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March 26, 2024
Speaking Victory Into Existence A Tale of Transformation and Triumph
Unlock the secrets of spiritual resilience and learn how your spoken words can ignite the power of faith within you. Our latest episode delves into the powerful account of Jesus and the Centurion, revealing how authority in our words can transform our prayers and shape our lives. We discuss the essence of vocal faith, encouraging you to speak life into your circumstances with conviction, and to stand firm on God's promises for victory and prosperity in your life.
Pastor Bo Jancic joins us to unravel the struggles against sin consciousness and the embracing of righteousness. Together, we examine how shifting our focus from sin to our divine inheritance—forgiveness, healing, and victory—empowers us with boldness to confront life's challenges head-on. We share heartfelt stories from the 22-year journey of CityLight Church, reflecting on the endurance and spiritual growth that have been central to our community's story. Pastor Bo's message serves as a beacon of hope, reminding us of the unwavering love and grace that surround us.
Whether you're seeking spiritual nourishment or a deeper connection, our CityLight Church family extends a warm invitation for you to join us, both online and in person, on this path of faith and discovery.
Chapters
00:00 - The Centurion's Great Faith
12:19:00 - Faith Overcomes Sin and Fear
20:24:00 - Journey of City Light Church
35:16:00 - Effective Prayer and Faith Building
47:32:00 - City Light Church Podcast Message
Transcript
00:00 - Speaker 1
I'm not pastoring because I had nothing else to do. I got saved, I got delivered, my sins were forgiven, and the reason I got into this of course, the call of God, but I was excited was I want to share this with others, because they're dying all around me and we gotta pull them out, amen. And we gotta lifeline. God forbid that we keep the truth to ourselves.
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 Jansik 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.
01:05 - Speaker 1
Are you ready for the word this morning? Amen, amen. I believe God really wants to get something to you. You're gonna walk out of here better than how you came in. Let's begin in Matthew, chapter eight, verses five through 13.
01:24
This is a familiar passage to many of you, but there's so much truth that can be withdrawn from this passage of Jesus encountering the Centurion. It's really so rich. Of course, the whole word of God is rich, but this passage it's like pregnant, pulsating with revelation. Now, when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a Centurion came to Him pleading with Him, saying Lord, my servant is lying at home, paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. And Jesus said to Him and this is something that he often would say I will, I will come, I will physically go there and he's establishing His will I will come and heal Him.
02:21
One of the first encounters that Jesus had after his baptism was a leper coming down the mountain and he said Lord, if you're willing, you can make me clean, because when life is clobbering you over the head with a hammer and again by life I mean, I say life the enemy's behind it, and the enemy is a person, he's a being. I feel like I have to say that now, because I take for granted that everybody understands. But we're in New York City. There's so many different ideologies, so many different backgrounds and to a lot of people Satan is just like an abstract concept that just means darkness or negativity. No, he is a created being who fell from heaven and Jesus said he wants to steal, kill and destroy. He hates you, and when the enemy's clobbering you over the head, what happens to us is we don't doubt God's ability, but we doubt His willingness, because the voice in the back of our minds is saying well, lord, if you're willing, why am I going through this? Why am I feeling this way? But the will of God clashes With our own faith level, with the enemy's attacks. So will of God wills it. It has to be. No, he requires our cooperation. Amen, hallelujah. But Jesus' answer was always I will. Never once did he say well, not for you, because my father is teaching a very special lesson you're gonna be sick a couple of more decades. He's really, it's a long lesson. And so come back in 20 years. His answer is always I'm willing, I'm willing, amen. When it comes to your victory, he's willing. When it comes to your prosperity, he's willing. Anything he already bled for on the cross. He's willing, and you must be sure of the will of God if your prayer is to have confidence. Jesus said to him I'm willing, I will come and heal him.
04:33
And the Centurion? This is where it gets very interesting, because the Centurion didn't ask him to physically come, but Jesus, because he had a very touchy ministry. If you notice, jesus was always laying hands on people. He was transmitting, transferring the anointing via the laying out of hands, through touch. He said I will come and heal him. But the Centurion says, lord, I will come and heal him. The Centurion says, lord, I'm not even worthy that you should come under my roof, but only speak a word. You don't even have to physically be there, only speak a word and my servant will be healed. What faith.
05:15
And then the Centurion explains why he believes this. He says for I also am a man. Next verse, please. Next verse, please. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. The Centurion is saying I'm under the authority of Caesar and I've been given authority and I have soldiers under me. And I say to this one, go and he goes, and to another come and he comes. And to my servant do this. And he does it? Now?
05:48
The Centurion is saying I recognize how this thing works. I'm under the authority of Caesar and because I'm under this authority I can command soldiers. And if I say go left, they go left. If I say go right, they go right. And I recognize you, jesus. You're under the authority of God, so you don't even have to physically come, but only speak the word. If you command my servant to be healed, who's back at home paralyzed, he'll be healed. Amen.
06:18
And that's why Jesus now, in the next verse, compliments his faith. But let me just say that that same authority Jesus has given you. Oh man, death and life are in the power of the tongue. Oh, I hope I'm not talking to a bunch of quiet Christians, because when you're quiet you're gonna be slowly dying. If you're not speaking, you're not creating. If you're not speaking, you're not releasing faith.
06:45
This is not some new ageism. Faith is one half in your heart and one half in your mouth. Man, I feel like I hit a wall compared to the first service. How do we get saved? Do we get saved in silence? No, we speak out If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart 50-50. 50-50. 50% in your heart. But if it's locked up in your heart, it does you no good. It has to be released when you open your mouth. Hallelujah.
07:24
When Jesus heard it, when he heard the Centurion understanding these deep spiritual concepts, and he's even a Gentile and he's saying I get how this works and there's commanding power in our mouth. I know it because I'm a captain of 100. That's what Centurion means and I see that you're God's captain and you can speak and it'll be done. When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, assuredly I say to you I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel, and I say to you that many will come from east and west he's prophesying about us Gentiles, non-jews, from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
08:07
But the sons of the kingdom not the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom, was a Jewish term for the Israelites. But the sons of the kingdom, those who won't believe. Of course many did believe and all the original Christians were Jewish. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and surely there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. And just as Satan is a real being, not just a concept, hell is a real place. Jesus spoke of it often. He spoke about heaven twice as much as he did about hell. But he warned people about hell.
08:53
And I didn't even get into this in the, because this isn't even having anything to do with my points. I'm just breaking down this passage. But somebody here needs to hear this Jesus didn't die on the cross to just give you a better life. Definitely didn't die to give you religion. Didn't die to give you a church service on Sundays. He died to take away your sins, that by believing in him, through faith in him, your sins can be completely taken away and you would escape hell. Because sin must be punished, all sin must be punished. Jesus took that punishment on himself. If you receive that, if you don't, then it's eternal punishment, because the wages of sin is death. Somebody, if we don't warn people, we do a great disservice.
09:35
I'm not here for my health, amen. I'm not. I'm not pastoring because I had nothing else to do. I got saved, I got delivered, my sins were forgiven, and the reason I got into this, of course, the call of God. What I was excited was I want to share this with others because they're dying all around me and we gotta pull them out, amen. And we gotta lifeline. God forbid that we keep the truth to ourselves.
10:04
Paul said whoa, whoa. If I don't whoa, a calamity. What an utter calamity it would be if I don't preach the gospel. Then Jesus, verse 13,. Really getting to my point now. Then Jesus said to the centurion go your way, and this is what's for us this morning, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you. As you have believed, as you believe, that's how it's gonna be done for you, in proportion to your faith. That's how your life will go In accordance with what you believe about God, his character, his nature, who he is. That's how it'll be for you.
