Never give up

I want to invite you to go to the Book of Ruth. During these weeks we have been working on the topic of how to turn our dreams into reality, how to embody our visions of progress and blessing in real life, daily life. How to live successful lives in the Lord, how to be fruitful people and live a life overcoming your giants, overcoming oppositions and getting better and better each day, how to live the life that Christ has said, says: "I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full."

So we are dedicating this time to that subject and I should say from a theoretical perspective, it is a type of sermon that is not the typical sermon that one gives because we have been establishing principles and some of these presentations, although obviously they have been based in the Word of God and they have had examples of the Word begin rather as an enunciation of a principle and a development almost like a talk, a conference but obviously of a spiritual nature and thank God we have received very good responses and reactions from you about this series.

And I want to continue with this topic of how to live abundant lives, this morning or this afternoon I am going to do it from the point of view of an example, I have finished with the first series where there was a series of principles that we enunciated but now I want to do studies of cases and I feel that I am going to spend a while on this subject because I believe that the people of God need practical, solid, complex teaching on this very important topic.

Why do I think this topic is important? it is obvious: because all of us in one way or another want to be successful. Someone who doesn't want to succeed? to minister liberation here in the world, I believe that we all want successful lives, blessed lives, right? And I think that what happens is that many times we stay in super spiritual generic statements and people do not know how to put their teeth into those ideas and those statements and I have wanted to dismantle those principles and bring them to daily life, to the practical life.

I want to continue with this and this afternoon I want to do it by looking at the example of two people: Noemi and Ruth, Ruth the daughter-in-law of this precious woman of God named Noemi and how these two women formed a partnership between themselves to overcome tragedies and overcome difficulties and obstacles. Let me tell you something else that is very important: there is also a reason why we, it is almost like we have the obligation to enter into that triumphant life that Christ has called us and it is because I believe that the world needs people who reflect the glory of the Kingdom of God and of the children of God, amen? People are looking for examples, people are looking for models, people are looking for inspiration.

And I was telling the brothers this morning that one feels like a great sense of despair on the part of God at this moment in history that we are living because many Christians do not know how to enter that society out there that does not know Jesus Christ. and that every day is further and further away from the Lord. And sometimes we just kind of throw ashes on our heads and lament and attack this world that we see has turned away from God and we do all kinds of strategies to reach people.

I have concluded that one of the most powerful ways that we have to reach society out there and to counteract the evil that we see taking more and more control of society is simply by making sure that we live the abundant life that Christ came to give us amen? and that we reflect in our personal and collective experience as a Christian community that we are the success that God makes possible, that people look at León de Judá for example or any other Christian Church and see what God is doing in us, in our family, in the Church as a community prospering.

When people see that we are defeating our giants, that we are growing and prospering, that we have harmonious and blessed marriages, that we have children that we are transferring to them the values of the Kingdom of God and that they are growing emotionally healthy, that they are going to university or they are learning a trade and living honest, hard-working lives, when people see that we ourselves are thriving emotionally and maturing and overcoming addictions and character traits that do not glorify God, we are living orderly lives; when people see a community that reflects the beauty of the Kingdom of God to me that is the most powerful evangelism we can do, amen?

Because we can't preach to people: oh come to Christ and He's going to change your life if our life hasn't changed right? We cannot tell you: Christ is powerful to overcome sin in you, to overcome misery, poverty, the disharmony that exists in the world if we are living just like the world. Many people out there say: well, why do I want to be an evangelical if you evangelicals, there is no difference between you and the world? and they come to Church and they see bad examples, they see a community still struggling just like everyone else there trying to and they don't see a change, they don't see a difference.

And I said: you know what? Look, okay, we're going to worry about what people think, what people say, but other than that, you know what? We are going to make sure that our life and our Church reflect the values of the Kingdom of God. That we are growing, prospering, being blessed, that God is doing things in our life and then the world is going to see that and is going to say: wow I want what these people have, I see changes and I see that God is blessing this community.

