Built Different | Prayer | Pastor Lisa Seaton

Hey, welcome to City First Church. It's gonna be a great day today and we're so excited that you're here. Wherever you're joining us from, would you stand to your feet and let's sing to Jesus together. Come on. ♪ I have felt the hands that bear the scars ♪ ♪ Reach down and rescue me ♪ ♪ I have known the love of the Father's heart ♪ ♪ A prodigal now redeemed ♪ ♪ From where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming ♪ ♪ The more and more I see you move all around me ♪ Come on. ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but lift up, shout some joy ♪ ♪ When I think of how good you've been ♪ ♪ Faithful now until the end ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ For the blood you spilled to save my life ♪ ♪ A debt I cannot repay ♪ ♪ For the cross you bore with open arms ♪ ♪ Salvation, I call my name ♪ ♪ From where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming ♪ ♪ The more and more I see you move all around me ♪ ♪ And I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but lift up, shout some joy ♪ ♪ And when I think of how good you've been ♪ ♪ Faithful now until the end ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪

♪ Praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, I can't help but dance cause I'm free ♪ ♪ Got no chains on me, I'm healed and redeemed ♪ ♪ I can't help but call on the name that buried my shame ♪ ♪ Who opened my grave, I can't help but dance cause I'm free ♪ ♪ Got no chains on me, I'm healed and redeemed ♪ ♪ I can't help but call on the name that buried my shame ♪ ♪ Who opened my grave, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Can't help but lift up, shout some joy ♪ ♪ Cause when I think of how good you've been ♪ ♪ Faithful now until the end, I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ And I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ Come on church, if you just lift up your shout of praise to Jesus today. Oh, City First Church, you guys sound incredible and amazing today, I have to say. But I need to take a moment and say welcome home to every person that is with us right now in the room and online. My name is Cameron, I'm so excited to be with you guys. And I know that there's individuals who are probably here experiencing City First for the very first time or even better, maybe they're having experience with God today for the very first time. And with that family, can we make some noise for all of our first time guests? That's right, we're grateful, thankful. You could be anywhere, but you're here. We have this saying, we believe that you belong before you believe, so welcome home.

And if you're watching online for the first time, man, we would love for you to be connected to all the things that God is doing here. Please scan the QR code that's on your screen right now to get connected. If you found yourself in this beautiful place today, we have a gift for you, it's just our way of saying thank you after service, please make your way to the Next Step booth right out there in the lobby. And as we continue service today, I have a question. Is there any person in this room that has a testimony? Is there any person in this room that knows that God is good? Has God redeemed or saved any person in this room? Is there a person that knows that the reason we're singing is because the God we serve is good and he is faithful and he is present? Come on. You know the Bible tells us in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 9, the Bible says this, it says that we are called to declare the praises of God. It is our calling to declare the praises of God. It is your calling to declare over that diagnosis, over that drama, over that doubt, over that depression, it is your calling to declare that God is good. Family, we're not singing just because we're happy. We are singing because God is good. So if you're able to stand to your feet, if you're singing online right now, turn up the volume because someone needs to hear you praise God. Church family, will you lean in with no distractions? Will you join me? Let's lift up our voices. Let's give a shout to God and let's praise Him as we continue to worship. Come on. I am an instrument of exultation And I was born to lift your name above all names And you hear the melody of all creation But there's a song of praise that only I can bring Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy?

There is no one, only you Jesus Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you Jesus You're so worthy God We're gonna praise your name today You are the infinite God of the ages And yet you chose to make my heart a dwelling place And you healed my brokenness Showed me your glory So I have songs to thank, not even angels sing Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you Jesus Who else is worthy God You're so worthy Lord There is no one, only you Jesus Who else is worthy? And who else is worthy? No one Lord There is no one, only you Jesus Who else is worthy? No one Lord There is no one, only you Jesus Lamb of God, anointed one Who was and is and is to come Seated on the throne above Holy, holy, righteous one Who shed his blood to prove to us The Father's love Jesus Christ be lifted up Holy, holy Lamb of God Who was and is and is to come

Seated on the throne above Holy, holy, righteous one Who shed his blood to prove to us The Father's love Jesus Christ be lifted up Holy, we lift your name Lord Who was and is and is to come Seated on the throne above ♪ Holy we cry to you Lord ♪ ♪ To prove to us the Father's love ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ be lifted up ♪ ♪ And who else is worthy ♪ ♪ And who else is worthy ♪ ♪ And there is no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy Lord ♪ ♪ There's no one like you Lord ♪ ♪ Cause there is no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There's no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Cause there is no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ There's no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ There's no one only you Jesus ♪ ♪ And we fix our eyes on you Jesus ♪

