Too Good to Stay Hidden

0:00 You're going to get to heaven one day and somebody that you don't know is going to approach you, tears in their eyes, and they're going to say, thank you so much. And the reason you're not going to know them is because you never met them a day in your life. But the reason that they're so grateful and thankful to you is because you are a member of CityLight Church and you sowed consistently into the work that was founded and blessed them. We've been sending people to Guatemala since 2009. Welcome to the CityLight Church podcast. Thanks for joining us as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that He has for us. If you want to connect with CityLight Church, feel free to visit us at CityLightNYC.com.

0:41 That's CityLightNYC.com. Pastor Boyan Jancic and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are surrounded by His grace, and that He has a real hope and a future for you. So again, my name is Muhammad. I'm one of the pastors here. Pastor Bo will be with us next week. Pray for him. He's not feeling too well today, but we know that the Lord is his healer. Amen.

1:24 Before I have the team come up and share, I wanted to express some things specifically. I know that we sent a team of close to 20 to Guatemala, and it was a powerful and amazing thing for them to be out there and to do that work. But the caveat is this. I need you to understand you went to Guatemala. I know you might think to yourself, oh man, they're missionaries now. Praise God. Super status Christian right there. They're not just life group leaders or life group members. They're like missionaries. They've gone into the field. They've ministered the Word of God that cannot be hid, nor should it be hid. Amen? They've done the work.

2:07 But you know that the Scripture actually teaches that as the sending house that we're missionaries as well. Did you know that? All right, Pastor Brian. Of course you knew. Big resounding yeah in the second row. Yeah. Well studied man. I understand you knew. I was talking to everyone else. But there is this idea in Scripture that we learn. It was a principle set up by David. David, after the battle of Ziklag, they went to recover their family, their stuff, because the city of Ziklag had been burned. And their wife, their wives, and their children had been kidnapped.

2:49 And they went to go recover it. But half of the army was too tired to complete the entire journey. So some of them went on and some of them stayed with the stuff. And upon returning, because they returned successfully having done the will of the Lord, they recovered their wives, recovered their children, and they also recovered a great deal of spoil. Amen? But there was some fellows among them. The Bible calls them a few wicked fellows. Let me read you what the Scripture says and David's loving response to them. This is in first Samuel 30.

3:33 I'm going to start at verse 21. And David came to the 200 men who were so exhausted and faint that they could not follow him and had been left at the brook Besor with the baggage. They came to meet David and those with him. And when he came near to the men, he saluted them. Then all the wicked and base men who went with David said, because they did not go up with us, we will give them nothing of the spoil we have recovered, except that every man may lead away his wife and children and depart. David said, you shall not do so my brethren. With what the Lord has given us, he has preserved us and has delivered into our hands the troop that came against us.

4:13 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as is the share of him who goes into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike. And from that day to this, he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel. Oh, praise God. Listen, I'm going to lie to you. I didn't budget for a trip to Guatemala this year, but the Lord made it so that I would receive my reward. Come on somebody. So here's the thing on a practical level, you're going to get to heaven one day and somebody that you don't know is going to approach you, tears in their eyes, and they're going to say, thank you so much.

4:59 Now, knowing you the way that I know you, you're going to be like, who aren't you? Do I know you from the left side or the right side of the pearly gates? The reason you're not going to know them is because you never met them a day in your life, but the reason that they're so grateful and thankful to you is because you were a member of CityLight Church and you sowed consistently into the work that was founded and blessed them. Again, we've been sending people to Guatemala since 2009. That's 17 years of ministry. Some churches get a mission team together, and they send a place. I've heard a comedian say this before, but it's actually very true.

5:40 They work on a doorknob for 10 years. Not so with CityLight Church. We've built close to 50 churches that double as community centers in Nabak, Guatemala. That is not a light work. That is not a minuscule nor a little thing. That is powerful. But the Scriptures are teaching us that that's not just the missionary team that went over there. That's you as well. So, I need you to get comfortable with that. I need you to know that every time you give two missions, you are effectively pushing forward the gospel on this earth to places that you can't physically go yourself.

