Voice of Victory Strengthening Our Spiritual Resolve

0:00 You're a very physical body this earth, this solar system, this galaxy, the galaxies of galaxies, the universe of universes. He's upholding every atom, every molecule by the word of his power. It means that you're in his hand, and Jesus said you're in the palm of my hand and no one can pluck you out. This is something you gotta believe. This is something you gotta say. 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.

0:41 That's citylightnyccom. Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are surrounded by his grace and that he has a real hope and a future for you. So I'll be honest, I love what the Lord does. Sometimes I do wish he would do it differently. It'd make my job a little bit easier. We might have a higher retention rate. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.

1:27 But I wouldn't quench what he's doing, what he just did in me, what he did to my wife, what I see him giving Paul. He said I pray. Paul said this to the Ephesians. He said I pray that you would know the love of God, which cannot be known. How do you know something that cannot be known? Well, that first word for know is actually experience. I pray that you would experience the love of God, which cannot be merely intellectually known. So you have to get it in your mm and all it requires is you just letting those walls and that hardness.

2:17 I know it's crazy out there. So you put on the armor, not the armor of God, but the protect myself from all the wolves around me suit of armor. You put up walls, but I'm telling you, those same walls will keep God out, you come into the Lord's presence. Let the walls drop like they dropped when the Trump was blown after seven rounds around Jericho. And don't be afraid, men, especially you. Don't be afraid to have a soft heart. Before the Lord, jesus said that new wine can't go into old wineskins.

3:02 You know what old wineskins are. They're tough, they're rigid, they're hard. You know how they used to get the old wineskins Pliable again? They'd rub oil in them. Ah, do I have to go into the symbology? Oh, rub extra virgin olive oil. Holy Spirit comes in and he shmirs you and then that old, rigid wineskin of your art becomes soft and pliable again. And it's what we need today, hallelujah. And you need an experiential Christianity. I highly recommend God Encounters.

3:45 You say do I have to behave like some of the things I'm witnessing? No, don't compare your experience with anybody else's and go ahead and have it in the privacy of your own home. I mean, you could have one here, I don't mind, the Lord doesn't mind. But go ahead and have one in the privacy of your own home. Open up your mouth to the Lord, cry out and say Lord, I will not let go of you until you bless me. I want to know. You Look, sometimes you just get to get tired. Lord, I don't want an itty bitty Christianity, I don't want an intellectual. The world doesn't need that. That's not what's going to get us through this year.

4:27 It's got to be a mighty, rushing wind, experiential. I know that. I know that. I know Hallelujah, hallelujah, I pray. The Holy Spirit becomes so real to you that you can stand on His word. But also you know that you know that you know John wrote. He said these things. I write to you that you may know that you have eternal life. He's talking about, yes, the word of God. But you got to know, as the old timers used to say, in your inner knower, in that place. That's deep your spirit.

5:09 I question my kids about their salvation all the time. I put the gospel in every prayer. The dinner prayer is we include thank you, jesus for dying on the cross for our sins. And now Victor is nine and a half and so I'm just, I just want to know where he's at with the Lord. I mean, he comes out all the time, but I so I'm asking him questions. And I said son, do you know that you're saved? He says yes. I said how do you know. I said because Jesus died on the cross for my sins. Great, great answer. That is really. That alone is enough. But then I just pressed a little more. I said how? How else do you know? I said do you, do you sense the Lord with you?

5:50 He said you don't want a child, says it, he goes, yeah, and he points like this he goes. I just know, I just know he's in school all day. He's with me. I just know, hallelujah, you have in you a hope, you have in you a glory. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, jesus.

6:31 Can somebody give me a tissue? I can't use my, my rag, anybody. Oh, thank you. Always, uni with the. And look, she always gives. Ask for one tissue. We're the kind of family that always gives a double portion. I want to. I want to invite everyone who's going to Guatemala this Wednesday to come on up to the front. We're going to have just a commissioning prayer right now. So we've been ministering in Guatemala since 2009. This makes 15 years. Over the last 15 years, we have helped City Light Church. When I say we, that means you, that means you, tithers, who have come to that place of maturity where you give the first 10th.