♪ And here is where I lay it down ♪ ♪ Every burden, every crown ♪ ♪ This is my surrender ♪ ♪ This is my surrender ♪ ♪ And here is where I lay it down ♪ ♪ Every lie and every lie ♪ ♪ This is my surrender ♪ ♪ And I will make room for you Lord ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to do ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to do ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, come have your way Jesus ♪ ♪ We want more of you Lord ♪ ♪ And here is where I lay it down ♪ ♪ Every burden, every crown ♪ ♪ This is my surrender ♪ ♪ And this is my surrender ♪ ♪ Here is where I lay it down ♪ ♪ Every lie and every doubt ♪ ♪ This is my surrender ♪ ♪ And I will make room for you ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to do ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to do ♪ ♪ And I will make room for you ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to do ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to Lord ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, you're all we want Lord ♪ ♪ We'll be high and lifted up in this place Jesus ♪ ♪ We want more of you Jesus ♪ ♪ We surrender all to you Lord, yeah ♪ ♪♪♪

♪ So shake up the ground of all my tradition. ♪ ♪ Break down the walls of all my religion. ♪ ♪ No way is better. No way is better, yeah. ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground of all my tradition. ♪ ♪ Break down the walls of all my religion. ♪ ♪ No way is better, yeah. No way is better, yeah. ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground of all my tradition. ♪ ♪ Break down the walls of all my religion. ♪ ♪ No way is better. Yes, no way is better. ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground of all my tradition. ♪ ♪ Break down the walls of all my religion. ♪ ♪ No way is better. Yes, no way is better. ♪ ♪ So I will make room for you, yeah. ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to. To do whatever you want to. ♪ ♪ So I will make room for you. To do whatever you want to. ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to, Jesus. ♪ God, that's our heart's desire this morning. We've tried life our way, and it doesn't work out. But God, your way is so much better. And we know as we sing those words, God, we sing them in confidence. Because you are a faithful God, and you keep your promises. And it doesn't matter what life throws at us, God, because you are our source. So when we make room and you feel it, God, you feel it with your hope. You feel it with your goodness. You feel it with your faithfulness, God. You feel it with your good plans. And we trust in that this morning.

So God, we lean in, we're expectant, and we're ready because we serve a faithful God. And you're in the house today, God. We thank you so much. We pray this in your name. Amen. Amen. Come on, won't you give him praise one more time? Well, thank you so much for worshiping with us. Really excited about what God's gonna do today. Why don't you guys go ahead and take a seat? Across the nation, over 5 million children do not have access to school supplies. At City First, we are passionate about the next generation. Through your generosity, we're partnering with local schools to help students walk into a new year with confidence and remind them that we're cheering them on every step of the way. My name's Tom O'Brien. I'm the principal here at Walsh Elementary. We're a community-based school. My name's Tom O'Brien. I'm the principal here at Walsh Elementary. The backpack really is like a huge communication tool with parents to be able to bring things home. Obviously, we do things online, but that paper piece is really important. And so it just gives them an opportunity to just be a part of that process. And thank you to City First for your generosity

and always all the work that you've done, all the help that you've provided us and our students and families that need it the most. Thank you, City First, for faithfully investing into students and families in our community. From now through August 16th, just $38 provides a backpack filled with school supplies for a child in need. Together, let's help every student start the year strong, knowing City First has their back. There's no limit to what God can do when we come together in Jesus' name. We're excited about our backpack initiative, and I'm gonna talk about that here in just a moment. But each time that we gather, we always take a moment to receive a freewill offering. And if you would like to participate today, you can do so digitally. Scan that QR code that is on the screen. Or if you have a physical gift, we'll collect that here in just a moment. But I wanna talk about our annual Backpack Drive. This is actually our last weekend of our Backpack Drive, and this is giving that is above and beyond giving. And I just wanna take a moment and say thank you, First, for your generosity so far. I'm gonna announce here in a moment where we're at when it comes to this initiative. But the genesis of this goes all the way back years and years ago.

We had a team of people that were serving at a local elementary school, and they were seeing and hearing from the staff that there were kids that were showing up specifically to this school that didn't have the resources they need, the school supplies that they needed. They were wearing flip-flops in the wintertime, and we felt like we have to do something to respond to this need that we have. that's in our community. And little did we know that that's how it was going to start and it was going to grow and we were gonna be able to impact hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of families over the course of a year. But our goal this year is to sponsor 2,000 students. So to be able to provide backpacks for 2,000 students so that they can show up to school, they can have all of the supplies they need, they can walk in with confidence into this new school year. And so far we are 80% of our goal, which means we've sponsored 1,600 backpacks, which is amazing. And on this last weekend here of Backpack Drive, I believe that we will be able to cross that finish line. We can get the final 20%, those final 400 students sponsored so that they can go back to the school year

here in a couple of weeks ready and confident. And I was talking to an individual two weeks ago and just him and his wife alone, they were like, we want to sponsor 50 backpacks. So I believe that collectively as we come together today, you can clap for that, that's worth clapping for, that's good. But I believe collectively today that as we gather together that 400 backpacks, we can definitely get sponsored and that we can at the end of today on Sunday, that we can say that we have hit our goal of sponsoring 2,000 backpacks. And then in a couple of weeks, put those 2,000 backpacks into 2,000 kids hands so that they're ready for this next year. If you do want to give above and beyond, you can scan the QR code, just like backpack drive to give there. Or if you have a physical gift, you can go ahead and just earmark that on the giving envelope and just say backpack drive and all those funds will go directly to supply school supplies for these kids. So I'm gonna go ahead and pray for our gifts. Would you please join me? And God, I thank you for just a generous church. God, I thank you that there's people who are responding to the needs in our own community. And God, I thank you for each person that has given so far. And I pray that they would just experience the joy of giving.

