What Does Heaven Say About Your Life?

I love it because there are so many Colombians here. Glory to God. That makes us feel much more at home. Let us turn to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, verses 13 and following.

“…When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that the Son of Man is?’ They said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Then Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’

And here we have a very beautiful scene. Jesus is with His disciples, and He asks His disciples two questions. The first is: What are the people outside, in the street, along the paths where you walk, saying about who I am? And it was so easy to answer this question. They said, ‘Some say that You are Elijah, others say that You are Jeremiah, and others that You are one of the prophets.’ But then the Lord looked at them and said, ‘And who do you say that I am?’ It was a different matter, because they had walked with the Lord for three years, had eaten with Him, had lived with Him, and had received His teaching. They did not know Him as the crowds knew Him; they knew Him closely.

And there was silence, and shortly afterward only one voice, Peter’s, arose and made the most beautiful declaration we can find: ‘Lord, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You are blessed, because what you have just said was revealed to you neither by your flesh nor your blood; it was a revelation from My Father who is in heaven.’

He was asking for the opinion of those on the outside, and He was asking for the opinion of those on the inside. And that is the title of my message for this afternoon: What Does Heaven Say About Your Life? Jesus was not asking for an opinion because He was having an identity crisis. When we live in an identity crisis, we live a very stressful life because we want to show others something we really are not.

There was no identity crisis in Him; there was no crisis of purpose. He knew who He was, and He knew what He had come to do. And when you and I reach the point in our Christian lives where we know who we are—not what we do, but who we are—and what God has entrusted us to do, that is what we call a successful life: knowing why I exist, who I am, and why I am on earth.

And it is so beautiful because there was no identity crisis in Him. He knew who He was and what He had come to do, but we live in a world where other people’s opinions truly enslave us. Some people live enslaved to what others will say, so they live their lives trying to please others. Look at political campaigns: they talk about an image consultant who can project, during a campaign, an image of someone that is not who the person truly is. And this has permeated the Christian life. I understand the lights; I have seen churches where they have to put makeup on me before I come out here. And I say, ‘But I can do it well myself. I know myself; I know what to use; I know what looks good on me.’

And it has permeated things to such an extent that we live the Christian life in a realm of appearances, projecting a personality. Personality is what I want others to believe I am, but character is what I truly am. That is why someone said, ‘If you want to know Inés, walk with her for a month.’ That is why I think I told the women that novio, the Spanish word for boyfriend, comes from two words: no vio—he did not see anything. He is the perfect man; she is the incredible woman. She is Wonder Woman; he is the man of my life, and she is the woman of my life. Then we get married, and someone said that marriage is miraculous because it restores your sight. Does anyone agree with me?

Making a good first impression on others is easy; maintaining it, if that good impression is not genuine, is very complicated. An opinion is the idea others have of you and me, and that idea may be accurate or inaccurate; it may be good or bad; it may be based on real facts or on assumptions. That idea may work in your favor or against you.

But have you ever asked yourself what opinion God has of your life? We are always thinking, giving, projecting, and doing things so that others will have a good opinion of us, and sometimes we fall into religious pride, and that is why we adopt religious postures.

There is a terrific video on Cristianos al Horno about a little boy who comes in to ask his father for something. His father is sitting on a sofa, and the boy is about five years old. The boy comes over, stands before his father, begins to tremble, and says, ‘Oh, most loving father, I come before your divine presence to appeal to your merciful heart, because I know that you know what I need, but today I come before you, oh…’ and so on. And he continues, ‘And you who love me, you who can do all things, you from whom nothing I need is hidden…’ His father looks at him very strangely, and the boy continues, ‘I come before you so that you may give me some coins to go buy an ice cream.’ His father says, ‘Enough, that is enough. Why don’t you just say, “Daddy, give me some money to buy an ice cream,” and be done with all this fuss?’ ‘Oh, since I see you asking God that way, I thought that was how it was done.’

And, beloved, we want to impress people; we want people to feel that we are so spiritual. Ideas, opinions that others have of us. But do we ask ourselves, what does heaven say about your life or my life? What opinion does God have of you? Have you stopped to ask, ‘What do You think of me, God?’ Because that is what truly ought to matter to us, because whatever opinion God may have of my life will determine how I am going to live my life. It will determine how I live it—whether I will live to please people or live to please God.

But if I walk in a way that pleases God, I will end up pleasing many people and displeasing some, but that does not matter. What matters is the opinion God has of me.

