Ora Más Grande | Crossroads en Español

My name is Kyle. I'm the main pastor here at Crossroads. Today is the second week of a series we're doing about prayer called Audacious Prayers. And we do it because most of us pray the opposite of audacious prayers. If we pray, we do it with shyness. Almost as if God were a father who doesn't like to be bothered. He's always in a bad mood. He's stingy, you know. As if you asked him for $20 and he said, $10? Why do you need $5? That's it. You'll get it eventually. And he's not like that. If you don't hear anything else today, God is a God who has wild dreams for your life that surpass your imagination. Last weekend, our main pastor, Brian Tom, started the series. He talked about how prayer is a pressure. It can mold us and reform us. And as one of his examples, he showed a photo of my teeth before the brackets. Right here. Many of you have asked me since then if Brian told me he was going to do it or if he asked me for permission before doing it. And I just want to reassure you and make you completely sure about the state of our friendship. No, he didn't. He has my phone number and email from the office. Sarah's, my children's, my parents' and even Paloma's messengers. He had many ways to tell me, but he decided not to do it. And in reality, it's okay. I accept it. In fact, I pray for Brian to be inspired by my example of how I was willing to put brackets to correct my horribles and for Brian to decide to put brackets for his disgusting and crooked little finger.

I don't know if they make orthopedic devices for that, but probably someone can help him. It's just my prayer. That's what we're praying. What we're talking about today. Bold prayers. By the way, some of you may think, I don't know if I believe in this. You talk about praying, talking to God. I don't even know if it exists. It's okay. It's okay. My hope is that today you hear about a God that you would wish would be real if there was nothing else. And that you have the audacity to try to see if it exists through prayer. Prayer is basically a taste test that God invites us to. It says so in Psalm 34, verse 8. Try and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is he who takes refuge in Him. And my hope today is that before this experience ends, my hope is that you really try it today. That's what I hope. Bold prayers today. You may have heard that word before in the experience. It's not a word we use very often. The definition of boldness is the willingness to take surprisingly daring risks. It may come out of the conventional and reach God. But God is a God who promises in his scriptures that he has wild dreams for his life. But here's the key to the question. They won't come true unless you and I pray bold prayers. That's what we're looking for today. Before we continue, let's pray together. God, thank you so much for the truth of your word. And I ask for all of us, whether we believe in you or not, that today we have the boldness to consider that you may be who you say you are. And that we may be who you say we are. Amen.

Amen. Well, on August 23, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said what would be one of the most famous and shocking speeches in the history of mankind. In front of a crowd of 250,000 people, he repeated eight times a phrase of four words. A phrase that has resonated throughout the world and over generations in the following decades. Four words. I have a dream. Now, where did Dr. King get the idea of a dream from? Well, it turns out that from the God he followed, a God who gives dreams. Psalm 126, verse 1 says, When the Lord makes Zion's captivity return, we will be like those who dream. One of the fundamental characteristics that define people who believe in God and follow him is that the people of God move by dreams. Now, dreams are not goals. Goals are different. But a goal can be achieved with my own effort. With a little more effort, with a little luck, I can achieve a goal. With a little perseverance, I can get there. With a little effort, I can make it come true. That is not a dream. A dream is a long-term vision given by God. And by the way, you can only achieve it with his power. It doesn't matter what resources you have, your contacts, or your effort. None of that can make the dream come true. Perhaps the dream of your life is that your life is nothing more than consuming garbage until you die. Yes, God has a purpose for you and a plan for you, and it is possible that he wants to achieve it. to change the world for you. Maybe a dream in your life is that our country one day is like Dr. King dreamed it would be. Maybe for you it is to eliminate poverty in your family or in the areas in which you live.