6:21 That is powerful. Know that you do that by faith every single time you give. On a practical level, this is something that I just want to boast on our church a little bit, because not everybody can say stuff like this because they don't run their business the way that we do. Normally, with non-for-profit organizations, when they give to an international ministry, there are overhead costs to pay for their staff to do different things like that. So, when you give, let's say, $10, five of those dollars would be the overhead for the organization, and then the five that's left over they would eventually send to the place that you originally wanted to donate $10. Does that make sense? So, that doesn't happen at CityLight Church.

7:01 We have this arm of CityLight Church called Global Compassion. We already, as CityLight Church, have a staff. Our staff is a select, small group of elite Navy SEAL Christians that do everything. I should know I'm one of them. So, that means that every dollar that is donated to the missionary work that happens, whether it's in Guatemala or Ethiopia, every single dollar goes directly to the work. So, we've supported the McCombs, who they actually have put boots on the ground. They've been there for over two decades ministering to the Esheel people, which, another side note, the Esheel people are direct descendants of the Maya.

7:43 These are people that have never left that mountain. Sometimes they witness white people for the first time, and they're like, "'Oh.'" They're also very short people. That's why I'm looking up. I can only imagine what it was like the first time Pastor Bo rolled up, because you know he's very gregarious and very loud. There's blessing in many ways, but I can imagine them just being shocked like, "'Oh.'" But no, it's a powerful and a beautiful thing. I'm trying to get it through your heart that you have given tremendously to the work that is happening and the gospel being shared, not just abroad but also locally as well.

8:23 This is not something where you need to hop on a plane in order to be a missionary. In Queens alone, we have over 180 different nations represented. You're a missionary right here on the ground, and guess what? This gospel is too special for you to hide it in your coat. The reason we are willing to send people and pay for people to go is because we know that they need to hear this message. It is too good to be hid. Amen? So just know that the Lord thanks you. He honors you for the work that you've done in Guatemala, even if you've never been to Guatemala. Now, with that being said, I'm going to invite up Sarah Klinger.

9:06 She's our City Kids director. She's one of the missionaries who actually went on this trip. Despite her many roles that she had to do here, she was like, "'You know what? I'm going to go do this work.'" So let you hear from Sarah. Awesome. Well, good morning, everyone. It was such a privilege to be able to go with the team. We sent 20 of us down to Guatemala this year. And just so you have an idea of what we were doing while we were down there, during the day we would work on a construction project where we're actually physically building churches.

9:48 And one of the construction projects was actually in a village that was the first church in that village that was being built. And so we got to be a part of that. And then we also did VBS, which is Vacation Bible School with the children. So the kids would come and we would do a lesson with the children. And then in the evenings, we would have church services. So everyone would come and we would get to minister to people and lay hands on them and really just see the Lord move. So I'm going to invite the team to come up. And if media team, if you can play the video for us, you guys can get an idea of what we did. And then we'll share some testimonies of what the Lord has done.

11:00 We will carry. We bring Jesus Christ. Hope eternal, forever bright. Love unending, forever in our sight. Gospel power, igniting every night.

11:40 Holy Spirit, we bring Jesus Christ. Hope eternal, forever bright. Love unending, forever in our sight. Gospel power, igniting every night. Holy Spirit, we bring Jesus Christ. Hope eternal, forever bright. Love unending, forever in our sight. Gospel power, igniting every night. Holy Spirit, we bring Jesus Christ. Hope eternal, forever bright. Love unending, forever in our sight. Gospel power, igniting every night. Holy Spirit, we bring Jesus Christ. Hope eternal, forever bright. Love unending, forever in our sight. Gospel power, igniting every night. Holy Spirit, we bring Jesus Christ. Hope eternal, forever bright. Love unending, forever in our sight. Gospel power, igniting every night. Holy Spirit, we bring Jesus Christ. Hope eternal, forever bright. Love unending, forever in our sight. Gospel power, igniting every night. Holy Spirit, we bring Jesus Christ. Hope eternal, forever bright.