And where there is blessing people will come, it will flow to it. That's one of the things about Ruth and I'm going to go into it right now this occurred to me, this point is interesting it occurs to me and I pray if I have the opportunity to discuss a little bit of course Ruth's story but one of the things that she does that Naomi moves and moves back to Bethlehem where she is originally from is that she hears that there is food in Bethlehem because there was a great famine in the country at that time, in all that region including Moab where they lived.

And then when Naomi loses her two children and her husband she says let me see if I can find him here right now and I don't want to spend too much time on it but she says to him "The Lord has visited Moab" oh look at him here in the Verse 6 says, "So she got up with her daughters-in-law and returned from the fields of Moab" where they lived "because she heard" in the field of Moab "that the Lord had visited His people to give them bread. And she left the place where she had been and with her her two daughters-in-law and they began to walk to return to the land of Judah."

How interesting, isn't it? Naomi hears that God has visited His people with bread, with food, and she says: why do I have to be in Moab, this pagan land where there is no food, where I have lost everything? I better go back to my town and God is visiting it, it is prospering it, it is blessing it. That is a law of life: people will always go where there is bread, where there is blessing and the world out there let me tell you with all its rebellion and all its disobedience it is difficult out there, life without God is difficult even if you have money, even if it has all the physical pleasures in the world, but sooner or later the emptiness is going to make itself felt in the lives of these people.

And there will come a time when they will need hope, to know that if I die, where am I going to go? when they are diagnosed with a serious illness they are going to need comfort, when their marriage is falling apart they are going to, and if they know that there is bread among us they are going to come and want to eat what we have, do you understand?

That is why I believe that in this time look: if we simply concentrate on cleaning the Church, healing the Church, prospering the Church, that will solve the problem of Evangelism, I am sure of that, people will come. I believe in Evangelism that is a systemic Evangelism, not necessarily: ok we are going to campaign one weekend and we are going to bring a gunman from outside to preach and evangelize people and then we are going to make an appeal; look, I believe in the Evangelism of a community that invites its friends and tells them: look, you know what? we have food, come and eat with us, listen to the Word of God and the Church grows and is blessed and prosperous.

A town that is growing and experiencing God's transformation is attractive to the unconverted and that is the best apologetics that a person can exercise in favor of the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ, that is why it is so important that we let ourselves of super spiritual generic preaching on the air and that we begin to put nuts and bolts to God's call to live successful lives and that we learn the principles of a powerful life. And that's why we've been talking about these principles and God has put that on my heart and that's good because there are many good things that are going to happen through this series of messages.

So Ruth, I have chosen Ruth and Naomi because the Book of Ruth shows us something, it is: how to overcome crises in life and go from tragedy and failure and loss to success and stability and solidity in life. The story begins in the Book of Ruth, there are four chapters and I encourage you, I beg you to please read this wonderful Book and the new believers study the Word of the Lord, very important.

The Bible says that Naomi was already a woman of a certain age, she had two children, her husband, they moved from Bethlehem where she was from to the land of Moab, a nearby land and the years passed and as the years passed, Naomi he was losing his entire family; First her husband died and then in succession her two sons also died and the Book of Ruth opens with this scene of loss and helplessness where this woman has lost all her livelihood and has lost all her loved ones.

And then the Bible says that Naomi calls her two daughters-in-law and tells them: girls, I want to say goodbye to you and I want to set you free so that you can find your life, you are young, she says, I am an old woman, I cannot have children and It's not like I can give you children to marry in the future, you're not going to wait around. If I could, he says, give children, you are not going to wait for those children to grow up and then you are going to marry them, no. Seek your life, I set you free and set you free so that you may find your destiny.

And when she tells them like this, verse 10 says that they raised their voices and wept and told her: "No, certainly we will go with you to your town, but Naomi" answered them in the verse "Turn back, my daughters, why should you go?" with me?" she insists then right? and he tells them: "No, my daughters, I have more bitterness than you because the Hand of the Lord has come out against me" It is interesting to remember that statement of hers "the Hand of the Lord has gone out against me" because there is also cloth to cut.

