Maintain unity and harmony

Ephesians chapter 4 verses from 1 to 3 says: "I, therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthy of the vocation with which you were called with all humility and meekness, patiently bearing with one another in love, eager to keep the unity of the world." Spirit in the bond of peace."

Let us pray: Lord we thank you for Your Word that is alive and effective and sharper than a two-edged sword, which penetrates to the last of our entrails, Lord. We ask You this morning that You prepare our hearts to receive from You Lord and that we can hear a renewing and refreshing Word, Lord, that challenges us and that makes each one of us grow in our walk with You Lord, that through these words we can get closer to You Lord and that we can put into practice what You want us to do Father, in Jesus Name amen.

Ok so the three verses we are going to focus on those three verses but we are going to do different things as we speak, so I want you to have a little patience and follow me. The new international version says, in this one these verses are a little different and so it is that the new international version says, it says: "Therefore, I am imprisoned because of the Lord, I beg you to live in a manner worthy of the commandment you have received , always humble and kind, patient, tolerant of one another in love. Strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Paul is urging people to strive.

And to tell you a little bit about the historical context in which Paul wrote this letter, Paul was imprisoned in Rome and he was already near the end of his life but he still had a message for the people who lived in the city of Ephesus, for everyone. the Christians who lived in Ephesus. And the city of Ephesus was a city that was considered to be the first great metropolis of America; It was a very important city for trade because it was on the way to Rome and it was a city that was inhabited by people who were Jews and Gentiles, people who were believers and non-believers.

And yet there was a problem of elitism and social classism in this society that represented a problem for the Christians who lived there. It was a very elitist society where the bosses had a lot of authority, even over the very lives of the people who worked for them, the patriarchal figure was the last word and the fathers did what they wanted with their wives and children, at school the teachers; It was something like very hierarchical and with a lot of rank and there were many problems in terms of submitting and being united, etc. etc

So Paul is writing to these people and he's talking about staying humble, being kind, being patient, tolerant, and these are themes that you see throughout the entire Book of Ephesians in the Bible. Now the apostle Paul is identified at the beginning of the Book of Ephesians and he says that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ and he is saying that he has the authority to address the people who are in Ephesus whether they are Christians or not Christians to speak to them and perhaps correct one of the things that need to be changed.

But at the same time throughout the letter he presents himself as a servant of Christ. He makes people understand that even though he has all the authority in the world to address them, he wants to do it in peace; he wants to establish a friendly dialogue with each one of them and identifies himself as a servant of Christ, which is one of the things he did since God called him to serve him, he said to him: Lord, what do you want me to do? That was the level of availability with which he presented himself before God after having been a person who persecuted Christians, who killed Christians, who had a lot of political power in different cities.

And he presented himself only as a servant of Christ and he wanted to deal with issues about which, he wanted Christians to be able to learn to grow in love. Once you are a Christian it does not mean that I am a Christian anymore, that I go to Church, no. There is a growth process that has to take place in the life of every believer that does not happen overnight but is a process. So he was pointing out these things.

He was talking about the unity of Christ: Jews and Gentiles stop fighting, that we are better, that you are worse, there was something where the Jews considered the Gentiles as second class citizens and that was not correct so Paul is talking that they have to be united in Christ, exercise Christian fellowship, submit to each other and he spoke about reconciliation and salvation through Grace which is one of the main themes in the Book of Ephesians where he speaks that by grace we are saved and not by work.

Then he told the people of Ephesus: gentlemen, we are all participants in the Grace of God regardless of whether we are Jews or Gentiles, we have all achieved this grace. So there should be no room for fighting because we have all been reconciled together with Christ through God's sacrifice. And it talks about the unity of Christ as believers and Christian fellowship; That is the background of everything that was happening in Ephesus and with all this in mind I want to talk today about living a life worthy of the call we have received as Christians.

And we are going to be talking about the implications of living a life of the calling that I have received, what is that calling that I have received and what is my role in society as a Christian? Then in verse 1 Paul says: "That you walk worthy of the vocation with which you were called and live a life worthy of the calling you have received" this implies that we are representatives of Christ on Earth.