God, knowing that they're giving is making a difference in your name. And I pray God for these final 400 backpacks. God, would you move on people's heart to step out and to sponsor a backpack? Maybe it's one, maybe it's five, maybe it's 10. And Lord, I thank you that we are able to stand with 2,000 students as they go into this new school year. God, and they know that there's people behind them in their city that value them and care for them. And most importantly, there's a God that loves them. So we pray for every gift, pray a blessing on it and on every giver in Jesus name, amen. ♪♪♪ City First Church is one church with multiple locations. And we wanna see cities full of hope and people full of purpose. Hello to everyone watching online, our City First Anywhere fam, a big hello to all the guys that got behind bars, especially those at Dixon and Hardy. We're glad that you're joining us today. And finally, to everyone in the seat at our Spring Creek, Cape Coral and Janesville locations, thanks for spending part of your day with us. We believe God has something for you today. Now, let's get ready to take notes as we continue our series, Built Different, with a message from Pastor Lisa Seaton. Well, good morning City First fam.

We're so glad that you're here today and we're so glad that you're here today. We're so glad that you're here today. I want you to turn to your neighbor and say, it's gonna be a good day. Turn to your other neighbor and say, but you're my favorite. Well, hey, no matter where you're joining us at today, whether you're online, you're at Spring Creek right here, you're in Janesville, you're in Cape Coral, I want you to know that you are in the right place. If you are here today, it is not by accident, God has good plans for you. And today we're wrapping up our series, Built Different, and if we're following Christ, then we're built different. How we respond to things are different. What we prioritize is different. How we spend our time, our energy, our resources, they look different. We're gonna buy backpacks for kids who need it. And today, the topic that we're gonna talk about is maybe one of the most important things that we can do. Okay, if you do just this one thing, everything else in your life will look different. And this thing is something we see all throughout the Bible and something that Jesus himself models for us. And so today we're gonna be diving into the topic of prayer. Now, when I say that, I don't want you to disengage. There's a lot of misconceptions about prayer. And maybe you feel like there's been a resistance

for you in prayer, but I want you to think about what prayer really is. It's the God of the universe, the God who created galaxies, the God who spoke light into existence, the God who holds every breath in his hand, says to you and to me, come and talk to me. Talk with me. Pretty incredible when you really think about it. And some of you might go, well, that actually sounds intimidating and I don't even know how to pray. Or maybe you've been going, I actually have been praying for a breakthrough, for a healing, for my spouse, for my kid, for my finances, and it actually feels like my prayers are not working, that God isn't hearing my prayer. Well, I believe that no matter where you find yourself at on your prayer journey, this message is for you, it's gonna empower you, it's gonna equip you, and it's going to encourage you. Because what I know to be true is that when you change the way that you pray, it will change the way that you parent, it will change the way you perceive things, it will change the way you respond to things, it will change your marriage, it will change your mindset. Prayer changes things. It invites heaven's influence into our earthly affairs. And so next Sunday, as a church family, we're launching 21 Days of Prayer.

And I know that as Pastor Jeremy and Jen's heart, that we would have 100% participation. We're gonna make it easy for you, we've got prayer guides, come back next Sunday, you can get a physical copy or there'll be digital ones. We got bracelets to remind you to pray, we're gonna have prayer gatherings. See, so often when it comes to prayer, it can seem like a last resort. Anybody who've been there, you're like, okay, nothing else has worked, so I'm just gonna throw up a prayer, hope for the best. Or maybe you've done one of those bargain prayers, where you're like, God, if you'll just, then I'll never, like you're just trying to make that exchange with God. As a church, we wanna go from making prayer our last resort to making it our first response. So today, we're gonna look at why do we pray? How do we pray? And what happens when we pray? So before we dive into scripture, let's just take a moment and get our hearts ready. Heavenly Father, thank you for every person in this place that they're here on purpose and for a purpose. God, I pray right now that we would have breakthrough when it comes to our understanding of prayer. For the person who's been disappointed by prayer or confused by it, I pray for clarity and that faith would rise up. God, I pray that your Holy Spirit would minister

specifically to each and every person in this place. You know them, you created them, you have good plans for them. Prayer isn't about religion, it's about relationship and you want us all to grow in our relationship with you. So have your way, help me to get out of the way. And in your name, everybody said, amen. Well, at City First, our mission statement is we exist to introduce everyone to Jesus and teach them to follow him. So if we're gonna learn how to follow Jesus, we have to know what Jesus did. And so I want us to take a look at a couple of scripture and see Jesus's relationship with prayer. Now, if a word is in red, I wanna encourage you, say it out loud and say it like you mean it, like you've had a couple shots of espresso this morning. So it says in Luke 5.16, but Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and? You understand the assignment. Mark 1.35 says, very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, went off to a solitary place where he? Prayed. Matthew 14.23, after he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to? Pray. One more, Luke 6.12, one of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to? And spent the night?

