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Nov. 19, 2024
Discovering Joy Amidst Life's Chaos
Lost wallets and malfunctioning car trunks may sound like the start of a comedy sketch, but they actually set the stage for a profound reflection on joy and the unexpected blessings in life. As we share a laugh over these chaotic moments, the conversation deepens into the transformative power of faith and the Holy Spirit within our City Light Church community. From the incredible moment of witnessing 24 individuals publicly declare their faith through baptism to navigating challenges like Pastor Bo's unexpected illness, we find strength in God's unconditional love and the joy it brings, regardless of circumstances.
As election day looms near, the discussion takes a turn towards civic responsibility and moral duty. By drawing parallels between apostles Peter and John, we explore how their imperfect journeys offer valuable lessons on living authentically in faith. Emphasizing the contrast between religious obligation and a genuine spiritual relationship, we reflect on the freedom found in embracing God's love without the need for earning it, just like the unique insights John received from his deep connection with Jesus.
We invite you to connect further with CityLight Church, experience the boundless love and grace that define our mission, and explore more at www.citylightnyc.com
Chapters
00:00 - City Light Church Update and Reflection
03:42:00 - Choosing Sides
15:14:00 - Unconditional Love and Secret Revelation
28:38:00 - Serving the Savior Without Comparing
36:06:00 - Unconditional Love and Purpose Discovery
50:35:00 - God's Love and Grace Podcast Invitation
Transcript
00:00 - Speaker 1
He didn't give the history of his screw-ups. He didn't take the moniker of his failures the same way that we do. We've heard words all our life and we have molded a self-image around the negativity. He didn't do that. He shaped his life based on who he truly was, not what people said about him, but what he knew to be true, that I am loved.
00:26 - Speaker 2
Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us. If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at CityLightNYCcom. That's CityLightNYCcom. Pastor Boyan Jancic and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are surrounded by His grace and that he has a real hope and a future for you. That he has a real hope and a future for you.
01:06 - Speaker 1
Again, my name is Muhammad, I'm one of the pastors here and I'm just turnt up and turnt out by what God has been doing in our midst this season. It feels like it's ripe for us to take ground for the sake of the kingdom, amen. I think yesterday was definitely a bright, shining light that affirmed that we saw 24 people give their lives and make a public profession of their faith, and that was just for November. We baptized a whole bunch of people last May. God is working Because understand, it's this thing where it's. We're doing what we're supposed to be doing. We're getting God's lost kids saved and we're getting the saved kids to grow in discipleship that they would be productive members of the kingdom of God, and the enemy doesn't like that. But I don't really care, because God does. I know God does because, again, the most powerful service that we have it's when people proclaim their faith in Jesus and God comes by his Holy Spirit to give the thumbs up to that.
02:21
Now I will say this, because I'm not one where and neither is our church we don't look for a demon behind every situation, nor do we find our direction based on what the devil is doing, but sometimes the enemy overplays his hand and it gives us a good direction that we're heading in the right way. So we had such an amazing and powerful service and then, all last night, pastor Bo has been struggling, gave me a call this morning. He was violently sick. I'll just leave it at that, vomiting and everything Just well, I guess I won't leave it at that, but he had a very, very, very difficult time and it's one of those things where, like I said, we don't get our direction from what the enemy was doing. We know that God is putting his hand on the things that are according to his will and we see him moving. So we know we're heading in the right direction Because, again, that's a command that all those that believe be baptized in the name of the father, the son and the Holy spirit Right. But then when the enemy overplays his hand like this, we kind of see that he's so mad at what we're doing. He's, like I, like a good, it's like shut up. It's funny, though, because the hits kept coming. So yesterday after the baptism service, they're like practical things that we need to do, like we have towels and things like that. They need to be washed, they need to be cleared out.
03:42
So I'm packing my trunk. Volunteers are helping me, the trunk to my car, door breaks, can't close properly. I'm in Manhattan, lower East Side. I live deep in the heart of Queens. I'm like, how is this going to work? So I jerry-rig a situation, I'm tying down the trunk just to see, and it's still kind of flipping and flapping a little bit. I'm like, whatever, we're just going to make it.
04:08
So now, driving, going about the rest of my day, finally make it home, get all the way upstairs. I'm like, ah, my jacket, it must be in the car somewhere. I go down to the car, I'm checking everywhere in the car, nowhere to be found. And then I notice, oh, the trunk is open. Where my jacket was, turns out, my wallet was in my jacket.
04:31
So I had the fun evening of calling all of my banks and telling them. One of the funny parts is I just changed banks, like three days ago. I was like yeah, you know, I lost it, I need a new one. And they were like what's the card number? I don't know what's the account number. Don't know that either. It's like yeah, you know I lost it, I need a new one. They were like what's the card number? I don't know what's the account number? Don't know that either. It's like who are you? I'm me. You might say well, why are you so happy about that? I'm happy about that because the enemy doesn't stop anything.
05:02
Didn't you listen to Pastor Bo's message last week? There's, sometimes there are going to be, some hardships and trials and things that come not of your choosing, circumstantially. So what the Bible says, that God has given us joy that cannot be taken from us, amen. So I got a buoyancy on the inside of me. I'm floating on circumstance right now, feeling real good in the Lord, and it's sad because you would think, after losing valuable things like cards and money, the thing that hurts a little bit more is the jacket. I like that jacket. I was telling my wife like listen, this is just a sign from the Lord.
05:41
I need another jacket, to which she did not say amen. Yep, yep, to which she did not say amen. All right guys, listen, it is the final Sunday before the election. Ooh, so funny how you feel the tension. Some people get super excited, some people tense up. Oh no, oh no. Is he about to pre-turn the election? Oh God, brace yourself. Before you have an aneurysm through your butt. Just hear me out.
06:23
There's only one thing that I want to say to you concerning the election. Please, if you can. You have the right to vote. Exercise your right to vote. You live in this country. As a Christian, you are responsible for praying for the good and the peace of this land. You are responsible for following and upholding civic and moral duty. Amen.
06:42
Now will I tell you you need to vote all along one side or the other side? No, because, listen, I need you to be clear. If you're voting all blue, going down the left and just feeling like everything is okay, you are wrong. If you were voting all alongside red, all on the right, you are wrong. We are not left, we are not right. We are up, we are North, we represent the kingdom. Understand so, but?
07:18
But what does that mean? That means that, unfortunately, you have to do a little bit of due diligence to figure out who's on the ballot, whose policies line up with the things that are making for a life where God is honored and glorified. So no, I'm not just going in there and scratching down all one side. Oh, they don't like that, because you're offending my side and my party and I'm not on your side. I'm on Jesus's side, so I don't mind offending somebody if I'm not on their side. See, this is the thing that gets me about politics, where they try to make it this spiritual thing like it's religious. It's not. It's not. You are choosing who is going to run the country on certain issues. Be mindful of that and choose accordingly. Think about the things that are God honoring and what are not.
08:17 - Speaker 2
Okay, okay.
08:21 - Speaker 1
So, with that being said, we're going to juxtapose two sides today. We're going to figure out what side is doing it right, what side is doing it wrong. They are so nervous. Not actually talking about the election, though, I'm here to talk about two different types of Christians. I'm here to go even deeper than that. I'm going to give you the examples that we find in the scripture of two very particular Christians that represent one of us at any given point. We have the apostle Peter. You know him, the one with the foot-shaped mouth and we have the apostle John.
09:07
I think the best thing that we could say about John is John is the beloved. We can all agree, and we're going to juxtapose how they went about their life and how we need to be going about our life. Let's take this journey. So we're going to start and we're going to go through their lives towards the end of Jesus's life. We're going to start at the Last Supper in John 13. Now, even before we read that and you can hold it up there Before we read, I need you to understand something, because people always look at Peter and go. That's definitely the screw up, so I'm not going to join his side. I need you to understand something about John. The beloved John is a screw up. So here's the thing. We always have this idea of the hierarchy of the disciples because there were three disciples. Wherever Jesus went, he called the three disciples and we think to ourselves those are the mature ones, those are the good ones I will have. You know that the reason why he always left certain disciples and he brought along the three, peter, james and John, is the same reason that you can trust some of your kids' parents, and some of them you can't See. He would tell Team B all right, y'all hang back, I'm going to go up on the mountain, y'all three come with me. Because he knew if I leave these three here, I might come down, the whole village might be burnt. James and John they had the nickname the scripture gives them Boagenees. When you break down the etymology on Boagines, it means sons of thunder.