Maybe it is that broken relationships in your life can be healed. Maybe it is that your body can be healed. What is a dream for you and a dream for me can be different according to our experiences. If you've never seen a marriage last, for you a crazy dream could be just staying married. If you've never experienced or seen anyone who has lived with financial stability, getting out of debt could be a crazy dream. You know, no matter how hard you try, you can't get it. Maybe that's your crazy dream. But God says that he is the God who gives us crazy dreams. In its broadest sense, a crazy dream given by God is anything that makes you say, wow, that would be like heaven on earth. And it's related to prayer. Because if we see the fundamental teaching about the prayer that Jesus gave our Father, he says, let's pray exactly that way. And depending on your religious background, or if you don't have any, it's possible that you've heard in the Protestant areas it's called prayer. The Catholics call it our Father. It's the same prayer from the same place, Matthew chapter six. Jesus says that this is how you should pray. Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus says that if you want to pray in line with him, the way he teaches you to pray, what you should ask is that the kingdom of God come here and now. And the kingdom of God is basically any place where his perfect plan, his perfect will, is really being fulfilled. But again, the important thing is that Jesus says that it will not happen unless you pray. And many of us, I would say, in reality, we don't pray for that. What we ask is for the earth on earth. And heaven, maybe someday. We pray for something a little better. For what I believe breaks God's heart more than anything else. We pray for something acceptable. God, I hope I get to the weekend and it's an acceptable week. God, if I could have an acceptable weekend and get to the end of my life, it would be pretty good. And have a good amount of money for my retirement,

to be able to go to a good old man's residence and have some good oatmeal with a good straw, what a wonderful life it would be. That's how most people pray. Most of us ask God for things in line with that. But if we look at Jesus' teachings, Jesus never, not once, not once did he say that we should pray normal prayers to have an acceptable life. He didn't say that. Now, you and I pray together following a set of rules for common prayers. Maybe no one taught us, but that's basically how we do it. Rule number one of common prayers is not to bother God. You know, he's busy. I don't know if you knew, the universe is quite large and he directs everything. So be brief, ask once. We believe that's the rule. Rule number two is not to get too excited, you know, over your position. Don't ask for something crazy. Ask for something normal and God will be happy with that. He doesn't want to give you extravagant things, just normal things. And then, the third rule is to always be very careful. Let him know that nothing happens if he prefers to give you things

that disappoint you enormously. That's how I think we should pray. And I know that this weekend we have many young adults, many university students in particular, because today is the big relaunch of Crossroads Uptown. Come on. It's happening right now. Incredible. Visit this place if you've never been there. It's a beautiful and ancient Catholic cathedral that has been renovated. It can house thousands of people. I'm very excited about your return this weekend. But, university students, I'll tell you something. I'm not your friend if I don't speak frankly. You are in a vulnerable stage of your life. You are in that place between childhood and adulthood, where all the pressures and stress begin to accumulate because you realize that your life depends on you. You have to wash your clothes, prepare your meals, pay your bills, do all these things. You have to get good grades in class. You have to get that scholarship. You have to make sure that you are in the right career. All these tensions begin to accumulate. And what can happen at that moment is that you make the most tragic mistake possible.

It's putting an average goal in place of the wild dreams of your heart. For all of us, God created a place in our interior for wild dreams, where he wants to speak to us. He wants to tell us why we were created, what he calls us to. But the biggest strategy is that you take an average goal and you put it there, in its place. You decide that your life will consist of getting a normal job to be able to buy a normal house on a normal street. You decide that your ambition is simply to be so asleep that you don't feel stress and you stay there. And the most tragic thing of all is that your life becomes completely harmless. And well, that's not the dream that God has for you. God has great dreams for your life. God wants to change the world through you. That's what he says. He says, he wants us to pray that way. God knows if we really believe in him by the way we pray. If you pray common prayers, what you say to God is that you really don't believe that he is the one who says to be. You don't really believe me when I say that we pray for heaven on earth.

You think it's a kind of metaphor or I don't know what, but you don't believe me. What you say to God if we believe that he is the one who says to be and that he has great dreams for us is how we pray. We pray with audacity. I don't think most Christian circles do it. 20 years ago, there was a controversy in the Christian circles. You probably don't know. A book was written entitled The Prayers of Jabez. Does anyone remember the publication of this book? It was a big controversy. The author basically said that we must pray like Jabez, a character from the Old Testament. Now, the Bible barely mentions Jabez. There is a phrase about him and then a prayer phrase, right here in 1 Chronicles 4, verse 10. Jabez, pray. Oh, bless me and widen my borders and may your hand be with me and protect me from evil so that it may not cause me pain. And God granted him what he asked for. Now, Jabez means pain. His mother named him pain. Some mothers say, I didn't know that was an option. In fact, it would have been a great name for a couple of my children. So this prayer is pain praying to have less pain. That's all.

