New Episodes Weekly!
Aug. 8, 2023

Voicing Our Hearts: The Transformative Power of Prayer

Voicing Our Hearts: The Transformative Power of Prayer
The player is loading ...
CityLight NYC Church

Have you ever considered the power behind your first words or reactions? 
How can your initial response in the face of adversity, especially when it is praising God, bring about a change in your life? 
Join us as we journey to discover a life-altering lesson from a car accident and marvel at the miraculous power of praising God. 
We shed light on the importance of passion-filled worship and how it can serve as a catalyst for breakthroughs in our lives. 
Get ready to experience Christianity from a new perspective!

Transcript
00:10.807 --> 00:26.297
Music playing.

00:26.317 --> 00:28.398
Welcome to the City Light Church podcast.

00:28.660 --> 00:34.953
Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us.

00:35.700 --> 00:40.331
If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyccom.

00:41.460 --> 00:43.406
That's citylightnyccom.

00:44.780 --> 00:51.913
Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds.

00:52.640 --> 01:02.432
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.

01:04.249 --> 01:05.620
Music playing.

01:05.760 --> 01:29.234
I remember nearly 20 years ago I was given a BMW three series, but nevertheless BMW Music playing and the Lord was working on me to train myself to respond with praise when negative things happen.

01:30.880 --> 01:33.850
I had just been learning about the principle of first words.

01:34.360 --> 01:50.965
When you have an interruption in your life, when you get a negative report, when something bad happens, the first words you speak out of your mouth will determine the road, the course that you take, concerning that negative event.

01:53.960 --> 01:58.070
And I was in this awesome beamer.

01:59.721 --> 02:12.946
The Lord is teaching me this and I see somebody coming from my right and she's on her cell phone and I see out of the corner of my eye.

02:12.986 --> 02:28.143
I see this and she's laughing her head off on her cell phone, so she's oblivious to everything around her and she cuts me off and just whacks it and I stop.

02:29.560 --> 02:30.563
As soon as she whacked me.

02:33.240 --> 02:35.645
I feel like I need to specify as soon as she hit my car.

02:35.865 --> 02:37.408
I am in New York City, after all.

02:41.524 --> 02:44.163
She didn't off me, she hit my car.

02:47.805 --> 02:48.940
I just lifted my hands up.

02:49.040 --> 02:57.901
I was being trained by the Lord and I said Hallelujah, lord, you're going to do something great Now.

02:57.941 --> 03:03.429
She hit me hard, you know, have you ever been hit while driving?

03:04.161 --> 03:06.054
The first shock is how loud it is.

03:06.557 --> 03:07.040
Do you remember that?

03:07.160 --> 03:12.240
The first, what you hear in the movie you can't replicate what you experience in real life.

03:12.360 --> 03:14.748
You get hit and it's like kakong.

03:15.900 --> 03:16.844
The whole car shakes.

03:18.421 --> 03:21.107
I lift up my hands and say, jesus, you're going to do something great.

03:23.220 --> 03:25.327
I think I also said this will result in your glory.

03:26.700 --> 03:31.529
And now I get out of the car and I'm going let's see the damage.

03:34.660 --> 03:49.712
She gets out of her car and is very anxiously approaching my car and we both start looking at my car and we go around the entire front bumper and the hood and there isn't a scratch on it.

03:50.720 --> 03:52.365
There's not a scratch on it.

03:54.320 --> 03:56.024
It doesn't make any sense in the natural.

03:59.840 --> 04:00.603
She knew she hit me.

04:02.240 --> 04:06.069
I heard the crash and there wasn't a scratch on it.

04:08.240 --> 04:26.350
It was something that I believed that the Lord did miraculously to teach me the importance of first words, the importance of opening your mouth, the importance of giving him glory and praising him when supposedly bad things happen.

04:27.140 --> 04:38.144
I say supposedly because you don't know how it's going to turn out, but when you get that negative report, when it seems like you've gotten a life interruption and not the divine kind, not the good kind.

04:41.430 --> 04:47.569
Your words make all the difference and this is why the Bible commands you to praise him.

04:49.220 --> 04:50.644
It commands you to praise him.

04:53.320 --> 05:00.632
The scripture says to shout unto the Lord with the voice of depression, with the voice of triumph.

05:03.401 --> 05:11.869
These are instructions not on how to behave when you're on the mountaintop, these are instructions on how to behave when you're in the valley or in the pit of despair.

05:11.949 --> 05:14.362
Even it's easy.

05:18.324 --> 05:19.280
You know what's always funny to me?

05:19.500 --> 05:26.771
A couple that gets newly married what their first worship service in church is like after they get married.

05:29.701 --> 05:33.397
The guy who's never lifted his hands is like praise the Lord.

05:33.438 --> 05:37.106
There's all this hand, they're all so happy and filled with joy and there's this exuberance.

05:37.226 --> 05:40.192
And I'm going where was this?

05:41.461 --> 05:44.811
I'm happy that you're happy, but nah, that was in you.

05:45.201 --> 05:46.465
You didn't let it come out of you.

05:47.701 --> 05:48.865
Something stifled you.

05:49.980 --> 05:58.805
You told yourself every reason, whatever excuses you had, but, and then it tapers down.

05:58.845 --> 06:00.608
But that's how we can be.

06:00.869 --> 06:03.393
Every time it's time to worship and praise the Lord.

06:04.200 --> 06:06.928
Now I'm saying these things because I'm after your breakthrough.

06:08.620 --> 06:27.023
I'm after what's good for you, not because I want more rah-rah in the service, but when I take the mic after worship and there's after again.

06:27.063 --> 06:29.948
Look at the ceiling, let's somebody think I'm talking about them.