I like the photo of the tree, of the small plant because it is a photo that denotes growth and it is a growth that has to be rooted in the ways of God, it is a growth that has to be fed by attending Church, reading the Bible, applying what the Word says in our lives and staying in a life of prayer regardless of which Church one goes to, is to develop a relationship with Christ that can have roots, that is not something light, so it is a process of growth.

So with this in mind, what did God call us to? We have to be participants. Well in verse 2 he says: "With all lowliness, gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." The new international version says: "Always humble." In other words, God has called us to be humble, he has called us to be kind, patient, tolerant of one another in love and verse 3 in the new international version says: "Strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Unity in the Spirit, unity within the Church, outside the Church, in the workplace, in the study places is not something that will happen automatically, one has to sacrifice one's self and walk the mile extra to try to stay in harmony with everyone. So when Paul says that he wants us to live a life worthy of our calling, he is telling us: let us be representatives of Christ and live a life that when people look at us they know: he is a Christian, she is a Christian.

Now we are part of the Body of Christ, we have to work hard to maintain unity but what does this mean? So I focused on the words in verse number 2, humility, meekness and everything else and I tried to find what is the opposite of those things so that it informs me and tells me what not to do. Because sometimes it's very easy: oh this is what we have to do but how do you do that? avoiding what should not be done.

So when he says humility, what is the opposite of humility? pride, then we have to avoid being proud. We are going to have different situations in life where we are going to feel tempted to display ourselves with pride, yes? we have to avoid that. Then pull meekness. I began to look for the meaning of the word meekness because it is something that one listens to and one kind of understands it, but I said: but where does that come from? I found it, I googled it, right? the power of google, says: "Meekness is the condition of being meek" ok?

It is an adjective of a benign and soft condition, that is, a meek person is a soft person who avoids being rude. And what is an example of avoiding being rude? There are many people who say: no, what happens is that I have no problem telling two or three truths to people to their face because you have to tell the truth and Christ died for the Truth, and we agree that we must tell the truth but you have to be careful how you tell the truth. You have to tell the truth with meekness, with benignity, with kindness so that the message can be well received.

Then he talks about tolerating others and looking for others to tolerate us too. "Not because that's how I am, that's how God made me and I'm not going to change" no, if you want others to tolerate you, you have to change and we also have to tolerate people who are in the process of changing. So if one wants to fight for unity and for the whole world to stay together, we have to stop gossiping; gossip within the Church, gossip at work, gossip at school because all that gossip is something that is opposed to peace, okay? where there is gossip there is no peace because everyone is always pulling and pulling and all that.

Now these things are difficult for us because it is difficult for us to focus on the good things of others, we always focus on the mistakes of others and we want to change others to operate according to our way of living. You always associate with people who are similar to you, with people who like the same style of music, the same clothes, etc. etc., when there is a different person and one has a little red flag that says: what is happening?

We have to be careful with that. You have to appreciate people and it is difficult to lose focus on the bad because sometimes you can have a very good history of years with that person but since that person makes a mistake or does something bad, you forget how good that person is. and one begins to operate in terms of that mistake that person made, then we must be careful with that and be patient, humble, forgive ourselves, walk in peace.

One of the recommendations is that we pray for the people who irritate us. I know that I have irritated many people in this Church throughout my time here but I am very grateful for the patience that many of you have exercised with me in the process of growth that I have been in and in the same way I have to exercise patience for the people who irritate me because there are many of you who really irritate me, yes (laughs) you see the truth in love, right?

So one of the things to highlight is that the change has to start with us. Instead of wanting people to change and praying for people to change, we have to sincerely ask God: Lord, what are the things that I have to change? So we have to do this and it is something that is not easy.

Now with all these principles in mind I was thinking: what illustration can I use so that people can identify themselves and we can make this something more enjoyable? and I thought of Noah's Ark. We are going to start a journey, we are going to explore and in the end I hope that everyone understands what that has to do with it. I spoke with a friend María Celeste from Al Rojo Vivo, now we are going to turn off the lights and she prepared a very interesting report for me that I want to share with all of you; Actually we are not friends, I found it on the internet so that (laughs)

So I have the video here, this happens when we are live, if this were a graduation we would all be there, ok then we are going to maximize it there and there and now yes, two minutes don't worry.

Report: "Now we are going to enter a replica of Noah's Ark built step by step according to the instructions of the Bible, something that is causing people to talk all over the world. Mary Gamarra has the images from Holland."

