Cómo Construir una Vida de Fe que Perdure | Crossroads en Español

If you feel that your life has turned out exactly as you had planned, hey, you can stop watching this video. But if not, keep watching. I want you to hear a little more about a story that we see in the Bible where things did not go as they should. And most of us, the reality is that we have experienced this in our lives as well. And sometimes it seems like a simple formula. We work hard, we are a good person, and then life will bring us what we want. However, what we receive is sometimes a disappointment, a loss, a difficult diagnosis, something that we had not chosen. However, over and over again, these are precisely the moments that God wants to use to form the story of a person. If we have not met, my name is Víctor, and thank you for joining us here in Crossroads. We have been touring a series called Stories of Origin, where we explore the lives of people who we know today as heroes of faith. But none of them had a life that went according to plan. The good news is that God does some of his best works with unexpected ingredients. So whether or not you find it hard to believe that today, you are in the right place. Today we are going to know the story of Abel, a man who apparently should never have been remembered or celebrated thousands and thousands of years later. But God had something very different in mind. And God has something different in mind for you too. A story of origin is the part that no one talks about before confidence and success, before anyone knows your name. They are false beginnings, mistakes and total failure. It is the beginning. Each person you admire has one. The Bible could be the best story of origin ever told. It is a book about God meeting people at the beginning. In the beginning, God creates.

In the beginning, humanity is made of dust. At the beginning, there is possibility, purpose and relationship. Then everything falls apart. But God reconstructs and unites humanity in restoration. The Bible is full of people who end up being known for their faith, courage, wisdom and sacrifice. We call them heroes of faith. But no one started there. The story of God is about him with ordinary people, in ordinary places and inviting them to be part of something extraordinary. Today's story is about... Abel, whose sacrifice was a legendary example of faith. I have been part of the team for 17 years and I lead our teaching and strategy. I usually be in the backroom with the teachers talking about what we are going to say, what to change, what to remove or what to try, things like that. And from time to time, Kyle wants me to come up here because he says that it generates empathy. It's been 7 years since the last time I was here. 7 years without empathy. I guess it's time. I have been married to Allison for 19 years. Next year, it will be 20. 19 years, 3 daughters. London at 16, Annabelle at 14 and Becca at 10. At the beginning of this week, my older daughter asked me if I would teach this weekend. I said yes. She told me that many kids from her school go to Crossroads. Which was a shock. And then my daughter in the middle adds, like an hour later, if you don't do a good job, it affects us. I have the total support of my family, so it feels great. The best thing is to tell you a story about them, right?

I have been at Crossroads for a long time, and I always heard Brian Tome say that you have to be the first to get to your kids. It's a great advice. Do you want to be the first for them to hear about any difficult topic? Drugs, sex, or whatever. Do you want them to listen to you first? I always thought it was a good advice, and I wanted to do it. This was about 8 years ago. My older daughter would be about 7 or 8 years old. And something came out on television. I don't remember what, but it was strange. She asked what that meant. And I thought, this is my moment. So I said, London, you can ask me anything. And I'll tell you the truth. No matter what it is, if it's scary or strange, ask me and I'll tell you the truth. She stays quiet. And I panic because I'm not ready. I didn't think it through. I'm not prepared for what's next. She looks at me and says, Papi, what is Area 51? Ironically, it's the only thing I can't do. My daughter in the middle, same situation. Dad, what's the jail for kids and what do we have to do to get there? I said, are you planning something? My youngest daughter, different situation. I'm asking her questions. She's about four years old, sitting around the table.

