Deja Caer la Piedra || Victory Church

Buenas tardes, Victory. ¿Cómo se sienten todos en este hermoso domingo? Es un día maravilloso para estar vivos. Para aquellos a quienes no he tenido el privilegio de conocer personalmente, mi nombre es Kurbin y tengo el honor de servir como pastor de enseñanza en Victory, un nuevo rol en el que estoy desde abril. Vaya, eso todavía se considera nuevo. Hola, Junio. Oh, el tiempo vuela. Pero sí, tengo la oportunidad de viajar a todos nuestros campus. Solo voy a decirlo, no hay nada como Norcross. Amo esta casa. Solo no les digan que lo dije. Y no, tampoco lo digo en todos los lugares a los que voy. Este es mi hogar. Deja de bromear. Pero he estado muy emocionado mientras hemos estado en esta serie, en el libro de Juan. Para quienes son nuevos en Victory, estamos en esta serie durante todo el año calendario. En este solo libro, yendo línea por línea, momento tras momento. Y bueno, tengo mucho contenido que cubrir hoy. Voy a ser honesto. Así que quiero tratar de condensar esta introducción tanto como pueda. Pero sí tengo que decir que creo que lo que Dios quiere hacer hoy es muy importante. Porque ayer, de la nada, me desperté con este dolor de garganta. Quiero decir, era como si estuviera en llamas. Y a medida que pasaban las horas del día, mi voz se fue debilitando más y más. Quiero decir, hasta el punto en que ni siquiera podía hablar o susurrar. Así que amigos, corri a urgencias y escuchen. He estado haciendo esto de comunicarme. Ya saben, no tanto tiempo como muchos. Pero lo suficiente como para saber que cuando mi cuerpo empieza a reaccionar y mi voz,

no me ando con juegos con estos doctores. Fui directo a urgencias y le dije a la recepcionista, Hey, vengo por la inyección. No necesito un hisopado. No necesito una prueba. Dame la inyección. ¿Cuántos de ustedes saben que no hay nada que una buena inyección de esteroides y unas cuantas oraciones no puedan solucionar, verdad? Vamos, alguien. Pero no, muchas oraciones se elevaron. Si oraste por mí, te lo agradezco. Y efectivamente, el Señor se manifestó, aunque todavía no estoy al 100% vocalmente. Pero el doctor dijo, Kervin, no veo nada malo en tus oídos. No hay líquido en tu pecho, ni otros síntomas. Él dice, no sé por qué tu voz simplemente desaparecería así. Yo sí sé por qué. Porque el enemigo sabe que de lo que vamos a hablar hoy tiene el poder. Escúchame, tiene el poder de cambiar la trayectoria de tu vida. Si tienes oídos para oír y ojos para ver, ¿verdad? Así que déjame resumir dónde estamos en esta historia. Pero antes de hacer eso, oremos. Señor, necesitamos tu ayuda. Así que ven y ayúdanos. Espíritu Santo, guíanos, condúcenos. En tu nombre oramos. Amén. Así que para resumir lo que está pasando, seré breve. Estamos comenzando aquí en el capítulo 8, pero antes de este momento, el ministerio de Jesús está despegando. Él está sanando a la gente.

Está predicando un mensaje de esperanza, gracia, amor y redención. Está sanando a los leprosos. Está abriendo los ojos de los ciegos. Está pasando su tiempo con los marginados de esa sociedad, ¿verdad? Pero mientras su fama va creciendo poco a poco, lo que descubrimos es que Jesús es un hombre con una misión. Así que mientras todos estos milagros y toda la emoción van en aumento, entiendan que Jesús, a medida que pasa el tiempo, comienza a revelar cada vez más su misión. ¿Cuántos de ustedes saben que la gente aparece para los milagros, pero no todos están comprometidos con la misión? Así que vemos aquí, recientemente, en los últimos mensajes que hemos enseñado, que las enseñanzas de Jesús se han vuelto realmente, realmente profundas. Y se está trazando una línea en la arena. Y se está dejando claro quiénes están comprometidos con la causa y quiénes solo están ahí por las travesuras. Así que hoy, ahí es donde retomamos, justo aquí en el capítulo 8, comenzando en el versículo 1. Vamos a ver, a medida que esta tensión va creciendo, vamos a descubrir en los próximos momentos que tenemos juntos. Vamos a ver a través de una historia que muchos de ustedes ya han escuchado antes, la han leído antes e incluso puede que la hayan escuchado predicada antes. Vamos a hablar sobre esta historia increíble, donde vemos la hermosa imagen de cuando la gracia de Dios choca con nuestra culpa. Y lo que sucede en ese momento catalítico, vamos, ¿están listos para la palabra? Vamos, ¿están listos para la palabra? El Señor ha mantenido mi voz fuerte. No he estado aguantando todo el día, pero estoy a punto de soltarles todo. This is what the word says, starting in verse one.

It says that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning, he returned to the temple. And soon a crowd gathered, and he sat down and taught them how he used to do it. And while he was speaking, the teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been surprised in the act of adultery. Phrase key, surprised in the act of adultery. And they put her in front of the crowd. The teachers said to Jesus, this woman was surprised in the act of adultery. Now the law of Moses says that she must be stoned. But what do you say? And I want you to pay attention to this question. They did it at the end, at the end, because let's be realistic here. If they took the trouble to drag this woman to this moment of condemnation, and they declared that the law says that we must stone her. But Jesus, what do you say? It smells like a scandal. But I want us to see that the way in which Jesus responds to this question reveals God's heart. Because behind this question, there is a deeper question that we need to address today. And the question is this, how does grace respond to guilt? What happens in that moment? Because here's the thing,

when you read this story, the reality is this. This story is going to cut in two directions. Because this story about the adulterous woman, in case you were wondering, this story teaches us how we, as Christians, must see those who are sinners. But it also allows us to see how heaven treats you and me when we are the ones who are in sin. Because this is the reality of the church. We all don't reach God's holy standard. You realize that, right? In fact, let me put it this way. You, in your best day, with your best behavior, in your own strength, and apart from God's grace, listen to me carefully. Your best motives, your best intentions are still a pain in the ass for a holy God. We have all failed. We have all made mistakes. And many of us have allowed those mistakes to bring shame and condemnation on our lives, which we have carried in each of the stages since then. But today I have come to remind someone in this place that religion can call you for the worst of you, but grace will always call you for your worth. Now, listen to me. When I speak of the worst, I don't just mean that you do it in a nice way. I'm not saying that you're worth it because you're good at what you do.

