Tus Oraciones Perduran Más Allá de tu Vida | Pastora Lisa Seaton

Well, good morning City First family. We are very excited that you are here. Turn to the neighbor and say, it's going to be a great day. Turn to the other neighbor and say, but you are my favorite. Well, no matter where you are, whether you are online, in Spring Creek, in Janesville, in Cape Coral, I want you to know that you are in the right place. If you are here, it's not by accident. It's because you had a divine appointment. God has something important for you. He wants to talk to you. And He has good plans for you. And we are going to close the series of different events. How we pray, how we spend our time, our energy, our resources. And we are going to buy backpacks for kids that need it. And today, well, it's one of the most important things that we can do. If you do this, everything else in your life is going to look different. And this is something that we see throughout the Bible and something that Jesus models for us. So today we are going to be talking about this topic of prayer. When I say this, I don't want you to disconnect from me. There is a lot of, well, sometimes we feel that there is resistance to prayer. But I want you to think about what prayer really is. It's that the God of the universe, the God who created the galaxies, the one who opened, the one who said, let there be light, the one who created everything, says to you, to me, come and talk to me. That is the prayer when you really start to think that it is so simple. And even if it sounds intimidating, you say, I don't know how to pray. And you say, well, I've been praying for a healing, for my husband, my wife, for my finances, for my children. And I feel that my prayers are not being answered. That God is not listening to me. So I think that no matter where you are on your prayer day, this message is for you.

It's going to empower you. It's going to equip you. It's going to motivate you. Because what I know is true is that when you change how you pray, it's going to change the way you are a father, a mother, how you perceive things, how you respond. It's going to change your marriage, your way of being. It's the influence of heaven on earth. So next Sunday, as a family, we're going to be in this place of 21 days of prayer. And it's in the heart of Pastor Jeremy and I that we have 100% participation. We're going to make it easy. We have prayer guides. Next Sunday, we're going to give you this. We're going to get together. And when it comes to prayer, sometimes it feels like it's the last thing, right? You say, oh, I don't know. I'm going to pray. I'm going to wait for the best. Or you've done those prayers where you exchange something with God. God, if you're doing this, then you're just trying to do that exchange with God as a church. We want prayer not to be our last resource, but to be the first. So today, we're going to see why we pray. How do we pray? And what happens when we pray? So before we go into Scripture, let's take a moment. Almighty Father, thank you for all the people here who are here for a purpose. And I pray, Lord, that we have an advance. The people who have been confused by prayer, who don't know how to pray, who don't have faith in prayer.

I pray that your Holy Spirit minister to them, to all the people here. You know them. You created them. You have plans for them. It's not about religion. It's about relationship. And you want us all to grow in prayer with you. So help me get out of the way so that you have the way today. We all say, amen, amen. And well, in City First, we say our mission is we exist to teach everyone about Jesus and follow him. So if we're going to learn how to follow Jesus, we have to do it like he did. So we're going to take Scripture, and we're going to see the relationship of Jesus with prayer. If there's a word in red, say it out loud, and say it with purpose. Like you already had your coffee well charged, express, right? Well, Luke 5.16 says, God went to places alone and prayed. Ah, okay, you understood the task. Very good. Mark 1.35 says, very early in the morning, When it was dark, Jesus got up, left the house, went off to a lonely place, and he prayed. Matthew 14, verse 23, after he said goodbye, he went up to the side of the mountain and he went up to pray. Luke 6 says, one of those days, Jesus came to the side of the mountain and he prayed. And he spent the whole night praying to God. So in all of Scripture, we see that Jesus prayed. And if we want to live like Jesus lived, and love like Jesus loves, and we want to have the grace, and the strength, and the compassion, and the authority, and the authority that Jesus gives us, we have to put prayer first, just like Jesus did. We have to put prayer first. And what is amazing is that when Jesus was 33 years old, he prayed a lot. But when he left and went up to heaven, he did not stop praying. In fact, Romans 8, verse 24 says, Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.

