EP: 18: TIPO DE OBREIRO QUE QUERO SER

And I can testify about him that he

cares deeply for you, for those in Laodissia, and for those in

Hierapolis. Greet one another.

Luke, the beloved physician, greets you,

as does Demos or Demas. You can sit and

give glory to God.

Greetings, it's scribbled here on top. Lucas,

the beloved physician, and also Demas.

My beloved brothers and sisters, I will share a

message from God today, as

we agreed last week, to

provide some clarification. I want the

church's attention focused on this introductory part about

Paul's time in

Roman prison, which we call

provisional or house arrest. Paul

was imprisoned several times, and this is

described in the Holy Bible, starting with the

book of Acts of the Apostles, written

by the evangelist Luke at the behest or

commission of Theophilus, a high-ranking official

of the Praetorian Guard in the city of

Alexandria, Egypt. Luke makes a point

of showing us some of the imprisonments Paul

faced because of his ministry and

preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He was first arrested in the Acts of the

Apostles, chapter 16, verses 16

to 40, in the city of Philippi. He was arrested

for the second time in the city of Jerusalem.

It is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles,

chapter 21, verses 27 to 36. He was

arrested for the third time, as

recorded in the Acts of the Apostles,

chapter 23, verses 23 to 26 and 32.

He was also arrested in the city of Caesarea

Philippi, where he had the opportunity to be

heard by Festus, Felix, and Agrippa

first. On this occasion, he was arrested, as described in

the 23rd chapter of the Book of

Acts.

And in chapter 26, in

chapter 28, from verse 16

onwards, Paul is arrested for the first time

in the city of Rome, and he is subjected to a

type of imprisonment called house arrest. It's

about

some letters that we call

prison epistles. The letter he

wrote to the Ephesians, the Colossians,

Philemon,

and Philippi. These are four epistles that we

call prison letters. And he is

imprisoned one last time, as you can

read in the letter he wrote to

2 Timothy, in chapter 1, verse 8

, chapter 2, verse 9,

chapter 4, verses 6, 7, and 8. Paul

faced at least five or six

major imprisonments throughout his

ministry. And what was his crime? The

proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

brought some chains and

some imprisonment upon Paul. The big problem is that

last week we read here the

account of some individuals who were

with Paul during this time. And it is

necessary to emphasize here, Pastor

Efigênio, that they are not with Paul

wandering in the great Areopagus, with a

population of men prostrating themselves at

his feet, and miracles being performed.

These men are not with Paul when

he is preaching in the inner city of Corinth,

between Athens and the southern capital city of Corinth

. of the Roman Empire in

Achaia. They are living through a

dark time with Paul. These are workers who are

called by God to be with Paul during a

very difficult time in his

life. If you take the list we

just read earlier, you'll

notice that next to Paul you have

Temicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Jesus,

Epaphras, Luke, and Demas. There are eight

individuals who are with Paul during this

difficult time when he is imprisoned.

My analysis tonight is to make a

behavioral and biblical observation of

each of these individuals who are with

Paul, in order to associate myself with each of them, to

know what kind of worker I am

based on the behavior of the workers

I will mention here on this

occasion. Note that these men

were with Paul during a time of great

difficulty. They are not with Paul,

Paul is being cheered. They are not

with Paul, Paul is being applauded. They

are with Paul while Paul is

imprisoned. Well, here I'll highlight an

extraordinary lesson: sometimes we

need God to raise up people

to be with us during the most

difficult times of our lives. God

has a way of comforting the hearts of the

brethren. And one of the ways God can

do this is by placing people who are

able to care for us in times of

great difficulty. This does not exclude the

possibility that among those whom

God raises up to be together, we

have those who live apart. The

first person I want to

mention is the bearer of the letter. Paul is

writing a letter. This letter is going

to a region in Frija. In the vicinity

of Cappadocia, it is addressed to three

cities: Colossae, Hierapolis,

and Laodicea.

Two men, Ticoo and Onésimo, are going on this trip.

It's worth remembering that Onesimus is Philemon's slave

, and Philemon was one of the most important members

of the church in that region. Therefore,

these are the two individuals that Paul will use

to complete the work he is

establishing. Probably when Ticu

leaves this prison, he will be carrying

three letters. The letter that Paul wrote

to the Ephesians, the letter that Paul wrote

to the Colossae, and the letter that Paul

wrote to Philemon. If I were to observe

three characteristics of Tiquico here, the

first thing I would extract

based on this information, Pastor Efigênio

Evangelista Charles, is that Tiquico is a

trustworthy worker.

Look, he's a worker who inspires

confidence.

The pastor trusts him. He is someone who

has the credibility and

stature to carry three sacred epistles in his hands

. He is someone whose possessions

represent the history of

a literature that will change

Christian behavior throughout the world. It's

as if someone held the password to the

vault containing the largest

financial assets of a bank. He is someone

extremely trustworthy. It

is so true that Paul's reliability

persists

despite him carrying three

sacred epistles with guidance for the church in

Ephesus, guidance for the church in

Colossae, and a personal message to

Philemonius.