Then verse 14 says that they raised their voices again and cried this time not in protest like the first time "no, we're going to stay with you" but rather in resignation. And it's interesting here that Orfa, the other daughter-in-law and yes, not daughter-in-law, my Brooklyn Spanish is coming out here now, the two daughters-in-law each take a different path. Orfa says: well, if that's the case, I'll go back to my house and she accepts Naomi's offer and decides to continue on her way, and at that moment, as if she disappeared from history, Orfa is never spoken of again.

Ruth tells her mother-in-law: you know what? I am not going to leave, I am not going to leave you, I am going to stay with you and very memorable words in verse 7 answered Ruth: "Do not beg me to leave you and separate from you because wherever you go I will go and wherever you live I will live, your people will be my people and your God my God." I know that some of you got married and used that text as a motto like this because it is a text that speaks of fidelity and speaks of loyalty and nobility of heart.

And he says: "Where you die there I will die and there I will be buried, so do the Lord and add to me that only death will separate the two of us." It always strikes me that these two women Orfa and Ruth choose as two different destinations. Orfa does the right and understandable thing: a young woman wants to get married, she wants to have a family and it was her right to go in search of that. The Bible says that: "Orfa returned to her people and her gods" in verse 15 and I imagine that she lived a quiet life, who knows if she got married or not, she possibly had children but the fact is that since she chose a path from the proper and proper lived a proper and proper life.

Ruth chooses the path of nobility of heart, of generosity, of heroic loyalty and that is why today we are talking about her thousands of years after her existence. God sees the hearts of people and I believe that one of the most powerful principles for success is precisely that, choose the path of excellence and greatness, do not settle for simply what is appropriate in your life, ask yourself how you can give the Lord something more than just the basics.

Because if you give the Lord only the basics, perhaps God will bless you, but when you give the Lord excellence, the best, when you choose a life of good principles, of spiritual greatness, God sees your heart and rewards you according to that standard of living that you choose.

And it is what I see, for example, that the Bible is full of those examples where a person, for example, like Nicodemus or this Pharisee who invites Jesus to come to his house and simply receives him very appropriately but does not treat Jesus exceptionally and preferred but is limited to the ordinary but comes then says a woman who enters the house of this Pharisee and breaks a glass of expensive perfume, spills the perfume on the person of Jesus, cries over him, dries with her own hair the perfume and the tears that she sheds on His feet and the Pharisee is there saying: look at this woman who is a sinner, if He were a true prophet he would not let her get close to Him.

And then the Lord tells him: Simon, you invited me to your house, you treated me simply, very basically, you did not wash my feet, you did not kiss me when I entered, but since I arrived this woman has not stopped crying over me, she has poured a chosen perfume, has prepared me for My burial symbolically and truly I tell you that this woman will be spoken of for all centuries, memory will be made of what she has done, because the Lord always chooses the people who, He it is always identifying people.

I believe that one of the most powerful ways to live a great and successful life is to make our hearts so big, so powerful, so generous, so noble, so permeated with the principles of the Kingdom of God that God is pleased to see that beauty and that excellence that you have inside.

Many times we believe that God is not seeing what we are doing and we believe that well since we gave the Lord the basics, that's all, many people are content to come to Church, give the Lord a couple of hours on Sunday to sometimes reluctantly, from time to time and they go home: I've done it, I've punched out the card, but God wants more than that. God wants a generous offering of your life, something that will make you stand out like the widow's offering.

Many people say, the Word says that many rich people came to the Lord and gave him a lot of money in the places of offerings in the temple, but it says that there was a widow who gave everything she had, a white one, a very small offering but it was her entire livelihood. and the Lord realized and said to His disciples: do you see? all those who gave there gave from what was left over, this woman gave her livelihood, everything she had. God is always looking for generous and exceptional offerings.

Ruth did that with her mother-in-law and told her: no, I'm going to walk with you, whatever happens I want to stay with you and help you and strengthen you and support you and that's a principle of life, that if we choose the height, the principles of God to live them the Lord will always bless us and prosper us.