10:56
So I wanna ask you an important question this morning what are you believing? What are you believing about you right now and where you are in life? God's attitude towards you, god's plan for you? See, if you're under that hammer of the enemy as there's people right now who are going through it your faith is being challenged. You never escape. Every single year there's at least a dozen times boom, boom. I have to build myself up and rise up in faith. If you think it's easy peasy, when you come to a certain like he's a pastor, it must be whoo, he's just huh. Are you kidding that hammer of life? And when I say life, you know what I mean the journey of life, not the Zoe life of God, of course. And when you're under that hammer it's very loud and it can cause you to forget some essential truths about who God is. See, the enemy wants to shake your confidence. Everything that I preach, everything is linked to the grace of God, the cross of Jesus. Why? So that you would have this precious thing called confidence before God?
12:19
Sin or a sin consciousness makes cowards out of men. When you're conscious of sin, you'll be a coward. The very first thing that Adam did once he sinned was what he ran behind the bushes, yeah, and hid himself. And it was the first time we hear that word fear. I was afraid, afraid of God, because I was now aware of my nakedness. But when you're righteousness conscious, when you're aware that you're forgiven, that when God looks at you he doesn't see one speck of sin in you, that there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ, you'll have a roar, you'll have a confidence, you'll have a boldness, and if you're going through it, I get it. And it's okay to admit it's a challenge right now. I know God is good, but whoo, you're like that man in the Bible.
13:09
Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. But in your heart of hearts, again, I ask you what do you believe? Because, in accordance with what you believe, that's what you're gonna get. Jesus said so himself. In fact. I just wanna show you just in the next chapter, chapter nine, verse 27,. I want you to see that this was a common theme with Jesus. This idea that, in accordance to your faith, is common.
13:43
When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying son of David, have mercy on us. And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him and Jesus said to them do you believe that I'm able to do this? And they said to him yes, lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying according to your faith, let it be to you Once again. Do you see it? He's letting you know, again, in proportion to your faith and in accordance with what you believe. This is why it's so important to know him, to really know him, and the only way you can know him is through the word Smith Wigglesworth famously said I cannot know God through what I feel about him. I cannot know him through my emotions. I cannot know him through the opinions of others. Everybody's got an opinion, everybody's got an idea. We're in New York City.
14:42
To some people, god is a tree, is a hanging crystal, is an energy force. We used to have a rule in our home groups. I'm hoping it's still in force, but it was just when I used to do the teaching, rather than Pastor Moe. It was just because I used to be a part of every life group and there's always someone who starts to. Well, how are they worded? It was like well, I think, and again, we all have our thoughts and opinions, but let's replace I think with the Bible says you can give me your thoughts on what you think, but the foundation has to be the word, the plumb line for everything we do, the measuring stick has to be the word of God. Always it was this way.
15:21
But now, when people are trying to recreate God in their own image and everything is so flimsy and emotional and I feel, and however I feel, well, that's my truth? No, it's not. There's no such a thing as my truth. There is the truth, the Bible, truth. Amen.
15:37
I didn't get saved because I was living according to my truth. My truth was sending me straight to hell. I was confused and messed up, but God's word is infallible, forever settled in the heavens. Oh and let God be true and every man a liar. Hallelujah. Second Timothy 1-12. Oh, glory to God Paul. For this reason, I also suffer these things and nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day. That's what I want you to be able to shout out. I know whom I have believed. Once again, that's why we're preaching Christ and Christ crucified, why we're preaching the glories of the new covenant. So you know him, so you know what belongs to you. Forgiveness of sins is yours, healing is yours, blessedness is yours, victory is yours.
16:48
And then, when that hammer comes, there needs to be an adequate response. See, for too many, when the hammer comes, they just go oh, what mean is this? And then the hammer doesn't go away and the response is oh. And Satan comes and whispers God, god. It's God doing it, testing you, growing you? Is heaven so bankrupt that it must rely on the tools and resources of hell to mature the saints? You know how God matures me Through his word, amen. Not through unleashing the devil on me, amen. So many people are going through hell and go well. Maybe God, no, you're supposed to resist that. Otherwise we're just confused. And then when hell comes on my life, I go oh Lord, send more, please, mature me, grow me, lord. I really wanna go high in you. And why don't you just kill me, lord? Then I can't get any higher, I'll just be right with you in heaven.
17:50
And I'm gonna be a cry out of our heart of what belongs to us and what doesn't belong to us. Sickness, disease does not belong to you. Confusion does not belong to you. Depression does not belong to you. Defeat does not belong to you, amen. Luck does not belong to you, hallelujah. And so it must be rejected, not passively accepted, and that means that you are actually doing some talking, hallelujah.
18:33
I really feel like the Lord prepped me, almost like I was gonna be an evangelist in my own church. I saw it's like going with a hot poker and there's some people and I get my heart goes out. You're on the one side, you're going through it. But also I see something you don't see in the spirit. You're actually so close to victory, you just don't know it because of the hammer it's loud, but you just keep going. Hallelujah, I go through stuff. I had a feeling when the word of the Lord is audience, I feel recklessly transparent this morning. This morning and my wife is gonna get a little bit nervous maybe, I don't know this morning you saw, son, we pulled out of our driveway and the Holy Spirit hit the car and I started laughing and weeping. And Now listen, this is challenging for me to say but it's gonna bless some people.
19:40
A week before Guatemala, you remember I had missed some services in January, I was hit you say with what? Something physical? We're looking into it. I don't wanna get into it. I believe it's related to gut health and whatever. And it hit me, and I mean the lethargy. There was one service where I couldn't make it. Bonnie Andrews was preaching. I couldn't make it through. The second service I was hit. This is a week before Guatemala, so we're talking about the first, either last week of January or first week of February. And so it's Saturday and we're going for a walk. I needed to get out of the house and move and we're going for a walk. And this was my reality.
20:24
In that moment I turned to Emily and I said because we have a home in the Poconos. I said we can just sell everything we have and live in the home in the Poconos. And this was you're gonna laugh, it's funny now saying it, but this was my reality. I said and there's because I don't wanna just sit in the Poconos, I wanna be active minister. To people I said and I can get a job at the Walmart Supercenter. No, but I meant it, I actually said it. You say, how bad did you have to? No, it was like a spell. And I said thank you. And I said, you know, not for the money, but at least then I'm not, I can't be sitting at home collecting dust at least. Then I said it to another pastor friend and he goes why Walmart's like do boat rentals or something? And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. This is what I said. I said, first of all, that seasonal. Second of all, that's too complicated. My mind was fried. I said no, walmart, because I could just stand there at the register, smile, bless people, talk, maybe engage something, but it has to be real simple. Then we had a great oh, then we.
21:45
Now I remember that we came here the next day and the Holy Spirit came in. That was a service where it came in here and you, my wife, started getting touched. It was like one of the biggest touches ever. She gets touched internally, I get touched externally, but this time she got touched externally. She's getting touched. So I was already getting blessed. Now I'm looking at her and she's losing it. She's crying. I'm getting even more blessed and it was like it was like something just got snatched right off of me, just taken away, just snatched.
22:23
And then that Wednesday we went to Guatemala and those of you who were in Guatemala I was right as rain and Pastor James know this. I shared this with the staff. I said I can't believe that a few days ago I had the Walmart dream, like how ridiculous is that? I mean it's funny now. But an Emily's face when I shared it with her because, remember, she's normal, I'm going through it and I'm walking where they're and I say you know, this is our future, hun. And you were just like look at me and you're so good and what you've endured hanging around. I mean, thank you, we're in the trenches and you get some of that. I wonder if in heaven they'll have awards like we have, you know, for our volunteers and like Gabriel will get. And the long suffering award goes to Emily Janssen, come on up. The perseverance, long suffering across the finish line award goes to today.
