I Saw the Lord

(0:00 - 0:14) When I finally see the Lord, like Isaiah saw the Lord, I don't have to fear about what's coming in the next year. When you finally see the Lord, anything can come your way. Good, bad, ugly, indifferent. (0:14 - 0:22) You can look at that thing and go, and I got the Lord with me. Welcome to the CityLight Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today. (0:22 - 0:55) As we look into God's word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us. If you want to connect with CityLight Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com. That's citylightnyc.com. 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. (0:58 - 1:03) Good morning, church. Good morning, everybody. Again, my name is Mohamed. (1:03 - 1:09) I'm one of the pastors here. Man, God is good. Oh, they let the cat out of the bag, praise God. (1:10 - 1:29) Well, let's just dive right into it. Today's gonna be, again, today's gonna be a little bit of a different service because today is very much about us reflecting backwards and thanking God for all the things that he has done this year, amen? Amen. So we're actually gonna start in the book of Isaiah. (1:30 - 1:43) I promised the worship team that I was going to take five minutes, get out of their ways that we can continue to worship God through song. Didn't work in the first service. I ain't gonna lie, it didn't work. (1:43 - 1:53) The worship was heavy and it was hard, and I got up here and the Lord was flowing. I looked at the time, I was like, oh, snap, it's time for the second service. So we're gonna see if the Lord does better. (1:54 - 2:16) AKA, if I do better, because he did his part, I just didn't follow the plan. Isaiah six, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim, each one had six wings. (2:17 - 2:34) With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. (2:37 - 3:05) It has been over 2,500 years since the death of King Uzziah, so it is difficult for us to imagine the sheer disaster that his death was to the prophet Isaiah. King Uzziah was the only king Isaiah had known, having reigned well in Jerusalem for 52 years. At his death, the nation remembered Uzziah as their best and brightest ruler since King Solomon, so that was a big deal, because Israel had a lot of up and downs when it came to rulers. (3:06 - 3:32) Some rulers were outright idol worshipers, and some rulers did what they could to honor the Lord, to make Yahweh the preeminence. A lot of them didn't, so when you have Uzziah, he started at the age of 16, and he did what was right before the Lord, practically his entire life. And I say practically because he only, he had one faux pas at the very end of his life due to pride, but it wasn't because he turned from the Lord. (3:32 - 3:58) He actually tried to do too much for the Lord, and that could be a problem as well. Having King Uzziah on the throne meant peace and prosperity for the people, but Uzziah was dead, and it felt like it would be all downhill from there. Isaiah experienced a deep sense of loss for his nation and his people. (4:00 - 4:10) There was fear. I mean, add to the fact that there was a new superpower in town, the Assyrians, they were threatening invasion. Isaiah didn't know what to do. (4:10 - 4:28) The future that laid ahead of him was one of fear and turmoil. He was tormented not knowing what was to come. Now, Isaiah doesn't usually date his writings or his visions, but he does want the readers to know when he heard the Lord's call over his life. (4:29 - 4:42) It was in the year that King Uzziah died. It was when he began to fear what was happening in his nation that he went to the temple to pray. It was while he was in the temple that he saw the Lord. (4:42 - 5:00) But, ooh, he saw the Lord high and lifted up. Have you seen the Lord? I saw the Lord this year. Hallelujah. (5:02 - 5:27) Uzziah was no longer on his throne, but the Lord was on his. Isaiah wants us to know that despite all that one can dread concerning the future or the fears of man, God is still on the throne. You got some people looking at 2026 like, I don't know what's going to happen. (5:28 - 5:37) AI is going to take my job. God is still on the throne. Well, World War III might be happening. (5:38 - 5:48) The orange president, he's still in there. I got a couple more years I got to hold out. God is still on the throne. (5:50 - 6:04) But, Pastor Mo, you don't know all the different things that happened to me in 2025. You said it was a year of manifested abundance, but it's just been a year of manifested busted. Listen, for some people, that's what it was. (6:05 - 6:14) I'm not going to lie to you. 2025, manifested abundance. We started the year, and that was the vision we were proclaiming. (6:15 - 6:25) We believed that that's what the Lord told us was coming for his people, and we tried to prepare everybody from January one. Listen, this is the year for it. Grab hold of it, appropriate it by faith. (6:26 - 6:42) And I came again, June, this very table, this very spot. I said, hey, don't forget, this is the year of manifested abundance. And you want to know how the Lord got me? This thing called manifested abundance? It is not by wisdom. (6:44 - 6:59) It is not by the witty maneuverings of one Pastor Mo. My wife would tell you that. It happened because I just looked at him and said, I see you high and lifted up. (7:00 - 7:32) It wasn't because I was worrying about the external things that are outside, not worrying about bills, not worrying about pains in the body, not worrying about diagnoses, not worrying about AI, not worrying about jobs, not worrying about... Listen, there are some people, they feel like the end of the world is coming and they are pissed. God, you just gave me my man, and all of a sudden everything is going to hell in a handbasket. What's this about Jesus? And other people on the other end like, man, 2025 is crazy. (7:32 - 7:38) My man treated me, he was like a dog. Oh, they don't know about it. Look at him, look at him. (7:39 - 7:46) You ain't talking about me. Holding her man tight, she said, you ain't talking about me. Wow. (7:48 - 7:55) She gave me the gaze like, you better look away. Praise God, boo. Praise God. (8:01 - 8:22) Regardless of all the different things that can happen, you have to remember like Isaiah did, that God is now seated on the throne. That's the thing that we miss. If you would properly see him as he is, you would be able to navigate every single circumstance in your life. (8:22 - 8:27) Good, bad, ugly, and indifferent. Good, bad, ugly, and indifferent. What do you mean? How you navigate the good things. (8:27 - 8:37) Those things just happen. No, they don't. Did you know that good things can derail you? Good things can be the enemy to great things. (8:38 - 9:15) You can get so familiar and so content in a good thing that it'll stop you from truly achieving and reaching for the great thing that is within God's will. How about you can fumble a good thing? You ever pray so long for the thing that you wanted and God gave it to you and you, I'm sorry, Jesus, can I have another one? Oh, y'all lying today and Pastor Mo's the only one. Listen, I'm just trying to get you to get out of your own head and get out of this space of performance Christianity. (9:17 - 9:36) I am a living example that everything in my life I've received because of God's unmerited grace and mercy. I said this in the first service and my wife wasn't here. So she wasn't here to be embarrassed by what I have to say now, praise God. (9:38 - 9:42) But that was her choice to come to church. She knew. She knew I was preaching today. (9:42 - 9:47) She knew what was gonna happen. But she still came. God bless her. (9:50 - 10:02) But no, I said it in the first service. Everything in my life I have, I know I don't deserve. Yo, this year I moved into a house that I didn't pay for. (10:04 - 10:24) Can we talk about manifest and abundance for a minute? Like in reality, we were probably 10 years out from home ownership just because of the natural, like, you know, we manage our, we don't live above our means. We manage things well, but you know, you gotta deal with the repercussions of past decisions and before Christ. How about that? The BCH. (10:27 - 10:41) You gotta work your way up. And that's the way the things of this worldly system works, where certain people have to say, according to their check measures, this is what you can do and what you can't do. And God was like, you don't stop him. (10:42 - 10:49) If I want him to have a house, he's gonna have a house. Bang, got a house. But again, I think back to my wife. (10:52 - 11:05) I don't deserve the blessing that she is. Now, you guys can look momentarily, and I don't mean to objectify my wife. You can look momentarily, and you can recognize that she is a bombshell. (11:07 - 11:15) Momentarily, fellas. Your moment has passed. The scripture says your season is done. (11:19 - 11:33) But for those of you who know her, you know that that's not the true richness of why I'm blessed. Because she's more beautiful inside than she is out. Type A, aggressive, going for it in every facet of her life. (11:34 - 11:44) Just amazing, always thinking about others