7:16 Wow, look at this team. You've come to the place of maturity where you give the first 10th of your income to the Lord. We've been able to build over 40, not four, four, zero. And the reason I say over 40, we used to say the specific amount and then we actually we had it all on paper and the last trip we lost track. So I don't want to say 42. I don't want to lie before the Lord, but it's 40 plus. Churches slash community centers. I'm not crying about that, I just it's nice when you're ministering and the Lord is ministering to you and we go and we preach in the churches.

7:59 This is the indigenous Mayan people. When we go to Guatemala, the Yishio people direct descendants of the Maya. They all recently came to the Lord. In the last 40 years is when we missionaries started going, and so this is a region. I mean you feel like you're in a different planet and we have a team of they're not all up here, but it looks like all of them are up here 26 fiery city lighters. This Wednesday we're going and we're going to have the greatest trip we've ever had. Hallelujah, hallelujah.

8:42 We're not going over there to play games and hand out little tracks and play. We're going in there to see the glory of God. We're not just going to be building, we're holding services in the night. People are going to get saved, they're going to get filled with the Holy Spirit, they're going to be set free. The children are going to be ministered too. They're going to have the seed of the eternal gospel planted in their heart, and much more than I could name. That's why we're praying right now. Will you stretch your hands towards us? We leave this Wednesday. Keep us in your prayers. Prayer makes the difference. Father, in the name of Jesus, a heavy, heavy anointing upon every single one of us, we pray in Jesus' name that you would be round about us like a wall of fire.

9:31 Also, your word says that, with favor, you'll encompass us round about as with a shield. Hallelujah, that you would butter our steps, god. Your word says that we will open our mouth and you will fill it, that we would speak your words of life with your authority. We are Christians, which means little, christ, god, that we would be your hands, we would be your feet, we would be your mouthpiece. Father, let the fruit of this trip have far-reaching effects. In Jesus' name, and may that region never be the same again.

10:12 In Jesus' name. Now just point it, stretch your hands at him and just bless him three times Be blessed, be blessed, be blessed, hallelujah. Give him a big hand because we honor them. Also. You may be seated. Oh, it's going to be a fun eight-hour bus ride to Neba with you guys. Hallelujah, hallelujah. One of the ways you can gauge the health of a church is you have a missions trip and the thing fills up, like in a week or however long it took, and we had to set a cap because we can't accommodate anymore.

10:57 And so part of the way you gauge is that you're not just consumers, just you know, and you come to church with an attitude, with what have you done for me lately? And if the product is no longer serving me, I'll just switch products. But they're looking to pour out, they're looking to give and really thank you. It's going to be 22 years for City Light, thank you. I mean I just say I thank you because it would get pretty old for me if I didn't see that Thank you. Thank you for trusting in the Lord to maintain the fire, thank you for being givers, thank you for being kingdom-minded, not being of this world.

11:41 It would be very, very difficult. Pastor James right. Can you imagine if we had to stretch your hands? There's four of us going and none of them could even pay for it? We had to pay for them to go, we had to raise money for them and you so forward to. I mean, did you see what? You could just see the radiance of the Lord on that whole line of people. I'm grateful for that. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Well, the title of my message is God is going to see you through. I have been recounting the many times God has seen me through and one thing I'm convinced of is that he's going to see you through.

12:29 He's faithful to his word and he's on your side. And I will just say this many times the biggest enemy many times is us, because you can know some aspects of God's nature and God's character. But if you don't appropriate it by faith, then it'll do you no good. And I do see sometimes believers just get a little lackadaisical with actually exercising their faith. They just get ho-hum-ish and they allow their lips to stay crazy, glued, gorilla, glued together, and your faith isn't going to be active unless you're speaking.

13:18 I just want you to know that. How do you get saved? The Bible says, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Yeah, that means that faith is one half in your heart and one half in your mouth. So it does a Christian no good to just quietly believe. You got to speak these truths out of your mouth and Satan hates that because that's actually what gets the job done. And when you start doing that, he starts attacking your mind, starts telling you're being silly, fanatical, weird, goofy, whatever it is, but I'd rather be that way and see results.

14:03 Amen. So you got to speak out of your mouth, declare the promises of God over your life. Let me just start off with this First, john 5.4. First, john 5.4. For whatever is born of God how many of you are born of God? Amen. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world. Our faith, your faith, is going to get you through Even how is faith released With your speaking?