To God. So all throughout scripture, we see that Jesus prayed. And if we wanna live how Jesus lived, and we wanna love how Jesus loves, and we wanna experience the grace and the strength and the compassion and the authority and the power that Jesus experienced, we must prioritize prayer like Jesus prioritized prayer. We must prioritize it. And here's what's incredible. When Jesus was on this earth for 33 and a half years, we see that it's documented that he spent a lot of time praying. But do you know that when Jesus left this earth and ascended to heaven, he didn't stop praying. In fact, it says in Romans 8.34, that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, interceding for us. Just let it sink in for a second. We're down here on this earth, and you're worrying. And while you are worrying, Jesus is in heaven praying for you. While you're overwhelmed by the circumstances, situations that you're facing, Jesus is in heaven interceding for you. While you're sleeping, while you're afraid to go. to sleep because of anxiety and fear. And so you're scrolling until you pass out while you're afraid to fall asleep. Jesus is in heaven declaring your name

before his heavenly father speaking peace over your anxious mind as you go to rest at night. And when you know that, then you begin to live differently on this earth because you understand that you're not just out here by yourself, but Jesus is with you and for you and praying for you. You know, here we are in the beginning of August and some of you are sad because you're like, now it's gonna be fall and then it's gonna be winter. If you know me, you know I love Christmas. I'm excited. It's only 20 Sundays away. Mixed response. Some of you are clapping. Some people are booing me off the stage right now. They're like, get this girl out. Where's Pastor Jeremy? It's too soon for Christmas. But I was thinking about how Christmas is coming up in winter and how last winter, Adam and I and Pastor Jeremy and Jen and I went to a conference out in Colorado and we were in sessions all day and we're learning how to grow as pastors so that we can continue to help see your life grow as individuals. And what I love about Pastor Jeremy and Jen is they are committed to growing because they wanna see your life flourish

and win in faith. And so we're at this conference and we're learning and we have a free afternoon. And so everybody gets together and they decide in our spare time, we're gonna go skiing. Okay, Pastor Jeremy and Jen have been skiing all their lives. Adam is naturally athletic at everything that he does. I can barely walk on this flat stage right now with flat shoes without falling. So I was like, this is not gonna go well. I had only skied one time before in Wisconsin. So like the biggest hill is like a bunny hill basically and it had been a long time ago. And so they're all like, we're ready to hit the slopes in Colorado on actual mountains. So I was like, I'm gonna do what I need to do here. I'm gonna buy a cute ski jacket so I feel like I fit in and then I'm gonna go to ski school. So I go to ski school and to everyone's surprise, I actually did really, really well. At the end of it, the ski instructor was like, I gotta say, Lisa, you were my best ski student. I was like, yeah, I was so much better than all the six and seven-year-olds in ski school. Feeling really good about myself. So I text the group and I was like, okay, I graduated ski school. I'm ready to hit the slopes. So I meet up and I was like, I have to go on like

the smallest mountain or run that there is. And they're like, no problem, we got you. I get on the ski lift and the ski lift starts going up and going up and going up and going up and going up. Finally get off the ski lift, which was challenging in itself. And I was like, we are very high on this mountain. How am I supposed to get down this mountain when I can barely ski? And they're like, well, you can do it. You just gotta ski down it. I was like, okay, I don't know. Are you sure there's not an easier path? They're like, nope, this is what it is. I was like, okay. So instead of like asking them for help or taking the approach that I learned in ski school where you ski side to side down a mountain, I just, because I was scared, I was like, I'm just gotta get it over with. I jumped down and I'm just skiing straight, picking up speed every single second, like out of control. I'm going so fast. I'm doing what I learned in ski school. I'm like pizza wedge, pizza wedge. I'm not slowing down. I hear Adam behind me yelling, just fall over. For the first time in my life, I can't fall. I was like paralyzed. So I see the ski slope and had all this fresh powder.

I was like, well, maybe I can just kind of like crash into that. So I veer over going so fast. I run into the ski bank, through the ski bank and end up landing inside of a tree. I'm laying on my back. My legs are up. My skis are tangled in the tree. The next thing I know, your pastor, Jeremy and Adam are in the tree, unlatching my boots from the skis, pulling me out of the tree. I get up, there is a tree branch, like this big, stuck through my pant leg. Jen's like, Lisa, you have a tree in your pant leg. I was like, I know, I know, I know that God has extra guardian angels for me because I need it. I didn't have a scratch on my body, praise God. But then after that, I was like, okay, call the snowmobile people. Tell them to pick me up. Take me down this mountain. They're like, that's not how it works. You have to ski down this mountain. I was like, I can't do it. They're like, you have to do it. So most people could get down this. mountain in about 20 minutes, for two and a half hours, Pastor Jeremy and Adam would ski this way and say,