He will also deliver a message about

how Paul's life is going while he

is in prison. That's why Paul is

saying: "As for my situation, I

entrust my life to Ticuicus." Pastor

Efigênio, this is very profound, because

we can't entrust our lives to

almost anyone. We have a

very big problem today with this term "

reliability."

Trust is something that is very difficult

to achieve. Let's consider, for

example, a woman who commits a

marital indiscretion; she inflicts an

obvious wound on her marriage through a breakdown of the marital

relationship, adultery, fornication, or by becoming

involved with someone she

shouldn't be involved with. Trust is broken

. Trust is one of the

main pillars of any relationship.

Pastor Efigênio, trust must

be so solid between those involved that

when someone breaks that trust—and mind you

, achieving that level of trust is

difficult. Destroying the trust you've

built—and how long does it take to

build that trust? I remember that

in the Northeast I had a worker who

made a mistake, and he asked

me when he could be reinstated

to his episcopal duties. I told

him it would be between two, three, or four years, because

his crime was a serious one. And he

said, but that's a very long time. Then I remembered

Charles Spur's phrase, that the

repentance of someone who sins should

be as scandalous as their

sin was. People who see the individual

repent, are you listening to the

pastor, brother? Say amen. They should be just

as shocked by the level of this

repentance

as they were when he fell

into sin. Trust is something that no one

can break. Paul is saying here,

look, I've been with this young man since

my second missionary expedition,

when I was in Lystoy Derbia,

Antioch of Pisidia, when the

Macedonian man entered the Anatolian region,

saying: "Cross over to Macedonia and

help us." Ever since I was in Apollonia,

Amphipolis, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea,

ever since I went to the region of Achaia,

Athens and Corinth, I've known the style of

this worker. He is trustworthy. He is

so trustworthy to me that I would give my life

to him. He's going to give you some

very basic information about what's going on

in my life. Today we

face the greatest challenge in the world:

finding brothers and sisters within the church

who are worthy of our trust. The

second characteristic of this worker is

that he is a worker who embraces the

worst possibilities. See what the

word is. He is a faithful minister. The

word for minister here in Greek is

galley slave. Do you know what I'm learning

here, my beloved and my dear sister? I

learn from this biblical text, I

learn from the text of God's word,

that we need to be able to

face the greatest difficulties in

our ministry life. There are three

terms for "worker" in the

Holy Bible. The terms deacons,

doulos, and minister.

The expression Paulo uses for tirico is

the worst expression of all. Do you know what I

understand here, my dear? I understand

that this man is the kind of worker who

takes on the worst aspects

of God's work. Because Paul does not use

doulos for himself. Paul does not use deacons for himself

. Paulo uses the Piretes River for him

. Paul is saying, he is not

just a prude, but he is faithful in times

of trouble. He is faithful in times of

crisis. Do you know why? Because sometimes

my loyalty is tied to my

job or the type of job I

do. Sometimes my loyalty is

tied to my status within the church.

Sometimes my faithfulness is

tied to the role I have in

God's house. If the occupation I have brings

praise and applause, then I am faithful. But

if I am assigned a service

that is below the level of most, then

I may cease to be faithful to God and

faithful to the house that he has appointed me to

serve. Paul is saying, "This

worker is so crazy he could drive anyone mad

that you could claim the worst thing for him, and

that he is a faithful minister of Christ." The

big problem is that you read the Bible

from the translation imposed by us, by

João Ferreira de Almeida, but the

Greek terms here convey the idea of ​​someone

who is extremely faithful in moments and

environments of profound difficulty. That's why

he's not with Paulo when Paulo is so, so, so, so

big. He's not with

Paul when Paul is causing chaos. He's

not with Paul when Paul's shadow

is healing the sick. It's not with

Paul when Paul is wielding his hand and

casting out demons of every kind.

He's with Paulo when Paulo is in prison.

He's with Paul when Paul is

humiliated. He's with Paul when Paul

is defeated. He's with Paul when,

apparently, Paul's end is a

dungeon, a catastrophe. Do you know what

kind of people these are? It's that brother who

hugs you from the side and says: "Wherever you

go, I go with you. Wherever you

stay, I stay with you. Wherever

this work takes us, I will be there.

And the name of the Lord will be

glorified. Glory to God!" This is of

great importance. I've been a pastor for 26

years, almost 27 years. And the greatest

difficulty we have is

managing the possibility of having

people close to us during times of

crisis. It's usually during times of crisis that

you see who your true

friends are. The third characteristic is a

worker who lives in service to others.

Look here. A fellow servant in the Lord. Look at the

word. Look here. Faithful minister and

fellow servant in the Lord. Do you know what the

word "fellow servant" means? The idea of ​​"fellow servant"

here, Rogério, is a

servant of servants, not a servant of God.

