TIMOTEO: Arraigado en Discipulado | Héroes de la Fe

Ordinary people, men and women whose lives were not defined by perfection, but by being deeply rooted in it. Through the promise and the proof, through the value and the calling, their stories remind us that faith does not fade in the storm, but deepens. And now, their stories become our invitation to remain firm and to remain rooted in Christ. Heroes of Faith. Rooted Edition. ¿Hay alguien contento de estar en la iglesia hoy? Dile a la persona al otro lado, prepárate que va a estar bueno, prepárate que va a estar bueno. ¿Algún cristiano trajo su biblia a la iglesia hoy? ¿Algún cristiano que ama la palabra? Bueno, muy bien. Pueden abrir a segunda de Timoteo 3. Hoy vamos a estar principalmente en los libros de Timoteo. Pregunta, ¿Timoteo está en el Antiguo o Nuevo Testamento? Nuevo Testamento. Muy bien, muy bien. Vamos a arrancar hoy esta serie, Héroes de la Fe. Edición Arraigados. Y en estas próximas semanas vamos a tener un viaje a través de aprender de las vidas de hombres y mujeres en la biblia que sobresalen por sus ejemplos de vivir vidas profundamente arraigadas en el Señor, arraigadas en la palabra de Dios. Y es importante. Las raíces son importantes. Dí conmigo raíces. Cuando tú ves un árbol fuerte y saludable, es importante entender que lo que ves por encima de la tierra es un reflejo de lo que está debajo de la tierra, que no se ve con los ojos. Y fuertes raíces producen crecimiento fuerte. Raíces profundas producen fruto que perdura. Y es lo mismo en la vida espiritual. En un mundo que constantemente está tambaleando, constantemente está cambiando, constantemente está jalándonos en direcciones diferentes, Dios está buscando a personas que están firmemente arraigados en él y en su palabra. Esta serie conecta naturalmente con el lema de este año aquí en Vertical, que es firmemente arraigados, fielmente creciendo. Y en esta serie vamos a descubrir que estos héroes de la fe no fueron héroes porque fueron perfectos. En realidad, cada uno de ellos tuvo sus debilidades, sus flaquezas, digamos sus asuntos. ¿Cuántos saben que todos tenemos asuntos? Yo tengo mis asuntos, tú tienes tus asuntos, el que está a tu lado tiene sus asuntos. Y si alguien piensa que no tiene sus asuntos, ese es uno de sus asuntos.

Interesantemente, estos héroes de la fe, a pesar de sus asuntos y sus flaquezas, permanecieron arraigados y anclados en el Señor. Cuando la vida se puso difícil, permanecieron arraigados. Cuando las circunstancias cambiaban, permanecieron arraigados. Cuando no comprendían por qué Dios estaba haciendo o permitiendo algo, permanecieron arraigados. Y por permanecer arraigados, Dios usó sus vidas para impactar generaciones. Aprenderemos en esta serie de Abraham, quien estaba arraigado en la promesa. Aprenderemos de José, quien estaba arraigado en medio de las pruebas. Moisés estaba arraigado en la presencia de Dios. Ruth estaba arraigada en la lealtad. David, arraigado en adoración. Esther, arraigada en valentía. Y Pablo, arraigado en misión. Mi oración es que esta serie no sea simplemente una oportunidad para admirar a estos héroes, sino que aprendamos de ellos, seamos desafiados, y más importante que nada, permitamos que Dios desarrolle en nosotros estas mismas raíces profundas en nuestras vidas espirituales. Porque la meta no es solamente estudiar algo para entenderlo en la mente. La meta es convertirnos en hombres y mujeres de fe, que estamos firmemente arraigados y fielmente creciendo en cada temporada de nuestras vidas. Así que el título del mensaje de hoy es, Timoteo, arraigado en disipulado. Díganlo conmigo, Timoteo, arraigado en disipulado. Oremos. Señor, gracias por esta oportunidad de estar juntos en familia. Espíritu Santo, te invitamos a este lugar y este momento, porque queremos escuchar de ti, queremos aprender de ti, queremos aplicar en nuestras vidas tus principios y cosechar el fruto que viene de la obediencia a tu palabra. En el nombre precioso de Jesús.

