Salt of the Earth Church Brazil - Uberaba/MG

The end of days presentation - PORTUGUESE

2011-04-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

God is gooood!!

2010-06-01T03:06:00.000-07:00

What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

2010-05-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

The disciples were quite worried about this. Are you?

In Matthew 24:4 to 25 says:

4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equalled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.

We are definitely experiencing a time were the love of most is growing cold and people are becoming selfish even inside the church.

We can easily find people complaining about brothers and sisters, about the pastor, about the church and sometimes about God himself.

Let´s see if you have ever heard this:
“Nobody talked to me in the church tonight.”
“Nobody even looked at me.”
“Kids were too noisy”
“Music was too loud”
“Windows were closed”
“Windows were open”
“The parking lot was crowded”
“The pastor didn't look at my face”
“Sermon was too long”
“Sermon was boring”
“Too many bible texts”
“Church was crowded tonight”
“Church was empty”
“Coffee was cold”
“Tea was hot”
“Pastor wasn't inspired tonight”
“The pastor was praying with his eyes open”
“Pastor don't delegate”
“Pastor delegate too much”
“The pastor don't visit”
“Our pastor is always out, visiting someone”

or

“God is not listening to my prayer any more”
“Why some people seem to be closer to God than me?”
“Why wasn't me chosen to be the leader?”
“Leadership is so political”

…

All of this blablabla was predicted by Christ when He said that because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most would grow cold. People would become selfish and they would look only for their own interests.

I mean, they are not concerned about the neighbour, his feelings, his needs. People have become blind! They only can see themselves. That's the reason some “pastors” - false prophets indeed - have just forgotten the bible and who we are – sons of God – and are creating doctrines, all of them against the word of God, creating dependency, creating weakness, creating religion and leading to death.

I'm worried about the end of age. And you should be as well.

Our speech should be always the same: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our testimony should be always the same: living like Jesus Christ. That means: loving, forgiving, dyeing everyday for our desires.

3We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8through glory and dishonour, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Co 6)

May God bless all of us.

Have you got talents?

2009-06-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

Hi, let’s talk today about the Parable of the Talents, but I’m not going to talk about gifts as usual, because Jesus was talking about money. The meaning for the word talent is money and what our Lord Jesus wanted to teach us thru this parable is about the Kingdom of Heaven and the Holy Spirit.

It is a sequence of the Parable of the ten Virgins which is very known, and says about 5 virgins with a small amount of oil and other 5 full of it. What is that oil otherwise the Holy Spirit?

So, Jesus continues saying: (Matthew 25:14) 14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
22"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Who is this man, absent for a while? Jesus.
And today He is with the Father. But He will be back. In this parable He comes back to set accounts with the servants. During his absence, He left something or Someone with us, and you know who we are talking about: the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8: 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Let me say something: we have received the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of Jesus. Some people may think that the Holy Spirit is available to make them powerful, with a powerful praying or to be a demons killer pro. We definitely did not receive the Holy Spirit for this.
Jesus says in Matthew 7:22,23: 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Some people may say: I’ve been used by the Spirit so powerfully and at that very day, Jesus will say: I don’t know them.
Some people may say: I used to fall down every service or I used to speak several tongues and even so Jesus will say: I don’t know them.

Being used by the Spirit means being witness of Jesus!!!

In this parable, Jesus is speaking about the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself leaves us for a while and gives us the Holy Spirit. Some of us receive a small portion of It and some of us receive a great portion of It, always according to our ability.

What sort of ability?

To be witness of Jesus.

To be continued.

Baptism - 12/Apr/2009

2009-04-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

In the meantime... working hard!!

2009-04-09T13:01:00.001-07:00

Perfoming for Jesus.

Visit team in hospitals.

A new church was planted!

2009-02-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks God! I'm very happy because this is the fourth Church that God has given me the opportunity to plant. Praise the Lord!

Jardim Morumbi - Uberaba/Brazil.

Fabiano Santiago is the "leader" in charge.

Submersion, immersion, pouring or sprinkling?

2009-01-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

Baptism is a divine ordinance, a symbolic ritual, a mechanism for publicly declaring one’s faith, and a sign of having already been saved. Notice that it is NOT NECESSARY for salvation.

You may ask: but Jesus himself said “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Isn’t it true?

Yes, it is. Definitely. Ephesians 2:8 says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”, so that means if I don’t believe (through faith) it doesn’t matter if I’m baptized or not, because I’m already condemned.

Do you remember when Jesus was up on that cross? There were two criminals, one at His left and another at His right. (Luke 23:39-43)
39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
40But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
43Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
So, the question is: did this criminal need to be baptized?

….

