Nick Ferreiro - Nuevo año, nueva creación

Hello, what's going on Church by the Glades? For those of you who don't know me, my name is Nick, I'm one of the pastors here at CBG. I'm very happy to see you all. Give yourselves a round of applause. You're here on the last weekend of 2025. I'm very happy and I hope you've had a phenomenal Christmas with your loved ones, celebrating the birth and the coming of our King Jesus, the Messiah. And now that Christmas has passed, the new year, 2026, and I already know that most of us have been contemplating and praying about the New Year's resolutions and what they are going to be. Being on the precipice of the New Year, causes us to reflect on how the previous year developed and what we want to see as a difference in the year ahead. Perhaps you're looking for a minor adjustment, or maybe you're looking for something entirely different than 2025. Maybe you're looking for a healthy diet or a drastic change. Maybe for you it's not that, but going to the gym, building a physique to look like Pastor David. Or maybe it's not that, maybe you're looking to be more disciplined in your daily life and looking to read several pages a day, read more the Bible, be more consistent in your life of prayer. Maybe it's taking a new skill, Jiu Jitsu, or something like that, or to have a harmful habit, or maybe, I don't know, what it's going to do for you. But we all have something we're waiting to do in the New Year. And I'm not a person who hates resolutions. I'm actually a fan of them, and of everything that makes them perform better. I just think that the formula and the methodology

that culture and society has taught us for growth is a little bit over and it doesn't work anymore. I don't think you're looking for something new in the New Year. It's going to happen doing something new. I think it's actually impossible to transform your life by simply changing your movements. Because the moment you lose the motivation to do these new things or to maintain the habit, you're going to go back to your old habit and it's not going to last. This is why, in my opinion, in Christian life, it's not about changing your behavior, it's about transforming your heart. Because if God can get you to do what you believe is true, and God can transform your life from the inside out, then again, the new thing you're looking for, I don't think it's going to come about doing something new, it's going to come about being somebody new. And the scripture tells us that, first, Jesus, you are a new creature in Christ Jesus. Someone who is better than you were before Christ. So you are an entire new creature. And there is a period of time in which you are being formed to be this new creature in process. It's a process that, over time, it shapes you, it shapes you, to get to the image of Christ. And the reason I think there are so many people who are walking and losing the abundant life that only Jesus can offer,

is because we have put this procedure aside and we're thinking God is going to bring us an instant change in life because that's what we're looking for for the next year. And almost all of us know that it doesn't work that way. So to change this trend, I want to see a man in Mark chapter 10 who completely lost what life had for him. And doing this, my hope is that we learn from his mistake. Because I don't know about you, but I really don't like to lose things. I have FOMO, I'm the type of person that wants to be invited to events. Even though I know with great uncertainty that I'm going to have to say no. I really want to be there, I really want to spend time with you, but I can't. And I know that you know that I can't. But I still want to be invited anyway. Is that toxic? Sure! But I just want to feel loved. I just want to know that they love me there. So, I just want to know if they miss me. Don't judge me. Don't look at me like that. You too have your problems. Don't do it. This is an honest part of me. But let's see in chapter 10 of Mark, this man who comes to Jesus with a deep question, a very important question, and it's the question that many of us do or should do. What is the path to eternal life? What is the path to eternal life? And this man, his interaction with Jesus, and you can see in all the Gospels,

you can see that he was a very rich man, a young man of great power and influence. And they always refer to him, or he is known as the rich young man. And he has an important dialogue about eternal life that comes when Jesus asks him to do something that he literally doesn't want to do. Are you ready for the word of God this morning? If you are ready for the final word of 2025, clap your hands, you ought to open your mouth, you ought to shout in anticipation of what God is about to say to you, if it's something new to you. Mark chapter 10, starting in verse 17, this is what the word of God says, and it says he, referring to Jesus, saw a man who said to him, good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments, you don't murder, you don't commit adultery, you don't commit fraud, you love your father and your mother. And he said to Jesus, master, I have observed all this since my youth. And Jesus, looking at him with love, said to him, you are missing one thing. Go and sell everything you have, and give it to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Then come and follow me. Disheartened by what they said to him, he left full of sadness because he had many possessions. And Jesus, looking around, said to his disciples, how difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. After Jesus said these things, they were astonished and asked him, then who can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, for man it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God. Let us applaud the word of God there. I don't know if you know this, but there is a plague that is sweeping the globe in modern culture. It is getting worse. It is the plague of this ideology that pretends that if I can add something to my life, then I'm going to be happy and I'm going to be content. This internal dialogue with us becomes something like in 2026,