Amén. La idea principal del mensaje de hoy es que el verdadero disipulado consiste en seguir intencionalmente a Jesús junto a otros para parecernos más a Cristo y ayudar a otros a hacer lo mismo. And I want to take you to a text in II Timothy 3, where it gives us a framework of the key of the disciple, which of course has a lot to do with the word of God. II Timothy chapter 3, verse 14, and it says, remember, Paul is writing to young Timothy and he says, but you, Timothy, you must remain true to the things that have been taught to you. You know that they are true because you know that you can trust in those who have taught them to you. Since childhood, the sacred scriptures have been taught to you, which have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes from trusting in Christ Jesus. 16. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us see what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do the right thing. 17. God uses it to prepare and train his people to do all good work. This gives us a framework of really the concept and the heart of the life of a disciple formed and guided by the word of God. Now, before unpacking four points that I want to share with you, let's talk a little about this man named Timothy. When we think of heroes of faith in the Bible, we often think of great men like Abraham, the father of faith, like Moses, who was the one who confronted Pharaoh and led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, or suddenly we think of King David, who was able to defeat the giant Goliath, or Esther, who saved all her people for the position that God had given her. However, Timothy is different. Timothy was never a king. Timothy was not a prophet. Timothy did not split the sea in two, nor did he defeat any giant. Timothy did not even write a book in the Bible. And yet, Timothy becomes one of the most influential leaders in the primitive church of those times. Ask me why. Because Timothy shows us that God does not simply use the most gifted. God uses faithful disciples. Timothy lived in the first century AD, shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

He was from a city called Lystra, which is now known as Turkey. First, we learn about Timothy in the book of Acts, during the second missionary journey of Paul. The Bible tells us that Timothy had an interesting family history, because his mother, Eunice, was Jewish, a believer in God. Also, his grandmother, Loida. And it says that his father was Greek. An interesting mix in his upbringing. Timothy is a precious example of how faith can be transmitted from one generation to the next generation, and to the next generation. Timothy's spiritual roots were planted long before he started in the ministry. In fact, when Paul arrived in this city, Lystra, he realized that there was something special about Timothy. He noticed that he had a good reputation. He noticed the potential in this young Timothy and invited him to a missionary trip. And this invitation that Paul made to Timothy changed his life forever. For the next few years, Timothy traveled with Paul, learned from Paul, served with Paul, prayed with Paul, faced difficulties with Paul, he watched Paul preach, he saw how Paul suffered, he watched and observed how he led Paul, and in many ways, Paul became a spiritual father for Timothy. In fact, many times in his writings, Paul refers to Timothy as my son in faith. And what makes Timothy special is that he was not necessarily a brave and extraordinary leader. We discover in one of the letters to Timothy that Paul writes This Timothy, first of all, we know that he was young, but second, it seems that he sometimes fought with some insecurities or fears. Why? Because look at this. Look at what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1, two chapters back, 2 Timothy 1, look at verse 7 and look at what Paul declares. Paul says to Timothy,

God has not given us a spirit of fear and shyness, but of power, love and self-discipline, or self-dominance. Here is Paul affirming it. Why? Remember, Timothy was young, he had young leadership positions. Suddenly there were moments when he felt or thought, you know, I don't have what is needed. Suddenly they are not going to believe in me, they are not going to pay attention to me, they are not going to respect me. How interesting! Despite his shyness and despite, perhaps, some insecurity, Timothy remained faithful. Eventually, he was so faithful that Paul entrusted him and entrusted him with significant leadership in the church of Ephesus, one of the most important churches in the New Testament. In fact, there are two complete books, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, which were written by Paul directly to him. Imagine that! Timothy was not famous for extraordinary talent. He gained influence for extraordinary fidelity, for being a faithful disciple. And that is why we recognize his courage. Not because he was perfect, not because he was a brave leader, not because he was the most gifted, but because he had a teachable heart, because he was always available, because he proved to be faithful and rooted at all times. Timothy reminds us that spiritual maturity does not happen by accident. It happens with intentional discipling. It happens with intentional relationships, mentoring, spiritual community. And for this reason, we are highlighting Timothy's story today. Because if there is something that Timothy's life teaches us, it is that you do not have to be extraordinary for God to use you in extraordinary ways. Four keys to true discipling. How many? Four keys to true discipling. Number one, true discipling is relational. What is it? Relational. One of the first things we learn from Timothy is that he did not reach faith in Christ, he did not reach his faith in isolation or solitude. Before Paul mentored Timothy, God was already using other people in his life. Let's go now to 2 Timothy 1, verse 5.

