel like God is backing up our messages.

This morning I did not expect Pastor Eliu Camacho here. He is a man who travels all over the United States and Latin America organizing campaigns like the one we are going to have in November with the Billy Graham team throughout the city. And here he came because he was here this weekend and Pastor Eladio Álvarez brought him to be with us as the director of YWAM was last Sunday. We have had as God has said: you know what? I am going to send them prophets of mine to sit there and listen to that message and support what you are saying.

And I feel the electricity in the air. God tells us: everything you do in My Name I will support you, you will not fail. If you cast the net, the fish will come. Peter said to Jesus Christ: we have fished all night and we did not catch a single fish, how do you want us to cast the net now in the daytime if it is impossible the fish do not come out during the day? a lot of noise, a lot of movement in the water. At night is when they come out and yet we tried and couldn't.

Peter said, however: well, but if you say so, I'm going to throw the net. The Lord says so. It says that when he cast the net a multitude of fish came. When Pedro obediently threw the net, he says it was like an electronic call made to the fish. "Come, there is a net that you have to get into" and those fish had no choice, they went there and got into that net (laughs). I believe that this is going to happen when we begin to take steps of faith, the sea is going to open up in front of us and the people are going to come. I believe so, let us dare in the Name of the Lord.

I am doing my part. I'm going to prepare them, we're going to train, we're going to talk about it every Sunday in many different ways. We are going to give them tools, we are going to be developing strategies. I ask the Lord to mark my heart so that there is no going back, there is no going back to this because I believe that God wants to finally honor us with the harvest that we have longed for for a long time. God has allowed us to grow and be blessed but we have simply been on the brink of the Promised Land.

This is the time now let's cast the net, let's dare like the good Samaritan, let's catch the people in the city. God is going to put them in our way, God is going to bring them. We obey or we obey and God will bring them, one of the two ways or both. This man took the wounded man, took him to the inn.

For me the inn is what? If you were reading this as a piece of literature, what does the inn represent? God's House? the kingdom? The hospital of souls, right? All those things. The House of God is the refuge. It is the Word of God, it is the Gospel, the Spirit of God that keeps people, the Church. I prefer the interpretation of the inn in one of the limited ways such as that it is the Church in this evangelistic sense. Why? I'm going to tell you why, although it doesn't necessarily have to be that.

But when we evangelize people we have to tell them: well you accepted Christ, you gave your heart but now begins a work of knowing the Gospel more thoroughly. You have to disciple people, you have to consolidate them, you have to teach them the truths of the Gospel, you have to indoctrinate them. You have to teach them how to stay clean, how to use the authority that God gives to a child of God. Who is Jesus, what is the life of holiness, what is the life of congregating, why is it important to congregate, why is it important to give to the Lord, why is it important to share the Word with others and serve, which is the way we we grow and become strong and learn the joy of the Lord.

There are a number of things that need to be taught to people. When people come to Christ they are saved but they are wounded, they are deformed, they have wounds from the past, vices that they have. That is touched by the Lord with a magic wand and it disappears immediately when they accept the Lord.

They have to go through a restoration process, of physical therapy, right? When a person has had a major accident and a number of bones have been broken, they take them to the hospital, they put a cast on them to stop the deformation a bit and force themselves, but then what happens afterwards? You have to give him long-term therapy because those bones are grumpy as we Dominicans say, the muscles have decayed due to lack of use, being in a bed, there are many things that have to be thrown away and learned to use again.

Likewise, when people enter the Gospel, you now have to take them to the inn where you have to teach them the Word and indoctrinate them, and you have to walk with them, right? Don't get lost. Ok Pastor now I'll throw them at you, good night bye bye. No, now you have to walk with them, these are your spiritual children, you have to work with them, learn to be a mother, a spiritual father, surround them with your protection and care.

This Samaritan went to the inn with this man and it seems that he was there for a few days, he did not say the next day he says: another day he left. And look what he did, he left money to be taken care of for a while and then he said, you know what? I am going to return and if there is anything left to pay I am going to pay the debt. That is the aspect of discipling, caring, indoctrinating, strengthening, rooting people, that they take root in the land of the Gospel because when a baby begins to walk it is still weak, fragile, ignorant of many things and we have to teach them how to be Christians. strong, robust, who stand up for themselves, who know how to skillfully use the Word of Truth. We have to have churches that teach people and that's what we have to be as well.

What a nice drama, yes or no? Come here the brothers of praise. Brothers, it is beautiful, the Gospel is precious, it is complete. There are beautiful things that we have to learn, may God help us to be a Church of mercy, of love, a Church that announces the Gospel. We are going to leave here this afternoon committed to being spearheads for the Army of God. We are the salt of the Earth, you are a grain of salt in God's salt shaker with which we are going to fill the whole city with that rich flavor of the Gospel.