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Oct. 8, 2024
The Strength of Stillness in a Noisy World: Psalm 23
Unlock the profound truths of Psalm 23 like never before! Join us on the CityLight Church Podcast as Pastor Bo Jancic unravels the often-misunderstood essence of "The Lord Is My Shepherd." Discover how this cherished psalm transcends its association with death, revealing a powerful declaration of prosperity and victory. Drawing from personal insights and reflections, Pastor Bo emphasizes the importance of embracing the Lord's shepherding qualities and assures us that, with God as our shepherd, we shall not lack. Through heartfelt anecdotes, he illustrates how faith in divine provision has been a cornerstone of CityLight Church's journey.
Experience the transformative power of stillness in a world that never stops buzzing. In "The Power of Stillness," we explore the immense spiritual growth that can arise from moments of calm and introspection. Pastor Bo sheds light on how today's culture pushes us towards constant noise and exaggerated personas, even within the church. By embracing quiet and peaceful moments, we can achieve significant personal and financial breakthroughs. This chapter highlights the distinction between the spirit and the soul, and how the Lord restores our soul, leading us in paths of righteousness.
We invite you to connect with CityLight Church and remind you of God's immense love and grace. Subscribe to our podcast to stay spiritually nourished and encouraged
For more information and resources, visit www.citylightnyc.com
(00:00) The Lord Is My Shepherd
(14:04) The Power of Stillness
(23:04) The Shepherd's Provision and Comfort
(36:17) City Light Church Podcast Subscription
Chapters
00:00 - The Lord Is My Shepherd
14:04:00 - The Power of Stillness
23:04:00 - The Shepherd's Provision and Comfort
36:17:00 - City Light Church Podcast Subscription
Transcript
00:00 - Speaker 1
I got a 20-point list for you on what you need to know. It's not that complicated. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with your whole heart. Give your life to Him. You can get born again in a prayer that lasts five seconds and he will take the old spirit out. And the Bible says put a brand new spirit inside of you. It's the only way to be acceptable in heaven. By the way.
00:26 - Speaker 2
Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us. If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyccom. That's citylightNYCcom. Pastor Boyan Jancic and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are surrounded by His grace and that he has a real hope and a future for you.
01:05 - Speaker 1
I want to minister to you this morning from Psalm 23. Such a rich psalm, the most popular psalm. There's a reason why it's the most popular psalm. There's a reason why every household with a median age of 60 plus has a plaque of Psalm 23 somewhere. If you're in Long Island, it's in the bathroom. Next to the decorator soap, right above footprints on the sand, there's a plaque of Psalm 23.
01:49
Me growing up in Queens in a one-bedroom apartment, we didn't know what decorator soap was. So I remember the first time I saw it I said, hmm, this is so pretty. There was a little bar of Irish spring and then off to the side a dish with these like seashell, pink. I'm like this is the one I want to use. My friend came and said you use those. Nobody ever uses those. I didn't know they called out to me it seemed more appetizing than that worn out bar of Irish Spring with three hairs in it. I wanted the pink, rosy seashell and of course it is a very popular psalm.
02:32
And then when you look at its popularity, it's usually in the movies. At what time in the movie do you hear Psalm 23? The funeral. How did a psalm full of victory, full of prosperity, become the death psalm that's most closely associated with a funeral, always in a very depressing scenario, raining like it is today, everybody wearing black, like I am today, and then you have the depressed, morose minister come out and, yea, though, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and you get more depressed listening to him. Psalm 23,. Let's renew our minds. It's not a funeral psalm, it's not a death psalm, it's a prosperity psalm, it's a victory psalm, it's a psalm full of the goodness of God. And this is our reality and this is who the Lord is showing us. He is Amen David.
03:42
And, by the way, most people think that this was young David. Young David because he's talking about, you know, he's got this pastoral theme of meadows and sheep and he's talking about the Lord being a shepherd. So they assume this was David, like as a teenager, when he'd be playing on a harp or lyre and tending sheep. But this isn't. This is one of David's oldest psalms Oldest, I mean in terms of his age. This was him, in other words, later in life, after he had seen the ups and downs of life, after he had had mileage with the Lord and experiences with the Lord and history with the Lord.
04:21
This is his testimony after a lifetime of serving Yahweh God, and he says the Lord is my shepherd. And that is key, because he doesn't say the Lord is a shepherd, he personalizes it, he appropriates this quality of the Lord for himself, which is vital. It's so important because I found that most people don't doubt God's ability. Most people who come to faith in God or believe in God don't doubt his ability. They'll say, oh yeah, god can do anything, god is almighty. But they doubt his willingness, especially when they're under guilt and shame and condemnation. They doubt his willingness for themselves. So they quickly mentally ascend to oh yeah, the Lord is a shepherd, yes, but is he your shepherd? Well, I don't know. Is he my shepherd, maybe better people's shepherd, but it's whosoever will. When you claim him as your shepherd, then he'll release his shepherding qualities to you. The Lord is my shepherd.
05:29
I shall not want. Now, when I first got saved and I did this in the first service and several people immediately agreed when I first got saved I thought that just meant you shouldn't want anything. You know, be Christian, don't have any desires other than for a crust of bread and maybe a covering over your head, and don't don't be somebody who wants stuff. You know, like I want peace. No, no, no, no. I'd like my bills to feed, guide, shield and protect me. I will not lack. Now I came face to face with this scripture when City Light was just a couple of months old and I'm going to tell you how the enemy tried to work in my head and maybe you can relate.
06:26
Of course, city Light first started in a hotel ballroom in midtown Manhattan. You never forget the early numbers and that ballroom back in 2002 cost $500. And don't think ballroom like this size. It was a ballroom that fit 75 people on the 14th floor. Like we really made people work and try to find us. If you showed up on the 14th floor of the courtyard by Marriott on 3rd Avenue between 52nd and 53rd, you really wanted to be there. It was $500. And then, with taxes and whatever other fees, it was $550.
