This sermon emphasizes the individualized way in which the Lord Jesus deals with people, highlighting the uniqueness of each person's experience and the importance of trusting God's perfect plan even when we don't understand it. It explores the concept of healing in stages, encouraging listeners to seek completion in their spiritual journey and trust that God will finish the work He has started in their lives.

There may I, there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away. That's the question. Is there anybody here, any of you men here, that don't have your sins washed away? Acabo de hacer referencia a la canción que acabamos de cantar donde dice que el Señor lava nuestros pecados, él se los lleva. Y la pregunta es esa, ¿hay alguno aquí que el Señor no ha lavado sus pecados? Think of this, that thief even there right at the end had his sins all washed away. Consideren esto, aquel ladrón en la cruz incluso antes de morir, todos sus pecados fueron lavados. Absolutely clean in the sight of God. Completamente limpio delante de Dios. By the blood of Jesus. A través de la sangre de Cristo Jesús. I just want to thank the Lord first of all for the privilege of being here with you all. Primero le quiero dar gracias a Dios por el privilegio de estar aquí con todos ustedes. If you're a child of God, think of this, the only reason you're here is that God singled you out and brought you here. Si eres un hijo de Dios, considera esto, la única razón por la cual estás aquí es que Dios te señaló a ti, te sacó y te trajo para estar aquí con nosotros. All of us from totally different backgrounds, we might be hating one another today if it wasn't for the Lord Jesus. Todos nosotros con un diferente trasfondo, hoy día estaríamos odiándonos unos a otros si no fuera por el singular hecho de que Cristo nos ha traído y nos ha reunido. That He's made us one in Him. Que Él nos ha hecho uno en Él. What a glorious thing. Que cosa más gloriosa. I just want to thank all of you that labored to make this possible while I sat around and ate and talked. Le quiero dar las gracias a todos ustedes que trabajaron para que esto fuera posible mientras yo me sentaba, comía y hablaba. That's greatly appreciated. Lo aprecio muchísimo. Well, we want to look one last time at one of the miracles of the Lord Jesus. Por nuestro último encuentro vamos a mirar a otro milagro del Señor Jesucristo. So turn with me to Mark chapter 8. Vayamos a Marcos 8. And we're going to read verses 22 to 26. 22 al 26. And they came to Bethsaida and they brought a blind man to Him and entreated Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village. And after spitting on his eyes and laying his hands upon him, He asked him, Do you see anything? And he looked up and said, I see men, for I'm seeing them like trees walking about. Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes and he looked intently and was restored and began to see everything clearly. And He sent him to his home saying, Do not even enter the village. Marcos 8, 22 al 26. Vino luego a Bethsaida y le trajeron un ciego y le rogaron que lo tocase. Entonces, tomando la mano del ciego, le sacó fuera de la aldea y escupiendo en sus ojos, le puso las manos encima y le preguntó si veía. Él mirando dijo, Veo los hombres como árboles, pero los veo que andan. Luego le puso otra vez las manos sobre los ojos y le hizo que mirase. Y fue restablecido y vio de lejos y claramente a todos. Y lo envió a su casa diciendo, No entres en la aldea ni lo digas a nadie en la aldea. Let's pray once again. Oremos nuevamente. Our Father, we are in your hands. Padre, estamos en tus manos. We pray that you would save your people today. Lloramos que salves a tu pueblo hoy. We ask for your Holy Spirit. Pedimos tu Espíritu Santo. A Spirit of faith and power and love and of a sound mind. Un Espíritu de poder, de amor y de dominio propio. Help us, Lord, right now. Ayúdanos, Dios, hoy mismo. Give us something that will change our lives. Danos algo que cambie nuestras vidas. We can do nothing, you can do everything. Nosotros podemos hacer nada, pero tú lo puedes hacer todo. Help us now, in Jesus' name, amen. Ayúdanos ahora en el nombre de Jesús, amen. We've been looking at the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hemos estado observando los milagros del Señor Jesucristo. And so far we have considered only miracles from the Gospel of John. Y hasta hoy hemos considerado solamente milagros en el Evangelio de Juan. This last miracle that we'll