About the types of baptism, I personally believe that immersion is the most impressive and remarkable as a sign because it means we die with Jesus and we resurrect with Jesus as well. See Colossians 2:12: “having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”

But sometimes we do not have facilities and time to work this out. When we are reaching souls in drug rehab centers, they are confined and we have a very restrict time to talk and challenge them to publicly declare their faith.

It is not a problem. We can do that by pouring, sprinkling……

The real thing is they are property of Jesus right now. Praise the Lord!!

Baptism - 30/11/2008

2008-12-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

These baptisms occurred in a drug addiction treatment center in Uberaba.

Talking about gates…

2008-11-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

John 10: 1-10 says: 1"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
When Jesus speaks that the man who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate is a thief, pay attention to it: there is another way to get into it.

The sheep pen is the church, where we get together. Can you manage to enter the church by another gate which is not Jesus?
Is that possible?

Yes! By ourselves.

Some people may go to the church because somebody invited them, by curiosity, or because the music is nice. Then they get used to it and spend even a lifetime in the church having a good time with their friends, working hard on arts, theatre, dancing, but without knowing Jesus!

How is it possible? Jesus says in verse 10: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full, but some people may understand that as a busy life, working hard in the church, like old Pharisees.

Jesus was meaning everlasting life, our inheritance thru Himself. Never by myself, my power, my merit.

But today, in the name of Jesus, you shall enter the church (the Christ Body) and you shall leave the church, thru Jesus. Let’s understand this:

Jesus Christ is the only gate that is worthwhile entering. Evil can offer you a large variety of beautiful gates, such as: drugs, addiction to alcohol, power, money, sex… all of them are beautiful, large and appealing. The gate of Jesus is narrow, not attractive, you never pay attention to it. Bible says in Isaiah 53:2: He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
Jesus never impacted people because of his handsome face.

Jesus is the only gate that leads us to salvation. It is small, narrow, tight, but is the only one.
Friends’ gate isn’t. Family’s gate isn’t. Power’s gate isn’t.

In the verse 9 we can notice that the food is not inside the church. Church is like a sheep pen for us. It offers safety, protection. It is the place where the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

In order to be fed, the sheep have to leave the shelter. The same happens to us. We are not fed inside the church but outside.

Some day, the disciples found Jesus alone and got worried about him because He should be hungry. So they decided to offer him some food. He declined and his disciples became intrigued: did someone else bring some food to Him? And Jesus answered: "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.

What is your food??

After some few hours without eating we feel weak. If we could ask Jesus, “Can you stay a few hours without doing God’s will?” He would probably say: it is impossible! I want it and I need it. At that time Jesus could say: there is no reason to be here but doing my Father’s will.

What have you been eating?

Where have you been finding food?

If doing the will of God was the food of Jesus, which is ours?

Our food is the same: to do God’s will.

And we are able to do the God’s will every time we are guided by the Holy Spirit.

But what is the meaning of doing God’s will inside the church?

Jesus said: He will come in and go out, and find pasture, because your food is outside.

Doing God’s will in the church is pretty easy. All of us are jars full of the Holy Spirit. But outside is completely different. That’s where we are called to be witnesses.

Now, let me ask you a very important question: are you feeling weak?

TO BE CONTINUED.

Uberaba's spring outreach 2008

2008-09-25T13:10:00.001-07:00

Baptisms on Sunday, 21.

2008-09-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord!!! 21 baptisms on Sunday morning!!! Thanks God!!!

Beyond Expectations

2008-09-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

May the peace of God be upon you.

When I started this blog, in May, 2008, it was just an experience. I was wondering how far it could go.

Today, I’m not only surprised but, I’m astonished as well!

Please, take a look to these numbers:

From June, 18th, when I started counting, until today, September, 12th, this blog got 603 exhibitions in 30 different Countries as follow, in decreasing order of exhibitions:

Brazil
United States
United Kingdom
Denmark
Germany
Ukraine
Spain
Canada
Belgium
United Arab Emirates
Poland
Ireland
Malaysia
Sweden
France
India
Japan
Greece
Switzerland
U.S. Virgin Islands
Ecuador
Czech Republic
Guatemala
Cyprus
Costa Rica
Bolivia
Austria
Norway
Australia
South Africa

What does it mean?

1. Spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ thru internet.
2. Revealing our church in Brazil and in Uberaba city.
3. Making some sermons available to comfort, exhort and admonish.
4. Making lots and lots of friends.
5. Knowing different people, their ministries and their needs.
6. Getting our church committed to pray for people and their needs.
7. And so much more.

I was blessed with some testimonies from people that read some particular sermon in a very timely situation.

Thanks God for that!

I would like to challenge you to pray for this blog, in such way it can be used by God to reach who He wants to.

In special, I would like to ask for prayer for my newest friend, Pastor Samuel and his ministry in India.

God bless you!

Holiness and faith

2008-09-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Why is it written: Hebrews 11:6 – “6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”?