Because you can tell me that you are a

servant of God, fine, you can say that. If I

tell you that I am a servant of God, fine

, I speak. The problem is my

ability to categorize myself as a servant of my

brothers and sisters. The problem is being a servant of my brothers and sisters. Being a

servant of God is relatively easy. God holds

a very high rank. It's natural for

any of us to position ourselves as

servants before the all-powerful. Now, a

servant of my brothers and sisters—very few people

in the Bible have been called fellow servants,

servants of servants. Do you know what this

man is saying here? I am not only

willing to serve God in the exercise of His

work, but I live the work to serve

people. What is your pleasure in serving

God? What is your pleasure in serving

people? What is your pleasure in being

in the church to serve God's work

? What vanities are

ingrained in your heart? And we all

have this vanity that prevents you from

serving the people around you. You ca

n't be humble, you can't

be a Christian, you can't be

truthful. It's a great difficulty

we have in the church today. The individual

wants to serve, "I serve God," but doesn't

serve his brother or sister. Being a servant is being a servant of...

Servants. It's someone who is working in the

church to serve other people. And

I have to learn this, dear, that

when I serve my brothers and sisters, I

consequently serve God. But

serving God doesn't always mean serving my brothers and sisters.

Because there are people who say: "I only have a

commitment to God." No, brother, you

have to have a commitment to the brothers and sisters

who are by your side, and you are here

to serve them because you are a servant of

God's servants. You can say: "Glory

to God!" Glory to God. Second worker

Onesimus. Wow, what a crazy story!

This one, poor guy, left, he fled.

Yes, Onesimus fled and was arrested with

Paul in Rome. Look at the distance

this man is from. I am here in the region

of South Asia, Asia Minor.

Colossae, Jerusalem, Laodicea, Phrygia,

Cappadocia, Sicily, Lystra, Iconium,

Derbe, Antioch of Obsidia, cross

that oceanic area, and fall There in

Rome. Boy, that man is far away. What

mess did that boy make, Pastor

Efigênio, to run away so far?

He didn't do anything good. He left the

church, he ran away, but he met

Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Oh glory.

He met Him. Do you know what I learn

here from Onesimus? I can say, brother,

this is to the glory of God. God is a God

who gives new meaning to history, erases your

past and gives you a new

identity in life. Glory to God. The

problem is that you don't believe that God

can do that in your history. You

don't believe that God can do that in your

life. God heals sin. God takes away

sin. God washes in the blood of the Lamb.

God gives a new identity. He was

worthless, but now he is. He was a

gossip, but now he doesn't gossip anymore.

He was a bandit, but now he is washed by the

power of the name and blood of Jesus

Christ. First characteristic of

Onesimus. A courageous worker. Ah,

pastor, where did you see that?

Look here, see. Along with Tychicus, I

will send Onesimus. Now, pastor,

why is he a courageous worker?

Because he has the ability, being in

Christ, to face—I'll use the

word—the kilograms of things he did in the

past. Look, he has the courage to

face his past head-on. He did

wrong things in the past. He did, but he

said, "Paul, you can put my name

on the list." I'm going to confront my past

because it's coming back home, Pastor

Efigênio. And he's not going

home having done anything good. He's

going back home having done terrible

things. Do you know who this man was who

Jesus mentioned? He is the prodigal son. But

the story of the prodigal son is contained

within a single parable that includes three

stories. The lost sheep, the

lost coin, and the prodigal son. The three

stories within this passage serve

to illustrate to the Pharisees and scribes

that Jesus Christ rejoices in the presence of

sinners who hear his word, just

as the shepherd rejoices when he finds his

sheep, the woman when she finds her

coin, and the son when he returns home. However, the

story of the son returning home, as told by Christ, is used to

illustrate a sentiment of God here.

No, the story is true. The man's

face is uncovered, he's saying: "I messed up

in the past, I'll admit it, I did

wrong, but you can put my name there,

I'll carry this letter. I'll go

back home, face

my problem, hold my head high,

because I believe in the God who changes our

story. Hallelujah! Brother, can I tell

you something? Say: Glory to

God. It's no use trying to fight back. Look

at me here, the fragrance of Christ. It's no

use trying to fight back with your life. There

comes a time when you have to face

your past. There comes

a time when you have to face the

wrong things you did. Look,

Pastor Efig, how many years did Jacob stay

away from the wrong things he did?

How many? Two whole decades. There he

is in the valley of Jabbok, the word is a

valley of Jabbok. He makes his

wives pass by, he makes his servants pass by, he makes

his property pass by, and he makes

everything that belonged to him pass by, and he is

alone with God. Do you know why, Pastor?"

Efigênio? Because you only have the competence to

face the past when you first

face the God of history. You know why,

Pastor Efigênio? God is not just the God of

your past, nor of my past. God is the

God of the past, in the present, in the future.