look at today is from the Gospel of Mark. Y este último milagro que vamos a ver hoy es del Evangelio de Marcos. And it is only in the Gospel of Mark. Y se encuentra solamente en el Evangelio de Marcos. Not recorded anywhere else in Scripture. No está en ningún otro evangelio en las Escrituras. And at first we might think, well, this is not such an important miracle. Like Jesus walking on the water or healing the woman with the issue of blood. Entonces podríamos pensar que este tal vez no sea algo muy importante. Este milagro no haya sido tan importante como Jesucristo caminando en las aguas o sanando a la mujer que tenía el problema de la sangre. Pero sabemos que eso no es cierto porque cada milagro que el Espíritu Santo escogió para preservar en las Escrituras es importante. Pero sabemos que eso no es cierto porque cada milagro que el Espíritu Santo escogió para preservar en las Escrituras es importante. And this one is particularly important because it's the only miracle where Jesus healed in stages. Y este es particularmente importante porque es el único milagro en el cual el Señor Jesucristo hace la sanación por etapas. That alone makes it important. Eso solamente lo hace muy importante. So let's go down through these verses and talk about this a little bit first. So examinemos los versículos nuevamente. Verse 22, they came to Bethesda and they brought a blind man to him and entreated him to touch him. Versículo 22, vino luego a Bethesda y le trajeron un ciego y le rogaron que lo tocase. We don't know who these they were. No sabemos quiénes son estos que lo trajeron. They brought him a blind man. Dice, y le trajeron un ciego. But we do know this, it's possible for us to bring some loved one or some friend to the Lord Jesus Christ. Pero lo que sí podemos ver aquí es que es posible para nosotros traer a un ser amado o a una persona de nuestras vidas a los pies del Señor Jesucristo. This man was blind. He's not able to search out and find Jesus. Este hombre está ciego. Él no tiene la capacidad de ir y buscar al Señor Jesucristo. So they, whoever they were, they brought him. Entonces ellos, quienquiera que sean ellos sus amigos, ellos lo trajeron al Señor. And we see this over and over in the Gospels. Y eso lo vemos repetidamente en los Evangelios. Here's a father brings his son who's demon-possessed. Aquí está el padre que trae a su hijo que está poseído por demonios. Here's four friends bringing a paralyzed man. Aquí tenemos cuatro amigos que traen a un hombre paralizado. Wouldn't you like to have friends like that? ¿No te gustaría tener amigos así? They get to the house, there's not room to get in, and so they say, well, maybe we'll see them another day. They didn't say that. Llegaron a la casa y vieron que no se podía entrar. Y dijeron, bueno, tal vez podamos venir a ver al Señor otro día. They got up on the roof and started tearing the roof out so they could make a hole to let him down through the roof. Traerlo otro día no fue lo que dijeron. Lo que hicieron fue inmediatamente se treparon en el techo y abrieron el techo para poder descender a la presencia de Dios. I've often thought about this. I've spoken sometimes where there were distractions. Muchas veces yo he pensado en esto. A veces he hablado en lugares donde hay mucha distracción. But I've never had a deal where somebody tears a hole in the roof while I'm speaking and dirt and straw and everything's falling down on everybody below. Pero nunca he estado en un lugar donde han abierto el techo y comienza a caer la tierra y todo porque está haciéndose eso para descender al hombre. It's a little bit of a distraction. Eso tal vez es un poquito de distracción. They didn't care about that. Pero a ellos no le importó. They cared about getting him to Jesus. Lo que le importó a ellos fue presentar a su amigo delante de Jesucristo. Remember what it says? ¿Recuerda lo que dijo? When he saw their faith, he said, son, your sins are forgiven. ¿Recuerda lo que dice la Escritura? Cuando Jesucristo vio la fe de ellos, entonces dijo, hijo, tus pecados son perdonados. Can you see as God given you sight? ¿Puedes tú ver a la manera que Dios te da la habilidad de ver? Then bring your blind friend to Jesus. Entonces, si tú puedes ver, trae a tus amigos ciegos a Jesús. We know lots of people that are blind and paralyzed and everything else, spiritually speaking. Nosotros conocemos muchísimas personas que están ciegos y paralizados espiritualmente hablando. And God gives us every encouragement. He