07:04
And the church was a couple of dozen people. That was a great Sunday. It would go down at its lowest to three people a few months in. So it was a poorly attended life group and the offerings I mean a life group of three people is fine, but okay, well it's. He said no, it ain't, but it's certainly finer than a church of three people. I'll never forget that Sunday when we had three people.
07:40
But I'll digress, let me not. I felt like I was preaching and dying at the same time. And while I'm dying and preaching the Lord the whole time, just saying I'm with you, I'm with you, I will do it, and my mind is scrambling on how will you do? How can you possibly do it? But he did it. He did it to where we grew, to four locations and six weekend services and thousands of people have come in. And you know, new York City is such a transient place so it is harder to build people because people come and they do a few years and they leave. But we've baptized thousands and thousands have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and we still get letters of people who remember us 10, 15 years ago how they came in and God transformed their lives, hallelujah.
08:34
But back to me with the 550, and offerings were usually about $600. Eight people come offering $600. 30 people come offering $600. And I couldn't be happier Because the whole the ballroom cost $550, so the Lord met. The ballroom cost. Woo, you know I wasn't thinking well, it would be nice if we had staff, if we had a worship leader, because it was an iPod that was doing the worship. You know, I couldn't even get my faith at that place. I was just so touched that people believed in our vision, so much that somehow $600 appeared on a Sunday.
09:20
And after a few months of that I realized this is not a sustainable model. I mean, I knew it, but I wanted to celebrate every victory. But then reality hits you, and here's how the enemy came to me. He would show me Christians who were suffering. So you have, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack. And then he would go to work on me in my mind, showing me Christians who did lack and taunt me and go oh, what about them?
09:48
Where is your God who says you will not lack? Where is he in their lives? Right, which is a fair question when you see the tension of who God is and how. He said he'd reveal himself to you in a practical way. But then there's people not living that way. A fair question is why? And so I asked the Lord why?
10:09
And I heard the glorious divine response deep in my spirit. He said none of your business, you don't know. You don't know where they are in their walk with me. You don't know where their faith level is. You don't know what they're believing me for. You don't know. There's the whole story. You don't know. But here's what you can know, you and the decision that you've made. So what are you going to believe, son?
10:40
And it's at that moment where I had to decide once and for all well, no matter what I'm seeing around me, here's what I believe the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want, I shall not lack. I don't care what I see going on around me. I can't go in and diagnose everyone else's problems, but I can, for me and my family, make a stand that, whatever's happening, I'm not going to let my circumstances form my theology. I'm going to make sure that my theology is based on one thing and one thing only not my feelings, they change, not my circumstances, they change, but the unchangeable word of God and that tension between what God said he'd do and who he said he is, the tension between that and what you're actually experiencing. The gap lessens and becomes non-existent as you stubbornly cling to the truth of God's word. Can you say amen, amen? So let's just say that the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not lack. Amen.
11:43
He makes me to lie down in green pastures. You see the prosperity there. It doesn't say a bunch of dried out and tumbled down weeds, it's fresh, tender, juicy green pastures. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He makes me to lie down. That's prosperity, that's his abundance, that's where his provisional care is. And then he leads you beside the still waters.
12:25
Now, the Hebrews. They had a relationship with the waters, and tempestuous or tumultuous waters were considered a very bad omen. That's why the scriptures will always highlight if the sea was rough. That's why the scriptures will always highlight if the sea was rough. That's why the Bible says in Revelation God before his throne, there is a sea as of glass. It doesn't really say sea of glass. That would be weird because you couldn't wear high heels if you tried to walk on that sea. But it just means it's a still sea, not a ripple, not a wave. What does that mean? That means in the presence of God there is no tempestuous, no tumultuous problems. There is peace, there is no drama.
13:15
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, so we can believe God and lean into him and trust. Lord, you come into my life, you bring me into green pastures. This is a psalm to stand on, a psalm to memorize, a psalm to whisper. When you get up in the morning and when you go to bed at night, lord, you take me to green pastures. And when you go to bed at night, lord, you take me to green pastures. And then your will for me is to lead me beside still waters where there's no drama. Hallelujah, hallelujah. How many would you like a quieter life with no drama?
14:04
I've been contemplating that lately how my greatest promotions, my greatest growth spurts with the Lord or financially, in the natural or in other areas of life, they came always after a period of stillness and no drama. And then I just started thinking about how our lives, just the way culture has shifted, with us having all the information of the world and the amount of screen time and the way we relate to one another. It's shifted to where everything is louder, exaggerated and more brazen, everything Like to really help the church grow. My personality should be different, like that guy on YouTube. Hey, my name is Chaz. Go ahead, smash that like button, hit subscribe. We're going to go right now to her. You know I should be always in your face. Hey, pastor Bo Bo, bo, bo Bo. Here.
14:57
We got a fresh, new and exciting thing happening at City Light and then, okay, it's your time for a breakthrough. Next Sunday we got an even fresher, fresher, more, fresher and more exciting thing happening this Sunday. You thought last Sunday. I mean, how many times can you? There is something about stillness that our culture wants us to reject, but there is a glory in the stillness, in the peace. That's where your roots grow deep, that's where the Lord can come and work on you. That's when you can get comfortable actually just existing and being yourself. Yeah, hallelujah, Hallelujah.
15:38
The greatest financial breakthrough in my life came in 2020, when things got way quieter. Of course, I don't agree with the way things got way quieter, but the Lord used it. He used it and I took that time out to seek the Lord, to really get more hands on with my kids, play with my kids and we were just bonding as a family and to study Bitcoin, and I'd already put an irresponsible amount into it and didn't even fully understand it. I did that in 2019, and then, in 2020, I started going down the rabbit hole and, in that stillness, began studying it in the natural and going to the Lord and saying Lord, could this really be a financial solution the world has been looking for and didn't even know it? Could this really be an answer to corrupt bankers and the corrupt Fed and the devaluation of the dollar and a true store of value?
16:45
And your word says that false balances are an abomination to you. And what they're doing to our currency, which is really our currency, encapsulates our energy. It's stored energy, it's your life's work, and then they just debase it. We've experienced 40% plus inflation since this period of 2020. They'll lie, they'll say it's 17 or 20, they'll throw out all sorts. Remember when they were calling it Putin's inflation? What has he got to do with us printing dollars? And now your dollars are worth 40% less than in 2020. Huh, anyway, I digress again. But it was in that place of stillness. Hallelujah, let him take you to a place of no drama.