God is yesterday, God is now, and God is

tomorrow. He is the God who gives new meaning to

your past, He adjusts your present, and

He gives you the power to overcome in the

future. Look at me, my dear. He

meets the angel there at the Jabbok Valley,

and the angel asks him, 20 years later,

the same question that his old,

tired, blind father asked: "What is your name?"

He deceived his father. "My name is Isaú."

The father said: "The voice is Jacob's, but the

carcass is Saul's." "Kneel down there so I can

bless you." It's the same thing. Except now

I'm kneeling as the one asking for a blessing. And

he asks for a blessing. But now it's not a

tired old man, it's not a blind old man. He

kneels before God. And

the angel asks him the same question: "What is

your name?" He said: "My name is Jacob."

Then God touches the joint of Jacob's thigh

and gives him three names. Israel,

man, struggle or opposition, and God. He

who fights against God and men and

prevails. There comes a time, my brother, when in order

for you to erase the wrong things

you've done in the past, you have to have

a profound encounter with God.

Hallelujah. Do you know what my problem is, and what your

problem is? What are we doing here at church

today in the doctrinal service?

Listening to semantics, oratory,

enigmatics, rhetoric, epistemology,

hermeneutics, homework. No. I am

here, Pastor Efigênio, to meet

with God. I am here for God to touch

my character. I am here for God to

erase my sin, for God to cleanse my

life and give new meaning to my story.

Look, Pastor Valderia, the past keeps you trapped in the

present. Although

present, past, and future are

complex things. So much so that they asked

Augustine of Pon what time is. He

said: "When they ask me what

time is, I say: 'I know.' When they ask me

to explain, I say: 'I don't know.'"

Because if time is what I project from the past

with my memory, and what

I anticipate from the past through my expectations, then

time is neither in the past nor in the

present. He said: "If time is the

time that I anticipate in the present from the

future with the memory and project of the

past bringing it here, then time

is neither here nor there, time is in the

present. But God is different,

God needs to give new meaning to my today,

because otherwise you won't reach tomorrow.

Why do so many people not

progress in their spiritual life? Because they are

trapped in the past, trapped in a

past relationship, trapped in a

past sin, trapped in a

past tragedy, trapped in their

father's accident, I'll mention their

mother's accident, a father's trauma, a mother's trauma, a

son's trauma, a

car accident, something is

holding you back, but today He sets you free by the

power of the blood of the Lamb and He gives

you a new day of victory.

Hallelujah!

When that woman, and Pastor Efigênio and

everyone who lives in sin is like that, because

what does the Bible say? He who confesses

and receives, but he who conceals his

transgression will never prosper.

The woman was there, her son died,

Brother Júlio. Then she She arrived at Elias's,

Brother Charles, just like you there, threw him

in her lap. "What do you have against me, man of

God? Did you come to me to bring

my sin to mind and kill my

son?" She has two theological problems here, this

woman. First, she

believes she has an unconfessed sin

. And every time you have an

unconfessed sin, a

tragedy happens. If your windshield latch

breaks, you say, "Because I sinned."

If your son slips, falls, hits his

head and bleeds, it's because I sinned.

If you're walking, you stumble, you fall in the

center of Uberlândia and people laugh at you

because I sinned. That's how someone who sins and

doesn't confess lives. Everything tragic that happens

, they associate with sin. That's the

woman's first problem. The

woman's second problem is, "What do you have against me,

man of God? Did you come to me to

bring my sin to mind and kill my

son?" She thinks God is a

puppet God, that God reacts to the

inclinations and impulses of life. Through what

I do. If I say to

you, the fragrance of Christ, absolutely

nothing you do is capable of pleasing

God's holiness. I don't please God

through what I do. I please God

through what Jesus Christ of Nazareth

did on the cross of Calvary. I don't

please God because of myself. I

please God because I am hidden

in the blessed and glorious person of Jesus

Christ and His holy name is adored.

Hallelujah. So, Onesmo, he is a

courageous worker. Speak loudly about the fragrance

of Christ. The courageous worker. 1 2 3

Because it is necessary to have courage, Pastor

Silvio, to face your past in the

present.

Second thing, a worker endorsed by

his pastor. Ah!

Hmm.

Oh, fragrance, look, no, I'm going to read, I'm going to

read. Look at the article, Pastor Efigênio. It's because,

let me explain something to you here

.

People don't read the Bible properly. They don't

read it. And it's not People don't read. We sometimes

don't read. 54.68%

of pastors in Brazil have never read the

Bible. Now, how can that be if the

pastor's primary tool is the Bible? If the

individual has never read it, what does he want to shepherd

? A donkey? A goat? Because you can

give a goat anything. It'll even eat a stick.

There's a little goat here, I don't know if it's

artificial intelligence climbing even the

lamppost. I don't know if that's real. Goats are

sheep. No. Sheep

eat what comes down from the glory and

throne of God. They eat the word. That's

why the pastor's relationship isn't with the

sheep. First, it's with the pasture. Only

later is it with the sheep. Any

pastor who intends to relate to the

sheep without the necessary nourishment

will be harmed. You know why? Because you

might find me funny, chubby,

cute, white, intelligent,

but these characteristics or lack thereof

are not enough to

feed a sheep of God.