says, bring them. Y Dios nos da todo ánimo, nos dice, tráelos. Bring them to Jesus. Tráelos a Jesucristo. And don't let anything turn you back. No permitas que nada te desanime, te desaliente. We were talking about this thing. How do I know my children are elect? Estábamos hablando sobre esto. ¿Cómo sabemos que nuestros hijos son electos? You don't know. There's no way to figure those things out. Y la realidad es que no sabemos. No hay manera de descubrir esas cosas por nuestra propia habilidad. But I know this. As you look through the Bible, you never see God getting on to anybody for believing him too much. Pero esto sí vemos, que mientras vemos nuestra Biblia, nunca Dios le ha reclamado a alguien por creer demasiado en él. Or expecting too much out of him. O esperar que él haga grandes milagros. It's the other way around. Why didn't you strike the ground more? You would have had more victories. Pero es todo lo contrario. Le dice, ¿por qué no creíste más en mí y hubieras tenido aún más victorias? Basically, the issue comes up to this. Al final, la esencia del problema es lo siguiente. Can you live with the idea of that kid going to hell? Can you live with that? Puedes tú vivir con la idea de que tu niño vaya al infierno. And if you can't live with it, then do like that Syrophoenician woman, keep coming back and beating on the door. My daughter is grievously demon-possessed. Entonces, si no puedes tú vivir con esa idea, es igual que la mujer que vino a tocar la puerta a Cristo, diciéndole, mi hija está poseída por demonios. He said, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and you're not one of them. Y él le dijo, yo vine a las ovejas perdidas de Israel, y tú no eres una de ellas. She didn't let that turn her back. She kept crying out. Y ella no permitió que eso la desalientara, sino que ella siguió persistiendo y llamando. Not right to take the children's bread and give it to dogs. No es correcto quitarle el pan de los niños y dárselo a los perros. She kept crying out. Y ella continuó insistiendo. And the Lord saved her daughter. Y el Señor salvó a su hija. So, first thing here, they brought this guy to Jesus. El primer punto de nuestra Escritura es que ellos trajeron. And in verse 22 it says, they entreated him to touch him. Y ellos fueron los que le rogaron que lo tocase. So they're saying, Lord, please touch him. Ellos te dicen, Señor, por favor, tócalo. And why is that significant? ¿Y por qué es eso significante? Well, they didn't ask him to heal him. They said, touch him. Porque no le pidieron que lo sanara, sino que lo tocara. Why would they say it like that? Porque ellos lo dijeron de esa manera. Because often, as you read through the Gospels, it says that Jesus touched them. Porque muy constantemente, mientras leemos en los Evangelios, podemos leer que dice que Cristo los tocó. Let me just give you a few of them. We don't necessarily need to turn to these. In Matthew 8, No tenemos que volver ahí, pero déjame darles unos ejemplos. Verse 3, it says, Stretching out his hand, this is a leper, Stretching out his hand, he touched him, saying, I'm willing to be cleansed. Dice Mateo 8, 13, Jesús extendiendo la mano y lo tocó, diciendo, quiero ser limpio. Verse 15, Peter's mother-in-law, he touched her hand and the fever left her. Verse 15, Tocó su mano y la fiebre la dejó. That's the kind of thing you see many times. It says he touched them and they were healed. Esto es lo que podemos ver en muchísimas ocasiones. Dice que él lo tocó y ellos fueron sanos. So they bring this friend who's blind, they say, Lord, touch him. Ellos traen a este amigo que estaba ciego y le dicen, Señor, tócalo. They thought they knew how Jesus was going to work. Ellos pensaron que sabían cómo Jesucristo iba a hacer el milagro. And you don't know how he's going to work. Y tú no sabes cómo Jesucristo va a obrar. They expected him to touch her, but he didn't. Ellos esperaban que él lo tocara, pero él no lo hizo así. To touch this man, but he didn't. What does he do? Pero, ¿qué fue lo que él hizo? I love this. Yo amo esto, me encanta esto. Lord Jesus took him by the hand. Dice que el Señor lo tomó de la mano. And he led him out of the village. Y lo sacó fuera de la aldea. Now let me ask you this. If you were a blind man, whose hand would you rather have holding your hand than Jesus' hand? Permíteme preguntarte esto. Si eres un hombre ciego, ¿qué manos tú desearías que estuvieran tocando, no su mano guiándote, sino la del Señor Jesucristo? This is