I say, Becca, what makes your mommy a great mommy? Without a doubt, she said, the wine. Clearly, she is very observant. No. My wife insisted. I know she's here. She insisted that I say that, so that it's clear, she's not drunk. That's recorded. It's true. Very good. 26 years ago, I joined Crossroads. We met in the auditorium of a Montessori school. It looked very different. I've seen a lot of things happen over the years. However, the DNA hasn't changed. And when I joined that auditorium, the reason I did it was because I believed that living a life of faith would lead to a better life. But I didn't know what it meant. I didn't know what faith was or how it worked. I had a lot of questions. I'm a natural skeptic. I saw a lot of things in Christian culture that I didn't like, right? If I tried, I failed. And often, I didn't feel like it. So, I had all those questions. I'm going to assume that you came today because you feel similar. Because you think that being faithful would lead to a better life. But you don't know how. The biblical story we're going to see is very old. It's one of the first in the Bible.

I think it can help us because it makes faith simple. It's not easy. But I think it makes it simple. This will be a three-point message today. I must say that as I was preparing this message, I noticed some shortcomings in my life that surprised me, and with which I have struggled, which I will point out. And then, also, a small warning. At the beginning of my message, for about three minutes, I will talk about money. Very good. Just three minutes, and we will overcome it together. I promise. Let me pray. God, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for bringing us together. We are here to find you, and I pray that you manifest. Please come and let us find you and learn from you. In the name of Jesus. Amen. We will start with an old biblical story, after Adam and Eve, their children, Cain and Abel. Why do we do this? If you have been to other weekends of the series, you have seen that we have been extracting from Hebrews, chapter 11, often called the hall of faith. Hebrews is a book of the New Testament. It comes after Jesus. Chapter 11 lists biblical characters celebrated by their faith.

So we think, why don't we teach about those people? I'm sure they have things they can teach us. The first person mentioned in the hall of faith is Abel, who was the second son of Adam and Eve. Let me read it to you. Hebrews 11, chapter 4. Sorry, Hebrews 11. Verse 4. By faith, Abel offered God a more acceptable sacrifice than that of Cain. By faith, he was recognized as just, for God approved his offerings. And by faith, although he is dead, he still speaks through her. What really happened? That Abel, thousands of years later, is called someone with faith who still speaks today. Well, let's read the story. It's not that long. So let's go back to Genesis, chapter 4. The first book of the Bible. The first thing that happens after Adam and Eve. Genesis, chapter 4. From verse 1 to 5. The man joined Eve, his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, With the Lord's help, I have had a son. Then she gave birth to Abel, Cain's brother. Abel was a shepherd of sheep, while Cain worked the earth. After a while, Cain presented to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the earth. Abel also presented to the Lord the best of the firstborn of his flock, that is, the fat of them. The Lord looked with pleasure at Abel and his offering, but he did not look at Cain or his offering. The first thing you ask yourself is,

Seriously? What the hell is going on here? Because it feels like my children are making me cards for Father's Day. I take the first one and say, Oh, this is beautiful, dear. Thank you. Then I take the second one, I break it, and I throw it away saying it's garbage. Is that what happens? No, no. Let's talk about that. Remember that this is at the beginning. The rules are being written. The fundamental principles are being established here. And Abel does something. He establishes an important principle about faith. That is why it is celebrated. And that is to put the right order. Faith is first. The verse says that Cain is a farmer. And it says that with the passage of time, Cain gives offerings to God, brings crops, and sets aside some. You paid God's tax. Good job. Show confidence in God by doing this. Compare it with Abel. Abel is a pastor. And he brings the firstborn of his flock. That's a huge risk for a pastor. Why? Because every lamb is capital, right? And also, you don't know how to be a good shepherd.

You don't know how to be a good shepherd. You don't know how to be a good shepherd. You don't know how to be a good shepherd. You don't know how to be a good shepherd. And also, you don't know what will come next. And also, you don't know what will come next. So give up first. You don't know if something will come next. You don't know if something will come next. What makes you vulnerable. And that's the key. Giving up first, Abel becomes vulnerable to God, Giving up first, Abel becomes vulnerable to God, saying, I trust in you. saying, I trust in you. That forces us to have faith. For football fans, training began this week. I'm a fan of the Browns. I was. I was. I was born a fan. Remember, we teach, suffering, perseverance, character, hope. suffering, perseverance, character, hope. Hopefully. Hopefully for all of the suffering. Hopefully for all of the suffering. Hopefully for all of the suffering. Now, the first draft Germans are incredibly valuable, right? Now, the first draft Germans are incredibly valuable, right?