Because faith comes from God, (Romans 12:3 – “ 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”) and the only way to increase our faith is getting close to God.

God is Holy and when we get close to God we are hallowed. (Leviticus 21:8 - “8 Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the LORD am holy—I who make you holy.”)

How does it work?

The Holy Spirit starts leading us to God, because He would never leads us to the sin, but only to God, thru Jesus Christ.
We get filled with the Holy Spirit.
He will lead us closer and closer to God thru Jesus Christ.
As we are getting closer to God, we are being hallowed, limited to the boundaries that our body in flesh imposes us.

At that point, our faith is enough to move mountains (Matthew 17:20 - 20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.")

All of this, can sometimes, look like a simple theory, but it is not. Let’s see some events in our Bibles.

In the Old Testament:

II Kings 13:20 Elisha died and was buried.
Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.

II Kings 4 1-7: “1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbours for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

Elisha was a man so filled with the Holy Spirit, so close to God, so hallowed by God that even after his death, his bones kept the Power of God and a simple contact with a dead body was enough to resurrect it.

How many of us, including you and me, could, being alive, resurrect someone in the name of Jesus Christ?

What is missing?

The faith that comes thru holiness.

In the next example, Elisha shows us that He was an ordinary man, like you and me and He didn’t know what to do facing the widow request and ask: how can I help you?

But, guided by the Holy Spirit, He explains as God would provide the resources she needed. And the oil was increased by the Power of God.

As that widow was a woman of faith, she obeyed, but could have received a huger blessing if her faith was big enough to get more jars to pour the oil.

Many times we act like that widow and experience the power of God in our lives, but not completely, because our faith is smaller than a mustard seed. We are not still fully guided by the Holy Spirit and the reason is: we still want to be the lord of ourselves. This leads us apart from God and His holiness.

Acts 3: 1-9: “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God.”

Could it happen today?
Imagine a couple of friends that, going to the church, face a crippled man begging for some help. They could give him some money, if possible, or maybe moved by such a deep love they could invite him to go to their church to attend a special healing service or, maybe they could write down his name in a book for praying or they could even pray for him on site.

Notice that it is not that bad at all but, Peter and John were guided by the Holy Spirit at that very moment and that’s why they were hallowed by God. And being full of faith they were courageous enough and healed that crippled man in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Isn’t amazing?

How many times did you want to have the gift to heal or help desperate people?

What we learnt today is: we cannot decide how much power we have or how brave we are but, if we understand that we are nothing and we need to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and you can call it “humbling ourselves”, so, from this point, the power of the Holy Spirit fills us and we become powerful tools in God’s hands, ready to execute all the good work inspired by the Holy Spirit.

I hope that this brief study can motivate you to get closer to God, because this is His purpose to your life.

Praise the Lord.

A very special day

2008-08-19T03:40:00.000-07:00

August 17, 2008 was a very special Day to 18 people who decided to become believers and were baptized.

Our church spent the whole Sunday out in a very pleasant place where we could have specific studies about baptism, missions and praying. We were helped by Pr. Sérgio and Pr. Adailson in these ministrations.

I spoke about baptism in a very simple way. I said baptism is a visible sign to the witnesses and also a visible one in the spiritual realm. I explained that baptism can’t save anyone, but if you believe and declare Jesus Christ as your only Savior, then the baptism will show that now you are part of the body of Christ.

The most impressive action of the Holy Spirit happened very before the baptisms, when people were around the pool. Suddenly, a young man shouted to me saying he decided to not be baptized. I asked why not and he answered to me that his family was catholic and he would not be able to manage his baptism in a Pentecostal church.

The Holy Spirit guided me and I said: I won’t force you to be baptized but I can’t inhibit you as well. So I asked him: Did I, during the whole day, say the name of our church? He replied: no and by the way, what is the name of this church??

I said: the name is Salt of the Earth but it is not important, because the baptism is in Jesus Christ and His church has no names but Body of Christ. Your decision is about you and your life and has not to do with names of churches. But as I said: I won’t force you to be baptized but I will not inhibit you as well. It is up to you. Do you want to accept Jesus Christ as your only Savior?

He answered: YES, and then he was baptized.

Praise to The Lord!

5 Symptoms of a Rebellious Life!

2008-08-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

The 5 symptoms of a rebellious life are:

1. Spiritual blindness
2. Our enemy guides us as he wishes
3. We get chained
4. We live as walking in circles
5. We are object of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.

When a Christian shows these symptoms in his life it is urgent to take an attitude. There is no more time to palliative actions or casual solutions. At this time there is only one possible and effective solution and, it must be reached immediately. If not, it will come up to an end, which means death.

The only and urgent solution is repentance.

But, what does rebellion mean?

Easy, that’s satan sin.

You receive salvation for free and reject it.

You know what to do and just don’t do it.