incredible. Esto es increíble. The Lord Jesus doesn't tell one of the friends to take him by the hand. He reaches out and takes him by the hand. El Señor Jesucristo no le dice a uno de sus amigos que lo tome por la mano y lo lleve, sino que él mismo lo toma. Here he is, holding on to the hand of the Lord Jesus. Can't see where he's going, but he's got a hold of the right hand. Y aquí está el hombre ciego, no sabiendo dónde está siendo guiado, pero está agarrado de la mano derecha de Dios, de la diestra de Jesucristo. You see the report of an eyewitness. Y nuevamente podemos ver el reportaje de alguien que fue testigo de esto. Why make up a detail like this? ¿Por qué hacer tanto énfasis en los detalles como estos? And even more, why would you make up a miracle where it looks like the Lord doesn't have enough power to heal him the first time? Y sobre todo, ¿por qué presentarías un milagro donde aparenta que Cristo no tiene suficiente poder para sanarlo la primera vez? There's one reason this is in here. They saw it happen this way and they told what happened. Hay una sola razón por la cual esto está aquí en esta Escritura, y es porque ellos vieron que sucedió de esta manera y fueron fieles en presentarlo. So, the Lord takes him by the hand and brings him out of the village. Entonces vemos que el Señor lo toma de la mano y lo sacó de la aldea. Probably a fairly long walk to get out of that village. Probablemente una larga caminata para sacarlo de la aldea. Why does he do it? ¿Por qué lo hace así? We don't know why he does it. No sabemos por qué. Okay, but he takes him out of the village. Pero lo saca de la aldea. Now, he's got him out of the village, now he'll touch his eyes. Y ahora que está fuera de la aldea, ahora entonces toca sus ojos. Now what's he do? ¿Qué hace? Spits in his eyes. No lo toca, escupe en sus ojos. Isn't it incredible? ¿No es increíble esto? He spits in his eyes. Él escupe en sus ojos. And the man was instantly healed. ¿Y el hombre fue sanado instantáneamente? Wrong again. No. See, we can't predict these things. No podemos predecir cómo va a durar el Señor. He says, do you see anything? He says, I see men like trees walking. El Señor le pregunta, ¿ves algo? Y él dice, veo hombres caminando como árboles. And then he heals him completely. Y luego lo sana completamente. So, what can we learn from all this? Entonces, ¿qué podemos aprender de todo esto? First of all, the Lord Jesus Christ deals with men as individuals. Primero que nada, lo que podemos aprender es que el Señor Jesucristo trata con los hombres individualmente. There are at least four accounts of Jesus healing blind men that are given in detail in the Gospel. Hay por lo menos cuatro encuentros con el Señor Jesucristo y hombres ciegos que nos dan detalles de cómo Él los sanó. And every one of those accounts is different. Y cada uno de esos encuentros es diferente. The Lord Jesus Christ is not a healing machine that you put your needs in and pull the handle and He does it. El Señor Jesucristo no es una máquina que da milagros o sanación, donde pones tu moneda, jalas un brazo y ya lo hace. And men are not broken machines that get fixed the same way. Y el ser humano no son máquinas quebradas que se reparan de la misma manera. You see, the Lord Jesus is a person. Ustedes ven, el Señor Jesucristo es una persona. And everyone that He deals with is a person. Y cada uno que Él trata es una persona. And every man has his unique memories and his unique hurts and his unique pains and his unique needs. Y cada ser humano tiene sus dolores diferentes, su historia diferente y sus necesidades son diferentes. And He deals with us as individuals. Y Él trata con nosotros como individuos. Galatians 2.21, He loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2.21 dice que Él me amó a mí y dio su vida por mí. Jesus didn't die for a faceless multitude. Jesucristo no murió por una multitud desconocida. Can you imagine this? He had you in mind. Puedes imaginarte esto? Él te tenía a ti en mente. He died for me. Él murió por mí. And gave Himself for me. Y se entregó por mí. As an individual. Como un individuo. And He always deals with us as individuals. Y Él trata con nosotros individualmente. There is no plan, no technique of going out and witnessing the people. No hay ningún plan ni ninguna técnica específica de cómo ir y testificar a las personas. There's no four laws or plan that you go through every time with every person you meet. They're all different. No hay cuatro leyes que vas a