And I think there's a reason why the Bible doesn't mention Jabez again and why no one in the New Testament puts him as an example to follow. I think it's because God heard this prayer and said, that's all? The most you can think of is a less painful life? You don't know who I am? Is that all you want to ask of me? You see, I think the problem is not that we pray the prayer of Jabez. I think the problem is that we only pray the prayer of Jabez. We only ask that there is no pain. And please, listen to me. I'm the first to ask for a less painful life. Sounds great. Okay, less pain, great. Let's get to it. In fact, there are times in my life when having less pain would be incredible because you feel like you're under water. You feel like you're drowning and that just being able to get your head out of the water would be incredible. Okay, but if that becomes the goal of your life, if you keep it in the drawer of impossible dreams, you've made a tragic mistake and you've lost the call of God in your life. You've lost it.

And I have good news. Things are getting a lot better. He has much better and bigger plans for you than you can imagine. If you haven't heard what he said before, I'll give you some examples of the Scriptures, places where he talks about what he wants to do and what he's capable of doing. Philippians 4.13 says, I can do everything in Christ who strengthens me. Luke 1.37 says, because nothing will be impossible for God. Job 42.2 says, I know that you can do all things and that none of your purposes can be frustrated. Jeremiah 32.27 says, I am the Lord God of all flesh. Is there something too difficult for me? And the answer is, well, no. Absolutely nothing is too difficult. But the question is that he will not grant wild dreams unless you pray with audacity. He won't do it. If you read the teachings of Jesus about prayer, beyond our Father, which, by the way, people use as a formula, that's not what it is. It's a framework. It's a teaching about prayer. It's not a formula.

They're not magical words that you recite. But if you go further and review his teachings about prayer over and over again, you'll see that Jesus prayed to the people who made bold prayers. He prayed to them. In the four authorized biographies of his life, the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you'll find these teachings. I want to focus only on one of those books, John, three chapters in a row, in which Jesus says to the people, please, please, please, pray with audacity. John 14. Jesus says, everything you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Si me piden algo en mi nombre, lo que sea, yo lo haré. Y aparentemente, los discípulos no lo entienden, no lo comprenden, porque más adelante, en ese capítulo, básicamente dice lo mismo. Juan 15. Si permanecéis en mí y mis palabras permanecen en vosotros, pedid lo que queráis y se os concederá. Y de nuevo, no lo entienden, porque vuelve a repetirlo en Juan 16. De cierto, de cierto, como diciendo, chicos, tengo que repetirlo. De cierto, de cierto, os digo que todo lo que pidáis

al Padre en mi nombre, Él os lo dará. Pedid y recibiréis para que vuestro gozo sea completo. Así que tu sueño descabellado no tiene por qué ser algo altruista y loco como es increíble ayudar a los pobres, pero Dios desea que tu felicidad sea completa. Cuando persigues sus sueños, los que Él tiene para tu vida, descubrirás que te conviertes en una persona mucho más feliz. You know, Jesus almost exclusively His disciples in situations in which they had to make bold prayers, almost exclusively. He was not the type of person who said, Hey, they have completed all the training and now they are ready for the next. He simply threw them into the game. There is a moment in which there are 5,000 men, women and children. In addition, there are 20, 25,000 people without food listening to Jesus teach. And Jesus looks at His disciples and says, Give them food. And they replied, We have not brought food. How are we going to do it? It is impossible. Well, with the man it is impossible. God, I am right here. Everything is possible. In Luke 10, He sends them two by two. He says, Do not bring money, do not bring sandals, do not bring spare clothes. Go out, heal the people, cast out the demons. And they say, What? Because you know me, nothing is impossible. He puts them in situations in which their dreams about what they are able to do,