first. Listen, God could've gave me a hedgehog based on my history, and I would've been like, thanks, Lord. Because that's what I deserve. (11:46 - 11:55) Oh, you guys don't know what a hedgehog is. Creature, ugly creature with spikes all over it. Every time you try to embrace, ah! You get poked. (11:55 - 12:05) Oh, okay, praise God. He could've gave me that, and that would've been enough. But God saw fit to go, you know what? I'm gonna give him what he doesn't deserve. (12:05 - 12:14) Every day that he wakes up and looks over to his left, he'll know God is good and God is real. Aw, you ain't saying it. I'm gonna say it, amen. (12:15 - 12:24) Hallelujah. My life. So, I turned 44 December 16th. (12:25 - 12:32) Oh, praise God, praise God. I know, I drank a lot of water, don't look like it. Don't look like it. (12:35 - 13:37) Sitting having dinner with my wife, and she looked over, because I have a little rack of where, you know, like you walk in the house, you take off your little shoes, you put it on the little rack. And she looked over, she's like, how many shoes you got this past week? I was like, I don't wanna bring it up, because what you guys don't know is every shoe that I get means less closet space for her. And we were laughing about it, because she was just like, this entire month, the only thing that the saints have been asking her is what is my shoe size? I was like, seriously? She's like, listen, since December 1, they don't even say hi, they go, hey, do you know Pastor Mo's shoe size? Which is only hilarious, right? Because when we got married, I think I had what, close to 200 shoes? But before we moved into the new spot, because she didn't say it, but she said it, she was just like looking at everything like, wow, a lot of them. (13:38 - 13:56) So it's like, I knew, all right, you gotta make the sacrifice in marriage, amen? So I whittled it down to like 40? Yeah, that's a lot, that's a lot. See, praise God, celebrate that. Oh. (14:00 - 14:21) But it's been growing, because like I said, people have been asking, and just this season alone, from December 16th till now, the Lord has blessed me with four more pair that I didn't buy. And again, it's only hilarious, because she was looking at them lovingly like, wow, look at the Lord. Look at the Lord. (14:21 - 14:36) Amen. It's the good things that the Lord will do if you would take your eyes off of yourself. You know, the Bible says, magnify the Lord with me. (14:36 - 14:54) And I think we miss what that means sometimes. When you magnify the Lord, what you're really doing is you're seeing him as he actually is. You're actually putting into relief, and the proper perspective where everything else belongs, because God is so big. (14:55 - 15:15) You are magnifying and giving him his proper placement. Amen? So when I finally see the Lord, like Isaiah saw the Lord, I don't have to fear about what's coming in the next year. When you finally see the Lord, anything can come your way. (15:16 - 15:43) Good, bad, ugly, indifferent, you can look at that thing and go, and I got the Lord with me. I remember one time I was preaching, and the Lord gave me something, and I was a little thrown off, like, Lord, you know gang culture? What's that about? I said, you know, I can go into a knife fight very comfortable if I know that I have a gun. Oh, I guess it's just me and the Lord that know that life. (15:44 - 15:55) Praise God. But I remember the Lord telling me that, like, I'm loaded. You can go into any situation in the world knowing I got your back. (15:56 - 16:16) And it gave me a sense of security and confidence where I'm not gonna stress anymore about the things that I see, knowing the things that he said. Because if he said it, consider it done. The problem comes when God says it, and we believe for a second, and then we act like he didn't say it. (16:17 - 16:25) I don't wanna hear about what you believe. I wanna hear about what is the direction of your feet. Your feet will tell me what you actually believe. (16:27 - 16:52) Are you calling your friends to complain about the situation? Are you standing firm knowing that God is going to make a way? Yeah, it's a talkback church, but they real quiet. Praise God. God is good. (16:54 - 17:04) And all the time? All right. As we hit 2026, all you need to remember is that he is unaffected by all of these worldly things of man. God is still on the throne. (17:05 - 17:29) Your God is fully aware of all of the happenings on earth, and he is unmoved. He is still present to bless you, keep you, and cause the light of his face to shine on you and give you favor and great grace in the sight of God and man, because you're one of his own. Amen? So today is a day of thanksgiving and remembrance as we look back at some of the glorious things that he has done this past year and worship him through song. (17:30 - 17:35) First Thessalonians 5.16 says this. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. (17:36 - 18:11) In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. So we started the year with a mandate from the Lord concerning manifested abundance, and we saw so much of this. I can give you testimony after testimony, not just of things in my life, but things in other people's lives where we've seen the Lord show up and start burgeoning relationships, people that they will be married within the next six months because God's goodness has come and said, bang! See, all the single people like, mm, must be nice. (18:12 - 18:26) Yeah, it will be for you when you grab hold of the fact that, see, all right. Got to preach it. I'm just here to present to you the goodness of the things that the Lord has done this year, amen? Part of manifested abundance is not just in physical riches and coin. (18:27 - 18:39) The greatest miracle that happens on earth is salvation. One of the greatest riches that we can have is people turning to the Lord and having their lives transformed. So we had water baptisms in May and in November. (18:39 - 18:52) In May, we had, I think, 50 souls. 50 give their lives to the Lord and stand as a witness and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. And in November, we had another 25 to add to the mix. (18:54 - 19:01) That's 75 people just coming to the Lord and truly, here's the thing. It's not just with words. They testified with their life. (19:01 - 19:47) They stood before witnesses and declared Jesus Christ is Lord. Let's play that baptism video. ♪ It's true and it's faithful ♪ ♪ It's our strength when we are weak ♪ ♪ Jesus, your love is strong and selfless ♪ ♪ There's no power that can separate us ♪ ♪ There's nothing like, nothing like it ♪ ♪ A love that can't break us down ♪ The reason you see everybody smiling and rejoicing like that, you might not be able to pick it up from the video, but the presence of the Lord was in that room in such a powerful way. (19:49 - 20:00) It was glorious. It's like God winked whenever we do the things that he said. He commanded, be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (20:04 - 20:14) Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. (20:19 - 20:26) So I'm gonna show you a few videos and I'll narrate as we go through. We're gonna show you some videos from the healing rooms. Not yet. (20:26 - 20:38) See, they always coming in hot. They always coming in hot. So with the healing rooms, we pray for the sick once a month, every month, and we have seen such tremendous testimony. (20:39 - 20:57) People getting healed of blood diseases, people getting healed of physical ailments. We had one guy come in, literally one of his legs was shorter than the other one, unbeknownst to him. He comes in with back pain, and one of the volunteers is like, why are you standing like that? It's like, what are you talking about? And literally you could see it, like his gait was off. (20:57 - 21:07) They prayed for him and watched one of his legs grow out. Like these are the type of powerful things. God is still in the healing business today. (21:07 - 21:17) The Bible says that he is the same yesterday, today, and for? Ever. So let's watch these healing room videos. Hi Michelle. (21:18 - 21:34) Hey guys, this is Michelle and this is Everett. He just came to healing rooms at CityLight Church, and he has a testimony to tell us. So you came in with some back pain, right? Yeah, back pain, if I was standing on my back, I would feel pressure on my back. (21:36 - 21:45) And then when I came to the healing room, they prayed for me. They saw that my left leg was sliding out of my body. It took me longer than this leg. (21:45 - 22:01) So they prayed for me, and then God did the, he get the job done, and I'm standing now, and I don't feel the pressure on my back again. I feel much relief in my lower back. Praise God, and I'm so happy and blessed. (22:02 - 22:06) Hallelujah. Jesus grew out his leg, hallelujah. Praise the Lord. (22:06 - 22:15) Let's go. Thank you, Jesus. My friend Cynthia, she's been coming to the church for a couple years, but she was going through some back pain. (22:15 - 22:44) Do you want to tell us about what you were dealing with? Yeah, so I had a lumbar back pain that was touching my sciatic nerves. There was one of the teeth that