23:32
God is good, you know, here's the thing. And right now it's like whatever I was going through that month of January, we have, in reverse, the blessings. And I've said this before. I feel like I feel like it's kind of a theme in my life Quitting is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. And please remember that the devil is trying to get you to quit, to tap out, to move on to the next, to just change things. And you got to just keep going with the Lord. Keep going with the Lord holding his hand. When you're going through it, it feels like it's going to be forever. It will not be forever. The sun come up tomorrow. Tomorrow, it'll be a brighter day tomorrow, amen, hallelujah.
24:36
So so today, march the 17th, is not just St Patrick's Day for the one Irish person I have any Irish people here. This is are you okay? Emily acts like she's 100% Irish. We're going to get a 23 and me she just I want to. She just doesn't trust the government enough to send her DNA by mail. But I really am curious because she's not. But she's excited. I'm taking her to Dublin this summer for a few days. But it's not just St Patrick's Day. Today's the 22nd birthday Today, march the 17th, of City Light Church.
25:14
Amen, and I was reminiscing with the Lord and I was reminded about how, when we began full of faith and also so full of silliness and presumption and goofiness, I was 26 years old. I was so ignorant, I didn't even know what I didn't know. Yet I had preached six or seven times maximum in my life before I launched City Light Church. Half of those times were in the children's church and you guys are enduring two services in a row sitting in the same place, you guys? And the second long suffering award goes to Andy and Whitley. No, you guys, they sent me. Their mother was the children's pastor at the church where I had preached to the kids and they had the cassette of me from when I was 22 and 23 years old preaching and they blessed me with that cassette. And we're so kind. They also blessed me with a cassette player, because who has one of those anymore? So I could play it. Half the time was preaching to kids. The other half was in a maximum security prison, which it's not, wow, it's a captive audience. It was very nice. No one was going anywhere. I had I was, I could preach, right, but I'd preach like six, seven times in my life, maximum eight, no more than 10 for sure.
26:44
And I'm launching a church and I have no money and I'm living back with my parents in the little queen's apartment and I rented a hotel ballroom and we started with 100 people and saw a phenomenon called negative church growth, where we started March the 17th and by August I'm preaching to three people and I'm still preaching. I actually stood up on the chairs Like I was. I was half upset, half in faith, that there was only three people. So I got up in the chairs and I'm preaching like there's a thousand people and it's three people like this looking at me, and so it's not even a failed church, it's a badly attended life group. You know that's what I was pastoring A poorly attended whole house group.
27:32
And I went for a jog the next day, like a prayer jog. And so I had been carrying the vision of City Light Church for 10 years, from when I got saved when I was 16 to 26, preparing, praying, fasting, only to have what appeared to be this spectacular failure. And I go for this prayer jog and in the middle of the jog I hear I'm the God of the turnaround. I'm the God of the turnaround, I will turn this thing around, and the next Sunday I preach that message. I'm the God of the turnaround. From Second Kings, chapter six, about how God turned the entire situation in this besieged city of Samaria that was struck by famine. Within 24 hours. He turned it around completely. Only for me. It wasn't 24 hours. I like the biblical miracles that take 24 hours, except for me. I was being slow-basted and so he turned it around.
28:31
The first thing he told us was get out of Midtown Manhattan. There's nobody who lives there. So I'm here with, he said, get into a neighborhood and I'm a New Yorker, I should have known that. No-transcript, it's just where the hotels were. And where do you? You're gonna start in a hotel ballroom. You can't graduate right away to the Greek community center. No, no, no, that's gonna take time. Hotel ballroom, he says. Go into the East Village. That's a real neighborhood. People actually live there. It's not just offices surrounding you.
28:59
And so some of you remember our 7th Street location. It was 20 feet wide by 80 feet long, 20 feet about from where the pulpit is to that wall. By 80 feet long. We would jam 100 people in there when we actually got to 100 people.
29:18
But in the beginning I'm ministering now to 20, 25 people and I'm living there windowless. I lived there for five and a half years and I just remember this very clearly as I was reminiscing with the Lord about our 22nd birthday, laying in my bed, people staying away by the thousands and I'm looking at the ceiling and I'm just pondering my life. The church is broke. I'm broke. Nobody even knows. You know what it feels like. Nobody even knows you exist. Nobody even knows I would preach on the subways and this interest was palpable. Nobody cares that you exist. Now, you know, in New York City, everybody's blowing a trumpet and clanging a symbol and making lots of noise. Nobody cares anymore.
30:04
I felt I mean, I actually felt like Moses and he was like Lord, have you brought us out here that we should die? That's what I thought. Lord, did you pray? And I had to thought I just ruined my life. You know, I got good grades. My parents wanted me to be a doctor. I'm the one who had the bright idea of going into ministry. That freaked them out. I had to have my way. And what have I done here Now? I'm just gonna like, slowly fade away into nothingness. No impact for the Lord, no impact for the kingdom.
30:35
And the chairs were out, because, remember, I'm living in the church. Sometimes I put the chairs away all against the wall and sometimes probably I was too depressed to, and the chairs were out. And now I'm pacing and I'm looking at all the empty chairs. This is probably sometime in the middle of the week. I'm alone, all the empty chairs, and the empty chairs are like mocking me. Ha ha, ha, ha, ha ha. We're empty and we're gonna stay empty.
31:06
And something from within me hint, it was the Holy Spirit began to churn. Have you ever been at a place where you know that you stand at a fork in the road? That's the place where Satan wants you to keep quiet, to shut up and just go gently and fade into that good night. But something from within me roared and I began to prophesy to the chairs. Prophecying isn't only forth-telling, it's foretelling, or not only foretelling, it's foretelling. I'm commanding these things to be. And I began to speak to the chairs and say be filled, be filled.
31:43
I command people from the North, south, east and the West come to City Light Church, come and hear the gospel. May your eyes be opened, may your heart be softened. You will come and you'll be filled with the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah, hallelujah. You are right there at the gate. I'm trying to provoke you this morning. God is not cheap, he's not bad. He doesn't have mixed feelings about you. He is good. He's the God of victory. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. And I want you to know him. But you can only know him through his word. That way you'll have confidence in when you approach him. So I want to give you just real quick three steps, real quick list.
32:35
But it's this is like if somebody came to me and said listen, I need a miracle, tell me, what do I need to do? I need divine intervention. Yesterday, this is what I would tell them. Number one 1, john 514, here's the key to prayer.
33:02
Now, this is the confidence. Remember, this is what we're looking for. We got to be confident. It's the first thing. Let me just say this it's the first thing that I noticed when I first got saved with the young Christians there around me. When they talked to God, they talked to him as though he were a friend, because he is Me. Even just thinking about God in an unsaved state. I would push him out of my mind because I was terrified, I was afraid. But they had this confidence, not a callous familiarity, but they had a confidence in believing that they were loved and that they were heard. We need the confidence. This is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
33:52
Now this verse really trips some people up, depending on their angle, their lens. It either trips them up or greatly empowers them. Because if you read that part, if we ask anything according to his will and your attitude is especially when you're under the hammer well, the will of God? Who can know it? Who can fathom his ways, his mysteries are beyond comprehension. Maybe what I'm going through is just something in his great plan. Meanwhile you're being beaten to a pulp. That's not the plan of God. It wasn't the plan of God that I be wistfully thinking about a job at the super center. But life happens, stuff happens.