María Marra: It's huge, it really looks like something out of a movie, but it's not. This Ark is not just another Hollywood invention, but rather the boat that today floats in a small river in Holland thanks to the nightmare of a man, Joan Huibers.

Joan Huibers: "I dreamed that Holland was flooding, the next day the idea of building Noah's Ark occurred to me."

Mary Gamarra: "Shortly after the man who owns a construction company got to work. Determined to recreate Noah's Ark as described in the Holy Scriptures using even the biblical measurement of the cubit, the length of the forearm of a man from the elbow to the tips of the fingers. Joan's Ark measures 300 cubits, that is, 450 feet long, to give you an idea it is the length of a football stadium four stories high. The boat was designed to to be a tourist attraction with a religious message.After three years of hard work they are only months away from finishing it, the only thing missing are the animals.

"For now I have started to fill it with life-size imitation animals" each elephant, for example, costs approximately 11 thousand dollars, but not all the animals are plastic and according to Joan, little by little she will add more pairs of real animals.

But what chance of your nightmare of a massive flood coming true? As a result of global warming, if Greenland melts as experts have predicted in recent years, the Netherlands would be completely under water. Joan's Ark, like Noah's, has an upper window to let the dove fly when the catastrophe ends. Now the only thing left to ask is: could everyone on board be saved if a devastating flood actually occurred or as in the Bible if it rained for forty days and forty nights?

Joan Huibers: "No I don't think so"

Mary Gamarra: There you have the answer from the mouth of the creator, no. Even so, it is an Ark simply Al Rojo Vivo, Mary Gamarra, Telemundo."

Ok interesting isn't it? That really has nothing to do with Ephesians, but I wanted you to see in case someone comes to it, to invite me, to pay my ticket and let's go and experience all that. No, but seriously, seriously, this is very impressive, this thing about Noah's Ark and when I was thinking about this I remembered a musical that the singer Marcos Vidal wrote, he is Spanish I think he is Pastor now and several years ago he he wrote a musical where he told the story of Noah's Ark from inside the Ark, what was lived inside the Ark and how they survived all the time they were there.

And he compared the Ark with a Church and well, the animals with the people of the Church, right? So today I do not want to be telling you animals or anything like that, what I want is to study the characteristics of these different animals and see what we can learn from each of them to see how we can live a dignified life of the call we have received.

So here are some of the photos of that place in Holland and it is something very interesting because: for example, I think this man lasted 3 years building this project and Noah in the Bible lasted around 120 years and with all this construction process I began to think about the construction process in which we are with the new Sanctuary; I put myself in this man's place, I imagine that when he started, in fact if you go and read more on the internet you will realize that his wife did not agree, many people thought that he had gone crazy, they thought it was an unnecessary waste of money and began to criticize him, I imagine there were moments where he felt impatient.

And I began to think about the situation of our Church where we have been trying to build this for a long time and the tendency of many of us is perhaps to get impatient and lose faith, say: hey, how long are we going to finish this and until When are you going to keep asking us for money? and I want to point that out so that we are careful to do all these things because one never knows how God is going to work and how God is going to do things.

In the case of Noah, he spent 120 years building the Ark and was exposed to the ridicule of many people in his time, but nevertheless he focused on doing what God had commanded him and was patient for 120 years without a drop of water. In his environment, he remained confident in what God had promised him and finally God fulfilled His promise and made it rain.

Now Marcos Vidal, in his musical that he wrote, tells that they were in the Ark for a total time of one year and seventeen days and there they were day, night, week after week and month after month, locked up between four walls with everything kinds of sounds, all kinds of smells, headaches etc. etc but nevertheless he as leader had to face the situation in which he found himself there, he had to endure the mockery of the neighbors but in the end God fulfilled what he had said.

And he says in the musical that when the door closed that was just the beginning of his journey. When the door was closed, the Bible says that they lasted six days inside the Ark without moving because it had not even begun to rain; Imagine yourself and everyone there for six days, like: come on, is it going to rain here or not? And now what happened? People begin to get discouraged, lose faith and criticize Noah himself and all the animals began to riot. In fact, they will have that musical available in the bookstore, there is a CD and a DVD available of the musical that Marcos did, so if you want it after the service, order it there and you will enjoy it together with your family.