okay, Lisa, ski to me. Okay, Lisa, ski to me. And we did this for two and a half hours and I have not been skiing again since. We get down the mountain, they're like, you gotta go again, overcome your fear. I was like, I'm gonna stick to the only sport I am good at, which is reading. I'm exceptional at that. So I never skied again. But that night, as I was reflecting on that day, I was thinking about how here I am facing this mountain and I'm surrounded with people who love me, who believe in me, who wanna see me win, who have more experience than I do, who have more wisdom in this than I do, but I didn't tap into any of that. Instead, I was like, I got it, here I go. And I think when it comes to life, we can be facing metaphorical mountains or obstacles and we're like, okay, I got it, I'll figure it out. Here I go. When the God of the universe who loves you, who wants to see your life win, who is for you, who is accessible to you is like, hello, I'm right here. And I wanna help lead you and I wanna help guide you. And we forget to tap into all that God has for us through the power of prayer. Why do we pray? Because in prayer, we're reminded

that we don't have to do this life in our own strength. As Pastor Kyle says, life be life in and life is hard. If you've lived for like 10 minutes, you know, life is hard, there's decisions to make, there's things that are disappointing, there's financial pressures, there's things you didn't see coming, there's tension in relationships. If you have kids, you know you need to pray, right? But as Christ followers, we are in this world, but we're not of this world. We're not just earthly beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having an earthly experience. And so we have to disconnect from this world and get connected with our heavenly Father so that we can be effective while we're in this world. So that while we're here on this earth, we can have peace and wisdom and patience and insight and foresight and breakthrough. Prayer disconnects us from the pressures of this world and it reconnects us to the presence of our living God who is for us, who loves us and who wants to guide us. Come this way, okay. Now come this way, okay. Now we're gonna go this, he wants to guide us. And he does that when we submit ourselves to him in prayer. And in recent years, studies on prayer have been released and it shows that science affirms what scripture has been telling us for thousands of years.

Scientists and doctors have been scanning people's brains while they are in a place of prayer and what they have found that prayer literally changes the brain. It has a literal effect on the function of your brain. And just a couple of things that they found and released, I'm just skimming the surface here, is that prayer calms your mind. There's a certain part of your brain that is like detecting fear all the time. It's like, what could happen? What could go wrong? What could that person say? What could that person do? How could they get hurt? What if this happens? Some of you, that part of your brain is on overdrive all the time. You're living in a place of fear. What they found out is that when you pray, that part of your brain begins to be less reactive and you're able to have a calmness in your brain. They also discovered that prayer helps you to think clearly. The part of your brain that's responsible for focus, wisdom, decision-making, becomes more active during prayer. So as you're praying about whatever it is that you're walking through, you're able to see clearly about that situation. As you're praying, because you've been up against this obstacle,

God's able to reveal to you solutions. Prayer helps you think clearly. What else did scientists find about when people pray? That prayer brings peace. There's a part of your brain that is always telling you, everything depends on you. That's why we start to stress out. How am I gonna fix this financially? How am I gonna fix this relationship? How am I gonna find freedom from that thing? Everything depends on me. I'm all in it by myself. I have to figure this out all alone. There's a part of your brain that makes you think you're in isolation. But as you begin to pray, that begins to quiet. God's peace begins to enter and you realize I'm not alone. God is with me. Jesus is interceding for me. He is my source. He is my strength. He is my friend. He is my hope. He is my joy. He is everything that I need. I am not in this on my own. God is with me. And you might think, well, I don't have time to pray. I would argue you don't have time not to pray.

You need to function with clarity. You need to experience God's peace. You need to experience the calmness that God has for you that we find as we connect with him in prayer. And I've always loved the verse Philippians 4, 6, and 7. If you're just gonna memorize a couple of verses, I encourage you, let this be the verses that you memorize even this week. It says, don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need. Thank him for all he's done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. God created you. God created your brain. God created you to be in relationship with him. So when this says that you will experience peace in your hearts and it will guard your mind, literally your mind is guarded as you begin to pray. How incredible is our God? And you might go, well, that's amazing, but how do we pray? That's a great question. I'm glad that you asked, because sometimes the idea of praying can be intimidating, especially if maybe you have like a super Christian in your family, it's Thanksgiving,

and they're praying for 15 minutes with like King James language, bless this, the turkey, Lord, and you're like, I'm just hungry. It can seem intimidating sometimes prayer, but I love what Dallas Willard says about prayer. He says that prayer is talking with God. It's talking with God. It's not just talking to God. It's talking with God. God wants to hear from you. Just how as a parent, I wanna hear from my children, whatever it is they have to say, I wanna hear it because I love them and I'm invested in their lives. God wants to hear from you. And you're like, well, what does he wanna hear about? Whatever is on your mind, he wants to hear about. Because if it's on your mind, it's on God's heart. He cares about what you care about, no matter how small or big it may seem. But he doesn't just wanna hear from you, he also wants you to hear from him. So many times when it comes to prayer, we can do all the talking. We're like, here's my laundry list of things, God, I wanna tell you about this and I need you to do this. But we serve a God who wants to have relationship with us. Prayer is not a religious activity, it's something that connects us in relationship to our heavenly father.