12:29 Love unending, forever in our sight. And I was immediately like, oh, where's this baby? And I saw a mom that she had a baby like on her back. And I asked her, you know, how old is your baby? And she said the baby was two months old. And I was like, oh, congratulations. And, you know, then we went to the service. And then when we were ministering and praying for people, she was sitting like all the way, you know, in the back. And, you know, I went over to her and started praying for her. And I felt like the Lord gave me a word of knowledge. And he just spoke to me. He said, postpartum depression. And I, you know, just started praying for her and speaking freedom over her. And I felt like the Lord said to me, tell her that I love her and she's a good mom.

13:12 And I don't speak a lot of Spanish, but I was able to say that. And so I said that to her. And she just looked at me and just started weeping. And I just kept praying for her and hugging her. And I felt like the Lord really just in that moment, just spoke to her exactly what she needed to hear. And the Lord moved through, you know, a language barrier and, you know, just such a simple, simple moment to really like touch her heart. So I just wanna encourage you guys that, you know, when the Lord speaks to you something so simple, it can be so powerful and to just speak out and to say those words. So, awesome.

13:56 So I'll invite Cassandra and Eduardo. You both can come up together. If you guys wanna share. Hi everyone, I'm happy to be here to share with you today. So one thing that I experienced on the trip was being able to pray for a woman. We prayed for healing for a group of people in a church. And at the end, the pastor had asked who got healed. I saw her raise her hand, I kept my eye on her. I just felt like the Lord was impressing something upon me about her. And he gave it to me at the last minute. And I made sure I went and chatted with her after. And I said, are there other people in your family who need healing?

14:39 I feel like the Lord's impressed that upon me. She said, yes. And so I knew she'd already received her healing. And then I told her that the Lord wanted to use her to bring healing to the other people in her family that needed healing. So once the Lord heals us of something, of anything, and he doesn't necessarily have had to have healed you for it for him to work through you, but especially when he's done something in your life, healed you from something, he will use you and wants to work through you to bring that same blessing, that same healing, whatever he gave you, to give it to others. So I'm gonna share that.

15:20 I'm sorry. And at the end, when I told her that, just her eyes, when she looked at me, I just wanted to share this part, this look came over her eyes. She looked at me, her whole countenance had changed. And she said, es cierto, which is it true? And I told her, yes, it was true. Amen, amen. Amen, awesome. My turn? Okay. Good morning, church. I'm gonna share a little bit of a testimony from a slightly different angle. And it's from the angle of the work that was done there in those villages. And it's because of the way this church, all of you included who give to missions, that's been able to help and really help those villages out.

16:09 You know, when we were out there, so my first time ever going on a mission trips was two years ago in 2024. And I was seeing the work for the first time, seeing the group come together, helping out with construction, building the churches. And I was like, all right, cool. It's, you know, they're laying the foundation. So going back this year was even more eyeopening because we went to about five or six villages and two of them were the same that we went to in 2024. And there's actual churches there fully built. And it's so cool to see the finished product of what was started because of the funding that goes into it. You know, these people have never had a church before and now they have a building there.

16:53 Now they have a sanctuary. Now kids are growing up in that community, actually seeing the work of God, actually going forth, seeing it's a safe haven, a community. Man, it's so many great things that are coming out of it. And we're starting to see it expand in these villages and it's so awesome to see. So I just wanna encourage you guys, when you guys take part in giving for missions week and the mission projects, just know you're doing so much more work. You are, man, you're helping in such a greater way than maybe you even realize because these people's lives are being changed because of what they're doing over there. So thank you. Awesome, thank you both.

17:35 But before Cassandra sits down, she shared a powerful testimony, but this woman also led our entire VBS team the whole week and she did it so well and was just such a gift to all of us to have her be such a blessing, to see all the kids' lives get changed and through her leadership. So thank you for that. Awesome. Matt, will you come on up and share next? Hey guys, how are you? So yeah, my experience was different. I was asking the Lord to give me a word for you guys and the two words was spoiled and struggle.

18:21 And the spoiled is spoiled in love and how spoiled we are here at CityLight to have a community that love us. I mean, we went out to Mike McComb's compound and we really spent a lot of time. The men were in this far cabin and we got really close with some people that we met here. And for me, it impacted me when I came three years ago, I wanted nothing to do with anybody. I would sit all the way in the back and Pastor Boyant would say goodbye and before bye would come out, I would be out the door. And I went from that to really finding people that love God and projected the fruit of the spirit towards me and allowed me to appropriate that same fruit to myself.