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By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first By the first So she finally left her job, but we did what many people do. We made concessions to protect ourselves. She left her job, but took another different one. That job seemed good. Exciting company. They gave her a raise. We said, this is great. We follow the Lord and earn more. It's incredible. And then everything got worse.

Of course. The schedules changed. The payment changed. Then we had our second daughter. She came back from maternity leave, and things got really bad. The schedules changed. They added more hours. All the work changed. And it's at that point that we thought, I think we should, I think it's time to be faithful. So she quit her job. 50% of our salary went that day. We didn't have a plan to replace it. That day, she was praying to God. I trust you. But if you can encourage me in any way, I would love it. At that exact moment, I'm at work. I get a call to go down to the reception. This box appeared anonymously. I still don't know who sent it. It looks like a kidnapping note. It says, whatever you need, God has you covered. There are 24 $100 bills inside. I don't know where it came from. I think God was using someone to tell us, I have you. Put your faith in me. Put me first. Be vulnerable in front of me, and I have you. And I'll tell you, this box is still talking to us 15 years later. It's been 15 years in a shelf in our office. It knew where it was.

It knows why we see it all the time. And it still tells us, I have you. Be vulnerable in front of me. It's not just money. There are other ways to be faithful. And give first, prayer. Are you sick? I love medicine and prayer. What do you do first? You get sick. The first thing you do is go to Dr. Google? And then you go to a real doctor? And then, if that doesn't work, you go to prayer? Or is the first thing you do is pray? And then you go to Dr. Google? And then you go to a real doctor? Truth is only order. Do both things, but do it in the right order. Well, maybe not Dr. Google, but do both things. Do it in the right order. And I think that's where God appears. Here's another one. Relationships. You meet someone for the first time anywhere. And the first thing you do is what I think God wants us to do, which is to say, how can I benefit this person? Or the first thing you do is say, how can I get something from this person? It's a lesson about putting God first. If you want to be faithful, just start looking for where you can put God first in your life and make yourself vulnerable. Before Him. It's a great beginning.

That's what Abel teaches us. Now, part two. Let's talk about Cain. Because Cain is a warning story. And I'm going to read this to you. I'm going to read the rest of the story to you. It's a little longer, but be patient with me. Because I want you to listen to everything. All right. Let's go back to Genesis. Cain got angry and was angry. Then the Lord said to him, Why are you so angry? Why are you angry? If you did good, you could walk with your head held high. But if you do evil, sin will haunt you like a beast ready to catch you. However, you can dominate it. Cain spoke to his brother Abel. While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother and killed him. Then the Lord asked Cain, Where is your brother Abel? I don't know, he replied. Am I the one who should take care of my brother? The Lord said to him, What have you done? From the earth, the blood of your brother claims justice. Therefore, now you will be cursed, and you will be expelled from this land, which has opened its mouths to receive the blood of your brother, which you spilled. When you work the earth, it will not give you its fruits again. You will walk through the world wandering and without rest. Cain replied to the Lord, This punishment is more than I can bear. Today you expel me from this land, and I will have to get away from your presence. I will wander the world, and whoever finds me will kill me.