No, no, no. When I speak of your worth, I mean the intrinsic worth that you have, just because you were made in the image of a great God. The imago dei over your life. That's what I'm talking about. So let's go back to the scriptures in verse three. The Bible says this. Once again, remembering. The teachers and the Pharisees brought this woman who had been surprised at the act of adultery. Now, look at this. Every time they bring this woman to this crowd, this enraged crowd, look at this. Didn't they say her name? We don't know her story. They don't tell us anything about it. The entanglement that led her to this situation, first of all, everything that is given to us in this story is a label. This woman was surprised at adultery. And it seems incredible to me that even 2,000 years later, we still call her for her failure. Her sin became her identity. These religious leaders, listen to me, took a whole human life and reduced it to its worst moment. Isn't it surprising how some people literally do everything possible to take the worst 15 minutes of your life and use them to define the next 15 years?

We do that. In fact, there are people in this place today who are using a label that someone else put on them. Have you lived your life? Yes, making mistakes. Yes, having bad moments. But you just take the labels and stick them on. You're making pasta out of the labels. Pero no te voy a dar con las caderas, esas están reservadas. Vamos, alguien. Pero escúchame, algunos de nosotros venimos a la iglesia cada domingo y escuchamos estos mensajes sobre la identidad de Dios, sobre quién es Él llamado y declarado sobre ti. Escuchamos mensajes sobre sus propósitos y el llamado de Dios y el Imago Dei. Pero hay tantos de nosotros que luchamos por recibir la identidad que Jesús nos ha dado porque no logramos comprenderla. Espera, más allá de las pilas de etiquetas que hemos permitido que otros pongan sobre nuestras vidas o mírame, las etiquetas que nosotros mismos nos hemos puesto. Sí, ese es el tipo. Se ha divorciado como tres veces. Sí, ella quedó embarazada antes de casarse. Sí. Oh, ese tipo, sí, él es. Ha estado limpio durante 20 años. Recaíó, destruyó su vida. Él es ese tipo. Es el tipo que tenía todos los negocios, hizo un maltrato y lo perdió todo. Escúchame, amigo. Sea lo que sea que salió mal, puede explicar una parte de tu camino, pero un mal capítulo no tiene por qué definir el resto de tu historia. No sé quién en esta sala o quién en línea necesita escuchar esto.

Un mal capítulo no tiene por qué descarrilar la historia que Dios está escribiendo con tu vida. ¿Lo sabes? Escuché sobre este hombre hace muchos años. Era un hombre sin hogar. Era alcohólico. Luchó contra la adicción durante toda su vida adulta. Había estado viviendo en las calles durante años. Y se sentaba allí en la esquina de la calle pidiendo limosna, pidiendo dinero, comida, alcohol. Y un día había una pequeña señora cristiana que iba camino a su estudio bíblico a hacerlo de la iglesia, pero iba tarde. Así que iba caminando bastante rápido. Y pasó junto al hombre y él le dijo, señora, señora, ¿podría darme algo de cambio? Tengo hambre. No he comido en todo el día. Pero de nuevo, ella iba camino a hacerlo de la iglesia. Señora, ayúdame. Si no tenemos cuidado, podemos estar tan ocupados haciendo la obra del Señor que pasamos por alto el corazón del Señor de la obra. Y podemos encontrarnos tan ocupados por llegar el domingo, por hacerlo de la iglesia sin darnos cuenta de que durante toda la semana pasamos por alto lo de la iglesia una y otra vez. Así que de inmediato el Espíritu Santo la convenció. Se detuvo en seco, hermano. Se dio la vuelta y regresó. Tomó a este hombre de las manos y lo levantó. Le dijo, señor, me encantaría darle de comer, pero aún más que eso quiero presentarle a un hombre que tiene el poder de cambiar su vida. Ella lo llevó al Señor justo ahí, en ese mismo momento.

Él entregó su vida al Señor. Agarró esa pequeña y barata botella de vino Wild Irish Red, la vació sobre el concreto para no volver a tocar una botella jamás. Ella le dio de comer, lo llevó a un refugio y lo registró allí. Desde ese momento, cada domingo por la mañana, cada domingo por la noche, cada miércoles por la noche, estudio bíblico. Ella lo recogía y lo llevaba a la iglesia, lo llevaba al refugio, lo llevaba a la iglesia. Eventualmente, se mudó con una familia de la iglesia. Se unió a un grupo pequeño de hombres y comenzó a ser discipulado. Consiguió algunos mentores en su vida y de la nada empezó a trabajar con sus manos instalando pisos de madera y el Señor lo bendijo con un sentido empresarial para iniciar su propio negocio y fue muy fructífero. Pero mírame, la belleza de la historia es que nunca olvidó las profundidades de las que Dios lo había rescatado. Así que a medida que llegaban los ingresos, él y su esposa lanzaron un ministerio llamado Refugio de Esperanza y este era un ministerio que construyeron para rescatar a otros hombres y mujeres que estaban experimentando la falta de vivienda. Los sacaban de las calles, les daban de comer, les daban alojamiento, los discipulaban, los ayudaban a obtener una educación. Y podrías preguntar, bueno, ¿por qué eres tan apasionado con esta historia? Amigo mío, así fue como mi madre y mi padre se conocieron hace 45 años en las calles de... Hoy he venido a decirle a alguien en esta sala que no importa por lo que hayas pasado, no importa cuán difícil haya sido el capítulo de tu vida, no hay ninguna ruptura, no hay ninguna... No hay ningún error. No hay ningún fracaso que pueda frustrar el plan que Dios tiene para tu vida. Un solo capítulo difícil, no va a descarrilar. El resto de tu historia... Aunque el mundo lo había llamado por lo peor de sí, en esa fría mañana cuando mi dulce mamá se cruzó en su camino, la gracia le dio un nuevo nombre. Escúchame, amigo.