seguir cuando tratas con los individuos. No, cada uno de nosotros es diferente. You just find for me in the Gospels one time where Jesus went through the same plan with every person. It's never there. He dealt with everyone separately. Busca en la Escritura y dime dónde está el sistema que Dios usó para tratar con todo el mundo. No, Él trató con cada uno de manera diferente. There's one reason that men use these plans. Y hay una razón por la cual los seres humanos usamos estos sistemas. You can get, quote, results without relying on the Holy Spirit. Y es porque puedes recibir, entre comillas, resultados sin tener que descansar en el Espíritu Santo. And many times the results you get are not really true results. Y muchas veces los resultados que tienes usando los sistemas no son resultados genuinos. Why did the Lord Jesus spit in this man's eyes? ¿Por qué el Señor Jesucristo le escupió en los ojos de este hombre? Well, He did it because the Holy Spirit showed Him to do that. Lo hizo porque el Espíritu Santo le mostró que hiciera eso. So that's the first point. The Lord deals with us as individuals. Entonces ese es el primer punto. El Señor Jesucristo trata con cada uno de nosotros de una manera individual. It's an encouraging thing. The Lord knows your heart. Y esto debe darnos mucho ánimo porque nos muestra que el Señor conoce nuestro corazón. He knows your specific needs. Él conoce tu necesidad específica. Proverbs 14.10 says, The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy. Proverbs 14 says, El corazón conoce su propia amargura, y un extraño no se deleita en su gozo. Nobody can really understand the hard stuff, and nobody can really understand the joys. Nadie puede en realidad comprender las cosas difíciles y nadie puede en realidad comprender el gozo. Except the Lord Jesus. Except the Lord Jesus. Nobody knows the trouble I see. Nobody knows but Jesus. Nadie puede conocer el problema que yo tengo, solamente Cristo. One more passage on this before we go on. 2 Chronicles 6. Otro pasaje antes que continuemos, 2 Chronicles 6. It's talking about the temple here. Está hablando sobre el templo. And it says in verse 29, Whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, each knowing his own affliction and his own pain, and spreading his hands toward this house, then hear from heaven your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to each according to all his ways. Whose heart you know, for you alone know the hearts of the sons of men. Amen. 2 Chronicles 6, verse 29. Todo oración y todo ruego que hiciere cualquier hombre o todo tu pueblo Israel, cualquiera que conociere su llaga y su dolor en su corazón, si extendiere sus manos hacia esta casa, tú oirás desde los cielos, desde el lugar de tu morada, y perdonarás y darás a cada uno conforme a sus caminos, habiendo conocido su corazón, porque solo tú conoces el corazón de los hijos de los hombres. Isn't this encouraging? ¿No te anima esto? Whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, Toda oración y todo ruego que hiciere cualquier hombre o todo tu pueblo Israel, That means when we come as a group, as a whole body, God's listening. Eso significa que cuando venimos como un grupo a orar, Dios nos oye. And when you come as an individual, He's listening. Y cuando vienes como un individuo, también te escucha. Each man knowing his own pain. Cada hombre conociendo su propio dolor. Because God knows the heart. Porque Dios conoce el corazón del hombre. Alright, secondly, what do we learn from this miracle? Segundo, ¿qué aprendemos de este milagro? We learn this, that the Lord Jesus deals with us as seems best to Him. Bueno, aprendemos esto, que el Señor Jesucristo trata con nosotros de la manera que Él considera que es lo mejor para nosotros. Look at this man. He took him by the hand. Miren este hombre. Él lo tomó de la mano. He led him out of the city. Y lo sacó fuera a la aldea. He spit in his eyes. Él escupe en sus ojos. He gave him partial healing and then full healing. Y le da una sanación parcial y después completa. Then he told him to go home and don't go back into the city. Y después le dijo que regresara a su casa y no volviera a entrar a la aldea. Why? ¿Por qué? Why does he take him out of the village? ¿Por qué lo saca de la aldea? Some say, well, he was trying to avoid publicity. That might be right. Unos dicen que él estaba tratando de evitar la publicidad y puede hacer que sea correcto. Some say he wanted to be alone with the man, like with Jairus there whose