And I have chosen a few people. There are many, but I am only going to speak about a few people concerning whom God expressed an opinion—He gave His opinion. And we will go to the first person about whom God expressed an opinion and said something, the person about whom heaven spoke, and I will begin with Abraham. What did heaven say about Abraham? What did God say about Abraham? When you go to Genesis chapter 18, you find that God goes to Abraham’s tent; God goes to visit Abraham. The opening verses, beginning with verse 1, say:

‘Then the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. And he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing near him; and when he saw them, he ran from the door of his tent to meet them, bowed himself to the ground, and said, “Lord”—this is a theophany; the Trinity was here—“if I have now found favor in Your sight, I beg You, do not pass by Your servant. Let a little water now be brought; wash your feet and rest yourselves under a tree. Bring a morsel of bread and strengthen your hearts, and afterward you may pass on, since this is why you have passed near your servant.” And they said, “Do as you have said.” Then Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quickly take a measure of fine flour, knead it, and make bread baked under the embers.” And Abraham ran to the cattle and took a tender and good calf…’ and you already know the rest.

What opinion did God have of Abraham? It was that Abraham was His friend. That is how one friend arrives at another friend’s house. A friend does not call first. Even though cultures differ, I do not call Susan and say, ‘My friend, would it be all right if I came to visit you right now?’ I arrive and ring the doorbell, and if she is home, she opens the window and says, ‘Oh, how wonderful that you came.’

The night we arrived from our trip was so beautiful; it was something very special for us. Whenever we travel to minister in churches, we eat in restaurants. I love restaurants, but I am a woman who is very much a homebody. If you know that you are very close to my heart and that I trust you, we will not invite you to a restaurant in Bogotá; we will invite you to my home. And that night Meche and her pastor invited us to eat at their home. It was incredible. Her pastor prepared the meal. That was even better. We enjoyed it very much because, to me, it carries a great deal of meaning; it signifies closeness. It is not that I dislike restaurants—no, you are not going to hold back because of that—but that night was very special. It was like the afternoon when God arrived at Abraham’s tent, and it is incredible that He arrived in the heat of the day. It speaks of a difficult time for Abraham. He had waited a long time; almost 25 years had passed since the promise, and God arrived.

A friend arrives at the moment when you need him most. A friend walks into your home as though it were his own. A friend can open your refrigerator. A friend is someone to whom you entrust everything; you open your heart to him, you know he will never betray you, and you know he is loyal. You can share with him. And God’s opinion of Abraham was that Abraham was His friend, which is why God arrived at any hour. God did not send him a WhatsApp message, He did not send him an email, and He did not send him a text message. God arrived.

And when He arrived—this chapter 18 is tremendous—not only did He eat with him, not only did He spend time with him, but He brought him two pieces of news. One was good: next year Sarah would conceive and give birth to a son, and the son of promise would be born. But you find the second in verse 16. They finish eating, leave the tent, and it says:

‘…And the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to accompany them. And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”’

Could I hide from Abraham what I am going to do with Sodom? He is My friend. I want God to say that I am His friend. That is what I want: for Him to see me as His friend. You know, Jehoshaphat declared it in his prayer when an entire army came against him, when he was afraid, when he knelt down, and when he cried out. In 2 Chronicles 20:7, in his intercessory prayer, he said:

‘Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham, Your friend, forever?’

Hundreds of years later, Jehoshaphat is crying out and saying, ‘You gave this land to Abraham, Your friend, forever.’ Wow! In the New Testament, James mentions it in chapter 2, verse 23. He put it on record, and James says:

‘…And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God…’

Few people in the Old Testament were friends of God—very few. In the New Testament, the Lord says, ‘I will no longer call you servants, but I will call you friends.’ Among His 12 disciples, He had 12; out of the 12, He had three; and out of the three, He had one. And God wants you to desire to be His friend, whether you are a woman or a man, so that heaven can say, ‘Roberto is My friend. Manuel is My friend.’ That is what I want. Every day, I want to have such a wonderful relationship. Sometimes I laugh by myself because He makes incredible jokes—a close relationship, a friendship with God.

I have a great friend; I have very good friends. In every nation, God has given me the gift of friendship. In fact, it is an inheritance in my family. My mother and her best friend had a 75-year friendship; in fact, my middle name is Leonor, in honor of her best friend. My oldest sister and her best friend have been friends for 50 years, and my second sister and her best friend have been friends for 53 years. Their children are best friends, and their grandchildren are best friends.

