Nick Ferreiro - No Soy Él

What's going on, Church by the Glades? Happy Father's Day to all the dads in the building. Come on, make a little bit of noise for all the dads in the place today. We're grateful for you. Thank you for leaving your homes, your families, so little that you don't know my name is Nick. My name is also Nick. I'm also a young dad, so I've got three young kids. And as a young dad, I've got another young kid who I'm ever blessed to be a great father because I know he is to my kids. And although my dad was never around when I was growing up, he, for the grace of God, I've got a lot of great examples in my life. Like, for example, my pastor, Pastor David Hughes. I mean, I would not be the man I am today if not for his example of being a father, and a pastor, what he means. So thank you, Pastor. I'll give you a little honor to our pastor today. Thank you, Pastor, seriously. Other examples, like our Executive Pastor, one of my mentors, like Raul Palacios. And I've seen a lot of men that find themselves in these seats in this church. I've been watching them from afar, how you guys lead your families, your homes, your kids. And that's what the Body of Christ is about.

We want to mutually motivate each other and instruct each other. We don't always have to be perfect. We don't always have to be perfect and we don't always have to beat a thousand in our face, but we come together as the Body of Christ in unity. Our gaps start to get filled in your life and things get done for the Kingdom of God. Does anybody believe in today? So I want to see what it's like to be a great father. And as I've been watching these things for a while, being a great father, I've been thinking about a lot of things. I think a great father is a guide. They are a motivation. They tell you the truth. They're loyal. They're disciplined. They're committed and they love their families. But I'm not just talking about being a great father. And to be able to do those things, there's an example that's kept above all else. And we should see that as an example that we're more interested in being a great father than the New York Knicks, the New York Knicks. Oh, faithful Knicks fans, after 53-odd years of waiting, you have finally entered the land that we promised to you, New York Knicks. Oh, faithful Knicks fans, after 53-odd years of waiting, you're New York Knicks, our NBA champions, baby!

And I'm going to be honest with you. I did not see this coming. I really didn't. They were not the favorites to get into the playoffs. They were not the favorites to go to the playoffs. They were not the favorites to beat Thunder. Sorry, Pastor Scott. Oh, we are. But I just didn't expect the Knicks to win. They just destroyed all the competitions that came their way. They were 16 games in the playoffs. They lost 16 games, and they lost by a margin of 6 points. So every game they lost was 4-0. So this is a 16-game-by-1. They now scored their opponents by 283. What an abomination. And those are some live commentary about the New York Knicks. And there's a story that surpasses them all. So, thanks, Ellen Brooks. And I've seen lots of articles of the New York Knicks, Jaylen Bronson, and I've seen lots of articles about Jaylen Bronson, things like how he's always going down. Things like what people thought that he was too massive, because he was just one guy. And I found that he could be a leader

in a team that would lead it to the championship because he was so strong and he was so good at running the track. He took more than 15 million dollars in pay cuts. And he took more than 15 million dollar pay cuts to acquire talent from other people. And you know what? He took a cut of his pay of 100 million dollars so the Knicks could get other great players and pay them. How about this? How about this? The fact that this quote up here, everybody's better than Jaylen Bronson until it's time to be better than Jaylen Bronson. Everybody's better than Jaylen Bronson until it's time to speak to his clutch, his ability to talk better than Jaylen Bronson. What did he mean? He was talking about his ability to teach himself and shine in those moments. He wasn't hiding in those moments. He was shining in those moments. So if you want to summarize Jaylen Bronson's entire story, you can use two words. He's him.

For those that don't know, his designation or title, his designation or title is unmatched to those that are the greatest in that category of them. Like abilities that can't be compared. So it can't be an he or a she. But I'm him or she. It's not uncommon for someone to get a sixth winner. It's not uncommon for someone to get a sixth winner. that you're able to fix it without telling anybody for help, I'm him. Being able to reverse into a parking spot or being able to reverse into a parking spot on the first try, I'm him. And if you're able to do a two-parter without causing a story and they stay asleep, I'm him. And if you're able to do a two-parter without causing a story and they stay asleep, I'm him. We all want to be heard. We all want to be great. And oftentimes we think that greatness will be displayed by our accomplishments, by our success, by our splendor, by our successes, by our pressure.