daughter had died. Y otros dicen que él quería estar a solas con el hombro, igual que con Jairo cuando murió su hija. That might be right. Y eso puede ser correcto. Some say maybe he took him out because there was a judgment on that city. Otros dicen que tal vez lo sacó porque había un juicio en esa aldea. Now get this. We don't know why he took him out. Ahora quiero que entiendan esto. No sabemos por qué lo sacó. And once he took him out, he spit in his eyes. Y una vez lo sacó, vemos que él escupió en sus ojos. Why did he do that? ¿Por qué hizo eso? Some people say, you read some commentators, they say, well, back then they believed that there was healing power in saliva and so he was going along with the popular superstition. Bueno, muchos comentaristas dicen que en aquel entonces había gente que tenía la superstición de que creían que la saliva tenía un poder curativo y entonces él solamente estaba actuando de acuerdo a esa superstición. I don't think that's right. Yo no creo que eso sea correcto. Because Jesus was notorious for not going along with popular superstitions. Porque Jesucristo se caracterizaba por no seguir las corrientes de las supersticiones de su tiempo. Some people say, well, he spit in his eyes so the man could have a feel for what he was doing. Otras personas dicen que él escupió en los ojos para que el hombre pudiera tener un sentir de que era lo que estaba haciendo Jesucristo. Other people say he spit in his eyes to unstick his eyelids. Y otros dicen que escupió en sus ojos para separar o despegar sus pestañas. Now get this. We don't know. Pero yo quiero que comprendamos esto. We don't know why he did that. No sabemos por qué hizo eso. And then when he heals him, he doesn't heal him completely. Y después cuando lo sana es una sanación parcial, no lo sana totalmente. Why is that? ¿Y por qué es eso? Didn't have enough power, we know better than that. Pues no tenía suficiente poder, bueno sabemos mejor que eso nosotros. Some people say, well, the man didn't have enough faith. Otros dicen, el hombre no tenía suficiente fe. Well, how much faith did Lazarus have? ¿Cuánta fe tenía Lázaro? That didn't have anything to do with it. Eso no tiene nada que ver con eso. The slave of the high priest, you remember Jesus healed his ear, he didn't have any faith. ¿Se acuerdan del esclavo del encuentro con Pedro cuando le cortó la oreja? It doesn't have to do with that. El hombre no tenía suficiente fe, no tiene nada que ver con eso cuando Jesucristo le sanó su oreja. So the fact is, we know that he healed in stages, but we don't know why. La realidad es que sabemos que hizo la sanación por facetas, pero no sabemos por qué. And then after he heals him completely, he says, don't go back into the village, go home. Y después cuando lo sana totalmente, le dice, no regreses a la aldea, sino vete a tu casa. Why did he do that? ¿Por qué hizo eso? Some people say, well, maybe it was so that he could have time alone to meditate on what had happened and go to his family first. Bueno, mucha gente dice que puede ser que quería que él tuviera tiempo a solas para meditar en lo que acababa de suceder y después fuera y compartiera con su familia primero. Some people say, well, maybe it was a judgment upon that village. Otras personas dicen nuevamente que tal vez era que había un juicio contra esa aldea. I hope this can come home to you. We don't know. Yo quiero y espero que ya estén comprendiendo lo que estamos diciendo. What am I saying to you? Lo que estamos diciendo es que no sabemos. What's God saying to us? Que es lo que Dios nos está diciendo. There are a lot of things that God is going to do in your life and you won't know why He did that. Dios nos está diciendo que hay muchísimas cosas que Él hará en tu vida y no sabemos por qué. But I can tell you this, it's perfect. Pero te puedo decir lo siguiente, es perfecto. Everything that He does, He does all things well. Todo lo que Él hace, Él lo hace todo perfectamente. God deals differently with different people and He does it as He sees fit and He doesn't explain why. Dios trata con cada persona de diferentes maneras y lo hace como Él considera que es lo correcto y Él no se tiene que explicar. God saves some people, they get converted so easily it's just like they're falling off a log. Dios salva algunas personas y lo hace de una manera que es tan fácil que es como si le pegaras a una pedrada a un blanco fácil. That doesn't translate into Spanish. Here's Thomas Oliver back in the days of