they overcome with growth what they can think and what they can imagine. I wonder if in their lives there is a place, a dream that seems impossible to them. It seems to me that even the most faithful and constant people have prayers that they do not pray because they are afraid to do it. Something stops them. They find it impossible or too bold. Or they are simply afraid for some reason to pray. In my life, there is a place where I am afraid. And I am praying. And that is because I am teaching my 15 and a half year old son to drive. It is the most terrifying thing I have done in my life. And I have been in crazy situations. Once I was on the border with Syria, a few hundred meters from a UN building that ISIS had just taken and was occupying at that moment. That was terrifying. This was much worse. Sitting next to him. One of the things you have to teach him is, Hey, do you see the red light? And that means you have to stop. That is very, very important. But when it comes to prayer, you and I have to unlearn the signs that mean stop in our lives. If you want to pray with boldness, one of the boldest parts is to keep praying. You will see, the crazy dreamers refuse to stop praying boldly. It is one of the keys. In fact, there will be moments in your life when you will turn around and the whole world will seem red to you.

All the signs of your life will tell you that this is not going to happen. It is impossible. Too much time has passed. If it were to happen, it would have already happened. Everything will point to that. If you want to be faithful in prayer, you have to move forward and pray in all ways. This is the story we see over and over again in the Scriptures. The Father of Faith, Abraham, about whom, by the way, we are reading right now. We are reading the Bible in one year in the Crossroads app. If you are not doing it, you can listen to the Bible. If you have 10 minutes on your way to work, listen to the Bible in one year. Right now, we are deepening into the life of Abraham, the Father of Faith. An incredible story. He is 75 years old and has no children. And God appears to him, and he has a crazy, crazy dream. Genesis 12 as well. God says to him, I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you may be a blessing. Do you know what happened to Abraham afterwards? Nothing. Nothing happened for 10 years. God gives him a dream,

but nothing happens. So, what does Abraham do? Well, if you read the story, this pattern becomes evident in Abraham's life. He has this fundamental habit. It appears in Genesis 12, verse 8. It says, From there he went to the mountain, to the east of Beth-el, and there he built an altar to Jehovah, and he called upon the name of Jehovah. This means that he prayed, again and again, no matter what was happening in his life, when things went wrong, and above all, when things went well. Abraham kept asking God. He kept making bold prayers for that crazy dream of having a family that would fill and bless the earth. What I find really interesting is that he did it even when he was successful. I was talking to university students and young people. It is a vulnerable moment where you could opt for more realistic goals instead of following crazy dreams. I think that just as vulnerable, just as susceptible, is when you are older and successful.

I think that puts you in serious danger of doing the same, of replacing a crazy dream with a mediocre goal in your heart, because things are going well. You have a good job, a good house, a good bank account, you go on vacation, and then maybe, just maybe, this is enough to succeed. What is remarkable about Abraham, in part, is that this happened to him. He was very successful. He achieved his goals in business. He made a lot of money. He had a lot of cattle. He goes to Egypt. He returns rich. But he does not stop making bold prayers. He does not give up the crazy dream of God. Ten years later. In fact, what he does is return physically to the place where God gave him the dream. And again, he invokes the name of the Lord. This is also said in Genesis 13.

Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went from Negev to Bethel, to the place where he had made the first altar and there he invoked Abraham, the name of the Lord. This is what he does. This is the rhythm of his life. He simply returns and continues to pray. And at 85 years, 10 years later, God responds again and confirms the dream. Genesis 15. And he took him outside and said to him, Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can count them. Then he said to him, This will be your offspring. And he believed the Lord and was counted by justice. He believed the Lord. This is the most remarkable thing about Abraham. He believed the Lord. Four words. And that is why he is considered the father of faith. He simply believed that God is who says to be and that he would do what he said he would do. He had been waiting 10 years to 85 years. He believes in God. And guess what happened next? Nothing. For 15 more years. It was not until he turned 100 years that God fulfilled that crazy dream. For 15 more years Abraham persevered, prayed and continued to pursue his dream. And you and I have to understand that if we are going to follow God, if we want to dream crazy dreams,