Two verses back. There we understand a little. Paul says, Notice here, multigenerational. Notice how God uses relationships and family to build a foundation in Timothy's life. Before Timothy had a ministry, he had mentors. Before he had influence, he had examples in his life. Before he taught others, he was taught and had a heart to learn. Family, that is discipling. Discipling is not information in the mind. It is a life, it is lived, it is experienced. It is helping another person to follow Jesus. Here I give you a line. People help other people to follow Jesus. If you know Jesus, it is because someone helped you at some point. This is something that artificial intelligence cannot do. It would not be a good discipler. Because it is relational, it is personal, it is alive, it is active. I love Timothy. He was not raised by perfect people, but he was mentored and disciplined by faithful people. And I love that. God does not need perfect disciples. He needs available and willing disciples. Some here, or not you, the people outside. You will talk to them. There are people outside who sometimes want to wait for a problem from heaven to come and talk to you and whisper in your ear, do something for God now. Do not wait. Take action. Put your faith into action. It is important, it is important. Now, some important questions to consider.

Think about this. If you are a Christian, a believer, if you are a Christian, who has helped to form your faith? Who taught you to pray? Who motivated you and raised you up in times of difficulty in the midst of your Christian faith? ¿Quién te ayudó a comprender y leer la Biblia cuando empezaste a hacerlo? ¿Quién te apuntó hacia Jesús? ¿Quién te contagió? Yo no sé tú, pero a mí me encanta tomar un momento para pausar y decir, gracias, Señor, por la vida de fulana. Gracias por la vida de fulano, que fue la persona que nos habló de Jesús. Yo lo digo a cada rato, gracias por Miriam Forero, que abrió su casa para que mi mamá llegara a su casa a conocer una fe que transformó nuestra vida y nuestra familia. Que en paz descanse, Miriam, y que Dios bendiga a su familia y a sus hijos. Gracias porque ella abrió su boca, compartió el Evangelio. Gracias. Y de ahí otras personas Dios usó para enseñarme a mí. Él usó a mis padres. ¿Quién te enseñó a ti? ¿Quién te ayudó a ti? ¿Y podrías dar gracias a Dios por esas personas? Punto 2. El verdadero discipulado es intencional. No solamente es relacional, es intencional. Las relaciones, solamente las relaciones no automáticamente producen discipulado, porque tú puedes estar sentado al lado de alguien en la iglesia por 10 años y nunca conocerles realmente. Tú puedes estar sentado al lado de alguien en el trabajo por muchos años, pero nunca tener influencia en su vida o esa persona en tu vida. Tú puedes tener cientos de contactos en tu teléfono y no tener una relación de discipulado con otro creyente. Porque el discipulado requiere intencionalidad. Es exactamente lo que vemos en Pablo.