19:08 It was really, really healing. So yeah, it really impacts me the way that these people from Guatemala, they're from the Yashil, as Pastor Mo was saying, from the Aztecs and the Mayans. And the Yashil people, they don't have, and this is why I said spoiled, they don't have a word for forgiveness. They don't have a word for grace or mercy. So Pastor Mike McComb, he's been out there for 35 years and just trying to drill into these people who they've praised and worship false Gods.

19:49 And now we bring Jesus, we bring forgiveness, we bring the gospel and it was just wild that they don't have that word of forgiveness. Well, that's the whole thing. So that's why it's taken generations and generations of people worshiping false Gods. And then the struggle was just really how easy we actually have it here at CityLight. And really in New York and in America that God is here, the Holy Spirit is here and we make it so easy because we can all relate to forgiveness. We can all relate to grace and mercy. We have Google, if you're really not sure how it works and what that is.

20:29 So yeah, it's just transformative. If you're new here, this is a place that you can come to, get to meet people that love God and we'll project that same spirit. Awesome, thank you Matt for sharing. Just that Matt shared of how when he first came to CityLight was sitting in the back and left and now a few years later he's up here and that could be one of you in a few years, the next missions trip, you're up here and sharing that same testimony of how you really got rooted and plugged in to the church. I believe that there's so many of you ready to just take that next step here. So awesome, thank you Matt for sharing.

21:11 Josh, will you come on up next? Hi everyone. I have some notes but I just feel like I'm gonna speak from the heart. But yeah, so yeah, this is my second time being able to go to Guatemala and just coming this time around, definitely one a lot more confident and assured in myself knowing that I'm sent on this trip for a reason too. And so just going in with that expectation but to also just be very transparent, like the past couple of months leading up to this trip were probably some of the most difficult times and some of the most challenging. Where I personally was just not have, I didn't have much faith for myself and what God was doing in my life.

21:55 And so I was leading up to this trip, I was like, Lord, you're leading us to minister to other people but how can I do that when I myself, I feel very empty. But in faith, I still went. I remember the first night of worship, I remember just getting this picture of Jesus and then I just saw Jesus in the streets of Neba and I kept hearing the words, behold the throne. And in that challenge, I was just like, let me just focus on Jesus. And let me just do that, let me just, cause like with that, yeah. I was, you know, there's like with that, with that, like, you know, why isn't anything happening for me? It just puts so much pressure on myself to make something happen.

22:36 But I was just like, you know, let me just focus on Jesus for this trip and let me just see what he has to do. And I remember there was this one day that, one service, there was somebody, I just felt led to pray for. Normally we're just going through the crowd, I would just say, bless you in Jesus' name, bless you in Jesus' name. Just like, if you didn't really get a word, you just move on to the next person. But this person I thought was just one person, I was like, I was just gonna like, bless, let's move on. But like, when I laid my hands on him, I just felt this tremendous pain for him. This person had just been through trauma, just from the minute he was born all the way up to where, he's a full grown adult now and he has a family. And I remember just feeling so much, like feeling that pain for him, but then also feeling hope. And it was so interesting that I felt those two things at the same time, because that was just something I felt this entire trip.

23:21 Like, there is still a lot of work that has to be done, but there's just so much hope. There's just a difference I noticed this time around. There's an opening that the Holy Spirit is just really taking and just like, there's less of that religious spirit, it's still there, but like I see it and there's so much hope. But that in turn did a lot for me, I could now have hope for myself. There've been breakthroughs that I received, like from the minute I landed, like transparently got my first client for a business I'm starting. So like that started, yeah. So like, it's just been awesome. And then just like, just being able to just go on this trip has just been incredible.

24:01 So if it's even on your part to even like think about going, I would just lean into that. And I would just really just trust the Lord that he'll do something for your life. So, yeah. Awesome, thank you, Josh. And hold on, so you're trying to say that you put your hand to the plow, not worrying about your business, but worrying about his business. And then he profited your business. Oh, that'll preach. The Lord is so good like that. You know, we step out and you know, we do something for him and then he's like, I'm just gonna bless you back even more than you've given. Yeah, awesome.