06:33.880 --> 06:39.472
And then I see there's some people and they're just kind of like looking at a dot.

06:40.360 --> 06:52.309
They got the hundred yards stair and they're just kind of waiting for it to be over, or they're thinking about what they're going to do later in the day or what's up ahead in the week.

06:52.921 --> 06:55.387
And my heart just breaks because you know they're missing out.

06:57.181 --> 07:03.563
And if you can't do it in here, where it's easy, how will you do it when there's a life interruption of the Satanic kind?

07:07.780 --> 07:24.531
But you shouting unto the Lord with the voice of triumph, you having a hallelujah anyhow, you get a bad phone call, you receive a terrible email, there's some kind of strife in your life.

07:25.945 --> 07:28.474
You have to train yourself to hallelujah Lord.

07:28.585 --> 07:30.392
I'm in the palm of your hand and I thank you.

07:30.505 --> 07:32.793
You are faithful and true and you're working it out.

07:33.465 --> 07:34.329
I trust in you.

07:34.645 --> 07:36.712
I shout unto you with the voice of triumph.

07:37.325 --> 07:41.912
If you can't do it in here, we're all gathered together and you have a whole worship team leading you.

07:42.025 --> 07:43.933
And how will you do it when the rubber meets the road?

07:44.125 --> 07:44.847
No pun intended.

07:53.845 --> 08:03.929
So this is something that we have to get, we have to get better in.

08:06.047 --> 08:08.691
There's those who are already like this is the wildest church I've ever been in.

08:09.766 --> 08:10.730
What are you asking of them?

08:11.985 --> 08:18.056
But we have to reach a point of critical mass.

08:19.665 --> 08:21.571
That's usually around 65%.

08:23.305 --> 08:34.852
We have to reach a point of critical mass of radical, dedicated on fire believers who are yes, yes, they're expressive.

08:39.325 --> 08:46.332
This is not a style thing, this is not a denomination thing, this is not a personality thing.

08:46.785 --> 08:48.591
This is a Bible thing.

08:49.725 --> 08:51.792
There has to be an expression.

08:52.705 --> 08:55.754
You look at everyone who received a miracle from Jesus.

08:56.445 --> 09:01.735
There was a hunger and a faith manifested with an expression.

09:03.825 --> 09:08.636
He was healed and went walking and leaping and praising God.

09:09.785 --> 09:22.474
Can you imagine, emily, my wife Emily would whittle away, emotional whittle away and die if I just had an expressionless marriage.

09:23.677 --> 09:24.498
How do you do, wife?

09:27.685 --> 09:28.428
You know I love you.

09:29.465 --> 09:31.531
I wrote you a letter about it before we got married.

09:34.025 --> 09:38.608
There has to be a passion that's expressed and you read the Psalms.

09:38.648 --> 09:40.814
You cannot deny that there is a passion there.

09:41.545 --> 09:43.292
You say, well, I'm not an expressive person.

09:43.885 --> 09:45.150
Yes, you are.

09:45.985 --> 09:46.990
Yes, oh, no, I'm shy.

09:47.465 --> 10:10.113
No, if you were right now getting on a subway train and you were holding the door for someone and somehow the door's malfunctioned and caught your finger and the door's jammed on your finger, you would not say Cheerio, good people, perchance, is there anybody on the subway car that could help me out?

10:12.205 --> 10:19.651
You would very expressively say, ah, somebody pull me out of here.

10:21.125 --> 10:24.693
All of a sudden, what happened to your shyness and your introvertedness?

10:27.345 --> 10:31.106
Your passion came out Again.

10:31.146 --> 10:43.056
This is not a personality thing, this is a Bible thing and I'm after it because I know your breakthrough is on the other end of it.

10:44.306 --> 10:48.069
It is Lifting up the hands.

10:48.791 --> 10:50.455
It's not a denomination thing.

10:51.145 --> 10:53.586
You see it in the Scriptures Over.

10:53.606 --> 11:04.132
And David said Lord, in Psalm 67, this is how I'm going to bless you while I live, I will lift up my hands to your name.

11:05.225 --> 11:11.356
Paul said I want everywhere men lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting.

11:13.725 --> 11:16.211
That means don't be angry, don't be confused.

11:17.213 --> 11:20.228
Lift up your holy hands, and I'll never forget.

11:20.288 --> 11:23.577
That was the weird thing to me when I first became a Christian.

11:23.625 --> 11:27.173
I could deal, even speaking in tongues, because it was explained to me.

11:28.336 --> 11:32.394
I understood it and to me it was cool and supernatural, it was awesome.

11:33.465 --> 11:35.290
But then the people lifting up their hands.

11:35.350 --> 11:39.753
I thought to myself now this is starting to look fanatical.

11:43.312 --> 11:46.017
I want a cool Christianity that I can export.

11:46.057 --> 11:52.046
But this lifting up the hands, that's probably all the movies I'd seen beforehand, maybe.

11:52.086 --> 11:59.052
I saw some videos of some snake handlers in the Appalachian Mountains and I associated it with the fanatic lifting up the hands.

12:01.145 --> 12:12.206
So it wasn't until I was saved in 92, it wasn't until my first year of college in 94, in a church out in Long Island, everybody would lift their hands and I would think you know what?

12:12.226 --> 12:13.069
I'm going to give this a try.

12:15.345 --> 12:18.093
I'm sensing the Lord, I'm wanting to just worship Him.

12:19.125 --> 12:22.453
And it was the eternal struggle to get half-messed.

12:24.305 --> 12:35.251
Just, you know, a lot of us have main character syndrome we think everybody's looking at us, we think people are judging us, we think we're so interesting.

12:35.525 --> 12:36.669
Nobody really cares.

12:37.852 --> 12:41.171
They don't, they're too busy thinking that everyone's looking at them.