was herniated, and I was just going through unbearable pain since December last year. So I had a surgery four months ago, went through the surgery process, and I was telling me, going to PT, getting injections, literally doing everything on my own until today. (22:44 - 23:00) Yeah, how much pain was it, would you say? I couldn't, yeah, it was extreme. Even at the church service, I couldn't be sitting without the pain. It was torture for me to be sitting more than 20 minutes, even laying down. (23:00 - 23:12) Yeah, even this morning, you were in pain when you came to Helium's, right? Yes. Even this morning, I woke up with a lot of pain. Even in my groin, I was walking, and I was in pain. (23:13 - 23:34) Yeah, and you were kind of saying, I can't even deal with this pain, it's on that insane level, right? Yeah. So what happened today when you came and you started praying? So even when I was sitting and waiting for you guys, I was already in pain, and I got fully healed. I was telling you that I feel so relieved because you guys put hands on me. (23:34 - 23:45) We pray, we believe that God will do it, and the pain went away. I couldn't be bending down. I couldn't be on my knees. (23:46 - 23:51) Yeah. I couldn't stand up by myself. Can you bend down now? I can't. (23:51 - 23:56) Let's see it. You couldn't do that before? Don't talk about it, be about it. No, no. (23:57 - 24:03) Jesus! I can't do that, it's just a miracle. Yeah, do you have any pain now at all? Not at all. Wow. (24:04 - 24:15) Praise God, glory to God. Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus. Listen, that's just two of the many that we've seen throughout the year. (24:15 - 24:30) God just constantly, again and again and again, showing that he is real. It's one thing, I love this, because he doesn't just show up to do the things that you can't see. Like somebody gets saved, praise God, we'll see in heaven, we'll know for sure. (24:30 - 24:46) Man, they're with us, they made it. But it's like in the practical, when you're at a nine level of pain, and then that goes down to a zero, and you're like, oh. Like there's something powerful to that when the unseen becomes seen. (24:47 - 24:55) When the intangible becomes tangible, it's something that you can touch, hold, and feel. And remember, we walk by sight. We walk by faith, not by sight. (24:55 - 25:17) Don't say right. But it is a powerful thing to watch God move in our midst in a very tangible way that we can see and touch for ourselves, amen? So give God a round of applause for that. So another thing that we like to do here at CityLight, and if you don't know this, we like to party. (25:18 - 25:40) We do like to party because our God likes to party. And everything that we do here at CityLight in serving this city as a house of worship, giving you a place where you can be a part of it, where you can come and truly glorify the Lord. And even the things that we do across seas through Global Compassion, all of it is only possible by the amazing men and women of God that volunteer and give of their time to serve. (25:40 - 25:52) So we can't do what we do without the volunteers, so we make sure that the volunteers are well served. So this is a video of a little thank you that we give to the volunteers. Amen. (25:52 - 26:09) Wait, you never had period? Never! Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry. Listen, this ain't no church party, it ain't boring. So just know this, if you're not on the volunteer team, this is how we celebrate. (26:10 - 26:31) We party, there are awards, and it's a good time overall, amen? Okay. We had a grand old time. Literally rented a whole venue, a rooftop venue, because we've done land and sea before, so we figured, you know what, let's go to the air and let's celebrate. (26:32 - 27:21) We had a rooftop celebration brunch for all of the volunteers, and it was a glorious time, praise God. Yes, there was a DJ, praise God. Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry. (27:21 - 28:02) I got the juice like Chopper Cannon, I say what I feel, it lives in my hand and my throat. Praise all of our team leaders, they serve so gracefully, Sunday after Sunday. So our volunteer of the year award went to Anika. (28:08 - 28:25) See, and because I was a sneaker guy, I handed her a shoebox, and she immediately thought she knew what it was. Lord bless her with an iPhone as our NOVA award winner volunteer of the year. We have the best volunteers in the world, let me just go ahead and say that publicly. (28:28 - 29:11) Only 10 countries I've scored and Mike said everybody else called him. So I got a question, does that look boring? Does that look like something you want to be a part of? Sign up to volunteer. So for the next one, we partner, we, part of CityLight, we do local compassion, all of what we do here being a house of worship, being the kingdom of God, being a place of accountability and community, but we also have a far reaching hand as well. (29:11 - 29:34) And it's amazing for the size church that we have, our global impact is phenomenal. The amount of money that we give to help support the kingdom of God overseas, it doesn't make sense for our size church to be able to do what we do. So one of the people in Ethiopia, not even one of the people, the founder, she made a video just thanking us for some of the things that they saw happen this year. (29:34 - 29:50) So let's play that video from the Grace Center. Hi, Pastor Boyan and everyone at CityLight. We're so very grateful for you and your amazing partnership with us at Grace Center. (29:50 - 29:58) I want you to know we could not do this without you. Thank you so much. I want to share with you a bit about what has happened in Ethiopia over the last year. (30:03 - 30:21) In August, Bar Hadar, Ethiopia faced devastating political unrest. Over 2000 people were killed within 48 hours just in the neighborhood surrounding Grace Center. You can see here that the news that is covered doesn't come close to reflecting the reality of what we are seeing on the ground in Ethiopia. (30:22 - 30:37) Communication has been difficult as well with the internet being shut off. We have seen extreme tragedy, but continue to see God moving in miraculous ways. And we continue to pray for God's protection over all innocent people in this region. (30:38 - 30:57) For a couple of months, Grace Center was the only program continuing to operate in Bar Hadar, a city of about half a million people. Despite the risks to their own lives, our staff continued their work at Grace Center. Their commitment reflects their dedication to serving those in need, regardless of the surrounding chaos. (30:58 - 31:13) My family and I spent several months in Ethiopia last year at Grace Center. It was truly a blessing to be with the amazing people at Grace Center and vital for us to have spent time there. Thank you so much for your partnership with Grace Center. (31:13 - 31:22) I want you to know that you are saving and transforming thousands of lives. God bless you. Hi, Pastor Boyan and everyone at CityLight. (31:23 - 31:33) So here's the thing. The Grace Center feeds over a thousand people every day. They double as an orphan prevention center, an orphanage, childcare. (31:34 - 31:57) They literally take women who, because in Bar Hadar, Ethiopia, when you get pregnant, it's pretty much a death sentence if you don't have a full system around you. Some of the women get pregnant there and throw their babies to the side of the road. So not only are they saving these orphans, but they're also taking the mothers and teaching them, giving them a trade so that they don't have to feel like they need to abandon their children. (31:57 - 32:20) Grace Center is doing such amazing work that the government reached out to them and said, we want what you're doing here in Bar Hadar, we want you to do it in other places as well. So the reach of what CityLight is doing by helping them, we're actually blessing and serving those. Trust me, when you get to heaven, there will be people that will come up to you and thank you for the work that you've done. (32:20 - 32:39) And you're gonna be like, I don't know what you're talking about. And then they're gonna point you to the fact that you are responsible for the help that I received again and again and again. Every day, you are responsible as a CityLight member, as a giver, you are responsible for feeding over 1,000 people every day. (32:39 - 32:56) That's nothing light, that's nothing to sniff at. That's God's mercy and grace in action, amen? So finally, I wanna point you to, we've partnered with Love Life. They are an abortion prevention agency. (32:56 - 33:13) They specifically are fighting to combat the genocide that is happening in our country. Now, I will say, people look at that and go, oh, that's pro-life politics, we're not really into that. That's not really pro-life politics, that's Christianity 101, preserving life. (33:13 - 33:37) That is the gospel, where we're getting people saved. And with every one person, because basically what they do is they, boots on the ground, they go and they stand in front of Planned Parenthood, where a majority of these abortions are taking place, and