14:55 So you get to decide and nobody can do this for you. Oh man, I really feel you right now. It's wonderful. You know, sometimes you just minister by faith. And today the Lord is just dumping His presence out and I feel His love for you, I feel His compassion for you. I feel, when I say God is going to see you through, I feel he's going to see you through. Would you please just cooperate and so agree with what His word says about Him. Agree, not internally, meekly, quietly, out loud, like, actually do this, like open your mouth and say God, I believe you're with me, god, I believe you're on my side.

15:39 Whatever comes out of your spirit, I'm the head and not the tail. I'm above and not beneath. Lord, I'm more than a conqueror. Through Him, who loved me, you make all things work together for the good for me. Take authority over the devil. The devil is not a concept. He's actually a person, an entity with a personality who hates you, and he comes to steal, kill and destroy. So it is okay to take authority over him. Not only is it okay, jesus highly recommends it, because he did it himself. If Jesus had to address the devil, how much more do we?

16:22 Yet many Christians don't ever do that. It's like there's two camps those that never, ever addressed the devil, and then the other ones that all they do is talk to the devil. And you can be a healthy Christian who's in love with the Lord and talks to the Lord and at times says Satan, the blood of Jesus is against you, your powers broken over my life, this family, this house. I draw the line with the blood in Jesus' name. Say those words out of your mouth. Congratulations, you've been invited into the faith walk. That's why Jesus was the ultimate faith preacher. Everywhere he went he preached faith, he examined people's faith, he commented on people's faith.

17:03 Can you imagine if Jesus right now came up and down the aisles and he would say oh, you have little faith. To some he said great is your faith. To even others he said what you don't want to hear when is your faith? It's like he had a faithometer. No faith, because your faith is going to see you through and you'll know whether your faith is working by what you're saying and when you're in that pressing. Sometimes you can begin to curse your own life and that's when you got to zip it and maybe you've said something that goes against the word of God.

17:47 Just go and repent to the Lord. Say Lord, I spoke in my sincere stupidity. I'm so sorry I rendered those words powerless, lord, that was because the Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue, and then that love, it will eat the fruit thereof and then begin to speak life over yourself and agree with this is. This is vital, and this walk of faith, I want to just tell you it's forever Hallelujah. I've recently come into a place in my life for myself personally, not for the church.

18:28 For the church, we're still believing for a lot of things, but in the natural there is nothing that I'm lying, there's no natural thing that I want. God has blessed us, god has rescued us, god has delivered us. He's just, there is nothing. And then I think back and I would think many times to the Lord. Lord, if I only got into this place, then I could relax. And really what I meant was not walk by faith, because you know when the battle is raging, I mean I can tell you that's the good spot and it is. And it's wonderful to be in the fire because there's a fourth man in the fire, but also, at the same time you're in the fire. You know it's like, on the one side it's so great, on the other side there's a reason why we're saying Lord, get me out.

19:18 But then he got me out and then he blessed me and he blessed me and he blessed me. And then what? I find that really, no matter where he brings me and my cup overflows, I still have to walk by faith. I still need him. I'm so dependent on him and it'll be this way until I'm on the other side of heaven. That's how he designed it. This is how we get to know him, and we're supposed to walk by faith and not by sight, and daily overcome the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world Overfaith. Hallelujah. You all all right with that? I'm sorry to bust your bubble. I'm sorry if you think that if you just won the power ball, if you just got that promotion, if you, then you can just, you can serve the Lord from your lofty throne.

20:08 It's never going to happen. You might be sitting on a throne, but you're going to walk by faith, hallelujah. And walking by faith, you know you can do it from a place of rest. Yeah, the only time it's not rest is when you haven't used your faith in a while. Then you got to rev up that old engine and it's kind of like not going to the gym for a while and you know what's waiting for you that first day back Pain. But just like there's muscle memory, there's faith memory and you'll plug in very much quicker than you think you will.

20:51 Amen, let's go to Genesis. Just say this God's going to see me through Genesis 22, 12, through 14. This is the story of Abraham who for many, many years believed for this child of promise, isaac. And then Isaac was given to him, and then he received the word of the Lord to climb up the mountain and sacrifices one and only son. And Abraham moved in obedience and faith and at that moment, on the top of the mountain, with the altar already built and the branches for the fire already collected, and Isaac laid upon the altar and he said do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything for him.

21:39 God is speaking to Abraham, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its thorns. What are the chances? Have you ever seen a ram or a goat move? There's these awesome videos Watch them on YouTube when goats and rams go up a nearly 80 degree incline. You know when the Bible says he makes my feet like Heinz's feet, like deer feet.

