Flourishing Like a Palm Tree

Everybody wants to talk about how in the book of Acts they all shared and help nobody held anything in common

Like that was supposed to be every single day every single month forever. We're not a commune

That will happen once in church history as an example of what the power and love of God can do

But after that people lived lives and they were able to accumulate wealth because the Bible says a good man

Leaves an inheritance to his children's children

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 CityLightNYC.com

That's CityLightNYC.com

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

Hallelujah

You gotta be hungry, amen

You have to be hungry when you come into the presence of God because God is moved by hunger

Hunger is the expression of faith in action

There's a passion and it may not sound scriptural because it sounds emotional, but yes God is moved by passion

That's why in James it says the fervent prayer fervent. That means red hot fiery

The fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much has tremendous power. It's dynamic and it's working

Not the cold

Soul is prayer

Not the little script that we read

But something from the heart

That's why King Hezekiah he was told he was gonna die

He then passionately petitions the Lord for help and the Lord changes his mind. He says fine. You get 15 more years

What made the difference a fervent prayer? I'm saying this to provoke you because God forbid you wake up early on a Sunday morning

And just show up and expect nothing because according to your faith be it unto you

If you come into church and don't expect to get something you're gonna get exactly what you're expecting

Nothing

You gotta come in hungry

Every time we're together

God has something in mind for you

There is a divine deposit he wants to give you

Amen and it's activated with hunger with passion

You should personalize it for yourself

David didn't say the Lord is ushepard

He said the Lord is my shepherd

He personalized it for himself the Lord is my shepherd

Some people don't want no I shall not want

He takes some people put some in green pastures. No, he leads me

He made it his own he appropriated the truth about God for himself

That's what you gotta do and when the truths that are gonna be presented to you this morning they're for you

They're not generalizations and they only work when you make them your own in fact. That's how you get saved

Jesus is the savior of the world

Yes, but he's my savior

Hey, man

Songs in Spanish

Gonna sing it passionately. I wouldn't even know what I was singing

If it didn't have the English in the next line

But you listen to me and I'm trying to pronounce it

My name isn't bow it's bow chacho jans regas

When I sing those songs I turn extra Spanish

I'm not gonna just mess with it a little bit

I'm gonna sing it with my whole cord is on

Hey, man

Hey, man

And I expect you know I expect to receive something every time I minister

Yeah, and I do he fills me up as I'm pouring out

So this is a time where we get together

In Galatians Paul says the Holy Spirit who works miracles among you

This is a time where you can get exactly what you need God will fill up your tank. He'll put a divine deposit inside you

Amen

All right a couple announcements that I want to bring you the word this morning number one life groups are beginning tomorrow

All these people are getting excited

Because life groups are vital they just are

We see it in the early church. They met all together

But they also met from house to house they did both they met in a big giant corporate setting in the temple

And then they met in smaller settings because in smaller settings you can ask questions

You can give answers you yourself can pour out

I've noticed now we've been doing life groups for over 20 years

The people who I see mature the fastest and the best their part of life groups

Everyone we've ever had in leadership. They've gone through life groups and still enjoy life groups

And the commitment isn't that great

It's for 12 weeks and it's for 75 minutes

So make a decision to be a part of a life group. Amen. I had to look again

I so I can tell people check out you just get that glassy. I'd look and I oh they play in the video

As you can see all of our life groups are 90% woman and 10% men

It was just that day

It's just that day just kidding do not be turned off

By anything I'm saying all right next thing that's happening

Next thing that's happening baptisms November the first

We do baptisms twice a year in the fall and in the spring

Baptisms are for those people who have come along throughout the year and you've given your lives to Jesus

It's the next step for you or maybe you came back to the Lord, but you were never biblically baptized

What's biblical baptism? Well, it's baptism that you actually see in the Bible

hint infant baptism or baby baptism

It's not in the Bible you just won't find one verse of a baby getting baptized

You said why then do some places baptize babies? That's a rabbit hole for you to go down yourself

And now you got chat just ask a question and find out

But it's not in the scriptures

So you have to get baptized when you're

Of age when you understand what you're doing because the prerequisites for baptism are repentance and faith

You got a repentant. You got to believe a baby can't do that someone else has to do that for them

So if you were christened really as a baby you need to get biblically baptized

When you're of age when it's your choice not your parents

And you need to go completely under the water a little dab won't do you a little sprinkles not enough

We're burying you baptism as you can see is a big celebration service

It's also glorious funeral service. We're burying your old self

You're going all the way underneath the water. We play the video so you wouldn't know that I don't keep you under for too long

Just a second and then you come up in the newness of life

I've been criticized for my baptism technique that people need a chiropractic adjustment afterwards

I'm going to be much gentler next to nobody in the church

But other pastors who've seen our videos have teased me. He said wow you really

Do you do you instruct the people it does look violent on video look? Ah water splashing. I'm like

But it's actually quite lovely and quite beautiful

If you see the videos it does look like I'm like performing an exorcism slash baptism

I'll be very very gentle gonna lower you into the water you'll come up and it will do something in your life

What will it do what are you doing? Jesus's life at his baptism is when the Holy Spirit lighted upon him

something happened

God wouldn't ask you really tell you to get baptized if there was no blessing attached to it

At the very least the blessings of obedience come upon you

For doing what he said in his word to do amen

Are you ready for the word this morning?