Pablo no discipuló accidentalmente a Timoteo. Pablo no dijo algún día, ay mira, y esto que pasó con Timoteo. No, no. Fue muy intencional, muy intencional invirtiendo en él, derramando en él, formándolo y preparándolo. Es más, miren conmigo, este es el único versículo fuera de Timoteo. Hechos 16. Quiero que veamos cuando empezó la relación, la conexión entre Pablo y Timoteo. Encontramos esa historia en Hechos 16, versículo 1. Hechos 16, 1 dice, Pablo fue primero a Verbe y luego a Listra, donde había un discípulo joven llamado Timoteo. Su madre era una creyente judía, pero su padre era griego, interesante. Los creyentes de Listra e Iconio tenían un buen concepto de Timoteo. Pausa. ¿Tenían un qué? Un buen concepto. Eso significa que Timoteo tenía una buena reputación. Es una persona que cuando decían Timoteo, la gente decía, ese muchacho está bien parado, ese es un buen hombre, ese es un buen joven, ¿no? Y dice, 3, de modo que Pablo quiso que él los acompañara en el viaje. Entonces, es interesante que Pablo llega a este lugar, eventualmente escucha de un joven llamado Timoteo, que tiene una muy buena reputación. Me imagino que eventualmente lo conoce. Pablo empieza a, entre más lo conoce, ve más potencial, ve fidelidad, ve un carácter formado. Pablo de repente dice, ¿sabes qué, Timoteo? Lo toca en el hombro y le dice, te invito a un viaje misionero. Le invitó a una relación.

Le invitó a hacer ministerio juntos. Le invitó a crecimiento, a discipulado. Y Timoteo no es que simplemente empezó a escuchar las prédicas de Pablo, no. Él empezó a viajar con Pablo. Empezó a aprender de Pablo. Empezó a observar a Pablo, a servir con Pablo. A ver cómo Pablo manejaba la presión en la vida. A ver cómo Pablo manejaba las interacciones interpersonales con las personas con quien él lidiaba. A ver cómo Pablo oraba, cómo enseñaba. Todo fue parte del proceso de discipulado, porque el discipulado muchas veces es más modelado que enseñado. Y yo sé que los padres saben esto. ¿Cuántos padres recuerdan a sus hijos pequeñitos imitando todo lo que hacían? Todos los que somos padres podemos recordar cuando nuestros hijos estaban pequeños cómo hacen cosas para imitarnos. Y fíjate algo, cuando un niño pequeño de dos o tres años imita a sus padres, hay una de dos reacciones. ¡Ay, qué lindo! ¡Míralo igualito, padre! ¡Oh! ¡Qué susto! Dependiendo de cómo hablan los padres y cómo es esa casa. ¿Alguien está conmigo? Les cuento dos historias curiosas de mi crianza, porque conectan con este punto. Hablando de mi papá. Cuando yo tenía tres años y medio, mi papá, antes de ser pastor, él fue carpintero. Él trabajaba con madera. Él tenía su taller donde tenía todas sus herramientas de carpintería. Y de vez en cuando había un día donde no habían clases en el colegio

y mi mamá tenía su trabajo, no podía ir con ella. De vez en cuando me tenía que ir con mi papá al taller para trabajar. Entonces, por supuesto, como íbamos al taller, yo quería imitar a mi papá. Él se iba con sus herramientas, pero yo me iba con mis herramientas de Fisher Price. I don't know if you know this, but I used to tell my dad to put me a work belt, and I would put my hammer, and I would put my saw, right? And I imitated him, why? Because I wanted to be like my dad. And I imagine that my dad would say, there is my son, just like me. That's it. Now, another story, perhaps with a different effect, when my dad tells, he has always told this story as an example, and when I thought of Pablo and Timoteo, and at this point, I thought of this. At the same time, I was three and a half years old, just when my parents first met the Lord and gave their lives to Jesus, just at that time, my dad tells that one day, one Saturday, he came to the kitchen, he came to the fridge, he grabbed his bottle of beer, he sat on the sofa, he raised his leg, and he started watching a baseball game. A minute later, I arrived, I entered the kitchen, I opened the fridge, I grabbed a pony malt that looks like beer, I left, I sat down, I raised my leg, and I started watching the game. And at that moment, my dad was not laughing. At that moment, my dad realized the weight of the example he was modeling. And according to him, and according to what I remember, that was the last day when there was beer or alcohol in our house, or that he drank it, the last day. There, he was healed and healed once and for all. Throughout my life, I have never tasted a single drop of alcohol. I have not wanted it, I have not needed it. In fact, I want it further away from me, from my family, from my house.