But I think in the definition of greatness, let's talk about it because a lot of times being great is not something you decide. I'm him. Being great means being able to say, I'm really that. I'm really him. I really am the verb. When I study the scripture, the more I start to really realize that I'm not the reality myself. The more I read and write, I start to realize that that's not where the continuous declaration of greatness is going. The continuous declaration of greatness is not the title on my sermon. I'm not the reality myself. I'm not that guy. I'm not that person. I'm not that woman. I'm not that guy. I'm not that woman. And before I continue, I think it's important to clarify that there's nothing wrong with trying to love greatness. There's nothing wrong with trying to do everything as if we're working toward God's human master's translation.

God, in my opinion, is worthy of an excellent offering or a mediocre offering or a mediocre effort. We should work as if we're trying to please God in everything. He's worthy of excellent praise. He's worthy of excellent effort. He's worthy of an excellent offering. Do everything to the glory of God. Again, you should do everything for the glory of God. So I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to love greatness. A lot of times in Scripture, you see how the Lord elevates certain people, like Moses, or Judge Deborah, or King Solomon. And this brings up the question, is greatness in an area of our life? Is greatness bad or good? No. It's about what keeps us from accessing this greatness in our lives. And I'm going to say something that I love. In chapter 11, the people of the world

are making this tower, which is the tower of Babylon. But the purpose was to make the name of themselves great on earth. And as you can imagine, the Lord wasn't happy with that. So he destroyed this plan, which never happened. But in the next chapter, in chapter 12, Abraham, who is better known as Abraham, the father of faith, says, I will be the name of you. So let's tell them, King Solomon, is named the future king of Israel, but then he loses his throne because of his disobedience and pride. So David, who was a little shepherd boy, didn't even think his family was going to be a king. He didn't even think his family was going to be a king, or that he could have anything to be a king. He was appointed the new king of Israel. And you know why?

Not because he had great triumphs, but because he was a man behind the heart of Jesus. So greatness in itself is nothing. It's the purpose for that greatness. Why do you want to be great? Is it to make your own name great or high? Or is it to be the name of God? With this understanding in mind, with this issue of greatness, I believe now to trust. Now, can you trust God enough to be able to be great? Can God trust you enough with the greatness you desire? Can God trust you enough to be able to be great? Can you trust that you will not become egotistical or self-centered? Is God going to give you that wealth that you need to be great? Is God going to give you that wealth that you need to be self-centered with it? Can you trust God that you will not become egoistical, self-centered, and narcissist?

Because then you'd say, I want all the resources, I want all the money, that's why I'm going to be powerful baby. Watch! Because once I hit that 10% goal, don't be a liar, you're not going to do it. I'm not trying to call you in front of everyone, I'm telling you the truth. If you can't be self-centered when God gives you little things, It makes you think that God can entrust you with great things. what can you do? It's a situation of belief, that influence. We're asking for that platform, for those achievements, but can God believe in you when you have that? And as we ask ourselves these things, it's good to have an example to compare ourselves to. As we're looking for greatness, who better to look at than someone that Christ called the Great, the Goat, John the Baptist? In chapter 11, Jesus is speaking to a number of people, and he says, I tell you that there is no man greater than John the Baptist. He was a fiery preacher.

He really only had one of his pets for the kingdom of God, his athletes. And through his voice was he baptized. And he was one of the greatest of people born among women, which, by the way, is everybody. He was declared great. He is declared the greatest of all who are truly born great. I think we must pay very much attention to the life of John the Baptist, and to take note of what we must replicate to be great, which is really what we're going to do today. So if you have your Bible with you, I'd like you to open it up to the gospel of John, chapter 3, and our text. We're going to be jumping around a lot of places, but John, chapter 3, is going to be our primary text for today. So it's going to be John the Baptist. So I'm ready. Now, a discussion arose between some of John's disciples, and they issued for purification. They went to John, and they said, Rabbi, look, he is baptizing. I don't know if you know, but that's like your whole thing, dude, like you're John the Baptist. It's in the New Testament. He's baptizing. Like, he's stealing your sweat, bro. What are you going to do? He's taking you to the beginning, brother.

And all those who come to him, unless it has given him anything, unless it has given him Christ, you yourselves cannot receive anything unless it has been given to you by Christ. You yourselves are witnesses to what I said. I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. The one who has the bride is not the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who is by his side and listens to him rejoices greatly when he hears the voice of the bridegroom. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete. It is necessary that he grow, but that I languish. So as we look at John's life, we start to see this picture of what John the Baptist has seen of this, and we start to dive into the greatness of the way he defines it. And using John the Baptist as our example, as our guide, I think certain questions come to the fore in our personal reflection, which we can determine if we can be confident in the greatness that we want. And the first question is, can God trust that I don't do everything about me? Can God trust that I don't do everything about me? John the Baptist was presented with two options. At the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, John the Baptist is presented with two options.