Let's begin in Psalm 92 and verse 12

Psalm 92 and verse 12 the righteous shall flourish

Like a palm tree. Let me just ask the same question. I asked last week

How many righteous people do we have here lift your hands

Much better this week

Praise God and if you're a guest and you're thinking I just came into the most arrogant proud church

Wow these people really need to humble themselves so many people lifted their hands that they're righteous

Let me assure you that they understand that they are righteous because of Jesus and not in and of themselves

But there are so many blessings associated with the righteous person

How do you go about appropriating them for your own life

Anytime you see the righteous person you need to be able to say that's me

Not because of what I do but because of what Jesus has done for me

He who knew no sin this is what the scripture says he who knew no sin the perfectly innocent

The perfectly guiltless

Became sin for me on the cross and that sin

Was dealt with it was judged it was punished how beautiful is that your sin in Jesus

So the punishment doesn't land on you the wrath of God the holy and just deserved wrath of God

Doesn't fall on you if fell upon Jesus he took that in your place

So that the perfectly innocent who was made sin now because of that

You have been made the righteousness of God in Christ

So ask your question how many righteous people we had a lot of good hands went up because you understand that Jesus has given you his righteousness amen

Let me ask the follow-up question that really gets people going

Who's more righteous you were Jesus

Any takers

Amen to the third row how about that cluster over there who's more righteous you were Jesus

Take the the answer is yes

I'll take that

The answer is yes any takers who's more righteous you were Jesus

What both the same

The same is the answer

It sounds almost heretical doesn't it it sounds almost blasphemous

Because you meet in the world. Oh, no Jesus is more righteous

You think he Jesus has more right standing with the father than you then you don't understand that he's giving you his righteousness

He gave you his he doesn't have a higher degree. He gave you what he has

If you had a lower degree of righteousness, how could you make it into heaven?

Because you you don't get into heaven within a minus

You know that right you get into heaven you got to be perfect a plus with the extra credit on top

And the only one who ever got that grade was Jesus and then he gave his grade over to you

You have to be perfect entering to heaven you come in because he's giving you his righteousness

That's why in Hebrews it says the Jesus is also your brother

He's lifted you up people think they lift he lifted them up just a little bit just out of the pit

But they still have slime covering them

No, he lifted you up to himself

To the degree that the Bible says you're now seated in heavenly places

In Christ

So that when you speak to God the Father it's like Jesus speaking to God the Father

You bringing a request to God the Father it's like Jesus bringing a request to God the Father

That's what happened he gave you his right standing with God. So now you know you qualify amen

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree

a palm tree

Is a rare tree that can grow and that can flourish

in the desert in the wilderness and harsh

arid environments

And he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon

A libanon a cedar in Lebanon. That's a tall and majestic tree

It's regal it's kingly. There's a duality here the Bible is saying

You will flourish and you will grow you've been taken and exalted God has given you his righteousness

You're also like a cedar

Of Lebanon majestic regal and tall but also because we still live on this side of heaven the Bible is saying

Because of its extensive root system the palm tree can flourish anywhere

In the sand on the beach

Far away from water sources, but that extensive root system which is in Christ goes deep and you still flourish

I want to talk to you about flourishing this morning

I want you to flourish. I'm after you flourishing

And thank God that we serve a God of abundance a God who causes our cup to overflow

I feel this in my spirit this morning because

We're gonna need it

We need to be rooted and grounded in the abundance and the blessing and the prosperity. I got if you haven't caught out

I'm talking about finances this morning

Hey, man

I want you

How do you not?

I took my kids four of us Friday night. Whoo

They're done with school. I got to do the dad thing. I'm gonna take them to yogurt

We go five minutes away

Old town arousine get yoga 35 dollars

When did that happen?

We're not a family of 19. We're family of four

The other day five minutes ago that would have been 12 to 15 dollars

Now it's 35 dollars people. Does anybody ever stop and go what is happening here?