But I beat all my siblings because I have the best friend, who is God. What does heaven say about you? What does heaven think of you? What did God say about Abraham? He said, ‘He is My friend,’ but He said something more. In the same chapter, chapter 18, He declared another extremely important thing about Abraham. He said, ‘I have generational confidence in Abraham.’ Verse 17:

‘…And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know”—stay right there; say, ‘For I know’…

Who was saying this? God. God said, ‘I know.’ What certainty.

‘…I know that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham all that He has spoken…’

God was convinced. ‘I know. I know. I know in whom I have placed My promises. I know.’ And Abraham had not yet had Isaac. Sarah was barren. There were no descendants, but He said, ‘I know that when his children are born, he will teach them My way; he will lead them to have the fear of God; he will teach them My statutes; he will teach them; he will leave his mark on his generations.’

Beloved, we are living in such a dangerous time. The church needs to wake up. You and I need to wake up. This is a generational time; hell has unleashed its entire arsenal against the generations. The world has unleashed its arsenal against them. This country and our countries are fighting for the generations; they are truly trying to exterminate them.

Do you know something? If you study the Word of God, you know that a Jewish generation consists of 40 years. Changes came every 40 years. Do you know what the experts say today? Not the church—the experts today say that a generation is changing every 7 years. How much time do you invest in your children? Oh, they go to Sunday school. Just one hour, 45 minutes; they do not even attend Christian schools, they are in public schools. This is the time to make our mark on our generations. This is the time to do the work of instilling the principles and values of this Word so that heaven may say, “I know, I know.” And on the day when our children have to be in the universities of the world, in the current of this world, there will be a firm conviction in their hearts. They may live surrounded by humanism, materialism, hedonism, and all the other isms, but they will know who their God is, and they will know whom they have believed, and what we cannot do, He will do. He asks me to do what I have to do, and God will do what I cannot do.

When our first grandson was born—those who are grandparents know what I am talking about. My pastor says, “If I had known how wonderful grandchildren were, I would have had them first, before the children.” Grandchildren, as a beautiful Colombian song says, are the continuation of our existence. Grandchildren are our crowns, as the Bible says; grandchildren are your generational legacy. And when the grandchildren were born—well, you learned how to be a parent with your children, which is why you are such a good grandparent with your grandchildren.

When Jonathan was born, I had the privilege of receiving him. The Lord knows how to arrange things. My husband, my son-in-law, and I were waiting for them to bring him out, when my son-in-law and my husband had to go sign some papers. They were gone for about 10 minutes, and during those 10 minutes they brought Jonathan out. Then they called, “Jonathan Frigerisi’s father.” And I said, “He is not here, but his grandmother is. Hand him to me.” There were many people waiting for babies, and I will never forget it: I took my grandson and, without even thinking, lifted him up before kissing him, and I said, “God, I entrust this third generation to You. I consecrate him to You from this day forward, so that he may love You every day of his life and serve You every day of his life.” I do not know what else I said. I cried; I held him up, spoke about his name and its meaning, and marked his life.

When I lowered my grandson, the unbelievers who were there were crying. And one woman said to me, “Could you wait until they bring mine out? What does the name we are going to give him mean?”

One day, while rejoicing and thinking about that first grandson, I became afraid as I thought about what is coming upon the world, the darkness of this world, all the moral degradation, and everything we are seeing today. I was afraid. What is the Lord going to do? And God spoke into my life. He told me, “I took care of your children; the same God who took care of your children will take care of your grandchildren.” Twenty years have passed, and today that Jonathan preaches with his grandmother.

I know that Abraham will command. Can God say of you, “I know, I know that Ana Sofía is making her mark on them; I know”? The angels say to you, “Look, the world…” No, it does not matter. I know, I know. God says, “I know.” Can God say that about your life and mine? Can we be consistent at home? Can our children see Dad and Mom in church—or Mom in church—and see consistency with what we minister in church and with what we say about God at home? But in the way we live, does my life back up my words?

Amid the collapse of marriages today, can we truly be a challenge to them? Today, when no one wants to get married, when everything is distorted, can our children and grandchildren say, “We want a marriage like yours. We want to be like you. We want to live the kind of life you lived,” because they have seen consistency between what we say and preach and how we live?