if we do not want to conform to mediocre goals in our life, the same thing will happen to us. We will have to ignore everything red in our life. This is never going to happen. All the signs of alertness in our life. This is too late. And we have to keep praying. This is the story, not only of Abraham, but of all the heroes of faith. Joseph in the Old Testament, 17 years old, has a crazy dream sent by God in which he becomes a ruler in charge of a people. And guess what happens next? He is unjustly imprisoned. Sold as a slave, imprisoned. Everything is horrible in his life. That at 17 years old. For 13 years his life goes from bad to worse. And suddenly, at 30 years old, God does exactly what he said. And during all this time, Joseph does not stop believing, he does not stop praying bold prayers for his vision. Paul, in the New Testament, we will study him in the Wrong Journey. Perhaps you know the story of the blinding light that blinds him from heaven. We call it the experience of the road to Damascus. He falls to the ground. God gives him this crazy dream for his life. Did you know that basically it did not happen until a decade and a half later? In fact, for eight years,

he lived alone in a cave, as we believe. It seems that God's dream has not been fulfilled. Paul perseveres and prays. The same will happen to you and me. Why have you stopped praying in your life? What crazy dream in your life have you abandoned? What have you thought that if it were to happen, it would have already happened? What have you stopped doing? What would happen if you had the audacity to start again? The audacity to believe that God is who said he was. This has always happened. It has always been like this. In Crossroads, we have seen this story repeated many times. This audacity to pray and continue to pray. About 20 years ago, God gave us the conviction as a church that our job was to take care of the poor in our city. In no part of the scriptures does God say, I govern, your task is to love and take care of the poor. Instead, he says, Church, my followers, that is your task. So we had this conviction, and that became a crazy dream. And if, instead of limiting ourselves to trying to help a little with poverty in our city, what would happen if we tried to eliminate from the root generational poverty? It is a crazy dream. And that crazy dream became a vision called CityLink Center. An integral center to help people escape generational poverty.

That was around 2002, 2003. And what happened next is the same thing that happened in the Bible. It did not find more than anything. Resistance after resistance. Title after title. Writing about how terrible the idea was. Two years of judicial battle that reached the Supreme Court of Justice of the state of Ohio. This battle, the collection of funds that was carried out, was crazy. Ten years passed from the dream until the doors opened. They opened. And what happened when they opened is that people came in through those doors who had the crazy dream that maybe one day they could escape the poverty that they had always experienced in their family. They had never seen anyone get a job, accumulate savings. They had never seen anyone own a house. And this crazy dream began to come true thanks to the bold prayers that were prayed in his name. If you don't know anything about CityLink Center, I think this will encourage you. From the temple, we would love for this to be the first. We want you to be there because the people who follow you are there. You make this a special place. We want to be your hands, Father. Say yes. I've been listening to these prayers all night long. Years ago, our church made a bold prayer. We asked God for a place where the people of our city

could go in search of real help for a real future. A place built on dignity. A place where the church intervenes with everything we have. CityLink is located at 800 Bank Street in West End. The organization offers a series of services under the same roof to help customers undertake a path of lasting growth and hope. CityLink is bringing the people of Cincinnati out of poverty through a new program. We really focus on the needs of our customers and provide them with the services and resources necessary to help them achieve their goals. They will achieve their goals. Today, that prayer has a name. CityLink. And when you enter, it doesn't look like a program. It looks like a community. Coaches, classes, care for children, training. All under one roof. Built around an idea. You don't have to solve your life alone. The miracle is not the building. It's the people inside. People who take firm steps towards the life God created for them. After getting out of jail, I finally got to the social reintegration center. I had to spend about six months there. Fortunately, I had a good case manager. She told me, hey, why don't you go see how CityLink is doing? And as soon as I got here, I knew I was home. When I found out about CityLink and got here for the first time, I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect.