You really want to get freaked out check out your Amazon cart from 2019

You know how you can go into orders and look at past orders and you can click one more time

And actually see the receipt and what you paid do that and compare what you paid for toothpaste for your lifestyle or fabuloso

Maybe I am bro chacho because in my house, right? It's only fabuloso

There's something I want to know that the house is clean and fabuloso slaps you it's clean

It just lets you know you're in a clean house. Whoo fabulous. Oh

You know there's no doubt in fact

Mr. Clean you wonder but fabuloso

You know all the bacteria are dead

Because they're printing money

You guys many of you know my story. I fell in love with Bitcoin and Bitcoin changed my life

Because it is anti-inflationary. It's deflationary. There's a set limited supply

There will always be only 21 million that's programmed. They can't be changed

So there's a cap you can't create or make more Bitcoin

What gives something value scarcity? So it's a scarce hard asset

The dollar however, they just keep printing it and you know what if you're a liberal

Kind of in the wrong church, but

Look, I'm gonna frustrate you. It's the truth

But you know who's printing it the conservatives

And if you're conservative, you know who's printing it the liberals

You know who's printing it everybody's printing it

It doesn't matter who's in office what administration you look from

Biden to Trump before to Obama to Bush to they all just turn on the money printer and they printed and what they're doing is

It's like an invisible tax that's deflay that's robbing you and stealing the purchasing power of your dollar

This is the for when I was growing up in the 80s. I had a certain confidence not even saved

I had a confidence in me that I just picked up from my environment my atmosphere my teachers other adults the kids

I hung out with I had a confidence that I was gonna do better than my parents

Everybody did back then today you see people they don't have that same confidence because the middle class is just getting erased

You're gonna have a bunch of elites on one side and a bunch of surfs on the other and the middle class is getting erased

Guess where I want you to believe be on the elite elite side. Amen

Yeah

I want to write like Paul did to Timothy and said now concerning the rich people in your church tell them

That means Timothy had rich people in his church because Paul's giving instructions on what to tell the rich people in the church

Everybody wants to talk about how in the book of Acts they all shared and held nobody held anything in common

Like that was supposed to be every single day every single month forever. We're not a commune

That would happen once in church history as an example of what the power and love of God can do

But after that people lived lives and they were able to accumulate wealth

generational wealth

not a bad thing

Because the bible says a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children

Yeah

Remember to have a few weeks back. I preach the message on how penicastles are the poorest denomination

Only beat by Jehovah's witnesses

Why cuz penicastles can be goofy and weird

And don't plan for tomorrow and don't trust God for increase right now in this side of heaven

Do you know how much good you can do with wealth multiplying wealth?

How much suffering you can relieve

How much of the gospel you can spread

So I'm preaching this number one. I'm not preaching this because we need anything

You have to know that when I preach this

Maybe you're used to a church that whenever the topic of money is brought up. It's secretly because

The pastor can't make budget. So he starts talking about money. We can make budget

We can make budget a hundred times over

And that shouldn't motivate you

Some people just want to give where there's a huge need if I get up here go you know

I'm trapped. I'm by the way. I'm going to Poland in a few hours

To minister right after service

So but imagine

Imagine if I got up here as

Guys, you know, they don't serve snacks on the planes like they used to

And Hudson uses whoo so expensive

And could you please just like give a little extra this afternoon

And the light bill is due even got a gas bill to

Somebody help you should never give because of a need Paul said in Corinthians don't give out of necessity

It's not because there's a need. It's because I have a need to give

I make a living by my giving

Amen

Here's what I believe because God did this right God did this this is a rare thing

I don't want to get I

Family we just recently gave two million dollars to the church

I dreamt of the day and remember what our goal was a year and a half ago

I said I said no, I wanted to give a million but out loud. I said half a million

That was like the leap but but when we dreamed when I said maybe imagine if we can give a million and to her eyes

You know like that will be us but how could that I don't know how but we imagine we talked about it

And then to be able to give two million

Hallelujah, so why would God yeah

All glory goes to God

I believe with all of my heart because that is a unique thing a peculiar thing a strange thing

I believe with all of my heart God wants to fill our church up with unusual testimony say that's me

unusual miracles

All it takes is for God to just

Unlock one thing and it set off a ripple effect chain events and your whole life is transformed

Hallelujah, that's what I want to see here people who are blessed to be a blessing walking around their cup is overflowing

And they're just relieving suffering everywhere they go amen and money is not an issue come on church

Amen

Let's just read this out of Matthew 621. I want to just show you some things that Jesus said about finances and money

You have to be at peace with the topic of money

Because Jesus was at peace with that topic and he spoke about it often

How often did he talk about money?

somebody tell me

More than heaven and hell combined

He talked about offerings lands stewardship talents not like your talent you got talent you can sing

Talent is a unit of measurement for gold

When he says to the one he gave five talents it doesn't mean he gave him an ability to sing and dance and sculpt and no he gave him money