Dios nunca consultará tu pasado antes de decidir tu futuro. Él no hace eso. ¿Y sabes qué? Le doy gracias a Dios de que no lo haga. O sea, soy la única. Gracias a Dios. Vamos, necesitamos una pausa para alabar ahora mismo. Gracias a Dios. Que no me dejó como me encontró. Vamos, Ish. Gracias a Dios que nos ha redimido y nos ha levantado, nos dio un nuevo nombre. Porque si no lo hubiera hecho, amigos, yo no estaría aquí. Mejor busquen otro pastor de enseñanza. No tengo nada para ustedes. Es la gracia de Dios. Aquí está el asunto. Es fácil leer la historia y decir, hombre, la mujer adúltera, la mujer de... ¿Cómo pudo hacerlo? ¿Pero te diste cuenta de que hay otro personaje en la historia? Este personaje no se menciona en la Biblia, pero está ahí. ¿Puedo hablarte rápidamente? Porque aquí está el asunto. Este personaje está aquí, acechando en las sombras de la historia. ¿Quieres saber quién es, amigo mío? ¿Eres tú? Eres tú. La luz está encendida. Eres tú. Sí, tú con la camisa rosa. Eres tú. Eres tú. Soy yo. Miren mi iglesia. La Biblia es implícitamente clara en que todos hemos pecado y estamos destituidos de la gloria de Dios. Cada uno de nosotros ha sido sorprendido con las manos en la masa en algún momento. Y escúchame, tal vez no te sorprendieron con las manos en la masa en medio de una multitud.

Pero bajo el foco de la mirada santa de Dios, todos hemos pasado por temporadas en nuestra vida en las que estábamos rotos y sentíamos que no había esperanza para un día más. Y escúchame, déjame ser enfáticamente claro. No me refiero necesariamente a las temporadas de dolor y sufrimiento por lo que te hicieron a ti. No, no quiero minimizar el trauma. Es real. No estoy minimizando a la persona que te hizo daño. No estoy minimizando a la persona que te traicionó y te mintió. Ese es otro mensaje para otro día. Estoy hablando de esos momentos cuando estás roto en la desesperación y lo has perdido todo y no sabes si Dios siquiera te ve. Pero en ese momento, es tu culpa. No puedes culpar al padre que no estuvo presente. No puedes culpar a la familia que te crió. No puedes culpar a una relación tóxica. No puedes culpar a la herida traumática. ¿Por qué? Porque culpable es culpable. Y ante los ojos de un Dios Santo, ahí es donde estamos. Todos hemos estado bajo la luz cegadora del Espíritu Santo. Y escúchame, somos la mujer sorprendida en adulterio. Pero ¿no estás agradecido hoy de que cuando la religión quiere señalar el problema, la gracia de Dios siempre mira más allá y ve a la persona? La persona. No solo el problema, no, la persona. Ahora quiero tomar un minuto y hablarle a mi gente de la iglesia, ¿de acuerdo? Porque en este último punto, mi deseo es que para aquellos que están lejos de Dios, espero que la gracia y la misericordia estén despertándose en tu corazón. Vamos, deja que el Señor te hable. Pero para este punto, quiero hablarle a mi gente de la iglesia.

Quiero hablarle a mi gente de la iglesia. Porque el versículo 3 dice claramente que cuando trajeron a esta mujer ante Jesús, que la pusieron frente a la multitud. Que la pusieron frente a la multitud, de pie, expuesta, exhibida, delante de todos. De hecho, los historiadores creen que el lenguaje usado en la escritura, sorprendida en el acto, se mencionó más de una vez. Los historiadores creen que esto implica que literalmente, esta mujer fue sacada a la fuerza del dormitorio y llevada ante esta multitud. Probablemente no estaba vestida adecuadamente. Y sé que es una imagen muy gráfica para un domingo por la tarde, pero necesito que sientas su vergüenza. And I've learned something about the enemy. I've learned that for him, it's not enough to simply destroy your life now. No, he wants to destroy your life and then display it so that everyone else can see it. Well, you better believe it. Shame always wants a stage. That's why we get into social media. And you rarely see healthy content nowadays. What you see most of the time is just the gossip column. Only now you see photos and beautiful images that accompany it. And fools who comment under that nonsense. Even more nonsense. I can tell you that there are ministries, one in particular. I won't say the name, but there are ministries. There is a ministry that is a Christian publication. A publication that calls itself Christian. And do you want to know what they do? Every article they write is simply to expose a church. To expose Christian leaders. To expose pastors.