22:19 We're talking about these animals. You don't see them act this way so much if you go to a Pennsylvania forest. But they are agile, they are nimble, they are quick. They'll go up a mountain the greatest climbers couldn't go up. What I'm trying to say is a ram doesn't typically get caught in the thicket. This is the provision of the Lord, and they needed, now that Isaac wasn't gonna get sacrificed, they needed to sacrifice. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place the Lord will provide, jehovah, jireh, as it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided.

23:08 This is so much a part of God's nature and his character that he revealed it in his own name. It's not a pretty song. It's who he is. He's Jireh. He's the one who provides and he always will. It's not something he has to become or pull out of his pocket. It's who he is, hallelujah. And so, by the way, if you have a need, just knowing this and just mentally acquiescing oh, that's nice, that's a good point Pastor brings up, it doesn't mean it's gonna be real to you. You gotta say it out loud. You gotta, in the time, you know when it really works well, in the time of crushing, when you get that bad email, when you get that ugly text, when it seems like there's a hornet hive in your head and you're just, you're getting stricken, and then the devil comes and says you know what?

24:01 Why don't you just escape the way you used to escape out of pain? But instead you say no, no, no, lord, you're coming through for me. Lord, you'll never leave me, nor forsake me. Lord, you are Jehovah Jireh, my provider, hallelujah. And do you notice when he showed up? He seems to always show up at that time, not before, not during, at 11.59. That's just his style. You notice, when he parted the Red Sea, it wasn't right away, it was like when the Egyptians. They could practically feel the breath of their horses on their back.

24:43 Why does he do that? To torture you more. No no, not Hallelujah, the 11.59 God. In the midnight hour Paul and Silas began to sing and praise God and in the midnight hour he came through. He comes in the midnight hour, when I think about all the midnight hours. He'll come through for you. Some of you, right now you need to know God is going to see you through. You're saying I hear dung, dung, I'm about to turn into a pumpkin, it's about to strike midnight. He's going to come through for you. Will you believe that I'm trying to get a little bit of faith out of you, Provoke you a little bit?

25:28 Some of you just need to say out loud yeah, no, no, no, no, he's coming for me, he's coming through for me. He's coming through for me, Hallelujah. Last year right about this time, after living in this condo in Williamsburg a very nice, arid, dry condo we just started to flood. Every time it would rain little rain, medium rain, big rain. It was like a geyser coming out of a hole that didn't used to exist and then the pressure of the water just had various, some pumps all working, ejecting the water out.

26:08 So we kept flooding over and over and over again, had a parade of plumbers coming through. It was kind of like the woman with the issue of blood who went to all these doctors and none of them could help her. We went to all these plumbers but just spent money and, yay, verily, I say unto thee, none of them could help us, Except we got wetter and wetter and broker and broker, and the Lord came and delivered us. God has this house in Long Island. And then we used to flood. When I say flood, I mean it was like one or two inches. Doesn't sound like a lot, but this is. It was a two floor condo and we were all sleeping on the lower floor.

26:49 So the carpet we had carpet, I know a very 1980s thing, but we wanted to make the basement cozy Got all drenched and you just don't want to. I mean, no amount of water is a good amount of water. So it was one or two inches, but every time it rained, who wants that? Who wants? But then in September, one month after we moved, I don't know if you remember there was that storm in New York City and there were certain parts in New York City that flooded. Williamsburg was a certain you know, all of Williamsburg is a flood zone. We were two feet underwater At a contractor there remodeling the place and he sent me a video. He said is this okay? I'm like, no, that is very not. That is far from okay. What I'm trying to say is in the midnight hour God, God, I sound I didn't even know what was waiting for us.

27:35 I mean, really, if I had lived through that, our mattresses would be soaked, our beds would be soaked. It took months to get it back to how it should be. Try pastoring a church in New York City and having that in the back of your head. I'm wondering where your kids are gonna sleep, where they're gonna do homework. How are you, you, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God came through, I think, about this space. You know, one of the greatest hindrances to church plans like ours is space, and so, while I would love our own building and that's what I'm believing for and contending for I'm very, very grateful for this space, hundreds of seats, but you know, we have a lease to renew all the time and the people that we rent from very awesome, but they don't need us to rent from them.