My microphone is on this morning, right

Okay

So I can 1980s comedian hello is this thing on

Jesus said for where your treasure is there your heart will be also

So there's a connection between the heart and treasure

There's a connection between money and your heart

Jesus said so

Where your treasure is

There your heart will be also

Luke 1611

So stewardship is a matter of the heart

It's a matter of discipleship

And a matter of building trust

So that God can entrust you with more

Therefore if you have not been faithful in unrighteous maman

Who will commit to your trust the true riches

So again, Jesus is establishing a connection

Between the heart and money he's saying if you're not a good steward of unrighteous maman money

How will you get the true what are the true riches the anointing the gifts of the spirit the power of God the glory

He said there's actually a connection between the anointing you walk in the glory you enjoy and how you handle money

Yeah, you want to know the quickest way to have a revival in a church have a bunch of generous people

You have a bunch of generous people it brings the move of God

I've never seen the power of God poured out when a group is white knuckling every nickel and every dime

And because a heart that's close to give is also going to be a heart that's close to receive

You know some people they put walls up because they don't want to get hurt

They put walls up to keep some people out, but those walls keep everybody out including God

You can't decide what walls are going to keep who out you put walls up everybody's locked out

That's how it is with a heart that's close to give it's also close to receive

You ever try to give something to a stingy person I have they can they don't know what to do with it

They can't handle no no, it's on me. Are you sure? Are you really sure they freak out because they'd never do that. They don't even have to handle that

Hey, man

Hallelujah

Let me go to Matthew 26 6 through 13. I want to show you Jesus

Show you Jesus and the connection between

worship and giving

You guys know that it normally takes me about a minute maximum to to receive the tides and offerings

usually a minute

If I had it my ideal way

I would spend about 15 to 20 minutes because it's actually a holy time

It's a precious time. It's a time where we worship the Lord with our giving

But because we have multiple services

And you can't fit everything into multiple services that have to meet in the morning and we've tried for so many years different service

We had a 1.6 weekend services

As do we do a 5 p.m. A 6 p.m. You know we have a 10 a.m. and an 11.30 you know why it's 11.30 because the moment you put 12 noon

All of a sudden people treat it as a late after you might as well put 4 p.m. If it's 12 p.m.

And so if we went to just one service one third of the people would stop coming

How do I know we actually done that years ago? Why do one third of the people stop going? I don't know you tell me

Why do we just stop coming? I don't

But it just seems like the moment you take variety away

people bounce out

You know why like when there's a product launch like apple just came out with a new phone. They got like now they got

A dozen different versions. Who even gets those weird little ones the thin air and whatever cracks like a

Saltine cracker in your hands

But it's a proven fact that when you go down the supermarket aisle and there's only two serial types of cereals

You don't buy any cereal but you go down an American supermarket aisle and there's 50 different cereals

Then all of a sudden you're buying cereal because people love variety

People love the choice

That's all my long way of saying why I have to have multiple services because people love choice and variety

But if I had it my way

Maybe that'll happen in the future as we get bigger and we have a larger sanctuary

There should be a time

Set aside for our giving

Now we have just a few minutes

But you can have that time in your heart where you're worshipping the Lord with your giving and it's important

If you want to be a good receiver

It's important that you understand what giving is I don't want people who are just givers only

I want people who are givers and receivers because the Bible says that what you give comes back to you 100 fold

Yeah, not everybody receives a hundred fold it actually doesn't say hundred folds is 30 60 and 100 I want to be the hundred guy

I don't want to be the 10 guy 20 guy or 30 guy

I want to do what I need to do

Biblically speaking to get maximum harvest and maximum return off of what I give

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper

A woman came to him having an alabaster flask a very costly fragrant oil

And she poured it on his head as he sat at the table how much was this perfume oil

Say louder somebody from the back to how much a year's worth a year's salary

And the Bible is specific to let us know that in other gospels maybe it doesn't matter to you and it came before after this

This passage

A woman came to him having an alabaster flask a very costly fragrance oil and she poured it on his head

As he sat at the table

But when his disciples saw it they were indignant saying

Why this waste and other gospels emphasize that it was Judas who was the most upset

A Judas spirit always wants to tell you what to do with your money and where you should give and where you shouldn't

Here's a ghost someone gave me BMW I ended up giving it away, but it was this atheist who's trying to

Make a name for himself he came into one of our services

And he wasn't even happy that I gave it away. He said how long did you have it before you gave it to acid for a few years

Oh, so you kept it for a few years

I want to say what color was the BMW that you gave away

How many BMWs have you given away

But he had something just Judas always wants to tell you what you saw

Someone gave a BMW to me, but you're not happy that it took me two years

I want why did they take me tears because I wanted to enjoy it for a couple of years. How about that?