God's sheep are nourished. with the word

of God.

God's sheep feed on

God's truths. Look what's written there,

pastor, the article. Look at the article.

Look at the article. The faithful. The faithful.

Not you, just brother. Look here at me. Paul

is saying: "The one who is going there is not the

one who left there." Oh glory! Those who are

returning are not the same as those who left. The one

returning is not the slave who ran

away. The one who is returning is someone washed

by the power of the blood and the name of Jesus

Christ. He's the one who's coming back

. He is the faithful one. Holy,

holy. It is a faithful man who is here; the

article here in Greek is "the faithful one." Paul is

saying this: "I am giving new meaning

based on what I write. I am the one

writing the ephrases. I am the one writing

. The one writing is the mentor of

mentors, the pastor of pastors. And I

am saying, if he went out there doing '

hum,' he will return doing good things.

You know why, Pastor Efigênio? Because

here is the woman, here is the woman with the

issue of blood. Here is the woman, yes,

here is a story told about the woman with the

issue of blood. Because she, like a

woman with a flow of blood, contaminates

everyone she touches until she touches

Jesus. But the only person whose

situation is reversed is the one who

touches Efigênio,

Presley, contaminates us. But when

she touches Christ, the

theanthropic nature, the hypostasis, God of God,

light of light, the theanthropic nature, it is not

her wickedness that contaminates the goodness of

Jesus, it is the goodness and glory of Jesus

that contaminates her filth. In the way

that when she goes to Christ, she

contaminates everyone. Now she It performs the

reverse function. It receives glory from Christ

and goes on to contaminate everyone

it touches through the power of the glory and

purification of the Lord Jesus. That's what

happens when the gospel happens in a

person's life. The person changes their ways,

changes their words, changes their clothes, changes their

speech, changes their behavior, changes their

story, changes their marriage, changes their life,

changes their spirituality. They are transformed

by the power of glory.

Paul is saying: Onesimus returns, and

he doesn't return as he left. Augustine,

he was there in Rome.

[Music]

Tell him, Augustine, it's me, it's me.

So many times, so many times,

so many times. She, he, she remembered

the glamorous nights she had with him.

He converted when he was almost 40 years

old. And from her shouting so much: "It's me, it's

me, it's me." He turns around.

You've seen it, it's happened here before. He

said: "I know who you are now."

I am no longer that Augustine. Here is

another Augustine. And it's not even Augustine,

it's the nature of Jesus Christ that was

planted within my heart. Yesterday I

was lying in bed with you, but

now I am transformed by the power

of the Holy Spirit, and the old things have

passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Glory to God.

Onesimus. A courageous worker. Secondly,

a worker endorsed by his pastor. Oh,

who's going there? I send you the faithful and beloved

brother. If the mastermind of masterminds

endorses him, who is the church in Colossae

to disavow him? Paulo is saying this

here. And who is anyone who's going to

erase what Paul said? No, but be

careful. Be careful not to.

Paul said so. No, be careful. No, he went.

Brothers, can I tell you the truth?

Say: "Glory to God. Do you believe in the God

you serve? That's a question. Do you believe

that God has the power to transform

any deceit, trickery, or imprint?

God has the power to change people.

God has the power to transform lives.

We have to believe in the gospel that we

preach, because this gospel is a

transformative power.

If the church, the church, opens its

doors and doesn't propose transformation for

anyone, then it's not a church, it's a

social club, it's a gathering of people. But the

true church radically changes

people; they turn to

glorify and bless God more.

Thirdly, a worker who proves

that new beginnings are possible.

Oh, young man, what is it, look here, repeat

after me, what is from among you in verse 3? 1 2

3. What is from among you? Did you notice

something here? Look, brother, pay attention to

the pastor. I'm going to help you read the

Bible. Did you notice that Paul doesn't bring up

characteristic elements of the misfortune

that Onesimus had brought upon the church?

No. The misfortune that Regarding what Onesimus had done,

who was Paul dealing with, or against whom, in relation

to the church? No. Even though the

church knew what Onesimus had done

to one of its leading members, Philemon,

what needs to be dealt with Philemon,

Paul doesn't deal with the church. And what

needs to be dealt with the church, Paul

doesn't deal with Philemon. Paul isn't

reproducing Onesimus's sin for the

church. Do you know why? Paul here is like

the father of the prodigal son. Have you read the

Bible properly? The fragrance of Christ. The father

didn't let the prodigal son return

home the way he arrived. The father

returned the prodigal son to the house

the way he left.

He left with a ring on his finger. The father told him to

meet him at the bend in the road. I don't want

anyone to see my son's misfortunes.

He will return home the

way he left. He left as a son.