Wesley. Aquí hay un señor que se llama Thomas Oliver de los tiempos de... He was out drinking, he said I'm going to have some fun and go mock this guy Wesley. John Wesley. Entonces dice que va, aquí voy a ir a molestar, a divertirme un ratito molestando a John Wesley. First day he goes there and God saves him. El primer día que va a mofarse de Wesley, el señor lo salva. And if you visit Wesley's grave, right beside him is another grave, Thomas Oliver. Y si vas a visitar la tumba de John Wesley, al ladito de él está la tumba de Thomas Oliver. But here's another guy, he struggles in agony for years. Pero aquí hay otro hombre que en agonía batalla por años. Trying to get saved. Tratando de ser salvo. It's like God has to pull him through a knot hole. Es como si el señor tuviera que forzarlo a entrar por el ojo de una aguja. Why? ¿Por qué? I don't know why. No sé por qué. I know God does all things well. Pero yo sé que Dios hace todo y todo perfecto. Here's one person, they come to God and immediately they're flooded with assurance that their sins are gone. Aquí viene una persona, viene el señor e inmediatamente están convencidos, tienen una aseguranza de que el señor ha hecho una obra completa de salvación. Here's another person, they struggle with doubts, they're not sure what's going on. Some people are delivered instantly from besetting sins. Samuel Hadley was a drunk on the streets of New York when God saved him, instantly he was free. Y el señor lo sanó inmediatamente. And he was involved in a mission to drunks on the streets of New York about a hundred years ago. He said many of those men were instantly delivered. But others went through struggles for a long time. And they'd get everything built back, they'd get their house back, their wives back, their children back, and they'd fall into it again. But eventually God got them on their feet and they never fell again. Why? God has different ways of dealing with different people. We've got different needs. Why does God save one guy when he's 10 years old and another guy when he's 45? There's reasons for things. Hay razones por las cosas que hace Dios. One more passage here in Hebrews chapter 11. I'll start reading in verse 32. What more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon and Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword from weakness where made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight, women received back their dead by resurrection, and others were tortured. Let's read verse 32. And others? Others were tortured in order that they might obtain a better resurrection. Verse 36. And others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were tempted. They were put to death with a sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, men of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. Verse 35. Verse 34. By faith, some escaped the edge of the sword. Verse 34. They escaped the edge of the sword. Verse 37. By faith, others were put to death with a sword. They both had the same faith. One of them was put to death by the sword. The other one escaped the edge of the sword. Dan Smith was a missionary in China. And he was with his fellow missionary downstairs in the mission complex, and he felt strongly in his heart, go upstairs. Go upstairs. Go upstairs. It was so strong that he did it. He obeyed. He went up the stairs. He hears gunshots down below. And his fellow missionary dies as a result of that. He said, well, I know what that was. Dan Smith was really in touch with God, and God spared his life. You don't know that at all. Maybe that his fellow missionary was in touch with God enough that God says, all right, it's time for me to take him. But Dan, he's not ready yet. I'm going to have to get him upstairs. He deals with different people differently. But he always does it in a way that's best for our souls and for his glory. Now, I want to say a couple more things on this. First of all, we should not doubt the reality of our experience, because it's different from somebody else's experience. Suppose this blind man here in Mark hears about Bartimaeus. He was a blind man. Jesus just said the word, and he was healed. Well, he didn't do that with me. He spit in my eyes, and then I couldn't see clearly. Maybe I'm not even saved. You see, it doesn't have to do with how it happened. The only question is, can you see or not? Are you alive? I mean, you may not be able to hand me your birth certificate, but the fact that you're alive proves that