Nothing in this world is more important than the guarantee of the eternal Salvation of the soul. Jesus said: What is the use of conquering the whole world and losing one’s soul? It is impossible to conquer and maintain it without the effective participation of the Holy Spirit. He alone is able to teach, guide, strengthen, sustain, and uphold the followers of His Son along the Way.

Every branch that does not bear fruit is cut off. Only the branch that bears fruit remains on the tree. The Holy Spirit is the Sap that gives life to the branch. Without Him, it withers away.

I have seen many people being healed of various sicknesses and diseases; freed from all sorts of evil spirits; conquering a stable financial life; in short, obtaining wonders by faith, only to then abandon it altogether. Unfortunately, most people forget that, if by faith we conquer, by doubt we lose. Faith needs maintenance, otherwise it evaporates.

Only those who are sealed with the Holy Spirit have remained firm. They are the true “called and chosen ones.”

God has been calling many, but only a few have been chosen. Is it Divine injustice? No, not at all! Just as the salvation of the soul is offered to everyone, so is the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The problem is that not everyone is willing to sacrifice their own life; in such case, what can God do?

Every material asset requires maintenance. The same is true in regards to the greatest spiritual asset: the salvation of the soul. The Holy Spirit is the Flame that prevents one’s faith from going out. He is the Warranty seal of eternal life.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses …”
Acts 1:8

Once there was a Kingdom whose King was God Himself. Unlike other kings, His greatest achievement was to have a relationship with His subjects. Therefore, He gave them Ten Commandments so that they may have order and discipline not only to maintain this relationship with Him, but also with all the other people of His beloved Kingdom. Until one day, His subjects grew weary of His Kingdom.

“Give us a king to judge us.”. 1 Samuel 8.6

They began to look at the other kingdoms and feel envious for the fact that their kings were men and not God. They wanted to be able to say that they had a King and a Queen, and a palace and show that they lived in a kingdom like all the others. This displeased the King of Kings greatly, but because he did not want to lose his relationship with His own people, He gave in to their demands…

And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. (…)However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men,[a] and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.. 1 Samuel 8.7-17

Even though there were many disadvantages, the people preferred to trade the King of Kings for a regular king.

Israel paid dearly for this. They were more evil kings than good kings, and even the good kings made grievous mistakes, which God would never have committed… some of them even killed thousands of Israelites.

Fortunately, God did not give up on us and brought us His Kingdom through His own Son, who eventually graced us with His Spirit in such a way that those who are baptized with Him become subjects of the King of Kings. That is, He will direct their lives, even if they physically live in an imperfect kingdom, but spiritually they will belong to the perfect Kingdom – the Kingdom of God.

In this Kingdom, God is the only King. His laws are above any other law of this world. Where they do not live by what they see, but by what they do not see, because faith is what matters.

Whoever belongs to this Kingdom is no longer Brazilian, European, American, African, black, white, short, tall, woman, man, rich, poor… he or she does not live up to the standards of this world. They are different, they think differently, and live different. They don’t only live for eighty or a hundred years, but they live eternally. They are given so much wisdom that they even confuse scholars, graduates, teachers, and professionals of this world.

That is why the Universal Church promotes the Fast of Daniel from time to time, so that those who do not have the Spirit of the Most High yet and do not know His Kingdom yet can become a candidate. And for those who already have Him, but for some reason have distracted themselves with the kingdoms of this world and perhaps have even undermined Him as the people of Israel did back then, can remember which Kingdom they really belong to.

Participate in this Fast too! The Fast begins on February 9th at a Universal Church near you!

In faith.

I do not know to what extent many who call themselves Christians are truly disciples of the Lord. But I know one thing: the quality of the seed is proven by its fruit, just like the quality of the offering results in the quality of the life of the Christian. Good seed, good fruit. Bad seed, bad fruit. Those who give offerings are evaluated by the quality of their offerings. There is no doubt of this.

What’s interesting is that the offering eliminates the merit factor. No one needs to deserve it to be blessed. Each person is blessed by the kind of dedication they render to the Altar. The same way you give, you will receive. There is freedom to give the way you want to. However, you will receive as much as you give (Luke 6.38). No one can escape from this.