12:43.025 --> 12:46.372
So in my mind I thought the whole church is going to look at me.

12:50.085 --> 12:53.954
And why did it take so much for my hands to get half-messed?

12:55.565 --> 12:57.011
Because there was breakthrough there.

12:57.865 --> 13:13.195
There was something about surrender, there was something about the Prince of the Power of the Air and you lifting up your hands into the air and saying this is my space, even totally secular humanists.

13:13.965 --> 13:14.527
What's his name?

13:15.965 --> 13:19.928
The motivational speaker with a face like a horse, tony Robbins.

13:21.988 --> 13:25.145
By what, you all knew who I was talking about right away.

13:26.228 --> 13:27.794
Don't look at me like how could you say that?

13:28.205 --> 13:30.228
You knew who I was talking about right away.

13:37.205 --> 13:37.988
You need to repent.

13:39.031 --> 13:39.994
That was a test.

13:40.205 --> 13:43.112
I wanted to see if you would get in on it and you all laughed right away.

13:45.205 --> 13:46.590
Totally secular.

13:46.690 --> 13:59.145
But he will say in the morning the first thing you should do is take a wide stance, lift up your arms in a V shape, because there is a mind-body connection and it prepares you for a day of victory.

13:59.646 --> 14:02.976
Your physiology changes when you lift up your hands for 30 seconds.

14:03.325 --> 14:15.028
That's just him, from a totally secular, humanistic point of view, never mind the spiritual of what you're actually saying I surrender.

14:16.586 --> 14:20.535
You're saying I worship you and you're in a place of receiving.

14:22.566 --> 14:28.971
But these are the expressions that have somehow just been relegated to oh, that's charismatic, oh, that's Pentecostal.

14:30.787 --> 14:43.956
No, it's Bible, and it is Bible to shout unto the Lord with the voice of triumph, to open your mouth, especially, especially when you don't feel like it.

14:45.848 --> 14:47.012
That's where the victory is.

14:47.786 --> 14:58.530
Anybody can praise him on the mountaintop Hallelujah.

14:59.587 --> 15:01.315
Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

15:03.102 --> 15:03.944
And they that love it.

15:05.327 --> 15:06.931
What is it in that sentence?

15:07.760 --> 15:10.970
They that love it will eat the fruit thereof.

15:12.660 --> 15:31.983
They that love what, they that love the truth that death and life are in the power of the tongue, they that love the fact that God created you in his similitude, in his image, and that the same creative power he has in his mouth he put in yours.

15:37.000 --> 15:42.707
And so you just look, it seems like I'm harping on a little thing, but this is so big.

15:45.120 --> 15:51.449
There's so many exhortations in the Bible for God's people to open their mouths and speak.

15:53.060 --> 15:54.125
Over and over again in the Psalms.

15:54.185 --> 15:56.723
Just let it stand out to you.

15:56.763 --> 16:33.628
Every time the Psalm says I will say, I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, my strength, my high tower, my fortress, my shield, my buckler I will say not, I will think not, I will write, I will say and so the enemy is not worried, he's not intimidated of God's people coming together, and half of them during a crescendo like that, where it was our opportunity to really let the maker and king of heaven know, to make a declaration here in New York City.

16:34.720 --> 16:53.407
He's not intimidated, he's not bothered, he loves it when a chunk of us are just I'm after your breakthrough there is a satanic gorilla glue and he comes and he applies it on people's lips.

16:55.024 --> 16:57.947
I used to say crazy glue but nobody knew what I was talking about.

16:58.020 --> 16:59.626
It was an outdated reference.

17:02.562 --> 17:03.685
It's gorilla glue now.

17:05.670 --> 17:10.921
You remember crazy glue, the guy with the hard hat, this thing Awesome.

17:11.002 --> 17:12.266
Four people are in their 40s.

17:12.587 --> 17:13.189
That's beautiful.

17:15.820 --> 17:17.607
You want some gorilla glue, super glue.

17:18.840 --> 17:19.503
It's good glue.

17:20.560 --> 17:23.870
The thing that holds up my smartphone and my dashboard.

17:23.900 --> 17:28.710
You know it comes with a suction and it just kept falling off, falling off and I was like you know what?

17:28.840 --> 17:31.845
I don't care what it does to the resale value gorilla glue right on the dashboard.

17:32.600 --> 17:34.006
It's been like a statue ever since.

17:35.580 --> 17:39.880
He loves to come with that gorilla glue, put it on your lips, especially when you're going through it and you're just.

17:41.642 --> 18:07.611
If you're quiet, you're not creating, but when you begin to speak, especially when you're praising him, some of you you've never shouted hallelujah out loud and I'm glad for that.

18:08.180 --> 18:14.103
I'm glad only because it shows that we're a growing church and there's people at all different levels in their Christianity.

18:15.180 --> 18:27.649
I'm glad you don't want to become just like this incestual blessed me club of 20 people that have all known each other for the last 20 years and they're all hallelujah people.

18:27.720 --> 18:32.432
But there's a disease in church known as koinonitis.

18:35.240 --> 18:37.268
You know, koinonia is the Greek word for fellowship.

18:37.380 --> 18:52.367
That's beautiful, but when there's no new people coming in that are not evangelizing and the church isn't growing and no one's getting saved, then it just becomes this inbred, impenetrable social club and then you have the disease of koinonitis.

18:56.460 --> 18:58.748
So I'm glad that there's different people at different levels.

18:59.460 --> 19:00.163
I'm after those.

19:00.444 --> 19:09.712
You may be like me in 94 where I couldn't get past half-mast and when I finally did, oh, it changed a lot of things.

19:17.160 --> 19:19.428
I want to give you permission this morning to be expressive.