I am talking to you, Dad, Mom. What did God say about Abraham? That he was His friend. What did God say about Abraham? That He had assurance and generational confidence in him, but He said something more. When you go to Genesis chapter 22, Isaac had already been born and had already grown up. Experts and commentators say that by this chapter 22, Isaac must already have been about 17 years old. MacArthur says that he must have been about 20. Well, he was already a young man. And God comes and says in the opening verses:

“…God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham.’ ‘Here I am.’ ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering…’

He made certain; He told him, “Isaac, whom you love.” Because if He had told him, “Give Me your son,” Abraham would have sacrificed Ishmael and rid himself of the problem—and rid us of the problem. But God knew and made certain, and God said, “Give Me your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much.” Because you did not make another sacrifice to Me after Isaac was born; you planted a tamarisk tree, but you did not build an altar. And God told him, “I want you to give him to Me.” Then He tells him something extremely harsh:

“…Offer him to Me as a burnt offering.” He did not say a sacrifice, because if it had been a sacrifice, he could at least have cut off a leg or an arm and said, “I offer You this.” Partial. A burnt offering was total; it was everything—“…to the land I will show you.” And you know the story. Abraham climbs the slope with his son. His son carries the wood; they carry the fire and the knife. They reach the top, and Isaac says, “Dad, we have the wood, we have the fire; where is the lamb, Dad?” He says, “Do not worry; God will provide for Himself.”

There is that beautiful song they sang: “Jehovah Jireh, You are my provider.” God will provide it for you. They reached the top, gathered the wood, and built the altar, and surely Isaac asked again, “Dad, what about the lamb?” “God will provide for Himself.” But where is it, son? You are the lamb. There must have been—not a struggle or an attempt to run away; he did not run, he was not a child—but there must have been an explanation. “Dad, you have said that God does not want human lives.” “I know, son.” “You have said that offspring would be called through me. How can God ask for this?” “I do not know. I do not understand it, but He asked for you, and the only thing I have to do is surrender you. Son, do not worry. God will fulfill His promise: either He will stop it or He will raise you from the dead, but I know that I know.”

Otherwise, how do you explain that a 17-year-old young man, with a man who was already almost 120 years old, did not run away? Isaac climbed onto the altar after he understood. Isaac lay down on the altar. Isaac stretched out his arms. Isaac told his father, “Tie me up,” because Isaac was a type of Christ; you know that. He carried the wood; Christ carried His cross. Christ went voluntarily to the cross; Isaac went voluntarily to the altar. And there Isaac came to know and hear the voice of God, and he heard the ram. When they were about to slit his throat, he heard the “baa,” and the voice of God: “Stop.”

But he heard the voice of God, and Abraham heard the third assessment that heaven truly had of Abraham. In chapter 22, verse 12:

“…At that moment God said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know, I am certain, that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son from Me…’

Yesterday I spoke to the women about what God asks. In the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 10, the first thing He asks—the thing Moses says Jehovah asks of you—is that you fear the Lord, that you have the fear of God. And Abraham knew that he knew that if God asked him for his son, he would give him to Him. But God knew that He knew that Abraham feared God.

Let me ask you something: Can God say the same thing about your life and mine? Can He say, “That man and that woman walk in fear of Me”? Not fright, but reverence—the determination not to do what displeases God. A life lived in the fear of God is a victorious life; it is a life that is a fragrant aroma to God. What did heaven say about Abraham? Wow! Can heaven say the same thing about us?

Allow me to turn to another person. What did heaven say about Job? Chapter 1 of the Book of Job. You know that chapter 1, verse 1, opens by speaking about Job and says:

“…There was a man in the land of Uz named Job, upright, blameless, God-fearing, and one who turned away from evil…”

When you go to verses 6 through 8, it says:

“…One day the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan also came among them. And Jehovah said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered Jehovah and said, ‘From roaming throughout the earth and walking about on it.’ And Jehovah said to Satan, ‘Have you not considered My servant Job—look at what God said, and do you know to whom He said it? To Satan—have you not considered My servant Job, that there is no one else like him on earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil?’

He said it to Satan. He did not say it to the angels; He said it to Satan. Have you seen what he is like? There is no one else like him on earth. He was showing him His trophy. How beautiful! And Satan answers Him, “Why wouldn’t Job live that way when You have given him everything and have even placed a hedge around what he has? My demons have attacked his properties and his businesses, and they have come back with their teeth broken because there is a hedge protecting him. But remove that hedge, and You will see whether he does not curse You.”