28:31 They really don't. They only do it, I mean, out of the goodness of their heart and not because I believe. Every time it's time to renew their lease, the Lord just softens their heart and touches them, and earlier this year the lease was up for renewal and I had enough going on. Pastor James is such an awesome man of God in many, many capacities as a teacher, as a preacher, but as an executive pastor I mean just smokes the house and just took, as really every administrative thing, took it on his back and he said would you like me to keep you? I said just let me know the outcome please. I'm going this way, I'm thinking about this, and he's so great with just taking on burdens and it was back and forth, back and forth.

29:21 You understand how not fun it would be if they just said we're not renewing your lease, what are we gonna do? Go to the little house on the prayer re-church and go to five services. I had a friend, God bless him. He lost his space. He was preaching in the subways, preaching in the parks, God bless them. But he's a new church plan. We're 22 years in. I don't wanna be in a story of park in a bouncy castle Pre-. And then the word of the Lord came. Two more years, hallelujah. A little more breathing room. Lord, now get us a building. Hallelujah. Do you believe he's gonna come through for you?

30:04 Thank you, Jesus. He bruised one three. He bruised one three, Number one. He's the God that'll cause you to have a ram caught in the thicket. He's Jehovah Jireh. How many of you right now you'd lift up your hand? You'd say I know what you're talking about. He came through for me, he supplied, he provide. Look at the hands around here. He doesn't run out, and what he did yesterday he'll do again for you today.

30:44 Hallelujah. You see the ministry of Jesus and you see, through the gospels. What he was often doing was provoking people to get to a place of faith. Hallelujah, when you're feeling crushed, just know he's with you. And that's the best time. When I say the best time, I mean the time it matters, the time it works, the time. It'll be recorded forever in heaven what you said and what you actually believed, when it was hard to say the Bible thing and was hard to believe the promise of God, and you said, in spite all unbelief and that swirl in my head.

31:30 I believe, Lord, you are good, you are on my side, you will provide, and keep saying it. And then that voice comes again and tells you you're nuts. Keep saying it. Your friends think you've lost it. Keep saying it. You know. You can say it and not be weird about it. You can say it and not be religious about it. You can say it conversationally, out loud. You can say it in a prayer to the Lord. You could sing it on the subway. It's New York City. No one's gonna think you're crazy, comparatively speaking, if you just sing it. Hebrews 1.3,. Who, being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding?

32:18 He's upholding all things by the word of his power. When he had, by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. But I want you to focus on that one sentence in that passage. He's upholding all things by the word of his power, All things, that chair that you're sitting on, You're very physical body this earth, this solar system, this galaxy, the galaxies of galaxies, the universe of universes. He's upholding every atom, every molecule by the word of his power. It means that you're in his hand, and Jesus said you're in the palm of my hand and no one can pluck you out.

33:04 This is something you gotta believe. This is something you gotta say. This isn't a good truth that you just need to nod your head to. Out of your mouth needs to come Lord, I believe I'm in the palm. You're gonna see me through because you died on the cross for me. You love me. Jesus said that the father has taken the time to number every hair on my head. And Jesus said you're in the palm of my hand and no one can pluck you out. Now, the greatest encounter I ever had with the Lord. I was 17 years old. I've had various God encounters. Once again, they're highly recommended and the good news is you don't have to compare yours to anyone.

33:49 You don't even have to talk about yours, but just get to that place where God is in a theory in your head. Do you know he wants to meet with you? Yeah, he wants to show himself to you If you let go and yield. Not be afraid. You know it's a scary thing. That's why, when I preach on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, making point after point after point from the book of Acts, everybody's on fires, and then I make an altar call for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then I see 20 people come up, but I preach to 300. And I see the look on the face Because all of a sudden the rubber's gonna meet the road.

34:32 It's about to get real. That's something you can't fake. In other words, you're crossing over from the flesh into the spirit. It is scary. That's why every angel that appears says fear not, Because crossing over is this scary thing, but go ahead and take the bungee, jump in Christ. Watch what happens on the other side. I got encounter. I mean, how more biblical can you get? You know what every character in the Bible had in common? They had a God encounter. There's not one who read something in a book and went you know what I believe? What's written in a book, and that's no.