34:39
People you know, and I've gone through stuff like this before and people would say, you know, it's demonic, it could be, but I'm telling you it wasn't. You know how I know, because demons aren't afraid of the gym. I would go to the gym and that emotion would completely fade. There was something happening internally, but the moment I would break a sweat and the endorphins would be released, that whole yucky thing. We just fade. That's just a ps for someone Just saying to some people everything's a demon.
35:16
They're so devil conscious. Sure, the devil can come in and press in, but not everything is sometimes. We just need to change our lifestyle. So we have to know his will. How do we know his will? Because we want to be confident when we pray the word of God.
35:38
So I want you to think of one thing that you need from the Lord. One area is a physical healing. Is it financial help? Are you lonely and Find scriptures that cover your need. Now, this is what breaks my heart right now. It's knowing that not everybody's gonna take this advice. Almost everybody right now is nodding their heads and going this sounds really good, but you're gonna just go on and have a regular Monday through Saturday and come back here on Sunday and I've done nothing. Please, don't let that be you, please.
36:14
This actually requires you doing a little arts and crafts project, Summer camp at City Light Church. You're gonna find scriptures that cover your need. If it's finances, you're gonna look up scriptures on prosperity there's hundreds of them and find the ones that that bring you joy. Find the ones that spark you and you're gonna write them down or type them in and print them out, and you're gonna break out the scissors and the scotch tape and you're gonna cut them up and you're gonna decorate. You're gonna decorate your bathroom mirror or your kitchen cabinet or something that your face is in front of a lot, and you're gonna get this holy, incorruptible, powerful word of God through your eye gate and it's gonna go down in your spirit, where faith is produced. Faith doesn't come from encouragement. Faith doesn't come from a good song. Faith, according to the Bible, comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. One way you get the word of God in you. Your spirit produces this Substance called faith, and faith is the invisible hand that grows into heaven and brings down what you need here to earth. Hallelujah, hallelujah. I'm not preaching theory.
37:24
I had 16 credit cards and up to my eyeballs in debt and this is what I did. I Didn't wish that it would go away. There was some practical things. Let me not be. I had to. I'm gonna have to stop Spending more than I made. That was good first step, but at first, yeah, I mean you got to do the practical stuff. But even just to activate the discipline and the strength to do the practical stuff, I got the scriptures out and whatever you're going through, get the scriptures out so that they're feeding you and so that you know the will of God. Do not ever be going around going well. You know what's the will of God, his word is his will, and you know him and know his character and his nature and his will through his word. Hallelujah. Step number two Mark 11, 24.
38:21
Jesus said this, so it's true. And he said therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them. This is your foundation for the prayer of petition, asking God for something. What are you supposed to believe that you have it when you get it, when you pray, when you ask, you said but it's not there yet, I know. But he said it is, as far as God's concerned, it's as good as done.
39:04
Here's something I've practiced for many years that actually the Lord himself taught me back in college when I was wrestling with him. There's so many more resources available now than just even in the 90s. I wanted to learn how to pray effectively. You know what pray effectively means doesn't mean pray pretty. It means pray and get results. I want to not just be, I want to see stuff happen when I pray. And I'm wrestling with the Lord. Lord, teach me to pray.
39:28
I'm studying the scriptures and I remember one of the first times he really spoke to me in my heart and he said you're doing too much talking when you ask me for things. And to this day, I'm convinced that there is too much yacking. You know why we talk so much? Because we don't really believe he's heard us and that it's done and we're trying to pay him with our words. And he got me to a place where he said ten seconds, tell me what you need and one or two sentences there is no need for. Oh Lord, because you know how I feel and, lord, you know I tried and just, and you know the most frequent word God hears is just oh, joe, I just, I, just, lord, we just. You don't know that you've never been to a prayer meeting. Huh, we just Say you, pastor, you only pray for ten seconds, like only ten seconds a day. No, I talk to the Lord all the time. I have breakfast with him, we have breakfast with him. I go for walks with him, I drive my car with him Fine, I'll say it. I shower with him. He's with me all the time. I'm always talking sweet fellowship with him.
40:46
But when it comes, when you need something, make it succinct, make it quick and Release your faith, and this isn't just my opinion. This is something that Jesus himself addressed Matthew six, seven. This, by the way, has been a theme he's taught me this years ago. And now I'm Running into pastors guy, it was all last week they're saying the same thing and that's how I know there's a confirmation. They're all saying you know, the Lord is just bringing us back to like we just forgot.
41:20
It's so easy to forget an essential truth and then you go off into emotionalism and Anxiety, does all weird things and you feel like you got a wrestle with God and talk to him, but when it comes to his will, you don't. There's no convincing. It's settled in heaven and again, his word is his will. I Know that he wants me to have the victory. You say where, everywhere. He's not the God of defeat, he's the God of victory. That's why we named our son Victor, as a constant reminder. It's true, it wasn't by accident. He's the God of victory.
41:56
This is so important that Jesus actually brought it up when teaching people to pray. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions. I Did you just think of like half the prayer meetings you've attended in your life, as the heathen do? Why do they use all these repetitions For they think that they will be heard for their many words. A Lot of the problem in the prayer of petition is too many words, betray that you don't really believe he's hearing you. You're talking so much because you don't believe that one sentence. You can have such an intimacy with the Lord that you and you don't have to keep repeating it, that he actually heard you and heaven is responding. But Jesus paid a price with his holy blood that you would have that intimacy and his ear is bent down low and he hears you. You won't distract him when you bring up your problem. He's not go. Oh, I forgot about you. You're kidding, you're going through that. He's with you the whole time.
43:01
You got to come to him with faith that's based on his word and then succinctly asked him what do you want? Remember this was what Jesus asked people all the time what do you want? He went up to a man who was lame the man by the pool of Bethesda. It says he was lame for 38 years and he said what do you want me to do for you? He's like well, jesus, I don't have a headache. You know, I've been not able to walk for 38 years. Why do you ask? Because I want you to tell me, I want you to specifically tell me, what do you want me to do for you? And he's asking you that. What do you want me to do for you? Tell him in one sentence, two sentences release your faith, which then leads us to number three, and that's in Philippians 4-6.
43:52
This is the natural flow. If you actually believe that he's heard you, and that's praise and thanksgiving, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, with thanksgiving, see, if you really believe that he's heard you and he's responding, you're naturally going to be grateful, aren't you? Then how come, so many times, when we finish our prayer, we're just as depressed as when we started it? That same span in college, when God was teaching me to pray, I was going through something. I was aware of my countenance and it was, you know, the poop face, and I went down. I went down on my knees to pray and I poured out my heart and I asked right and I got up from my. I said, in Jesus' name, amen.
44:49
After a couple of minutes, and I got up and the Lord froze me and I still had the same poop face and he said you don't believe that I'm going to do anything. That you just asked me. Your countenance is proof. If you really believed, you would now be grateful and I went, lord, thank you, lord, thank you, thank you. You're moving. You heard me. You're faithful to your word.
45:16
Hallelujah, hallelujah, I praise. You Recover the lost art of praise. Praise is the language of heaven. God, no, speak complaining. God, no, speak whiny. God, speak, praise, amen. Praise Him so much after you've prayed that you're all praised out. When it finally manifests, you're like whew, amen. Let's not be like the people who were praying for Peter's release in the book of Acts. They're praying for Peter's release. Peter comes to them and they're like now that must be his angel.