I thought you were telling me I'm drunk

He's in the front he's going like this, but it's because my bottle was about to fall off

We got to we got to come up with different codes

Next verse. Oh, this is the kicker for this fragrance oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor

But when Jesus was aware of it, he said to them why do you trouble the woman for she has done a good work for me

For you have the poor with you always, but me you do not have always

For in pouring this fragrant oil on my body

She did it for my burial. This was an act of

worship

Why was it such a

Particularly special act of worship because the spirit of sacrifice was introduced to her worship

Because what she broke was an alabaster box that contained perfume and oil worth a year's salary

The Bible noted that that means it's important to God and on top of that

Jesus noted it in the next verse he says

Assuredly I say to you wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world

What this woman has done will also be told as a memorial

To her

I'm fulfilling that prophetic word

This morning and that word has been fulfilled millions of times since Jesus said it because we still talk about that woman

We still mention her why what else has she done nothing she gave one gift

But with the spirit of sacrifice introduced into it and God received it as worship

When you give

Understand that it's worship unto the Lord and give from a place of worship you're not giving to man

You're not giving to an organization you take your friend out to lunch even you bless them

See Christ in them and know that you're giving it to the Lord

I'm trying to give you keys on how to get a harvest off of your giving

There's people that don't understand these basic things

That's either why they don't give or when they give they just bucket plunkers

You know a bucket plunker my mom used to scold my dad my dad would come in

And like the bucket we don't even pass buckets anymore you don't even know what a bucket plunkers because we haven't had buckets since 2020

Now it's all it's all in the air

But the bucket would come by my dad would literally you know people prepare their gifts

This isn't the my dad is awesome, but I do tease him about this

I know I mentioned my dad whenever it's offering time

but

Because my dad

He really got hung up with the idea of money

Being talked about in church

He had no problem money in his own life did really well for himself

Works in finance some market analysts

But in church it's like no you can't talk about that

And he his body would seize up in service when I when the preacher would be preaching about it

I'll be a teenager brought my parents trying to win him to the Lord get him saved

The preacher would start talking my money and he would

It would like he would have you know

Stuff could just stuff would get stirred up

He had his own issues with that and then the bucket would come up and he would

Like move like this and he would take out a five and

Flick it in the butt like literally a bucket plunker

Like wow Abraham Lincoln the last of the big-time givers

Abraham Lincoln got a tear coming down his face because he was just being held onto it so tight

Don't be a bucket plunker

Give with worship in your heart know that the Lord receives it as worship

Proverbs chapter three verse nine

Ha thought who yeah

In 2009 listen to me church

The great recession hit full force. Oh wait. We had the market crash

2000 just wasn't that long ago

Every crane I moved into Williamsburg and oh wait. They were 30 cranes in Williamsburg back then in oh wait

It was like New York time says the biggest urban Renaissance ever

Skyscraper's buildings kind of is going to pull over they all they all stopped in oh nine

No new buildings were everything stopped midway people were scared

I was scared what is going to happen. I went to the Lord

The Lord gave me a word and the word was do not participate in this recession

What that sounds great how do I not participate in what's happening all around me

He said do not participate in this recession

You are not subject to this earth's economy. You're a citizen of heaven

You're an ambassador of Christ. You know what an ambassador is when an ambassador leaves the sending nation

He goes with the full force and authority and privilege of the host sending of the sending nation

So if you're an American ambassador to the poorest country in the world

You're not living that way. You're living like you would be in America

You're an ambassador of Christ. You may be here on earth

They might be saying whatever they're saying about the economy

But you're representing heaven and you should have and believe God for heaven on earth

And in oh nine he said don't participate in the recession. You don't have to be subject to what's happening

Let me lift you higher I announced this to the whole church and in oh nine

Which was one of the toughest years financially we had it was beautiful the most people we've ever had getting married

Starting businesses and buying co-ops condos and making moves throughout the city because we just chose not to participate

And what I'm setting you up for is

We're ending oh five 2025 we're going into 2026. I don't want you to participate in the nonsense

The sound of the Lord is him saying come up here

Come up now you don't have to live the low life come up and live the high life in a protected place as my precious people

The blood of Jesus is on you favors all around you. You're different. You're marked. You're sealed by the holy spirit

Look a thousand may fall at your right hand

10,000 at your side

Death and destruction all around you sam's 91, but it shall not come near you. Why your difference

Hallelujah

So all we're talking about right now. I'm just trying to recalibrate us and get us

Using maximum faith and giving correctly

One of the essences of giving in a biblical way is with worship in your heart

For example here it says note honor the Lord with your possessions

So who are you giving to?