24:43 Thank you, Josh. Eudelka, will you come on up and share? Hi, CityLight. I'm a little nervous, as you can tell. But before I go into the testimony, I just wanna encourage others to, you know, make time to do something beautiful for God. Like, I've also been really busy and had a lot of things to do, but it's really nice to serve others. So don't be scared like I was. Just have a leap of faith and do it. And then it'll bring you a lot of joy because this trip brought me a lot of joy.

25:26 I got to work with the VBS team and the kids were so beautiful. And they were waiting for us. Each time we came to the church, they were so eager to like hear the word of God. And when we worshiped, they were always smiling. And that made me feel really happy to be able to be there. And, you know, and help them. And it was, it kind of reminded me of God when he told us that, you know, we need to be like little kids because they were just so open and receiving. And the most beautiful part was when the pastor came and he read to them the book of Romans where he said, you know, declare that Jesus is Lord and then to accept God into your heart.

26:08 And they were so openly, all gave their life to Jesus. And so it was really beautiful. And I got to witness that. And so I encourage everyone to like, you know, don't be afraid and be able to go and have God do what he wants with you. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you, Eudelka. Don't go back yet. Stay here for a moment. So Eudelka, you know, came on the mission trip. And before, you know, I remember you were nervous and I'd encouraged everyone. And I was like, you know, if you, you know, haven't had a lot of experience praying for people, you know, join the healing rooms and you'll get to learn and experience that there. And this woman here took that upon herself and she has been coming to the healing rooms and allowing the Lord to just equip her before she went out and do it.

26:57 And just to see, you know, what the Lord has done in you is really just so beautiful. So Eudelka, why don't you come on up next? The mama bear of the trip, right here. Hola, buenos dias. Hello, good morning. Oh man. Okay. I'm going to watch the clock and I'm going to be good. Amen. Praise God. A few things is I think from the first service and even now, some of these people back here behind me have been very humble about how God has used them.

27:47 So I'm going to try to keep it short. So what God has spoken to me and just, I went in 2024 and I think this trip was just a really knitting of just to the Guatemalans and the Yeshua people in their heart and having compassion for them, seeing them in a different way, right? And a few things that stand out to me, there was one service in particular where we were, you know, pastor, we'd been released to just pray for people, go through the crowd and pray. And I went all the way to the back and I could see these four young girls, like preteens, maybe the oldest could have been 15, but they were standing in the doorway.

28:32 I could see their silhouette at the door and they were all kind of bunched together. And so I was telling them to come here. And so I didn't know if they saw me or not. So I went further and I went up to them and I said, come here so I could pray for them. Long story short, I, you know, they came up and I told them to raise their hands and they were kind of giggling, you know, a little girlish giggling. And I was like, okay, are they laughing at me? You know, I didn't know. But the Lord was, began to show me that I truly believe that there was, that they had been sexually violated. And so I began to speak and pray over them and declare freedom and we'll get into all of that. But I was speaking some things over them.

29:14 And one by one, they just began to profusely cry and everything, they were willing, they're holding on to each other. I don't even know if they understood me in the language. And so I began to declare some things, but just a little different note, how the enemy can work. We had one gentleman step up and it was like he wanted to interrupt that. And I was like, could he be the verbiage reader? No, let me stop. But anyways, and so he was trying to ask them, do you want to like go somewhere else? They're looking at him like, you know, we want to stay with her, right? So anyways, long story short, so I prayed for them and I believe there was deliverance and I declared some things over their lives. Another moment was where I called one of the, I think it was a bass player.

29:58 I called him off the platform to pray for him. And I had Nelson help me to translate. And his prayer request was that he needed just the strength of the Lord. He said, I just need the strength of God. You know, it's just little things, right? And we were in just seeing him receive like that and be set free. Thirdly, I truly believe that God has catapulted our church into another level when he used many of our young men to preach and bring the word of God. Nelson, Luke, Eduardo, all of them, you all would just be amazed. God was just, it was just really amazing.