46:04
Hallelujah, worship team, come on up. God, he's moving in our church. He's moving in your life. You're going to be okay, hallelujah, and you're not just going to survive, you're going to thrive. Hallelujah, hallelujah. We have a good, good God. I want you to just close your eyes for a minute and just ask the Lord what he wants you to believe Him for. And my prayer is you would start that arts and crafts project tonight. Decorate with scripture verses that'll get inside your spirit, that'll produce faith, that'll make your prayers powerful and give you something to praise Him about. Hallelujah, lord Jesus, speak. Your servants are listening. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Some of you don't have to pray long. The Goliath has been looking at you, waving at you, taunting you. You know exactly what you need. Let me tell you that uncircumcised Philistine is going to fall, just like the lion and the bear. Hallelujah.
47:32 - Speaker 2
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 Jansic 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.
I'm not pastoring because I had nothing else to do. I got saved, I got delivered, my sins were forgiven, and the reason I got into this of course, the call of God, but I was excited was I want to share this with others, because they're dying all around me and we gotta pull them out, amen. And we gotta lifeline. God forbid that we keep the truth to ourselves.
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 Jansik 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.
01:05 - Speaker 1
Are you ready for the word this morning? Amen, amen. I believe God really wants to get something to you. You're gonna walk out of here better than how you came in. Let's begin in Matthew, chapter eight, verses five through 13.
01:24
This is a familiar passage to many of you, but there's so much truth that can be withdrawn from this passage of Jesus encountering the Centurion. It's really so rich. Of course, the whole word of God is rich, but this passage it's like pregnant, pulsating with revelation. Now, when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a Centurion came to Him pleading with Him, saying Lord, my servant is lying at home, paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. And Jesus said to Him and this is something that he often would say I will, I will come, I will physically go there and he's establishing His will I will come and heal Him.
02:21
One of the first encounters that Jesus had after his baptism was a leper coming down the mountain and he said Lord, if you're willing, you can make me clean, because when life is clobbering you over the head with a hammer and again by life I mean, I say life the enemy's behind it, and the enemy is a person, he's a being. I feel like I have to say that now, because I take for granted that everybody understands. But we're in New York City. There's so many different ideologies, so many different backgrounds and to a lot of people Satan is just like an abstract concept that just means darkness or negativity. No, he is a created being who fell from heaven and Jesus said he wants to steal, kill and destroy. He hates you, and when the enemy's clobbering you over the head, what happens to us is we don't doubt God's ability, but we doubt His willingness, because the voice in the back of our minds is saying well, lord, if you're willing, why am I going through this? Why am I feeling this way? But the will of God clashes With our own faith level, with the enemy's attacks. So will of God wills it. It has to be. No, he requires our cooperation. Amen, hallelujah. But Jesus' answer was always I will. Never once did he say well, not for you, because my father is teaching a very special lesson you're gonna be sick a couple of more decades. He's really, it's a long lesson. And so come back in 20 years. His answer is always I'm willing, I'm willing, amen. When it comes to your victory, he's willing. When it comes to your prosperity, he's willing. Anything he already bled for on the cross. He's willing, and you must be sure of the will of God if your prayer is to have confidence. Jesus said to him I'm willing, I will come and heal him.
04:33
And the Centurion? This is where it gets very interesting, because the Centurion didn't ask him to physically come, but Jesus, because he had a very touchy ministry. If you notice, jesus was always laying hands on people. He was transmitting, transferring the anointing via the laying out of hands, through touch. He said I will come and heal him. But the Centurion says, lord, I will come and heal him. The Centurion says, lord, I'm not even worthy that you should come under my roof, but only speak a word. You don't even have to physically be there, only speak a word and my servant will be healed. What faith.
05:15
And then the Centurion explains why he believes this. He says for I also am a man. Next verse, please. Next verse, please. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. The Centurion is saying I'm under the authority of Caesar and I've been given authority and I have soldiers under me. And I say to this one, go and he goes, and to another come and he comes. And to my servant do this. And he does it? Now?
05:48
The Centurion is saying I recognize how this thing works. I'm under the authority of Caesar and because I'm under this authority I can command soldiers. And if I say go left, they go left. If I say go right, they go right. And I recognize you, jesus. You're under the authority of God, so you don't even have to physically come, but only speak the word. If you command my servant to be healed, who's back at home paralyzed, he'll be healed. Amen.
06:18
And that's why Jesus now, in the next verse, compliments his faith. But let me just say that that same authority Jesus has given you. Oh man, death and life are in the power of the tongue. Oh, I hope I'm not talking to a bunch of quiet Christians, because when you're quiet you're gonna be slowly dying. If you're not speaking, you're not creating. If you're not speaking, you're not releasing faith.
06:45
This is not some new ageism. Faith is one half in your heart and one half in your mouth. Man, I feel like I hit a wall compared to the first service. How do we get saved? Do we get saved in silence? No, we speak out If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart 50-50. 50-50. 50% in your heart. But if it's locked up in your heart, it does you no good. It has to be released when you open your mouth. Hallelujah.
07:24
When Jesus heard it, when he heard the Centurion understanding these deep spiritual concepts, and he's even a Gentile and he's saying I get how this works and there's commanding power in our mouth. I know it because I'm a captain of 100. That's what Centurion means and I see that you're God's captain and you can speak and it'll be done. When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, assuredly I say to you I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel, and I say to you that many will come from east and west he's prophesying about us Gentiles, non-jews, from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
08:07
But the sons of the kingdom not the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom, was a Jewish term for the Israelites. But the sons of the kingdom, those who won't believe. Of course many did believe and all the original Christians were Jewish. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and surely there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. And just as Satan is a real being, not just a concept, hell is a real place. Jesus spoke of it often. He spoke about heaven twice as much as he did about hell. But he warned people about hell.
08:53
And I didn't even get into this in the, because this isn't even having anything to do with my points. I'm just breaking down this passage. But somebody here needs to hear this Jesus didn't die on the cross to just give you a better life. Definitely didn't die to give you religion. Didn't die to give you a church service on Sundays. He died to take away your sins, that by believing in him, through faith in him, your sins can be completely taken away and you would escape hell. Because sin must be punished, all sin must be punished. Jesus took that punishment on himself. If you receive that, if you don't, then it's eternal punishment, because the wages of sin is death. Somebody, if we don't warn people, we do a great disservice.
09:35
I'm not here for my health, amen. I'm not. I'm not pastoring because I had nothing else to do. I got saved, I got delivered, my sins were forgiven, and the reason I got into this, of course, the call of God. What I was excited was I want to share this with others because they're dying all around me and we gotta pull them out, amen. And we gotta lifeline. God forbid that we keep the truth to ourselves.
10:04
Paul said whoa, whoa. If I don't whoa, a calamity. What an utter calamity it would be if I don't preach the gospel. Then Jesus, verse 13,. Really getting to my point now. Then Jesus said to the centurion go your way, and this is what's for us this morning, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you. As you have believed, as you believe, that's how it's gonna be done for you, in proportion to your faith. That's how your life will go In accordance with what you believe about God, his character, his nature, who he is. That's how it'll be for you.
10:56
So I wanna ask you an important question this morning what are you believing? What are you believing about you right now and where you are in life? God's attitude towards you, god's plan for you? See, if you're under that hammer of the enemy as there's people right now who are going through it your faith is being challenged. You never escape. Every single year there's at least a dozen times boom, boom. I have to build myself up and rise up in faith. If you think it's easy peasy, when you come to a certain like he's a pastor, it must be whoo, he's just huh. Are you kidding that hammer of life? And when I say life, you know what I mean the journey of life, not the Zoe life of God, of course. And when you're under that hammer it's very loud and it can cause you to forget some essential truths about who God is. See, the enemy wants to shake your confidence. Everything that I preach, everything is linked to the grace of God, the cross of Jesus. Why? So that you would have this precious thing called confidence before God?
