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Part VI—Latin America 253 escapism. Escapism distorts Christian faith, presenting it as a disrupted and amorphous version of its true function, where fanaticism finds good spaces to pretend that it is living Christian experience, but living it as isolated, divorced, and disconnected from the everyday life experiences of the rest of the world. The escapist faith therefore lives with no social influence. Eventually , that kind of faith simply becomes one of the many existent religious options without a real contribution for change and transformation. Your Role in the Scene Take into consideration the following questions, reflect about them, and answer honestly. (1) In your daily life, how do you understand faith? (2) When living faith in a world that holds different values from those that Christianity supports, how do you feed your faith in spite of rejection, pain, and condemnation? (3) Does your faith remain strong when things you’re awaiting don’t come? Why? (4) Considering the opposite reality that Christian faith faces, does your faith take you toward resistance or to escape? (5) What do you do to avoid abstracting faith, removing it from everyday life? (6) Also, resistance to the system of the world by means of faith is a path that Christians often encounter. Have you ever considered its price? Are you willing to pay for it? Our faith also requires us to take action. Do not get tired, but resist! 31 our task (Matthew 28:16-20) Norton Riker Lages First Baptist Church Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil BIOGRAPHY Norton Riker Lages is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Manuas, Amazonas , Brazil. He is married to Alice Oliver Lages, and they have three children: Vivian, Winston, and Roberto. Lages has previously served at the Baptist 254 Baptist Preaching Church of Betania and Corderior, as well as the Memorial Baptist Church of Brazil and the Northern Theological Seminary of Brazil. Lages received his bachelor of theology from the Northern Theological Seminary of Brazil, his master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his master of education from North Texas State University. He has also previously served as the president of the Amazon Baptist Convention, president of the Baptist Convention of Federal District in Brasilia, and the vice president of the Brazilian Baptist Convention. SERMON COMMENTARY Lages presents a clear message based on Jesus’ commission in its sublime simplicity. The words ring out from Galilee: his authority, his order, and his promise. The power of this message rests in its resonance with themes as old as the first century and as recent as the last person to hear it and heed it. Lages gives an oblique, introductory glance to the removal of the disciples from the scene of the resurrection and back to Galilee. Why leave the very arena of their experience? He attributes this relocation to the providence of God in keeping them from the disruptive mania in Jerusalem surrounding the resurrection. Romans, Sanhedrin, and the hoi polloi all posed a threat to the nascent witnesses to the resurrection. Their removal was for their protection and the furtherance of the gospel. The first thrust of the sermon is toward the authority of Jesus. How can these fisherfolk disciples become world witnesses? Their impetus is his authority. Yet in a nod to the reality of human existence, Lages touches on the reality of human doubt. That doubt can be abated because behind the authority of Jesus rests the authority of God himself. To relate his hearers to authority, Lages reflects on his own military experience. In an argument from the lesser to the greater Lamas compares lessons learned on authority in the military to the need for younger listeners to learn the significance of authority. He assumes that his listeners can interpret the tertium quid implied. Jesus’ authority is illustrated by the fact of military authority, not its nature. That authority grants Jesus the absolute right to tell disciples of the ages, “Go.” He can say that and at the same time grant assurance that his presence and power will be in the going. Lages draws on his own knowledge of soccer to demonstrate the obvious necessity of taking the initiative into the opponent’s territory. He uses an affecting lived experience of a Brazilian missionary friend who, at great cost, goes into a dangerous and needy area to share the gospel. The Go of Jesus is unqualified and underwritten by the power of God. [3.144.36.141] Project MUSE (2024-04-26 18:07...

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