So he says that they got upset, they began to worry and talk and criticize but there was an animal that didn't seem to care at all; He said that with such indifference he did not care about the screams of others or the noise of the water and the fear of his companions, they were all worried because it began to thunder and it began to rain and those were things unknown to them that they had never heard , then they got even more scared.

And in the midst of all this there was an animal that nonchalantly climbed onto the highest board, impressed by its own beauty and the color of its outstretched wings began to sing. So what animal do you think I'm talking about? The peacock, there was a peacock in the Ark and he began to sing and said: "There is no one on earth or in the sea who has not heard mention of the great beauty of my silhouette and the sigh that I provoke as I pass by. God gave me blessed and looked at me, with His beauty He dressed me, I am the most perfect reflection of His Hand and there is no one like me." Tremendous humility that of the peacock, right?

So there I think we begin to see the relationship to what Paul is talking about in Ephesians, he is saying: avoid being like the peacock. Then he would say that for the peacock the storm was of no importance, neither were the animals or the people who were suffering; in his mind there was only him and no one else. And then in his musical Marcos says that in the Church there are many people who behave like peacocks.

There are many people who are totally indifferent to the needs of the Church, they are totally indifferent to the different ministries that exist in the Church and whenever volunteers are sought they look the other way and do not get involved in service; They only care about themselves coming to Church, receiving and being fed but they don't want to give, they don't want to give back to the community.

So we have to take care of ourselves. Instead of you thinking: so-and-so is a peacock, sultano is a peacock, don't ask yourself: am I a peacock and how can I change my way of being in order to live a life according to what God has given me? called, to begin to live in humility?

Now there was not only a peacock on the Ark. There was another animal that lived for others. This animal was always looking for a way to help others and to be useful and they gladly offer themselves to collaborate in whatever and it is very nice to find people like that. Years ago when I was a teenager in the Dominican Republic my Church did this play, we did the musical in the Church and I was this next animal that he is describing where he talks about always looking for a way to help others, be useful etc. etc and the director of the work, when he assigned me this animal I said: and why are you assigning me this animal? No, what happens is that I believe that you have a personality like that of this animal and I think that you can do a good job. In the musical René González was the one who made this animal.

And the animal I'm talking about is: the donkey (laughs). But why do I have to be the donkey? Not because you are always working etc. etc Now what happened to the donkey in the Ark? listen to what he says: "The problem with people who are like donkeys is that often people take advantage of them, abuse their good heart and in the end the one who is helpful if he is not careful starts complaining and becomes a unbearable grumpy and unhappy" and that's what happened to the donkey.

And the donkey began to sing and said: "Working from sunup to sundown every day, they don't let me rest any day; like a pack animal and I work piecework under the desert sun. There is no right to be treated as a slave, spring , autumn, winter and summer like a pack animal and work always the same, always the same" and that's the song of the donkey, he was fed up with working because he felt that people were taking advantage of him and then do you know what the donkey said ?: "Let someone else work" because the donkey had already tired of working. If someone needs something, call Noah, that's what he's the boss of this Ark for.

This makes me think about the different problems we have in the Church where people want the Pastor to solve everything, in this case Pastor Miranda, everyone wants a little piece of Pastor Miranda. A plate was broken: no, I have to talk to Pastor Miranda, I don't have to talk to Gregory, I don't have to talk to Samuel, much less Jhonathan, for me the last option is me. Pastor Miranda, Pastor Miranda.

So be careful that we don't have donkey aspects around, right? But look, the donkey went even further and he said: "Okay, call the lion because this is not a jungle for him to think he is a king of nothing, no sir: this is a ship and we are all the same here so you already know. " Listen to me the donkey was angry. Now what can we learn from the donkey?

There are many people who are helpful and always go the extra mile, but if you are one of those people, the moment you start to feel irritated by everything that is happening around you, take a break, okay? Let your leader, colleagues etc. know. I need a break. Now, it is not that everyone is going to take a break at the same time because someone has to do the work, but it is important to find time for yourself, to be edified, to be ministered to, and perhaps it is not so much to take a break. but to find a balance, where one can serve but also be spiritually nurtured. Ok these are the things to keep in mind.