12:19
Sin or a sin consciousness makes cowards out of men. When you're conscious of sin, you'll be a coward. The very first thing that Adam did once he sinned was what he ran behind the bushes, yeah, and hid himself. And it was the first time we hear that word fear. I was afraid, afraid of God, because I was now aware of my nakedness. But when you're righteousness conscious, when you're aware that you're forgiven, that when God looks at you he doesn't see one speck of sin in you, that there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ, you'll have a roar, you'll have a confidence, you'll have a boldness, and if you're going through it, I get it. And it's okay to admit it's a challenge right now. I know God is good, but whoo, you're like that man in the Bible.
13:09
Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. But in your heart of hearts, again, I ask you what do you believe? Because, in accordance with what you believe, that's what you're gonna get. Jesus said so himself. In fact. I just wanna show you just in the next chapter, chapter nine, verse 27,. I want you to see that this was a common theme with Jesus. This idea that, in accordance to your faith, is common.
13:43
When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying son of David, have mercy on us. And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him and Jesus said to them do you believe that I'm able to do this? And they said to him yes, lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying according to your faith, let it be to you Once again. Do you see it? He's letting you know, again, in proportion to your faith and in accordance with what you believe. This is why it's so important to know him, to really know him, and the only way you can know him is through the word Smith Wigglesworth famously said I cannot know God through what I feel about him. I cannot know him through my emotions. I cannot know him through the opinions of others. Everybody's got an opinion, everybody's got an idea. We're in New York City.
14:42
To some people, god is a tree, is a hanging crystal, is an energy force. We used to have a rule in our home groups. I'm hoping it's still in force, but it was just when I used to do the teaching, rather than Pastor Moe. It was just because I used to be a part of every life group and there's always someone who starts to. Well, how are they worded? It was like well, I think, and again, we all have our thoughts and opinions, but let's replace I think with the Bible says you can give me your thoughts on what you think, but the foundation has to be the word, the plumb line for everything we do, the measuring stick has to be the word of God. Always it was this way.
15:21
But now, when people are trying to recreate God in their own image and everything is so flimsy and emotional and I feel, and however I feel, well, that's my truth? No, it's not. There's no such a thing as my truth. There is the truth, the Bible, truth. Amen.
15:37
I didn't get saved because I was living according to my truth. My truth was sending me straight to hell. I was confused and messed up, but God's word is infallible, forever settled in the heavens. Oh and let God be true and every man a liar. Hallelujah. Second Timothy 1-12. Oh, glory to God Paul. For this reason, I also suffer these things and nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day. That's what I want you to be able to shout out. I know whom I have believed. Once again, that's why we're preaching Christ and Christ crucified, why we're preaching the glories of the new covenant. So you know him, so you know what belongs to you. Forgiveness of sins is yours, healing is yours, blessedness is yours, victory is yours.
16:48
And then, when that hammer comes, there needs to be an adequate response. See, for too many, when the hammer comes, they just go oh, what mean is this? And then the hammer doesn't go away and the response is oh. And Satan comes and whispers God, god. It's God doing it, testing you, growing you? Is heaven so bankrupt that it must rely on the tools and resources of hell to mature the saints? You know how God matures me Through his word, amen. Not through unleashing the devil on me, amen. So many people are going through hell and go well. Maybe God, no, you're supposed to resist that. Otherwise we're just confused. And then when hell comes on my life, I go oh Lord, send more, please, mature me, grow me, lord. I really wanna go high in you. And why don't you just kill me, lord? Then I can't get any higher, I'll just be right with you in heaven.
17:50
And I'm gonna be a cry out of our heart of what belongs to us and what doesn't belong to us. Sickness, disease does not belong to you. Confusion does not belong to you. Depression does not belong to you. Defeat does not belong to you, amen. Luck does not belong to you, hallelujah. And so it must be rejected, not passively accepted, and that means that you are actually doing some talking, hallelujah.
18:33
I really feel like the Lord prepped me, almost like I was gonna be an evangelist in my own church. I saw it's like going with a hot poker and there's some people and I get my heart goes out. You're on the one side, you're going through it. But also I see something you don't see in the spirit. You're actually so close to victory, you just don't know it because of the hammer it's loud, but you just keep going. Hallelujah, I go through stuff. I had a feeling when the word of the Lord is audience, I feel recklessly transparent this morning. This morning and my wife is gonna get a little bit nervous maybe, I don't know this morning you saw, son, we pulled out of our driveway and the Holy Spirit hit the car and I started laughing and weeping. And Now listen, this is challenging for me to say but it's gonna bless some people.
19:40
A week before Guatemala, you remember I had missed some services in January, I was hit you say with what? Something physical? We're looking into it. I don't wanna get into it. I believe it's related to gut health and whatever. And it hit me, and I mean the lethargy. There was one service where I couldn't make it. Bonnie Andrews was preaching. I couldn't make it through. The second service I was hit. This is a week before Guatemala, so we're talking about the first, either last week of January or first week of February. And so it's Saturday and we're going for a walk. I needed to get out of the house and move and we're going for a walk. And this was my reality.
20:24
In that moment I turned to Emily and I said because we have a home in the Poconos. I said we can just sell everything we have and live in the home in the Poconos. And this was you're gonna laugh, it's funny now saying it, but this was my reality. I said and there's because I don't wanna just sit in the Poconos, I wanna be active minister. To people I said and I can get a job at the Walmart Supercenter. No, but I meant it, I actually said it. You say, how bad did you have to? No, it was like a spell. And I said thank you. And I said, you know, not for the money, but at least then I'm not, I can't be sitting at home collecting dust at least. Then I said it to another pastor friend and he goes why Walmart's like do boat rentals or something? And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. This is what I said. I said, first of all, that seasonal. Second of all, that's too complicated. My mind was fried. I said no, walmart, because I could just stand there at the register, smile, bless people, talk, maybe engage something, but it has to be real simple. Then we had a great oh, then we.
21:45
Now I remember that we came here the next day and the Holy Spirit came in. That was a service where it came in here and you, my wife, started getting touched. It was like one of the biggest touches ever. She gets touched internally, I get touched externally, but this time she got touched externally. She's getting touched. So I was already getting blessed. Now I'm looking at her and she's losing it. She's crying. I'm getting even more blessed and it was like it was like something just got snatched right off of me, just taken away, just snatched.
22:23
And then that Wednesday we went to Guatemala and those of you who were in Guatemala I was right as rain and Pastor James know this. I shared this with the staff. I said I can't believe that a few days ago I had the Walmart dream, like how ridiculous is that? I mean it's funny now. But an Emily's face when I shared it with her because, remember, she's normal, I'm going through it and I'm walking where they're and I say you know, this is our future, hun. And you were just like look at me and you're so good and what you've endured hanging around. I mean, thank you, we're in the trenches and you get some of that. I wonder if in heaven they'll have awards like we have, you know, for our volunteers and like Gabriel will get. And the long suffering award goes to Emily Janssen, come on up. The perseverance, long suffering across the finish line award goes to today.
23:32
God is good, you know, here's the thing. And right now it's like whatever I was going through that month of January, we have, in reverse, the blessings. And I've said this before. I feel like I feel like it's kind of a theme in my life Quitting is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. And please remember that the devil is trying to get you to quit, to tap out, to move on to the next, to just change things. And you got to just keep going with the Lord. Keep going with the Lord holding his hand. When you're going through it, it feels like it's going to be forever. It will not be forever. The sun come up tomorrow. Tomorrow, it'll be a brighter day tomorrow, amen, hallelujah.