Imagine if in Adam and I's relationship, Adam just did all the talking. He just was talking, talking, talking all the time and never let me say anything. Our relationship would be lopsided, it would be lacking. God wants to hear from you, but he wants you to hear from him. And in the Bible, we see that Jesus prayed so much that he had such an intimate relationship with his heavenly father. And what we know about intimacy is intimacy takes intentionality. You never just accidentally have a healthy relationship. You never just accidentally have intimacy in a relationship. It takes effort, it takes intentionality, and Jesus made a lot of effort to connect with his heavenly father through prayer. We see in Luke 11, one, one day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray. Now the disciples spent a lot of time with Jesus, but this is the only time that we see the disciples say to Jesus, teach us how to do something. They had seen Jesus do miracles, feed thousands. They had seen him heal sick people, but this is the only time they say, teach us to pray. And I think when the disciples saw Jesus pray, they were like, whatever he has with his heavenly father,

I want that too. There's strength, there's power, there's comfort that comes from that. And do you know the same access that Jesus had to God in prayer while he was on this earth, you have that same access. God says, come and talk with me and pray bold prayers. And then we also see, it says that Jesus had a certain place that he would go to pray. As we go into these 21 days of prayer, just on a really practical level, I wanna encourage you, have a certain time and a certain place that you are going to pray. Have a certain time, have a certain place, decide beforehand. For me, I pray in the morning before my kids are up, otherwise it's difficult to do. And I pray in our home office. What about you? What time in the morning could you pray? Where could you pray? And why that's important is like, let's say that Paige, who's back here in the production, tech booth, everybody say hi to Paige. Paige, you're amazing. Thank you, Productions, for all you do. You guys are ministers of the gospel, letting it be going out into so many places, and we're just thankful for you. And if I was like, Paige,

you wanna grab coffee this week? And she's like, yeah, that sounds great. And I'm like, well, where do you wanna go? And she's like, wherever. I'm like, well, what time should we meet? And she's like, whenever. Do you think we're actually gonna get together? It's not gonna happen. But when you have a time and a place, you're more likely to go. And when you go to connect with God. God, in your certain time and certain place, I wanna encourage you to come and to have your Bible ready and be expectant for God to speak to you through His Word. The Bible is the only book where you don't read it, it reads you. When you read the Word of God, you should feel encouraged, you're gonna feel convicted, your faith is gonna be stirred, you're gonna have wisdom and insight, you're gonna feel like you're being realigned, the Bible's encouraging you, but it's not just meant to be read through, it's meant to be prayed through. And I wanna encourage you, if you don't have a physical paper Bible, please, please, please get one. It's one of the best investments that you can make into your relationship with God. It's how you communicate with Him,

He's written to you in the Bible. You can buy one on Amazon, if you need help getting one, let one of our pastors know, we'll get you one. But when you go to read the Bible, what's important that it's a physical Bible, I think because even though we have access to the Bible on here, which is helpful at times, how many of you know, when you go to read your Bible on your phone, you're gonna get distracted. You go in the morning, you try to read the Bible on here and you get the text message. And then you remember, I gotta email somebody, I gotta add something to my to-do list. And then before you know it, you're watching Squirrel Olympics in someone's backyard, you're like, how'd I get here? I don't even know. This phone is so good at keeping us connected to people and to everything in the world, but it's so good at keeping us connected, it can actually keep us disconnected from God. And I wanna encourage us that when it comes to prayer, it's not just something that we do on here, but it's something that we bring into here. And I love what Max Licato says. He says, yes, have a certain time and place that you pray, but also be in a constant state of prayer throughout your day. And he breaks it down like this.

In your waking moments, be in prayer. When you wake up in the morning, let your first thoughts be on God. Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. I'm awake, I got breath in my lungs, that's because of you. Be with me today. Thank you for your new mercies today. Thank you for your grace today. Thank you for the opportunities that are before me today. Thank you that you, I don't do this on my own, but your strength is with me. In the waiting moments, as you're at a stoplight, trying to maintain your salvation from other drivers, like as you're waiting in a line, as you're waiting for someone to show up, in the waiting moments, be aware of God's presence and that he's with you throughout your day. In the whisper moments, you're walking into a big business deal and you're saying, God, may your favor rest on me as I give this presentation. As students, as you're walking into a new school year, thank you, Jesus, I'm not by myself, you're with me. As you're trying to navigate a situation, thank you for your wisdom. God, you're with me. It's just the whisper prayer throughout your day. And then the waning moments, that's as you're drifting off to sleep, you're giving those moments to God.