10:47
They ran up on some people who were actually preaching the word of God, in truth proclaiming Jesus as Lord, and these I was about to use very brisk language just now these idiots still pretty harsh, but they stopped him and said hey, you're not with us, don't do it Now. Here's the thing that you have to know this, especially in the climate that we live in today. It does not matter who says what. If it's truth. If the devil came in here today and said Jesus is Lord best believe, I'm going to be in the front going amen. Here today and said Jesus is Lord Best believe, I'm going to be in the front going amen.
11:31
See the problem? We have a big problem today in our generation. Somebody tells us truth and we call it painful. Somebody gives their opinion. Oh, we laud them, we applaud them. But when somebody gives you good word, don't stop having a fight with the people that are telling you what's good for you. There are relationships in your life right now that are suffering because all they're trying to do is deliver the truth to you, but you can't see the truth for what it is. All you see is the messenger and you're upset. Who am I talking to today? Because this ain't in the notes.
12:13
But again, james and John. They came to a city that rejected Jesus. They came to a city. Do you want to know what their response was? Let's just kill him right now. Let's kill him. He asked Jesus. He says Jesus, do you want me to call down fire from heaven and destroy them like Elijah did. Jesus was like cool bro, put the heater away.
12:44
So again, I'm giving you both sides, but I don't want you to immediately think that John is perfect. John is like us and that should encourage you. He's not perfect, but he does have one thing to his credit he learned how to appropriate the love of God. I'll show you from the scripture John 13, 21 says when Jesus had said these things, he was troubled in spirit this is at the last supper and testified and said most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke. Now, there was leaning on Jesus's bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved.
13:29
See, if you didn't know and you missed this very hilarious part about scripture, he's speaking specifically about the apostle John, but people forget that John is the author of this gospel. So he's talking about himself. That's like me having a blog post and going yeah, this is one of the pastors of City Light. You know the really good looking one with a chocolate melanated complexion. But it's funny though, because here's what I want you to catch. He didn't say this is one of Boagene showing up.
14:11
He didn't give the history of his screw ups. He didn't take the moniker of his failures that, the same way that we do, we've heard words all our life and we have molded a self image around the negativity. He didn't do that. He shaped his life based on who he truly was, not what people said about him, but what he knew to be true that I am loved. He appropriated that and took it for himself, and that was his identity.
14:43
He was not perfect by any stretch, by any means, but he had that one thing to his credit how do you identify with yourself? Is it as a filthy sinner or is it as somebody who's truly, truly received the grace, the mercy, the favor and the love of God? It makes a difference how you see yourself. Are you good looking or are you busted? Are you faithful?
15:14
Because here's the thing, the other side of that, the religious side they're always on the hamster wheel, doing things so that they can get the favor of God. Get the favor of God. I need to tell you that that religious system is always going to keep you from reaching perfection. I don't do things to get things like approval from God because I've already got it the zenith level of love. There is no higher love than the love that I have received from God through Christ Jesus. So there is nothing that I can do to perform to get him to love me more. So then some might ask well, why do you do the things that you do? Why do you give, why do you worship? Why do you attend church faithfully? Because I get to. I've been given this grace and mercy and I'm not dead the way I deserve. I get to. That's different from the religious person who says, oh God, I don't want to go, but I got to go. Oh God, I don't want to read, but I got to read, because if I don't read I'm going to go to hell.
16:20
And what was supposed to be this rich, beautiful relationship that caused you nothing but joy unspeakable, has now become a burden on you. Every morning I was telling the Baptiste like listen, this is like a marriage. Like, every day you have to choose to be loved, choose to love every day going forward. It's not just this one ceremony and it's over and you now go to heaven. Wake up, call today's Sunday, tomorrow's Monday. I prophesy it will be. You have to choose this thing every day.
16:52
But the problem is, when you're stuck on the religious side, you feel that if I do these things he will like me. And what's the problem with that? When you don't do them, you immediately think to yourself well, he can't possibly like me now. This is why you have to appropriate the love of God. It's like the song said I can't go by my feelings, because when I don't have to rest on my feelings, I can rest on the truth of the matter. The truth of the matter is I am loved. I am incredibly loved Like I am. He's madly in love with me. Don't make no sense in the world, but it's true. But let's keep reading. Now.
17:37
There was leaning on Jesus's bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom he spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to him Lord, who is it? Jesus answered it is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. And having dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas, iscariot, the son of Simon. So John was willing to accept that he was immaculately loved, unconditionally, and in that acceptance he received secret revelation. Did you catch that? So the religious one, the grandstanding one, chest out. Anybody denies me. No, jesus, I'll never be the one. If you ever read the scripture, he was real man. In the midst of all the other disciples, he goes if all of them turn on you, I'll never do it.
18:39
And I love this period of Jesus's life because you see the divinity and his humanity working at the same time in great measure, because it's almost divinity and his humanity working at the same time in great measure, because it's almost like and maybe this is just the Muhammad paraphrase of the Bible. When I read the Bible it seems very cinematic to me because he's like wait, wait, hold on, hold on, hold on, peter, peter, wait, you're not gonna be. Wait, wait, wait, wait, peter, wait. Okay. So, oh, all right, all right, hold on, hold on. Not only are you gonna betray me, but before the rooster crows, bro, three times. Oh, that was a good one, bro. That like, like, like Jesus is that blatant like. Are you kidding me? All right, we'll just leave it there.
19:27
But here's another thing too. Because, again, when you're in religion and not in relationship, you don't have access. Because when Peter, the religious one who was trying to do things out of performance to be loved, when he wanted the inside track to who was actually going to betray the Lord. He didn't have the end to say Jesus, who was it? What does he do? Come on, man, just ask. You know he like you better. Just come on.
19:58
You ever have a sibling and you know that you need something. And sometimes you got to go to the younger one because you know you want that McDonald's. Oh, nobody remembers being a kid when they sit, Listen. My brother and my sister made it clear You're the young one. They're not going to say no to you, so you better ask for what I want. I want Wendy's. I don't want McDonald's. You better ask for McDonald's. Can we have McDonald's please, please, okay, honey.
20:35
And this is what was happening. He beckons him, he goes. You know, can you see the difference here? The religious one reaches out to the one that's in relationship, both imperfect on both sides. Wait, are we still talking about the election? All right, imperfect on both sides. But he says hey, I know that you have a more direct approach, I know that you have a closer position.
20:59
Even as you read what they were doing, they were having dinner and I know it looks a little weird because you think to yourself if we're sitting at dinner and you're leaning on somebody's head. What's wrong with you, bro? But you got to understand the positioning. They weren't sitting at a table. This is a Middle Eastern culture. They actually dined reclining on the floor. So it's just the type of situation where it's just everybody's reclining on one elbow, eating with one hand, and it's like I'm so comfortable. Matter of fact. Yo, jesus, don't move, bro. You are literally holding me up. This is nice. I like it that close.
21:37
But because of that relationship, he's not resting on religion. He says Jesus, who, who's going to do it? And I love this. The secret revelation comes. Jesus is like watch, this, it's the one, I'm going to dip the thing in the thing and then I'm going to give him the thing, just watch. And John is like oh, he got the, he got the inside track. He literally knew who it was that was going to betray Jesus. What is the only difference between the two? One of them appropriated the love of God and one of them didn't. One of them was resting on their own ability not to harm the Lord. But yet, john, in his imperfection, in his murderous zeal because you can't call it anything other than that the one thing he had going is, I'm going to trust God and not myself. And as he relied on God, god gave him.
22:43
I remember there was one day we were actually at our Manhattan location in 7th Street. This is years ago. I wasn't preaching that day, I was just on the ministry team. Somebody had preached and they called up the ministry team, which, if you don't know our ministry team, they've been trained to release the presence and the power of God over you. Notice they're not called the prayer team. We have a prayer team. If you don't know about our prayer team, reach out right on that connection card. We have an active prayer team that prays before the services, that literally prays midweek. You can join that. You can spend some time praying for our church, praying for the kingdom of God, praying for this nation, amen.
23:21
But our ministry team is different from our prayer team. The ministry team is meant to join their faith with yours and minister the very anointing the presence of God, to release him into your life and over your situations, so that there would be breakthrough that you can't receive by yourself. So this lady comes up and she says you know, pray for me. So I then countered well, what would you have me minister to you for she said just pray for me. Just pray, bro, now I'm not going to lie In my flesh.
23:56
I was like go sit down. I didn't say it, I thought it. I thought it, but in my mind I was just like go sit down, because the whole point is that I would join my faith with yours, not just pulling stuff out of a hat, because if you're not believing with me, what are we doing? But I said you know what? That's what I would do, jesus, what would you do? So I relaxed, I didn't follow my flesh. I thought it but I didn't follow it.
24:25
And I said, lord, because in humility, the beloved way, the side that John was taking that way depends on God. That way doesn't just go their own way in self-effort and self-reliance. Humility does not mean meek and mild. Humility means depending on God. So I said, lord, what do you have for this sister? This is your daughter. The Bible says that the thoughts that you have for her cannot be counted. They are more than the sands of the seashore. Give me some sand and then and this is the part where you might find it hilarious, but because sometimes ministering feels very natural and not supernatural, so you just wish that it was. You wish that you just felt the power and just released it. It wasn't that, it felt super normal. I'm like Lord, give me some sand.
25:18
And I imagined some things and I say that intentionally with my image factory, that is God given I imagined some things about this woman, about her work life, about lawsuits connected to her work life. So now I'm just praying according to that. Now here's the thing I don't feel no oil. I don't feel my knees weren't shaking, the ground wasn't moving, there was no trembling happening. But I'm just praying according to what I because I'm leaning on him, not me I could have went the self-reliance part and go well, I've prayed 30 hours this week, so let me just lay my hands. Father, father, god, heavenly Father, lily of the Valleys, Jacob's Ladder Bread of Life, jacob's ladder bread of life, touch and nothing would have happened. Because I'm just going through the A, a, b, b, up up down Like no, no, no, it's not about just the names, it's about who are you really relying on for the power to be released. Are you relying on your 30 hours of prayer or are you relying on the one who can give one grain of sand? So now I'm talking all this stuff.
26:31
That feels super weird because I don't know this woman from a hole in the wall and I do something I normally don't do. When I pray for people, I try to keep my eyes open because you don't know who got a demon and I'm trying to get smacked. So I let my guard down this one time. Give me something, jesus Some sand or something. So I let my guard down this one time. Give me something, jesus, some sand or something. So I start praying. I open my eyes to this. I said does that register with you? I'm like Lord. She's like you don't understand. They've been trying to railroad me at work. Now I know the Lord is. I've never seen this woman a day in my life before, nor after. She came and stole the anointing and left. Don't be like the lady, stick around. But it's just a funny thing that I relied on God and then he gave the secret, in the same way that you can rely on God and receive the secret. Amen, okay, we're getting somewhere.
27:31
So next we're at Jesus' trial. Now let's go to John 18. Then the detachment of troops and the captain of the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him, and they led him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people, and Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple, who we talking about here. We're talking about, okay, now, that disciple was known to the high priest and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to her, who kept the door and brought Peter in. When you move in the beloved way, you literally open doors for other believers. John got Peter inside the way of the beloved. They're not concerned with competition this way.
28:38
Understands that we all work for the same boss and, individually, are extremely blessed by the rising up of somebody else. Did you know that my role as a pastor is to put myself out of a job I'm supposed to pour into you, along with the senior leadership of our church that we all submit to? Thank God for Pastor Bo. Did we pray for him? Yet we didn't pray for Pastor Bo. I forgot. We love you. Pastor Bo, feel better, father. Bless him with divine health and strength. Even now, father, we rebuke all sickness in the name of Jesus, whether viral or bacterial. We command it to stop and go. In Jesus' name, be made well. All things are subject to the name of Jesus. We command every cell in his body to be made well in Jesus' name. And the church said Amen. I got carried away, I forgot when was I Squirrel. My role is to put myself out of a job as a pastor. You were wrong, sir, she was right. So every job of every pastor is to put themselves out of a job, meaning you're supposed to get the lost kids saved, and then the saved kids to grow in discipleship such to the point that they are now discipling other people. Amen.
29:53
So you know, when you first get saved sometimes any little thing you go yo pray for me. Oh, my God, it is going down. I don't know what it's. Oh, y'all never been there. Oh, y'all never been there. Oh, I've been there. But then you grow to the point when certain things happen and you go devil, come on, get off me. In the name of Jesus, you have no right to be in my home, nor my relationships, nor my body. In Jesus' name, go and you take the authority that has been given to you. Amen, amen. It's wild. You get to open doors for other people and not compare yourself to somebody else. This is a powerful thing, because the religious side is constantly comparing themselves to somebody else.
30:48
You know, just the last few weeks, my daughter has taken up track. Here's the thing my daughter is a sprinter. She can go from here to there really fast. She's my daughter, so she's bigger than every other kid her age. So she can just, and she goes. So, being the parents that we are, we challenged her. We put her in cross country, which is when you got to run for a long, extended period. So it was just hilarious because she would start sprinting and then slow down and everybody would pass her. And then we told her you're not racing them, you're racing you. No-transcript. She got better.
31:36
She went to her first track meet. Whew, her time was like six minutes and change. No, that's not good. Nope, nope, no, definitely wasn't. But here's the key Her next track meet, her coaches were mystified. She cut off a minute and a half of her time. The next meet, she came in at 4.33. The coaches were like is this the same person? She went to every practice. She went to every meet, the meet after that she came in at, instead of 4.33, 4.30.
32:18
Every day, persevering and growing, because she got the message. I'm not running against them, I'm running against me. See, the religious way they think that they're running against other Christians. For the beloved way, they're only living for an audience of one. I'm not praying so that other people can see me praying. I'm not giving. Did you know that when you give and you do things so that other people can see it, that that is your reward? I'm sorry, but God pays better than that, because there are some people that, cassandra, I heard you had a need Praise God. Here you go, sister, go, sister. Yes, yes, yes, because, uh, I just wanted you to have that praise God. Whereas there's another type of Christian that, just because the Bible says that you're not supposed to let your left hand know what your right one is doing, so they're not competing, they're not looking for the rewards here, because, listen, if that's all the reward you get, just to be seen, that is weak. People see you already. I want to get paid by God. That's a word.
33:38
No, man, we don't have to compete with other Christians, we have to celebrate other Christians encourage other. Doesn't the Bible say to one another each other more than 300 times in the Bible Hug one another, kiss one another, bear with one another, love one another, encourage one like all these different one another. Kiss one another, bear with one another, love one another, encourage one like all these different one another. How could I do that? If I'm now comparing myself to you, mo? I say Mo because you know they call me Mo, but but she's Mo. So I got to deal with that tension. I could feel a way about it and you know, but I don't obviously right. I don't feel obviously right, I don't feel no way about it. Let's have these Pastor Mo ments Registered trademark patent pending. Okay, let's see what you're doing, but we are meant to open doors for each other, amen, okay.
34:49
So now let's go on to the crucifixion. John 19, 25 says this Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and his mother's sister, mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene, when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple behold your mother. And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. The secret of the beloved that John carried ultimately allowed him to be better at serving the Savior in his time of need. You want to know who wasn't there, peter.
35:34
Peter was struggling with religion at this time, and you know what's the crazy thing about religion. Religion, it involves self-reliance. It involves you trying your hardest, your darndest, to please God. But the only problem with that is anything that you start in your own power has to be maintained in your own power, and your own power has to be maintained in your own power, and your own power is insufficient. So here you are in the hamster wheel of religion.
36:06
I gotta go to church, I gotta read the word, I gotta pray, I gotta fast, but I'm tired and the minute you stop doing the things that you started because you only started in your own strength to be seen by others in most cases, and not because you loved God and treasured the privilege that you had, because you got to understand something. I don't pray, read my Bible fast and attend church because it looks a certain way. I do it because I can, I get to. It's a privilege. It's not this thing where I need to do this in order to be loved. I know that I'm loved. I know that I'm accepted. I know that I'm cared for outside of my performance.
36:54
So now, peter, having come headlong with the fact that he was not measuring up, he backslid. He was no longer there for the Lord the way he promised that he would be. When all these jokers turn their back on you, I'm going to be the one standing there, king Jesus, with me at the side, like Prince Peter, let's go. Where was Peter at the cross? Peter was tucked in a hole, weeping, but where was the beloved one, you know, the imperfect one with the murderous zeal, the one that truly believed that God loved him. Despite him, he was front and center, able Cause here's the thing that this boggles my mind here you have Jesus, the son of God, god in the flesh, carrying the sins of the entirety of humanity, past, present and future, on himself in this moment.
37:49
This is cosmically high brow, and he steps out of that cosmic moment to handle some practical moments on earth. Wow, if I go and when I go? Not if, when I go, my mom is going to be left in a patriarchal society where, at that point, women are not really much more than furniture and objects, possessions to be had, and she'll have nobody. So let me take care of that. Real quick, disciple yeah, you're the one who think you all loved, and all that. All right. This is now your mom. Provide for her, protect her, keep her. This is now your son. And you know what his response was Yep, I'll do it, I'll make myself of use to Jesus. How?
38:36 - Speaker 2
many people in here that would say yep when God calls you.
38:41 - Speaker 1
Yep who want to pray for the sick and healing rooms. Yep who wants to attend life groups so that we can grow each other as a community. Yep who want to hit the streets and help abortion minded people to change their mind that lives might be saved. Yep who want to join the prayer team so that we can pray down the glory of heaven. But the thing that's in common with all of those yups and all of those yeses is not the reliance that says I can do it, but, god, if you're not with me, I'm not going to be able to say yup. Oh, he is preaching Cassandra. He is preaching Cassandra. He is preaching Worship team. You can come on up. So this is John and Peter.
39:37
After the resurrection, this is John 21. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you wished, but when you were old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. This. He spoke signifying by what death Peter would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him follow me. Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on his breast at the supper and said because we come full circle, and said Lord, who is the one who betrays you? Peter, seeing him, said Jesus. But Lord, what about this man? Jesus said to him, if I will, that he remained till I come. What is that to you? Follow me. There are beautifully beneficial moments where he will lead you by an unspoken calling, more like a silent invitation born out of intimacy, that results in his pleasure. See, you have Peter on the right. So the context for the scripture that we just read Peter had to be reinstalled back into the faith. After Jesus died, died. Peter completely backslides and says I'm going back to my old life. Because I don't know what to do, I go fishing. And the crazy part is because of the influence that he still carried, because the gifts and the callings of God are without repentance, his boys was like oh, you going fishing, you going back to that old life. Well, we coming too, even the beloved way member backslidden, fishing. He backslides. So after he's done backsliding, jesus has to pull him to the side and reinstate him and tell him what really is, because, because before he said you know what, I'm the one who really loves you. I love you here, and really Jesus had to put him in his place so that he might recognize. This is not about religion. This is not about what you can do for me. This is about what I can do for you. You guys got a second First service. Didn't get this, but I'm gonna bless y'all with this.
41:57
Did you know that in English we use the same word love for ice cream, baseball and our mom? And English is a little poor in that regard, but the language that this was written in, in the Greek, there are four different ways to say the word love. You have phileo, which is like a you know, a friendship love Like that's my boy, that's my people's. Then you have eros, which is a romantic love between a husband and a wife. Then you have storge, which is more of like a familial love between a mother and a son. So you've got all these different loves.
42:33
And it's funny because when he restores him, jesus asked him Peter or Simon, son of Jonah, do you agape me the zenith level of love, the sacrificial level of love? Do you have the top brow love for me? Like you said, you had it before, before you let me down and betrayed me. Do you have it here? Peter was like no, sir, I phileo you, I got a friendship love it definitely ain't here, it's somewhere right here. Because you never realize the context until you actually look at the language. Because the Bible says that Peter was grieved when he asked him the third time because really it was like Peter, do you love me here? And he was like no Lord. You know, I only love you here, but Peter, do you love me here? And he was like no Lord. I'm not relying on myself anymore. I know that the reality of the situation is I don't love you the way that you love me, I love you here. And he reinstates him Feed my sheep, feed my lambs, feed the flock. So now Jesus reinstates Peter and he prophesies to him about his life and his death, how it will glorify God. And Peter's still a little bit shaky because he's just coming out of religion, so he's still looking around. Because John doesn't even get all of that.
44:01
John gets up understanding his calling without being called. You know, as a pastor, the number one thing that people come to you and want to talk about is what do I do with myself, what do I do with my life, what is my purpose, what is my calling when you're not relying on yourself and your self-efforts. That comes easy. I think I'm so grateful that I can say this with just great certitude. I know what my purpose on earth is and I've known for many years. But it didn't come out of me trying a whole bunch of things in my own effort. It came from me going. God, I don't even deserve to be in the building. Whatever you want to do, let's go. And in that God opened up the revelation of who I was meant to be.
44:51
That's for some of you today, because John got up and started following and Peter was like you didn't even tell him nothing. What about him? Tell him something. Nice, he's been following you this whole time and Jesus, just being cheeky, was like bruh Bruh A little interesting tidbit. He tells him, if I want him to stay back until I come, what does that mean to you?
45:24
Again, it's not about somebody else's race, it's about you living with an audience of one, depending on that one audience. For your pleasure, listen, do not live by the approval of other people, because you will die by their rejection. Live only for the approval of Jesus. And here's the beautiful part you already have it in Jesus the blood that God spilled on the cross. It ratifies you, it sanctifies you, it separates you, it makes you his.
45:58
You don't have to trust on your own ability to fast and pray and read the scriptures. I want every one of you to be masters at doing that. I want you to enjoy reading the word of God, because his will is in his word and you'll find direction as you read the scriptures. The Holy Spirit will lead you. I love when you fast and bring the flesh low so that you can better articulate the will of God as he's speaking. I love when you're here. I love when you fast and bring the flesh low so that you can better articulate the will of God as he's speaking. I love when you're here. I wish there was an attendance card, but there's not because we don't believe in that. Somebody came to me one time like yeah, you know, I've been here every day. I'm like where'd you get that from? We don't even have attendance cards. I want you to do all those things, but I don't want you to do them so that God can love you more. I want you to do them because you know that you get to do them because God loves you already.
46:49
So don't pick the self-reliant way. Pick the beloved, way you are accepted in the beloved. The scripture says Indulge me Everybody if you would be willing, close your eyes and repeat after me Heavenly Father, I renounce every form of self-reliance. I don't trust myself. I trust you. Wash me, clean me, heal me, forgive me, make me to know that I'm yours, make me to grow To bear fruit, to have a real relationship with you In Jesus, jesus name, oh hallelujah, hallelujah.
47:50
Now we're going to sing a song before we get out of here, but before we do, I want us to take communion together and you can administer the and you might say well, we're taking communion. What does that have to do with this message? It has everything to do with this message. You know the bible says that when you take communion, you do proclaim the lord's death until he comes. Proclaiming the lord's death, what's that? Well, what you're doing is you're shouting and announcing everything that his cross did for you, everything that you could not do for yourself. You could not find eternal life by yourself. You could not have supernatural healing by yourself. You could not receive supernatural provision and finances by yourself. You could not receive wholeness and joy and stability of emotional, sound mind by yourself. You only gain these things through the cross, when he died for you and as you, so that divine exchange could take place where now you're receiving the righteousness of God. You've become literally the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and he took on your sin. He took on your death, he took on everything that you deserved. He was punished for you and now you get to take his perfect record and just live in peace and in joy.
49:07
So when you eat today, think about anything in your life that is not lining up and proclaim his death. Until it does, stop relying on yourself and start relying on Jesus. When you receive these elements, we're going to eat in faith. And you got to love our volunteers. They thought I was so holy I didn't need communion, but the devil is a liar. I'm relying on Jesus the same way you are. Hold your elements and let's pray. Father, thank you for the blood of Jesus, thank you for the sacrifice, thank you for the cross. Everything that we have, we've received it through the cross, through the love of God that you've shown us in Christ. Anything that is not lining up in our life, whether it be lack of finances, lack of stability, lack of health in our emotions, even the need for physical healing in our body. Lord, as we eat, we eat and drink to our salvation. We eat and drink proclaiming the Lord's death till he come for us. So have your way, great God, in Jesus' name.
50:34 - Speaker 2
Amen. This is the City Light Church podcast. If you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jancic and City Light Church Podcast, if you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jancic and City Light Church, visit us at citylightnyccom. That's citylightnyccom. Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime. We would love to connect with you. We pray that you have been encouraged today, that you have been reminded how, that you have been reminded how much God loves you and that you are surrounded by grace. Thank you for listening. Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church Podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.
He didn't give the history of his screw-ups. He didn't take the moniker of his failures the same way that we do. We've heard words all our life and we have molded a self-image around the negativity. He didn't do that. He shaped his life based on who he truly was, not what people said about him, but what he knew to be true, that I am loved.
00:26 - Speaker 2
Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us. If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at CityLightNYCcom. That's CityLightNYCcom. Pastor Boyan Jancic and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are surrounded by His grace and that he has a real hope and a future for you. That he has a real hope and a future for you.
01:06 - Speaker 1
Again, my name is Muhammad, I'm one of the pastors here and I'm just turnt up and turnt out by what God has been doing in our midst this season. It feels like it's ripe for us to take ground for the sake of the kingdom, amen. I think yesterday was definitely a bright, shining light that affirmed that we saw 24 people give their lives and make a public profession of their faith, and that was just for November. We baptized a whole bunch of people last May. God is working Because understand, it's this thing where it's. We're doing what we're supposed to be doing. We're getting God's lost kids saved and we're getting the saved kids to grow in discipleship that they would be productive members of the kingdom of God, and the enemy doesn't like that. But I don't really care, because God does. I know God does because, again, the most powerful service that we have it's when people proclaim their faith in Jesus and God comes by his Holy Spirit to give the thumbs up to that.
02:21
Now I will say this, because I'm not one where and neither is our church we don't look for a demon behind every situation, nor do we find our direction based on what the devil is doing, but sometimes the enemy overplays his hand and it gives us a good direction that we're heading in the right way. So we had such an amazing and powerful service and then, all last night, pastor Bo has been struggling, gave me a call this morning. He was violently sick. I'll just leave it at that, vomiting and everything Just well, I guess I won't leave it at that, but he had a very, very, very difficult time and it's one of those things where, like I said, we don't get our direction from what the enemy was doing. We know that God is putting his hand on the things that are according to his will and we see him moving. So we know we're heading in the right direction Because, again, that's a command that all those that believe be baptized in the name of the father, the son and the Holy spirit Right. But then when the enemy overplays his hand like this, we kind of see that he's so mad at what we're doing. He's, like I, like a good, it's like shut up. It's funny, though, because the hits kept coming. So yesterday after the baptism service, they're like practical things that we need to do, like we have towels and things like that. They need to be washed, they need to be cleared out.
03:42
So I'm packing my trunk. Volunteers are helping me, the trunk to my car, door breaks, can't close properly. I'm in Manhattan, lower East Side. I live deep in the heart of Queens. I'm like, how is this going to work? So I jerry-rig a situation, I'm tying down the trunk just to see, and it's still kind of flipping and flapping a little bit. I'm like, whatever, we're just going to make it.
04:08
So now, driving, going about the rest of my day, finally make it home, get all the way upstairs. I'm like, ah, my jacket, it must be in the car somewhere. I go down to the car, I'm checking everywhere in the car, nowhere to be found. And then I notice, oh, the trunk is open. Where my jacket was, turns out, my wallet was in my jacket.
04:31
So I had the fun evening of calling all of my banks and telling them. One of the funny parts is I just changed banks, like three days ago. I was like yeah, you know, I lost it, I need a new one. And they were like what's the card number? I don't know what's the account number. Don't know that either. It's like yeah, you know I lost it, I need a new one. They were like what's the card number? I don't know what's the account number? Don't know that either. It's like who are you? I'm me. You might say well, why are you so happy about that? I'm happy about that because the enemy doesn't stop anything.
05:02
Didn't you listen to Pastor Bo's message last week? There's, sometimes there are going to be, some hardships and trials and things that come not of your choosing, circumstantially. So what the Bible says, that God has given us joy that cannot be taken from us, amen. So I got a buoyancy on the inside of me. I'm floating on circumstance right now, feeling real good in the Lord, and it's sad because you would think, after losing valuable things like cards and money, the thing that hurts a little bit more is the jacket. I like that jacket. I was telling my wife like listen, this is just a sign from the Lord.
05:41
I need another jacket, to which she did not say amen. Yep, yep, to which she did not say amen. All right guys, listen, it is the final Sunday before the election. Ooh, so funny how you feel the tension. Some people get super excited, some people tense up. Oh no, oh no. Is he about to pre-turn the election? Oh God, brace yourself. Before you have an aneurysm through your butt. Just hear me out.
06:23
There's only one thing that I want to say to you concerning the election. Please, if you can. You have the right to vote. Exercise your right to vote. You live in this country. As a Christian, you are responsible for praying for the good and the peace of this land. You are responsible for following and upholding civic and moral duty. Amen.
06:42
Now will I tell you you need to vote all along one side or the other side? No, because, listen, I need you to be clear. If you're voting all blue, going down the left and just feeling like everything is okay, you are wrong. If you were voting all alongside red, all on the right, you are wrong. We are not left, we are not right. We are up, we are North, we represent the kingdom. Understand so, but?
07:18
But what does that mean? That means that, unfortunately, you have to do a little bit of due diligence to figure out who's on the ballot, whose policies line up with the things that are making for a life where God is honored and glorified. So no, I'm not just going in there and scratching down all one side. Oh, they don't like that, because you're offending my side and my party and I'm not on your side. I'm on Jesus's side, so I don't mind offending somebody if I'm not on their side. See, this is the thing that gets me about politics, where they try to make it this spiritual thing like it's religious. It's not. It's not. You are choosing who is going to run the country on certain issues. Be mindful of that and choose accordingly. Think about the things that are God honoring and what are not.
08:17 - Speaker 2
Okay, okay.
08:21 - Speaker 1
So, with that being said, we're going to juxtapose two sides today. We're going to figure out what side is doing it right, what side is doing it wrong. They are so nervous. Not actually talking about the election, though, I'm here to talk about two different types of Christians. I'm here to go even deeper than that. I'm going to give you the examples that we find in the scripture of two very particular Christians that represent one of us at any given point. We have the apostle Peter. You know him, the one with the foot-shaped mouth and we have the apostle John.
09:07
I think the best thing that we could say about John is John is the beloved. We can all agree, and we're going to juxtapose how they went about their life and how we need to be going about our life. Let's take this journey. So we're going to start and we're going to go through their lives towards the end of Jesus's life. We're going to start at the Last Supper in John 13. Now, even before we read that and you can hold it up there Before we read, I need you to understand something, because people always look at Peter and go. That's definitely the screw up, so I'm not going to join his side. I need you to understand something about John. The beloved John is a screw up. So here's the thing. We always have this idea of the hierarchy of the disciples because there were three disciples. Wherever Jesus went, he called the three disciples and we think to ourselves those are the mature ones, those are the good ones I will have. You know that the reason why he always left certain disciples and he brought along the three, peter, james and John, is the same reason that you can trust some of your kids' parents, and some of them you can't See. He would tell Team B all right, y'all hang back, I'm going to go up on the mountain, y'all three come with me. Because he knew if I leave these three here, I might come down, the whole village might be burnt. James and John they had the nickname the scripture gives them Boagenees. When you break down the etymology on Boagines, it means sons of thunder.
10:47
They ran up on some people who were actually preaching the word of God, in truth proclaiming Jesus as Lord, and these I was about to use very brisk language just now these idiots still pretty harsh, but they stopped him and said hey, you're not with us, don't do it Now. Here's the thing that you have to know this, especially in the climate that we live in today. It does not matter who says what. If it's truth. If the devil came in here today and said Jesus is Lord best believe, I'm going to be in the front going amen. Here today and said Jesus is Lord Best believe, I'm going to be in the front going amen.
11:31
See the problem? We have a big problem today in our generation. Somebody tells us truth and we call it painful. Somebody gives their opinion. Oh, we laud them, we applaud them. But when somebody gives you good word, don't stop having a fight with the people that are telling you what's good for you. There are relationships in your life right now that are suffering because all they're trying to do is deliver the truth to you, but you can't see the truth for what it is. All you see is the messenger and you're upset. Who am I talking to today? Because this ain't in the notes.
12:13
But again, james and John. They came to a city that rejected Jesus. They came to a city. Do you want to know what their response was? Let's just kill him right now. Let's kill him. He asked Jesus. He says Jesus, do you want me to call down fire from heaven and destroy them like Elijah did. Jesus was like cool bro, put the heater away.
12:44
So again, I'm giving you both sides, but I don't want you to immediately think that John is perfect. John is like us and that should encourage you. He's not perfect, but he does have one thing to his credit he learned how to appropriate the love of God. I'll show you from the scripture John 13, 21 says when Jesus had said these things, he was troubled in spirit this is at the last supper and testified and said most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke. Now, there was leaning on Jesus's bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved.
13:29
See, if you didn't know and you missed this very hilarious part about scripture, he's speaking specifically about the apostle John, but people forget that John is the author of this gospel. So he's talking about himself. That's like me having a blog post and going yeah, this is one of the pastors of City Light. You know the really good looking one with a chocolate melanated complexion. But it's funny though, because here's what I want you to catch. He didn't say this is one of Boagene showing up.
14:11
He didn't give the history of his screw ups. He didn't take the moniker of his failures that, the same way that we do, we've heard words all our life and we have molded a self image around the negativity. He didn't do that. He shaped his life based on who he truly was, not what people said about him, but what he knew to be true that I am loved. He appropriated that and took it for himself, and that was his identity.
14:43
He was not perfect by any stretch, by any means, but he had that one thing to his credit how do you identify with yourself? Is it as a filthy sinner or is it as somebody who's truly, truly received the grace, the mercy, the favor and the love of God? It makes a difference how you see yourself. Are you good looking or are you busted? Are you faithful?
15:14
Because here's the thing, the other side of that, the religious side they're always on the hamster wheel, doing things so that they can get the favor of God. Get the favor of God. I need to tell you that that religious system is always going to keep you from reaching perfection. I don't do things to get things like approval from God because I've already got it the zenith level of love. There is no higher love than the love that I have received from God through Christ Jesus. So there is nothing that I can do to perform to get him to love me more. So then some might ask well, why do you do the things that you do? Why do you give, why do you worship? Why do you attend church faithfully? Because I get to. I've been given this grace and mercy and I'm not dead the way I deserve. I get to. That's different from the religious person who says, oh God, I don't want to go, but I got to go. Oh God, I don't want to read, but I got to read, because if I don't read I'm going to go to hell.
16:20
And what was supposed to be this rich, beautiful relationship that caused you nothing but joy unspeakable, has now become a burden on you. Every morning I was telling the Baptiste like listen, this is like a marriage. Like, every day you have to choose to be loved, choose to love every day going forward. It's not just this one ceremony and it's over and you now go to heaven. Wake up, call today's Sunday, tomorrow's Monday. I prophesy it will be. You have to choose this thing every day.
16:52
But the problem is, when you're stuck on the religious side, you feel that if I do these things he will like me. And what's the problem with that? When you don't do them, you immediately think to yourself well, he can't possibly like me now. This is why you have to appropriate the love of God. It's like the song said I can't go by my feelings, because when I don't have to rest on my feelings, I can rest on the truth of the matter. The truth of the matter is I am loved. I am incredibly loved Like I am. He's madly in love with me. Don't make no sense in the world, but it's true. But let's keep reading. Now.
17:37
There was leaning on Jesus's bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom he spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to him Lord, who is it? Jesus answered it is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. And having dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas, iscariot, the son of Simon. So John was willing to accept that he was immaculately loved, unconditionally, and in that acceptance he received secret revelation. Did you catch that? So the religious one, the grandstanding one, chest out. Anybody denies me. No, jesus, I'll never be the one. If you ever read the scripture, he was real man. In the midst of all the other disciples, he goes if all of them turn on you, I'll never do it.
18:39
And I love this period of Jesus's life because you see the divinity and his humanity working at the same time in great measure, because it's almost divinity and his humanity working at the same time in great measure, because it's almost like and maybe this is just the Muhammad paraphrase of the Bible. When I read the Bible it seems very cinematic to me because he's like wait, wait, hold on, hold on, hold on, peter, peter, wait, you're not gonna be. Wait, wait, wait, wait, peter, wait. Okay. So, oh, all right, all right, hold on, hold on. Not only are you gonna betray me, but before the rooster crows, bro, three times. Oh, that was a good one, bro. That like, like, like Jesus is that blatant like. Are you kidding me? All right, we'll just leave it there.
19:27
But here's another thing too. Because, again, when you're in religion and not in relationship, you don't have access. Because when Peter, the religious one who was trying to do things out of performance to be loved, when he wanted the inside track to who was actually going to betray the Lord. He didn't have the end to say Jesus, who was it? What does he do? Come on, man, just ask. You know he like you better. Just come on.
19:58
You ever have a sibling and you know that you need something. And sometimes you got to go to the younger one because you know you want that McDonald's. Oh, nobody remembers being a kid when they sit, Listen. My brother and my sister made it clear You're the young one. They're not going to say no to you, so you better ask for what I want. I want Wendy's. I don't want McDonald's. You better ask for McDonald's. Can we have McDonald's please, please, okay, honey.
20:35
And this is what was happening. He beckons him, he goes. You know, can you see the difference here? The religious one reaches out to the one that's in relationship, both imperfect on both sides. Wait, are we still talking about the election? All right, imperfect on both sides. But he says hey, I know that you have a more direct approach, I know that you have a closer position.
20:59
Even as you read what they were doing, they were having dinner and I know it looks a little weird because you think to yourself if we're sitting at dinner and you're leaning on somebody's head. What's wrong with you, bro? But you got to understand the positioning. They weren't sitting at a table. This is a Middle Eastern culture. They actually dined reclining on the floor. So it's just the type of situation where it's just everybody's reclining on one elbow, eating with one hand, and it's like I'm so comfortable. Matter of fact. Yo, jesus, don't move, bro. You are literally holding me up. This is nice. I like it that close.
21:37
But because of that relationship, he's not resting on religion. He says Jesus, who, who's going to do it? And I love this. The secret revelation comes. Jesus is like watch, this, it's the one, I'm going to dip the thing in the thing and then I'm going to give him the thing, just watch. And John is like oh, he got the, he got the inside track. He literally knew who it was that was going to betray Jesus. What is the only difference between the two? One of them appropriated the love of God and one of them didn't. One of them was resting on their own ability not to harm the Lord. But yet, john, in his imperfection, in his murderous zeal because you can't call it anything other than that the one thing he had going is, I'm going to trust God and not myself. And as he relied on God, god gave him.
22:43
I remember there was one day we were actually at our Manhattan location in 7th Street. This is years ago. I wasn't preaching that day, I was just on the ministry team. Somebody had preached and they called up the ministry team, which, if you don't know our ministry team, they've been trained to release the presence and the power of God over you. Notice they're not called the prayer team. We have a prayer team. If you don't know about our prayer team, reach out right on that connection card. We have an active prayer team that prays before the services, that literally prays midweek. You can join that. You can spend some time praying for our church, praying for the kingdom of God, praying for this nation, amen.
23:21
But our ministry team is different from our prayer team. The ministry team is meant to join their faith with yours and minister the very anointing the presence of God, to release him into your life and over your situations, so that there would be breakthrough that you can't receive by yourself. So this lady comes up and she says you know, pray for me. So I then countered well, what would you have me minister to you for she said just pray for me. Just pray, bro, now I'm not going to lie In my flesh.
23:56
I was like go sit down. I didn't say it, I thought it. I thought it, but in my mind I was just like go sit down, because the whole point is that I would join my faith with yours, not just pulling stuff out of a hat, because if you're not believing with me, what are we doing? But I said you know what? That's what I would do, jesus, what would you do? So I relaxed, I didn't follow my flesh. I thought it but I didn't follow it.
24:25
And I said, lord, because in humility, the beloved way, the side that John was taking that way depends on God. That way doesn't just go their own way in self-effort and self-reliance. Humility does not mean meek and mild. Humility means depending on God. So I said, lord, what do you have for this sister? This is your daughter. The Bible says that the thoughts that you have for her cannot be counted. They are more than the sands of the seashore. Give me some sand and then and this is the part where you might find it hilarious, but because sometimes ministering feels very natural and not supernatural, so you just wish that it was. You wish that you just felt the power and just released it. It wasn't that, it felt super normal. I'm like Lord, give me some sand.
25:18
And I imagined some things and I say that intentionally with my image factory, that is God given I imagined some things about this woman, about her work life, about lawsuits connected to her work life. So now I'm just praying according to that. Now here's the thing I don't feel no oil. I don't feel my knees weren't shaking, the ground wasn't moving, there was no trembling happening. But I'm just praying according to what I because I'm leaning on him, not me I could have went the self-reliance part and go well, I've prayed 30 hours this week, so let me just lay my hands. Father, father, god, heavenly Father, lily of the Valleys, Jacob's Ladder Bread of Life, jacob's ladder bread of life, touch and nothing would have happened. Because I'm just going through the A, a, b, b, up up down Like no, no, no, it's not about just the names, it's about who are you really relying on for the power to be released. Are you relying on your 30 hours of prayer or are you relying on the one who can give one grain of sand? So now I'm talking all this stuff.
26:31
That feels super weird because I don't know this woman from a hole in the wall and I do something I normally don't do. When I pray for people, I try to keep my eyes open because you don't know who got a demon and I'm trying to get smacked. So I let my guard down this one time. Give me something, jesus Some sand or something. So I let my guard down this one time. Give me something, jesus, some sand or something. So I start praying. I open my eyes to this. I said does that register with you? I'm like Lord. She's like you don't understand. They've been trying to railroad me at work. Now I know the Lord is. I've never seen this woman a day in my life before, nor after. She came and stole the anointing and left. Don't be like the lady, stick around. But it's just a funny thing that I relied on God and then he gave the secret, in the same way that you can rely on God and receive the secret. Amen, okay, we're getting somewhere.
27:31
So next we're at Jesus' trial. Now let's go to John 18. Then the detachment of troops and the captain of the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him, and they led him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people, and Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple, who we talking about here. We're talking about, okay, now, that disciple was known to the high priest and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to her, who kept the door and brought Peter in. When you move in the beloved way, you literally open doors for other believers. John got Peter inside the way of the beloved. They're not concerned with competition this way.
28:38
Understands that we all work for the same boss and, individually, are extremely blessed by the rising up of somebody else. Did you know that my role as a pastor is to put myself out of a job I'm supposed to pour into you, along with the senior leadership of our church that we all submit to? Thank God for Pastor Bo. Did we pray for him? Yet we didn't pray for Pastor Bo. I forgot. We love you. Pastor Bo, feel better, father. Bless him with divine health and strength. Even now, father, we rebuke all sickness in the name of Jesus, whether viral or bacterial. We command it to stop and go. In Jesus' name, be made well. All things are subject to the name of Jesus. We command every cell in his body to be made well in Jesus' name. And the church said Amen. I got carried away, I forgot when was I Squirrel. My role is to put myself out of a job as a pastor. You were wrong, sir, she was right. So every job of every pastor is to put themselves out of a job, meaning you're supposed to get the lost kids saved, and then the saved kids to grow in discipleship such to the point that they are now discipling other people. Amen.
29:53
So you know, when you first get saved sometimes any little thing you go yo pray for me. Oh, my God, it is going down. I don't know what it's. Oh, y'all never been there. Oh, y'all never been there. Oh, I've been there. But then you grow to the point when certain things happen and you go devil, come on, get off me. In the name of Jesus, you have no right to be in my home, nor my relationships, nor my body. In Jesus' name, go and you take the authority that has been given to you. Amen, amen. It's wild. You get to open doors for other people and not compare yourself to somebody else. This is a powerful thing, because the religious side is constantly comparing themselves to somebody else.
30:48
You know, just the last few weeks, my daughter has taken up track. Here's the thing my daughter is a sprinter. She can go from here to there really fast. She's my daughter, so she's bigger than every other kid her age. So she can just, and she goes. So, being the parents that we are, we challenged her. We put her in cross country, which is when you got to run for a long, extended period. So it was just hilarious because she would start sprinting and then slow down and everybody would pass her. And then we told her you're not racing them, you're racing you. No-transcript. She got better.
31:36
She went to her first track meet. Whew, her time was like six minutes and change. No, that's not good. Nope, nope, no, definitely wasn't. But here's the key Her next track meet, her coaches were mystified. She cut off a minute and a half of her time. The next meet, she came in at 4.33. The coaches were like is this the same person? She went to every practice. She went to every meet, the meet after that she came in at, instead of 4.33, 4.30.
32:18
Every day, persevering and growing, because she got the message. I'm not running against them, I'm running against me. See, the religious way they think that they're running against other Christians. For the beloved way, they're only living for an audience of one. I'm not praying so that other people can see me praying. I'm not giving. Did you know that when you give and you do things so that other people can see it, that that is your reward? I'm sorry, but God pays better than that, because there are some people that, cassandra, I heard you had a need Praise God. Here you go, sister, go, sister. Yes, yes, yes, because, uh, I just wanted you to have that praise God. Whereas there's another type of Christian that, just because the Bible says that you're not supposed to let your left hand know what your right one is doing, so they're not competing, they're not looking for the rewards here, because, listen, if that's all the reward you get, just to be seen, that is weak. People see you already. I want to get paid by God. That's a word.
33:38
No, man, we don't have to compete with other Christians, we have to celebrate other Christians encourage other. Doesn't the Bible say to one another each other more than 300 times in the Bible Hug one another, kiss one another, bear with one another, love one another, encourage one like all these different one another. Kiss one another, bear with one another, love one another, encourage one like all these different one another. How could I do that? If I'm now comparing myself to you, mo? I say Mo because you know they call me Mo, but but she's Mo. So I got to deal with that tension. I could feel a way about it and you know, but I don't obviously right. I don't feel obviously right, I don't feel no way about it. Let's have these Pastor Mo ments Registered trademark patent pending. Okay, let's see what you're doing, but we are meant to open doors for each other, amen, okay.
34:49
So now let's go on to the crucifixion. John 19, 25 says this Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and his mother's sister, mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene, when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple behold your mother. And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. The secret of the beloved that John carried ultimately allowed him to be better at serving the Savior in his time of need. You want to know who wasn't there, peter.
35:34
Peter was struggling with religion at this time, and you know what's the crazy thing about religion. Religion, it involves self-reliance. It involves you trying your hardest, your darndest, to please God. But the only problem with that is anything that you start in your own power has to be maintained in your own power, and your own power has to be maintained in your own power, and your own power is insufficient. So here you are in the hamster wheel of religion.
36:06
I gotta go to church, I gotta read the word, I gotta pray, I gotta fast, but I'm tired and the minute you stop doing the things that you started because you only started in your own strength to be seen by others in most cases, and not because you loved God and treasured the privilege that you had, because you got to understand something. I don't pray, read my Bible fast and attend church because it looks a certain way. I do it because I can, I get to. It's a privilege. It's not this thing where I need to do this in order to be loved. I know that I'm loved. I know that I'm accepted. I know that I'm cared for outside of my performance.
36:54
So now, peter, having come headlong with the fact that he was not measuring up, he backslid. He was no longer there for the Lord the way he promised that he would be. When all these jokers turn their back on you, I'm going to be the one standing there, king Jesus, with me at the side, like Prince Peter, let's go. Where was Peter at the cross? Peter was tucked in a hole, weeping, but where was the beloved one, you know, the imperfect one with the murderous zeal, the one that truly believed that God loved him. Despite him, he was front and center, able Cause here's the thing that this boggles my mind here you have Jesus, the son of God, god in the flesh, carrying the sins of the entirety of humanity, past, present and future, on himself in this moment.
37:49
This is cosmically high brow, and he steps out of that cosmic moment to handle some practical moments on earth. Wow, if I go and when I go? Not if, when I go, my mom is going to be left in a patriarchal society where, at that point, women are not really much more than furniture and objects, possessions to be had, and she'll have nobody. So let me take care of that. Real quick, disciple yeah, you're the one who think you all loved, and all that. All right. This is now your mom. Provide for her, protect her, keep her. This is now your son. And you know what his response was Yep, I'll do it, I'll make myself of use to Jesus. How?
38:36 - Speaker 2
many people in here that would say yep when God calls you.
38:41 - Speaker 1
Yep who want to pray for the sick and healing rooms. Yep who wants to attend life groups so that we can grow each other as a community. Yep who want to hit the streets and help abortion minded people to change their mind that lives might be saved. Yep who want to join the prayer team so that we can pray down the glory of heaven. But the thing that's in common with all of those yups and all of those yeses is not the reliance that says I can do it, but, god, if you're not with me, I'm not going to be able to say yup. Oh, he is preaching Cassandra. He is preaching Cassandra. He is preaching Worship team. You can come on up. So this is John and Peter.
39:37
After the resurrection, this is John 21. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you wished, but when you were old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. This. He spoke signifying by what death Peter would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him follow me. Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on his breast at the supper and said because we come full circle, and said Lord, who is the one who betrays you? Peter, seeing him, said Jesus. But Lord, what about this man? Jesus said to him, if I will, that he remained till I come. What is that to you? Follow me. There are beautifully beneficial moments where he will lead you by an unspoken calling, more like a silent invitation born out of intimacy, that results in his pleasure. See, you have Peter on the right. So the context for the scripture that we just read Peter had to be reinstalled back into the faith. After Jesus died, died. Peter completely backslides and says I'm going back to my old life. Because I don't know what to do, I go fishing. And the crazy part is because of the influence that he still carried, because the gifts and the callings of God are without repentance, his boys was like oh, you going fishing, you going back to that old life. Well, we coming too, even the beloved way member backslidden, fishing. He backslides. So after he's done backsliding, jesus has to pull him to the side and reinstate him and tell him what really is, because, because before he said you know what, I'm the one who really loves you. I love you here, and really Jesus had to put him in his place so that he might recognize. This is not about religion. This is not about what you can do for me. This is about what I can do for you. You guys got a second First service. Didn't get this, but I'm gonna bless y'all with this.
41:57
Did you know that in English we use the same word love for ice cream, baseball and our mom? And English is a little poor in that regard, but the language that this was written in, in the Greek, there are four different ways to say the word love. You have phileo, which is like a you know, a friendship love Like that's my boy, that's my people's. Then you have eros, which is a romantic love between a husband and a wife. Then you have storge, which is more of like a familial love between a mother and a son. So you've got all these different loves.
42:33
And it's funny because when he restores him, jesus asked him Peter or Simon, son of Jonah, do you agape me the zenith level of love, the sacrificial level of love? Do you have the top brow love for me? Like you said, you had it before, before you let me down and betrayed me. Do you have it here? Peter was like no, sir, I phileo you, I got a friendship love it definitely ain't here, it's somewhere right here. Because you never realize the context until you actually look at the language. Because the Bible says that Peter was grieved when he asked him the third time because really it was like Peter, do you love me here? And he was like no Lord. You know, I only love you here, but Peter, do you love me here? And he was like no Lord. I'm not relying on myself anymore. I know that the reality of the situation is I don't love you the way that you love me, I love you here. And he reinstates him Feed my sheep, feed my lambs, feed the flock. So now Jesus reinstates Peter and he prophesies to him about his life and his death, how it will glorify God. And Peter's still a little bit shaky because he's just coming out of religion, so he's still looking around. Because John doesn't even get all of that.
44:01
John gets up understanding his calling without being called. You know, as a pastor, the number one thing that people come to you and want to talk about is what do I do with myself, what do I do with my life, what is my purpose, what is my calling when you're not relying on yourself and your self-efforts. That comes easy. I think I'm so grateful that I can say this with just great certitude. I know what my purpose on earth is and I've known for many years. But it didn't come out of me trying a whole bunch of things in my own effort. It came from me going. God, I don't even deserve to be in the building. Whatever you want to do, let's go. And in that God opened up the revelation of who I was meant to be.
44:51
That's for some of you today, because John got up and started following and Peter was like you didn't even tell him nothing. What about him? Tell him something. Nice, he's been following you this whole time and Jesus, just being cheeky, was like bruh Bruh A little interesting tidbit. He tells him, if I want him to stay back until I come, what does that mean to you?
45:24
Again, it's not about somebody else's race, it's about you living with an audience of one, depending on that one audience. For your pleasure, listen, do not live by the approval of other people, because you will die by their rejection. Live only for the approval of Jesus. And here's the beautiful part you already have it in Jesus the blood that God spilled on the cross. It ratifies you, it sanctifies you, it separates you, it makes you his.
45:58
You don't have to trust on your own ability to fast and pray and read the scriptures. I want every one of you to be masters at doing that. I want you to enjoy reading the word of God, because his will is in his word and you'll find direction as you read the scriptures. The Holy Spirit will lead you. I love when you fast and bring the flesh low so that you can better articulate the will of God as he's speaking. I love when you're here. I love when you fast and bring the flesh low so that you can better articulate the will of God as he's speaking. I love when you're here. I wish there was an attendance card, but there's not because we don't believe in that. Somebody came to me one time like yeah, you know, I've been here every day. I'm like where'd you get that from? We don't even have attendance cards. I want you to do all those things, but I don't want you to do them so that God can love you more. I want you to do them because you know that you get to do them because God loves you already.
46:49
So don't pick the self-reliant way. Pick the beloved, way you are accepted in the beloved. The scripture says Indulge me Everybody if you would be willing, close your eyes and repeat after me Heavenly Father, I renounce every form of self-reliance. I don't trust myself. I trust you. Wash me, clean me, heal me, forgive me, make me to know that I'm yours, make me to grow To bear fruit, to have a real relationship with you In Jesus, jesus name, oh hallelujah, hallelujah.
47:50
Now we're going to sing a song before we get out of here, but before we do, I want us to take communion together and you can administer the and you might say well, we're taking communion. What does that have to do with this message? It has everything to do with this message. You know the bible says that when you take communion, you do proclaim the lord's death until he comes. Proclaiming the lord's death, what's that? Well, what you're doing is you're shouting and announcing everything that his cross did for you, everything that you could not do for yourself. You could not find eternal life by yourself. You could not have supernatural healing by yourself. You could not receive supernatural provision and finances by yourself. You could not receive wholeness and joy and stability of emotional, sound mind by yourself. You only gain these things through the cross, when he died for you and as you, so that divine exchange could take place where now you're receiving the righteousness of God. You've become literally the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and he took on your sin. He took on your death, he took on everything that you deserved. He was punished for you and now you get to take his perfect record and just live in peace and in joy.
49:07
So when you eat today, think about anything in your life that is not lining up and proclaim his death. Until it does, stop relying on yourself and start relying on Jesus. When you receive these elements, we're going to eat in faith. And you got to love our volunteers. They thought I was so holy I didn't need communion, but the devil is a liar. I'm relying on Jesus the same way you are. Hold your elements and let's pray. Father, thank you for the blood of Jesus, thank you for the sacrifice, thank you for the cross. Everything that we have, we've received it through the cross, through the love of God that you've shown us in Christ. Anything that is not lining up in our life, whether it be lack of finances, lack of stability, lack of health in our emotions, even the need for physical healing in our body. Lord, as we eat, we eat and drink to our salvation. We eat and drink proclaiming the Lord's death till he come for us. So have your way, great God, in Jesus' name.
50:34 - Speaker 2
Amen. This is the City Light Church podcast. If you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jancic and City Light Church Podcast, if you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jancic and City Light Church, visit us at citylightnyccom. That's citylightnyccom. Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime. We would love to connect with you. We pray that you have been encouraged today, that you have been reminded how, that you have been reminded how much God loves you and that you are surrounded by grace. Thank you for listening. Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church Podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.
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