35:14 They had a God encounter, my greatest one. I'll make it quick Because I've shared it so many times, but some of you just need to hear this. I was 17 years old, I was saved. For one year I went on a youth retreat, upstate New York, and in between the morning and evening session, this sweet pastor, sweet youth pastor, he just said does anybody want to worship the Lord? And I, along with five, six, seven, I can't remember how many other teenagers, said sure, and we went into the hotel room and he's there strumming his guitar just one guy on a guitar. I was the last one to come in and I went to sit on the floor, crisscrossed, applesauce, with my legs crossed.

35:55 And as I'm coming down on the floor, the moment I touched the floor I felt like I was in another place and I began to weep and I began to shake. That encounter lasted for four hours. It felt like anywhere from five to 10 minutes. When I came out of it, my whole shirt was wet, my pants were wet, the carpet on the hotel room floor was wet from my tears. And we said what did you see? The moment I came down, I saw myself in a giant palm, in the palm of the Lord. I began to shake uncontrollably. You know you don't become a different person. You're still you, with your same thoughts. But I recognized something very special was happening and most of the sermons that I had heard thus far was you're saved, you're forgiven, but you need to work on this.

36:43 You know it was always presented from an angle of you. Guys still need to achieve and I understand we're all works in progress, but you can present things one way. Hopefully, the way we presented here is in an it is finished way but still hang on to Jesus and allow him to do the work from the inside out without you feeling like a hamster on a wheel all the time. So that's all I had heard. So, as the hand is being lifted up to his face, I'm bracing for impact. I'm terrified because what I think God is going to do is reprimand me. I'm 17. I'm saved from one year. Certain sins dropped right off of me had a lot more work to do. So I'm thinking here we go, he's going to he's going to here's the list.

37:23 It's going to be a divine scroll that's going to roll out and he's going to tell me all the areas I need to adjust in my life. And he brings me up to his face and all I sense is love and I see a big smile and then I become undone. Then I'm how, ah, it's like when Paul said were you in the body or out of the body? I do not know, I didn't know. I just know I was becoming. I'd never, ever, experienced anything like this before, Really since had other kind of God encounters. But this was, this was special, special and then the only rebuke right away. Really the only thing he said to me.

38:06 Now that I think about it, it's the only thing he said to me. He confirmed some things, but not with words. He would just show me then pictures, but he just said why. He asked the question why do you worry? You worry too much. Why do you worry and you know how silly that sounds when you're overwhelmed, currents of glory going around your body and you're sitting in a giant palm the size of a New York City block. It feels very funny preaching that today why do you worry?

38:53 You're in the palm of his hand. He's going to see you through. Will you just say that he's going to see me through, John 637. Worship team, come on up, John 637. When you're going through it, when you have what's known as that evil day, when you're in a tough spot, if you'll notice, there is a voice that comes and says something like he did it before, but he won't do it again and really you're cast off, you're rejected If you're not going through it right now.

39:46 You don't know what I'm talking about, but there's a voice that comes and says no, he's forsaken me. Things have changed. He came and wrote Ichabod on my life. The glory has departed. Do you know? Rejection is a common satanic theme over and over and over again. That's why the Bible has to do so much with. Now you are approved. Now you are accepted. You who are far off are brought near by the blood of Jesus. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out.

40:26 You are accepted, you are approved, and God will see you through. He won't forsake the work of his own hands. Hallelujah, Psalm 2710,. When my father and my mother forsake me, if even that were to happen, then the Lord will take care of me. I wanna just pass out communion right now and just hang on to the communion elements. Please Say this out loud the Lord will see me through. The Lord will see me through. Hallelujah. Oh, thank you, babe.

41:10 Thank you, Jesus. Just hang on to your communion elements, even if you're hungry I know it's tempting just hang on to them. Thank you, Jesus. Cover your people, reveal yourself to your people, strengthen your people. Thank you for the finished work of the cross. Some of you, as you're holding the communion elements, you need to tell the Lord, Lord, help me, to get more serious about you. You need to.

41:52 I say this with love, I really do. If I didn't care, listen, if I wanted to play the games and I didn't care, I could so easily play the games and be very liked and be very well thought of and you'd feel real good in the service and then real life would hit you and you would get crushed. So I say this with love. Some of you, some of you, you're frying your brain scrolling through TikTok. You're frying your medulla ablongata. Your cerebrum, your cerebellum, is roasted and toasted as you're going through Instagram mindlessly. It's become today's crack pipe and all it's breeding is a love of the world and a love of the wicked world system and all of the pain that brings.