17:37
And everybody says I'm moving in silence. I love it when people post I'm moving, I got quiet moves. So why are you telling me 35 times how you're moving in silence? Go, move in silence, come, emerge back up and let us all admire what the Lord has done. But can't you see I'm moving in silence, yoo-hoo, doesn't anybody want to notice how I'm moving in silence. Yoo-hoo, doesn't anybody want to notice how I'm moving in silence?
18:04
Verse 3, he restores my soul. Now, this is precious because your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions, your spirit. If you've named Jesus and received him as your Lord and Savior, your spirit is cleansed, your spirit is brand new, your spirit is sinless. And get comfortable saying that my spirit is perfect, my spirit is cleansed. We didn't come into this world with a perfect spirit. We came into this world with a spirit stained with sin. That's why Jesus said you must be born again. And now that we've received him as our Lord and Savior, we've got born again. By the way, if you're wondering how do I get born again, I got a 20-point list for you on what you need to know. It's not that complicated. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with your, your whole heart. Give your life to him. You can get born again in a prayer that lasts five seconds and he will take the old spirit out. And the bible says put a brand new spirit inside of you. It's the only way to be acceptable in heaven. By the way, you have to be perfect to enter into heaven. You heard me? That's what the scripture says how can a man be perfect? Exactly that's the conundrum. That's why Jesus came, died on the cross, removed your sin from you, if you receive him and give your life to him and you get a brand new spirit.
19:34
But the soul and people use soul and spirit interchangeably often and they're not interchangeable. The soul is your mind, your will and your emotion. The soul is where our baggage is. The soul is where our hurts are, our fears, our paranoias. When the enemy comes to deceive us, it's in the soul realm. The Greek word psuche our psyche and the Bible says that he is a soul restorer.
20:02
Hallelujah, thank God, amen. How many of you are a lot less crazy today than when you gave your life? Yeah, amen, I mean, I'm not where I need to be, but thank God, I'm not where I used to be. Amen, he restores my soul, he leads me. This is key. He leads me in the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. Now, this is a little bit of a different take. We know that he will lead us. We know that he'll give us a victory because he loves us. The scripture is clear on that. But this is a little different angle that I want you to get Now. He'll do it for his namesake. In other words, he's got a reputation and he's got a vested interest in seeing you come through and succeed and he will not let you fail when you trust that he will lead you. He'll give you the victory for his name's sake. His name won't be blasphemed among the heathen. He'll do it for his name's sake.
21:07
Verse four yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The valley of the shadow of death is Steinway, it is Broadway, it is whatever street you live on. That's the valley of the shadow of death. Please note that it's not called the valley of death, it's called the valley of the shadow of death. And this actually was a literal valley in those times, a valley with all sorts of rock formations, boulders jutting out that would cause animals to cast bizarre shadows. So it was a known thing that shepherds would go and they would see what appeared to be a ravenous wolf or a mountain lion, a mountain cat, something that could really hurt them, and they would flee in terror. And then someone else would check it out and it was just a desert hare, a jackrabbit, a bunny, but the shadow it cast looked like a ravenous lion. So what is the Lord trying to get across to us? That 99% of the things you're afraid of are a mirage and an illusion, a fantasy. You think a lion is coming to devour you and it's actually Bugs Bunny. Amen. Hey, some of the things you were terrified of from five years ago do you ever chuckle today? Nobody, you're here, you're breathing, you're alive. Some of you you know. What I'd love the Lord is just to quickly like play a video clip of some things that you were dreading and terrorized by five years ago and show you how alive and well you are. What was it? That was the valley of the shadow of death. It was casting an ominous shadow, but the reality wasn't there. Amen, praise God.
23:04
Look, people got, so not me. Some of you were walking around with three masks on, wrapped around like the Michelin man, purple gloves up to your elbows. You're fine. No one likes to talk about that. Hallelujah. We had communion here and some people skipped communion. I said no, no, but be good, I'll be good, I'll behave. Could I have a clinically preserved communion please? No, we're breaking the Lord's body together. Please don't be uncomfortable, because that makes me want to just talk about it more.
23:58
How many of you here here have had your ninth booster. Well, if you haven't had your ninth booster, you're not vaccinated. Some of you, you tapped out after the fourth one, didn't you? When you started seeing triple, you said maybe I'll stop with these experimental cocktails that don't even work. And you didn't, jesus. But if you haven't had your ninth booster, you're not vaccinated. It's no longer working. You do know that people don't wanna admit this, am I excuse me? In this church we trust the science. So am I saying anything unscientific? If you haven't been boosted in the last six months, your last booster stopped working. See, what you didn't know was you were going to get the forever lifetime subscription service.
24:59
You go into Pfizer's headquarters and you see the marble and the hanging chandelier. You say how did they get that money? Yeah, from you headquarters. And you see the marble and the hanging chandelier it's. You say how do they get that money? Yeah, from you. Praise God, hallelujah, we just need to hear this. I'm still trying to find a good doctor. The last few I went to the initial visit. It's a half-hour commercial for the flu vaccine. Whatever happened to the good old days where they examine you, talk to you about your diet, about your sleep about your stress? No, it just it could be anything. Doctor, my left leg is falling off. Have you gotten your flu vaccine this year? It's very, very important that you get vaccinated for the flu.
25:56
I will fear no evil, for you are with me. I want you to see that the number one reason to not fear is because he is with you. Yea, though I walk through this valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For you are with me, your rod and your staff. They comfort me, hallelujah. Does anyone have an umbrella? Today's a good day for an object lesson. Thank you With the crook the handle, so I feel very charp. Charlie Chaplin is up here now. This, this part, would have had a bulbous end, but here's just what I want you to see that the Lord, in this metaphor of him being a shepherd, it says that his rod and his staff. There's something that bring us comfort and a lot of times, the way people see the Lord, that it wouldn't make sense that this bring him comfort because they believe that he beats us with this.