Another thing that I see here is that you know what? many times God's intervention in our life is not going to happen in a thunderous and spectacular way, but rather it is going to happen in very natural ways as we live our lives according to God's principles, the Lord then gets involved in the cracks that we open with the principles of life and behavior that His Word teaches us and the blessing is running secretly to order our path and allow us to get ahead in any situation we find ourselves and that is what happens in this Book.

I put here that like Esther, the Book of Esther or the Book of Nehemiah, Ruth is not a Book of mighty miracles but of spiritual principles applied to normal life and that work and that is why it is a Book that is valid for us in our daily life. live. It teaches us practical life lessons, it teaches us how to act when suffering or tragedies come into our lives.

One of the things I like about this story is that sometimes it seems that success in life will be due to luck or some magic formula or some miraculous and portentous intervention of God that opens the sea in front of us that provides us with a fortune to get out of our difficult economic situations but here we are taught in the Book of Ruth that success is rather the product of continuous effort, of living an honest life, of having noble feelings in the heart, of persistence, of making good decisions enlightened by the Holy Spirit, to live a life of integrity and then have faith in God and then put our hands on the plow, forge a plan, a goal, a strategy, strive in the Name of the Lord and then trust that in our effort the Lord is going to move and that He is going to provide a solution to any situation that we may encounter along the way.

I see in Naomi's and Ruth's conduct very powerful principles on how to triumph over adversity. There is something very important here that I see, number one like that in terms of solid principles: tragedy. Tragedy can still come to the lives of those who love and serve the Lord. Difficulties can come into your life, challenges can come to any of us no matter if we are serving the Lord, loving the Lord.

Naomi was a woman of God and yet she lost her husband, she lost her children, and that does not mean that God did not love her, but simply that we live in a fallen world, that has problems and tragedy will come, tragedy will come. loss and that does not mean that God is not with you. Being believers does not exempt us from the consequences of sin in the world. God's love and providence may be manifesting even in the midst of pain, God can use the losses of life to beautify and to ennoble our existences.

Do you know, brother, that many of what you think is a tragedy, what you think is a loss, can be God preparing the environment and the platform for a great blessing that He wants to give you later?

You will remember that I have said that God is a God of processes, He takes His time. God is a chess player, He looks at the pieces, moves a piece here and He knows that moving that piece can change the destiny of that entire community. There are times when something happens in your life and you believe that it is a terrible tragedy and a loss, but with the passage of time you discover that it was not, that it was the blessing that God was preparing for your life. You lose a job and you think: wow my world is collapsing but you know what? it was that God wanted to get you out of there to give you a greater blessing, another job, if you had stayed there you would not have received what he had.

I have seen many times that even in the life of the Church in the Ministry, sometimes something can happen that I think is a reversal, someone leaves very important in the life of the Congregation, an important leader or something like that, and what? did you know? It's like another person magically comes, fills that place and it's even more of a blessing. There are many ways right? in which God moves the pieces of our life and we have to learn to trust Him and let Him do what He wants and submit to His dictate and believe that He has something better for me in some way at some future time .

Do you know what was happening with Ruth and Noemi? that God was preparing a story that went beyond the two of them and that had to do with the destiny of all humanity. Do you know that Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David, from where the redeemer of all mankind, Christ Jesus, came from? and so we have to see how God was putting something together.

If Ruth had stayed married in Moab there, she would have missed one of the greatest blessings a woman could have, which was to be the ancestor of the very son of God. So that apparent loss was something that God was using to weave a plot because the Son of God was going to come from someone and God was building a series of relationships and situations for that lineage of King David to emerge and for it to come through him. the Son of God centuries later but at that moment she was simply living her drama and she, in fact, Ruth dies grateful to the Lord because she finally finds a husband but dies without knowing that her true destiny was to be the ancestor of the Son of God and start a lineage that he was going to advance with the coming into the world of King David and all that lineage that God was going to bless.