19:24.160 --> 19:28.331
You notice that Jesus never quieted anybody.

19:28.620 --> 19:29.964
I always found that fascinating.

19:32.180 --> 19:35.465
That is awesome, it's beautiful.

19:35.560 --> 19:36.845
He never shi anyone.

19:37.980 --> 19:42.008
You think about what it looked like when he was ministering all the kids running around.

19:43.520 --> 19:44.544
They didn't have children's church.

19:44.584 --> 19:52.905
Then Babies crying, kids running around, people talking amongst themselves and then people crying out.

19:53.800 --> 19:56.881
Now the religious quieted people blind.

19:56.921 --> 20:00.647
Bartimaeus shouted "'Son of David, have mercy on me'".

20:00.700 --> 20:02.566
And it says they all went shh, don't bother him.

20:03.640 --> 20:04.825
And you know what his response was.

20:05.300 --> 20:09.524
It says he cried out all the more "'Son of David?

20:09.905 --> 20:21.929
have mercy on me'" and that caught Jesus' eye and released the anointing that made old blind Bartimaeus see again.

20:26.001 --> 20:30.446
I mean, almost every miracle of healing falls under this category.

20:30.840 --> 20:37.286
But I was always especially intrigued with the paralytic and his friends that climbed up to the house and ripped the roof off of a house.

20:38.320 --> 20:40.325
It says Jesus seeing their faith.

20:41.950 --> 20:44.568
You would think he would say "'What have you done to this nice man's roof'.

20:46.416 --> 20:48.264
But Jesus was like "'Well, we'll get to the roof.

20:48.760 --> 20:49.845
I'll send you a love offering'".

20:51.960 --> 20:57.267
My ministry's gotta covered, but he saw their faith.

21:02.622 --> 21:03.143
It matters.

21:06.268 --> 21:18.526
It matters If you're locked up, you prevent God from touching you and bringing into your life what he wants to bring into your life.

21:20.300 --> 21:22.628
And there's all these reasons and lies.

21:23.020 --> 21:25.427
I was taught something in Bible school, just about life.

21:25.568 --> 21:26.210
I'll never forget.

21:26.500 --> 21:27.885
I was just teaching my son this last week.

21:30.760 --> 21:33.106
I'll never forget the statement Excuses are lies.

21:34.740 --> 21:36.165
All excuses are lies.

21:37.460 --> 21:41.268
Excuses we give other people, excuses we make for ourselves they're all lies.

21:46.180 --> 21:49.866
So whatever excuses you've been telling yourself oh, that's not my personality.

21:50.400 --> 21:52.406
Oh, that sounds too radical or fanatical.

21:53.880 --> 21:55.667
Oh, I'll do it in the privacy of my own home.

21:56.920 --> 22:03.024
You should be willing to do it anywhere, and you're blessed to live in New York City where you could do it anywhere and no one will even look twice.

22:03.980 --> 22:05.305
You can do it on a subway platform.

22:06.140 --> 22:11.822
You can lift both hands and shout in tongues if people walk right past you and not even pay you any mind.

22:21.343 --> 22:25.364
I'm just reminded yesterday, when you came into the house, I closed on the house.

22:26.407 --> 22:27.150
It was amazing.

22:31.580 --> 22:36.628
So Mauricio came over yesterday and he came in already drunk in the Holy Spirit.

22:37.961 --> 22:41.805
I heard him laughing in the driveway and so I opened the door.

22:41.865 --> 22:48.305
He comes in and I immediately just let out a praise in a heavenly language.

22:48.540 --> 22:49.344
He joins me in.

22:49.660 --> 22:53.805
Now there's no furniture in the place and it's stone floor, so it just echoes.

22:54.261 --> 22:58.766
I mean, it was like you had a sound stage and then there was one of those speed walk.

22:58.806 --> 22:59.549
I love the suburbs.

22:59.700 --> 23:01.046
I'm getting used to suburb culture.

23:01.540 --> 23:06.087
I didn't know speed walking was still a thing, but I guess it's like I think of the 90s and mall walkers.

23:06.180 --> 23:15.244
But she was you know, I don't want to imitate it, but and she looked in like who are these people?

23:15.420 --> 23:18.087
Are they Middle Eastern or what language was that that I just heard?

23:24.001 --> 23:24.925
I just gave her the nod.

23:26.440 --> 23:27.465
There goes the neighborhood.

23:31.505 --> 23:32.166
Hallelujah.

23:37.573 --> 23:39.255
God wants you to have an experience.

23:44.640 --> 23:48.271
Our Christianity has to be an experiential Christianity.

23:54.387 --> 23:56.069
I want you to just open up your heart right now.

23:57.770 --> 24:02.399
Those of you joining us online, welcome to City Light Church, right where you are.

24:03.070 --> 24:06.720
Just take a moment and let your guard down.

24:08.670 --> 24:12.959
That wall that slowly gets put up over our heart.

24:13.901 --> 24:14.443
Let it drop.

24:14.850 --> 24:16.376
Forgive whoever you need to forgive.

24:18.710 --> 24:22.555
If you're suffering from condemnation, look to the blood of Jesus.

24:22.670 --> 24:25.098
Then forgive yourself, as Christ has forgiven you.

24:26.514 --> 24:27.878
Some people don't praise Him.

24:28.310 --> 24:34.755
They're not expressive, because they say, well, I'm not worthy, that doesn't matter, he's still worthy.

24:35.410 --> 24:44.098
Who are you to stop praising Him just because you think you're not worthy, because you don't have a full revelation of the depth of the cleansing of the blood of Jesus?

24:44.650 --> 24:45.976
But he's still worthy.

24:50.530 --> 24:55.717
Open up your heart and know this that our God is a God of experience.