26:57
Now I actually, when I was Victor's age, 10 years old, I did some shepherding back in the mother country and I was so proud when it was time to move the sheep and the goats because it would be like a three mile distance and it made me feel so big and so adult. But really I could do it even as a 10 year old, because these sheep and goats have been doing this all. They're actually not dumb, they're very smart, and they've been doing this for several years or their whole lives. So all I had to do was just kind of just be there and they went from one field three miles away to another. One sounded like a bunch of reindeer, you know. They all had the bells and of course I would grab a stick because I wanted to feel more authoritative and I was and they knew exactly how to go from one field around all the different bends and the the rock roads to the other, to the other field. But occasionally one of them would go astray just a little bit.
27:54
Now, when my grandpa was teaching me how to shepherd, the first thing I did was start running and yelling at that sheep. Come back here, of course, with my stick. Feeling all authoritative, I'm like come back here. This one's wet too. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy, this is the $3 special, isn't it? It is, see, they changed it. It used to be the littler ones and we should have If we got our props from Dollar General, like Bonnie Anderson, bonnie Andrews, excuse me, okay, I would come chasing the sheep to hit it.
28:40
And Grandpa said no, no, no, you just need to come next to that wandering sheep and just very lightly. Most of the time you don't even have to hit it. And grandpa said no, no, no, you just need to come next to that wandering sheep and just just, very lightly. Most of the time you don't even have to touch it. You just come and go like this and it'll immediately straighten up and clear up and go into the direction it's supposed to go. Sometimes you just have to gently touch it. That's how the lord deals with us.
29:00
The bulbous end, that's not for the sheep, that's for the wolves. The wolves he beats Amen, not the sheep. That's why Jesus told Peter can you put the $3 on my tab? Thank you, we'll work that out. The accounting of all that after service. We'll work that out. The accounting of all that after service. They say clean accounting makes for good friendships, good and long friendships. So we'll work that out.
29:36
The bulbous end is for the wolves, for the enemies of God. You, the Lord, will treat gently hallelujah. You are with me. The enemies of God, you, the Lord, will treat gently Hallelujah. You are with me. Your rod and your staff. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Note that he prepares a table, a table of provision, but it's still in the presence of your enemies.
30:06
Sometimes we wish that we cannot be in the presence. The presence of our enemies is just this side of heaven. No matter where you are, it's in the presence of your enemies. Until you get to heaven where you have no enemies and some of us, we have this desire to experience heaven on earth and we will and we can and we should, but it will be in the presence of our enemies. That's both a victory and something that should give you pause, because they're there still. But you'll be the one having victory. You'll be the one supping.
30:39
You, anoint my head with oil. This is what shepherds did to sheep. To keep the mites and the ticks away, olive oil would be rubbed into their scalp and into their body to give them physical relief. But this is a picture of what the Lord does to us, when we're in his presence, when we read his word, when we pray, when we worship, heavenly oil comes upon us and there's not a one of us here that doesn't have some ticks. Amen, sheep, amen. We have our ticks, we have our quirks, we have our mites, but the oil of the Holy Spirit comes in with a heavenly barrier and brings healing in that area. And then one of my favorite scriptures my cup runs over. This is God's way. This is God's way, this is God's style. I've shared with you many times.
31:29
Whenever you see Jesus do a miracle of provision, it's always more than is necessary. Can you catch that in your spirit? The water to wine? It gives you the math right there. It's not by accident. The scripture says every jug was 20 to 30 gallons and there were six jugs, six water pots. So even if it was an army, they couldn't have drunk all that 150 gallons of wine. I know the Hebrews like to get down, but give me a break. How many times can you McGill a Hva until you fall over? That was overkill. That was so much wine. When Jesus fed the 5,000, there were 12 baskets of what Leftovers. When he blessed Peter with the fish, another boat had to come and help because Peter's nets were breaking and his boats were sinking. He's a too much God. And when he fills up the cup, me and my son have this thing. He doesn't do it anymore. But come up here. I just want him. I don't want you to feel like I'm embarrassing you. I just want you to see what a young, awesome man of God this guy is, such a blessing to me.
32:35
You can sit down and say but remember when we used to go through that thing of how you'd fill the Pepsi glass all the way to the top it top. It's like Dad, this is how you get young kids to backslide. If you're watching you make an example. No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm joking. Every kid does this, right? They don't know that you can make two trips, that you can fill up the cup halfway, drink half and then make another trip. Right? They always fill it up. It's like I don't want to get ripped off, so I'm going to fill it all the way up. And then you're walking and it's spilling everywhere. God didn't even say he'd fill it up all the way to the tippy top. God said I'm going to make it run over.
33:15
The world calls that waste. That's waste, and God says no, no, no, this is the way I do things, this is my prosperity, this is my style. We have to get this in our spirits because so many of us have belittled God into the stingy, mingy, tightwad, reflection, maybe, of the scarcity of our own hearts. But really he is big, he is abundant and he is generous, and when you receive him as your shepherd, your cup will bubble and tumble and pour forth hallelujah, it'll run over and finally he ends with surely it's a declaration of faith? Worship team, you can come on up, surely say this with me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So many people have faith for negative things to follow them. When I look in the rearview mirror of my life, I see who's following me it's goodness and mercy. Amen, goodness and mercy follow me and I will dwell in the house of the Lord. What is the house of the Lord? It's the presence of God. Today, under the new covenant, it's the presence of God. Back then, for David, it meant the physical house of the Lord.
34:33
Some of you know I used to live in the church building for the first five and a half years. And so I would read this and go. No, lord, deliver me. I didn't want to live in a church building and to comfort myself I'd read Psalm 23 and always say you know what I mean, lord. I'm not going to dwell in the church building forever. You know what? In the new covenant context? I'll dwell in the presence in the bosom of Jesus forever, all the days of my life.