Imagine, let that deepen in your heart. We are on this earth, and you are worried. And while you are worried, Jesus is in heaven praying for you. When you are full of difficult circumstances, situations, Jesus is in heaven interceding for you. When you are asleep, when you are afraid to sleep because of anxiety and fear, and you are watching everything on the phone until you fall asleep, when Jesus is like this, Jesus is declaring your name, talking peace over your anxious mind. And well, when you know this, then you start to live differently on this earth because you understand that you are not alone anymore. Jesus is with you, and he is praying for you. And you know, we are in the beginning of August, and it is so sad because it is going to be autumn, and then winter. And you know, I love Christmas. And I said, well, there is only a couple of Sundays left. Some of you are applauding. Some of you are telling me, Fuchi, get out of here. I am super Christmas. I love Christmas. And I say, well, the last winter, Pastor Jeremy, Jen, Joy, Adam, we went to Colorado, and we were in sessions all day, and we were learning how to grow as pastors to be able to help you grow your life. And what I love about Pastor Jeremy and Jen is that they are committed to keep growing because they want you to grow as well. We are in this conference, and we have an afternoon off. And well, everyone starts talking to them, and they say, well, let's go skiing. Right? Adam is naturally athletic in everything he does. I can barely walk here on the stage without falling. They went skiing, right?

They wanted to go skiing. So I was like, this is only skiing once in Wisconsin, and it's like this little mountain, and it was years ago. And he said, well, let's go to Colorado and go skiing in the mountains. And I said, I'm going to do what I have to do here. I'm going to buy a jacket so I feel like I belong. And then I'm going to go to the ski school. And well, to everyone's surprise, I really did it. The teacher said, you know what, Lisa? You were my star student. I was like, yeah, I was much better than those 7 or 8-year-olds. I felt so good. So I texted the group, and I said, well, I graduated from the ski school. So I meet up, and I'm like, well, I have to go to the smallest mountain. And they said, well, don't worry. So I go skiing, and the ski lift starts going up, right? And you go up and up and up and up. And well, we got to the top of the mountain. And I was like, wow, we're very high up in this mountain. How am I going to get down when I don't know how to ski? And they said, well, you have to ski down. And I was like, OK, I'm sure there's no easier way. And they were like, no, no. That's how it is. So instead of asking them for help, I went down. Or do what I learned in school, because I was scared. I said, I have to finish this. I jumped, and I'm skiing totally out of control. I went out of control. I was going really fast. I'm learning.

I said, let's see, let's see, something like this, something like this. I'm not slowing down. Adam is yelling at me, just fall, fall. For the first time in my life, I can't fall. I wanted to fall. I was paralyzed. So I see the mountain, and I said, well, maybe I can crash there. It was so fast, so good, that I passed where it ends. And I ended up, what do you think? I ended up crashing next to a tree. I was totally crashed in the tree. My pastor, Pastor Jeremy Adam, is in the tree, trying to take my boots off, pulling me out of the tree. I go up, and well, there's a branch that's stuck in my pants. And I said, yes, I know, I know that God has angels to protect me, because I need them. I didn't have a single scratch on my body after that crash with the tree. And I said, okay, let's see, call the people who have the snow cars, to pick me up, to take me down the mountain. And they said, no, no, it doesn't work like that. You have to ski to go down that mountain. And I said, I can't, I can't. They said, you have to do it. People can go down in 20 minutes, but for two and a half hours. Pastor Jeremy Adam was skiing over there. And they said, come on, Lisa. Let's see, help yourself over here. Come over here. Okay, Lisa. Okay, Lisa. Ski to me, to me. And we did it for two and a half hours. And since then, I've never skied again.