God blesses you and you don’t care.

God speaks to you and you play deaf.

God asks for obedience and you disobey Him.

God brings you up and you want to be greater than The Creator.

That’s the reason today I want to talk about a man called Samson.

Samson was blessed with supernatural strength by the Holy Spirit. Please open your Bibles in Judges 13:24,25:

24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him,
25 and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Judges 14: 5,6:

5 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him.
6 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done.

Judges 14: 19:

19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he went up to his father's house.

Judges 15: 14,15:

14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands.
15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

As we can easily see, every time Samson was focused against the Philistines which were enemies of Israel the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power.
That happens with you, my dear friend, every time you are really concerned and focused on obeying the Lord, His Spirit will fill you in such a way you will be able, supernaturally, to accomplish God’s will in your life.

Think about it, how many times you were guided by the Spirit of God, preaching, healing, worshiping, or even facing challenges in your studies or in your job? Maybe in your family?
If you are guided by the Spirit of God, He will provide the power you need to succeed.

Many times you must have heard that the power of Samson came from his long hair, or because he was a Nazirite of God.

Fortunately, there is nothing we can do or possess that could give us the Spirit of God unless obedience to the Lord.
Today we have, by grace, the opportunity to please God thru Jesus Christ, by faith. This means that once you accept Jesus Christ as your savior, the Spirit of God comes upon you and, pay attention to it, if you decide to be guided by Him, He will provide all you need to succeed in your spiritual life.

Maybe you have to kill a lion, or face the enemy, whatever, you are not alone; the Spirit of God will empower you.

But Samson was committed to himself.
Judges 14:15,16,17

15 On the fourth day, they said to Samson's wife, "Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?"
16 Then Samson's wife threw herself on him, sobbing, "You hate me! You don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle, but you haven't told me the answer." "I haven't even explained it to my father or mother," he replied, "so why should I explain it to you?"
17 She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.

Judges 16:1

1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.

Judges 16:4,5,16

4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver."
16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.

Please, who are you following? Is the Spirit of God or yourself?

Notice that satan uses always the same strategy. If you have problems with money, satan will bring temptations related with administration or finance. If you have problems with addictions, there he goes.

Samson had problems with women. And he was guided by his desires and vanities.

Let’s see what happened:

Judges 16:21,25

21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison.
25 While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.

Here we find the 5 symptoms of a rebellious life:

1 - Samson had his eyes gouged. Rejecting Jesus Christ take us to a situation where we get spiritual blindness, a sin becomes a usual sin and we don’t care just because we are blind. During this stage, a sinner can’t see holiness and is guided by his worst instincts to justify his behavior.

2 - After that they took him down to Gaza. Notice that Gaza was enemy territory. It works like a sequence of events: after becoming blind our enemy is able to guide us into his territory. At this time we are exposed to a large number of people, that used by satan, will cause evil and bad influence on our lives.

3 - Then he was bound. Now our actions are limited. And worse than that, we lose our freedom. Remember what Jesus Christ said: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. Rejecting Jesus Christ leads us back to our past as Peter said in 2 Peter 2:20,21,22:
“20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."”

4 - And set to grind. Do you know, by chance, someone who spends his whole life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and never goes anywhere? He is always walking in circles and spending a lot of energy for nothing! Mercy!

5 - Finally he was called to entertain. They made fun of him! This is certainly the dead end: when impious and profanes get authority to make fun of us. Pay attention to it: at this stage even satan is not worried about us any longer. We are nothing! Useless! Hopeless!

This is a salvation message. Maybe you have not been living properly as a son of God. Maybe you have been living guided by yourself, like Samson.

This is the time and the opportunity that God gives to you to come back to Jesus Christ, definitely, once for all.

It is time to reconciliation. No more rebellion in our lives.

Take this very moment to talk to Jesus Christ and ask his forgiveness over you.

God bless you.

Everything that does not come from faith is sin – PART II

2008-07-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

Romans 9: 30-33 says: “30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

If you are not Jewish, you are gentile and you got righteousness from God by grace and this grace has a name and a surname: Jesus Christ. He was a kind of a stumbling stone to Israel because He is grace and nobody can pay a penny for such grace. It means that it doesn’t matter what I do or what I have because I will never deserve such grace. It is free!!

Notice that the human being has been always looking for some sort of guidance. Something spoken or written that gives us rules and guidelines. Their fulfillment would give us the “deserved salvation”.

This certainly explains such a rich variety of religions and leaders (moved by the spirit of the antichrist), since the beginning of our history until today.

You must believe that Jesus Christ died for you and, you have no other rules or guidelines to reach salvation unless having faith. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

When Jesus said: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), he shocked all religious classes in Israel. Sometimes we shock people with the gospel of Jesus. It is so simple, we do not have rules or laws. It is incredible. They say: “it must have something else. It can’t be so easy.”