35:01
Hallelujah, I want you just to bow your heads and I pray that the realities of Psalm 23 rain upon your life this week, that you receive him as the good shepherd. He will shield you, he will feed you, he will protect you, he will be there for you. He loves you. Feed you, he will protect you, he will be there for you, he loves you. He'll take you to a place of no drama and a place of abundant provision called green pastures. Hallelujah, he'll restore your mind, give you stability of soul. Yes, hallelujah, he will restore your soul. Yes, hallelujah, he will restore your soul. And he may lead you and walk with you through the valley of the shadow of death, but you will fear no evil because you know he is with you. And then he'll lead you through the valley into the paths of righteousness, because he's so great for his namesake. Hallelujah, the Holy Spirit, come what no man can do and pour forth the miraculous on people's lives, in Jesus' name.
36:17 - 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 Jancic and City Light Church, visit us at citylightnyccom. That's citylightnyccom. Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime. We would love to connect with you. We pray that you have been encouraged today, that you have been reminded how much God loves you and that you are surrounded by grace. Thank you for listening. Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church Podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.
I got a 20-point list for you on what you need to know. It's not that complicated. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with your whole heart. Give your life to Him. You can get born again in a prayer that lasts five seconds and he will take the old spirit out. And the Bible says put a brand new spirit inside of you. It's the only way to be acceptable in heaven. By the way.
00:26 - Speaker 2
Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us. If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyccom. That's citylightNYCcom. Pastor Boyan Jancic and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are surrounded by His grace and that he has a real hope and a future for you.
01:05 - Speaker 1
I want to minister to you this morning from Psalm 23. Such a rich psalm, the most popular psalm. There's a reason why it's the most popular psalm. There's a reason why every household with a median age of 60 plus has a plaque of Psalm 23 somewhere. If you're in Long Island, it's in the bathroom. Next to the decorator soap, right above footprints on the sand, there's a plaque of Psalm 23.
01:49
Me growing up in Queens in a one-bedroom apartment, we didn't know what decorator soap was. So I remember the first time I saw it I said, hmm, this is so pretty. There was a little bar of Irish spring and then off to the side a dish with these like seashell, pink. I'm like this is the one I want to use. My friend came and said you use those. Nobody ever uses those. I didn't know they called out to me it seemed more appetizing than that worn out bar of Irish Spring with three hairs in it. I wanted the pink, rosy seashell and of course it is a very popular psalm.
02:32
And then when you look at its popularity, it's usually in the movies. At what time in the movie do you hear Psalm 23? The funeral. How did a psalm full of victory, full of prosperity, become the death psalm that's most closely associated with a funeral, always in a very depressing scenario, raining like it is today, everybody wearing black, like I am today, and then you have the depressed, morose minister come out and, yea, though, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and you get more depressed listening to him. Psalm 23,. Let's renew our minds. It's not a funeral psalm, it's not a death psalm, it's a prosperity psalm, it's a victory psalm, it's a psalm full of the goodness of God. And this is our reality and this is who the Lord is showing us. He is Amen David.
03:42
And, by the way, most people think that this was young David. Young David because he's talking about, you know, he's got this pastoral theme of meadows and sheep and he's talking about the Lord being a shepherd. So they assume this was David, like as a teenager, when he'd be playing on a harp or lyre and tending sheep. But this isn't. This is one of David's oldest psalms Oldest, I mean in terms of his age. This was him, in other words, later in life, after he had seen the ups and downs of life, after he had had mileage with the Lord and experiences with the Lord and history with the Lord.
04:21
This is his testimony after a lifetime of serving Yahweh God, and he says the Lord is my shepherd. And that is key, because he doesn't say the Lord is a shepherd, he personalizes it, he appropriates this quality of the Lord for himself, which is vital. It's so important because I found that most people don't doubt God's ability. Most people who come to faith in God or believe in God don't doubt his ability. They'll say, oh yeah, god can do anything, god is almighty. But they doubt his willingness, especially when they're under guilt and shame and condemnation. They doubt his willingness for themselves. So they quickly mentally ascend to oh yeah, the Lord is a shepherd, yes, but is he your shepherd? Well, I don't know. Is he my shepherd, maybe better people's shepherd, but it's whosoever will. When you claim him as your shepherd, then he'll release his shepherding qualities to you. The Lord is my shepherd.
05:29
I shall not want. Now, when I first got saved and I did this in the first service and several people immediately agreed when I first got saved I thought that just meant you shouldn't want anything. You know, be Christian, don't have any desires other than for a crust of bread and maybe a covering over your head, and don't don't be somebody who wants stuff. You know, like I want peace. No, no, no, no. I'd like my bills to feed, guide, shield and protect me. I will not lack. Now I came face to face with this scripture when City Light was just a couple of months old and I'm going to tell you how the enemy tried to work in my head and maybe you can relate.
06:26
Of course, city Light first started in a hotel ballroom in midtown Manhattan. You never forget the early numbers and that ballroom back in 2002 cost $500. And don't think ballroom like this size. It was a ballroom that fit 75 people on the 14th floor. Like we really made people work and try to find us. If you showed up on the 14th floor of the courtyard by Marriott on 3rd Avenue between 52nd and 53rd, you really wanted to be there. It was $500. And then, with taxes and whatever other fees, it was $550.
07:04
And the church was a couple of dozen people. That was a great Sunday. It would go down at its lowest to three people a few months in. So it was a poorly attended life group and the offerings I mean a life group of three people is fine, but okay, well it's. He said no, it ain't, but it's certainly finer than a church of three people. I'll never forget that Sunday when we had three people.
07:40
But I'll digress, let me not. I felt like I was preaching and dying at the same time. And while I'm dying and preaching the Lord the whole time, just saying I'm with you, I'm with you, I will do it, and my mind is scrambling on how will you do? How can you possibly do it? But he did it. He did it to where we grew, to four locations and six weekend services and thousands of people have come in. And you know, new York City is such a transient place so it is harder to build people because people come and they do a few years and they leave. But we've baptized thousands and thousands have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and we still get letters of people who remember us 10, 15 years ago how they came in and God transformed their lives, hallelujah.