In the parable of the ten virgins, apparently, they were all prepared waiting for their bridegroom. They were all virgins (without sin) and had the same spiritual conditions. But when they heard the bridegroom was coming, their offering spoke louder. Half of them entered, while the other half was left behind. Afterward, when the foolish cried out to come in, the LORD said, ‘I do not know you.’

The Lord Jesus said: by their fruits you will know the tree. From above, trees look the same. However, when you pull off their fruit, you see the difference. The same is true when it Christians. Apparently, they are all “converted” and “saved”. But when you evaluate their actions, offerings or social behavior, you will see the reality of their faith, because the offering is a witness of the offering-giver. Whether it is in your defense or your accusation, there’s no escaping from it.

Each offering reveals the character of each offering-giver. It reveals whether he is dishonest or sincere. It proves his faith, his love, his consideration and, above all, his fear of God Almighty. Therefore, by their fruits you will know the tree. The actions of a Christian will reveal what kind of Christian he has been.

Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Matthew 7.17-20

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11.28-29

The words of the Lord Jesus make it very clear that the rest needed for those who labor and are heavy laden is granted immediately. But the rest (Salvation) of the soul, depends on what we learn from Our Savior.

Our parents and teachers taught us almost everything in life, from our first steps to our decisions. All this required a lot of time, it did not happen overnight. And, still today, we are continuously learning.

When it comes to the Salvation of the soul, there is no immediacy, unless you die right after accepting the Lord Jesus as your only Savior. But for us, the living, we must “learn from Him.” This requires time, patience, perseverance, and the constant practice of the Word as proof that we have learned.

Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” John 7.16

When someone gives an offering, it is a spontaneous and generous act that is done by free will. No one gives an offering by imposition or obligation. For this reason, the offering is a faithful testimony against or in favor of the offering giver. Since it is done freely, the offering carries with it the depths of the soul of the offering giver. The offering does not lie or deceive. The offering placed before God exposes everything that is within the offering giver.

God rejected Cain’s offering because it (the offering) testified against him (Cain), saying: his works were evil… But he accepted Abel’s offering because his works were righteous. (1 John 3.12)

The Lord Jesus is the Greatest Example of an Offering. God the Father offered Him to save mankind. He is the exact expression of Righteousness, Mercy, and Faith. When someone rejects or despises Him, he or she loses the opportunity to be defended, justified, and saved by Him from the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, as He Himself said:

Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10.32

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Revelations 3.5

When he found God, he had been sworn to death by his brother. He was deceitful and a liar, wandering in the desert without direction, family, property or dignity. Utterly useless. Living dead. However, God saw his faith and manifested His power in his life in an extraordinary way.

Years later, now with the blessing of God, a great family, sons and daughters, riches and with the forgiveness of his brother, God makes an unusual request to Jacob.

Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” Genesis 35.1-3

Why return to the place where God answered him in his day of distress? Couldn’t he raise an Altar right where he was? Couldn’t God be with him everywhere? However, there was a purpose for all of this. God wanted Jacob to remember where he came from and how his life was before meeting Him.

What would have become of Jacob’s life? Who would extend a hand to help out a cheater? Who would give a deceitful man a chance?

God, in His infinite mercy, reached out to Jacob and blessed his life to the point of being known as the God of Jacob until this day.

Today we see many people who, like Jacob, were wandering in the desert, but are rescued by God. People who were delivered from addictions, healed, prospered and had their families restored. But over time, these people have forgotten the miserable life they lived and the place where they found the help they needed.

The Universal Church is Bethel. It is the place where the “Jacobs of life” have always been and will be welcomed and understood. It is the place where there is an Altar, and those who sacrifice their life on it, receive the life of God.

We see some people with a heart full of ingratitude leaving the Universal Church, abandoning the faith and turning their backs on God. When God asked them to return to “Bethel” and raise an Altar to Him, they felt that it was not necessary to sacrifice like before, because they were already “happy” with their achievements in life. They forgot where they came from, and that life with God goes from Altar to Altar, from sacrifice to sacrifice, from faith to faith.

The God of Jacob left a message for these people:

Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Luke 12.20-21