He can look for his own pride, and his followers are subsequently starting to compete with him as he sees Jesus. Or he could remind himself that his ministry of baptism is not really about him. He was being guided by God because God trusted that he knew that all of this was not about him, about John. So he responds to the statement he made in a prior interaction, that I am not the Christ. So he's calling to his memory something that had happened to him in the past. He's calling to his memory that I am not the Christ. He's calling to his memory something that he had said at the beginning. He says, I am not the Christ. That's what he's referring to that happens in previous chapters. In chapter number one, in a conversation with the religious leaders of that day, his ministry was gaining so much traction, and he was talking so much about the ministry of John, that they came to ask the leaders, who are you?

So in John, 1, verse 19, this is the testimony of John, it says, I am not, when the Jews came to ask him, who are you? He said, I am not, and he said, I am not the prophet. And he answered, no, and they asked him, and you, who are you? He said, I am not the prophet, and he said, no. I am not the prophet, and he answered, no. Or something, I am not, I know you need to know about this ministry, I know you need to know about me, that I'm not him, I'm not the one you're looking for, I'm not special, I'm not amazing, I'm not extraordinary, I'm not him, I'm not special, I'm not incredible, I'm not extraordinary, I'm not him, I'm not the one, because we need to give an answer to those negations that satisfied the Pharisees, so who are you, what do you say about yourself? And so he says, I am the voice of that one. He was given every opportunity to fill himself with what he had achieved and of his person, but he didn't do it about him. You know how easy it was for him, like, who am I? I'm the chosen one of God, I'm the one the prophets spoke about, I'm this guy that was raised by God and was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born, sent to you for his benefit and to prepare you for the coming of Christ, because all of those things are real, but how many people ask us who we are and we answer with things that impress people, we offer these extensive and this summary

that is super full of what we have achieved and what we have achieved to show that we are impressive, but his example was not, his example was extreme humility. That's what we're looking for here today, humility. God is looking for humble people, humility. You saw humility in his answer when he was asked who he was, he answered with a list of things that are not self-made, I'm not self-made, I'm not told to look like that. First they find out that I'm not, I'm not the Messiah, I'm not this, I'm not made by myself, I'm not called to do this, I'm not him, I'm not my own, listen to me, humility is simply destroying yourself, it's not denying that you have strengths or gifts, no, it's about showing those achievements and those attitudes that you have, but understanding who gave them to you and where they come from. Translation, anything good that you see in me is not me, it's from God, my ideas are from God, my intellect is from God, my wisdom is from God, my discernment is from God, my platform is from God, my faith is from God, everything I've got is from God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, and this we have come from a perfect and holy giver that when we stop and start to make ourselves aware that our gifts come from a perfect God, and that's where we start to do things in ourselves, our greatness, our glory, that's where we make mistakes, because it's not about us, it's never been about us, we're just boats to transport the greatness of God.

As Juan Bautista said, I'm nothing more than a voice in the forest, where the people for the greatness of God, and I also acknowledge the humility of Jesus Christ, I'm the voice, I'm the man of the voice, but at the same time, I'm nothing more than a voice, I'm nothing more than a transport, I'm nothing more than a messenger, I'm nothing more than a vehicle that God is using to get glory, I'm nothing more than a messenger, I'm a vehicle that God is using to get glory, I'm not worthy of baptizing, I'm not worth a voice, I'm not even worth tying his sandals, he's the Lord of God, made flesh, his name is Jesus Christ, he's the Messiah, I'm nothing but a voice, and the voice doesn't matter, a voice is coming up, but the word of God remains and will never fail, I'm nothing more than a messenger, I am nothing but a voice, and voices come and go, but the word of God remains and will never fail. I am nothing but a voice, and voices don't matter, but the word matters. The messenger doesn't matter, but the word matters. The preacher doesn't matter, but the word matters. The vehicle doesn't matter, but it is God that matters. He deals with everything, and He is He. I am not Him. I am not, I can't be, I don't deserve glory. He deserves it. I am not Him. This teaches me that it's not just about whether God can trust that I'm not going to do it on me. It goes beyond that. Can God trust that I do it on Him?