Why? Because every now and then, I am advising families and individuals that alcohol has destroyed their lives and their families, and it all starts with beer. So, I don't want it near me, nor near my children, in the name of Jesus. But I give thanks to God for a model, because the disciple is, on the one hand, teaching us to do the things we should do, and on the other hand, recognizing that we have to stop doing certain things or eliminating certain things that should not be done. Does anyone agree with me? I give thanks to God for examples in my life that helped me, like my dad. Why? Because people are watching. What are they watching? How do I live? How do I speak? How do I react? What is my attitude? And if I am a follower of Jesus Christ, I want this life, these words, this attitude to reflect that. Reflect that. Now, it is interesting what Paul says to Timothy, 2 Timothy 3, verse 10. Paul says, 2 Timothy 3, verse 10. Paul says, But the Lord rescued me from all that. Paul is saying, Timothy, in essence, Paul is saying, Timothy, you have seen my life. I have not hidden anything from you. What I am on the stage is what I am off the stage. What I am under the lights is what I am behind the curtain. Paul says, I have let you see everything.

Not only my preaching, not only the brilliant moments, but also my weaknesses and also my persecutions. Discipling is not simply learning information. Discipling is learning a life that follows Jesus, that is based on the word of God. It is living the truth, not just knowing it. It is not just studying the Scriptures. It is living the Scriptures. And that is why, family, it is important to come to the Church, to be connected to a spiritual family. That is why it is important to connect to small groups. Why? Discipling happens in the context of groups. It is nice to come to the Church and worship in large, in the temple, with many people. But here we are in rows. But when we are in groups, in houses, and in the community, we are in circles, and we see each other's faces, and we take off our masks, and we take steps, and the iron sharpens with the iron. So does man in the deal with man. But discipling does not happen in a large group of 300 people. Discipling happens in groups, in circles. Around the table, in conversations. When we share victories, and we share defeats. When we have questions, and we answer questions. When we pray for each other, and we testify of the goodness and love of God in our lives. That is why here, it is very important for us to be connected. to the church on Sundays, but also that you are connected in groups relatively,

because that's where the discipling happens, both being discipled and discipling other disciples. Here's a good line, the discipling doesn't happen by accident, it happens intentionally. So, ask yourself this question, who am I intentionally learning from, spiritually? Who am I allowing to speak to my life, spiritually? Who has the permission to confront me in my walk with God? Who have I given the green light to let me know if I have spinach on my teeth, or the zipper open? And equally important, who am I intentionally investing in? Who am I spiritually encouraging? Who am I helping to take their next step in the Christian faith? Point 3 of today, point number 3 of 4. The true discipling produces spiritual maturity. What does it produce? Spiritual maturity. One of the greatest evidences of discipling is transformation, it's maturity. Notice that Timothy didn't remain the same as he was, he grew, he matured, he developed, he strengthened, and that's the desire of God for every believer. He doesn't just want to forgive us, he wants to transform us. And look at what Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.12, a very famous verse that many of us have read and perhaps heard. 1 Timothy 4.12, Paul says, Timothy, don't let anyone underestimate you for being young. If you have a young person close to you, tell him not to underestimate you, not to underestimate you. And Paul says, Timothy, don't let them underestimate you. In fact, be an example for everyone as a young person. For whom? For whom? Not for the little ones. Be an example for everyone as a young person. For what? For what you say, for the way you live,

for your love, your faith, and your purity. What a tremendous call. How tremendous that Timothy had a Paul motivating him to do that. Notice that Paul doesn't focus on Timothy's talent, he focuses on Timothy's character. Because the disciple is not mainly about talent, it's about being more like Jesus. That means being a disciple, someone who follows Jesus. Many times society asks, what can you do? But God asks, who are you becoming? I do want to help you get to the answer to what I can do to serve God, to serve the Church, but the most important thing is who you are becoming, because that's part of what you're going to do. Your identity. Your identity as a son of God. Here's a point. The disciple is not a transfer of information, it's a transformation of life. That's the true disciple. Timothy began to become a man of character, a man of faith, a man of integrity, a man who could be trusted. Why? Ask me why. Because the disciple forms the character, and the character sustains the calling. Many people want influence, but God is interested in transformation first. Many people want a promotion, but God wants transformation.