somehow, miraculously, I win the lottery and I become a millionaire. Then I can live a luxurious life and get all the things I've always wanted and explore the world with my friends, my family. And if I can finally get married, if I finally get that promotion I've always wanted, if I get what I've always wanted, if I can get that, then and only then will I finally be happy. But the problem with material things is that there is always more. So you can get what you want and it will probably make you happy for a season, until the next best or biggest thing comes to light. And for this reason, no matter how many things we acquire, we will never really be happy. We will always be unsatisfied because we have fallen into the trap of more. As someone who loves you and wants the best for you, more will not make you happier. More will only ever leave you wanting more. And that's crazy. That this man, this rich young man who was there, and many of the scholars believe that Jesus asked him to be his 13th disciple because he lost it, because even though he had everything he could want, he had youth, influence, power, possessions, and yet he came to Jesus asking him what he could do to obtain more because he clearly was not satisfied. So how can we be sure that we are not satisfied? we become like this rich young man and fall into the trap of believing that it will make us more satisfied, that it will make us happier. To make sure that this does not happen to us and to do it effectively, we have to look at the throne. Let's answer as honestly as we can. What sits on the throne of our life? What does your heart seek? What is it that grabs your attention? What is it that you worship?

Well, Pastor, I'm here, I'm not really a believer, I don't believe in God at all, I'm here. Someone invited me and invited me. I don't worship anything. That's why we're so happy that you're here. Thank you for coming on this weekend. You're a VIP guest and you're welcome to ask the questions you want to ask. It's not a challenge, but I want to press a little bit because whether you believe it or not, each one of us is constantly worshiping something. Because worship is simply expressing devotion or admiration for something. And sadly, so many of us put our worship in things that are outside of the person of God. And that's what the Bible defines as idolatry. This is simply looking at a secondary source that provides for you what only your Savior can provide for you. And in my opinion, this was the primary mistake of this young rich man in this movement. Because if we look at verse 21, it says a couple of details that I think strengthen this. It says that Jesus, looking at this young rich man, said to him, You lack one thing. Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor. And you will have treasures in heaven. And then go, follow me. And disheartened by this, because he had great riches, great possessions. Now, this young rich man did not attend to what Jesus had to offer him because he had emphasized too much the importance of his possessions. Now I want to make this very clear. This text does not imply that God says or favors possessions or is not in favor of possessions or wealth. Jesus is not against money. Can someone tell me? But most people who believe this derive from a couple of things that Jesus said after this interaction. He said how difficult it would be for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And a later verse says that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. But if Jesus is not completely against money,

why does he make statements like this? I do not believe that Jesus is saying these statements so much about money but about the matters of the heart. Because unfortunately many people who have money, not all of them, but many rich people have this inappropriate ideology that they do not need God because all their needs are covered, because they are self-sufficient. So they believe that they have lasting security. Yes, God offers eternal security, but I already have what God offers me, so I do not need him. But many of us know that this is simply not true. And that is why the scripture says that it is the poor in spirit who will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Not because they do not have resources, but because they do not have this type of spiritual aspiration. So it does not matter how many resources you have on earth, all of us still have the most important thing in life, which is the redemption necessary for our salvation, which was paid completely by Jesus Christ for his unique and sufficient sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, which he did in our place. So, again, this text is not saying that money is bad. In fact, money can be an income of the kingdom used to distribute the gospel and to take it to the lives of many. So, if you believe so, there is still time to participate in our offering of the great gift, which is to offer our best Christmas gift to the birthday boy, which is about what Jesus Christ meant in this season. And what a great time to participate, because recently, several days ago, A very generous family in our church offered an offering that is going to be equal to yours until it reaches $500,000. So, if we can raise $500,000, this is going to become a million. Come on church, this is an incredible opportunity. So, it's an opportunity that we have to double our kingdom in this sense. And here in Church by the Glades, it's not said, and I'm going to say it, there's no pressure to give. The pressure, we don't do this type of giving because of guilt in Church by the Glades.