He returns as a son. He wanted to return

as a slave, but he will return as a

son. He left with shoes on, so put

sandals on your feet. He left with the

authority of a son, so return his

ring to him. finger. He went out feasting and

celebrating. Mataio at the fattened wine,

because my son has returned, and he has returned

as a son. That's what God does. That's

what Paul is doing, returning Onesimus

to the church the way he is there now.

He doesn't return as a slave, he returns

as a son washed by the power of the blood

of the Lamb. Raise your hand high

and say: "Glory to God!" Say: "Thanks be to

God." God has the power to cleanse you

tonight and change your story.

[Applause]

Sir! Glory to God! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Holy, holy, you are.

Glory! Greetings, Aristarchus.

Prisoner with me. Repeat after me on number

three. Prisoner with me. 1 2 3.

Prisoner with me. Repeat. Prisoner

with me. 1 2 3. Prisoner with me. Now

speak: Aristarchus. Aristarchus. Frames.

Frames. Jesus. Jesus. These three, Paul

calls them a solace.

Soothing.

Do you know what he's saying, Sister

Miria? If Rome imprisons me and gives me a

prison, these three are my solace.

And by the way, do you know who those three are,

Pastor Silvio? They are those of the circumcision. And

another thing, they're not just from the

circumcision group, you see, Miltim? They are

unique. These men are

dedicated workers. Paul says here in the text, look,

they are, look here. Look here. Jesus,

to whom, pay attention, in the Bible,

verse 11, they are the only ones. Did

you

understand, my team? The only ones.

Do you know why, Brother Charles?

Because people who stay with you through the

worst misfortunes of your life, they

're not normal, they're

unique.

Glory to God. Glory

to God. Hallelujah. Eternal God. Hallelujah.

Why are they unique? Because

they don't depend on the favor you can

give them. Because you can't give anything.

You are incapable of even a

smile.

Of course, I cannot compare any

of the brothers here to Paul. I can't.

Because Paul was able to sell, give away, and

spread joy even while imprisoned. Paulo

is different from you and me. Paul does not

see prison as a burden. Paul's

reward is prison. Well, that's where

the trouble starts. That's

where the problem begins. Because at that

time, Pastor Efigênio, there were some

characters in Cristin's story. That's why

I told you, study the

Bible, study history.

There were some men called the

Circumcisers

who believed that

Presley's greatest gift was to be skinned alive,

killed, martyred.

So much so that 12,000 people gathered

at the gates of the Chorisea to apply

to be eaten by lions and trampled by

bulls.

So, prison here is not a burden for him.

Difficulties in the church are not a burden for these people

. Trouble in the church

is no burden to these people. It's an opportunity to

grow in the eyes of God. And the mindset of these

people is different, it's not the same as ours. But

even so, in times of crisis, God

brings comfort in the midst of the storm. And the

spirits are men dressed as angels.

Glory to God.

Repeat after me. Aristo. Aristo. Frames.

Frames. Jesus. Jesus. Prisoner

with me. Look here. A worker who

takes risks and assumes responsibilities. Paul

is saying: "Look, it

wasn't me who was arrested. It was me,

Aristo, Marcos, and Jesus who were arrested. Okay, that's what you're

doing. You can look, either I'm not reading

this or I'm crazy. Uh, they were the ones who were

arrested with me. Oh, no, Paul,

no. You're going away. I... No, Paul,

no. There's no way. Do you understand? If you stay in

prison, I'll stay with you too. As long as I

can stay with you here. And at that time it was

possible, Pastor Silvo, because in the Acts

of the Apostles, chapter 28, verses

16 to 31, imprisonment was provisional,

house arrest. So Paul could have

volunteers who applied

to stay with him. Did they volunteer? So

I ask you, would you volunteer?

That's difficult, my brothers. And I'm telling

you this because I've been in a

deplorable situation, in

deep difficulties, in the greatest

pain and terror, in

existential crises, brought about by a

very poor and extremely

difficult ministry." And we know that in this

environment, God always reserves people in the

midst of chaos to be our encouragement,

to be our comfort, to be the one who

embraces, to be the one who

says: "Lift up your head."

Now let me tell you something

, it's not because you have a difficulty

in the church, a difficulty in God's work

, a difficulty in your home, a

difficulty in your marriage, a

difficulty at work,

whatever the difficulty, that you will

lower your head. You have to

lift up your head, because our

life is not this chaotic life that we

are living. Our life will begin

when our body falls to this earth

and we rise before God.

Hallelujah.

Aristarchus. Júlio Rogério, a worker who is

not ashamed of his leader. Look

here. No, there it is. I'm not going to do the

scriptural part, there are 10 minutes left, but

then take Paul's second letter to

Timothy, chapter 2, verse 8, part

B and part C. Timothy himself, son of

Paul, he was already ashamed of Paul

because of the imprisonment. What is this, pastor?