Now after the donkey there was another animal, this animal is like people who always see everything black. Since the day it entered the Ark, when the door was closed, this animal had not stopped lamenting because it missed the field and feared that it would never see the light of day again; this animal was extremely pessimistic and I'm talking about the nightingale. The nightingale is an animal that sings beautifully, it generally sings at night, it likes to sing at night and it has a beautiful light and listen to what happened to the nightingale.

This was the song of the nightingale: "No one can see or understand what my soul feels in the anguish of my loneliness because I will never sing again when the day dies and darkness falls in the forest. I will not be able to fly in the light of the moon nor will I fall asleep with the red light of the sun at dawn. I will no longer see the whereabouts disguising itself in the spring" with the flowers and all that, right? "I will no longer see the sunset or know if it is autumn or winter; I will no longer hear the wind, I will not see the falling snowflakes, I will not be able to fly in the moonlight or fall asleep in the red light of the sun at dawn ."

"And Noah said: from that day life inside the Ark was total chaos. The donkey went on permanent strike and no longer wanted to help anyone, the nightingale continued to cry every afternoon and although his voice was very pretty we were already beginning to be more than sick of hearing them complaining to the same song every day." Then the others made their own lives demanding their rights and complaining when they didn't like something.

In other words, there is a saying that even beauty tires and that was what happened with the nightingale. Can you imagine a year and seven months listening to a person with the same song night and day all the time? No matter how beautiful a voice you have, even beauty tires. But this is so that if one identifies with the nightingale, he tries to see the positive side of things, because the nightingale complained that he was not going to be able to see things anymore, he was not going to be able to go back to what he had. another but: son of God, you are inside the Ark, everyone who is outside is dead, so give thanks to God because you are inside.

So that was what happened with the nightingale. Now Noah, trying to put a little control on the situation, he said: we are going to establish a system, he was very systemic and said: we are going to set a specific time for everyone to eat, we are going to organize the different activities, etc. etc., we are going to see how this works, however that did not work because everyone wanted to eat at a different time, everyone wanted to do different things and these are things that happen in the Church; sometimes in the Church one tries to create structures and things but there is always someone who disagrees, there is always someone who is looking for the fifth leg of the cat.

So imagine how Noah felt as the leader of this boat in the face of such a situation. Many times our leaders feel powerless because they can't please everyone. All the people within a Church and not only within the Church, in their workplace, in their school. There are people with different characteristics and different needs that one has to tolerate, one has to be patient, one has to be humble; one has to put into practice what Paul is telling the people in Ephesus.

And one of the animals that irritated everyone, guess who it was: the turtle. The turtle. The biggest problem was with the tortoise because it always, always always arrived at the last hour. Have you met people like that? Look, sometimes when I have a meeting with the volunteers, the meeting starts at seven and I tell them at half past six to see if they arrive at seven and they don't even come, they arrive at 7:15, so there are people who are like the turtle, Sunday after Sunday they are always late for Church.

So people got irritated with the turtle. The hyena got irritated one day with the turtle and said to him: look, you are a disaster, you are always late and because of you the whole world cannot eat because until the whole world arrives we cannot eat, etc. etc., bad for the hyena because this person is not for us to point our finger at, it is for us to be tolerant etc. Now look at the turtle's song, the turtle said: "I'm a disaster, I'm always late. There is no medicine for my illness, I was born tired and I don't recover from this horrible effort of walking, this little house is too heavy for me, I carry it everywhere and I'm sorry you have to wait for me but I feel tired, I can't take it anymore." Even the turtle revealed himself looking for excuses for his delay, right?

Many times we are like turtles, we are always looking for justifications and excuses for problems that we have to change. Now the other animals did not remain silent. They sang and responded to the turtle complaining to Noah, again to poor Noah. They told him: "Noah, that turtle is desperate and there is no one who can take it so slowly, it is heavy as an elephant and I lose my health by waiting for it. With all those complaints from the animals, the turtle hid inside its shell, scared and feeling rejected. for all the people who were supposed to be his companions on the Ark."

Many times that happens in our churches. When a person constantly fails, everyone begins to complain and sometimes they don't tell the person directly, they go and tell the leaders and when this person finds out, they feel rejected and isolate themselves. So we have to be careful that we are not those types of people who are accusing people who fail, who are always late. We have to build each other up in love.