You don't honor an organization

You don't honor a church. You don't honor a person. I might

Make

Make a physical checkout and in the two-field it's an organization

But in my heart I'm giving to Jesus. It's like I'm going right up to heaven and putting it on his lap

Just like when he was sitting and watching what people gave into the offering

You know he was sitting right close. He was the Bible says he was sitting right by the offering

That's how I picture myself giving to him. I love you Lord

This is for you. It's the least I can do for everything you've given me and no matter where I was even in the early days

If I do what times I gave a piece of gum in the offering

That's real in Bible school had nothing to give had a pack of riglies

Give one piece like I'm not gonna give nothing. I wonder what they did with that piece of gum

Always wondered but it was in there

Somebody gave me an envelope

Stuffed with cash this morning for the church in Poland

They never been to Poland

I said what church because it's a conference of several churches

And we'll then just give it to whoever needs it most there. Why do they do that?

They've been to Poland now going to Poland. Don't even know mr. Whiskey was Whiskey

Lot of Z's and C's in Poland

Gonna be using Google translate for that

Why do they do that? Who are they honoring? That's somebody they never met

They're giving to Jesus

They're honoring the Lord with your and with the first fruits of all your increase

Why next verse

So your barns will be filled with plenty

And your vats will overflow with new wine

There is always a blessing attached

When the Bible tells you to do something that sounds like it hurts

That sounds like a sacrifice. Yes, it is but there's always a greater benefit and blessing attached to it

Jesus never talked about giving without also talking about receiving

So your barns will be filled with plenty does that sound like poverty?

Does that sound like a broke god?

Barnes filled with plenty vats

I like the amplified it says they'll burst forth with new wine. They'll overflow with new wine

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

So when you give whether it's a tithe or an offering or a gift to a friend

Or sandwich to a homeless man. Don't see the homeless man. See Jesus

Even if you pick up a friend's lunch see Christ in them

You give someone a happy birthday card with a gift card in it

Do it for the Lord do it unto the Lord and you're worshiping him with it

One more

All right, since you're so hungry that one person who said yes Matthew 2 11

Hallelujah

You know

I

Got I got one job and then under that one job of being pastors little mini jobs

And one of the mini jobs that's under the umbrella of being a pastor is to provoke you to a place of faith

Because left to our own devices we all become like driftwood floating down a river

That's the world just has a way of just

Hypnotizing us and then really lulling us to sleep with this demonic stupor we come sleepy

And then we just drift along wherever the current takes us

I got to provoke you to a place of faith so you go

I get to decide I get to receive from heaven my faith makes a difference

I'm gonna choose to trust God. I'm gonna take him at his word

I'm gonna see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living

Hallelujah

Oh Lord fill us with people of faith

This is talking about the magi the wise men

And when they had come into the house they saw the young child as Jesus

By the way notice it says young child in the in the hallmark we have to talk hallmark

In the hallmark art is always a baby right

But they saw the star when he was a baby one the by the time they reached him

He was probably two or three years old

He was a small child why that's how long it takes to get from India wherever they were coming from to Israel

And how many of them were there

Oh

How many wise men were there

No

There were three gifts there was many wise men how do we know there was many and why do I always make a big deal out of this

Because there's some stuff we just believe that's not in the Bible

And I want us to be good students of the Bible so that we can call out the nonsense whenever we see it

Hallmark carts lots of nonsense

They show three what you hear that all the three wise men. It's not three

Show me a group of three that traveled from the far east India China maybe even

Three you're dead overnight

You have to travel in large caravans just to survive

They brought three gifts there was more how do we know there was more than three because the Bible says when the wise men came into town

The whole town was in an uproar

You don't get a whole town in an uproar when three dudes stroll in

That's just three guys

But when a whole caravan from a far off exotic place comes in then the whole town notices

Has nothing to do with my message. I'm just provoking you

Ah

Thank You Lord

They saw the young child not a baby the young child with Mary his mother and then they fell down and worshiped him

And when they had opened their treasures

They presented gifts to him gold frankincense and murk one version says and they opening up their treasure bags

They worshiped him do you see how it's connected. They're giving of gifts to Jesus and their worship

It's connected

They worshiped him with their giving when you give

If you will make it so when your heart you worship him with it

Hallelujah just lift up your hands say Lord Jesus

You are moving in my life. You are positioning me

I believe that a harvest is inevitable

In Jesus name

Amen

Philippians chapter four

versus 14 through 19

Hallelujah

Is this helping anyone this morning?

I feel like somebody should just ask a question. I never do that. But right now

Before I get to my next point

Somebody got a question about what I'm talking about

Imagine preaching on finances and giving and then just opening up the mic

You know, I mean, am I a glutton for punishment?