This is madness. Oh, then read the Bible,

perfume of Christ. Read the Bible

properly, it's written there, it's written naked,

raw, patent, indubitable and

definitively.

But Aristarchus didn't. Aristarchus wasn't

ashamed of his leader. Now look

here. If you are not able to tolerate the

peripheral flaws of your leader, how

then would you volunteer

to be in prison with him?

If you are not able to tolerate the

peripheral flaws of your leader, how then would you

tolerate being imprisoned with him? If you

are not able to tolerate the

peripheral flaws of your husband, how then would

you tolerate being with him? If you

are not able to tolerate the

peripheral flaws of your wife, how then

could you stay with her? We are

choking on nonsense and sacrificing

God's plans in our lives. This

man is saying: "Whatever you have

to swallow, old Paul, I

'm here by your side and I won't budge." That

's it. Kingdom of God That's how it is. Wasn't that

what I preached? What day did I preach

about taking up your cross, Mr. Efigênio? It

was Sunday. Wasn't that what Jesus said? It

wasn't this. That's not what he

said. You want to come because

I know you've come this far. From here on,

can you endure? We can. So

deny yourself, take up your cross and

follow me. The Gospel is a Gospel of

renunciation.

Hallelujah. Glory to God. Say: Thanks be to

God. Thanks be to God. I'm not going to

talk about Marcos because, man,

oh man. Marcos is humble, you know,

Pastor Efigênio? He's humble. Because have you ever

thought what if Marcos was cunning?

A cunning, very cunning person. Because Paul

rejected him. You know? It's in the

Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16,

chapter 13. Chapter 13. Uh, chapter

13. Repeat after me. Marcos, Marcos, the

worker, the worker whom Paul

rejected. Rejected. And to Sometimes,

Rogério, Marcos needed the rejection

he suffered, because rejection wasn't always

from the devil. Sometimes rejection is

God's permission. If Marcos hadn't

been rejected in order to give new meaning to his

life based on the rejection he suffered,

perhaps he wouldn't be able to help

tomorrow. If he were that worker that

the pastor has to fawn over to

see if he can accomplish anything,

there are times when you'll be rejected, there are

times when someone will step on you, there are

times when I might cause an accident or not,

bringing discomfort to you. But it's not

about the discomfort you suffer, it's

about your ability to

face the discomforts you have.

Marcos is saying: "I'm not going

back." I'm not coming back.

I will lift my head. "I will

be useful in the ministry." He had two

people who helped him. First,

Peter, Peter calls him his son, and

Barnabas himself wasn't suited to work

with Paul, but he was useful to work with

Barnabas. He wasn't suited to work with

Paul, but he was useful to work with

Peter. But that doesn't mean what

Paul did with him was unnecessary. It

wasn't. It was necessary. You know why? Are you

listening to the pastor, brother? Say

amen. The crises we face

forge in us the character we

need. Hallelujah. You think,

dear, that I've spent my whole life doing

what? For 20 years? If I don't

even have the courage to say here in the pulpit about the

struggles I carried in the work, me and

my wife and my children,

we have to understand that it is the marks

of the gospel, the crises of the gospel, the

tensions of the gospel, that are what ground,

strengthen, and solidify our lives to

render good service to Christ. You

can say: "Glory to God!" Oh! Mark,

a worker who Did he redeem his reputation

with those who rejected him?

Hallelujah! Because if he were cunning,

Valderi, he would say: "Valeri

mistreated me, I don't care if he

suffers." Ah, you don't know what kind of

spirit you are of. Look, Pastor Efigênio, I'm

going to speak, Efigênio, right? I am.

Look, are you listening to what I'm

saying? Are you listening to what I'm

saying? It's not you, Pastor

Efigênio. It's us. We are like that.

Now I'm going to talk about myself, the stupefied ones.

Remember when Jesus is in the world of

transfiguration? Do you remember that? Who

is with Jesus there?

Peter, James, and John. Then they return.

What is there? A demon-possessed man.

Can the disciples exorcise him? Yes

or no? No. Then a commotion begins.

A little while later, Jesus is rejected. Do

you remember that? Then the disciples say

: "You just want us to pray?" Look, have you

thought about that?

They couldn't handle it. ...to cast out the

demon. They, sir, want that? They

placed themselves at the same

height as Elijah. Did

n't you see? He said, "It is

written, my brother." He said, "Lord,

don't you want us to pray? Don't you want us to make them come

down?" "Look, fire from heaven

will consume the whole city!" They couldn't even

cast out a demon from a

cauldron. That's when they want to

send fire: "My God in heaven!" Then Jesus

says: "Don't you know what?" "What

spirit am I of?" There are a lot of people like

that, crazy, but no. Paul is saying,

Mark is saying: "I'm going to

work with you

because I learned a lot from you and I'm not going to

make that experience the

experience of my life." That

experience marked my life and will give

new meaning to my present and

transform my future. "But I will

serve God in spirit and in truth."