you're born. So we don't judge our experience by other people's experiences. But the second thing is, we don't take our experience and try to put it on other people and say that theirs isn't real if it wasn't like ours. You think of the man born blind in John 9. How did the Lord heal him? Well, he spat on the ground and made mud, made clay out of the spittle, and smeared it on his eyes, and then he told him to go wash. And this man in Mark 8, he just spit in his eyes. Suppose these two guys meet each other. He says, the way it happens is, he makes mud and he puts it on your eyes, and the other guy says, no, that's not the way it is. He just spits in your eyes. That's the way he does it. So these two guys meet and start talking about how the Lord heals the blind. And one guy says, well, the way he does it is by making mud and putting it on your eyes, and the other guy says, no, no, no, he's spitting in your eyes. Old Vance Havner said this, two denominations were born right then, the mudites and the anti-mudites. Ha, ha, ha, ha. OK, last thing here. What do we learn from this? The Lord Jesus sometimes heals by stages. Why else would he do this miracle in this way? He's wanting to teach us something. It wasn't because he didn't have enough power. We saw he raised Lazarus from the dead. It wasn't because of some defect in this man's face. Jesus healed thousands of people. It didn't have anything to do with their faith. Some cases it did, but others he just healed people. So he has a reason for this. God's telling us something. He sometimes will do something real in your life, but it's not complete yet. Doesn't mean it isn't real. And so what are we supposed to do? We need to say to the Lord, Lord, I know you did something for me. But I'm still kind of in a blur here. I need you to touch me again. I need this to be completed. You can see it in the life of the church. Everybody in the whole church, since the beginning of the Christian era, it's never been completely done yet. All of us see in a mirror darkly. He's touched us, he's done something real. But when he comes again, we'll see and we'll know the way we are known. He'll touch us again and everything will become perfectly clear. But in the individual life, it's still that way too. Many times we know that God has done something for us, but we know if we're honest it's not complete yet. He's inviting us and telling us to come back to him and ask him to touch us again. What's the last point? The Lord Jesus is able to complete what he begins. Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. If you're saved here today, it wasn't your idea originally, it was God. And he started a good work in you. And he's going to complete it. There's never anything that he starts that he doesn't complete. I love that passage in Zechariah about the temple. It says that he who laid the foundation of the temple the foundation will put the top stone in place with shouts of grace, grace to it. The Lord Jesus laid the foundation of the church and he's going to put the top stone in place. He came into the world with a specific purpose. He says no one can come to me except the Father draws him. All that the Father gives me shall come to me. And the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast him out. Why not? Because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. What's that Lord? This is the will of him who sent me that of that which he has given me I lose not one. But raise him up on the last day. He's saying I'm going to put the top stone in place. There's not going to be one missing. I will bring the work to completion. You think of a builder building a house. Why would he stop? Maybe he runs out of resources. Maybe he has a change of plan. Maybe he runs into something unforeseen. Maybe he has too much opposition. None of those things apply to God. He sees the beginning. He declares the end from the beginning. Saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Do you have anything real? Just the littlest thing that's real. If you have anything that's real, blessed are you. Because to him who has more shall be given and he will have an abundance. But to him who does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away. I would rather be the weakest Christian in the whole world than to be a false professor. If you have anything real, he's going to complete the work and he's going to save you to the uttermost. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. Gloria a Dios. Amen.