Thank you, God, for this day that you've sustained me, that you give me peace as I sleep, that you're gonna rejuvenate me as I rest. And when Max Zucato wrote this, it was 20 years ago before we had smartphones. And now when I read the four things that he says, being communion with God in these special moments throughout the day, instead of giving those moments to God, I think we give those moments to this. We wake up, we reach for our phone. We have a moment of waiting, we reach for our phone. We have a moment where we need God, we're reaching for our phone. We're falling asleep and we're just scrolling as we're going to bed and we reach for our phone. And I wanna encourage you, even though our phones can bring a lot of good, they can connect us with people and I'm grateful for mine, I use mine every day. Don't let this keep you from this. Don't let this keep you from this. Don't let this keep you from this. Make God our priority. And you know, in our house, we have two boys, they're nine and 10, they don't have phones, but they do have electronics. And the other day, one of our boys was playing video games and I'm trying to talk to him and he's straight ignoring his mother for video games.

And I started to get a little sassy as the mama and I was like, hey, that video game didn't birth you. That video game's not gonna help you when you need help. That video game for sure isn't gonna give you money when you need it. That video game's not praying for you. That video game's not tucking you in at night. That video game's not hugging you. I think your priorities might be messed up. And when I stepped off my soap box, I felt the Holy Spirit say, that was a nice speech, Lisa. That might not just apply to your kid, that might apply to you too, because this isn't gonna give you what you need and this isn't gonna give you the affirmation that you desire, and this isn't gonna give you the purpose that you need, but God's word will. This is our source and our joy and our strength and our truth, it's what lights our way. So I wanna encourage us, let's be people who get our priorities right and put God first. What happens when we pray? I love that this is so, I just, in this next moment, I pray that God expands our thinking. See, when it comes to prayer, we can think linear. All right, anybody in here love math? No, okay, one person? Okay, two over here, okay.

All right, this is gonna be easy, even if you don't love math, linear math, okay? This is, you can participate, so just shout the answer out loud. One plus one equals? You guys are great. Two plus two equals? Three plus three? Okay, that's linear math, pretty straightforward. But then we have exponential math. Okay, the math lovers, this is for you. Two times two is? Four times four? Eight times eight? Okay, I heard a few 16s, but 64 is right. 16 times 16? That's a calculator problem right there, 256. But what happens with exponential math is it's compounding. The impact of exponential math is greater because it's not just addition, it's multiplication. And Mark Batterson has a lot of great resources on prayer. I encourage you to check him out, but he talks about this concept of how God works in exponential ways through prayer. And he says, if you take 30 linear steps, you're 90 feet from where you started. But if you take 30 exponential steps, you've circled the earth 26 times. Great things happen through exponential, and God works in exponential ways.

To us, five plus two equals seven. To God, five plus two, five loaves, two fish, equals thousands. Was able to feed thousands of people with it. God works in exponential ways. And so many times when we pray, we think linear. I prayed today, nothing happened. I prayed yesterday, nothing happened. And so we quit. And the enemy wants you to be discouraged in prayer. He wants to keep you from prayer because the enemy knows the power of prayer. But the kingdom of God works in exponential ways. And I wanna share one of my favorite stories in scripture. It's from 2 Kings about a man named Elisha. And he has a small army, and there's a bigger army that's been tracking him down. And it looks like they're defeated, but God is on his side. And it says this in 2 Kings 6, when the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and he went outside, there were troops and horses and chariots everywhere. Oh, sir, what will we do now? The young man cried to Elisha. Don't be afraid, Elisha told him, for there are more on our side than on theirs. But he couldn't see it. So then Elisha prayed, oh, Lord, open his eyes. Let him see. The Lord opened the young man's eyes.

And when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire from heaven, more on our side than on their side. Elisha could see what the other guy couldn't see. And when we pray, I pray that we would have eyes of faith and that we would pray prayers of faith, knowing that even if I can't see how God is working, I trust that God is still working. And even if I feel surrounded, God's angels are deployed and they are working things out even now. God is working while you're waiting, even if you can't see it. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. There's more on our side than on theirs. We are limited in what we can do, but God is unlimited in what he can do. When we pray, we often think here and now, but God is thinking nations and generations. Prayer isn't linear, it's exponential. Prayer is the difference between what you can do and what God can do. Prayer is the difference between making things happen and seeing things happen in a spiritual realm. Prayer is writing history even before it happens. And I wanna encourage us to think bigger and to pray bigger. And that's a part of legacy

that you are a part of here at City First Church. You know, this church is 97 years old, which is pretty incredible. And it's been built on the sacrifice and prayers of many people who are no longer even with us on this earth. And over 50 years ago, this church was located closer to downtown Rockford. And the pastor at the time, Pastor Eugene Whitcomb, had a vision through prayer that God was telling him to bring the church to the corner of Spring Creek and Malford. And the people were like, that's crazy. There's nothing out on the corner of Spring Creek and Malford. It's just cornfields, just cornfields. all around. Why would you move a church all the way out here? But through faith and through obedience, Pastor Wickham was convicted to do what God had told him to do. So we moved the church to the corner of Spring Creek and Mulford in 1971. They broke ground and built the South Auditorium. And the South Auditorium was packed on Sundays and even on Sunday nights, young adults would come out wearing blue jeans, which was unheard of to wear jeans to church in the 70s. And people around town called it the blue jean revival of young adults. And I believe that we're seeing revival