The goal of the Christian disciple is to be and look more like Jesus. In fact, Romans 8 tells us that the purpose of God is to conform us more to the image of his son Jesus every day. That's the goal. So, the goal is to do something with what he has given us. Amen? Imagine for a moment, imagine that you become a member of a gym, and every day you enter the gym and take a picture of the walker, you take a picture of the weights, you take a picture of the exercise machines. In fact, you are an expert, and you know where all the machines are, you know how to turn them on and off, you know all the terminology. The only thing is that you never ride them, and you never lift a weight. In other words, you have a lot of knowledge, but little muscle. It is the same in spiritual life. Spiritual maturity is not measured by how much you know, it is measured in how you are. viviendo lo que sabes. El discipulado verdadero es cuando la verdad bíblica se transfiere de la cabeza al corazón, a la vida. Entonces, no nos actemos de cuánto sabemos si nunca nos montamos en la máquina. Preguntas importantes a considerar en tu vida ahora. ¿Te estás convirtiendo en más como Jesús? ¿Estás siendo hoy más amoroso, más paciente, más perdonador, más generoso, más fiel, más humilde? Estos son los frutos de un discípulo de Jesús. Último punto, último punto, cuatro, cuatro. Amén. El verdadero discípulo se reproduce. ¿Se qué? Se reproduce. Quizás una de las cosas más interesantes de la vida de Timoteo es que él no permaneció solamente un discípulo, él eventualmente se hizo un hacedor de discípulos. Esta es la

dicotomía de todo cristiano. Soy llamado a ser discípulo, pero eventualmente a tomar el paso y sigo siendo discípulo, pero ahora debo ser un hacedor de discípulos. Es más, debo ser un hacedor de discípulos que hace discípulos. Ese es el llamado, esa es la gran comisión, ese es el corazón del discipulado en la palabra y que Dios tiene para todos nosotros. La inversión que Pablo hizo en Timoteo no terminó con Timoteo, sino que se multiplicó por medio de Timoteo. Ese es el diseño de Dios. La meta del discipulado no es simplemente tu crecimiento personal, es la multiplicación del evangelio en otras vidas. Por eso discípulos saludables hacen discípulos saludables. Es más, mira uno de los versículos más importantes del discipulado en todas las escrituras. Segunda de Timoteo 2, 2. Segunda de Timoteo 2, 2 dice, Pablo dice, me has oído enseñar verdades que han sido confirmadas por muchos testigos confiables. Ahora, Pablo dice, ahora Timoteo enseña estas verdades a otras personas dignas de confianza. A otras personas que? Dignas de confianza, que estén capacitadas para transmitirlas a otros. En este versículo encontramos lo que yo llamo la cadena de discipulado. Hay cuatro niveles. Nivel uno, Pablo. Pablo es un discípulo que es hacedor de discípulos. Segundo nivel, Timoteo. Pablo derrama su vida en la vida de Timoteo. Luego, Pablo le dice a Timoteo, ahora encuentra a creyentes dignos de confianza. Y derrama a Timoteo tu vida en las vidas de ellos. Tercer nivel, creyentes dignos de confianza. Y el cuarto nivel, que esos creyentes dignos de confianza lo derramen ahora en otros. Ahí vemos cuatro niveles. Podríamos decir hasta cuatro generaciones. Este es el corazón de Dios. Eso es multiplicación. Eso es discipulado. Esa es la manera en que el evangelio se ha esparcido a través del mundo. No porque alguien se hizo famoso. No, no. Porque cristianos, discípulos, creyentes, ordinarios, normales, intencionalmente invirtieron en otros creyentes. Piénsalo. Aquí estamos nosotros, dos mil y piquito de años después, hablando de este mensaje del evangelio. ¿Por qué? Porque alguien discipuló a alguien, que discipuló a alguien, que discipuló a alguien, que discipuló a alguien, que te discipuló a ti y que me discipuló a mí.

