I will be strong in Jesus Christ

From: September 16 – 22, 2008

Pastor: Edith Cruz

Study: # 558 TOPIC: “I will be strong in Jesus Christ” Titus 3:10, 11

Titus 3:10, 11 When Christian sins knowingly it is like tearing a member that is part of the body. For this reason, to sin is very bad because those who sin corrupt the unity of the saints and we are the sacred church. When we are not united to the church, the truth, the secrets, and the thoughts of God’s people are not known. Those who are separated from the body work for themselves. When unity is disrupted there is much evilness, pain and deceit. When division occurs in the church it is because a certain person believes to have more authority than anyone else, forgetting who God is, and for such reason he puts the church in risk causing many problems. We cannot promote or participate in any division but rather we should be powerful in God and faithful to the body, to God’s people. Paul advised Titus to discard the person who caused division after the second admonishment. A perverted person is one who is capable of staining and touching what is pure, the sacred of the church. Sometimes we want to work with that person who is destroying and harming us. We must be careful. This person has become a serious problem in the congregation. Many pretend to be called as ministers, but this is not for anyone; a minister person cannot allow anything to affect him. It has to be someone who can see the danger wherever he goes without looking the other way. Paul qualifies this other pretentious and ostentatious person as a pervert, a man who sins, therefore condemning himself. His behavior is a perversion in the Christian life. By sinning this way, claiming an authority that God have not given to him becomes a sect within the same church. He condemns himself because he clings to his wickedness after being warned by the other church members. These people store in their heart a desire to possess; they yearn for greatness, etc., which produces in them a perverted heart. Everything that causes division is similar to a fractured arm or hand in the church that is no longer useful to do God’s work. We must fear. 2 Corinthians 13:1-10 We are a revolution in this world. Christ transforms us and everything is made new. Paul allows us to see that Jesus was crucified in weakness, but He lives in power. We cannot forget the power that there is in Christ. But, we should always remember that there are bold people that come to us for vengeance. And what may seem as a weakness in us due to some problems or a situation, we transform this into victory for we have resuscitated in power. As the church we should prepare ourselves and respect the power of God that is in us. We should reject what Jehovah rejects. Paul clarifies his behavior which never harms, but rather he goes against the obstinate sinners. When there is an obstinate situation of wanting to sin we should be clear that this is of great danger, because the church is where God is. Paul says that he will go to the extreme. Paul was very clear and precise that there will be a confrontation for whoever sins deliberately, even though this represents that there will be losses. There are situations that become chronic, for this reason these situations have to be worked. We are a church that is getting prepared through the message. There are times when we must face unpleasant situations. Sometimes we don’t like to face the situations. Our victories will come at the end; we cannot expect to have them all now. Paul wanted the church to see clearly that Christ died in His weakness, but He resuscitated with full power. Paul wanted to show the Corinthians that the power that he enjoyed was his union with the resuscitated Christ. As a church there are things that we should go against and not accept. Paul had denigrators. They wanted to judge him. They wanted to subject

him to their own examination and expected him to give proof. As a man who seemed weak Paul was powerful because he had a personal relationship with the Savior. The point is that we serve a Powerful God who seemed weak at one time, because He carried all our sins and condemnation. We are in God and we serve Him. Paul served God and not men; for this reason no one could persuade him. When we are subjected to trials to see if Christ is in our lives, it is best to examine our faith. If they had the same faith, why did they allow those who were perverse to bring division? Someone who has a sound faith will not do any harm in church. Paul was never defeated, censored, or suspended from this gospel. Paul prayed for them and warned them not to do anything wrong, not so they would think that they had come out of their trials well, but because it was a duty to do things well the 24 hours of the day. While exercising his ministry Paul always rested on the truth. All his desire was that the believers, those of us who are called servants of God, be pleasing before the eyes of God and be faithful. Paul's desire was for his brothers to mature spiritually and reach perfection. In order to reach spiritual maturity we cannot sit around all day long, but exercise ourselves spiritually and know the truth. In order for us to become mature there are many things we must face and speak of them face to face. When God called us we started this path to take it to the end. The best thing for us is perfection. What Paul wanted was to use what the Lord gave him to construct and not to destroy. Paul had authority and he wanted the Church of Corinthian to rise as a powerful church. And this is what God expects from us. We must fight with all our heart to be faithful and truthful, mature in faith, seeking to be perfect as He is perfect. Let us not stop fighting for what has been given to us, let us keep our faith and this way we will care for the purity and integrity of the Church of Jesus Christ. Amen.