25:00.650 --> 25:05.358
Abraham became the father of many nations because he had an experience with God.

25:07.270 --> 25:18.875
Moses, he led the children of Israel out of Egypt because God appeared to him in a bush, in a fire in the bush.

25:19.170 --> 25:23.279
The bush was not consumed, but Moses had an experience.

25:25.510 --> 25:26.815
David had an experience.

25:27.690 --> 25:29.099
Elijah had an experience.

25:29.730 --> 25:31.196
Elisha had an experience.

25:31.630 --> 25:33.858
Every one of the patriarchs had an experience.

25:34.470 --> 25:37.018
Jacob, he had an experience.

25:38.790 --> 25:44.496
Layed his head on a stone, they were built different back then.

25:45.530 --> 25:46.254
I love my temper.

25:46.294 --> 25:46.575
Peter.

25:46.690 --> 25:51.057
Jacob finds a nice rock to use as a pillow and he realizes.

25:51.097 --> 25:52.916
He says there was something about that place.

25:56.270 --> 25:59.099
This is the very portal to heaven, the stairway to God.

25:59.810 --> 26:02.037
He had an experience that marked him forever.

26:03.110 --> 26:07.177
And then, as our ultimate example, jesus had an experience.

26:08.570 --> 26:10.377
He came up out of the water.

26:10.750 --> 26:21.816
Do you know how the father welcomed his son into ministry, into his mission, into what he was put on earth to do with an experience?

26:22.010 --> 26:34.625
The heavens opened and the Holy Spirit alighted upon him, descending from heaven like a dove and then, even more as an example to us, 120 in the upper room.

26:36.410 --> 26:41.317
No one had preached the gospel yet, but they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

26:41.590 --> 26:42.915
They had an experience.

26:43.470 --> 26:46.099
And then the world was turned upside down.

26:47.970 --> 26:49.537
God wants to give you an experience.

26:49.650 --> 26:58.112
God wants you to have a consistent, experiential Christianity, consistent Every week.

26:59.255 --> 27:01.501
Ask him, lord, I wanna experience your love.

27:01.590 --> 27:03.136
I wanna experience your voice.

27:03.750 --> 27:06.719
I wanna experience your shepherd-like leading and guiding.

27:07.130 --> 27:08.877
I wanna experience the miraculous.

27:11.495 --> 27:13.541
Begin to pursue him and watch what he does.

27:14.270 --> 27:18.273
Oh, he loves to answer prayers like that, the apostle Paul.

27:18.314 --> 27:19.298
He wrote the Ephesians.

27:19.410 --> 27:30.699
He said I pray for you that you would experientially know the love of God, which cannot be, cannot be intellectually known.

27:32.150 --> 27:33.235
That's the apostle Paul.

27:35.594 --> 27:44.817
I pray that you would experientially know, because he can't be known intellectually.

27:49.310 --> 27:51.197
I've been thinking about this all week for my son.

27:52.950 --> 27:56.496
He just turned nine a couple of months ago and I feel like the Lord has been visiting me.

27:57.951 --> 27:59.195
Let me clarify what that means.

28:00.370 --> 28:02.258
Sometimes the Lord has been visiting me for some.

28:04.776 --> 28:11.278
Oh, did the number of lumens in your room go up several orders of magnitude when he visited you?

28:11.910 --> 28:13.615
So let me that's preacher talk.

28:13.655 --> 28:15.401
Sometimes, you know, he said the Lord has been visiting me.

28:15.552 --> 28:16.649
Here's what I mean.

28:16.750 --> 28:31.879
I'm eating chips on my sofa, thinking about something other than God and all of a sudden on the inside I'm thinking of my son and I see him getting touched by the Holy Spirit.

28:32.810 --> 28:36.257
So that happens once, that happens twice, that happens over the course of the week.

28:36.330 --> 28:46.679
That's what I mean by the Lord was visiting me Forgive me for that preacherism and I discern this is the Lord telling me that he wants to take Victor to the next level.

28:47.190 --> 28:48.476
Sure, city kids is nice.

28:50.110 --> 28:55.175
Sure, the Bible stories are nice and we pray together as a family.

28:55.215 --> 28:55.797
That's nice.

28:57.232 --> 29:01.283
But now he needs to experience the experiential God.

29:01.303 --> 29:15.053
And then, out of the blue, pastor Murray's a good friend of mine text me yesterday and says the exact same thing he said.

29:15.333 --> 29:21.637
I later said I said I said why are you writing me this?

29:23.743 --> 29:24.110
He didn't know.

29:24.191 --> 29:31.369
He said I've been in an extended time of prayer and seeking the Lord and he's ministering at another person's church today and he's like I was in preparation.

29:31.490 --> 29:41.510
I've been like hearing the Lord like never before and I sense that for you and I sent you that text and I said you couldn't be more right on why is this important to the Lord?

29:42.310 --> 29:47.310
Because there's a lot of theories out there, a lot of chit-chatter, a lot of opinions.

29:47.755 --> 29:53.310
I don't know if you've noticed, but culture in America is radically shifting.

29:53.651 --> 30:09.482
A lot of theories, but when you have an experience, you have an advantage because a man or a woman with an experience they are never at the mercy of a man or woman with just a theory.

30:13.714 --> 30:20.910
So you're invited into an experiential Christianity by the Lord and those of you who are already experiencing that.

30:22.434 --> 30:26.504
I hear the Lord saying there's an invitation to go deeper.

30:26.510 --> 30:28.069
There's an invitation.

30:29.434 --> 30:30.697
I'm never satisfied.

30:34.849 --> 30:37.936
I want to walk down the street vibrating with the glory of God.

30:45.125 --> 30:49.812
I want to be getting coffee at the corner bodega and just be arrested as the Lord whispers to me.