24:36
So so today, march the 17th, is not just St Patrick's Day for the one Irish person I have any Irish people here. This is are you okay? Emily acts like she's 100% Irish. We're going to get a 23 and me she just I want to. She just doesn't trust the government enough to send her DNA by mail. But I really am curious because she's not. But she's excited. I'm taking her to Dublin this summer for a few days. But it's not just St Patrick's Day. Today's the 22nd birthday Today, march the 17th, of City Light Church.
25:14
Amen, and I was reminiscing with the Lord and I was reminded about how, when we began full of faith and also so full of silliness and presumption and goofiness, I was 26 years old. I was so ignorant, I didn't even know what I didn't know. Yet I had preached six or seven times maximum in my life before I launched City Light Church. Half of those times were in the children's church and you guys are enduring two services in a row sitting in the same place, you guys? And the second long suffering award goes to Andy and Whitley. No, you guys, they sent me. Their mother was the children's pastor at the church where I had preached to the kids and they had the cassette of me from when I was 22 and 23 years old preaching and they blessed me with that cassette. And we're so kind. They also blessed me with a cassette player, because who has one of those anymore? So I could play it. Half the time was preaching to kids. The other half was in a maximum security prison, which it's not, wow, it's a captive audience. It was very nice. No one was going anywhere. I had I was, I could preach, right, but I'd preach like six, seven times in my life, maximum eight, no more than 10 for sure.
26:44
And I'm launching a church and I have no money and I'm living back with my parents in the little queen's apartment and I rented a hotel ballroom and we started with 100 people and saw a phenomenon called negative church growth, where we started March the 17th and by August I'm preaching to three people and I'm still preaching. I actually stood up on the chairs Like I was. I was half upset, half in faith, that there was only three people. So I got up in the chairs and I'm preaching like there's a thousand people and it's three people like this looking at me, and so it's not even a failed church, it's a badly attended life group. You know that's what I was pastoring A poorly attended whole house group.
27:32
And I went for a jog the next day, like a prayer jog. And so I had been carrying the vision of City Light Church for 10 years, from when I got saved when I was 16 to 26, preparing, praying, fasting, only to have what appeared to be this spectacular failure. And I go for this prayer jog and in the middle of the jog I hear I'm the God of the turnaround. I'm the God of the turnaround, I will turn this thing around, and the next Sunday I preach that message. I'm the God of the turnaround. From Second Kings, chapter six, about how God turned the entire situation in this besieged city of Samaria that was struck by famine. Within 24 hours. He turned it around completely. Only for me. It wasn't 24 hours. I like the biblical miracles that take 24 hours, except for me. I was being slow-basted and so he turned it around.
28:31
The first thing he told us was get out of Midtown Manhattan. There's nobody who lives there. So I'm here with, he said, get into a neighborhood and I'm a New Yorker, I should have known that. No-transcript, it's just where the hotels were. And where do you? You're gonna start in a hotel ballroom. You can't graduate right away to the Greek community center. No, no, no, that's gonna take time. Hotel ballroom, he says. Go into the East Village. That's a real neighborhood. People actually live there. It's not just offices surrounding you.
28:59
And so some of you remember our 7th Street location. It was 20 feet wide by 80 feet long, 20 feet about from where the pulpit is to that wall. By 80 feet long. We would jam 100 people in there when we actually got to 100 people.
29:18
But in the beginning I'm ministering now to 20, 25 people and I'm living there windowless. I lived there for five and a half years and I just remember this very clearly as I was reminiscing with the Lord about our 22nd birthday, laying in my bed, people staying away by the thousands and I'm looking at the ceiling and I'm just pondering my life. The church is broke. I'm broke. Nobody even knows. You know what it feels like. Nobody even knows you exist. Nobody even knows I would preach on the subways and this interest was palpable. Nobody cares that you exist. Now, you know, in New York City, everybody's blowing a trumpet and clanging a symbol and making lots of noise. Nobody cares anymore.
30:04
I felt I mean, I actually felt like Moses and he was like Lord, have you brought us out here that we should die? That's what I thought. Lord, did you pray? And I had to thought I just ruined my life. You know, I got good grades. My parents wanted me to be a doctor. I'm the one who had the bright idea of going into ministry. That freaked them out. I had to have my way. And what have I done here Now? I'm just gonna like, slowly fade away into nothingness. No impact for the Lord, no impact for the kingdom.
30:35
And the chairs were out, because, remember, I'm living in the church. Sometimes I put the chairs away all against the wall and sometimes probably I was too depressed to, and the chairs were out. And now I'm pacing and I'm looking at all the empty chairs. This is probably sometime in the middle of the week. I'm alone, all the empty chairs, and the empty chairs are like mocking me. Ha ha, ha, ha, ha ha. We're empty and we're gonna stay empty.
31:06
And something from within me hint, it was the Holy Spirit began to churn. Have you ever been at a place where you know that you stand at a fork in the road? That's the place where Satan wants you to keep quiet, to shut up and just go gently and fade into that good night. But something from within me roared and I began to prophesy to the chairs. Prophecying isn't only forth-telling, it's foretelling, or not only foretelling, it's foretelling. I'm commanding these things to be. And I began to speak to the chairs and say be filled, be filled.
31:43
I command people from the North, south, east and the West come to City Light Church, come and hear the gospel. May your eyes be opened, may your heart be softened. You will come and you'll be filled with the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah, hallelujah. You are right there at the gate. I'm trying to provoke you this morning. God is not cheap, he's not bad. He doesn't have mixed feelings about you. He is good. He's the God of victory. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. And I want you to know him. But you can only know him through his word. That way you'll have confidence in when you approach him. So I want to give you just real quick three steps, real quick list.
32:35
But it's this is like if somebody came to me and said listen, I need a miracle, tell me, what do I need to do? I need divine intervention. Yesterday, this is what I would tell them. Number one 1, john 514, here's the key to prayer.
33:02
Now, this is the confidence. Remember, this is what we're looking for. We got to be confident. It's the first thing. Let me just say this it's the first thing that I noticed when I first got saved with the young Christians there around me. When they talked to God, they talked to him as though he were a friend, because he is Me. Even just thinking about God in an unsaved state. I would push him out of my mind because I was terrified, I was afraid. But they had this confidence, not a callous familiarity, but they had a confidence in believing that they were loved and that they were heard. We need the confidence. This is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
33:52
Now this verse really trips some people up, depending on their angle, their lens. It either trips them up or greatly empowers them. Because if you read that part, if we ask anything according to his will and your attitude is especially when you're under the hammer well, the will of God? Who can know it? Who can fathom his ways, his mysteries are beyond comprehension. Maybe what I'm going through is just something in his great plan. Meanwhile you're being beaten to a pulp. That's not the plan of God. It wasn't the plan of God that I be wistfully thinking about a job at the super center. But life happens, stuff happens.
34:39
People you know, and I've gone through stuff like this before and people would say, you know, it's demonic, it could be, but I'm telling you it wasn't. You know how I know, because demons aren't afraid of the gym. I would go to the gym and that emotion would completely fade. There was something happening internally, but the moment I would break a sweat and the endorphins would be released, that whole yucky thing. We just fade. That's just a ps for someone Just saying to some people everything's a demon.
35:16
They're so devil conscious. Sure, the devil can come in and press in, but not everything is sometimes. We just need to change our lifestyle. So we have to know his will. How do we know his will? Because we want to be confident when we pray the word of God.