And I am going to tell you: as long as you live in this dimension, there will be a hedge around your life, and that hedge can be broken only when God allows it. But when God allows it, God will be there, and God will bring you out of the affliction and the trial and lead you victoriously to the other side.

And the hedge was opened. You know the story, but God knew that He knew how Job would respond. God says in His Word that He will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can bear, but together with the trial He will provide the way out. He knows whom He can entrust with certain dimensions of tribulation and trial. He knows that He knows whom He has believed, just as Job knew that about Him. How overwhelming it is when he loses everything in one day, when he loses his sons, when he loses his daughters, when he loses his livestock, when he loses his workers, when he receives the news and they come to tell him. Then, in verse 20:

“…Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground in all his grief, and worshiped. Then he spoke and said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. Jehovah gave, Jehovah took away; blessed be the name of Jehovah. Praise the Lord.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with any wrongdoing.”

It was not one child; it was 10 children. He was left with nothing. He worshiped. Can you worship in the midst of the trial? God can say from heaven, “I know, I know that she will worship.” The angels will say, “Is it not too hard?” “She and he will worship. I know it, I know it. I know him; I know her. Even if they lose everything, they will worship Me, even if they lose everything.”

There is a glorious song, one of the old hymns, called “It Is Well with My Soul, It Is Well.” And it was written by Horatio Stafford. That man truly endured trial after trial. He lost his only son when the boy came down with scarlet fever. He lived in Chicago. After his son died, an economic collapse came, and he lost all his businesses. Then came the Great Chicago Fire, and it destroyed everything. And when he was left with nothing but his wife and his 4 little daughters, he sent his wife and daughters to England. He would finish arranging a few things and leave 15 days later to join them.

As the ship carrying his wife and his 4 girls approached the coast of England, it collided with another ship at 12 midnight and sank in 10 minutes. The sea took his 4 girls; his wife survived. When he received the news, he left for England to meet his wife. On the ship, as he mourned as Job had, when they were nearing the place, he remembered the passage in Second Kings about the woman of Shunem when her son dies, when she goes to seek the prophet, and when her husband says to her, “Are you going to seek him?” “It is well; everything is well.”

And when she reached the prophet, he asked, “Why have you come?” “Everything is well.” And there God inspires him with that hymn, and he sings it. The ship stops at the place where his daughters perished, and there that hymn is born—a hymn that to this day has not lost its anointing. It says, “When the tempestuous sea rages, and when the waves come and carry away those you love most, you will only be able to say, ‘It is well with my soul; it is well.’”

“Naked I came from the womb; naked I will return. Jehovah gave, Jehovah took away; blessed be His name.” And he did not charge God with any wrongdoing.

He did not ask, “Why?” He said, “Lord, You know.” A declaration made real, a declaration that continued when he also lost his health. In chapter 2, verses 9 and 10, the wife he had says to him:

“…‘Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die; you are covered with sores.’ And he said to her, ‘You have spoken as one of the foolish women speaks. What, woman? Shall we receive good from God and not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

God knew Job’s struggle and pain. God knew the struggle in his heart, but God marveled at this man’s responses. Later, in chapter 13, verses 15 and 16, he says:

“…Behold, though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him; nevertheless, I will defend my ways before Him, and He Himself will be my salvation…”

And in chapter 19, verses 25 through 27, he stood and said:

“…I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will triumph over death. And after my skin has been destroyed, I will still see God with my own eyes. I myself expect to see Him; I expect to be the one who sees Him and not another. This longing consumes me within…”

That was a man who had lost everything in life, but who could remain standing. What does heaven say about you when you go through trials, when you go through the fire, when illness strikes you, when there is a loss, when there is no work, when your finances run out, when family conflicts arise—what does heaven say about you? Because heaven knows your heart and knows your complaints and knows everything.

Let me move very quickly to another person. We find him in John chapter 1, verse 43 and following, and it is the life of Nathanael. It says:

“…The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote: Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Behold, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’

Jesus said that about him. Behold, a man of integrity; he is a true Israelite. There is no deceit in his spirit, no falsehood, no hypocrisy. I am going to put it in today’s terms for you. Behold, a true Christian; that is a true Christian. He is consistent between how he lives and what he says, between how he lives and how he ministers in church, between how he lives and speaks at church and how he speaks at home. He has integrity.