But we are going to tell you to pray. If you don't have one of those red envelopes, put it in your refrigerator, or wherever you see it, and pray. And see if God is going to make you participate in the way that he is using our great church to impact the kingdom of God. Pray, pray, pray. But pray fast because we have a few days left. So, again, this text does not imply that Jesus is against money. What I'm suggesting is that Jesus is against anything that is in the way of experiencing the life that only he has to offer, and that only comes through a relationship with him. So, when he asked this rich young man, he was not telling him what he had to do with his wealth. What he was doing was solving what he had to do with his worship. I don't think this rich young man was in his possessions what kept him away from Jesus, but an inadequate assessment of what his possessions would do for him. When we worship things that are outside of the person of God, it is not because we devalue God or his power, but because we overestimate what we think other things can do for us. So, here you are today, and you think that, well, what you constantly worship is your work. You think that your acceptance and your meaning in life is what you do. For others, it is popularity, and they think that your accomplishment is in your number of followers, or in your success, which is derived from how much you do, how much you achieve in your list of things to do. Perhaps your wealth, and you think that like the rich young man, your peace is linked to your payment check, to your possessions. But when you build your life on a foundation that is unstable, don't be surprised when it falls apart, inevitably. Because when the job is going well, and you've got all the friends, and this portfolio is going to the right, your bank account is growing, you're on top of the world, and nobody can talk to you. But when they let you go to work, or when you retire, or when you get an injury, and you can't play that sport anymore, or when your kids move out of the house, or you have an empty bed, or when the stock markets are in the red, you have all this anxiety, and you're losing sleep at night. It's not surprising that so many people walk around with identity crises, because as a generation, we have taken resources, and we have made these resources

the source of our whole life, or our happiness. We tend to grow disoriented when the circumstances that surround us, when the stability changes, when the work changes, or when this season of life, when the money changes, it leaves us wondering who we really are, and we don't know why we are on this planet. And I'm just trying to get their attention for a reality, and if they feel like something is missing in their life, then I can suggest that instead of looking for your identity in these secondary sources of satisfaction, that you finally find your identity in the person of Jesus Christ. Because let me remind you that Scripture says that you are a new creation in Christ Jesus, that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, that you are the masterpiece of God in Christ Jesus, that you are chosen, purified, and holy in Christ Jesus, that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, that you are exceptional from the love of God. inseparables del amor de Dios en Cristo Jesús y la paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento guardará sus corazones y sus mentes en Cristo Jesús. En Cristo Jesús encuentran su identidad en Cristo. Lo que estoy tratando de decir es que lo que adoren es tan importante porque lo que adoran implica o determina cómo caminan. Pueden caminar con ansiedad o pueden caminar con expectativa. Pueden caminar con descontento o pueden caminar con discernimiento y determinación. Pueden caminar bajo estrés o pueden caminar inalterables por las elecciones que hacen. Entonces hay que ver quién está en el trono de sus vidas. Si no es Jesús, lo que sea que coloquen en el trono de sus vidas esperando que los haga felices o sentirse completos nunca va a ser suficiente. Nunca va a ser influyente o popular. Nunca van a ser suficientemente talentosos o lograr lo suficiente porque siempre van a tener la sensación que algo les falta y es lo que Jesús tiene para ofrecerles. El gran teólogo C.S. Lewis lo puso así. No dejen que la felicidad dependa de algo