I was very nervous because it was a new environment, something new for me. So when I got here for the first time, they sat down with me and told me, well, what program do you want to do? Construction. They teach you basic knowledge, basic tools. Things I didn't even know. I've worked on a lot of projects. When I entered the cooking class and the training program, yes, I really thought I knew a lot of things, but there were some that escaped me, like the basic concepts. So not only did I acquire skills, but I also obtained a food safety certificate. That allows me to be in the kitchen and serve food safely. Now I have the skills and knowledge necessary to do it. When you graduate, you meet with the employers, and in less than 24 hours, I already had my license, a job, and a car. That was a big step forward to stability. Now I work at Southern Grace, so I got that job from here. That opened a door for me to a place where it's like I have a family. I feel like I have a job with a family. I'm in my own place, thanks to City League. I got a job thanks to City League. If I didn't have City League, I don't know where I would be. You know, you don't hear people say that you're important, or that people really care about you. You ask yourself, do they love me? Do they care about me? Or, you know, where could I be now? And this is one of the many reasons why many people have suicidal thoughts, or don't want to fight for themselves because they feel like no one fights for them. But in reality, there's always someone fighting for them,

because God fights for them. Even when no one else does. You just have to trust and believe that things will get better. Because never in a million years did I think I'd be sitting here, right here, being able to tell a little bit of my story. I'm not surviving anymore. I'm living for real. Applause Man, I love it. Those stories are incredible. She says, never in a million years. It's a crazy dream that came true thanks to bold prayers. Bold prayers make crazy dreams come true. That's how it works. Bold prayers. By the way, you already know that at Crossroads, we donate $1 million a year to City League. $1 million a year to finance them. And it's one of the best investments we make. Only in the last year, the last year of clients, they received $4.8 million in new income thanks to City League and the job improvement they had. It's crazy. Crazy. A 4.8 times our investment. If I told you I know some stocks that will give you 4.8 times your money in 12 months, you'd say, put all my money there. That's City League's investment. We're very grateful to their staff and volunteers. If you want to be a volunteer, go to cityleague.org. So far, they've served 7,000 clients. Incredible. I'll tell you that as bold prayers make crazy dreams come true,

you get this encouragement to pray bolder prayers Do ves que estas cosas realmente suceden? Una de mis nuevas oraciones audaces, uno de mis sueños descabellados, es que Dios aumente el número de City Links. En este momento hay 12 ciudades que están considerando City Link, y lo que significaría tener uno en su área. Estoy orando para que todos los lugares donde estamos actualmente, Dayton, Columbus, Lexington, tengan un City Link. Que todas las ciudades a las que vamos tengan un City Link. Es un sueño descabellado. No hay forma de que eso suceda en este momento, a menos que Dios se manifieste. Es una oración audaz, pero lo he visto suceder una y otra vez. Crossroads Uptown, un ejemplo perfecto. Tuvimos que cerrar Crossroads Uptown durante COVID, una de las reuniones más dolorosas en mi vida. Reunimos a los 60 voluntarios principales, y los sentamos en la parte de atrás de esa sala, en esas gradas. Quizás esté sentado ahí ahora mismo. Los reunimos y les dijimos que teníamos que cerrarlo, que no era el momento adecuado. Y antes de esa reunión, estaba de pie en el hermoso auditorio, y mi audaz oración, mi sueño descabellado, era, Dios, no dejes que esto sea el final. Dios, que esto vuelva a abrir algún día. Sin recursos, sin planes, sin capacidad para hacerlo realidad, pero un sueño y una oración. Hace 12 meses, me reuní con los 20 líderes estudiantiles de nuestro ministerio universitario en Crossroads Uptown, y les pregunté, ¿cuál era el sueño descabellado que tenían para su ministerio? Me dijeron que habían oído historias y rumores

de cuando el lugar estaba lleno de gente y vida, pero ninguno de ellos lo había visto nunca. Era un sueño. Y dijeron, lo que soñamos es una experiencia a la que podamos invitar a nuestros amigos, algo grande e increíble que ocurra con regularidad. En ese momento pensé, Dios, están pidiendo que esto vuelva a abrir. Eso es lo que están pidiendo. ¿Podrías hacer que suceda? Eso dio inicio a una nueva serie de oraciones audaces, y ¿quién lo diría? Aquí estamos, reabriéndolo. Por cierto, esto es una locura. Esa reunión fue hace exactamente 360 días. ¿Saben lo que es 360? Es un giro completo. Verán, a veces en nuestra vida no se nos ocurre que Dios quiera cambiar completamente las cosas. No se nos ocurre, pero Dios tiene sueños descabellados. Les aseguro que son más grandes y mejores de lo que pueden imaginar. Lo he visto personalmente en mi vida. Oraciones que ni siquiera yo había orado. Cuando tenía 17 años, mi mamá se me acercó y me dijo, oye, Dios te está llamando para que seas predicador. Me lo dijo, lo escuché. Arrancó la página de su Biblia con un versículo sobre ser predicador. Me la entregó. Dios va a hacer esto en tu vida. Y yo le respondí, no, gracias. Ese no es mi sueño. Y pasé años, a veces lejos de Dios,