08:34
But back to me with the 550, and offerings were usually about $600. Eight people come offering $600. 30 people come offering $600. And I couldn't be happier Because the whole the ballroom cost $550, so the Lord met. The ballroom cost. Woo, you know I wasn't thinking well, it would be nice if we had staff, if we had a worship leader, because it was an iPod that was doing the worship. You know, I couldn't even get my faith at that place. I was just so touched that people believed in our vision, so much that somehow $600 appeared on a Sunday.
09:20
And after a few months of that I realized this is not a sustainable model. I mean, I knew it, but I wanted to celebrate every victory. But then reality hits you, and here's how the enemy came to me. He would show me Christians who were suffering. So you have, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack. And then he would go to work on me in my mind, showing me Christians who did lack and taunt me and go oh, what about them?
09:48
Where is your God who says you will not lack? Where is he in their lives? Right, which is a fair question when you see the tension of who God is and how. He said he'd reveal himself to you in a practical way. But then there's people not living that way. A fair question is why? And so I asked the Lord why?
10:09
And I heard the glorious divine response deep in my spirit. He said none of your business, you don't know. You don't know where they are in their walk with me. You don't know where their faith level is. You don't know what they're believing me for. You don't know. There's the whole story. You don't know. But here's what you can know, you and the decision that you've made. So what are you going to believe, son?
10:40
And it's at that moment where I had to decide once and for all well, no matter what I'm seeing around me, here's what I believe the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want, I shall not lack. I don't care what I see going on around me. I can't go in and diagnose everyone else's problems, but I can, for me and my family, make a stand that, whatever's happening, I'm not going to let my circumstances form my theology. I'm going to make sure that my theology is based on one thing and one thing only not my feelings, they change, not my circumstances, they change, but the unchangeable word of God and that tension between what God said he'd do and who he said he is, the tension between that and what you're actually experiencing. The gap lessens and becomes non-existent as you stubbornly cling to the truth of God's word. Can you say amen, amen? So let's just say that the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not lack. Amen.
11:43
He makes me to lie down in green pastures. You see the prosperity there. It doesn't say a bunch of dried out and tumbled down weeds, it's fresh, tender, juicy green pastures. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He makes me to lie down. That's prosperity, that's his abundance, that's where his provisional care is. And then he leads you beside the still waters.
12:25
Now, the Hebrews. They had a relationship with the waters, and tempestuous or tumultuous waters were considered a very bad omen. That's why the scriptures will always highlight if the sea was rough. That's why the scriptures will always highlight if the sea was rough. That's why the Bible says in Revelation God before his throne, there is a sea as of glass. It doesn't really say sea of glass. That would be weird because you couldn't wear high heels if you tried to walk on that sea. But it just means it's a still sea, not a ripple, not a wave. What does that mean? That means in the presence of God there is no tempestuous, no tumultuous problems. There is peace, there is no drama.
13:15
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, so we can believe God and lean into him and trust. Lord, you come into my life, you bring me into green pastures. This is a psalm to stand on, a psalm to memorize, a psalm to whisper. When you get up in the morning and when you go to bed at night, lord, you take me to green pastures. And when you go to bed at night, lord, you take me to green pastures. And then your will for me is to lead me beside still waters where there's no drama. Hallelujah, hallelujah. How many would you like a quieter life with no drama?
14:04
I've been contemplating that lately how my greatest promotions, my greatest growth spurts with the Lord or financially, in the natural or in other areas of life, they came always after a period of stillness and no drama. And then I just started thinking about how our lives, just the way culture has shifted, with us having all the information of the world and the amount of screen time and the way we relate to one another. It's shifted to where everything is louder, exaggerated and more brazen, everything Like to really help the church grow. My personality should be different, like that guy on YouTube. Hey, my name is Chaz. Go ahead, smash that like button, hit subscribe. We're going to go right now to her. You know I should be always in your face. Hey, pastor Bo Bo, bo, bo Bo. Here.
14:57
We got a fresh, new and exciting thing happening at City Light and then, okay, it's your time for a breakthrough. Next Sunday we got an even fresher, fresher, more, fresher and more exciting thing happening this Sunday. You thought last Sunday. I mean, how many times can you? There is something about stillness that our culture wants us to reject, but there is a glory in the stillness, in the peace. That's where your roots grow deep, that's where the Lord can come and work on you. That's when you can get comfortable actually just existing and being yourself. Yeah, hallelujah, Hallelujah.
15:38
The greatest financial breakthrough in my life came in 2020, when things got way quieter. Of course, I don't agree with the way things got way quieter, but the Lord used it. He used it and I took that time out to seek the Lord, to really get more hands on with my kids, play with my kids and we were just bonding as a family and to study Bitcoin, and I'd already put an irresponsible amount into it and didn't even fully understand it. I did that in 2019, and then, in 2020, I started going down the rabbit hole and, in that stillness, began studying it in the natural and going to the Lord and saying Lord, could this really be a financial solution the world has been looking for and didn't even know it? Could this really be an answer to corrupt bankers and the corrupt Fed and the devaluation of the dollar and a true store of value?
16:45
And your word says that false balances are an abomination to you. And what they're doing to our currency, which is really our currency, encapsulates our energy. It's stored energy, it's your life's work, and then they just debase it. We've experienced 40% plus inflation since this period of 2020. They'll lie, they'll say it's 17 or 20, they'll throw out all sorts. Remember when they were calling it Putin's inflation? What has he got to do with us printing dollars? And now your dollars are worth 40% less than in 2020. Huh, anyway, I digress again. But it was in that place of stillness. Hallelujah, let him take you to a place of no drama.
17:37
And everybody says I'm moving in silence. I love it when people post I'm moving, I got quiet moves. So why are you telling me 35 times how you're moving in silence? Go, move in silence, come, emerge back up and let us all admire what the Lord has done. But can't you see I'm moving in silence, yoo-hoo, doesn't anybody want to notice how I'm moving in silence. Yoo-hoo, doesn't anybody want to notice how I'm moving in silence?