And when they said, we have to go down the mountain again. And I said, no. You know, the only sport I'm good at is parallel skiing. I'm exceptional. I would never ski again. But that night, I was reflecting on that day. And I was thinking, how am I here, looking at this mountain, and I'm surrounded with people who love me, who want to see me win, who have more experience than I do, who have more wisdom than I do. But instead of that, I said, I'm here. I can do it. I can do it alone. And in life, sometimes we can metaphorically have mountains, obstacles, and you say, okay, I'm going to be able to do it. I can do it alone. When the God of the universe who loves you, who wants to see you win, who has access to you, he says, here I am. And I want to help you. And I want to guide you. And we forget that we can have access to a lot of this through prayer. Because in prayer, God reminds us that we don't have to do life alone, with our own strength. And as the pastor says, life gives us life. And you know, life is difficult. There are decisions to make. There are financial pressures. There are problems, things that you didn't see coming. If you have children, you know you need to pray. But as followers of Christ, we are in this world, but we are not of this world. We are spiritual beings having an experience on earth, not the other way around.

So we have to disconnect from this world and connect with our heavenly father to be effective while we're here, so that we can have peace and advancement. And prayer disconnects us from the pressure of the world and reconnects us again with the presence of our living God who loves us and wants to guide us. Come this way. Now come this way. Now come this way. He wants to guide us. Come this way. Come this way. Take this way. He does that when we submit to prayer. And studies in prayer say that science affirms what the scriptures have been telling us for thousands of years. Scientists and doctors have been scanning people's brains when they are in a prayer and they say that the prayer changes the brain. It literally has an effect on the function of the brain. And they found, and I'm just telling you the basics, that prayer calms your mind. there's a part of your brain that is like, oh, there's fear, there's something bad that could happen, what could happen to that, how could that person get hurt, what if this happens, what if that doesn't happen? Some of you, that part of your brain will drive all the time into fear. What they say is that when you pray, that part of your brain that you're afraid of,

they all start to calm down. They all start to calm down. They all start to help you think more clearly. That part of your brain that helps you make decisions, that part of your brain that helps you be wise, that part of your brain that helps you be more active when you pray, when you're praying, when you're thinking about what's going on, that part of your brain that helps you think more clearly. When you're praying because there's an obstacle, God is revealing solutions to you because you're starting to think more clearly. You know, the prayer is in peace. There's a part of your brain that's telling you, everything depends on you. That's why we start to stress out. How am I going to make this relationship work? How am I going to fix my finances? Everything depends on me. I have to do it by myself. There's a part of your brain that makes you think you're in isolation. And as you start to pray, the peace of God starts to enter. And you realize that you're not alone. God is with you. God is interfering with you. It's my resource. It's my strength. It's my praise.

It's my joy. It's my hope. I'm not alone on this path. God is really with me. And you say, well, I don't have time to pray. I would say, you don't have time to not pray. You need to function with clarity. You need to have God's peace. You need to have God's calmness for you. How do you connect with him in prayer? And I've always loved this verse. Verse number seven. And you're going to memorize a verse. I'm asking you to memorize this one this week. It says, don't worry about anything. Instead, pray all the time. Say, God, what do you need? Give him the thanks for what he has done. And you're going to have God's peace. God's peace that goes beyond any understanding. His peace is going to keep his heart and your mind. So, God's going to create your mind. God's going to create you so that you're in relationship with him. And when this says that you will experience peace in your heart, you know that your mind is taking care of you when you're praying. So, when you're praying, your mind changes. So, you say, well, how do we pray? How do we take care of our mind? And the question is, oh, that's a good question. So, the idea of praying can be intimidating.

So, you say, well, maybe you have a super Christian on Thanksgiving Day and they're praying on Thanksgiving Day with the version of King Jaime, right? It's a very high English, a very high Spanish, right? And you say, well, prayer is just talking to God. I love what Dallas Willard says. It's talking to God. It's talking to God. It's not talking to God. It's talking to God. Just how, as a parent, I want to hear from my children. Whatever it is they have to say, I want to hear from them. You know, when my kids want to pray, I pray. God wants to hear from you, just like we want to hear from our kids. We want to hear about what's going on in their mind. Because if it's on your mind, it's in your heart. He cares about you. No matter how small, God wants to know about you. God wants to know about you. He wants you to hear from him. So many times when it comes to prayer, I want to tell you this. I want you to do this. I want you to do that. But we forget that he wants to have a relationship with us. And prayer is not a religious activity. It's a connection that connects us with our almighty God. Imagine that God, that my husband, Adam, was the only one who could talk about our relationship