30:38 And I truly believe that there was a cap that came off that day, right? So, amen. And so I just believe that we all have to get beyond ourselves of, oh, you know, I'm too shy to go. I don't want to lay hands. God doesn't have time for that because he's coming soon. Right? God, he's coming soon. And he needs all of our hands on deck to get the work done, right? And what I found about this mission trip for me is that I wish I could say that my last highlight was on their soil, but it wasn't. Because as we bring that fire back, right? Yesterday was an amazing day ministering with the Love Life and the women that were trying, you know, going in for the abortion clinic.

31:23 That was amazing. But afterwards, I did some errands and I went to a store and there was a young woman there and she was, I was checking out. It wasn't like she was outside on a smoke break. I was in the line checking out with her, right? And word of knowledge, it was very prophetic and prophetic, very strong. And I spoke it to her. I didn't care who was around. She begins to weep uncontrollably, checking me out. She literally, and so forth. And so I was like, okay, well, the boss isn't doing anything. Her fellow cashiers, no one's doing anything. No one's saying, move the line along. And we just had church right in the, in the.

32:07 Long story short, I almost left her with a God loves you. But I went after I prayed for her. I asked her about accepting Jesus Christ. And she said, yes, she said, yes. She repeated after me. There was no rushing. It was just as if someone came over after service and said, can you pray for me? And I prayed for her, letter to the Lord, got her phone number. Maybe one day she will join us here in church. And it all started when I was checking, you know, when I was checking out. But I asked her, has anyone ever shared Jesus with her? And she gave me an answer that people tell me all the time when I minister, just as I go in my daily life, when I witness to people.

32:51 And she said, my parents are religious. And then that opened the flood gate. So I'm going to stop. And I'm just going to say, praise God, to God be the glory. So it all starts with all of us getting involved. Amen. So like Pastor Mo said, life groups are starting. Let's go. And now that I have the mic, my life group, my life group, preparing for the glory, Wednesdays on Zoom, life group number eight, life group number eight, Wednesdays at 7.30. Who is your pastor with that bad example?

33:42 So besides being a walking advertisement for her life group, you could see how, you know, the anointing, you know, flowed through Erica, whether it was, you know, at a service where she didn't speak the language and the Lord just came through and did something. Or she's, you know, in the line at the supermarket and starts praying for somebody. And the Lord's anointing came. So wherever you are, no matter what you're doing, that the Lord's anointing can flow through you when you step out in faith and when you're in tune to what He's doing. And you just take that step of obedience to just follow Him and listen.

34:23 And He's going to do something so powerful and miraculous. And you're going to be standing up here with a list of testimonies, not being able to choose which one to share because the Lord's going to do something so powerful. So thank you, Erica, for sharing some. Sherry and Nelson, will the two of you come up together? I want to reference a, like a sermon that Pastor Bojan preached, I think at the beginning or towards the end of January. It was like his message for 2026. And he called it Peace for Pursuit, right? And about resting and receiving when you're resting.

35:06 And I felt like that was my experience in Guatemala was receiving direction, was receiving opportunities, was receiving even answer to pray. I mean, some of you might know, like Sherry and I are purchasing a home and a big thing that we were waiting for happened while we were in Guatemala. We got this successful news. So it's just like things were happening and the Lord was giving me opportunities to translate something I've never done, at least in that kind of setting, translating for Pastor Bojan into Spanish. That was nothing that I ever thought would happen during this trip, but it started simply, there's a theme, right, of saying yes to the Lord.

35:47 And it started with me simply saying yes to joining this trip. And then everything else came from it. I walk away feeling like, you know, I don't deserve or earn any of these opportunities. It was simply acknowledging that God does have a plan for my life. God has a plan for your life. And aligning yourself with saying, God, let your will be done in my life. And the joy that will come from that and the rest that comes from that too, of being like, wow, I didn't have to do anything. God just opened the doors. I walked right through it and I got testimonies to share because of that. So yeah, be encouraged by that. Today, pray, Lord, what is your will? Let your will be done and you'll see. You will see. Amen.