So I have learned that we do not know all the things that God is doing through us. Maybe that pain that you are going through, that loss, God is going to use it for something much bigger than you think and others are going to see your faith and your good behavior and they are going to take courage for their own lives. Perhaps what you are going through at this moment in your life God is going to use to ennoble you, strengthen you, give you more confidence and strengthen your faith and make you a more powerful person in the ways of the Lord by allowing you to be useful in the Kingdom of God.

God doesn't use anyone until he slaps him or her and sets him up. I believe that no one can be truly deep in life without going through some tribulations and difficulties. Life is difficult in itself and what God wants is for us to grow in knowledge and learn how to be better and how to use the reverses of life for something very powerful.

This Book teaches us how to face pain, if we do it with faith and humility or if we do it with bitterness and rebellion, depending on how you face the losses of life as Ruth faced them, two widows who throw themselves into their destiny, They start looking for what God has for me now? He has taken away something that we loved now we are going to see; instead of throwing themselves to death these two women make a society of mutual support and united by a sense of loyalty and fellowship: ok let's go to Bethlehem and visit this city and see what God has for us there.

When life gives you lemons they say around there: make lemonade. Depending on the things that you do with the things that come into your life that will define what happens, do not throw yourself to die. With Christ there is always a solution, there is always a way out, there is always a possibility, something God does. I have learned and you have taught me, do you know how? training me and testing me in many difficulties in my life.

And in these times, for example, this work on the new sanctuary has been arduous, it has been difficult and at some point we have found ourselves in financial trouble, I tell you, but you know what? It is incredible how the Lord during these last months has been opening the Red Sea in front of us and providing us in the least expected ways. One day I am going to share with you the things that God has been doing in these months and how He has been using forms very unexpected for, excuse me for putting it in personal terms because we have all been involved in this but as Senior Pastor I often feel a great responsibility.

And sometimes in these months we have asked ourselves: well, how are we going to meet all the construction demands there? And by the way, with the Lord's help this week we have already made a lot of progress, we are even in the process of obtaining the occupation permit, in terms of construction we have already gone through a couple of lessons and truly I already see the light in the end of the tunnel

But in recent months, every month I have had at the beginning of each month with a chosen person from the Church personnel, we have had to ask ourselves: well, where is the answer going to come from this month to meet all the expenses of personnel, materials, contractors and also the large debt that we have to pay it monthly? and it's amazing how every month the Lord provides.

And I have seen that sometimes in my struggle, in my agony I understand that God among other things, many other things that he is doing, I am not just saying that he is working with me but I have learned to grow in the midst of stress of the Ministry and I always say: well Lord, what are you doing through this, how are you training me, how are you training the Church and what are you teaching us?

And frankly I have been able to see the sovereign Hand of God providing blessing but also training me every day to trust Him more and more and to know that He has the answer, and to know that what I have to do is hold on to the Hand of my Lord and He and I are the majority wherever we go, I encourage you to live that way in your own life too. And it's like you're walking, I'm walking here, right? There aren't those stairs there and it's like I'm reaching the abyss and I say, what's going to happen? and the Lord stretches out a plank for me to take another step and then stretches out another plank for me to take another step.

And you know what? In this process, one learns not to panic. I'm going to use a word right there, not to give up and sometimes I wonder: well, what is God going to do now, how is He going to get the rabbit out of the hat this time? And one would say: well, Lord, why don't you instead of just one plank, why don't you give me about five planks so that I can walk a little smoother? and He says: No, I am training a warrior, I am training a person who does not give up, I am training a marathon runner who knows how to run even if tired but keeps going and who is a blessing and inspiration to others.

I tell him that I have enough material in these last three years or so of work there to fill a book and to advise many people not to give up, to believe the Lord that God is faithful, that God is powerful, that in the midst of from the struggle God can bless you, that even though you have lost dear things, the Lord is with you, He has not left you.