and never let me say anything. Our relationship would be the other way around. 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 an incredible relationship with his father. What we know about intimacy is that it has to be intentional. You never have a naturally healthy relationship. You have to invest in it. You have to have intention. You have to be intentional. You have to connect through prayer. We see in Luke 11, 1, that one day he was praying to God when he ended up with one of his disciples. And he said to God, help us now. Help us now. The disciples spent a lot of time with him but this is the only time that we see that the disciples say to God, help us, teach us to do something. He says, well, you know what, we've seen that you heal, that you help. And you know what, I think when the disciples saw that God prayed, they said, okay, what he has with his God, with his Father, that we want that too. There's strength, there's power, there's something that comes from that. And you know what, the access that Jesus has with God in prayer, you know what, it's the same access. God says, talk to me, talk loud, pray bravely. And then he had his places to pray. As we started these 21 days of prayer, at a practical level, I want to motivate you, have the same time and place where you're going to pray. Take a time and the same place.

Decide before you start. I pray in the morning before my children get up because then I can't. Or it's difficult. I pray in my office, in the house. What time can you pray? Where can you pray? Because it's important. Well, let's think that, for example, the one that's here, Paige. Tell Paige that she helps us here in technology. Paige, you're amazing. Thank you, Department of Production. You are a ministry. You really help us evangelize. We are so grateful for you. And folks like Paige, you want to grab coffee? No, I'm not going to drink. I'm going to pray. I'm not going to eat. I'm not going to drink. Whatever. Whenever. You think we're going to get together if we don't say time and place? It's not going to happen. But when you have a place and a time, you're going to do it. And when you're going to connect with God in a certain place or in a certain place, I'm going to encourage you to come and to have your Bible ready. And be ready for God to speak to you. The Bible is the only book where you don't read the word of God. You have to feel more motivated. Maybe God is going to speak to you.

He's going to make changes. You're going to feel like, holy cow, God is motivating you. But He's also talking to you about what you have to pray through. And I want to encourage you, if you don't have a physical paper Bible, it's one of the best investments you can make in your relationship with God. Because if you don't have a physical Bible, it's how God wrote you. It's how He communicates with you. You can buy it on Amazon. If you need one, tell one of our pastors. We'll buy you one. Go to read the Bible. And it's important that you read the Bible, I think, because even though we have access to a Bible at that time, how many times do you read the Bible on the phone and get distracted? You go in the morning and you look for a message. And you say, you know what, I have to... Oh, you see, if you're reading the Bible on your phone, you get distracted. And before you know it, you're cleaned up. You start answering texts. And you're like, how did I get here? And you're like, how did I get here? And you start reading the Bible. The phone is so good for connecting people and everything in the world. But it's so good to be disconnected. It can actually keep you disconnected from God. And I want to encourage us, when we're talking about prayer, it's not just something that we do all the time. But I love what Mark Zaccado says. He says, yes, you have time and a place to pray. But you have to be in a moment of always praying throughout your day.

When you wake up, pray. When you wake up in the morning, let your first thought be of God and for God. God, thank you for this day. I breathe. I can breathe well with my lungs. Thank you for your grace, for your mercy. Thank you for today's opportunities. Thank you that I can't do it alone, but your strength is with me. In the moments of waiting, when you're in traffic, when you're trying to keep yourself safe from other drivers, or when you're somewhere, waiting for someone to get there, talk to him in those moments. And learn to look for his presence. When you're going to talk about your business, say, please be with me when I'm in this presentation. Students, thank you, Jesus, that I'm not alone in my school. When you're trying to navigate a situation, say, thank you, thank you, thank you, God. And you know, in the moments when you're going to sleep, those moments, go say goodbye to God. Say, thank you for this day that you sustained me, that you're going to rejuvenate me, rejuvenate. Imagine, well, 20 years ago, 20 years ago, he wrote Masiqueira. It says, be in communion with God in the important moments in life. Those moments of solitude, of waiting, give those moments to God. When we get up now, we grab the phone later. If we are bored or waiting, we look for our phone.