Paul told the people in Ephesus: "Strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit, bear with each other, tolerate each other, help each other grow" and this was what had to happen but had not happened. Noah continues talking and says that the days went by until he discovered that a sheep had been bitten, someone had bitten the sheep and he asked, no one came. Everyone started to justify themselves and he said: but someone had to have bitten this sheep until all of a sudden they heard a sound that made them all pale, made them all pale and the next animal stuck its head out: the snake. Okay? everyone freaked out.

First, many said: and what is the serpent doing here in the Ark? Everyone got scared, no one trusted anyone anymore, the snake bit one; the animals began to create little groups and criticized each other, distrust entered, gossip entered and everyone: no longer the snake that I don't know what and everyone began to sing and said: "The snake is here, It can't be. A mixture of light and darkness. Nobody really knows if she's good or bad. Her smile is so kind, her words are like honey and that fire in her eyes makes your skin crawl, nobody really knows if it's good or bad. It looks at you begging for your friendship and invites you to come closer but tries to deceive you; it crawls little by little, it gets closer and closer to you, if you look at it you fall in love and if you get closer it devours you. It always comes from behind your back when You can't see her, she hides her gaze and pretends to be faithful to you and watches you from afar hidden in a corner, never trust her because she is false and insincere."

That was the song the animals had about the snake. That often happens in our churches. When we meet a person who struggles with different things, who is not perfect, who perhaps has snakelike characteristics, our instinct is to get away from that person and not just get away, alert everyone to get away from that person.

How is that person going to change, how is that person going to be able to be restored if we turn our backs on him and turn the whole world against that person? Noah spoke to the animals in the Ark and he told them: gentlemen, look, when a person fails, the only mistake the snake made was that it bit the sheep, yes it was a mistake but we are not going to crucify it for that reason. If that serpent is here it is because God in His Mercy had mercy on the serpent also in the same way that He is having mercy on each one of you.

So in the Church we are going to have imperfect people who are going to make mistakes over and over again, we ourselves are going to make mistakes over and over again and how good it is to feel forgiven when one makes a mistake, then we must extend the same forgiveness to another person when they fail .

Look at what the Bible says in the Book of Galatians 5:22 to 26, it says: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such things there is no law but Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires, and if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become vainglorious, irritating one another, envying one another." That was part of what Paul wrote to the people in Galatians.

Immediately after this chapter look at what it says in chapter 6, it says: "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore him with a spirit of meekness considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Bear the troubles." one another's burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ because he who believes himself to be something, being nothing to himself, deceives himself, so each one submits his own work to the test and then he will have reason to boast only about himself and not of another."

Hermanso, when one fails, everyone speaks ill of and criticizes the person who has failed, but no one shakes their hand or helps them so that they don't do what they did again, and the result is that everyone feels alone. And that was what happened in the Ark and there was only one animal that did what everyone had to do and this was the deer. When the deer saw that situation, he began to pray and this was the deer's prayer: "In need and in an internal storm we navigate in a world of pain. Day by day our strength is less and we long for Your Presence and Your warmth" he was praying to him. to God "and we come before You with an emptiness in our being and here we are before You Lord you can see us, wishing to see again the dawn and the light of the sun on the earth that You created with so much love."

Immediately the deer began to pray, that was a prayer of repentance, all the other animals repented, they began to sing with the deer and God heard their prayer, he had mercy again with them and at that moment according to the work he wrote Marcos Vidal stopped raining and everyone was happy because God had heard their prayer.

How good it is to find people like this that in the midst of adversity in the Church they keep praying for the weak people and for the strong people. There are many grandmothers who may not serve in any ministry but I am sure that they are the spiritual warriors who pray for our Church day after day behind the scenes. How good it is to have people like that behind you.

Now after it finished raining the water had not gone down and they remained inside the Ark for a long time until the water went down and again discouragement entered, they began to despair again, they had already forgotten the prayer and repentance that they had had. So Noah, when everyone began to despair, looked for another animal, which was the dove, and sent it outside to explore what was happening. The dove flew and flew and flew, found no solid ground and returned to the Ark.