And listen to me, I am totally in favor of transparency and accountability. But can I tell you something? Transparency and accountability occur closely, in a relationship. Judgment and condemnation scream from the corners. And even so, these ministries build their entire company on gossip. On who failed and what happened. And these are the details. And I can't help but ask myself, Oh my God, what is this ministry doing to bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus? But even so, we consume it. We are subscribed. Let's read the stories. We open our front page to see them. We slide to see the stories. Why are we so fascinated with the failure of others? This is the reason I believe. I think it's because when I see someone fail, it feeds that little lie in my heart that says, Well, at least I'm not that bad. Well, don't look at me as if you never thought that. I would never do that. However, my dear friend, if you allow me to use a little of the biblical language of the first century, then I beg you. Calvin, I beg you, brother. Listen, we have to be careful with the game of comparisons. God, have mercy on us for stopping on a pedestal of justice and measuring our righteousness according to the misery of others. God, have mercy on us. Can I tell you something?

That's not what God's men do. God's women do not base or speak of their blessings in comparison to the rupture of another person. Because here is the problem. If my self-esteem is sustained by your failure, then that means that I need you to keep failing. But my friend, this is not God's heart. Look at me. Your affirmation, your call, your purpose, your sense of belonging, your sense of having a life driven by the mission and guided by the purpose, that must be found only in Christ, not in the failure of another person. We don't look at others to determine who we are or where we are. No, we have to stay out of the window. You know, there is a leadership lesson that my wife Candice and I have taught for years. And it is simply this. There are two types of leaders. By the way, we are all leaders in this place, right? Right? Some of you are like, oh, yes, no, brother, no. Listen, the moment you say yes to this glorious gospel, brother, we are on a mission. This is not a game. There are no middle-time leaders. Two types. The bad leader, when things get difficult, runs to the window to point with his finger and say, who did this? Who is to blame?

Who can I blame? Who is the only one responsible? Who can I blame? Who ruined this? That is what poor, immature, and insecure leaders do. But the wise and pious leader, when everything comes down, does not run to the window to blame others. He changes. Instead of running to a window, he runs to a mirror. And questions are asked like, Lord, is there something I overlooked? What is it in my leadership that I have not managed well? Is there something I could have done differently? Come on, are you listening to me? this morning? What are the things I could have done right? Holy Spirit, I have to address this situation as a leader, but I need your wisdom to know how to do it. Right? Look at me in the church. This is the difference between a religious heart of condemnation and a heart of mercy and grace. Because religion will always judge from a window, but grace is revealed through a mirror. Jesus said it like this in the book of Luke. He made it very simple. Do not judge others and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others or all that will be returned to you. Forgive others and you will also be forgiven. You see, at this moment, these religious leaders and this crowd, everything they saw through their religious judgment was a sinner who deserved death. But then grace appears on the scene. And what grace sees is a woman, a desperate woman who needs a defender. And speaking of women, maybe you already know, maybe you don't know. Let me share with you a little cultural context. In this time, in this culture, in the Middle East, and part of this, a lot of this still happens to this day. Women were then seen as second-class citizens. Their voices did not have much weight in the culture. They were often ignored and underestimated. Really unfortunate, right? So with that context in mind, looking back in the last few weeks, I want you to notice

that a theme has begun to appear in these writings. Now, if you remember it, let's go. Think about it. If you have been following this series, we already told you that when Juan wrote this book, it was intentional. Remember, themes and patterns will appear that we will begin to notice. And the reason why he writes these themes and patterns is because he wants us to notice them. Can I point out one? It is incredible how we have seen, and we will see in the coming weeks, Jesus intentionally approaching the marginalized woman. We saw it when he met the Samaritan woman in the well. Do you remember that story? Literally, Jesus, being a Jew, had no reason to even be in Samaria, but even so, he broke cultural norms to meet this woman and also have a private conversation with her. That is to say, my God, he did that because he saw that his daughter needed to experience the true living water. Let's go a little further. A few chapters later, we will find the story of a young woman named Maria, Maria de Betania. The Bible says that before she believed in Christ, she was a prostitute. And Jesus was having dinner with some leaders and they were there, laughing, talking about ministry. And this woman had the audacity to burst into the room. The Bible says that she had a jar of alabaster, full of precious oil. The Bible says that it was worth almost a year's salary. That is to say, come on, the fragrance of Tom Ford has nothing to do with that. Come on, ma'am. You know we love Tom Ford. The Bible says that she broke it and poured that oil on her feet. And tears began to fall from her face on her feet. And she used her hair to dry her tears. My God, a beautiful moment of worship. But guess what? All the people in the room were disgusted and could not believe that Jesus allowed this to happen. They thought, Jesus, do you know what this woman had to do to be able to pay for this oil? If you knew who she was, you wouldn't even let her be in your presence. But Jesus said, no, she has poured the last drop in worship. And he said, in truth, her story will be told by generations to come. Let's move on. A few chapters later, after Jesus completed his mission on earth, crucified, buried, resurrected, there was a woman who was part of his group of disciples. Her name was Mary Magdalene. The Bible tells us that when Mary met Jesus for the first time, she was freed from seven demons. Seven. And when Jesus rose from the grave, you realize that he did not appear to her. He did not appear to her. Pedro, not even Juan, the disciple whom he loved so much. He definitely didn't like Bartolomé.