And we are there with our phone. And I want to motivate you that, you know, that phones bring us many good things. I use it daily. Don't let the phone keep you away from this, from the Bible. Don't let this keep you away from this. Don't let this keep you away from this. Make God your priority. You know, in our house, we have two kids, 9 and 10 years old. They don't have phones, but they have electronics. And the other day, one of our kids was playing video games, and I was talking to him, and he totally ignored me. He totally ignored me when I was with the video games. And I started to feel bad, like mom, now that we are together. And I said, hey, that video game didn't give you birth. That video game is not going to help you when you need help. That video game is not going to give you money when you need it. That video game is not praying for you. It's not putting you to bed at night. I think your priorities are not in order. And you know what? And I felt that the Holy Spirit said, wow, Lisa, this is a good way to talk. And maybe it doesn't apply only to your kids, but to you too. Because this is not going to give you what you need. It's not going to give you the affirmation that you need. And it's not going to give you the purpose that you have. But the word of God is going to give it to you. This is our source, our strength, our truth. This is what lights the way for us. So I want to motivate you so that we are people who have real priorities. That we put God first. What happens when we pray? It says, I love it.

In this moment, I pray that God opens our understanding, our thought. When it comes to prayer, we think in a linear way. Who loves math here? No. Okay. One person? Let's see, two here. Two. Okay, he likes math. Well, if you don't like math, this is going to be easy. You can participate, even if you don't like math. One plus one equals? Yes, yes, two. Okay, incredible. Two plus two equals? Three plus three? Okay, that's linear math. It's pretty clear. And then we have exponential math. Those who love math. Two times two is? Four times four? Eight times eight is? Okay, some said 16. Others said 64. 16 times 16? That's a problem with a calculator. 256. What happens with the most difficult math? It's that it's compounded, right?

It's more impactful because it's not adding, it's multiplying. And there's a lot of resources for prayer. And this person talks about how God speaks through prayer. He says, if you take 30 linear steps, you're 90% close, right? But he says, if you take 30 steps totally out of your comfort zone, you're not, right? For God, five plus two, imagine, imagine five plus two, even though it was five loaves of bread and two fish. He multiplied it. When you add, you're closer. But when you multiply, you're further away. Well, you say, I prayed yesterday or the day before and nothing happened. And the enemy wants you to stop praying. He wants you to stop praying because the enemy knows the power of prayer. And the kingdom of God works in incredible ways. And I want us to read this scripture together. He has an army. And there's a bigger army that's at home. And it looks like they're in two kings, in two kings. And it says, when the servant got up early this morning and he went outside, there were troops in their horses and he went outside. The next day, the servant of the man of God got up early and went out. And there were troops, horses, and chariots of war everywhere. Oh, Lord, what are we going to do now? Eliseo shouted. Don't be afraid, Eliseo. There are more on our side than on their side. So Eliseo prayed. He said, oh, Lord, open the eyes of this young man so that he can see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man.