30:50.885 --> 30:53.868
Do you know that Jesus said the Holy Spirit, he's the great comforter.

30:53.908 --> 30:56.511
He will come to you and show you things to come.

30:56.685 --> 30:57.989
He will tell you things to come.

30:59.213 --> 30:59.795
What does that mean?

31:00.085 --> 31:01.471
It means he's going to tell you the future.

31:01.905 --> 31:03.451
Everybody wants to know the future.

31:04.005 --> 31:13.568
People pay big money all over New York City for the readings and all that witchcraft and that occultism, and Jesus doesn't charge you things that you can receive.

31:13.608 --> 31:14.291
The Holy Spirit.

31:14.405 --> 31:15.691
He will tell you things to come.

31:17.005 --> 31:20.971
But the catch is, in order to receive that, to hear that, you have to be heavenly minded.

31:21.945 --> 31:23.752
And the thing is you can't force yourself.

31:23.865 --> 31:27.473
That's what I found All the exhortations to be heavenly minded.

31:27.585 --> 31:32.835
They used to frustrate me because you cannot psych yourself up into being heavenly minded.

31:33.285 --> 31:34.706
I've tried, all right.

31:35.007 --> 31:36.532
I'm tired of the way I've been living life.

31:37.705 --> 31:40.353
Today's Monday, I'm going to be heavenly minded.

31:40.414 --> 31:40.554
Go.

31:44.205 --> 31:44.566
You can't.

31:44.626 --> 31:51.351
It works for like the first two times, and then you're carnally minded again, overwhelmed with the cares of this world.

31:53.305 --> 32:02.447
Being heavenly minded is a consequence and a direct result out of an experiential relationship with the Lord.

32:03.551 --> 32:12.871
When you're talking to him and he's warming your heart, he's flowing out of your spirit, there's an ease to everything.

32:13.605 --> 32:14.328
There's an ease.

32:15.245 --> 32:27.630
And to those of you who you think you're distant, notice I say you think you're distant Because the Bible says because of the blood of Jesus, you who are on the outside have been brought near, have been brought close.

32:28.045 --> 32:31.987
But I understand when you're overwhelmed with the cares of this world, you think you're far from God.

32:32.048 --> 32:33.089
You think you're distant.

32:37.978 --> 32:38.719
What's the secret?

32:38.885 --> 32:42.631
Start talking to God, just start talking to him.

32:43.365 --> 32:45.774
Open your mouth and just start talking to him.

32:48.605 --> 32:55.012
When you're under attack, when you're in a dry place, it may be hard to talk to him for more than three minutes.

32:57.487 --> 33:07.271
Fine, talk to him for three minutes and then do it again an hour later and salt and pepper and interspersed your day then with three minute spurts, say what should I talk to him about?

33:07.345 --> 33:08.450
That's between you and the Lord.

33:08.565 --> 33:09.770
Talk to him about, just talk to him.

33:10.805 --> 33:18.153
There's other ways I can teach on the principles of prayer, how to pray effectively, and there are certain principles you can apply.

33:18.225 --> 33:28.269
But just forget that for now, you just need to open up your mouth and talk to your heavenly Father, and he doesn't mind.

33:32.725 --> 33:33.730
The Lord is so awesome.

33:35.305 --> 33:36.390
Can I confess something to you?

33:36.765 --> 33:45.608
I've already confessed it during 21 days of prayer and fasting and I sometimes think my confessions are the greatest hindrance to church growth here at City Light.

33:45.628 --> 33:53.403
But I'm gonna confess anyway.

33:54.745 --> 34:01.416
City Light won't pay for therapy sessions for me, so I'm forced to make the congregation my therapist.

34:01.866 --> 34:03.673
No, I want you to learn and I wanna share this.

34:04.025 --> 34:10.790
No, I have been bored to tears by listening to some people pray, and don't tell me you haven't either.

34:13.745 --> 34:15.833
Have you ever listened to someone pray for like 10 minutes?

34:15.945 --> 34:16.628
You don't know one thing.

34:16.668 --> 34:19.289
They said You're like, what are you even?

34:20.525 --> 34:20.625
Like?

34:20.646 --> 34:21.731
My mind is melting.

34:21.885 --> 34:28.989
My IQ just dropped 50 points just listening to you go around and around and oh, father, god, lord, we just, we just, we just.

34:29.049 --> 34:32.609
Lord, god, father, god, lord, god, we just wanna, we just.

34:33.492 --> 34:38.829
I feel like if we were to listen and on heaven, it's just, we just, we just, we just wanna, we just.

34:39.311 --> 34:43.954
Father, god, father, god, oh God, oh God, oh, god, father, god, we just, we just want.

34:48.005 --> 34:51.633
And I was thinking that, right, as somebody was just not here, by the way, never here.

34:51.825 --> 34:54.072
No, it's his other prayer meetings.

34:54.112 --> 35:22.170
I've been attending Another church in desperate need of revival not here, though and I'm having this thought, and the Lord, the Lord just warms my heart with his love and his patience, and you know he, he just receives things in a different way For me, in the natural.

35:22.210 --> 35:28.491
I'm just thinking somebody's just like will you just say something that I don't even know how to translate?

35:28.531 --> 35:32.374
Your prayer, it doesn't have a beginning, middle and end, it's just words.

35:32.485 --> 35:48.369
It's like this prayer salad, but the Lord is hearing their heart and it's music to his ears and he's just after our heart.

35:51.136 --> 35:58.289
Hallelujah, and so you can't go wrong is what I'm saying in talking to him.

35:59.865 --> 36:02.053
Don't ever feel intimidated, or what will he think?

36:02.545 --> 36:05.213
He loves you, he wants to hear from you.