they're ministering to people. They're helping to convince people that there is another way, that they don't have to give themselves up to abortion or give up their child to genocide. (33:38 - 34:00) And with every one person that we see saved, think about all the generations that will come from that one life that got saved. It's a powerful thing, and even more so, the main facility for Planned Parenthood in Manhattan was officially shut down, and in no small effort to the work that Love Life and partnering with CityLight has done. So that's a super huge thing. (34:00 - 34:40) So a couple months back, we had a prayer walk on the story of Planned Parenthood. So just take a look. ♪ Your name, your love remains ♪ ♪ Forever and ever, you stay the same ♪ ♪ Shout it out, shout it out, shout it out ♪ How it works is we started in one area, we worshiped, we prayed, and then we literally hit the streets, walking, praying on the loudspeaker, letting the whole neighborhood know what we stood for, which is, so often the church is known for what they are against, but not what we are for. (34:40 - 34:51) So we were praying for the dads, for the moms, for our community, for the workers themselves, for the church. It was an amazing time. And like I said, again, right in front of Planned Parenthood. (34:51 - 35:11) Praise God. ♪ Shout your name, Jesus name, make your praise glorious ♪ One of the prevailing thoughts that came through is just to reiterate that abortion is murder. People try to reconcile and dance around the subject, but you have to look at it for what it is. (35:11 - 35:21) Abortion is murder. So we're making sure that that message is known and that love will prevail. Amen? Praise God. (35:25 - 35:32) So we're gonna hop right back into worship through song. But before we do, we're gonna worship in our giving. Amen? Put your hands together. (35:33 - 35:46) We're gonna receive our weekly tithes and offerings. You can point your smartphone at the QR code and it'll take you to our safe and secure landing page where you can do your giving. If you can't prepare to give a physical gift, we have offering boxes by the door. (35:47 - 35:56) Just know this, that as you give, let your giving be worship. Don't feel manipulated to do what any one person says. Ask God what he would have you give. (35:57 - 36:04) Your tithe, again, that's something the Lord has already set out what he would like you to do. That's 10%. Anything above that is an offering. (36:04 - 36:22) So that's a freewill gift that you give. Get with God and ask him, what would you have me give? Amen? So we have a First Fruits campaign. Some weeks ago, I believe at the beginning of December, Pastor Bo preached an amazing message on the first fruit. (36:22 - 36:28) And you can go and you can check that out. And basically, it's not just about money. It's about the way that you live your life. (36:28 - 36:40) Giving God the preeminence in all things. That does equate to sometimes you giving of your money, but it's so much more than that. It's you literally living with God as the first place in your heart. (36:41 - 36:46) So we do have, oh, they let the count out the bag. Praise God. So our goal is 100,000. (36:46 - 36:55) We are already at 81%. So that means we have this Sunday. This is our last Sunday of the year, but we have till January 1 to make up the full 100,000. (36:55 - 37:05) And I believe that we can do it. And not because of any one of you, but I do believe that as you ask the Lord what he would have you give, God will speak. I pray that you would obey. (37:05 - 37:19) Very simple, amen? All right, so let's give with a cheerful heart. Give as worship. And after you've given, stand to your feet that we might worship and rejoice and reflect on God's goodness. (37:19 - 37:29) Again, I want you to see him as he is. Don't see your trouble. Don't see your lack or your need. (37:29 - 37:42) See God as he is, and he will meet that need regardless of what it is. Do you believe that today? Well, stand to your feet and let's worship the Lord through song. God bless you. (37:42 - 37:52) Have an amazing new year. And I will see you January 1, 7 p.m. on Zoom for 21 days of prayer and fasting. God bless, guys. (37:53 - 38:14) This is the CityLight 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 CityLight Church, visit us at citylightnyc.com. That's citylightnyc.com. Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime. We would love to connect with you. (38:14 - 38:29) 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 CityLight Church podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.