Many of us perhaps searched, searched and returned to the Ark but we came discouraged and this was not the case of the dove, the dove said: at least I breathed the pure air outside and I have hope because He who started the good work will finish it on the final day. And the dove began to sing, it began to encourage everyone who had once again become discouraged and the dove said: "The price to pay does not matter or when we can return, it is more important to walk forward and achieve our goal when we arrive. No matter the price to pay or when we are going to arrive, our hearts will sing with joy when the stars shine over the sea."

"Ok, there is no land, but when the stars shine over the sea, over the ocean, we are going to thank God because the stars are shining, it means that there are no clouds and it has stopped raining. And he said: sailing at dawn one feels the growing faith, there is no reason to be sad or think of returning; sailing in the blue sea there is no place for restlessness, the land where a new light shines is present."

Brothers, it does not matter how many problems we have in our society, how many problems we have at school, wherever it is, we must be confident that if one does their part and one begins to live in the way that Christ has called us to live, we are going to lead a message of hope as well as the dove to the people in our work environments.

And at that moment, after the dove sang, Noah says that it was then that they saw how good God had been to each one of them. They understood that God had saved them all from drowning not because they were good but because God had mercy on each and every one of them.

And at that moment they didn't care if the peacock was proud or if the tortoise was slow or if the donkey was grumpy or if the other was a pessimist, but the most important thing was that somehow God had put them in all in the Ark and had protected them from the flood. And that was the greatest salvation they experienced and something they said they would never forget. And once they focused on the good, the donkey stopped being grumpy and became a kind person again because he did have a gift for service, he did have a gift for work. The nightingale stopped crying and even the snake apologized to the sheep.

Change happens when we recognize the bad in us and when we focus on the good and try to decide to change. Then the door of the Ark opened, the water went down and before they all ran out of the Ark they stopped and began to pray thanking God for what he had done. And the Bible says that Noah built an altar and Marcos Vidal says in his work that Noah built the altar together with the animals and that they all wrote a song to God and see what the song says.

It says: "As long as there is light on earth we will never forget what we are and that we owe it to You" and this is with the rainbow that God promised Noah, it says: "As long as the sun shines and we can breathe make us remember the gift of forgiveness and your great kindness." They said: "Today we inherited the earth and we are free from all condemnation not because of our power or our courage, but because You saved us from the water by Your love and Your mercy even though we are like that, You made us one in You. ."

And they talked about how they would never forget what we are and that they owe it to Him as long as there is light and this made me think about the metaphor of light in the Word, where God says that we are the light of the world and I started to think of the homes of light that are the cells of our Church. And with this when he says: "As long as there is light that illuminates the earth we will never forget that we owe it to You" I said: how nice it would be that as long as there are people with faith, that as long as there are Christians that the world never forgets what it is and that We owe everything to God.

But for us to be light and walk in the light we have to get rid of the things that pull us to live in darkness. Each one limps from something, none of us are perfect, however we have all reached the Grace and Mercy of God.

So brothers, this is how this story of Noah's Ark is connected with what Paul was telling the people in Ephesus, to tolerate each other, to endure, to walk worthy of the call they had received from Christ. I think that when we decide to represent Christ in our work, in our churches we are saying that we are going to get rid of pride, we are going to get rid of lies, we are going to get rid of all those things that do not build and we are going to examine ourselves to see what characteristics do I have?

Will I be like the donkey, will I be like the turkey, will I be like the snake, like the turtle? Instead of saying: so-and-so is a donkey, be careful, so-and-so is a snake, be careful. No, that is not our job, our job is to change ourselves and if everyone cares about changing, there will be no need to change anyone because everyone will be on the same page.

I want the praise group to come here and once again we are going to sing the song by Marcos Witt that says: "Heal our land" which was the song with which we closed the time of adoration. I want us to sing this again and sing it with an attitude of prayer asking God to do what we are singing.

This song says: "I come to You, guide me and sanctify me in You" is what we are asking God, telling Him that we want to walk in His Truth, that He take us, that He embrace us and that our hearts today turn to You. As we sing this, I want us to ask God for forgiveness for the times we have criticized a brother in our Congregation, for the times we have behaved like any of these animals in the Ark and that we propose ourselves to change and let God transform us, and that we can be more optimistic like doves and that we can use our gifts in our places of study, work and in our churches, amen?