Nathanael means gift of God. And the opinion God had of Nathanael was incredible. Now, Jesus was not the only one who had that opinion of Nathanael, because notice that when Jesus tells him, ‘Behold, a true Israelite in whose spirit there is no deceit,’ Nathanael says, ‘How do you know?’ That amazes me. He did not have a religious spirit. ‘Oh, no, it is by the grace of God.’ Of course it is by grace, but you decided to live for him; that is the difference. And Nathanael said, ‘How do you know? How do you know me? How do you know that I am a true Israelite? How do you know that I hate lies? How do you know that I do not live a hypocritical life? How do you know it? How do you know that I have resolved to live rightly in such a way that pleases God?’

Can God say the same thing about your life and mine? Behold, a true Christian man. Behold, a true Christian woman. What does it mean to be a Christian? It means someone who lives like Christ. The first time the disciples were called Christians was in Antioch. People were very familiar with this: they spoke of the Caesareans and the Herodians. Who were they? Those who lived like Caesar, those who followed Caesar, those who obeyed Caesar, those who obeyed Herod. But when they saw the disciples, they said, ‘Those are Christians—people who live like Christ, speak like Christ, walk like Christ, look at others like Christ, love like Christ, and forgive like Christ.’

Nowadays there are so many Christ-ish people, but not Christians. We come from a country of megachurches—I am talking about churches of 30,000 or 40,000 people. Three weeks ago I was preaching in one of the churches I love, a beautiful church with eight services. Sometimes people tell us, ‘But tomorrow you have two services.’ I say, ‘Oh, Meche, we have seven on Sunday, eight on Sunday.’ There are thousands of people, and the question I ask myself… Churches of 70,000, and the question I ask myself is: Are we truly Christians?

In a time of trial and persecution, will we be able to stand firm like the 21 Copts in the month of January, the martyrs who were beheaded beside the water and were given the opportunity: ‘Deny him, and we will spare your lives.’ All 21 raised their hands, looked toward heaven, and said, ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ—he is our Savior.’

Can heaven say and determine that we truly are Christians? Are our business dealings clean? Are our responses sincere within us? Because out here I can say one thing, while what I feel is something else. That is why David said in Psalm 51, verse 6: ‘He loves truth.’

In our innermost being, if we want to see change in this city, if we truly want a transformation, then, as the Word says, you and I will have to become a light in the midst of darkness: a light at the university, a light in your office, a light where you work, in the house where you work, on the bus, in the store, and in your daily walk. Can we respond in the right way? Can we show the difference between the world and us?

And I will close my message with the last one, the greatest one. Come with me to Matthew chapter 3, verse 17, and with this I will close my message. What opinion did God have of Abraham? What opinion did God have of Job? What opinion did God have of Nathanael? But let me finish with this: What opinion did God have of his Son? This was the day of his baptism. I am going to read from verse 13:

“…Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Permit it now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he permitted him. And after Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit descending like a dove and coming upon him. And there was a voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’

If I could give you only this message, it would determine the kind of life that you and I ought to live. What did the Father say about the Son? ‘This is my beloved Son.’ Another version says, ‘My soul delights in him. He pleases my heart. He walks a life of obedience. He lives to make me known.’ His passion is to make his Father known. This is what I want. This is what my heart longs for: that God may say of my life, ‘She is my beloved daughter; my soul and my heart delight in her.’

Every morning when we wake up, I simply want to look upward and be able to see God; and every morning and every night, when our faces are turned upward, hear: ‘You are doing well.’ Do you know how we encourage children when they do something good? ‘You did an amazing job. You are doing well. You are pleasing my heart. You are pleasing my heart. You are walking as I have wanted you to walk. You honor me wherever you go. What you do for me, you do with tremendous passion.’

That brings something to mind, and with this I will finish. Thirty-six years ago, when God began to raise up my life for ministry, we were already beginning to see outbreaks of violence in our nation, and an awakening to pray for the nation began, just as you are going to pray on the 22nd, not the 29th. One of the young men who was leading a beautiful nationwide youth movement led a movement called SOS for Colombia; it was a cry for a different nation. Today, that young man is one of the good city council members in Bogotá and a standard-bearer in the defense of all our values and principles, and it has cost him a great deal. At that time he was studying journalism, and he was the one who recorded the programs for the only Christian radio station, which was called La Nuevo Continente. My pastor and I had a program on Sundays. At that time I merely introduced the program, my pastor did everything, and then I closed the program. For me, that was the greatest delight.