que puedan perder. Debemos tomar o hacer un inventario regular de qué cosa está en el trono de nuestra vida y asegurarnos de que Jesucristo está sentado en el lugar que merece. Hay que observar ese trono. Pero yo no quiero que ustedes estén desinformados, iglesia. No quiero que estén desinformados en lo que significa colocar a Jesús en el trono de sus vidas, en lo que significa seguir a Jesús completamente. No sé si lo saben, pero va a haber un precio asociado al seguir a Jesús de forma apropiada. Por eso es que debemos contar el costo. Hay una versión de la cristiandad que se predica y se populariza hoy en día que dice que si solo sigues a Jesús, Él te va a dar todo lo que tú quieras. Eso es un gran mensaje, ¿sí? Yo entiendo por qué a la gente le gusta. Es un mensaje sexy. Y yo puedo tener todo lo que quiera si sigo a Jesús. Amén. Venga. Yo puedo encender un lugar predicando un mensaje así. Pero desafortunadamente ese no es el Jesús de la Biblia, porque yo leo las Escrituras y reviso y me llega esta idea de que hay un costo único que cada uno de nosotros debe asumir para seguir completamente a Jesús. Y me estoy expresando claramente porque no estoy diciendo que hay un costo para la redención, el amor o el perdón o la salvación de Dios, porque solo por la gracia de Dios expresada a través del Rey Jesucristo que tomó nuestro lugar en la cruz y nuestra aceptación de esta gracia a través de la fe es lo que nos salva. Que no hay nada que podamos hacer para ganarnos esta salvación y para merecerla, ni nada para tener este mérito, que es un regalo de Dios. Es un regalo. No hay nada que podamos hacer, pero tantos de nosotros de alguna forma caemos en la idea de que hay algo que podemos hacer para ganarnos el amor de Dios. Y no es así, si vemos este caso del joven rico, dice que este joven rico le pregunta, maestro bueno, ¿qué debo hacer para heredar la vida eterna? Creo que su corazón estaba en el lugar correcto, pero su metodología estaba equivocada. Para él, la vida eterna era acerca de ¿qué debo hacer? ¿Cómo me puedo ganar esto? ¿Qué tengo que llevar a cabo para obtenerlo? ¿Hay alguna forma en que puedo alcanzar esto? Eso es lo que la religión te hace. Va a sobre enfatizar tu necesidad de trabajar, va a sobre enfatizar la confianza en ti mismo, pero yo no creo que es la salvación que Jesús nos ofrece. La salvación que Él nos ofrece no tiene que ver con hacer. La salvación que Él nos ofrece es acerca de que ya está hecho en la cruz. Dijo tres palabras. Dijo, ya está hecho, consumado es. No hay nada más que hacer, no hay nada que agregar, nada que lograr, nada que tengas que ganarte, nada que tengas que hacer para merecerlo,

nada que tengas que hacer. It's Him on the cross, Him dying a death, It's Him resurrecting, It's Him looking at you and saying, You're worth it, I would die for you, but I need your faith in me. It's only Jesus. But hear me, while salvation is not hard for us, following Jesus, that might be hard for us, because if you look at this young rich man, Jesus asked him to let go of everything that he appreciated more, to follow him completely. It's almost like if Jesus proves our devotion to Him through our will, our desire to abandon our preferences, because we all have a way of life that we think we have to follow, that is correct, a way of life that we prefer to use, and a plan that we have already made, a map for our life of when this or that is going to happen. And all I've learned is that many times the purpose that God has for us is in direct contrast with our preferences. So when Jesus asked this young rich man to go sell his possessions, it's as if he's telling him, how much do you really want the life I have to offer you? Do you want it so much to let go of what you love most? Would you be willing to sell your possessions in order to follow me? Would you want to break up with this partner that is toxic to you in order to follow me? Would you want to abandon all your possessions in order to follow me? Would you want to let go of your hopes and your dreams and the plans that you have for your life and what you think is best for you in order to follow me? And listen, he doesn't ask us to let go of all these things for any reason, because the scripture also tells us that Christ came for us to have life and a more abundant life. This is not a question of money, this is not a question of wealth, this is a question of giving you a life in return, but first you have to let go. So if we want the abundant life that Jesus has to offer us, first we have to follow him in a complete way, leaving everything that is, or that is interposed between you and him. So if you want abundance, you're going to have to let go of the average.