And when he looked up, he saw that the mountain around Eliseo was full of horses and chariots of fire, more on this side than on the other side. Eliseo could see what the other one couldn't see. And when we pray, we pray so that we have faith, so that we have hope. Prayers of faith that if we can't see how God is working, I trust that God is working for me. If I feel totally taken aback, out of myself, God is working for you, for you, even if you can't see it. His forms are bigger. He is not hidden. He is not asleep. He is working for you. There is more on our side than on his. We are limited in what we can be, but God has no limits. When we pray, we think that we want everything right now. And God is thinking about nations and generations. Prayer is exponential. It is big. It is the difference between what you can do and what God can do. Make things happen or see things happen in the spiritual realm. Prayer is writing history before it happens. And I want to motivate you to think big, to pray bigger. And that is part of the legacy, that you are part of this here at City First. You know, this church is 97 years old. It is incredible. And it has been made of the sacrifice of many people who may not be on earth with us. And more than 50 years ago, this church was in the center of Rockford. And the pastor at that time, Eugene Whitcomb, had a vision through prayer, that God told him to bring the church to the corner of Spring Creek and Mulford. And people were saying, you are crazy. There is nothing there. There is absolutely nothing in the corner of Mulford and Spring Creek. There is only an empty space. Why would we change the church? Through faith and through obedience, Pastor Whitcomb was convinced to do what God asked him to do. So he changed the church. In 1971, they began to build the South Auditorium. And it was full on Sundays. The young people would come.

And well, at that time, in the 70s, they didn't come with blue jeans, right? But he called the revival of young people. And I believe that in this church, we are also seeing the revival of young people who want to follow Jesus. And he is going to do it again. Because that is how he works. And Pastor Whitcomb, when he opened this auditorium, said, I know that God has something else for us. And he began to pray. And he began to pray. And impact more lives. And tragically, in 1974, the pastor had an accident and lost his life. And he came to heaven, unfortunately, much earlier than we wanted. And although the pastor is not with us, his prayers are still being answered. That this auditorium was built. That now City First has arrived in Cape Coral, in Janesville, Wisconsin. And it reaches gates behind the world. And it's all throughout the world. The prayers that he prayed, all those decades, are still being answered today. God did more than we imagined. Church, do you know that your prayers are beyond the future? Grandparents, keep praying. Your prayers are going to penetrate generations after generations. You're going to see the fruits of your prayers in generations. Nothing is impossible for him. And as I'm praying for you, family, I believe that God is going to do something new in your faith. He's going to help you think bigger. Stop thinking that God can't do what you need him to do. You're so worried about your marriage. You're so worried about your finances. You think that God no longer has a purpose and plan for what you've done? I want you to be motivated today.

There's nothing going to be encouraged today for our God. May your faith grow. Pray. May the prayers be answered today. May the prayers be answered today or in generations. God hears them. And he cares for them. And I say, if God answered all my prayers, what would be different? How would my family be different? How would my life be different? How would my church be different? How would our community be different? We have to be generous with our prayers. We have to cover ourselves with prayer. We have to pray that God continues to expand his reach. That the people who are lost find God. That we be disciples of God. We only have one life. I want, I want my life to count. I want, I want my life to count. God's heart is through prayer. We need to be people of prayer and see what God does through us and for us as we jump into these 21 days of prayer. Let's pray. God Almighty Father, I thank you for all the people here. I thank you for who they are and the plan you have for them.

For the person who has lost hope, who wants to give up, who has lost faith. I pray you restore faith to them today. God, I pray that you would have a burden so that we would have the desire to pray. Because you move situations through prayer. I want people to know you, so that our communities and families are different. Jesus, you change us while you help us. So as a church, let's be committed to prayer. Let's do miracles as we pray. Let's be healing sick or broken bodies. Let's have peaceful minds. Let's have restoration in relationships and friendships. Let's have progress in areas where we have had opposition. Nothing is impossible for you. Let's pray brave prayers because we serve a great God. Give us more faith today, Lord. With all eyes closed,

head bowed, if you are here you have never made the decision to follow Jesus. You don't have a relationship with him. Today is the day. I believe that God is the Son of God. Jesus is the Son of God. He died and rose again three days later. He gives me a new beginning. He forgives my sins. And through that, I have heaven as my home. If you want to make this decision, if no one turns to you, wherever you are, raise your hand. Today begins your relationship with Jesus. I see your hand. I see yours. Anybody else? I see your hand. It's the best decision you will ever make. If everyone can join me so that no one has to sit alone, Almighty Father, thank you for your Son, Jesus. He died for me. He forgives my sins. He gives me a fresh start. Today I choose to follow you.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.