But the real problem is the opposite way. Take this picture: a newborn Christian is coming to the church and such a blessed brother say: “well, I know you are just coming but you need to know how things run here. You can’t do this and you can’t do that. Everything is now forbidden. If you wish I can give you all forbidden list just in case you want to consult…” Where is grace??? It’s law and law can’t save anyone.

I remember I had a co worker. She said she was “Christian” and told us a lot of beautiful things about her church and herself during the interview. After she started working, the company decided to have uniforms. She came up with such a pearl: “I have to ask my pastor if I can use this. If He permits, it is OK”. On the other hand, she was a gossiper pro! No one could bear that. So what a bad testimony!
Then you will know the truth (Jesus Christ), and the truth (Jesus Christ) will set you free. (John 8:32). You are free!!! Please just don’t come back to the law.

See what Paul says in Romans 3:20,28: “20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin”. And: 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

The very last question today is: “If there is no more laws, am I able to recognize what is right or what is wrong?” Or, how can I keep apart from sins?”

Let’s read together the following texts and I will answer this challenging question:

Ephesians 2:8 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—“

1 Corinthians 3:16 – “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?-“

Ephesians 5:18 – “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit”.

Romans 8:14 – “Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”.

OK, keep in mind that your salvation isn’t something logic or some kind of reward based on your behavior. It comes by grace (Jesus Christ), through faith. You cannot explain faith. There is no logic on it. You just have it.

Furthermore, through faith you become God’s temple and God’s Spirit comes upon you. Pay attention to it: it is not enough. At this time in your life there will be a very intense fight:

Sometimes the Holy Spirit will guide you to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.’

Sometimes your sinful nature will guide you to sin.

That’s the reason Paul asks us to be filled with the Spirit. There will be no place in your heart to our sinful nature and you can be sure that if you are led by the Spirit of God you will never be guided to sin but to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.’

That’s faith!

God bless you.

Everything that does not come from faith is sin - PART I

2008-07-02T03:38:00.000-07:00

I’m glad to be with you again. Tonight, we are going to talk about faith. Please find in your Bible the book of Romans, chapter 14, verse 23. The whole chapter is about food and stumbling blocks and Paul ends the text with this statement: “everything that does not come from faith is sin”.

This statement opens a very wide range of situations in our lives. I think it is time to fully understand what faith is.

Faith is certainty. Hebrews 11:1 says: “1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Please pay attention to these expressions: being sure and certain.

What is faith opposite? If you thought about doubt, you are right. Every time you are not sure you are in doubt. And being in doubt is all what our enemy wants from us, because if are not sure of your salvation, you are not sure about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and then you are not sure about God. James 1:6 thru 8 says: “6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

If you are in doubt my dear friend, don’t even think you will receive anything from the Lord. This is very serious! So the Lord will not answer my prayer and I will not receive salvation thru Jesus Christ, because: 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (Ephesians 2:8). Did you see? Through faith! No doubt about it!

Maybe you can understand now why you have been praying so much and for so long and it seems that the Lord can’t hear you. Without faith He will never answer you.

Do you remember in the Bible, when Jesus Christ operated miracles and said: “your faith has healed you”?

When Jesus went to Nazareth, the town he had been brought up, the Bible says: “he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (Matthew 13:58)

Lack of faith. Can you understand that? That’s what satan is working for.

Now we know what faith is. After resurrected, Jesus Christ appeared to his disciples in a room with doors closed. Can you imagine that? He was dead and suddenly He appears alive into a closed room. Can you believe?

John 20: 26-29 says: “26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

We are blessed because we don’t see but we believe. You don’t have to see Jesus resurrected to believe he is alive. Just say it: I’m blessed.

Hebrews 11:6 says: “6And without faith it is impossible to please God”

That’s why you are reading this now. Because you have faith you were saved, because you have faith, the blood of Jesus washed all your sins away, that’s why in your heart you are so thankful, that’s why you sing songs to the Lord, that’s why you worship Him, that’s why you see miracles.

Because you have faith.

Please open your Bible in Romans 9: 30-33. That says: “30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Let me ask you something: Is there any other way to get salvation rather than faith?

Even if I’m so good, I mean really good. What if I help people in neighborhood? What if I send money or food to people in Africa or Asia or any other place? What if I die for someone else?

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (Ephesians 2:8)

Jesus is the only way. It is not from myself. Thanks God for that.

Is Jesus Christ in the church?

2008-06-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

It’s nice to be with you again. Let’s open our bibles in 1 John, chapter 2 starting on verse 18.
That says: 18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.
26I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

What does last hour mean? Have you ever thought about your last hour? How disturbing, isn’t?