Y por eso es importante que nosotros continuemos discipulando. Porque una familia está a una generación de extinción de la fe, si no sigue transmitiendo. El evangelio nos alcanzó a nosotros por generaciones de fieles discípulos y ahora nos toca a nosotros. No estamos llamados a sólo consumir. Estamos llamados a contribuir. No estamos llamados a sólo recibir. Estamos llamados a reproducir. Algo que leí la semana pasada, pareció muy interesante, fascinante. Uno de los lugares más fascinantes en Israel es el mar muerto. ¿Alguien ha conocido o ha escuchado el mar muerto? Sí, interesante. El mar muerto recibe agua, pero no tiene salida. Agua entra, pero nada sale. Por lo tanto, todo se muere. Mar muerto. Interesantemente, el mar de Galilea es diferente. El mar de Galilea tiene entrada que fluye de agua y salida donde fluye el agua hacia afuera. Y por esa razón está llena de vida, peces, vegetación, crecimiento y abundancia. Es lo mismo Spiritually, if the only thing we do is receive and receive and receive and nothing comes out of us, we stagnate. But when we receive and give, when we learn and teach, when we grow, we invest in others, God produces life in us. The disciple should not stop with us, it should flow through us. Amen? Very important, some will say, Pastor, I am not qualified for this, I have only been in the Christian faith for a few years, I don't know how to do this, I don't have all the answers. Let me remind you, Timotheo didn't have all the answers, he had a little insecurity and he was a little shy, but he had someone who was pushing him to have faith, to move forward. Maybe there is just one step you have to take. The only thing you have to have is, Lord, use my life. Maybe for someone here, what you have to do is find someone who is new in the faith and start to encourage that person, start to pray with that person. Suddenly, for someone else, you have to open your own little group. For someone else, maybe you have to have your own house so that a group can congregate there and you can grow spiritually. Suddenly, for someone else, you have to invest in someone who is new and buy them a Bible and teach them how to start reading it. Take a step, a simple step to help people in their spiritual life. Notice that I, to conclude, when I examine my life and think about my life, one of the things I give thanks to God is that in my life there were many people who touched my shoulder. I remember when I was young, my parents were pastors, and they had to lift and remove chairs.

I don't know if anyone was part of a church. I was an expert in removing and putting chairs. At 15 years old, you have to lift a chair, Virgilito. Ok, it's my turn. Here I am. The son of a pastor is always in the church. It's our turn. But I remember one time, later, that my father touched my shoulder. And he told me, Virgilito, you have to learn to play the guitar. He touched my shoulder, put the guitar on, and started teaching me. A minor, E minor. Look how it sounds. And so, they touched my shoulder. Later, we need to praise the young people. Virgilito, they touched my shoulder. Can you praise the young people? M here, sir. I can. Come on. I'm not the most qualified, but I can do something. They touched my shoulder. I didn't think that that touch on the shoulder would one day lead me to write songs that we sang in the nations with my band. All over Latin America, South America, Central America, the United States. At 15 years old, my mom touched my shoulder. Virgilito, you're going on a missionary trip in the summer to Paraguay. A lesson for the parents. My mom and dad said, Virgilito, you want to go on a missionary trip, son? Oh, you don't want to? No, no. That's another preaching. Lessons for parents. With pants. They said, in the summer, you're going on a missionary trip to Paraguay. They touched my shoulder. 15 years old. My first missionary trip at 15 years old. At 15 years old, I went to Paraguay. And I remember that one of the ways we carried the Gospel was through some plays that we did in the streets, in the places. And it was the National Child's Day in Paraguay. We were in a central square in Asunción. And that was full with hundreds, I would say thousands of people and children everywhere. And a great audience formed to see what we were going to present.

