Teen Challenge / Desafio Jovem

Last night I've been to the 30th Teen Challenge conference in Lisbon and here is a summary of what Pastor Victor Torres has preached:

2 Kings 2

Like Elisha, we have to crossover something. In this case it was the Jordan. Elijah, the master, knew God was going to take him over in a supernatural way. When we are hungry for God, we want to search him with all our heart. But we need commitment. Many people don't like this word. We see that in marriages and this is also happening in the Church. We should know that if we want to reach our goals, we need a double portion, we need more closeness, we need to go higher, and that requires real commitment. Our calling becomes a reality when we are commited.

It takes commitment to accomplish great things. And Jesus talked about that with his disciples - «If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me» (Luke 9:23). There is no greater cross than the cross of the Gospel. Without the cross of Jesus, there is no salvation, there is no transformation, there is no healing. Many of us get so close of God transforming our life and then we stop.

Life has a lot of distractions and people are going to discourage us, even religious people. But with a double mind, we don't go anywhere. We shouldn't allow the ennemy to play with our mind. We should only hear and obey one voice - that of Jesus Christ. We cannot sleepwalk. While we sleep, we miss what God has for us. God is at the door, calling us. But only us can answer the door.

«Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us» Hebrews 12:1. Sin is a problem of the heart and we all face sin. Disobedience weighs us down and when we are weighed down, we are going to be distracted and we are not going to get what God has for us.

Aos meus amigos portugueses, peço desculpa por não traduzir mas o tempo para escrever no blogue esgotou-se. Esperam-me outras tarefas.