siguiendo caminos que no tenían nada que ver con predicar o estar en el ministerio. Conseguí un trabajo en una empresa estadounidense. Obtuve un título en diseño. No lo perseguí, pero mi mamá siguió orando, siguió orando. Y 13 años después, a los 30, me subí a este escenario y prediqué mi primer mensaje, la oración. Convierte los sueños descabellados en realidad. Ahora, en mi vida, así es como oro. Oro oraciones descabelladas por mis hijos. Sí, quiero que tengan una buena casa y un buen trabajo. Y sí, sí, sí, todo eso está bien. Pero más que eso, quiero que millones conozcan a Jesús a través de ellos. Ese es mi sueño y mi oración audaz. Y oro por ellos regularmente. Regularmente. ¿Por qué? Porque quiero que conozcan a un Dios que tiene sueños y planes para sus vidas más grandes de lo que ellos pueden imaginar, porque ese es el único Dios que existe. Y si ese no es el que tú sigues, entonces no estás siguiendo al Dios de la Biblia. Él es para ti. Él tiene grandes planes para ti. Y sé que tal vez al escuchar esto pienses, Dios, esto es muy diferente a la religión en la que crecí. Esto no se parece en nada a la religión. Exactamente, porque no lo es.

No es religión. La religión dice que Dios quiere que ores y Él es como, cuenta el número de oraciones. Ya sabes, si rezas siete Ave Marías o Padre Nuestros, eso no es suficiente. Él quería ocho. Oh, se me pasó. Quizás la próxima vez. No, eso no es Dios. Él tiene planes y sueños. Y como en cualquier relación, quiere que le hables. Él quiere saber si crees que Él es quien dice ser. Pero sé que para ti, lo más importante y lo más audaz, tal vez no sea eso. Podría ser creer que tú eres quien Él dice que eres. Que eres amado. Que eres elegido. Que hay sueños y planes para ti. Demasiada audaz. Y lo entiendo, amigo. Lo entiendo. Pero sé que Él tiene planes. Sé que Él tiene sueños para ti, porque los tiene para mí. No soy nadie especial. No saqué sobresalientes en mi boletín espiritual cuando era joven y sigo sin sacarlos. Pero Dios tiene grandes sueños para mi vida y sé que también los tiene para ti. Sí, tienes la audacia de creer en Él. Mi oración por ti en este momento es que tengas la audacia

para creer que eres quien Él dice que eres. ♪♪ Why the lie? -♪ In desperation, hard times, in conversations ♪ ♪ No one should ever love me like you did ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Sometimes, my bad decisions define my false suspicions ♪ ♪ No one should ever love me like you did, yeah ♪ ♪ While I'm on this road, you take my hand somehow ♪ ♪ You really love who I really am ♪ ♪ I push you away, still you won't let go ♪ ♪ You grow on your roses on my buried soul -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? ♪ -♪ To be loved by you ♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? ♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? ♪♪ -♪ Last night, confidence was shaking my wounds ♪ And my past was saying ♪ No one could ever love me like you do, girl ♪ While I'm on this road, you take my hand ♪ Somehow you really love who I really am ♪ I push you away, still you won't let go ♪ You grow on your roses on my buried soul -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I?

♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ The way I push you through, you had to see ♪ I'm a train wreck, I'm a mess ♪ You see the best and the worst of me ♪ Still I can't imagine that I've earned your trust ♪ I don't understand where your love comes from -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪ Who am I, who am I, who am I? -♪ To be loved by you -♪♪ -♪♪ -♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Amen.