in our young adults again at this church, at this moment, at this time, that he's gonna do it again because he works in exponential ways. Well, Pastor Wickham, after they had broken ground on the South Auditorium, he was like, I know, God, that there's more. And so he began to pray, may this church continue to impact more lives and impact more lives. And tragically in 1974, Pastor Eugene Wickham was in an accident and lost his life and went to heaven to be with Jesus much too early. But when I think about Pastor Wickham, even though he's no longer with us, his prayers are still being answered to this day, that this auditorium was built, that the reach of City First is now in Cape Coral, Florida and Janesville, Wisconsin, and reaching inmates behind bars and reaching all throughout the world across the globe. The prayers that he prayed all those decades ago are still being answered today. God did more than he could have imagined. Church, do you know that your prayers outlive you? Grandparents, parents, keep praying. Your prayers will ripple through generations because God works in exponential ways. Nothing is impossible for him. And as I've been praying for you, church family, this week,

I believe that God wants to stir up your faith again, to think bigger, to pray bigger, and to stop thinking that God just can't do whatever it is that you need him to do in your life. Some of you have given up on your marriage, you've given up on your finances, you don't think that God can have a purpose and a plan for your life because of what you've done. I want you to be encouraged today that there is nothing that is impossible for our God. Would your faith be stirred up today to pray bold prayers and to believe that the prayers you're praying will be answered maybe now or maybe in generations, but God hears them and he cares about them. And sometimes I think to myself, if God answered every one of my prayers, what would be different? How would my family be different? How would my kids be different? How would our church be different? How would our community be different? Or would just my life be different? And I wanna encourage us, be generous with your prayers. Let's cover each other in prayer. Let's cover our families in prayer. Let's pray that God would continue to expand the reach that more lost people would be found and found people would be discipled. Guys, we have one and only life on this earth. And I don't know about you, I want my life to count.

And the way that we capture God's heart is through prayer. So let's be people who are committed to prayer and see what he will do in us and through us as we jump into these 21 days of prayer. Let me pray for you. Heavenly Father, I thank you for every person in this place. God, I thank you for who they are and the plans that you have for them. For the person who has lost hope, who have given up on prayer, who has lost faith, I pray that you would restore faith to them today. God, I pray that we would have a burden of prayer as a church because you move through prayer in exponential ways. And we want more people to know you and we want our communities to be different and our families to be different. And God, you change things and you change us as we humble ourselves in prayer before you. So as a church family, may we be committed to prayer. And I pray that you would do miracles as we pray. God, that there would be healings in sick bodies, that there would be minds that experience peace, that there would be restoration in relationships, that there would be breakthrough in areas where they've been experiencing opposition. Nothing is impossible for you. May we pray bold prayers because we serve a big God. Stir up our faith today, Lord. With every head bowed and eyes closed,

if you're in this place and you've never made a decision to follow Jesus, you're hearing about how God created you for a relationship but you don't have one, today is your day. It's saying that I believe that Jesus is the son of God. He died for my sins on a cross, rose from the grave three days later, and gives me a fresh start, forgives my sins, and a heaven forever as my home. If you want to make that decision today. With no one looking around except for me would you go ahead and lift up your hand say today I want to start my relationship with Jesus. I see hands. I see your hand. I see your hand and yours Anybody else see your hand Best decision you will ever make If everybody will repeat this prayer after me so that no one has to say it alone heavenly father Thank you for your son jesus That he died for me Forgives my sins And gives me a fresh start Today I choose to follow you and in your name Everybody said amen. Can we give everybody who prayed that prayer a huge round of applause best decision That you will ever make What an amazing time together and if you're watching and you just prayed that prayer to make jesus the leader and forgiver of your life We want you to know that we're celebrating you This is the best decision that you could ever make and now that you prayed that prayer We have a couple of next steps for you first Tell someone about that decision you made we're not meant to walk through this life alone

And secondly, we have a free resource that's just for you It's called a new beginning booklet and it's simply a 14-day devotional and so as you start growing through your relationship with jesus This devotional will help guide you Yeah, and when you sign up for this resource, you will also receive a link to a few videos from our pastors These videos will guide you through how to pray and how to read the bible and how to build christ-centered friendships And as you start this journey, please let us know if you have any questions You can drop a line in the chat or dm us on social media and we'll get right back to you After you walk through the new beginning resource a great next step for you to take is growth track Growth track starts at the first sunday of the month and this is a great way to discover your god-given purpose and design You can attend in person or online and if you'd like more information or want to sign up You can visit the app or scan the qr code on your screen That's right And finally if you need prayer for anything when I say anything, I mean anything Visit the app and enter your prayer request We have people who are praying over them constantly and the best thing that we you can do is come back to church And when we gather together, we grow exponentially more. Well, we love you city first fam We're praying for you church, and we will see you guys next week. Yep