18:04
Verse 3, he restores my soul. Now, this is precious because your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions, your spirit. If you've named Jesus and received him as your Lord and Savior, your spirit is cleansed, your spirit is brand new, your spirit is sinless. And get comfortable saying that my spirit is perfect, my spirit is cleansed. We didn't come into this world with a perfect spirit. We came into this world with a spirit stained with sin. That's why Jesus said you must be born again. And now that we've received him as our Lord and Savior, we've got born again. By the way, if you're wondering how do I get born again, I got a 20-point list for you on what you need to know. It's not that complicated. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with your, your whole heart. Give your life to him. You can get born again in a prayer that lasts five seconds and he will take the old spirit out. And the bible says put a brand new spirit inside of you. It's the only way to be acceptable in heaven. By the way, you have to be perfect to enter into heaven. You heard me? That's what the scripture says how can a man be perfect? Exactly that's the conundrum. That's why Jesus came, died on the cross, removed your sin from you, if you receive him and give your life to him and you get a brand new spirit.
19:34
But the soul and people use soul and spirit interchangeably often and they're not interchangeable. The soul is your mind, your will and your emotion. The soul is where our baggage is. The soul is where our hurts are, our fears, our paranoias. When the enemy comes to deceive us, it's in the soul realm. The Greek word psuche our psyche and the Bible says that he is a soul restorer.
20:02
Hallelujah, thank God, amen. How many of you are a lot less crazy today than when you gave your life? Yeah, amen, I mean, I'm not where I need to be, but thank God, I'm not where I used to be. Amen, he restores my soul, he leads me. This is key. He leads me in the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. Now, this is a little bit of a different take. We know that he will lead us. We know that he'll give us a victory because he loves us. The scripture is clear on that. But this is a little different angle that I want you to get Now. He'll do it for his namesake. In other words, he's got a reputation and he's got a vested interest in seeing you come through and succeed and he will not let you fail when you trust that he will lead you. He'll give you the victory for his name's sake. His name won't be blasphemed among the heathen. He'll do it for his name's sake.
21:07
Verse four yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The valley of the shadow of death is Steinway, it is Broadway, it is whatever street you live on. That's the valley of the shadow of death. Please note that it's not called the valley of death, it's called the valley of the shadow of death. And this actually was a literal valley in those times, a valley with all sorts of rock formations, boulders jutting out that would cause animals to cast bizarre shadows. So it was a known thing that shepherds would go and they would see what appeared to be a ravenous wolf or a mountain lion, a mountain cat, something that could really hurt them, and they would flee in terror. And then someone else would check it out and it was just a desert hare, a jackrabbit, a bunny, but the shadow it cast looked like a ravenous lion. So what is the Lord trying to get across to us? That 99% of the things you're afraid of are a mirage and an illusion, a fantasy. You think a lion is coming to devour you and it's actually Bugs Bunny. Amen. Hey, some of the things you were terrified of from five years ago do you ever chuckle today? Nobody, you're here, you're breathing, you're alive. Some of you you know. What I'd love the Lord is just to quickly like play a video clip of some things that you were dreading and terrorized by five years ago and show you how alive and well you are. What was it? That was the valley of the shadow of death. It was casting an ominous shadow, but the reality wasn't there. Amen, praise God.
23:04
Look, people got, so not me. Some of you were walking around with three masks on, wrapped around like the Michelin man, purple gloves up to your elbows. You're fine. No one likes to talk about that. Hallelujah. We had communion here and some people skipped communion. I said no, no, but be good, I'll be good, I'll behave. Could I have a clinically preserved communion please? No, we're breaking the Lord's body together. Please don't be uncomfortable, because that makes me want to just talk about it more.
23:58
How many of you here here have had your ninth booster. Well, if you haven't had your ninth booster, you're not vaccinated. Some of you, you tapped out after the fourth one, didn't you? When you started seeing triple, you said maybe I'll stop with these experimental cocktails that don't even work. And you didn't, jesus. But if you haven't had your ninth booster, you're not vaccinated. It's no longer working. You do know that people don't wanna admit this, am I excuse me? In this church we trust the science. So am I saying anything unscientific? If you haven't been boosted in the last six months, your last booster stopped working. See, what you didn't know was you were going to get the forever lifetime subscription service.
24:59
You go into Pfizer's headquarters and you see the marble and the hanging chandelier. You say how did they get that money? Yeah, from you headquarters. And you see the marble and the hanging chandelier it's. You say how do they get that money? Yeah, from you. Praise God, hallelujah, we just need to hear this. I'm still trying to find a good doctor. The last few I went to the initial visit. It's a half-hour commercial for the flu vaccine. Whatever happened to the good old days where they examine you, talk to you about your diet, about your sleep about your stress? No, it just it could be anything. Doctor, my left leg is falling off. Have you gotten your flu vaccine this year? It's very, very important that you get vaccinated for the flu.
25:56
I will fear no evil, for you are with me. I want you to see that the number one reason to not fear is because he is with you. Yea, though I walk through this valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For you are with me, your rod and your staff. They comfort me, hallelujah. Does anyone have an umbrella? Today's a good day for an object lesson. Thank you With the crook the handle, so I feel very charp. Charlie Chaplin is up here now. This, this part, would have had a bulbous end, but here's just what I want you to see that the Lord, in this metaphor of him being a shepherd, it says that his rod and his staff. There's something that bring us comfort and a lot of times, the way people see the Lord, that it wouldn't make sense that this bring him comfort because they believe that he beats us with this.
26:57
Now I actually, when I was Victor's age, 10 years old, I did some shepherding back in the mother country and I was so proud when it was time to move the sheep and the goats because it would be like a three mile distance and it made me feel so big and so adult. But really I could do it even as a 10 year old, because these sheep and goats have been doing this all. They're actually not dumb, they're very smart, and they've been doing this for several years or their whole lives. So all I had to do was just kind of just be there and they went from one field three miles away to another. One sounded like a bunch of reindeer, you know. They all had the bells and of course I would grab a stick because I wanted to feel more authoritative and I was and they knew exactly how to go from one field around all the different bends and the the rock roads to the other, to the other field. But occasionally one of them would go astray just a little bit.