36:06.205 --> 36:09.708
I'm so glad that the person who led me to the Lord about a weekend.

36:09.748 --> 36:10.973
I asked him how do I pray?

36:11.487 --> 36:12.250
Well, what is prayer?

36:13.625 --> 36:16.590
And he said it's picking up the phone and talking to your best friend.

36:17.145 --> 36:18.049
That set me free.

36:18.485 --> 36:27.132
That statement, actually, in the beginning of my Christianity, set me free to walk on a road of intimacy and not be intimidated, cause so many people are intimidated of prayer.

36:28.945 --> 36:29.789
I don't want to bother him.

36:30.025 --> 36:34.931
I know he's busy and he's so big and so strong and powerful and who am I?

36:35.085 --> 36:38.455
And so they quickly come in with a grocery list of prayer.

36:38.565 --> 36:39.630
Say amen and peace out.

36:41.105 --> 36:42.029
No, open up your heart.

36:42.445 --> 36:47.132
You know what the psalmist said Pour out your complaints before him.

36:49.925 --> 36:58.412
So, although we're to speak victory and speak positively, there is space for you to tell the Lord how you're feeling, how you're doing.

36:59.727 --> 37:05.167
Tell the Lord your questions about life, about him, about your faith.

37:06.249 --> 37:08.776
Open up to him and watch what he does.

37:09.785 --> 37:12.073
But you have to say it out loud.

37:12.605 --> 37:14.652
You have to speak to him about these things.

37:15.545 --> 37:15.906
You have to.

37:15.926 --> 37:21.112
There was something about our words giving permission to the Lord.

37:22.545 --> 37:26.690
Are you hearing me, yo, who Blasphemy, blasphemy.

37:27.725 --> 37:38.601
The Lord doesn't need our permission Many times he won't violate his own word and his word has said you still are a sovereign agent.

37:44.865 --> 37:46.451
You know the story of how the Lord saved me.

37:48.265 --> 37:48.847
Many of you do.

37:48.927 --> 37:53.713
Just came crashing into my life and wasn't really looking for him.

37:53.785 --> 37:55.411
He put a hunger in me, just rescued me.

37:56.585 --> 38:08.015
I always tell that story, but there's another story that happened about six years before then that I don't often share because it's odd, it was in the mid-80s, like 86, 87.

38:10.145 --> 38:11.751
No more like 85, 86.

38:13.445 --> 38:17.513
And my father was going through a very, very difficult time in his life.

38:20.185 --> 38:34.432
He thought he was very ill and he was watching a TV preacher by the name of Jimmy Swagger and I thought he had lost his mind and my mom was like he had lost his mind.

38:35.025 --> 38:43.049
Coming from Yugoslavia, there are two terrible things that can happen to you when you move to America, any Eastern European country.

38:43.571 --> 38:50.607
There's two horrible things, two snares in America you have to look out for as an immigrant One drugs.

38:51.650 --> 38:53.014
Two religious fanaticism.

38:53.825 --> 39:02.814
Those are the two awful things, and not the fornication, not the sex, not all that other degeneracy, but religious fanaticism and drugs.

39:07.065 --> 39:10.091
And so we're looking at my dad like this is it's proof he's lost his mind.

39:11.886 --> 39:17.354
And he calls me and my mom over and he says he's gonna say this prayer at the end.

39:17.445 --> 39:18.689
Let's all come in and say it.

39:23.423 --> 39:29.424
So my mom and I he has tears running down his face and we huddle and we say a prayer.

39:29.695 --> 39:30.780
I don't even know what I said.

39:31.455 --> 39:36.240
Later I realized, hey, if it was the prayer at the end of the TV show, at the end of the preaching segment.

39:36.355 --> 39:49.787
It was a type of the sinner's prayer and but I didn't even know the word, I didn't even know what I was saying, I just mouthed off some prayer and then that ended and we never talked about God ever again for years.

39:51.555 --> 39:52.520
My dad didn't continue.

39:52.735 --> 39:53.820
My dad didn't read the Bible.

39:54.475 --> 40:02.040
It was just because, when the crisis lifted, his pursuit for God lifted and it was just like business as usual, like it never, ever happened.

40:04.835 --> 40:06.601
But what?

40:06.641 --> 40:11.421
Six years later, the Lord came crashing into our lives.

40:11.782 --> 40:13.660
Through me and then my parents were one.

40:15.255 --> 40:34.845
I've often wondered could it be that the reason he came crashing in so aggressively, violently into our lives was because six years before, even though we didn't know what we were mouthing off, we legally asked him to, we legally opened up our lives for him to invade?

40:35.336 --> 40:36.601
Words matter.

40:37.295 --> 40:42.721
You were saved and forgiven of all your sins by the words of your mouth.

40:44.055 --> 40:47.421
You confessed with your mouth and believed in your heart.

40:48.215 --> 40:50.504
We, in that prayer, only confessed with our mouth.

40:50.615 --> 40:54.301
We didn't really believe in our heart, but there's still some kind of power to words.

40:55.655 --> 41:01.520
So be careful when you say I'll never do this again and it's something you know you should do, something the Lord is calling you to.

41:02.475 --> 41:06.686
You can bind yourself up, legally speaking, with your words.

41:07.535 --> 41:08.841
Don't curse your life like that.

41:11.972 --> 41:12.234
Hallelujah.

41:12.896 --> 41:20.415
I'm feeling like we should sing a song to Jesus.

41:24.316 --> 41:27.434
The Lord wants to just breathe fresh on you.

41:29.321 --> 41:32.195
Our church is in a special place.

41:32.595 --> 41:32.856
You know how.

41:32.897 --> 41:33.078
I know.

41:35.271 --> 41:35.514
I just know.