We are going to talk about this in these few minutes. Now I’d like to talk about the antichrist. What is the meaning of anti? It means against some one or some thing, like anti drugs. So, when we speak about antichrist, we are saying that this guy is against Christ, which means The Anointed or The Chosen One. Please, notice that he is not against Jesus but Christ.

How many people do you know that really love Jesus as a remarkable man, that changed the world, the calendar, someone illuminated, a spiritual leader that died for his beliefs. Maybe an example of justice and love. Maybe someone to be followed.

This Jesus is not the Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came in flesh and died for all mine and yours sins. After that He won the death and resurrect and will come back to seek his church. That means us.

1 John 4:1 to 6 says: 1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

You certainly know something about the antichrist. He will come in flesh and he is one of the beasts mentioned in Revelations. But according with John, his spirit is already here. And he is working quite a bit. His job today is to deny the sacrifice of Christ for you and me.

The antichrist is the opposite, he is not sacrifice, he is not donation, he is not love, he is not salvation. He is deceit. He is lie. He is death.

According to John, we already have the anointing of the Holy One, which means we can not be deceived.

Some people study a lot and get a deep knowledge about the life of Jesus. And they think that this knowledge can anyway make them have a better life in earth. Are you anxious about you life in earth?

Mercy. 1 Peter 5:7 says: 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. And Paul says in Philippians 1:21: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Can you say that? Is it to hard to you? Pay attention on the antichrist spirit.

The Spirit that confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, is the Spirit of God. But the one that says wonders about Jesus but denies that Him is the Christ, the Son of God, is the spirit of antichrist.

Let’s see some examples of his performance: have you ever seen people on tv talking about Jesus, sometimes they are from some church and they talk about blessings, they talk about healings, they talk about money and prosperity, and these things are not wrong buy they never talk about salvation. They never talk about sacrifice. And the cross of Christ is never remembered as a symbol of love and forgiveness but only as a symbol of power to get things.

Every spirit that does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is NOT from God, but is the spirit of antichrist.

The second letter of John, verses 7 to 11 says: 7Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. 11Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.

Now I think we are ready for what the Holy Spirit wants to speak today.

Please, open your Bibles in the Gospel of John, chapter 5, verses from 1 to 9:

1Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie. The blind, the lame, the paralyzed, and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had. 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

That should be an enormous place full of people looking for healing and waiting for a miracle. Can you imagine this scene? How many people could be there at that time? This man was waiting for 38 years!
And suddenly, Jesus Himself passes by there. Jesus was not there. Jesus didn’t know that people and THEY DIDN’T KNOW JESUS!!! Notice that Jesus was just passing by.

It’s surreal but this reminds me some churches. They are full of people waiting for so long time for a miracle, a signal, but they don’t even know Jesus Christ.

Occasionally, He passes by there, just to knock the door and say: “I’m here, outside. Let me get in and have a meal with you”. But NOBODY KNOWS HIS VOICE. These sheep don’t know the voice of the good Pastor.

Unfortunately, I know so many people that goes to churches only waiting for a miracle and stay doing the same thing every Sunday and never realize that the most important miracle, maybe the only miracle that really matters has already happen. Jesus Christ died in our place and won the death feeding all of us from hell.

Can you see the spirit of antichrist there? Spend your life waiting for anything but Christ. Notice that the antichrist doesn’t deny for miracles and signals but only for Christ.

Can you realize another characteristic of some churches? When the miracle was about to happen nobody paid attention to that poor man. “FIRST ME”. I want to blessed, maybe my family. What about the others?

Jesus died for you and me. He was and remains concerned about the others. Can you imagine, if Jesus were concerned about himself? He would never suffer instead of us and He would never be crucified for our sins.

So, The Church of Jesus Christ, His body, acts the same way. We pray “our Father” instead of my father.

Every time we do that, it is the Holy Spirit acting thru you. It is Jesus Christ moving thru you. That’s it. When people look at you and just you, it is wrong. But when they see Jesus Christ, so you are doing right.

Do you doubt it is the last hour? The food is raring and the prices are soaring. Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, besides anger, violence. What about water? What about the climate?

Are you still waiting for a miracle? The word of Jesus Christ for you today is STAND UP my friend. You have some work to do. You still have time to be guided for the Holy Spirit and preach the gospel for your family and friends.

Remember: it is the last hour.

God bless you.

Plans of God

2008-05-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight I would like to tell you that God has a plan and thousands of projects for you and your family. You are not lost in time and space. Even if you believe you were born by chance and your life is only a sequence of events or maybe a routine without any meaning neither hope, let’s see what God himself says in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Please notice that we are not talking about material prosperity only but He wants you to prosper in every aspect in you life. Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10. God doesn’t plan suffering, diseases, anguish. This is not the plan of God for my life, neither yours. All God has for us is good and pleasant. Can you say amen?