Do you want to know who was the first person who saw the risen Savior? It was Mary. He trusted this woman with this great revelation. And then we go back to today's story, this adulterous woman for whom Jesus is advocating. Listen, friend, why is this important? Again, the themes are important. Because in a culture that relegated these women to the margins and treated them as second-class citizens, Jesus constantly approached them and did not distance them. That tells me today that grace always leans towards the person in the room whom everyone else has discarded. Going back to the text, they take the woman out of the temple. In verse 5, they ask again, they say, the law says to stone her, but what do you say, Jesus? Now look at this next verse. They were trying to catch Jesus so that he would say something that they could use against him. Ha ha, I knew it smelled like scandal. So everything comes to light. Because I have always wondered how they were caught on the spot. Like I don't think these situations happen frequently in my general environment. So how could they be at the right time to catch the right thing? Do you know what I mean? But now we see that everything was a trap. Everything was a trap. It was a witch hunt. It was a trap from the beginning. Why? Because look at me, according to how Jesus answered this question,

in their minds there was no correct answer. Now let me help you, for those who may not have delved so much into this story. Think about it. They said, Moses said to stone her, but what do you say? Now look at this. Jesus says, you are right. That is what the law says. Let her receive her punishment. So at that moment, this woman is brutally murdered right in front of the temple. And the message that he has been preaching of love, redemption, grace and mercy goes through the window. His followers turn against him in an instant. The Pharisees win. Now, on the other hand, if Jesus, full of compassion, had said, no, guys, really, show mercy, man. Don't touch this woman. So at that moment, Jesus, this great prophet, is now guilty of breaking the Levitic law. Right in front of the temple, right in front of this crowd. So now, this prophet, this great teacher, who had everyone on their knees, is now a transgressor of the law without any credibility. The Pharisees win. Now, listen. To all my strategists in this room, to all my business owners, I don't know who came up with this plan, but, brother, they were working extra hours. Come on, they had Chad, GPT and Klau working on this. Come on. They had this hermetically closed, or so they thought.

Because they thought that, no matter how Jesus responded, he would lose. But how many of you know today that you can't beat the one who wrote the script? Huh? Try to deceive Jesus. Stop playing. Wait and see how he handled the situation. We'll get to that in a minute. But while we talk about the scandal, I want to... Are you okay? Are you still with me? Good. Now that we're talking about the scandal, I have another question. I just have to put it on the table. I've read this story so many times, more or less, and I've always asked myself, I've always asked myself, in this whole situation, where is the brother? I want to say, listen, the Bible says that they surprised her in the act. Now, I'm not a space scientist. I have four children. More or less, I know how this works. I need two for the tango. So, how did this happen? ¿Quién decidió que él se fuera libre, pero ella tuviera que ir a juicio? ¿Cómo fue simplemente tumbaron la puerta? Poof. Ya, ya, ya. Oye, hermano, puedes irte. Tú vienes con nosotros. Dime una cosa, Julia, ¿cómo es posible que algo así esté pasando ahora mismo, justo aquí frente a nosotros, de esta manera? Escúchenme, iglesia. Cada vez que permitimos que la religión y el juicio guíen nuestras vidas,

entonces nos encontraremos haciendo lo mismo que hicieron estos hombres, pensando. Tenemos el privilegio de escoger y elegir a qué partes del Evangelio queremos someternos. ¿Ustedes no me están escuchando en este servicio de la una? Cuando juzgamos y condenamos a quienes no conocen al Señor, escúchenme, en realidad nos estamos colocando a nosotros mismos en un pedestal de justicia. Y en ese pedestal tenemos la audacia de pensar que nos corresponde a nosotros decidir quién debe recibir juicio y quién debe recibir misericordia. Porque, escúchenme, si queremos ponernos técnicos y los oigo hablar de lo que dice la ley, está bien, cariño, hablemos de la ley. Si vamos a ponernos técnicos, la ley levítica dice que ambas partes deben ser apedreadas, no solo una, sino ambas. Así que en este momento lo entiendo. En este momento estoy seguro de que toda la multitud pensaba, sí, así es. Ella es pecadora. Vamos a seguir la ley. Apuesto a que se sintió como un momento de indignación justa. Pero déjenme decirles, iglesia, que estos hombres no tenían ningún deseo de cumplir la ley. No arrastraron a esta mujer ante la multitud porque les importara a ella. No, ella era solo una pieza utilizada para armar un caso contra Jesús, solo para hacer un punto, y en ese momento ella sería completamente desechable. Ellos no querían justicia, no les importaba el pecado ni la santidad. Déjenme decirles, la persona que se para en la esquina con un cartel de Dios odia a los homosexuales, no busca la santidad ni el pecado, alimentan su propio orgullo religioso. No les importaba esta mujer, no les importaba la ley, no les importaba la santidad, solo querían atrapar a Jesús. Y les digo, si no tenemos cuidado, haremos lo mismo que hicieron estos hombres. Reuniremos nuestros megáfonos, construiremos y armaremos nuestras pequeñas tarimas. Seremos tan ruidosos acerca de las cosas que rechazamos, que el mundo ni siquiera tendrá la oportunidad de escuchar las cosas hermosas que apoyamos. Iglesia.

Señor, ten misericordia de tu pueblo. Escúchenme. Así que cuando quieras escribir algo impulsivamente en Twitter, o sientas la necesidad de decirle a alguien lo que piensas de él, recuerda que cuando nos importa más demostrar un punto que restaurar a una persona, hemos perdido por completo el corazón de Dios. La una en punto. Hemos perdido el corazón de Dios. Algunos de ustedes todavía no están conmigo, así que déjenme ponerlo muy claro. La próxima vez que estés en una conversación y salga el tema de la inmigración... Oh, voy a hablar de eso. Voy a hablar de eso porque escúchenme. Y permítanme ir directo y dejarlo muy claro. No estoy hablando de esto desde un punto de vista político. No hago política. No vengan al vestíbulo a hablar de eso. Me duele la voz. Sin comentarios. Estoy tratando de escuchar porque como pastor mi trabajo no es defender la Casa Blanca. Mi trabajo como pastor es asegurarme de que el cuerpo esté equipado para representar correctamente a un Dios lleno de gracia ante un mundo roto, moribundo y herido. Eso es todo. Así que escúchame. Cuando salga el tema de la inmigración dejando la política a un lado, si te llamas hijo de Dios y si tu reacción inmediata es levantar el puño y empiezas a hablar de políticas y procedimientos sin siquiera tomarte un momento or to think about the person. My friend, in that moment, I don't care how long you've walked with God. I don't care how much you serve. It doesn't matter how much you give. If you're a pastor watching this message, with all due respect, man of God,