You're going to have to let go of your preferences, what you thought was important, and start walking in the Lord's footsteps. Because what I've learned is that when God asks you to give something, to abandon something, it's always because he wants to give you something in return. This is why, this is why we must learn how to live our lives with spiritual hands. A long time ago, my wife Stacey and I went to a children's party with our kids. My son Avery was hungry, so we couldn't give him his lunch, so we gave him a couple of cookies so he could hold on, but this kid took the cookies and he didn't eat them. He just held on to them for the rest of the party, and there was no way for him to let go. So we begged him, but let go of the cookies, eat them, do what you have to do. And he was crying, he was hungry, he was crying, and he's pretty stubborn, his mom took him, but all his friends started coming, and he wanted to play with his friends, but he couldn't even use the toy tacos, or color, because he was holding on to the cookies. So we tried to take them away from him, and he started crying hysterically again, and it was non-stop feedback, from wanting to take the cookies away from him, and giving them back to him, until I finally said, it's okay, keep the cookies, you're not done. So finally lunch time came, and he was so hungry, and me, and they opened this buffet at the meeting, and there were all his favorite foods, and what I did was I took a plate with his favorite foods, and I offered it to him, and I said, please eat this, but he didn't want to let go of the cookies. So I started having a moment of prayer with my son,

I felt so bad, because I was talking to a three year old, like, please let go of the cookies, I have food for you, what I have to offer you is better than what you're holding on to. But you have to let go of the cookie. What Avery didn't understand was that what she was clinging to prevented her father from giving her what she really needed. And God can't give you what you have with your name on it because if all you have is two fists clinging to what you have, do you really think that God's ways are higher than yours? Do you really think that his resources and provisions are greater than yours? Really, then open your hands and let go of what you have been desperately trying to hold on to so that you can receive the best from God. I know you think it's expensive, and it might be, but in the grand scheme of things, you will never be able to give up more than God is willing to give back to you. Never. The cost doesn't even compare to everything you have in your life. I think you might feel like it's very expensive, and I understand that you feel like it's an impossibility to let go of what you've been building all your life and what you find in your fulfillment. This moment is when it's important to recognize who you have to rely on. Because if you try to rely on yourself, you might also try to rely on yourself, to be yourself. But in my experience, the result is always the same. You experience a pressure that overwhelms you. You experience anxiety, worry, stress, stress load, and a burden for the burdens you have to carry on your own. Self-reliance will take you to a point. But if you want to go the distance, if you want to fight the good fight of faith, finish the race of faith with the excellence of who recognizes who you are,

then you have to rely on yourself. And going back to verse 26, this will give us so much hope. It says, They were exceedingly astonished after what Jesus said to them, and they said to Him, Who can be saved? And Jesus, I imagine, looked at them with a smile and said, With men, it's impossible, but not with God. Get ready to read. For all things are possible for God. What you go through, and the things that you are doing, it's usually too much for you to handle. And the life that the Lord is calling you to, it may feel too hard for you to go about doing it yourself, but you're doing it. But the thing that's important to me, church, listen to me, this is the point, you were never made to do it by yourself, because what seems impossible for you, to overcome that addiction, for example, all things are possible for God. You think that marriage is a death bed, and you think it's impossible to come back to life, all things are possible for God. What you might think is impossible to change,

you can't teach this to a dog, you can't teach this to a dog, and everything that you think is a disease, for example, can't be healed, all things are possible for God. If you think that your finances are in a mess, that they can't, that there's no way around it, all things are possible for God. And if you think that what God is asking you to do, it scares you, it gives you anxiety, all things are possible with God. If you believe it, if you agree with it, if you accept it, if you think it's possible with God, then raise your voice and give Him a shout of praise, applaud Him, and thank God, because all things are possible for God. It's possible, but I think God needs you to trust Him, so that He can release all His power to make it impossible, and allow you to live the abundant life He has promised you. So, stop doing it all for yourself. Stop doing it for anxiety, and stop putting your burdens in front of Him, because He is strong enough to handle them.

If you're looking for something new in the new year, I think it's time to let go of what you've been clinging to, and what you thought you were going to be satisfied with, and start following completely the one in whom all things are possible. All things are possible. And thank you, Father, because you have never forsaken us, because you have given us a gift. And thank you for your Son. Thank you for the gift of grace, for helping us to follow you completely and let go of those things that we have clung to and live life walking in a complete life. Lord, strengthen us. Give us courage and give us strength to live the life that you have called us to live. I ask you to bless us in the process. Thank you. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. As the church says, amen.