And the director of the missionary trip told me, Virgilio, in the end you are the one who is going to make the call and the prayer of faith. I am the cat. I was the cat in the play. I was painted. You are going to do it. I didn't feel trained. I didn't feel... But I had a father who had taught me the word. A mother who had taught me to pray. Some sisters who had taught me to share my faith. So I said, I'll do it. They called my name. I made my first call at 15 years old in Paraguay. 15 years later, I came back to Paraguay with my Christian music band to do concerts in Asunción, Ciudad del Este, in different places. I even learned a little bit of Guarani, which is the indigenous language of Paraguay. God blessed you. And I learned a song that we played with the band. We had it in Spanish, but I learned it in Guarani, which is... Those who remember this, And we started singing. All this is in the Guarani language one month before my Jewish education. My father then started to sing when I was one year old. It's all because someone touched my shoulder. I learned soon that all things that we sing about Jesus Eventually, I remember when they touched my shoulder to pastor the church. And what I see now is, through the last few years, I've seen how God has given me the opportunity to touch some shoulders. Some listened to Pastor Juan Alzate a few weeks ago, who preached. Before Pastor Juan, 10 years ago, we were in Barranquilla on a missionary trip, and we were at an event, and there were people in a stadium. We were there on a big football field with a big audience, and suddenly we were chatting.

I already knew, but he didn't. And I took him aside and said, Juan, when we finish the work, when we finish what we're going to do here, the music and all this, you're going to bring the call, you're going to direct the prayer of faith. He looked at me like this. Me? I said, yes. You've been with us, you've seen it, you've heard it, you know how to do it. You're going to do it well. I touched his shoulder. He made the call. People received Jesus. And if they saw him today, every week here with our teenagers, preaching the gospel and bringing people to Jesus every week. Because someone touched his shoulder. Likewise, I've touched the shoulders of different people where we've seen calls here in our church. And likewise, we want to touch all their shoulders by declaring, God has a purpose, God has a plan. Be ready. I thank God. I thank God that people touched my shoulder. Because I don't know where I would be. I don't know what I would be doing if they hadn't touched my shoulder. Giving me opportunities. Touching my shoulder. Disciplining me. I thank God for my parents, for my sisters. For young pastors. For leaders who saw something in me, who touched my shoulder. I thank God.

And I thank and praise the Lord for opportunities. And I ask myself, I'm talking about them today, but who will talk about us in five years? Who will talk about us in ten years saying, that brother, phew, touched my shoulder. That sister believed in me. That sister believed in me. That we are a church that touches shoulders. That drives the next generation. That drives other believers. That we drive each other. I thank God. I thank God for people who touched my shoulder. That saw something in me. That shed something in me. That by His grace, by the grace of God, today I can shed in others. What if we all had that mentality? If you are a Christian and you have been walking with Jesus for several years, but you are not disciplining anyone, I invite you. My advice starts with one person. With a person that you know, or does not know the Lord, or is younger in faith than you. Identify a person to whom you can invest a little time, invest a little time, shed, pray for that person, teach them something. Today's main idea. The true disciplining consists of intentionally following Jesus, together with others, to look more like Christ, and help others to do the same. Let's learn from Timothy, and the example we see of Paul and Timothy.

Let's touch shoulders. Let's be disciples, and let's be disciples. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word that helps us, that challenges us, that drives us. Thank you, Father, for the example of Timothy, and for showing us, through his life, that spiritual growth does not happen in solitude or isolation, it happens in relationships. Thank you for the people you have placed in our lives, who have motivated us, challenged us, prayed for us, helped us to follow Jesus. Lord, help us to be committed people to the true disciplining. Give us the humility to learn from those who go before us, and give us courage to shed our lives on those who are behind us. Give us faith to do it continuously and effectively. Help us to move beyond being assistants in the church, to find authentic biblical community in the church. Lord, at the beginning of the groups in this season, I ask you to help people who must connect, to connect for the first time. May our church be a place where people experience community, find freedom, grow spiritually, and discover their purpose. May our roots be more and more deeply rooted in you. And we pray all this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.