Maybe you can say: well, I think I was born to be miserable. What’s wrong with that? Is there a sin being poor? Of course not. Psalm 40:17 says: “Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.”

Remember my dear: wherever you are, God is with you. Because God has a plan for your life, He will never let you apart.

Even during the most miserable situation when Israel was in the desert, they have no food and no water, God made it rain bread manna. That’s God’s providence.

We are going to talk about a young man, presented in Bible as extraordinarily handsome, besides strong and quite taller. He uses to have an easy and peaceable life with very small hopes for changing.

When God revealed his plan to that young man, he could have picked one of three options:

a) Just ignored, which most of us usually do, keeping his peaceful life although poor of hopes.
b) Believed in God’s words but, with no submission enough to make his own projects die. Doing this he could have initiated a bargain with God. This is really bad. Galatians 6:7 says: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
c) However, he was humble enough to believe and obey. His life was converted and the Holy Spirit lived in his heart.

Notice that believing and obeying are united actions because the obedience that pleases God is that one which comes from faith because without faith it is impossible to please God.

This young man was called Saul and God called him to become the first King of Israel. In a while he will forget to be humble and not believing, he disobeys God. Israel was in a war against Philistines. He should wait for Samuel, but instead of this, he thought: “I’m the king. I can handle this”. So he disobeyed God. But this will be subject of another talk.

Tonight we are going to talk about these two attitudes: submission and to believe/obey.

Let’s read our Bibles in I Samuel 9:1-6: “1 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. 2 He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the others.
3 Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys." 4 So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.
5 When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
6 But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take."

I would like to make two comments about this text.

The way God conducts all situations in order to make us get closer to His word. That can be the Bible or prophets. The most interesting, in this case they found the man of God because they were looking for donkeys!!! Our God is awesome!! Notice that we can, based on our free will, just ignore, try to bargain or simply answer His call.
Notice the very clear definition of a man of God stated in verse 6: a) highly respected and b) everything he says comes true. Please check if you have these features.

But why?? Isn’t the man of God the Pastor?

So my dear, I’ve got some news for you: You are a man or a woman of God when used as an instrument of God. Always.

If you are a woman, you could reply: “but the Bible says MAN and not woman”.

Semantics, just semantics, and in your heart, you know that.

But, if you are not highly respected by your family, friends, schoolmates or people in your job, and everything you say rarely comes true, that’s because you haven’t been used as an instrument of God.

When people look for, what do they see? You? Or Jesus?

Who is leading you? You? Or Jesus?

Romans 8:14 says: “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Our history continues at verse 14 until verse 22: “14 They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel: 16 "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me."
17 When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people."
18 Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?"
19 "I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"
21 Saul answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"
22 Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited—about thirty in number.”

I want to emphasize here verse 21, where Saul understands completely who he is and through his merits he would never reach any blessing.

I call that submission or humbleness and this is your first step tonight to be used as an instrument of God. Please see James 4:6b: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Psalms 40:17a says: “Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me”.

See how interesting it is: the knowledge of myself turns me humble.

I challenge you to think: do you really know who you are?

I’m not talking about what you think you are neither what somebody else thinks you are but, what you really is: a clay pot, very fragile. If wasn’t God’s mercy perhaps you were already broken. Remember God has a plan for your life.

Mathew 5:3 says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

We are coming to an end in our time together today and I would like to read the very last text tonight. 1 Samuel 10: 1-10: “1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance? 2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?" '
3 "Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.
5 "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.
8 "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do."
9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying.”

Here we can see the second attitude we must have: believe/obey. Samuel gave some strange guidelines to Saul and said at the very end: (verse 6) “The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.”

Saul believed and obeyed (verse 9) and turning to leave Samuel, God changed his heart.

Now you know who you are and if you believe that God has a plan for your life, be obedient to God and He will change your heart and the Holy Spirit will come upon you.

You can ask yourself: but I don’t even know which is God’s will for my life, how can I manage to obey?

Verse 7 says that when the Holy Spirit come upon you, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you!!

My dear, you don’t need to know what God wants from you, but you must obey to His Spirit, believing that is God acting thru you, so you will see radical changes in your life and in your family.

Instead of conformism and routine, a grateful heart and a new life, each morning.

Instead of doubts and vain questions: Certainty and reliability on God.

Instead of boredom and sadness: Happiness in Holy Spirit.

Instead of rage and bitterness: The love of God, because God is love.

Instead of death: Eternal life through Jesus Christ.

God bless you.

Is the Lord God numbering your days?

2008-05-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, today we are about to finish a very important subject we have been talking about for such a long time. This is all about the verse located in Mathew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

During so many Sundays, I feel I can’t count it anymore, we have been talking about this text, or somehow, we mention it and today I would like to come to an end and finish this cycle where we learned so much about priorities.

I’m going to tell you a story and you can be pretty sure it is not in your Bible. Thanks God for that.