But I feel like somebody has like yes shout it out

Can somebody run and give them a make real quick?

This is going to be a good one

And then we want to catch it on

Yeah, um, stand sit whatever you like

Um

Yeah, so for me my in my experience whenever I'm going to the next little specifically and financially

There's always a temptation a trip wire

For me not to be obedient right and

You know, if I break through that then I see the promises of God

Specifically, you know

In their finances, so I'm wondering if the pattern holds true for you if you've had something similar where there was a temptation for you not to

Say yes in this area that could have you know dethrone the whole thing

Yeah, that's that's a good one. And what is that if you're coming through the sharing?

Well, it really mainly happened just recently

When when the Lord told us to give two million plus

That's

For the look I made a decision when I was 16. I'm going to tie and I just made a decision. I never look back

But frankly the tide was never that much

You know and then I also made a decision to give offerings on top

But frankly that was never like some earth shattering money

You know

And then the Lord blesses us and then he asks for this amount

And I mean we didn't just like peel it off the top and go yeah, it was like we gulped real hard

And we sat on that for a couple of days

And it wasn't easy

But as as we you know, you got to focus on the benefit

And I had to realize well the Lord is always going to do what he's done

He's asking me to do something not to get something from me

But to get something to me. So it is going to result in increase

Yeah, does that answer the question?

Does anyone have another one? I like this one more. Yeah, right in the back. See how we get to started

I'm how you doing um

I want to start off by saying that I really love how you um, you know incorporate

Financial gain and stuff like that through

Scripture and you know and titles both together. I think you do it really beautifully

But I want to know what event was it what event happened for you

That made you able to discuss you know, it's a touchy topic

It's like what event like made you like the cypher

From the negativity and the positivity when it intertwines with strict with scripture if that makes sense

You mean whether to be like like financial like like finance like speaking about finances and regards to

To religion and stuff like that. Oh, yeah. No, that's great great question

Why talk about it's not an event is just seeing that the scriptures themselves talk so much about yeah

And so you have Jesus who talked about money

Lands giving finances stewardship more than he did about heaven and hell combined

There's a verse in Proverbs where it says money answers everything

Because we live on this side of heaven on earth

We're gonna need money

mankind has always had to be whether with seashells at one point

mankind has had something

called money

And so because it's a very real need for people

I would be doing everybody a disservice if I didn't preach on it

When you see that the Bible has so much to say about it and it has so much to say about it

Because you need it the funniest people are people who come into church and you're talking about money go

Well, why does he got to talk about money or something? Why does it always got to be about money?

Because you're the one thing about money all the time don't tell me you're not

Every decision you make the limitation is money

every plan you have

When God did this in our life one of the greatest things was the limits came flying off

And that's what I was pressing in for to have a life of no limits

You know you go into a supermarket and you're looking at the grapes at 699 a pound

And you're like do I get one bunch or two I used to live that way

And then he just blows the liminear

You know little things like she said she had a cricket her back. I bought a $12,000 massage chair

No limits. Here's what I like put it in a corner have a daily massage honey

Kids you want some yogurt?

$35 yogurt. Let's do it

Hallelujah and as long as I can keep giving

The Lord will keep adding you wants to blow the limits off of the stuff

Amen

A life of no limitations only but he will give you no limitations to degree that you are subject to him

So on the one side you're free

But on the other side you're a slave to Christ and you can only do what he tells you to do and

God forbid he bless you financially and then you start airing with that

I mean that fountain will dry up like that

And I've been humbled enough times to know I don't want to be humbled again

Amen

I'm gonna get my orders from headquarters good question

Should we do one more?

Let's read one verse that I'm going to ask for one more question

Philippians chapter four verses 14 through 19 I feel faith stirring with those couple of questions here

I break that spirit of lack

It starts in the head what we're doing here is we're just doing a mind cleansing

Break the spirit of lack

Limiting scarcity thinking

See the thing with giving is

Especially when it comes to first fruits it means you're giving the first

What you're actually saying to God as I trust you

To bring second third fourth and fifth fruits since I'm giving the first

Every time I give every time you give what you're saying is Lord. I'm not moving in fear

But I'm trusting that you're gonna make it up to me

People who are afraid and that's the number one emotion with money's fear they're afraid then they're afraid to give

But I'm releasing my faith through my giving

I'm demonstrating that I believe

That even though I'm giving which seems like I should end with less

But yet I'll end with more

Paul writes nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress is writing the Philippians

Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel

When I departed from Macedonia no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only

Notice what he said

Concerning giving and receiving these are the reciprocals

They'll always go together giving and receiving he wasn't saying you're giving I'm receiving