it doesn't matter how big your ministry is. If you choose politics over people, every time you've lost God's heart. You've lost God's heart. Now, listen to me. I'm not saying that Jesus is a transgressor of the rules. But at the same time, if he had followed every policy, every religious norm, and every tradition, he would understand that the law was the law. But over the years, the Jewish people added foreign traditions to the original law. If Jesus had done his earthly ministry through politics, he would never have touched the lepers. He would never have met the woman in the well. He would never have resurrected Lazarus from among the dead. He would never have sat with the beggars and the brutes. He would never have found me. He would never have taken you out of the well of your despair. Can I tell you something, church? The Pharisees will destroy a life in order to win a discussion. As disciples, we must be willing to lose the discussion if that saves a single life. Stay with your politics. Stay with your cultural frustrations. We are people of the kingdom. So at this moment, all the people are standing on this poor woman

with sharp stones in their hands. And let me tell you the tragedy of this moment. Do you realize that according to the law, no matter how crazy this moment is, even being a total trap, do you realize that these men were actually justified to do what they were going to do? Think about it. In fact, if you don't believe me, let's go to the moment when God gave the law to Moses. In Exodus chapter 31, look at what the Bible says. When the Lord finished speaking to Moses in Mount Sinai, he gave him two stone tablets of the covenant. Two stone tablets of the covenant. The stone tablets, listen to me, inscribed by the finger of God. So listen to me, church. Let's take away the emotion at this moment, okay? I am a very passionate man. But for a moment, let's take away the emotion we feel for this woman. Leaving all empathy aside, let's call it simply as it is. Let's talk about the law. Technically, they had a valid case. Let me give you an example. The same finger of God engraved the law in stone, right? Well, now that same stone is in the hands of the crowd. Ready to execute the sentence. Church, have you ever been in a moment like this, where all the fingers point to you, when everything was against you,

where all you felt was shame, brokenness and condemnation? Come on. Has anyone ever been in the lowest point of their life? And I'm not talking about the moments when they did something to you. No, no, no, no, no, friend. I'm talking about the moments when all the pain you feel is a consequence of the decisions and choices you made. So, in this moment of despair, you can't even point to someone to accuse them, because this time you are really guilty. There is no one to blame. There is nowhere to run. Guilty according to the charges. This woman is on the floor, stones in her hand, and all eyes are on Jesus, demanding that He take a stand. And I love that Jesus doesn't argue. Jesus doesn't argue. The Bible says that in that moment, Jesus simply knelt humbly before God. Come on, someone. Aren't you grateful that every time religion tries to impose itself on you, grace kneels down to cover you? The scriptures tell us that he bent over and began to write on the dust with his finger. Visualize this image. The same God, the same finger. The one who inscribed the law and the judgment on stone, now kneels, covering his daughter, using that same finger to write mercy on the dust.

The Bible says that Jesus stands up and says to the crowd, Okay, this is what you want to do. We are going to do it this way. Let the one who has never sinned be the first to throw the stone. And then he bent over again and continued to write on the dust. Friends, Jesus was amazing. Look, sister, I have questions for Jesus when I get to heaven. I have a whole list. But one of those questions, probably in the top 5, Jesus, brother. What were you writing on the dust? Some Jewish theologians said that he wrote the 10 commandments on the dust to remind them that, hey, everyone has failed. Some people have said that. That he began to write the most grotesque sins of the crowd. I like that. That's Jesus being sarcastic. I love sarcastic Jesus, as well as daring and sarcastic Jesus. I love that. We don't know what he wrote on us, but I know he was full of mercy. Mercy everywhere. Because in the next verse, it says that those who saw and heard, being convinced by their conscience, left one by one. Starting with the oldest to the last. Now, personally, church, I have always been intrigued by that detail. Why were the elders the first to throw their stones and leave? It's so random, right? I'll tell you why I think so. Because the more you've traveled, come on, dear, if you know it, you know it. Come on, is there anyone in this place who has lived many winters? And you know, listen to me.

The more time you live, that means you have more chapters in your book that you don't want to be read aloud. And church, I've said this many times before. I'm going to say it again. My wife and I are people of strong convictions. We believe in the fundamental values. There are things that, if you squeeze me, will come out of me. And I'm going to say this. I think I said it two weeks ago. Let me say it again. Listen, there are people who think that as long as they keep walking with Jesus, and have walked with him for a long time, they simply get to a point where, dear, I know how to do this. Brother, I'm certified. Like Maná at breakfast. But what I've discovered in my walking with the Lord, my friend, is that the more time I walk with him, I don't get better doing this. I don't get better practicing holiness. I mean, who does holiness anyway? No. The more time I walk with the Lord, the more I discover that I desperately need him. I need him. I need his grace. I need his mercy. I need his wisdom. Come on, God. We need him, brother.