Remember, he was approached with this question, which was actually a complaint from his followers, that the ministry of Jesus was growing in influence and popularity, and his was declining. And his response is brilliant. He responds with this analogy, found in verse 29, chapter 3. He says, The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who is by his side and listens to him, is filled with joy when he hears the voice of the bridegroom. Okay, when the bridegroom gets the bride, the friend rejoices. That's why my joy is complete. So, it's necessary for him to grow, for me to decrease. He's comparing himself to the best friend of the bridegroom, not to the bridegroom. Imagine that the friend of the bridegroom makes all this effort and creates everything, and fixes the bridegroom, and says, You don't look good. Let's cut your hair. Let's get you dressed. Let's find the party room. Let's fix it. Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's communicate among the different people. Who is the band? Who is going to do this? And he fixes everything. The best friend of the bridegroom fixes absolutely everything perfectly. But after all that effort, imagine that when the time comes for the bride to be given to the bridegroom, the best friend says, No, no, no. That's my bride. It's for me. That doesn't make sense. What Juan is saying, is that he, having the bride, he having the glory,

he having the honor and the praise, he receiving his people, is for the reason that I was put on earth. He has to grow. And I have to fail. I can tell you that your business is not about you. Your social media pages are not about you. Your family, your marriage is not about you. Your influence is not about you. Your talents and gifts are not about you. Your finances are not about you. Your true life is not about you or about you. They are means by which we can raise up the King of Glory, Christ Jesus, and teach His power, His glory, His greatness. Because it's not about us. It's about Him. Someone who says, I'm not Him. I'm not Him. I'm not Him. It's about how we can remain humble. Because the promises of Scripture is that if we remain humble, if we remain humble, we will be exalted. The exaltation will come to our lives through Him. It's not for us to decide how that exaltation will come. Some of us think that if we remain humble, we will be given a positional exaltation. Like, He will give me more influence. God will give me that promotion that I've been asking for.

But many times what I've realized is that it's not about a positional exaltation, but a relational one. Sometimes He exalts you through your reputation, or the legality of the faith that you leave on your path, or by leading the people that He trusts you to lead. It's not for us to exalt ourselves. We have to remain humble, and let God exalt us the way He sees it, and the way He sees it correctly. Because listen to me, John the Baptist remained humble, and he was definitely exalted. What does it say? Jesus Christ said that He was the greatest born woman. But if you know the story, you know that He remained humble, and He was exalted, and He ended up in prison. If you go to Matthew chapter 11, it's the same chapter where Jesus said that he was the greatest born of a woman. But this provided the comment that Jesus said this, and the comment was this. Jesus had sent word to Jesus to ask him something about himself, because he was getting into prison. Let me show you, Matthew 11, verse number 2 and on it says, When John, who was in prison, heard about the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, Are you the one who has to come, or should we wait for another? In other words, are you truly the Messiah, or have I been mistaken? Jesus answered, Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are purified, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. Blessed is he who does not stumble because of me. John was in the very center of God's desire for his life.

He was preaching, he was baptizing, he was exalting God, he was maintaining humility, he was giving glory to God, and yet he was thrown into a prison. Have you ever felt that you are doing everything that God asks of you, and yet you find yourself in circumstances that you cannot consider your own? The true moment of lack of courage is when you are locked up in a prison where you did not think you deserved to be. This is the last question I'm going to ask you. Can God trust me? Can God trust me? Okay, if you want to write, this is the last question I'm going to ask you. Can God trust you when you are disappointed? John the Baptist had doubts. And God is not looking for him to be perfect. God is not looking for me to beat a thousand in my faith and never have questions. God is not looking for me to know where to go when disappointment is felt inside. And John had this disappointment inside. Just like our disappointments are sometimes rooted in our expectations. This whole message is about repenting because the kingdom of God is at hand, and he is going to establish his kingdom in power. He waits for Christ to come to judge him, and he never expected that he would be thrown into a prison for doing God's work. And yet, beyond that, he truly hoped that his cousin, the Messiah he preached about, would get him out of that prison where he was for doing his work. But at one point, he realized that the judge had not arrived yet. There was no domination. There was only love, greatness, kindness. And he was in that prison. And he probably looked at him and said, well, I'm not going anywhere. So he sent words to Jesus. He said, are you truly the one we are waiting for, or are you somebody else?