That was where people began to know me, and Marco Fidel invited me to that prayer vigil, SOS for Colombia, held in one of the largest churches in the city, which had a capacity of around 1,500 people. It lasted all night, and my turn was at two in the morning. You have no idea how much I prayed or how much I sweated. There were moments of joy when I would say, ‘Oh, what a privilege!’ At other times I would say, ‘But why did I get myself into this?’ And I will never forget it: that night I arrived at the place early. I went with one of the women who had begun as a disciple, but they would not let her sit in the front; they put her in the back. And everything was beautiful—prayer and praise—but before I preached, another pastor was going to preach: Pastor Eduardo Cañas, a man whom I respect and honor very deeply. He is a man of God, a true apostle. Today we work together with the Apostolic Coalition of Colombia, but back in those early days, I was there and Pastor Eduardo was going to preach before me. I wanted the earth to swallow me up. What had I gotten myself into? My God, he was a veteran. I would say, ‘God of heaven!’ All the little notes I had brought looked horrible to me. You have no idea how much I suffered.

He preached an exceedingly beautiful message; he was a teacher of the Word, and I was sinking into that chair. He finished, prayed, and everything was being broadcast on La Nuevo Continente. Then they played two songs and handed things over to me. You cannot imagine my fear and trembling. I was alone. Off in the distance I could see my disciple, who, instead of praying, was… And I began the message trembling. But it was 2:30 in the morning when I saw Brother Lizi Kristi, director of the newspaper Desafío and of The 700 Club, enter through that door with his wife. They seated them here in the front. He was a highly respected man, but Lizi Kristi was my spiritual father. When he sat down and looked up, and ten minutes passed, from down there he began gesturing to encourage me… My fear left me, my fright left me, and the power of God came upon my life because of the approval of a spiritual father.

Believe me, that night I did not even know what happened. God touched people through the radio. God touched people everywhere. And it marked the beginning of doors opening for this ministry throughout the nation. One approving gesture from a spiritual father—how much more when the Father can say to you, ‘You are my beloved child. In you my soul is well pleased.’

Please stand to your feet. Thank you, Lord. Do not speak to anyone. For a moment, I want you to close your eyes and look inside your heart. It is not a religious routine; we close our eyes so that we will not become distracted. It is each one of us alone with God. And my question is: How is your life with God? My question is: What does heaven say about your life? What opinion does God have of you? How have you walked? What is your conduct like? What is your behavior like? How do you walk on this earth? Do we walk knowing that the very presence of God is in our hearts?

Knowing that the Spirit of God dwells within us? Knowing that the temple is not this place—this is a physical place—and that we are the ones who bring his presence? But I need to walk as Elijah said, and as Elisha said: ‘The God in whose presence I live.’ Can God say of us, ‘He is my friend’? ‘I have such a profoundly intimate relationship with him and with her. He loves me, she loves me, and I love them.’ Can he say that he has generational confidence in us, that we will be able to instruct the children he has given us, the generations he has given us, establishing them in this truth?

Will we make time for them? Can we have the assurance that we walk in the fear of God? Can God be certain that amid trials and struggles, no matter what fire or water you pass through, he knows that he knows that you will remain faithful to him? Can we believe that in our daily walk we can please God’s heart so greatly that he can say, as he said to Nathanael, ‘Behold, a true Christian’?

And above all, may you hear God’s voice saying to you today, ‘This is my dearly beloved child; my life, my soul, delights in you.’ Lord, help us to live in such a way that we seek only to please you. Lord, help us understand that it is not about making a good impression on others, but about living in such a way that our lives impress you.

Forgive us, Lord, for the many times we have not known how to live as you deserve. Forgive us for the times we have denied you through our conduct, our behavior, our actions, and our responses. Forgive us for the many times we have been a stumbling block to others, when they have looked at us and said, ‘Is this what it means to be a Christian?’ Forgive us when we have brought shame upon your name, Lord.

Today, Lord, we want to lift our hands before you and surrender ourselves to you. Lord, we understand the times in which we are living, when you are demanding a truly consecrated life from your church. This is not a game; this is a life—a life for you. Help us, Lord, to live in such a way that you can say that our lives please your heart. We give you thanks, Lord. Thank you very much, in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen.