Faith-Filled Declarations for a Victorious Life

00:00 - Speaker 1
Whenever I pray to God, I dare not come by myself. No, when you say, father, in the name of Jesus, what you're saying is Father, I'm coming to you, but I'm not coming alone. I'm coming to you in the name of Jesus. In what he has done, what he has accomplished for me, he's removed all of my sin and he's given me his righteousness.

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.

01:08 - Speaker 1
I got a word I want to bring you this morning and I want to ask you a question what are you believing God for right now? It's something that I feel the Lord provoke me and ask me often, and sometimes, when in prayer he asks me that I realize, oh, I'm not really believing you for anything. I'm hoping for a lot of things. I mean, everybody, saved or unsaved, has their hopes. If you stop them on the street, what are you hoping? Well, I'm hoping for world peace. I'm hoping that I'm a billionaire. I'm hoping that I'll live happily ever after. I mean, everybody's got their hopes and hope. The thing with hope is hope is great but it's always in the future. Faith says I have it now. Faith, is you agreeing with God's word and what it says about you? And you're saying I have it now.

01:59
And our tendency is to kind of go down the path of least resistance because there is a bit of a battle with faith. In fact, any battle you have, it should be in the arena of faith, not outside of it, so we can get a little lackadaisical and just kind of coast and just hope. But you show me what you're saying. I'll show you what you're believing, what you're saying and how you're speaking about yourself and your life is going to reveal what you're actually believing and I're saying and how you're speaking about yourself and your life is going to reveal what you're actually believing. And I've felt now for several months if you've noticed the pattern in what's been being preached from the pulpit, other than a few interruptions, for several months, I feel like the Lord has put in my hand this hot poker and I just got to come and stir up the embers a little bit and I can only perceive in the spirit that this is God wanting to get something to you and you need to align yourself with that. And the way he's going to get something to you, the way you're going to receive, is the way you've received anything you've ever received from God and that's by faith, hallelujah. So let's begin this journey in Hebrews, chapter 4 and verse 14. This is a cryptic, mysterious, obscure verse, because it shows us Jesus, post-resurrection, in heaven.

03:23
Let me just pause here and ask you when you think of Jesus in heaven, how do you envision him? I found, at least with me. I don't know about you. I get a lot of my doctrine, or I got a lot of my doctrine, a lot of my imaginings about Jesus from like Christian art, and not even good Christian art, like what the poster at the Christian bookstore shows me, or a Hallmark card. Like when you, when you, imagine Jesus in heaven, what does he look like? Is it the Jesus that has a lamb around his shoulders was walking through a meadow of flowers, kind of distant, stoic, aloof, is it? It was for me, I always wondered what's he up to up there, that picture with Jesus walking? You all know the picture right. Was that supposed to be him when he was on earth or is it him in heaven? It's a little bit of both. It's how you like Religious pictures of Jesus. They show him in heaven, but if you look at his face, it's not like he's quite realized the victory yet. There's still some battle waiting to be fought. He's got a mysterious face. He's not the conqueror, the victorious one. Anyway, a good question to ask is what is he doing? What's his function? What is the resurrected, risen lord doing in heaven?

04:53
Hebrews 4, 14 gives us a glimpse. Seeing, then, that we have a great high priest. He is in heaven operating as our high priest. Now, to understand what that means, you need to just peek into the Old Testament a little bit and realize that there was this figure called the high priest, and his job was to represent the people of God, the nation of God, to God. So also in Hebrews, for example, it says the fruit of our lips giving praise unto his name. If the nation would praise God, the high priest would transfer those praises over to God. If you ever look at good art, even Judaic art of the high priest is usually pictured holding his hands up. The high priest is usually pictured holding his hands up, both hands up symbolic of him taking the sins of the people, transferring them to the Lamb and then presenting that to God, or the praises of the people presenting that to God. Jesus is functioning as your high priest when you sing worship songs, the fruit of your lips. Note that when the Bible says the fruit of your lips, that doesn't mean you're singing quietly inward Fruitful lips actually means you're making a sound and he brings it to the Father.

06:19
Look at that verse, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession, the words of our mouth. The Bible says that Jesus is our high priest in heaven and one of his jobs is bringing your words to the Father, causing your words to come to pass. This, by the way, is how you got saved. This is how you'll receive anything that you ever received from God.

06:51
Look at one of the most famous verses in the New Testament Romans 10, 9 through 10. That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, this is how you receive salvation. This is how you receive forgiveness of sins. You have to what? Open up your mouth. That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, that's half of it and believe in your heart that's the other half that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So note this that faith, this precious force called faith, this invisible hand that goes into the heavens and brings down to earth, that thing that you need, that thing that you've been believing for, faith, is one half in your heart and one half in your mouth. And when it comes out of your mouth, jesus, your high priest, takes your words and presents them to God, the Father, hallelujah.

07:47
So why am I talking about this this morning? Because some of you are not giving the Lord anything to work with. If Jesus is my high priest and his role is to bring my words to God the Father, I want to be careful what I say out of my mouth and I want to have a proper confession. What's a proper confession? I always used to have a negative association with the word confession because I grew up on, I guess, in the Cold War and 80s movies. There was always this scene of some KGB interrogation center with one light bulb hanging from the ceiling and the person slamming the desk. You know, confess, confess. But confession means to agree with. To confess in this case, means you're agreeing with the Word of God.

08:40
Just a little bit ago I said some of you are not giving the Lord anything to work with. How do I know this? I know this because even sometimes in worship, don't get nervous, but I peek, I peek. But I just got to say some of you, like we sang such amazing songs. Sean didn't even know what I was going to preach and the song have you noticed that, sean, was perfect Because you're confessing what the Bible says about you. We sang I am blessed, I am called, I am healed, I am whole and I peak. And some of you have a face like that's the first positive thing you've said about yourself all week. It's like I am blessed. But you spent the whole week saying things like. You know, I'm just always so tired and life is so hard and things just don't really work out for me and your high priest in heaven is going.

09:31
You're not giving me anything to work with here. You want him to take those words and present them to God the Father. They'll fall flat, oh, hallelujah. Proverbs 6.2. This is why loose lips sink ships. I'm fulfilling what I saw in the Spirit a hot poker. I love our church. I love where we are geographically. I love that there are always new people. I love where we are geographically. I love that there's always new people. I love that we're in a borough that has 161 nations.

10:11
You get such a cross pollinating splattering of every ideology, every culture, every thought. Some of you are hearing this for the first time and it's going to change your life. This is a biblical truth and it will change your life and get you in the receiving mode. You don't even know it, but you've been deflecting the blessings of God and you've been taken captive and ensnared by the words of your mouth. You are snared by the words of your mouth. You are taken. You're taken captive by the words of your mouth. So I want to give you, I want to give you five things 1 Corinthians, 12, 13. Five things that you have as a result of being in Jesus that you can say that will change your life. Here's one thing you need to know. This is a biblical truth, for by one spirit we were all baptized. That means immersed into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. So you are in Christ, amen. There's over 250 verses in the New Testament that use the phrase in Christ or in him or with Christ. Pay attention to those verses because they tell you what you have already.

11:48
And in Christianity one of the biggest problems is people don't know what they have. They don't know the benefits package, so they're ignorant. Imagine you get a job and everybody's gone. You show up to work. Where are they? Oh, they're on their three-month vacation. I didn't plan for that, I didn't know. Oh, you didn't read the benefits package, you didn't know. Listen, there's usually two reasons when you see a Christian struggling. Why that's so One? They're ignorant. That's got a big laugh in the first service. Now it's just like is the energy off a little bit? Do you feel like you're being scolded or something? Just smile back at me, we're having a good time here.

12:38
Listen, the Bible says my people are cut off because of a lack of knowledge. In the King James it says my people are destroyed. In the Hebrew it means cut off because of a lack of knowledge. In the King James it says my people are destroyed. In the Hebrew it means cut off because they don't know. See, if you don't know that you've been physically healed by Jesus's stripes, you're cut off from the benefit of healing. If you don't know that the cross also encompasses prosperity and abundance, you're cut off from that. If you don't know really that all of your sins have been forgiven, past, present and future, you're cut off from that. If you don't know really that all of your sins have been forgiven, past, present and future, you're cut off from the benefit of having a boldness and a confidence that can only come from knowing you have the righteousness of Jesus. It's been freely given to you, amen.

13:19
So it's either ignorance or two. They learned it, they know it, but they're not actively appropriating it by faith. They have a casual attitude and a simple mental assent to the truths of God, and you can't have that. You've got to seize the truth of God. You've got to know what the Bible says. You already have and then just agree with the Bible. I say just sometimes it's very difficult, I'll get into that.

13:46
But that's why he said hold fast to our confession. What he's encouraging the writer of Hebrews is even when you see everything going wrong around you, speak the word of God and speak the truth of God and what it says about you and your circumstances. Not what your circumstances are lying to you about the circumstances you are in Christ. There's another empowering verse 1, john 4, 17. Not what your circumstances are lying to you about, the circumstances you are in Christ. There's another empowering verse 1, john 4, 17.

14:11
When I read this in my early 20s and got revelation of it you know I've read it probably a dozen times beforehand, but you get revelation when the Lord breathes on it and it becomes real to you. Just look at the power that's been given to you. Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Imagine that you know how many people name the name of Jesus and have zero boldness. You ask them to pray and immediately, even if they were praying alone, they barely whisper to god because deep down inside they're afraid. They're not the good godly fear, but they don't know that they have been made righteous. They still feel like god is angry with them. They're missing in. They can't even look up.

15:03
It says that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. On judgment day, you know how I'm gonna be. Why? Because I've lived such an exemplary life. No, because jesus lived such an exemplary life and he's transferred his righteousness over to me now.

15:23
I didn't even get to the best part yet. Here's the best part, because, as he is, so are we in this world. So how is he? I checked in via the Bible. He's doing great. He's victorious as he is, so am I in this world. That's the truth. He is sinless. As he is, so are we in this world. He has unhindered intimacy with God, the Father. As he is, so am I in this world. Hallelujah, we're going to change a little bit of how we're talking. I'm going to get you in the receiving zone. Yeah, hallelujah.

16:08
I want to go over five things that we have as a result of being in Christ, baptized in Jesus, and lead you in some confessions. Number one it's found in Psalms 8411. Psalms 8411. Great verse out of the Psalms For the Lord. God is the sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing would he withhold.

16:46
Are you getting excited, yet From those who walk uprightly. Uh-oh See, that should give you pause, because the promise is conditional and you'll find hundreds of promises in the Bible that are conditional. You'll have all this if you behave righteously, if you are righteous, if you walk uprightly. Now that should scare you. Nobody should read that and go yeah, because that's me, because I've been so good this last week, right, that when it says walk uprightly, you gotta pause and go.

17:23
Well, how uprightly is uprightly? Like I mean, I'm a pretty good person. When I compare myself to the worst person, I know I'm pretty good and that's typically what we do, right? We think God has this kind of like grading on a curve, like if you're better than Hitler, if you're better than the worst person, you know you're okay. No, god demands his holiness, demands perfection. So uprightly means sinless, it means perfect, which means that none of us qualify for this apart from Jesus. What we have in Christ is realized promises, because Jesus has made us righteous, hallelujah. Let's look at the confession. Jesus died on the cross, took away our sin and freely gave us his righteousness, pronounced us sin-free, guilt-free, condemnation-free. So now guess what you qualify. Qualify? Can you just say that I qualify? I qualify.

18:33
Whenever I pray to god, I dare not come by myself. In fact, we're taught to pray in the name of jesus, right? You ever think about what that means? Is it just a prayer formula that we just say Father in the name of Jesus and then ready, set, go, we can begin, because technically we started, okay, no, when you say Father in the name of Jesus, what you're saying is Father, I'm coming to you, but I'm not coming alone. I'm coming to you in the name of Jesus. I'm coming to you in the name of Jesus in what he has done, what he has accomplished for me. He's removed all of my sin and he's given me his righteousness, his right standing. So now, when you read these conditional promises, whenever you read one of these promises, it's got a little voice, it's the enemy. He's going to whisper in your mind.

19:25
You don't qualify, or is that just me? I mean, you shouldn't read that and think that you measure up alone. Whenever I ask something of God, I don't come to him and give him my resume of good works. Oh God, you know I'm different because I'm a pastor. Oh God, you know I'm different because I'm a pastor. I've suffered uniquely for you, lord, and it was really hard in that basement all those years, lord, with no windows, and Lord I sacrificed so kind of. You know what I'm really trying to say is you kind of owe me one right Because I've, you know, I've been on the front lines. He's not impressed. I'm no different.

20:02
I need the blood, I need Jesus, and because of his blood, because of his forgiveness, you qualify. So let's confess, let's agree with God's word. Amen with me. I am immersed in Christ. His righteousness is now mine. God, the Father, now freely fulfills every promise, not because of what I've done, but what Jesus has done for me. Do you believe it? Shout to Jesus. But what Jesus has done for me, do you believe it? Shout to Jesus. Number two Romans 5.17. I'm giving you five things that the Bible says you have.

21:03
Look, this kind of preaching. It's criticized because it's empowering and it's biblical and Satan hates it and so it's criticized. It's criticized Already. I've spoken so many positive things from the word of God over you, some of you. You're looking at me like like what's up my sleeve?

21:24
You know some people will call this kind of preaching like a motivational preaching. Oh, he's just like a positive, feel-good, motivational preacher. Why? Because I'm speaking positively and empowering the people. I'm sorry. If you want, I can meet you in the back. I can condemn you, make you feel guilty. Is that proper pastoring? I can be miserable with you and tell you how life is just awful, but one day in the sweet, by and by, you'll get into heaven and then you'll like me again and you'll feel right at home. People call day in the sweet, by and by, you'll get into heaven and then you'll like me again and you'll feel right at home. People. People call this kind of preaching.

22:02
There's actually, you know, they label it. Oh, that's that. Is that that name it and claim it? Stuff, is that that? Blab it and grab it?

22:05
Faith, you can call it what you want to call it. I call it agreeing with the word of god. If god says it's mine, then it's mine and nobody, nobody's going to tell me otherwise, not my circumstances, not my environment, not my friends. God's word is true and let God be true and every man a liar. I'm not preaching to you some theory or some philosophy. I live this. I've lived this. There's people in the church. They're living it right now. Man, there's a line in the road.

22:44
Some people, it just seems they're content to be in love. You need a waking up by the Spirit of God that you come alive right now. That mediocrity, that defeat, it comes off of you right now. In Jesus' name, the devil's been whispering to you and just telling you it's going to be this way. It's just going to continue to be this way. Check yourself, divorce that doubt and unbelief out of your life. Dare to believe again. Dare to believe.

23:09
Smith Wigglesworth used that phrase dare to believe, dare to believe. I always wondered why, when I was young and inexperienced, I wondered why he would say dare to believe because I was young and inexperienced. Then, as I moved on into my 20s, I experienced some life and I experienced falling flat on my face and getting hurt and life's troubles. Then, when it was time to believe God, there was a little voice that said no, don't, you'll just end up disappointed. You'll just have these big dreams. And then they'll. So might as well, not Might. Just, you know, occupy till he comes, just wait for the trumpet blast. And then I had to make a decision no, no, no. So I fell, so I broke my nose, so I got muddy. That does not change God's word. Let God be true and every man a liar, I'm still going to dare to believe him what his word is true, hallelujah, hallelujah.

24:08
Romans 5.17,. It shows you what you have. That's what we're studying this morning. You came into the family of God and no one ever told you the benny package. You don't know the benefit, listen. That's why the psalmist said bless the lord, oh my soul, and forget not his benefits. It's in there because people have a propensity to forget his benefits. You show me a downcast, depressed Christian. I'll show you a Christian who forgot the benefits.

24:38
For if, by one man's offense, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will what Will reign? Will reign, will reign in life through the one, jesus Christ. Number two what you have as a result of being in him immersed or baptized in Jesus, you have kingship To reign when? To reign In heaven? No, there's only one king in heaven and he doesn't need any ambassadors. It says so right in the verse to reign in life. To reign in life Right now. I'm speaking to royalty, in fact, that's why the Bible calls you a royal priesthood. You're bridge builders. That's what the word priest means a bridge maker Taking someone who's far from God and connecting them to the Lord. But it says you're a royal priesthood.

25:42
Some of you, you know this, you're living it. Others, you're even wondering if this is true, even though you see it and it's in the. He saved you so you could reign in life. Say this right now. Boys and girls Say it I'm a king, I'm a king, I'm royalty. Hallelujah, hallelujah, jesus.

26:15
Faith is released through your words. Yeah, faith is one half in your heart and one half in your mouth. Yeah, jesus is the high priest of your words, of your confession. Yeah, so then, change what you're saying. And some of you have been cursing yourselves. Cursing yourselves by not agreeing with the word of God. You say, when I say you've been cursing yourself, I'm not talking about like you stub your toe at 3 am, and you, I'm talking about when you say it's just the same old, same old. Oh, I'm tired, oh, money's tight, and you're speaking your circumstances nonstop as opposed to speaking the word of God. You're cursing yourself. Oh, I feel like I need to let a Selah moment I could. Really, this is different than the first service I can feel the.

27:20
A few weeks ago, almost a month ago now, I blew out my back. When I say I blew out my back, I mean I blew it out, which my chiropractor hates. When I say there are things chiropractors hate, don't come to them and say I have a pinched nerve, I threw out my back, I blew out my back. None of those are real terms. That's what we've made up. So when he told me that I always come into the office, doc, I really pinched my nerve and blew out my back. Real bad, and he laughs. I laugh, but I mean I blew it out expertly.

27:47
This time Is Nicole here? I was wondering for several. I said I was dead lifting and somebody shouted out. I knew it. I didn't know who it was. I was like that sounded like Nicole. She's a big core person and so I started working out again and it was just wonderful. Then I set up a gym in my basement. I thought I'm going to get back…. I work out at a really fancy place called Planet Fitness. It's the judgment-free zone, bro, if anybody judges. I hit that lunk alarm. But they don't have any heavy stuff, right. So I got a deadlift thing for my basement Because you can't get properly swole without deadlifting, right. But really deadlifting, if done properly, can really strengthen your back, and years before I've used it to heal my back and I've done it already weeks before Lightweight Not trying to be a show Lightweight, it's like picking up an Amazon box off the floor but something was off.

29:02
And on the first rep I just felt a pop and I was still fine. The very next day which was a Sunday, by the way I couldn't move, I couldn't roll over on my bed without squealing in agony. Just to get me over to the chiropractor was a whole ordeal. It persisted like that for days. I know this Pain is a very loud speaker.

29:23
The doctor would be like is it shooting pain or is it radiating pain? I don't know. It's pain. Well, from a 1 to a 10… An 11. It hurts.

29:33
There are other details I'm not even going to share. I shared with Pastor James he's not looked at me the same way since of what my life was reduced to. I mean, I heard, not day one, not day two, but by day three you hear the voice of the enemy, and I heard that voice very subtly and softly. But you're just messed up now. You'll never walk again. I heard that because I could not walk.

29:56
So what do you do then? Well, circumstances are saying one thing. Your pain is saying one thing. Those are all facts. You know what trumps facts? Truth, and the truth of God's word says by his stripes I was healed, so I began to agree with the word of God. It's almost hilarious how it goes. The moment I say Lord, I thank you that I'm here, pain starts shooting down or radiating or whatever it hurts. I say it again and I say it again the pain is saying one thing. My circumstance is saying the same thing, but the Word of God is saying the opposite. Whose report are you going to believe? I'm going to believe the report of the Lord. That's why the Bible says Let the weak say I am strong. Let the poor say I am Strong. Let the poor say I am Rich. Let the ugly say I am no. Hallelujah, so we have been given kingship. I'm trying to tell you if you're not experiencing kingship, he'll get you to the place, but you have to give your high priest something to work with. I was just thinking and the Lord prompted me to share Some of you guys and I guess I've wrestled with how transparent to be with my church.

31:23
I try to be very, very transparent, but I gotta be honest with you. When I am transparent, you send out a funny vibe, so I don't know if I should continue, and that's the thing. My dream is that I just hide nothing and tell you everything. But every time I go like this, you guys are, like, you know, put your clothes back on or something. I'm like part of my job is living open so that you can see and to be an example of what the Lord is doing, so I'll just stop caring and let it go, because you guys know, we moved to Long Island, we got a house, and I've shared about the blessing and the financial blessing of the Lord, but I haven't gotten into such specific details.

32:01
But let me just say this as recently as five years ago, 2019, emily and I typically had anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 in our bank account, and that's all the money we had, and I was content because we were debt-free. So on the one side, we're debt-free, but at any given time, we have $2,000 to $3,000, which I fell into just like oh yeah, that's a nice pillow, a nice cushion, except when a hot water tank would break down or there was an emergency that always kind of throw us off, but I was so happy with, just after being in debt for years, that the Lord had brought us into debt freedom. But how many of you know and I'm a tither and I give offerings, and what we'd always have was anywhere, always under three grand, more than a thousand. And then I sensed the Lord prompting me to push, push against that barrier, push. I want to take you higher, I want to take you to a place that's better, the place of overflow, the place of abundance.

33:15
And then, in May of 19, and the only reason we had extra money was our tax refund just came in. So once a year then we would go up to like six, seven, eight thousand. And then, and I bought my first Bitcoin for fifty three hundred dollars, didn't even know what it was. Then I began studying. It realized it's the best money on planet earth, the hardest money on planet earth, the scarcest money on planet earth, and I want to go all in on this. So I, I then borrowed, I went on leverage, I, I, I and the Lord transformed our finances to where before, when I wanted to bless somebody, I'd give them a $50 bill. Or if I was the Lord touched me to be somebody, I'd give them a $50 bill, or if the Lord touched me to be very generous, I'd give them a $100 Pentecostal handshake. And lately I can't tell you how many checks for $10,000 I've written out Not personally.

34:08
And the Lord, when I check in with heaven, the Lord is saying how far do you want to take this? It's up to you. How far do you want to take this? It's up to you. How far do you want to take this? Will you agree with what my word says about you? Will you agree with me? You know what the word says?

34:23
That when the queen of Sheba went to Solomon's house and saw all of his stuff, because of the anointing, because of the favor, because of the blessing of God, it says there was no more spirit within her. That's poetic language, for she fainted, she fainted, she hit the deck, she thought she was all that. Then she saw the Solomon's wealth and she saw his gates. It says, oh, she saw his banqueting table. Oh, she saw how his servants were dressed. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, hallelujah, yeah, god wants to lift you up higher in every way and use you as a trophy of his goodness and of his grace, so you can relieve suffering and expand the kingdom of God all over the world. Hallelujah. So let's say this I have kingship. I have received abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. I reign as a king in my domain, in this life, through Jesus Christ. Shout out hallelujah, hallelujah. And my eyes are falling on you, brian, because you know when I think about when part of that happened.

35:50
Do you remember when we were leaving Madison Square Garden in 2019? It was fall, and I asked you what did you think of the meeting? And you said it feels like barriers. Do you remember? Really? I felt the same thing. We're like, wow, the Lord will just… Because we have these barriers that the world puts on us, that people put on us, and then we agree with people and the world and then we put these limiting barriers and then God comes in by his anointing and just wants to blow all that out. Hallelujah. Some of you are not going to be content with just being like a dead fish floating downstream. You're going to be a barrier breaker. In Jesus' name, hallelujah, hallelujah. All right, number three, all right, number three.

36:41
We're talking about things, five things that you have, that you can confess that you have, because the Bible says you have it Romans 8.37,. You have the victory, it says in Romans 8.37,. Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors. More than conquerors through him who loved us More than conquerors is the Greek word hupernikeo, which, when I was studying this out back in my early 20s, I was delighted to find out that my Nike sneakers are actually from that word, from the Greek Nike, which means victory, yeah, or conquering, the conquering victor. But this is hypernikeo, like hypernikeo, like more than above a conqueror, and the Bible says that's who you are now.

37:37
Now think about how many times you hear voices and you agree with that say the exact opposite. You're a loser, you're nothing, you're just crawling through life. Hey, I let you in on a secret when I counsel with people, everyone hears this. You know it's also hilarious to me. Everyone thinks they're the only one, like they look around the room here and they go. I must be the only one that battles these thoughts because everyone else seems so happy. No, I don't care where you're at, in the Lord, you're going to hear those thoughts. Satan loves to say good morning to you and greet you with those thoughts. So, once again, whose report are you going to believe Now?

38:13
The word says that you're more than a conqueror. Now, when I was first saved, we couldn't get anything online. The internet didn't exist. So you go to the Christian bookstore and they had art, and usually associated with that verse was some kind of painting of a bloody Christian warrior at the top of a mountain. He barely made it, though. His armor is in tatters. He's bloodied up from the battle. His sword is hanging down. But he's more than a conqueror. That's typical of man, because it's so proud. He's the one fighting and he's the one doing the work. That's not what Hooper and Ikeo more than a conqueror means. Here's what more than a conqueror means.

38:57
Think of a prize fighter in a heavyweight championship fight $50 million purse. We have our fighter going against the opponent 15 rounds. He's fighting the first round, second round, third round, fourth round, up to 15 rounds. In the 15th round, our hero, the prize fighter, knocks the opponent down. Ding, ding, ding, wins the $50 million purse, looks at the front row, his wife is sitting there gleaming. He winks at her and he gives her the $50 million purse. Now he is a conqueror. Yeah, what is she More than a conqueror, she?

39:34
What is she? More than a conqueror? She's Hooper Nikkeo. That's what Jesus did for us. There is a rest in that. That means that we don't have to get bloodied up and battered. That means no matter what's happening in your life, it is right and it is proper to speak God's truth. You're more than a conqueror, especially when the opposite of what you want to happen is happening in your life. Sometimes it'll feel when you're on the verge of a breakthrough. Often it'll feel like the exact opposite is happening.

40:10
Come on, I'll never forget living in the basement the basement, it wasn't the basement of a church, the church was the basement and I lived in that thing for five and a half years, no windows, and I would hear thoughts. It would be like Satan not just messing with me, but like torturing me. I'd be going to bed and I would hear in the silence the scratching of mice above the wood ceiling. I would hear thoughts like Look what you've done to your life. You've wrecked your life with this ministry business. You've just ruined…. You got a college degree. What's that worth? Now you can't do anything. Look at your church. There's like eight people in it. You're losing. You're a loser. You're a losing loser.

41:02
That's what I'd hear in my head and that's where the battle begins. And that's why every fight you will have is in the arena of faith Believing God's word, no matter what you're, you got to be stubborn. Faith believing God's word, no matter what you're, you gotta be stubborn. Well, a holy stubbornness has to seize you where you believe God's worth, despite what your circumstances and environment is hollering at you Hallelujah. And right before the thing broke and this happened several times it seemed like the attack was highest and the opposite of what I wanted was happening. Is this ministering to anyone this morning? Okay, number four, oh wait, we got to do the yeah, victory.

41:50
Say this out loud and just note, note, note what's happening in your own spirit as you say these words. Say them with heart, say them with passion, say them with faith and know that Jesus is taking your words as your high priest and presenting them to God. The Father. You ready. Jesus has conquered sin and death. Jesus has destroyed the works of the devil and has given me his victory. I do not trust in my own ability to fight. I trust in Jesus, who has already won every battle for me. I am more than a conqueror. Amen, amen, listen, yeah, you see the shift in the spirit. I love you, but I just know I've been doing this for a while. You get to know some stuff after a while, right, and I just know this is the first loving, positive thing you've said about yourself.

42:55
In weeks You've been complaining, you've been whining, you've been text complaining and text whining. You've been posting negatively. It's easy to fall into that, but it's not giving Jesus anything to work with and it's not releasing faith. It's releasing the opposite and some of you have been taken captive by the words of your own mouth. That's all being undone right now and some of you, god is aligning and God is taking the lid and the ceiling off. Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah.

43:26
Ephesians 2.1. We're at number four, ephesians 2.1. And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, verse 4 Even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, he made us alive. Oh, sorry, but God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved and raised us up. Shout together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Keep that verse up there, will you? Number four, and this, by the way, is where all of our authority comes from.

44:25
As Christians, it is the truth that we have been already raised up. You know, every Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. We're not just celebrating his resurrection, we're celebrating our resurrection because we were raised together with him and, even though physically, right now we're at 4401 Broadway, in the spirit we're connected to Jesus. He's in us, we're in him and, according to the scriptures, we're seated together in heavenly places in Christ. So picture Christ on the throne. Where's the father on the throne? Don't start with that whole. Well, jesus is at the right hand of the father. Like what do you think You're going to go to heaven? And the father's on a throne and Jesus is like the little boy. The right hand of the father isn't a geographic position, it's a term that means that the place of prominence and authority.

45:18
When John went to revelation, he said I saw the one, I saw the one. Not I saw the three or the two, I saw the one. Who was the one? Yes, the father, jesus, the Holy Spirit. And then, in another place, the Holy Spirit is seven lambs and Jesus is a lamb. It's crazy up there. Our natural finite minds can't even comprehend. But he said I saw the one. We are in him, seated in heavenly places in Christ, and the Bible says he raised us up. Yeah, hester, go to that verse. Hester's such a sweetheart In between service she's like. I found that verse.

46:01
Far above all princes, not just, not just above right, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. That means you have authority. When we renounce spirits, cast out demons, when we pray, the devil is going to question you. By what authority do you do this? If you don't know it, he's already been questioning you. That's probably why you don't do it. You don't do it because the voice in your head says what are you doing?

46:40 - Speaker 2
You don't know this doesn't work. This doesn't work for you.

46:46 - Speaker 1
The Bible says Jesus gave you the keys and he's given you all authority. It says after his resurrection he got all authority. He got the keys, he immediately gave it over to the church. So when I command the devil to leave, it's not just me talking, I'm representing Jesus. It's like Jesus himself talking when I go into my house. I go into my house and I say this is a place of blessing, this is a place of great favor, this is a place where the oil of heaven flows. Only good things happen in this place.

47:17
I can do that Because one it's my home. I can't just walk into a 7-Eleven and do that. I don't own it, but it's my home and I can take authority in the spirit realm because I have been elevated. I'm far above all principality and power and might and that's why you can rebuke devils, that's why they must obey. Even if you have low spiritual self-esteem and you think you're the little toe on the foot of the body of Christ, even if you're the little toe, you're still far above all principality and power.

47:54
You know, when the wall was up the communist wall, the iron curtain and there was an East and West Germany, kenneth Hagin said get my book on the believer's authority into East Germany and within 10 years that wall will fall. I'm not saying it was that, but I'm not saying it wasn't. But within 10 years that wall fell because he knew if believers could just understand who they are in Christ and exercise their God-given authority, it would change the whole system. Yeah, and for some of you, you just need to start exerting the Jesus authority that he gave you in your own life. Start there. Don't worry about giant geographical matters. Start with your own life. Hallelujah, see, somebody's going to catch this and actually go to work with it and others are going to go.

48:43
Well, that was really nice. That was nice. I feel better. Please don't ever tell me it was a nice sermon, rather just don't say anything. But if I die before the rapture I put on my tombstone he wasn't nice.

49:02
Nice is the devil loves nice. Nice, don't be nice, satan isn't. Be a table turner, a table flipper over. Be like the apostles when they said those who've turned the whole world upside down, those troublemakers. They're here too. Let's confess it. You're seated in heavenly places.

49:33
By the way, you don't have to be weird about this. Right Like right now. I'm trying to teach you. So we're all confessing it. You don't have to be weird about this. Right like right now I'm trying to teach you. So we're all confessing it. You don't have to be weird about it throughout your day.

49:43
Agree with the word of god. Find the word of god where it says you have something and just speak those things. Yeah. That doesn't mean you have to be religious and weird. It doesn't mean you can't open up to anyone like some people get carried away with this teaching, mean you can't open up to anyone Like some people get carried away with this teaching and they can't even say I have a headache, you see them in pain. You're like what's up, man, oh, I'm the healed of the Lord, highly favored and blessed. Yeah, but you look miserable. What's going on? Well, I can't say yeah, you can. You don't have to say it all the time, all week long, but you can tell me what's wrong. Amen. Like it's good to have Bonnie Andrews His whole family's here.

50:28
Actually he came in. I wasn't expecting him. He said where's your wife? I said she's backslidden man. He laughed. I laughed. She said you know somebody religious. How could you say that? Now you cursed your wife. Just take a chill pill, man, relax, I'm not going to.

50:42
I joked with my friend. She's in Pennsylvania, it's graduation season. She has a niece who graduated high school, a bunch of birthdays. They're having the time of their lives. You can have some close friends, confide in them, talk about what you're going through, but there's folks they don't know how to turn that off and they're just I say this with love their mouth is like an open pit of cesspool. Just, they have diarrhea of the mouth and they're cursing themselves. Doesn't sound like they're cursing, but even every exhale, you know? No, I don't know. Why. Don't you tell me what does the word say? Agree with that? Did we do the confession? Yet I don't even know where we are right now.

51:34
All right, say this I was crucified with Christ. I was crucified with Christ when he was made alive. I was made alive with him. I was raised up together with him. I was raised up together with him and made to sit together With him in heavenly places. Today, positionally, I am seated with Christ in heavenly places. Hallelujah, worship team. Come on up. I got one more here, number five. I realize I mentioned Kenneth Hagin.

52:18
Let me read this quote to you from him the majority of Christians, though sincere, are weak. This is because they never really dared confess what God's word says about them. They have never dared confess that they are what the Bible says they are, that they are who the Bible says they are and that they have what the Bible says they have. Well, that's not going to be the case. At City Light, we're raising up a generation of believers who know who they are in Jesus and who dare to agree with what the word says about who they are in Jesus. And you'll find some areas of your life quickly line up with the word of God, other areas.

53:08
There is a battle. Where's the battle? In the arena of faith, hallelujah. You know, just statistically speaking, in the natural. Church planting in New York City Is harder than anywhere else in the country In the natural. Having large, influential churches is harder In New York City than, say, texas or the vast majority of the country. That's in the natural. So we have this battle, we can't ignore it. There of the country that's in the natural. So we have this battle, we can't ignore it. There's a battle, but it's in the arena of faith. So we're going to continue preaching, lifting up Jesus, declaring the gospel and believing that he wants to bring revival to the country, to the city, and use us. Use us, we get to be a part of it and we're going to keep believing.

53:58
And then when you, you know what happens. When you believe, you act that way, yeah, and when you really believe you speak that way. Earlier I said I'll know what you're believing by what you're saying, and same goes true with your life. What are you believing Now? What are you hoping in general, specifically for this summer? What are you believing God for? Ask him, find word that covers your request and begin to agree with God's Word and watch your high priest, watch him in action. He's never failed me yet.

54:32
Number five Ephesians 1 3. We did five things that you have. Let me just recap them real quick. Number one you have realized promises because you have the righteousness of God. Number two you have kingship. Number three you have the victory. Number four you're seated with him in heavenly places. And number five you have every spiritual blessing.

54:55
Ephesians 1.3. Fall in love with the past tense of God's word. You see how that says blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, jesus Christ, who has blessed us. See that ED part. Take your physical Bible, highlight the ED, then take the red marker out, circle it. Take the blue marker out, put three lines underneath. This is what a good 1980s Bible used to look like. It's color-coded. It's when you knew you were serious, ed. He has blessed Past tense. Do you know the whole world is saved? In potential format. Did you know that Jesus took away everyone's sins? See, people were getting real nervous. Oh no, uh-oh. I knew pastor was positive, but is he becoming one of those like universalists? No, just listen. In potential format, jesus did away with sin. It was nailed to the cross. John the Baptist saw him a far ways off and said Behold the Lamb of God, who what? He takes away the sin of the world.

55:59 - Speaker 2
Is everybody saved?

56:01 - Speaker 1
No, because they haven't agreed with God's word yet. That says that they are. Maybe nobody told them, maybe someone told them they didn't believe, but the moment they agree and go, I believe, I believe and I confess and I agree with God's word that Jesus came sinless into the world to save sinners. The gift of eternal life is deposited into their spirit, and that's how it is, for everything Agree with God's word and you receive. You know, I feel like I could keep preaching, preaching, but I feel to stop on that point. Number five may fall a little flat and we have a confession there, but I want you just to bow your heads right now. Thank you Jesus, thank you Lord.

56:56
I remember I'm speaking to several people now. I remember a few years back in the mid 2000s, because I'd taken a bunch of lumps on the head. The Lord said you have wounded faith. You need your faith healed. He said you've got wounded faith, he said because some things didn't work out the way you thought they were going to work out. And now you're chicken, you're crawling, you're cowering, you're not really believing me because you think you're going to be let down. But even with those things that didn't go the way you thought they'd go. Have I left you? Have I ever been bad to you? And I said no, lord. Still you took things that happened that were bad, which really I had no one to blame but myself. And actually, when I look back, you turned my trash into gold.

57:50 - Speaker 2
You made all things work together for the good.

57:52 - Speaker 1
So I don't know why I have wounded faith, for I got duped, I got tricked. The Lord is healing wounded faith right now and calling you to believe again.

58:03 - Speaker 2
Hallelujah. 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, 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 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.