It will not be so, replied the Lord. Whoever kills Cain will be punished seven times. Then the Lord gave Cain a sign, so that whoever found him would kill him. Cain left the presence of the Lord and went to live in the region of Nod, east of Eden. Cain joined his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain founded a city, to which he named his son Enoch. This is all we know about Cain. So Cain is saying goodbye to God over time, right? He is putting something aside. He thinks he is doing the right thing. That does not work. Then he gets angry about it. That leads to violence. Then he lies when confronted. Then he tries to defend himself. Then, after being punished, he complains. Right? He fears that others will kill him. A small note aside. There are only four people in the Bible, Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Who are the others? That's a fair question. I think it's proof A, that Genesis gives us the truth of God about creation, but it doesn't give us the complete picture. And it's okay to ask that question here. Okay, God still shows mercy to Cain. Cain builds a city, a symbol of ancient protection, surrounded by walls. For many biblical and theological scholars, Cain is the first person to adopt religion as his defense mechanism. He's trying to make it look good. He's just doing the right thing, right? He's trying to do the right thing, or not even trying to do the right thing. He's trying to make it look good. When someone points it out to him, he defends himself in every possible way to protect himself. This is questioned later on.

In the New Testament, Judas, Jesus' brother, writes a letter to other believers, surrounded by difficult people. And this is what he says. However, they injure everything they don't understand. And the things they understand by instinct, like irrational animals, are precisely what destroy them. Oh, they have followed the path of Cain. Cain is a warning story. Because we cannot falsify faith. Cain tried. While his brother became vulnerable to God, Cain did not. He only worked to protect himself. Faith is the first thing. Not to pretend. Jesus says in Matthew, Lord, Lord, you will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me that day, Lord, Lord, we do not prophesy in your name, and in your name we expel demons, and we do many miracles. Then I will say clearly, I never knew them. Stay away from me, doers of evil. This verse worries me a little, because I work for a church. And it's very easy. It seems to me that I am doing the right things and that I am faithful. And I don't want to do that. Let me give you two examples. I will say something controversial. Something that you may have never heard here. Especially from someone who worked in a church for 17 years. I don't like Christian music. I know, I know. Let me say first that our leaders of worship are incredible, incredible musicians. And they write many of the songs they interpret here. They are here.

They are incredible. And those I know are better humans. They are faithful. They are wise. They are funny. I absolutely love them. So we should all be grateful to be guided by them. The problem is that I don't like that music. You won't see me with my hands up. On Wednesday mornings, we have worship of the staff. And it can get pretty intense. Frequently, I stand in the background, just observing. Because this is what happens inside my mind. I told you that I am someone who questions. And with each letter, I am asking myself questions. What does that mean? Does it fit with that? Do I believe in that? And when I finish, they move on to another letter. And I do it again. And if I manage to finish with all of that, then I ask myself, Do I feel that? I don't think I feel that way. Do I have to feel that way? Does that person feel that way? I don't think they feel that way. They look at me. Do I have to feel that way? Do I have to have my hands up?

It's constant in my head, right? I can't concentrate. And I will tell them my worst moment. I judge those who are involved. Like, you don't feel that, right? But when I feel good, I get jealous. I say, I wish I could have it. It's a constant struggle. I work in a church. It would be easy to fake it. I know the songs. I always hear them. Right? I could fake the letter. I could raise my hands. I could move. Right? I could do all of that. But it would be fake. It would be false. I would be faking. This is an emptiness I noticed. This makes me ask, how am I really showing God in my life? Praise, reverence, and worship. Is there something in my life where I'm really doing that? And I've been left with empty hands. I haven't found it. And I'm somewhat disappointed by it. It's something in what I think.

Should I change something to get there? Yes. But you need to be sincere and real. Here's a second point, also controversial. Normally, I don't pray before I eat. Before I mix. I know that Jesus prayed before meals. So I'm not on firm ground here, I understand. But for me, it was very false for me to do that. It wasn't real. I was just following the movements, saying the words, right? Just to get to the food. And since I don't pray before eating, there are uncomfortable situations where they expect me to do it, because I work in a church. We're going to have lunch, and the food arrives, and everyone is quiet. They look at me, and I move my potatoes. And I could put one in my mouth, and sometimes I bite, because it's very uncomfortable, and I cry. But usually, I just don't do it, because I don't want to pretend. But Jesus prayed before meals. So he modeled giving, thank God, regularly. I've asked myself this question. Where do I really do that? How do I give thanks to God with truth and gratitude? And I'm also a little disappointed by what I discovered there. I don't think I'm doing it right. That's something I think I'll have to work on.