35:38
So I want you to think of one thing that you need from the Lord. One area is a physical healing. Is it financial help? Are you lonely and Find scriptures that cover your need. Now, this is what breaks my heart right now. It's knowing that not everybody's gonna take this advice. Almost everybody right now is nodding their heads and going this sounds really good, but you're gonna just go on and have a regular Monday through Saturday and come back here on Sunday and I've done nothing. Please, don't let that be you, please.
36:14
This actually requires you doing a little arts and crafts project, Summer camp at City Light Church. You're gonna find scriptures that cover your need. If it's finances, you're gonna look up scriptures on prosperity there's hundreds of them and find the ones that that bring you joy. Find the ones that spark you and you're gonna write them down or type them in and print them out, and you're gonna break out the scissors and the scotch tape and you're gonna cut them up and you're gonna decorate. You're gonna decorate your bathroom mirror or your kitchen cabinet or something that your face is in front of a lot, and you're gonna get this holy, incorruptible, powerful word of God through your eye gate and it's gonna go down in your spirit, where faith is produced. Faith doesn't come from encouragement. Faith doesn't come from a good song. Faith, according to the Bible, comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. One way you get the word of God in you. Your spirit produces this Substance called faith, and faith is the invisible hand that grows into heaven and brings down what you need here to earth. Hallelujah, hallelujah. I'm not preaching theory.
37:24
I had 16 credit cards and up to my eyeballs in debt and this is what I did. I Didn't wish that it would go away. There was some practical things. Let me not be. I had to. I'm gonna have to stop Spending more than I made. That was good first step, but at first, yeah, I mean you got to do the practical stuff. But even just to activate the discipline and the strength to do the practical stuff, I got the scriptures out and whatever you're going through, get the scriptures out so that they're feeding you and so that you know the will of God. Do not ever be going around going well. You know what's the will of God, his word is his will, and you know him and know his character and his nature and his will through his word. Hallelujah. Step number two Mark 11, 24.
38:21
Jesus said this, so it's true. And he said therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them. This is your foundation for the prayer of petition, asking God for something. What are you supposed to believe that you have it when you get it, when you pray, when you ask, you said but it's not there yet, I know. But he said it is, as far as God's concerned, it's as good as done.
39:04
Here's something I've practiced for many years that actually the Lord himself taught me back in college when I was wrestling with him. There's so many more resources available now than just even in the 90s. I wanted to learn how to pray effectively. You know what pray effectively means doesn't mean pray pretty. It means pray and get results. I want to not just be, I want to see stuff happen when I pray. And I'm wrestling with the Lord. Lord, teach me to pray.
39:28
I'm studying the scriptures and I remember one of the first times he really spoke to me in my heart and he said you're doing too much talking when you ask me for things. And to this day, I'm convinced that there is too much yacking. You know why we talk so much? Because we don't really believe he's heard us and that it's done and we're trying to pay him with our words. And he got me to a place where he said ten seconds, tell me what you need and one or two sentences there is no need for. Oh Lord, because you know how I feel and, lord, you know I tried and just, and you know the most frequent word God hears is just oh, joe, I just, I, just, lord, we just. You don't know that you've never been to a prayer meeting. Huh, we just Say you, pastor, you only pray for ten seconds, like only ten seconds a day. No, I talk to the Lord all the time. I have breakfast with him, we have breakfast with him. I go for walks with him, I drive my car with him Fine, I'll say it. I shower with him. He's with me all the time. I'm always talking sweet fellowship with him.
40:46
But when it comes, when you need something, make it succinct, make it quick and Release your faith, and this isn't just my opinion. This is something that Jesus himself addressed Matthew six, seven. This, by the way, has been a theme he's taught me this years ago. And now I'm Running into pastors guy, it was all last week they're saying the same thing and that's how I know there's a confirmation. They're all saying you know, the Lord is just bringing us back to like we just forgot.
41:20
It's so easy to forget an essential truth and then you go off into emotionalism and Anxiety, does all weird things and you feel like you got a wrestle with God and talk to him, but when it comes to his will, you don't. There's no convincing. It's settled in heaven and again, his word is his will. I Know that he wants me to have the victory. You say where, everywhere. He's not the God of defeat, he's the God of victory. That's why we named our son Victor, as a constant reminder. It's true, it wasn't by accident. He's the God of victory.
41:56
This is so important that Jesus actually brought it up when teaching people to pray. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions. I Did you just think of like half the prayer meetings you've attended in your life, as the heathen do? Why do they use all these repetitions For they think that they will be heard for their many words. A Lot of the problem in the prayer of petition is too many words, betray that you don't really believe he's hearing you. You're talking so much because you don't believe that one sentence. You can have such an intimacy with the Lord that you and you don't have to keep repeating it, that he actually heard you and heaven is responding. But Jesus paid a price with his holy blood that you would have that intimacy and his ear is bent down low and he hears you. You won't distract him when you bring up your problem. He's not go. Oh, I forgot about you. You're kidding, you're going through that. He's with you the whole time.
43:01
You got to come to him with faith that's based on his word and then succinctly asked him what do you want? Remember this was what Jesus asked people all the time what do you want? He went up to a man who was lame the man by the pool of Bethesda. It says he was lame for 38 years and he said what do you want me to do for you? He's like well, jesus, I don't have a headache. You know, I've been not able to walk for 38 years. Why do you ask? Because I want you to tell me, I want you to specifically tell me, what do you want me to do for you? And he's asking you that. What do you want me to do for you? Tell him in one sentence, two sentences release your faith, which then leads us to number three, and that's in Philippians 4-6.
43:52
This is the natural flow. If you actually believe that he's heard you, and that's praise and thanksgiving, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, with thanksgiving, see, if you really believe that he's heard you and he's responding, you're naturally going to be grateful, aren't you? Then how come, so many times, when we finish our prayer, we're just as depressed as when we started it? That same span in college, when God was teaching me to pray, I was going through something. I was aware of my countenance and it was, you know, the poop face, and I went down. I went down on my knees to pray and I poured out my heart and I asked right and I got up from my. I said, in Jesus' name, amen.
44:49
After a couple of minutes, and I got up and the Lord froze me and I still had the same poop face and he said you don't believe that I'm going to do anything. That you just asked me. Your countenance is proof. If you really believed, you would now be grateful and I went, lord, thank you, lord, thank you, thank you. You're moving. You heard me. You're faithful to your word.
45:16
Hallelujah, hallelujah, I praise. You Recover the lost art of praise. Praise is the language of heaven. God, no, speak complaining. God, no, speak whiny. God, speak, praise, amen. Praise Him so much after you've prayed that you're all praised out. When it finally manifests, you're like whew, amen. Let's not be like the people who were praying for Peter's release in the book of Acts. They're praying for Peter's release. Peter comes to them and they're like now that must be his angel.
46:04
Hallelujah, worship team, come on up. God, he's moving in our church. He's moving in your life. You're going to be okay, hallelujah, and you're not just going to survive, you're going to thrive. Hallelujah, hallelujah. We have a good, good God. I want you to just close your eyes for a minute and just ask the Lord what he wants you to believe Him for. And my prayer is you would start that arts and crafts project tonight. Decorate with scripture verses that'll get inside your spirit, that'll produce faith, that'll make your prayers powerful and give you something to praise Him about. Hallelujah, lord Jesus, speak. Your servants are listening. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Some of you don't have to pray long. The Goliath has been looking at you, waving at you, taunting you. You know exactly what you need. Let me tell you that uncircumcised Philistine is going to fall, just like the lion and the bear. Hallelujah.
47:32 - Speaker 2
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 Jansic 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.
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