“Two bird watchers traveled to Africa in order to find the most unusual birds in their real habitats, the jungle. They use to wake up very early in the morning, leave the camping and start watching unusual birds around the jungle until sunset. So they came back to camping.

One day, they were watching birds up in the trees when they saw the most beautiful bird they have ever seen. It was new and unique. So they start following it from tree to tree into the jungle. Just then they realized it was very late and darkness was coming fast. They decided then to stay in the jungle that night. They still had some food and could spend the night talking around the camp fire. Next very morning they would be able to return to the camping.

In the middle of the night, they heard a roaring and got scared because they knew it was a lion.

One more roaring and the lion was getting closer. They got really terrified. They extinguished the fire and decided to run back to camping immediately, leaving everything, including boots.

One of then, about fifty meters far, looked back and saw the other one sitting putting boots on. He was astonished and shouted: “Hey what are you doing, man? You will never run faster than the lion.” The other man answered: “I don’t need to be faster than the lion, just than you.”

This story teaches us about priorities, as many of us are like these watchers. If we find, during our lives, something new, beautiful, something that really impresses us, maybe something we want most, so, we follow it. And doesn’t matter the price we have to pay for it. Usually we only notice the danger when it is too close and then we get to run without our shoes. Without our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Let’s read together Ephesians 5:15, 16, 17. This was wrote by Apostle Paul and says: “15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

The unwise is careless, unadvised, incautious, but we must live with wisdom, making the most of every opportunity.

Now, we are going to see that it isn’t only Paul that is concerned about this. Much earlier, Moses, a very special man, that used to talk with God and was a wise old man when wrote Psalm 90:12 which says: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

As you can see, both texts exhort us to live wisely, making the most of every opportunity.

Think about the time you met Jesus. It could have happen 10 minutes ago, one year ago, 10 years, or maybe 50. It is not important. What really matters is: since then, how many years or even, how many days has God numbered in your life?

I mean, how long have you lived seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness?

I’m going to give you an example, because God’s watch works a little bit different. When Israel left Egypt, maybe more than 2 million people, they crossed Red Sea and they could reach Promised Land in about 3 months. But, it took 40 years. A generation of gossipers and complainers didn’t have their days numbered by God.

And you, my dear, since you knew Jesus, how many days have you lived in intimacy with God?

All of this is about wisdom. All of this is about living by faith. All of this is about seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness.

On the other hand we find a lifetime without fear of the Lord. If we do not have fear of the Lord in our hearts, we definitely are not concerned if God is numbering our days or not.

Jesus sacrifice is enough to save you. But the question is: “Do you want to be safe?” “Do you want to have the compromise to live by faith, changing your priorities every single day in your life?”

How can I have a lifetime in the presence of God? Proverbs 1:7a says: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” You are allowed to understand fear as submission.

Just pray: “Dear Lord, I do submit myself to you. Now I don’t live anymore but Jesus Christ lives in me. I depend on you for everything. I was condemned and now I’m free.” This is living by faith.

Let me tell you about the other side. The time you spent far from God. All these years were consumed and lost in your life. When your priorities were vanity, power, your ego, richness, prosperity, religiosity, everything but God, then your life was consumed and never numbered by God.

Maybe you are now thinking: I could have done so many things for God. If I had lived by faith… if I had sought first his kingdom and his righteousness, I wouldn’t have lost so much time in my life.

Joel 2:25 says: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten — the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you”

Please notice that God doesn’t want to repay or to return money, goods, etc… He wants to give us back the time that was stolen from you. All those years in my life and in your life which were never numbered by God. All those years we lived in vanity. All those years we didn’t live by faith.

Think: how long has God stopped numbering your days?

I would like to finish this study bringing the example of John the Baptist. A person that faced the same situations we do and won. So you can do it as well.

See what Jesus says about John the Baptist in Mathew 11:11a: “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.”

You don’t have to be rich or powerful or strong to have your days numbered by God. Just live by faith and seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, so that Jesus himself will say about you: Mathew 25:21 “His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

On the other hand that will be: Mathew 25:12 “But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

You may have a lot of time consumed in your life, but let God return it to you. See all fear and wisdom of John the Baptist: John 3:30 “He must become greater; I must become less.”

Can you pray like this today? Do it now, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Mathew 3:4 says: “John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.”

Please notice that the one who understood how he should live in order to have his days numbered by God and got the testimony of Jesus about how great he was, he ate the same locusts that consumed years in my life and maybe years in your life as well.

Locusts can feed you or destroy you. If your priority is food, drink or clothes they will destroy you. If your priority is Lord’s kingdom and his righteousness you will be fed.

Don’t waste your time. Today you have learned how to have your days numbered by God. May the Book of Life have pages and pages written by God about your life.

God bless you.