I was thinking of my sister Juana, excuse me for pointing you here, right, Juana? a few months ago she lost her son in a very unexpected and very unpleasant way, I was thinking about her regarding Naomi who lost two children and lost her husband and I prayed for you my sister so that the Lord strengthens you, and people like her and others who are here; the Carrasquillo family lost their loving brother Jerry this past week.

And I believe that the difference is, those who are defeated by circumstances or overcome by circumstances is how they face their losses, if they give up, they bend under the weight of the long and continuous test or say: no, I believe that I will see my God take this situation forward, I believe that God is not going to leave me, He is not going to forsake me, those who trust in Him will not be ashamed and one returns and gains strength.

As David says: "Why are you downhearted, my soul, and are you troubled within me? Wait on God because I still have to praise him, my salvation and my God." There are times when you are in difficult situations, you have lost and you already believe that God has finished with you and at that moment you have to say to your soul: my soul bless the Lord, bless all my being His Holy Name, it is like a commandment, an order that you have to give to your emotions and to your mind: my soul bless the Lord, whether you want to or not bless the Lord.

You have to cheer yourself up and you know what? that when you do that God comes and then opens the way in front of you, gives you new strength to go forward and then you are giving the Holy Spirit an opportunity to do what He wants to do, but if you get in there in the room to get depressed and to feel sorry for yourself and to curse people who did not call you, who did not minister to you, who did not visit you, you lost the opportunity to see God work in your life.

You are never alone even if you have lost what you have lost. We live in a world that is terrible and we are all going to suffer something, we are all going to lose something, but what the Bible says is that God takes the tragedies and losses of life and turns them into steps for future blessing and we are going to see how this sermon later, we are going to continue studying this Book and we are going to see other principles.

But there is a principle there that I think we see from these women and that is: never give up, if God is with you there is always hope. If God is with you, what seems like a dead end, the Lord sticks a stick of dynamite in it and opens that mountain and you go through it. If God is with you there is no reason for you to give up and say: my hope has already perished. Take new strength, move on, trust Him and you will see that what seemed like an abyss is simply an opportunity that God is putting in your life and that God is working alone, perhaps not working in the way that you would like Him to work. but it is the way He wants to work and God's way is much better than yours always, and God prepares wonderful things.

I leave you with an illustration that I shared with the brothers this morning about how things that seem like failures are simply complex ways that God will be using to fulfill our dreams and fulfill them beyond what we expect.

This story is about three trees and this story says that: Once upon a time there were three trees on a hill in a forest, they talked about their dreams and their hopes. And the first tree said: someday I will be a treasure chest; I will be full of gold, silver and precious stones, I will be decorated with artistic carvings and fine carvings and everyone will see my beauty.

The second tree said: one day I will be a powerful boat. I will carry the greatest kings and queens across the oceans and go to every corner of the world, everyone will feel safe because of my strength, my strength and my mighty helmet.

Finally the third tree said: I want to grow to be the straightest and biggest of all the trees in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill, look at my mighty branches and think about the God of heaven and how close I am to reaching him. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.

After a few years of the trees praying for their dreams to come true, a group of lumberjacks came to where the trees were. And when one saw the first tree, he said: this looks like a strong tree, I think it could sell its wood to a carpenter, and he began to cut it down. The tree was very happy because it knew that the carpenter could turn it into a treasure chest.

The other woodcutter said while looking at the second tree: it looks like a strong tree, I think I can sell it to the carpenter from the port. The second tree was very happy because it knew that it was on its way to becoming a powerful vessel.

The last lumberjack approached the tree, he was very scared because he knew that if he was cut down his dream would never come true. The woodcutter then said: eh, I don't need anything special from the tree I cut so I'll take this one and he cut the third tree.

When the first tree arrived where the carpenter was turned into a box of animal feed and was placed in a gate and filled with straw, he felt very bad because that was not what he had prayed for so much. The second tree was cut down and turned into a small fishing raft, not even big enough to sail in the sea and was put in a lake and saw how his dreams of being a great ship carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into long, heavy boards and left in the darkness of a cellar. And years later the trees forgot their dreams and hopes for which they had prayed so much.