42:45 And if you're there, you might even be addicted. You won't tell it to anybody, but deep down inside you know I'm not even talking about social media, I'm talking about to the world. Right now is a good time to say Lord, help me, you don't have to work, God will do the work. But what you do have to do is get to a place where you acknowledge sin is sin and you're disgusted with sin. So I don't want any part of it. Now, why is that so important? It's always important. It's important because the Bible says it's important. But we are in 2024.

43:28 What are the chances that you think, just percentage wise, we're just gonna have a regular old year? You know, kind of like the 1988 election, the 92 election, the 96, you know it was just a regular election and just, in other words, no global events. What are the chances? I think zero. I was gonna say what are the chances that we won't have a peaceful one? Are they greater than 0%? I don't even wanna you know I know you're saying 0% the other way, but I don't wanna terrify some people. But I'm believing for the best and I believe for us, for the people of God, in destruction and famine.

44:15 You shall laugh and you will be blessed. But I feel for you, if you haven't figured out already that the media is not your friend, that's right and that it really hurt my feelings when I realized that the government is not my friend. It bothered me. I was sad because my family and I, we immigrated to this country to get away from that nonsense. And it really bothered me when I realized that things have changed and I'm talking to people, unsaved people, from my doctor to my hairdresser, to some older gentleman where I live now, and they're all saying the same things.

45:04 They're saying never in our lives have we seen it like this. It's like they're lying all the time. Never in our lives have we seen the country in such a bad state. You know the Dow is at an all-time high. Do you know the Nasdaq is at an all-time high. Do you know the S&P is at an all-time high. And why do a lot of people that I know are broker than ever Sure doesn't feel like everything's at an all-time high. Then you scratch underneath the surface and you realize there's just four to seven companies that are doing all of that and that if you look at the other companies that were down 10% year over year.

45:47 And then you see January jobs report Best one, I mean through the roof and I see people highly educated, intelligent people, not prone to conspiracies they're lying. They're lying, Pumping those numbers up. The one of my saying I'm not trying to get you to be afraid. I'm just asking you to maybe look back in the last four years and realize some buttons are being pushed and not to just blindly trust anything you hear Any narrative that's established, but lean on Jesus like never before. You say what is the answer, Pastor?

46:27 I don't like what you're saying. What is the answer? Jesus, knowing him, depending on him every single day. And I would love for it to just be just a regular old election year, like 20 years ago, like 30 years ago, but it may not be. And so you want to have a strong anchor now. You don't want to be going into emergency tongues when it hits and then Lord forgive me, I should have been praying, I should have been look. Ah, Just be in the Jesus zone already. Is what I'm saying? Amen, Everybody okay with what I just said?

47:09 All right. And if you're wondering why I'm saying this, I know YouTube now uses algorithms and if you say certain things, it just cuts the feed. But if you're wondering, if you're still not wondering, why I'm saying this, just remember four years ago they shut down the world. Maybe you don't have friends. I do have friends who are financially wrecked. Their businesses have been destroyed. They shut down the world. Home Depot stayed open, Walmart stayed open, but the world was shut down. Okay, but past year was a pandemic. Yes, 7 million people died of COVID globally.

47:49 700 million people were infected. Yes, that's 1%. 1% does not a pandemic. Make Feel terrible for the 7 million that died, but 1% is not a pandemic. The Lubanik plague, Western Europe 35% of the population died that's a pandemic. You said well, what are you saying? What was the purpose? Look, I don't know all the purpose. All I know is I know when I'm being lied to, I know when somebody's smearing my eyes yeah, that's it.

48:33 I know when I'm being manipulated and controlled. And it never I mean, there was always lies any place. That's not heaven, but not like four years ago. But what's the answer? Jesus and I believe the potential is there Listen for us to have our greatest year ever, as a church and individually. The Lord will reward those who, in the time of trouble, look to him. Hallelujah, Are you ready, on that note, to receive communion? Hallelujah, Just say this in the name of Jesus.

49:13 I receive communion by faith. I also receive all of the benefits of the finished work of the cross. I am blessed, I am healed, I am prosperous, I have intimacy with God, my sins are forgiven. I'm led by the Holy Spirit. 2024 is gonna be my best year ever. In Jesus' name, amen, Go ahead and partake of communion. This is the City Light Church podcast. If you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jansic and City Light Church, visit us at citylightnyccom.

49:56 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.