41:38.223 --> 41:38.724
I just know.

41:39.780 --> 41:43.655
It's like when you go outside and you smell the air and you know it's gonna rain.

41:46.388 --> 41:48.635
I just know there's some shift happening.

41:48.635 --> 41:51.633
Somehow it's tied to this whole house thing.

41:51.653 --> 41:51.955
That happened.

41:51.975 --> 41:52.499
It happened.

41:52.519 --> 41:55.647
I wasn't believing for it, I wasn't pressing in for it.

41:56.300 --> 42:01.075
In a space of nine days, we went from flooded Brooklyn condo to making an offer on a house.

42:01.665 --> 42:02.195
We went to the house.

42:02.541 --> 42:03.275
We went to the house.

42:03.498 --> 42:04.534
We went to the house.

42:04.595 --> 42:11.706
We made an offer on a house miraculously, and then we had already planned on vacationing overseas.

42:13.155 --> 42:17.020
And then we make an offer on the house and the first question Emily had was are we still going on vacation?

42:17.835 --> 42:19.882
Because this is not a time to be leaving the country.

42:20.355 --> 42:22.637
There's so many things that can go wrong with a deal like this.

42:25.685 --> 42:26.246
I looked at her.

42:26.266 --> 42:28.742
I said, in Jesus name, we're going on vacation.

42:29.735 --> 42:30.800
Yes, we are.

42:32.739 --> 42:39.061
And I got crazy calls and emails while on vacation and there was so many things that could you know how it is so many things.

42:41.435 --> 42:42.841
And then it went over.

42:43.095 --> 42:45.402
I had that interest rate lock at a delicious 6.1.

42:46.415 --> 42:48.282
And now it's like 7.3 or something.

42:49.616 --> 42:53.723
And so it went over that because the deal kept being put into the future.

42:55.655 --> 42:58.144
And now the mortgage company is like already $2,500.

42:58.195 --> 43:06.463
If you want to extend it another two weeks, I mean that's a no brainer, finance wise, but now I'm just being extorted, but okay.

43:07.315 --> 43:13.743
And then, right before the closing, I do the house inspection and I keep do you mind if I say what you do?

43:15.017 --> 43:21.262
He's a man of many talents but his primary profession is an attorney and he focuses on real estate Brian Anderson there.

43:22.536 --> 43:24.864
And right before the closing, I do the final walkthrough.

43:25.075 --> 43:27.043
And they took all the mirrors down in the bathroom.

43:27.075 --> 43:39.699
And now my lawyer had explained the way that works is, if you take a house, flip it upside down, whatever comes out, they can take, but whatever sticks, I mean it was like fixed to the wall, now there's no mirrors.

43:41.195 --> 43:45.661
And I had a great attorney and he was like you know, we're gonna get those.

43:45.775 --> 43:46.879
They'll either compensate you.

43:47.080 --> 43:49.241
And I'm like you know what, let him have the mirrors.

43:50.015 --> 43:52.780
I don't want to frustrate this at all, I don't want to mess with it.

43:53.375 --> 43:54.198
Let's just close.

43:54.218 --> 43:56.859
Because there was so many, it was a miracle.

43:56.879 --> 43:58.283
And then we just closed on Friday.

43:59.375 --> 44:01.156
Why am I saying all this One?

44:01.216 --> 44:02.200
It was a major victory.

44:02.715 --> 44:13.620
But I feel, because of the way God did it, this wasn't me just thinking about something, talking about something saving for something, believing for something, and it was supernatural.

44:14.115 --> 44:15.520
It was absolutely supernatural.

44:16.355 --> 44:21.281
Our lives have completely changed in just a few months and I just want to encourage some of you.

44:21.435 --> 44:22.681
How does that saying go?

44:23.879 --> 44:28.645
There's weeks where nothing happens and then days where years happen, or something like that.

44:28.855 --> 44:33.000
But I think I'm like you know, lord, it's been a quiet year.

44:33.080 --> 44:36.444
Really, I always want to see you taking me, lord, from glory to glory.

44:36.555 --> 44:38.362
I want to look back and say look what the Lord has done.

44:38.835 --> 44:40.361
But sometimes you'll just have a quiet year.

44:40.675 --> 44:59.480
You'll have a quiet several years Like nothing is happening, and then all of a sudden, in three months and you're at a whole nother level, and I believe the Lord did it as a sign to me about what he wants to do at City Light Church and I sense it in the air.

45:00.355 --> 45:09.920
There is a hunger here and sometimes you're just entering and there's stuff that you can't put into words because it's too deep for us.

45:10.695 --> 45:12.242
There's just a chai rose moment.

45:12.315 --> 45:12.797
You know that word.

45:12.837 --> 45:18.084
Chai rose, it means the time, the time, not the time.

45:19.943 --> 45:22.075
That's chronos chronometer.

45:23.342 --> 45:24.388
But chai roses were.

45:24.428 --> 45:30.626
Time and destiny collide when you're in the appointed time, the set time of the Father.

45:31.981 --> 45:43.445
Jesus came at a chai rose moment in human history, at the time appointed by the Father, and I believe we're just entering into a chai rose moment for City Light Church.

45:43.466 --> 45:45.195
Hallelujah.

45:46.639 --> 45:48.805
This is the City Light Church podcast.

45:49.235 --> 45:57.902
If you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jansic in City Light Church, visit us at citylightnyccom.

45:58.835 --> 46:01.042
That's citylightnyccom.

46:02.035 --> 46:05.044
Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime.

46:05.535 --> 46:07.021
We would love to connect with you.

46:07.995 --> 46:15.522
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.

46:16.375 --> 46:17.239
Thank you for listening.

46:17.775 --> 46:23.282
Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.