Then one day a man and a woman came to the portal, she gave birth to a child and placed it in the straw that was inside the box that the first tree was transformed into, the man wished he had a cradle for his baby but this box it had to be. But suddenly he felt the importance of this event and knew that he had had the greatest treasure in history as he originally wanted.

Years later a group of men entered the raft into which they had turned the second tree. One of them was tired and fell asleep in the boat. While they were in the water a great storm arose and the tree thought that it would not be strong enough to save the men. The men woke up the one who was sleeping, he got up and said with a powerful voice: calm down, be still and the storm and the waves stopped. At that moment the second tree realized that it had carried within itself the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Finally some time later someone came and took the third tree turned into boards. He was carried through the streets at the same time as people were spitting, insulting and beating the man carrying him, they stopped on a small hill and the man was nailed to the tree and lifted to die on top of the hill. When the third tree came on Sunday he realized that he was strong enough to stand on top of the hill and be as close to God as ever because Jesus the Son of God had been crucified on it.

And from that moment people would always remember it, the wood on which our Lord was crucified.

The moral of this story is the following: when things do not go according to your plans, you should know that God always has a plan for you. If you put your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts in due time. Remember that each tree got what they asked for but not in the way they thought or wanted, we do not always know what God has for us, we only know that His ways are often not our ways, but think that His ways are always the best.

Bless the Lord His Word. On this day the Holy Spirit wants you to remember: God is always with you even in the most difficult trials, in the greatest losses, in the most challenging tests, do not let yourself be defeated. Success in life depends on never lowering our heads in the face of adversity and giving up, but believing that with God we can get ahead in any situation and that God always has good things for us.

God always has good plans, if He allows something to be taken away from you it is because He has something better for you and with faith, trust continue living your life, continue doing good wherever you go, do not abandon the principles of the Christian life Do not try to find your own solutions but trust God and live according to His principles and sooner or later the blessing will come into your life, you will get ahead because God is always weaving a fabric of wonderful blessing for your life. Can you say amen this morning? glory to the Lord.

Lower your head at this moment, we are going to be fired and receive this Word of God in your heart right now, this invitation from the Holy Spirit, no matter how many years you have ahead of you in this life, I want to tell you that if Christ is with you, no there is possible defeat. The Lord has something wonderful for you, keep going, trust Him, bless Him, follow the principles of the Kingdom of God, determine to be happy in Him no matter what happens, there is something good in this situation that you are going through.

Search, ask the Lord for discernment and you will see that where it seems that there is nothing, there is a treasure with which you can continue living full of hope and joy. When adversity comes, tell your soul: my soul, wait on the Lord, bless the Lord, do not give up, keep going, God has good things for you, the Lord says: "Because I know the thoughts I have about you, thoughts of good and not of evil to give you the end you expect."

This Christmas season and as we look to the year ahead, let us begin to prepare ourselves to believe that God is going to be with us in all situations, we are going to live blessed, joyful, prosperous, hope-filled lives because we have a God who is faithful and who fulfill what He promises.

So: Father, as a community, as a spiritual family, this afternoon we say no to despair, not to depression, not to anxiety that takes away our joy, not to the forces of the devil that want to rip faith out of our hearts. , not the one who wants to entangle us in the affairs of the world and make us believe that this is all for us.

We embrace the principles of Your Kingdom, we embrace the glory that Christ has made possible, we embrace the power we have in the Name of Jesus, we embrace the hope that is always reborn in us through the one who loved us and gave himself for us on the cross. of Calvary. Fill us with faith Father and help us to live life one day at a time receiving new strength from You every day through Your Word, prayer and Your Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

I bless Your people on this day Father, renew their hope and their joy, the shine in their eyes, Lord, and take us out of here with the expectation of the beautiful things that You are going to do in the future. Heal us and strengthen us, thank you Lord in Jesus Name, amen and amen. May the Lord bless you my brothers, the grace and peace of the Lord be with you, amen and amen.