Right? So, one by one, the stones fell to the ground. Starting with the older ones. And up to the youngest. And normally, this would be the moment when we celebrate and come. Oh, that was a great message. Let me go home. But no, because that's his story. And what about the stones that you are holding? Because, remember, I said before that we are all in this story. We are the adulterous woman. But look at me. We are also the ones who hold the stones. Come on, we are playing a double role in this movie. And there are some of you here today who are carrying the same stones that have the names of people written on them. And they have already decided in their hearts that they deserve judgment. And again, when I say stone, I don't mean that you're planning to kill someone. I'm asking you not to do it, I'm referring to the stones that say, you hurt me, and you should pay. I'm talking about that person, who was supposed to be a safe space, but he took advantage of the trust and broke it. I'm referring to the one who left you completely alone, so that you could solve all of this on your own. I'm talking to the person, that deep in your heart, you can't stop thinking about that church, or that ministry to which you gave your life, just to be hurt. Because of the pain caused by the church,

a barrier has been created between you and God. But let me tell you, your problem is not with God. Your problem is with imperfect people, who try to represent a perfect God. And some of us carry these stones, with the names of written people, my friend. Could it be that for some, the stone you carry has no one's name? No. The stone you carry is simply rooted in pride and arrogance. Because somehow you think you've already arrived, and that you are the one who determines what is holy and just, and what is not. You have decided in silence, that you are better and holier than those people, whoever those people may be. You have been pressing those stones so hard, that your hands are numb. And all this time, you cry out to God, open this door. Help me, Lord. Pour out a blessing. You said you would give such a blessing, that I won't be able to contain it. Lord, open the door. Make this open. Open the sea. My hands are open, very open. But you look at your hands, and you can't receive the blessing of God,

because you are still clinging to that stinky stone. You have to forgive. This represents forgiveness. I think that's what it's all about. I'm going to make it very easy for some of you. Your only step today is to send a text message, or make a phone call. Some of you, this week, your only step is to make the trip, fix the meeting, simply say, I forgive you. And look at this. Thank you, Holy Spirit. And when you embark on that path, never tell someone that you forgive them, expecting something in return. Without expectations. They may not even remember the way they hurt you. But we give it to God, because the word says that revenge is His, says the Lord. Because, listen to me, if we don't forgive, then we'll never experience the fullness of life. Listen, if you don't allow it. If you don't let the Holy Spirit heal your wound, you'll always live bleeding over people who didn't hurt you. And then there's an additional group of people that I want to address. There are people in the times that run, who don't need an enraged crowd with stones

to make them understand that they're broken. You'd say, Kurbin, I don't have stones in the name of anyone, except with my own name. Because you're still living your life allowing guilt and shame to unjustly take away everything that God has for you, my friend. Because you come to the room fully aware of your sin. I'm talking to the person who's here today. You don't need a pastor to try to convince you of your sin because you're fully aware of it. I've burned bridges. I've made mistakes that I'm still paying for today. And if I could go back in time and do it differently, I would. But I'm where I am. Some of you may think that everything is fine on the outside. You go to work, you pay your bills, you raise your children, whatever. But they have no idea of the thoughts that go through your mind. They don't understand the demons you fight with day after day. I'm talking to the person who would say, Kurbin, they can keep their stones because I already have enough of my own stones pointing here.

But you ask yourself, do you know what's crazy? Let me talk to that person real quick because I'm glad you're here. Because listen to me. The Bible says that all these men, from the oldest to the youngest, let go of their stones and left. And look at what it says in verse 9. It says exactly the following. And then, once they had all left, Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing right there in the midst of them all. Te das cuenta de que todos estos hombres se fueron retirando porque todos ellos habían pecado. Y no eran realmente dignos de lanzar ninguna piedra. Solo Jesús permaneció. ¿Por qué? Porque Él era el único sin pecado. Él era el único. Oh, Espíritu Santo, ayúdame. Él era el único. Él era el único que poseía la legítima autoridad moral para lanzar la primera piedra. Y aún así, finalmente eligió la misericordia en lugar del juicio. Así que mírame, amigo. Escúchame cuando te lo digo. Es el único que tiene la autoridad moral y el derecho para condenarte. Eligió no hacerlo. Entonces, ¿por qué sigues aferrándote a esa apestosa piedra? Vamos. Deja que la gracia te inunde, amigo mío. Suelta la piedra.

Porque aquí, en este momento, es donde todo llega a su punto culminante. Aquí está. Aquí es donde todo termina. Porque al principio de la serie, leímos un pasaje en Juan 1, el primer capítulo. Creo que fue el primer mensaje. Decía esto. Acércate. Ya casi terminamos. Acércate. Dice, porque la ley fue dada por Moisés a través de Moisés. Pero el amor inagotable y la fidelidad de Dios vinieron. ¿A través de quién? A través de Jesucristo. Verás, nuestro problema es que intentamos compartimentalizar y separar la gracia y la verdad. Vemos a personas viviendo una vida desordenada y pecaminosa y decimos, Oh, ellos solo necesitan la verdad. Y vemos a personas heridas y rotas con sus propios problemas. Solo gracia. Lo tratamos como si fuera una cosa o la otra. Pero no puede ser una u otra. Tiene que ser ambas. Porque al separar la gracia y la verdad, perdemos el punto. En el preciso momento en que comenzamos formalmente a separar la gracia y la verdad, entonces comenzamos a generar inevitablemente un evangelio falso. Porque si predicamos un evangelio que es estrictamente solo verdad sin gracia, creamos un evangelio de juicio, un evangelio de condena total. Pero por el otro lado de la moneda, si todo lo que hacemos es predicar gracia sin verdad, entonces creamos un evangelio de tolerancia. Yo lo llamo gracia barata. ¿Y puedo decirte algo? Ambas son imágenes incompletas del evangelio. Así que en este momento, aquí está, en este momento todos se han ido. Jesús está allí, el dador de gracia, con esta mujer que ha sido devastada por la culpa. Y en este momento tan tierno,