36:27 Thank you, Nelson. I'm gonna chime in here. I said at the first service, but, you know, Nelson's being a little humble here. He was not just a translator, you know, during the services, but he, you know, the first service he had shared his testimony and then, you know, the next day, Mike McComb, you know, the missionary, he would always do the translating during the services, but he went hard on that construction project and, you know, asked Pastor Bo, someone from the team could translate and he prayed about it and he, you know, asked Nelson to do it. And Nelson wasn't just a translator, but he ministered with every person that was speaking and the anointing just flowed as a team and in such unity.

37:10 And it was really awesome to see, you know, as Erica said, seeing, you know, some men rise up, but to really see, you know, the Lord use you, Nelson, and, you know, build you up, that was just really wonderful to see. So, awesome. Sherry, it's your turn. All right. I can share, well, hello, church. I can share from the perspective that seeing Nelson, like being in that position, I think we all have seen a lot of things in our life, in our spouse, in our friends, that like, you know, God is going to do something in their life, but you're like, when is that coming? Is that really coming? But in your spirit, you know, that's coming.

37:51 And I just want to encourage all of us to have faith and knowing that, you know, when that happened, like it will happen in God's timing. It will happen, like in the eternity timeline, it already happened. And what we need to do is really hold on to it and then continue to pray for it, continue to say, God, may your will be done, like in all the friends in my family. And the second thing that I also want to share is kind of like what Erica was sharing, like it's God overcome the language barrier. So one night when we're doing the VBS, I don't speak, personally, I don't speak Spanish at all. Like all I do is hola and then goodbye.

38:31 I really try hard. I can't say what's my name, but that's it. But God really overcome the language barrier because it was like seven of them, seven of us, I think, doing the VBS, but there was over a hundred of children. And in the Asian culture, like they are, they're not very like outgoing kind of people. They are very, I can say a little bit shy and like gentle, just because what has happened in the past, like they are kind of in a very, very lower rank even, but among the Mayan people. So it's like, you don't really see them like very confident, like American. So when we are serving like over a hundred kids, there is a one activity we're doing like a crafting and we have to help the kids to cut the stuff and then make the things.

39:22 And there are a couple like teachers from the church that are around, but then again, I don't really speak the language. I can tell they're like helping the kids, little kids trying to do it. And in my head, I was just like, you know what? I'm just gonna do something, ask them to do it because they probably do a better job than me trying to explain this to the kids. So I use, I of course got improved my body language than the Spanish. And I was able to teach them how to do it just by showing them and then getting them the tool. And they were just feel so like, they were shocked in the beginning that like I tell them what to do. And then they started doing it. And then I saw them like doing such a better job than me, like to serve the kids, to serve the community.

40:05 And in the end, they were able even just tell the kids what we are doing. So at the end, like I sneak a couple of the gift. I just acknowledge that. To give to the teacher and actually thank Dan for helping me to translate. I was just telling them like, I see so much in them. They're so capable and they can do so much than what they think they can do. And I feel like there's just a lot of us that we don't know that we can actually do so much. And we just need someone in our life to tell us that God has already give that to you. And you can do that completely. You're capable because of God. So, yeah. Awesome, thank you, Sherry.

40:47 It's beautiful to see how the Lord moves through the kids. And if any of you have ever worked with kids or have kids, you just see what a gift it is to see Jesus through their eyes. So Vlad, will you come up and share? I love your testimony of what the Lord did. Thank you. Yeah, good morning. This is my first missions trip I've ever gone. And such a unique experience I will forever treasure. So let me read my notes. I was doing VBS with the kiddos.

41:27 I enjoyed myself with the kids and the activities. We were wrapping up the VBS service. I was putting away the supplies when a kid appears out of nowhere and gives me a very tight hug. Normally, when someone gives me a hug, I don't get emotional. I just see it as a hug. But this one hit me on a very different level. It brought me to tears. After I said goodbye to the girl that gave me a hug, I asked God, why did that happen? After several hours asking God, he told me he was demonstrating his love to me, to her. I will forever treasure those moments. God bless you.

42:09 Awesome. Thank you, Vlad. I just, every time you share that, I just love that testimony of how, you know, the Lord just in such a, just a hug, you know what I mean? Just ministered and showed his love. So we've got just a little bit of time left. So we're gonna have one more testimony. So Luke, will you come up and share? Hallelujah. Vlad was my roommate. So we had such a good time together. He was such a good sport because everybody in this, praise the Lord, everybody experienced perfect divine health this entire trip, except for me. So, big thanks to Vlad for his patience and his love.