But I share both examples just to tell you, we don't want people to pretend here. You don't have to pretend here. If you like worship music, by all means, give yourself completely to worship music. If you're in the aisles dancing, do it. If you want to pray before eating, please make it the best prayer of all. Please. But it's okay not to always feel that way, because it's not possible to pretend faith. Okay, part three. Paul writes, I've fought the good battle, I've finished the race, I've remained in faith. For the rest, I wait for the crown of justice that the Lord, the just judge, will grant me on that day, and not just me, but also all those who have waited for his coming with love. Pablo finished well. I want to finish well. And I want you to finish well. I'm very excited. I'm so happy for all those who were baptized today. Wow, that's the most vulnerable thing you can do, right? Put God first and not pretend, right? You go into the water. And that's incredible.

But I want to talk to the rest of us, those of us who have been in this for a couple of years, or even decades, because you know, as you go through all the things, going through school, the kids, job changes, tragedy, triumph, all the questions, the moves, and everything, you know that it's not always like that, right? It's not always like that. The real goal is to remain faithful through all of that. Once I heard our pastor, Andy Ryder, say that there is a fidelity that is not measured in days, but in years and decades. That is the type of fidelity that I want. Faith means first, not false. Until the end. A colleague told me that until the end would be a good tattoo. I asked him to design it to see what it would look like. If I get a tattoo, that's how it will look. Until the end. You will have many moments in your life where you fail, when you put God first.

You will have moments where you fall into religion or you will fake it. Jesus said, we will have trials and tribulations. But it's important to put that into perspective. I saw a clip of Roger Federer, the great tennis player. He gave a graduation speech at the University of Dartmouth two years ago and said something that I think really gives an idea about faith. Listen. Perfection is impossible. In the 1,526 individual games that I played, I won. Almost 80%. Now, I have a question. What percentage of points do you think I won? Only 54%. In other words, even the best tennis players win just over half of the points they play. If you lose a point out of every two, you learn not to think about every shot. Isn't that amazing? 80% won 80% of their games, but only 54% of their points. Just over half. I think it's a great way to see faith. Trying to have more wins than losses.

Perhaps you think, I have a losing record. I'll never win. The good news is the gospel. You don't need a winning record. You just have to believe in Jesus. But once we have that as a base, I think a great attitude is simply to say, I'll try to have more victories than defeats. If I lose today, I'll keep going. I'll try tomorrow. If I lose, I'll try to win the next one. And with time, that starts to accumulate and you build a life of faith that is completely resistant to everything that life is going to throw at you. Let's go back to Abel and Cain for a moment. The word Cain in Hebrew means possess or obtain. It comes from the quote of Eve, I have acquired a man. The word Abel, however, means breath or steam, something temporary. So, what is celebrated by his faith represents moving forward. While what is a warning is what represents clinging strongly. This is how we end up well, adopting that attitude, that attitude of Abel. We say, I'll trust you. I'll keep putting you first. I'm not going to pretend. And when I lose, I'm going to move forward and try to win the next one. We move forward and try to win. We must help each other, we cannot do it alone. We must support each other when we fail and say, okay, go for the next one. Paul said, therefore, encourage each other and build each other. Those who gave us this box, whoever they were, they encouraged us. They have been encouraging us for 15 years with that act. Now I will give you a gift at the end of this service. But first, I want to tell you about one of the most faithful people I know. And he would not agree with that. He would say that I am not faithful at all, but he is my friend, Dave. And Dave has all the reasons not to be faithful. Dave was abused in the church at an early age.