Jesús tiene que elegir. ¿Voy a dar gracia o voy a hablar la verdad? Pero amigos, este es un momento de clase magistral en el arte de la redención. Jesús elige no separar las dos cosas. La Biblia dice en el versículo 10 que Jesús se incorporó de nuevo y le dijo a la mujer, ¿Dónde están tus acusadores? Ahora, acompáñame a ese momento. Acompáñame a ese momento. Así es como yo leo la Biblia. Si esta mujer fue sorprendida en el acto, arrastrada ante esta multitud medio desnuda, con hombres rodeándola con piedras, me imagino que durante toda la conversación, ella está en el suelo, cubriéndose. Y me imagino al Señor inclinándose, tal vez levantándole el mentón, diciendo, Querida hija, ¿Quién te ha acusado? ¿Hay siquiera uno? Y tal vez, por primera vez en su vida, ella mira detenidamente a su alrededor y dice, No Señor, nadie me condena. Entonces Jesús la mira fijamente a los ojos y le dice con ternura, Ni yo tampoco. Ahora ve, hija, y de ahora en adelante no peques más. Amigo mío, Este es todo el Evangelio en una sola frase. Él dijo, No te condeno. ¿Qué es eso? Gracias. Pero ve y no peques más. ¿Qué es eso? Verdad. Y amigo, necesitamos desesperadamente ambas. Y hay algunas temporadas, ángel, ¿verdad?

Hay algunas temporadas en las que necesito más verdad, ¿cierto? Necesito ser corregido de vez en cuando. Y luego hay temporadas en las que necesitamos gracia. We are both because, listen to me friend, in his love and kindness, Jesus and his mercy will find you right where you are. I'm talking to the person in the room or looking online who feels like he doesn't belong here. Can I tell you something? Jesus will find you right where you are. He loves you so much that he finds you where you are. But he also loves you so much that he finds you where you are. Thank you, Liberty. So listen, church, no matter what stone they brought today, whether it's stones with names of people, people who disappointed them or hurt them, or if the stone you carry is pointing to yourself. Hatred towards yourself, you are allowing guilt and shame to steal what God has for you. My prayer for you today is this. Three simple things. First, my sincere prayer is that before you leave here, you finally let go of that stone. My deep prayer for you is that you allow God's grace to save you today. And third, I want you to allow God's eternal truth to hold you forever. That is my fervent prayer for this whole house, in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. With each head bowed, each eye closed, listen, friend. If you are here today and you have never made Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life, or maybe you did a long time ago, and you know, at some point, you lost your passion. You have strayed. Can I tell you something? The Lord is not angry with you. He is not ashamed. I don't know how I could tell this story better to help you understand

how the Lord is always in your favor. In fact, the reality is that the fact that you are here today listening to this message is a sovereign act of grace. Because the Lord wants you to know that He has a plan for your life. He has a purpose for which He put you on earth to fulfill it. He loves you. So today, I want to give you the opportunity to say yes to mercy, to say yes to His saving power. Here it is. First, it doesn't matter who you came with. It doesn't matter who is sitting next to you. It's not about them or what they think of you. Because one day you will be in front of God and you will have to pay for the life you lived on this earth. Are you ready to meet your Creator, my friend? You can be. Here goes the second one. You would say, Corbin, I have done it my way and every time I fail. I got tired of crashing against this wall over and over again. I am ready to give my life to Jesus. If it's you, here it is. One, two, three. Just raise your hand right there. Raise that hand very high so that I can see it. Don't be ashamed. Come on. Jesus hung naked on a cross, beaten and bleeding for you. We just have to raise our hands and say, Lord, I need you. I see raised hands here. God bless you, also online and at home. The Lord sees you.

Now you can lower your hands. Friend, I want to guide you in a prayer. Every believer and disciple will pray with you wherever you are. In that room, in that bedroom or in that car. Let's pray these words. God, you know who I am. I have made mistake after mistake. And I have broken your law. And I realize that I deserve death. But I also know that you are the Son of God. You died for my sins. You rose from the dead in the grave. And one day you will take me home. So enter now into my heart. Forgive all my faults. Heal my mind and use me to always reflect your light. Thank you, my God, for loving me even when I was not worthy of being loved. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. And right now, before we leave, if you are here today, if you are a believer, listen. If you were completely honest and said, I am Kerbin, I have my pockets full of stones. And I realize, maybe for the first time, that I have to leave these things. Come on, if that is you, I want you to raise your hand right where you are. Join me, because you know what? I also raise my hand because I have stones in my life that I need to leave at the feet of the Lord. These can be stones directed at other people. It could be a lack of forgiveness, bitterness. These can be stones. Reflected on the labels you have put on yourself.

Lord, you see every hand. You see my hand. Señor nos damos cuenta en este momento de que para que podamos vivir la vida plena y abundante por la que tú entregaste tu vida no podemos vivir esa vida plena y abundante cargando el peso de expectativas no resueltas así que padre oro esta noche hoy para que nos ayudes a tener el valor de dejar estas piedras a tus pies de confiar en tu palabra de saber que es tu trabajo dar a cada uno lo que le corresponde nuestro trabajo es amar nuestro trabajo es perdonar y nuestro trabajo es confiar de cada resultado así que confiamos en que eres quien dice ser te amamos te honramos y te damos gracias porque haces todas las cosas bien en el poderoso e incomparable nombre de jesús oramos vamos necesito que unas 11 personas del equipo que aman al señor griego gracias por ser parte de victory church en la aplicación pando esperamos que este contenido haya sido de bendición para ti pero queremos que sepas que aún no has terminado porque queremos escucharte así que mándanos una carta y cuéntanos cosas como lo que dios está haciendo en tu vida como podemos orar por ti o incluso que contenido te gustaría que creáramos en el futuro sólo queremos que sepas que te vemos eres importante para nosotros y nos encantaría seguir creando cosas en el futuro que te bendigan así que mándanos una carta y esperamos saber de ti pronto