42:55 He loved me through it. But something that was so impressed in my heart is the same thing, kind of want to jump off what Vlad was saying because I wasn't in the VBSs at all. So I didn't develop a relationship with the children at all. But on the last meeting that we had, we kind of had this blowout, Holy Ghost service, and it was so cool. And all these amazing things happened. And then as we were getting on the bus, all the kids came out of the VBS and they started, you know, running towards us, giving us hugs and sort of said, kind of, don't leave. And I hadn't even talked to any of the kids. So I hadn't built a relationship with any of them. And it was so unusual to see, like, their defenses were so down. They were so, their hearts were so open to us.

43:38 And I was kind of like, what's going on? And the Lord impressed in my heart that they could see Christ in me, Christ in us, right? The hope of glory, you know? And I think that's can be so hard for us to believe about ourselves. Sometimes that Jesus really is in us and his light is coming out of us. It was like moss coming to light. They were grabbing onto us. And I was, you know, cause you know, you can have all these thoughts about yourself. And, but even as Erica was saying, we kind of need to get over ourselves. And I was just realizing, you know what? If these kids can see Jesus in me and are drawn to that and are touched by that and want more of that, then we need to believe that wherever we go, just the light of Christ is coming out of us. You know, it's not really about us, but it's about Jesus in every one of us, right?

44:22 And Jesus in me, in us is enough to change the world, right? That started happening. And I, on this trip, I saw Jesus in every single person that's here at the front, but he's in every single one of us here. So I just want to encourage you, believe in the Christ in you in your workplace and wherever you go, know that that light is coming out of you. Even as those kids were coming up to us, even if you can't see the effect, the word says that, you know, the wind, you can't see where it's coming from or where it's going, but you could feel the effect. So even if you can't see it, you can feel the effect of the Holy Ghost in you wherever you go in your life. So thank you, Lord. Amen. Awesome. Thank you, Luke. So as Luke said, he was not a part of the VBS, but so I don't even know if you knew this, but the end of the lesson and the craft that we did with the kids was making a lantern, talking about how Jesus is the light of the world and how, you know, we get to go out and be the light of Jesus to everyone.

45:21 So all of the kids, you know, at the end of the lesson and they made these, you know, lantern crafts and it said, you know, on there that Jesus is the light of the world. And we encourage them to go out and to share that love. And so they, I didn't even know that, but they took that literally and did it like seconds after, you know, they heard that message and received that, you know, from the Lord. So let's just give the Lord another hand for what he did this week in Guatemala. Worship team, if you guys wanna come on up, I know I missed saying that in the first service, but I got it.

46:02 I saw Pastor Mo's little motion. So I got it for this one. So yeah, worship team, come on up. And team, if you wanna sit down, I'm gonna turn the service back over to Pastor Mo. Praise God. Again, give yourselves another round of applause. And I say give yourselves because again, I'm trying to hammer home this message that as much as they went on this trip, you went on this trip. There's something too good about the gospel that it cannot be hid and it needs to be shared in every facet of your life. I love some of the testimonies because there's a theme that goes among it that they went to this thing, they did the work, but now they can't hide it and it has to continue even though they got back to the States.

46:53 Whether you're at the supermarket, whether you're at work, it doesn't matter. You are carrying some very valuable, valuable intel. And that's the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that there is forgiveness, that there is hope, that there is healing. Make sure you share that. It was so much so that we couldn't hide it that we had to send people to another part of the globe to make sure they heard that message. How much more the people in your own life? This message is too good to hide. So make sure you share. Amen? Amen. All right, praise God. This is the CityLight Church Podcast.

47:34 If you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jancic and CityLight Church, visit us at citylightnyc.com. That's citylightnyc.com. Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime. We would love to connect with you. We pray that you have been encouraged today, that you have been reminded how much God loves you and that you are surrounded by grace. Thank you for listening. Make sure that you subscribe to CityLight Church Podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.