Are you truly the Messiah, or are you someone we should put aside and wait for the true Messiah? And I think the reason he asked this question is because he was experiencing, and his experience was not in line with what he was expecting. Sometimes our experiences don't align with our expectations, and that leads us to be disappointed. I thought I was going to get that promotion. I thought I deserved that promotion. But here I am, messed up, looking over, just over again. I thought my body would be healed by now. God, I thought my body would be healed, but there seems to be no positive progress. I thought my body would be healed by now. But there seems to be no positive progress in my healing. So he sent words to Jesus. No, it doesn't seem to be making any changes for me. Juan was disappointed, so he sent words to Jesus. His faith had failed, but he still had enough faith to go to the one who he was proclaiming. He looked into his heart, and he saw that he still had enough faith so that he, who had once declared that he was the Messiah, would have the answer. in all the wrong places. But John, in his desperate prayers, he was looking for something new. He was just looking for comfort from what he already knew. Hey, are you really who you say you are? Can you really do what you can say you do? And how did Jesus respond? Did he rebuke him? Did he scold him? Did he belittle him for his lack of faith? No!

He said, did you really do what you can say you do? Or did he look at the circumstances? The blind see, the lame walk, the death they hear, the dead are being raised. Yes, I'm still the one that you're looking for. I am the Messiah. I am the Christ. Look no further than this. Yes, I'm still the one you're looking for. I'm the Messiah. I'm the Christ. Look no further than this. God, in the middle of your circumstances, to hear, I know it's hard, but I still hold you. I know it's hard, but I'm still holding you. I know it's hard, but I'm still forming you. I know it's hard, but I'm still got something going on behind the scenes. I'm still gonna work it out for you. You're good for it, Gloria, just trust me. This is why, even in your pain, even in your disappointment, to swear a signal to Jesus, to talk to Jesus, to open up his word and read about Jesus, to get to church and spend time in the presence of Jesus because you said a word to Jesus that the divine is to you. You can answer the word to him.

Jesus, by the job that he does for the Messiah, he wants to get to talk with you about who you are. Also, by the job, who he was in the sense of it's likely that, because of the circumstances and difficulties that he was in, the job that he was in for him. This is difficult. Probably because of the circumstances and difficulties that he was in, he just started to do things like that. He started to do things like that. He started to think that it was about him. And that's difficult. So, as long as people can do that, as long as they're going to see, as long as the devil says, Juan, don't forget, this is what you have proclaimed as long as the blind man sees, the deaf man hears. And as long as the dead are raised from the dead, everything you have proclaimed is going to happen. And everything you have done in your circumstance, which we can give God glory. So, this is why your trials and your trials and your pain and through the platform in your suffering, in your success, you're able to declare and proclaim these words of John the Baptist recorded in all the scriptures. In John chapter one, verse 29, when he sees Jesus coming a long distance away,

what does he say? He says, behold, behold the room of God who takes away sin from the world. And whoever's coming to me, look at Jesus, because I may have pieces, but it's because of Jesus. I may have pieces to store, but it's because of Jesus. I may be a great leader, but it's because of Jesus. I may be a great leader, but it's because of Jesus. But I've spent 30 minutes trying to tell you, is our role in this life is not to be great. Our role in this life is to be great. To love Jesus. To look in awe and admiration, to focus our attention and wonder and worship Jesus Christ. Fix our eyes on the Lamb of God, sacrifice himself for us, that we might be released from the death grip that sin had on us. And that we might be removed from the penalty that we deserve. Freed from the debt that sin had on us. And that we might be freed from the penalty that sin had on us. And that we might be freed from the debt that sin had on us. Jesus is Lord, Jesus is King. But before we are put on the throne as our Lord we have to be accepted

in the throne as ourtwarold. He performed for us what we shouldn't ourself. He sacrificed himself, all the chains and everything that we could eat. In order that we may be saved. And the Lamb of God takes all the sin that you walk through in all of the suffering and all of the pain and all of the abuse. Father bless you. Thank you that you are the Messiah, that you are the Christ, that you are the chosen, and that you are the anointed one. Lord, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the sacrifice that you made, brother, that we could never make our own. Thank you for inaugurating us by yourself. Thank you for exalting us. Thank you for the love and the whole world that you did for us. God, thank you. God, now that you give me the strength to keep on going, to keep knowing that they are in you. You've called them to glory. We love you. We thank you in this place. It's in Jesus' great and mighty name we pray. Amen.