Second thing, a mentored worker in

times of crisis. I'm not going to repeat

Barnabas so-and-so. Third thing, a

worker who speaks for the

apostolic college. I took a reasonable amount of time today

to see if this word

in parentheses ended our time.

Repeat this after me. About whom?

About whom? Hold on. You received

instructions. Instructions. If he comes to you

, welcome him.

Welcome him. I was thinking, what

instructions were these? Because they are not the ones

Paul gave.

If they are not the instructions Paul

gave for him to send, Paul

is anticipating this situation from a

distant past. So he received these

instructions from the apostolic college. The

only truth I know, Pastor Rodri,

is that he was speaking on behalf of the college.

A boy who didn't have the credibility

to go on the journey with Barnabas and

Paul. Now he's speaking on behalf of the

college. He's instructing Pastor

Efigênio. A Tradition says that he

met with Paul, apparently in the

region of Macedonia. And he brought

instructions to Paul. And Paul said,

"Remember when he was there,

you received instructions?" "Well, if

he returns there, welcome him." Glory to

God. Wow, that's too profound. Yeah,

I see, right? I don't know, if you want to

know this for a moment.

I'll just read it. I'll just read it. He greets you and

preaches that he is among you. Repeat after me

on three. That he is among you. 1 2 3. That he is

among you. Repeat after me. A worker, a

worker from home. From home. Brothers, let

me tell you a horrible phrase.

Our admirers are

distant

and our enemies are near.

That's tragic. It's tragic. You know what

I wrote here? Because generally the

church tends to privilege people who

are from outside.

That's why I tell you,

value this moment you have

here. Value the biblical instruction

you receive. Our Workers in

general, the servants of the Lord

who work and act in this work.

They are from home, just as it was from home.

Epaphras and Paul endorsed him.

Secondly, a worker who is a servant of Christ, a

diligent worker. Repeat after me. A

worker who strives exceedingly.

Now I ask you, what is the level of

your effort

to be in church, to be in

Bible school, to be in a service,

to do evangelism? What is your

effort?

The recipe has always been in the Bible. The

problem is that we are not willing

to read it.

Luke, a worker who cares for his

pastor. Repeat after me. Beloved physician in verses 3.

1 2 3. Repeat after me. Beloved physician

in verse 3. In fact, we only know that

Luke had this function because Paul

recorded it. Paul was almost blind here already.

Almost blind. Paul was. Paul opened the

eyes of many through the power of healing, but

he himself had vision problems. And

God allowed him to, so much so that

there are some interpreters of the Bible who

believe that the thorn in the Paul's illness

was the blindness he had contracted

from malaria he caught

in Paphos or Pergia in Pamphylia. That's why

John Mark fled from there.

He saw everyone getting sick

here. My God, I'm going away. Oh, go to

chapter 13. You have to

study the Bible to understand

this. Repeat after me. A worker, a

worker who goes all the way to the end. Even

Luke, look here, it's in 2

Timothy, chapter 4, verse 11.

Professor Efigênio. Only Luke is

with me.

Yes,

sometimes many people join,

but few remain.

Lastly, Demas.

I'm seeing this scene revealed here, you

know? I'm seeing it revealed from my own

head. I'm seeing them in a room,

I'm seeing a piece of

lamb. Glory to God. Eating

some kind of flour

there. Okay. Because you don't, you

don't read properly... Isn't it in the Bible? What does it

say about Demas there, Pastor Efigênio?

Where is the word Demas there, Pastor

Efigênio? Oh, it's in verse

14, the last word. What does it say

about Demas there? Uh, also Demas. Then

say it again. What does it say about

Demas there? And also Demas. And Paul spoke

of everyone. And what did Paul

say about Demas? Nothing.

It's Jesus.

No, there's nothing to say about

him. Nothing. They're over there eating,

pastor. Then Paul is finishing

writing because the greeting is from the propitius.

It's in verse 18, look. Then, before

Paul goes on to make the greeting for

Punish, Demas is over there eating something

. Certainly, I want to know.

Later I'll ask Paul in

heaven. And he says: "Put my name there

too, because I'm greeting you too." "

Put it there." Then he says, "Luke, the

beloved physician, greets you, and so does Demas."

That's it, it's over.

And do you know what happened to Demas?

It's in 2 Timothy, chapter 4,

verse 9.

A worker who thinks about giving up. Here

in Colossians, chapter 4, verse

14. And there in 2 Timothy,

chapter 4, verse 9, a worker who

gave up.

Because the Bible says that Demas, having

loved this present world, departed. It's

all in the Bible. We just don't

understand if we don't read.

In light of this, my brothers and sisters, what kind of

men and women are we? We have

eight examples here. I could spend another

two weeks talking about this, but

I will probably work on it,

God willing, in the Sermon on the Mount.

But

here I conclude this letter with this

opportunity you have to see yourself in the

life of one of these men. I want to pray

for you about this in the name of Jesus. M.