Dave experienced bankruptcy at a time when he was trying to raise a young family. Then he recovered and has had a lot of success in his last years. Which, frankly, is one of the biggest threats to faith. Because we begin to trust our own success, our money and our efforts. Dave is a lawyer, he is a critical thinker. He reads all the books and asks all the questions. Like, I don't understand this, I don't understand what this means. Why this? He has all the questions that you and I have. 18 months ago, if you asked Dave for his list of 10 close friends, in those months, three of them have died prematurely due to various medical problems. And just a month ago, days after the funeral, he found out that a fourth friend has very serious cancer. He has reasons not to be faithful. But every year, Dave has an event at Christmas, where he invites more than 100 men to Bourbon and Cigarrettes. He pays for everything. They are acquaintances and friends. And many of them have no faith or have lost their faith a long time ago. But at the end of the night, Dave stands on the stage every year. And in his own way, he changes it every year, but he says the same thing. He says, I think there is a God. I think He is good. And that's why I want to support them and encourage them. He says, just send me three words. I need a beer. And I will be there for you. Dave recently shared an email with me that he sent to his friend, the friend who is currently fighting cancer. And I'm going to read a part of it. This is what he said.

He said, we have both seen some of the worst in religion. For me, it started when priests abused their trust and power. We saw people justifying doubtful acts with convenient theology or obtuse interpretations of the Bible. It is easy to want to leave everything. Believe me, I tried, but I can't. I can't get rid of the belief that this is not our only existence. I have been a witness and I have experienced too much love and too much grace in my life to deny the existence of God. My faith may be amorphous, but it is unbreakable. I rely on that to try to understand what the hell is going on. I encourage you to do the same. Consider it another form of treatment. See, he said his faith is amorphous, capable, but unbreakable. That is faith. Right? Despite all the questions, all the doubts, and all the things. Putting God first. Being vulnerable. Not being false about it. And using it to encourage other people. Now I said I wanted to give you a gift. I said I don't like worship music, but I love music. I heard a song. Hace un año, la primera vez que la oí, me hizo llorar. No es cristiana, pero la oí y lloré porque quería que me la cantaran. La verdad. Quiero que la escuchen. No hagan nada ahora. Solo siéntense y escuchen.

Took a walk, I saw the lake, where Adam stepped in for the first time, and last he was a man. I saw the dogwoods, held some in my hand, a smiled man, well he told me to stop and count them all while I can. The key to life is the joy in the journey, but you don't know the end. So let's stay out here for a while, my friend. Let's stay and walk the line till the end. I know you're tired, held so about, we can't take the same road again. So let's stay out here for a while. I took a look, and I saw the light, where he stepped foot for the last time, I took the first bite. Born in a battlefield, stand tall as giants. It's right with the wind, yeah, our story winds up with footsteps by the lakes. Let's stay out here, oh, let's stay out here. So let's stay out here for a while, my friend. Let's stay and walk the line till the end. I know you're tired, held so about, we can't take the same road again. So let's stay out here for a while. I know you're tired, held so about, we can't take the same road again. So let's stay out here for a while, my friend. Let's stay and walk the line till the end. I know you're tired, held so about, we can't take the same road again. So let's stay and walk the line till the end. I know you're tired, held so about, we can't take the same road again. So let's stay and walk the line till the end. I know you're tired, held so about, we can't take the same road again. So let's stay and walk the line till the end. I know you're tired, held so about, we can't take the same road again. If you feel like you can do more, maybe that step is opening your Bible this week.

Maybe it's taking a few minutes to speak to God in prayer. Maybe it's forgiving or asking for forgiveness or simply saying yes to what God is putting in front of you today. If you feel the desire to grow more, to positively influence others, or simply discover how God can use you, we want to invite you to ACTIVA. It is a four-session course, all virtual, to get to know the heart of our church and develop the leadership that God is already forming in you. You don't have to look at yourself as a leader to participate. You don't have to be perfect. Let's look at all these stories that we are discussing during this series. If you have the desire to continue growing and serving others, ACTIVA is for you. We would love, together with people like you, to invite you to this space and collaborate and grow to see what God wants to do through you in your life. So you can write to us at hola.crossroads.net to share more information about our next session. It is a pleasure to have you here and we look forward to hearing from you.