27:54
Now, when my grandpa was teaching me how to shepherd, the first thing I did was start running and yelling at that sheep. Come back here, of course, with my stick. Feeling all authoritative, I'm like come back here. This one's wet too. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy, this is the $3 special, isn't it? It is, see, they changed it. It used to be the littler ones and we should have If we got our props from Dollar General, like Bonnie Anderson, bonnie Andrews, excuse me, okay, I would come chasing the sheep to hit it.
28:40
And Grandpa said no, no, no, you just need to come next to that wandering sheep and just very lightly. Most of the time you don't even have to hit it. And grandpa said no, no, no, you just need to come next to that wandering sheep and just just, very lightly. Most of the time you don't even have to touch it. You just come and go like this and it'll immediately straighten up and clear up and go into the direction it's supposed to go. Sometimes you just have to gently touch it. That's how the lord deals with us.
29:00
The bulbous end, that's not for the sheep, that's for the wolves. The wolves he beats Amen, not the sheep. That's why Jesus told Peter can you put the $3 on my tab? Thank you, we'll work that out. The accounting of all that after service. We'll work that out. The accounting of all that after service. They say clean accounting makes for good friendships, good and long friendships. So we'll work that out.
29:36
The bulbous end is for the wolves, for the enemies of God. You, the Lord, will treat gently hallelujah. You are with me. The enemies of God, you, the Lord, will treat gently Hallelujah. You are with me. Your rod and your staff. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Note that he prepares a table, a table of provision, but it's still in the presence of your enemies.
30:06
Sometimes we wish that we cannot be in the presence. The presence of our enemies is just this side of heaven. No matter where you are, it's in the presence of your enemies. Until you get to heaven where you have no enemies and some of us, we have this desire to experience heaven on earth and we will and we can and we should, but it will be in the presence of our enemies. That's both a victory and something that should give you pause, because they're there still. But you'll be the one having victory. You'll be the one supping.
30:39
You, anoint my head with oil. This is what shepherds did to sheep. To keep the mites and the ticks away, olive oil would be rubbed into their scalp and into their body to give them physical relief. But this is a picture of what the Lord does to us, when we're in his presence, when we read his word, when we pray, when we worship, heavenly oil comes upon us and there's not a one of us here that doesn't have some ticks. Amen, sheep, amen. We have our ticks, we have our quirks, we have our mites, but the oil of the Holy Spirit comes in with a heavenly barrier and brings healing in that area. And then one of my favorite scriptures my cup runs over. This is God's way. This is God's way, this is God's style. I've shared with you many times.
31:29
Whenever you see Jesus do a miracle of provision, it's always more than is necessary. Can you catch that in your spirit? The water to wine? It gives you the math right there. It's not by accident. The scripture says every jug was 20 to 30 gallons and there were six jugs, six water pots. So even if it was an army, they couldn't have drunk all that 150 gallons of wine. I know the Hebrews like to get down, but give me a break. How many times can you McGill a Hva until you fall over? That was overkill. That was so much wine. When Jesus fed the 5,000, there were 12 baskets of what Leftovers. When he blessed Peter with the fish, another boat had to come and help because Peter's nets were breaking and his boats were sinking. He's a too much God. And when he fills up the cup, me and my son have this thing. He doesn't do it anymore. But come up here. I just want him. I don't want you to feel like I'm embarrassing you. I just want you to see what a young, awesome man of God this guy is, such a blessing to me.
32:35
You can sit down and say but remember when we used to go through that thing of how you'd fill the Pepsi glass all the way to the top it top. It's like Dad, this is how you get young kids to backslide. If you're watching you make an example. No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm joking. Every kid does this, right? They don't know that you can make two trips, that you can fill up the cup halfway, drink half and then make another trip. Right? They always fill it up. It's like I don't want to get ripped off, so I'm going to fill it all the way up. And then you're walking and it's spilling everywhere. God didn't even say he'd fill it up all the way to the tippy top. God said I'm going to make it run over.
33:15
The world calls that waste. That's waste, and God says no, no, no, this is the way I do things, this is my prosperity, this is my style. We have to get this in our spirits because so many of us have belittled God into the stingy, mingy, tightwad, reflection, maybe, of the scarcity of our own hearts. But really he is big, he is abundant and he is generous, and when you receive him as your shepherd, your cup will bubble and tumble and pour forth hallelujah, it'll run over and finally he ends with surely it's a declaration of faith? Worship team, you can come on up, surely say this with me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So many people have faith for negative things to follow them. When I look in the rearview mirror of my life, I see who's following me it's goodness and mercy. Amen, goodness and mercy follow me and I will dwell in the house of the Lord. What is the house of the Lord? It's the presence of God. Today, under the new covenant, it's the presence of God. Back then, for David, it meant the physical house of the Lord.
34:33
Some of you know I used to live in the church building for the first five and a half years. And so I would read this and go. No, lord, deliver me. I didn't want to live in a church building and to comfort myself I'd read Psalm 23 and always say you know what I mean, lord. I'm not going to dwell in the church building forever. You know what? In the new covenant context? I'll dwell in the presence in the bosom of Jesus forever, all the days of my life.
35:01
Hallelujah, I want you just to bow your heads and I pray that the realities of Psalm 23 rain upon your life this week, that you receive him as the good shepherd. He will shield you, he will feed you, he will protect you, he will be there for you. He loves you. Feed you, he will protect you, he will be there for you, he loves you. He'll take you to a place of no drama and a place of abundant provision called green pastures. Hallelujah, he'll restore your mind, give you stability of soul. Yes, hallelujah, he will restore your soul. Yes, hallelujah, he will restore your soul. And he may lead you and walk with you through the valley of the shadow of death, but you will fear no evil because you know he is with you. And then he'll lead you through the valley into the paths of righteousness, because he's so great for his namesake. Hallelujah, the Holy Spirit, come what no man can do and pour forth the miraculous on people's lives, in Jesus' name.
36:17 - 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 Jancic and City Light Church, visit us at citylightnyccom. That's citylightnyccom. Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime. We would love to connect with you. We pray that you have been encouraged today, that you have been reminded how much God loves you and that you are surrounded by grace. Thank you for listening. Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church Podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.
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