He's saying these are the two things that always go together

Jesus he never talked about giving without also talking about receiving

I've offered up a reward. You know, it's funny. It was a hundred dollar reward back when a hundred dollars meant something

You know I said a hundred dollar reward to anyone who can find that would say I'll do a ten thousand dollar reward

You won't find it though. I can make it any number of where Jesus talked about any kind of giving or sacrifice

without talking immediately about the benefit

Give and it shall be given to you good measure pressed down shaken together

He didn't tell people hey you should just be last

Just get him back in the line. No, he said the first will be last but the last will be first

He didn't just say go on off and die

He said those of you who lose your life will find it

He always connected the benefit the giving and the receiving they go they go together

And I think people who haven't gotten a hold of biblical giving

It's because they they don't understand that that God is not even after their gift

He's after they're receiving but in order to activate the receiving they got to get within with the giving

They're waiting for a ship to come in have you met that person? I've met them

They're like they don't give anything and I'm not even talking about church. I'm just talking about the skinny life. They live

They're the ones who order extra and leave before the check comes

They just live that skinny mangy life where everything is scarce and

You know, they wanted they always have to come out on top one where that's really a sad pathetic existence

You had lunch with someone like that didn't show you did

He got what can you do you just bless them and go and enjoy the extra coke you had

I got you

What was I saying

What was I saying

Skinny scrotting

Lord help me

That was gonna have to come back to me too

Giving and receiving

It's reciprocal

I guess I made that point a man

When I did okay for even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities

Not that I seek the gift

Now even Paul here is saying he understands that the Lord is the one who sustains him

But he's saying it's not even I who seek the gift I seek the benefit that comes to your account when you give

This is I'm just being reminded of of what I was going to say it was it was along the lines of people who have a hard time giving

It's because they they don't understand that there's a receiving part

And when you focus on that that it's coming back now your faith is active and you will draw these things into your life

Look when I first met my wife one of the first questions by the way I asked her was are you a tither

Why would I ask you that because I wanted to know

Who I was thinking about dating

What if what if it came out what if it came out I'm gonna just pick on what if it came out Tiffany

I'm gonna pick on you because you're such a beautiful soul and you're so flawless that

If I pick on you, it's obvious that I'm exaggerating, right? But Tiffany's past your most wife

What if he just came out that Tiffany doesn't believe in diving

And she actually influenced past your mo and past your mo is not a tither

Now would you be able to receive from him when he got up here and preached

Why not because it would show something about his heart, right

Would you what if Sean was and it just came out it came out Sean doesn't dive

Doesn't believe in it next time you see him and he's happy where you're gonna be like

Unable to receive it and be able to look at that why would you be so angry

Because you would go look at that

God doesn't have his whole heart

He's not really submitting trying to leave me to work, but when you tie that's the first step in declaring

I'm a submitted vessel Jesus is Lord of all

So I asked I asked her if she tied she said yes

I was real excited because that you know if you're gonna date date to marry don't date for fun

And then figure out what they're about one of the quickest ways is

Do they tie are they generous do they give

Because then that communicates that the Lord has their whole heart

Because the bank bank account and the wallet that's the last area of conversion

People will convert everything about their lives, but hang on to that part

Oh hallelujah

Indeed, I have all and a bound I am full having received from a perfect that is the thing sent from you

Now look at the language he uses he's talking about the offering they sent to them and he's saying your offering was

a sweet smelling aroma

An acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God

It is all testament language for worship and the fragrance you know worship creates a fragrance by the way even when we worship

Just with song if you could look in the spirit. There's a fragrance that goes up into heaven

It's a picture in the Old Testament. They would sacrifice the animals and the flesh would be burnt and the fragrance of the offering would go up and God said

That's a well-pleasing sacrifice a well-pleasing aroma Paul is saying it's the same thing when we give it comes up as a fragrance

See I just believe the word and I believe when I give the Lord

He receives it as worship as a fragrance offering hallelujah and I want to I want to smell good to God

Amen you know

When people are generous they're just good people

There's a there's an anointing on them. There's a glow on them. They're they're good to be near when somebody is

White knuckling and scarcity minded and stingy and

Well you guys have had encounters with people like that because of course none of you are that

You've had encounters with people like that

I mean how do you feel when you're near them?

It's like

It's like the life force is draining out of you

You got it you got to even kind of talk to them with your mouth closed because if you open your mouth

They take the gold tooth right out of your mouth

and

And then in verse 19 that famous verse

Everyone equals this verse, but they leave out what was just said

When you've worshiped the Lord I'm just trying to show you that giving is worship the wise men worshiped with their giving

The woman with the alibaster box worshiped with their giving the Bible says you honor the Lord honor worship the Lord

With your giving we read in Proverbs and my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ

Jesus

hallelujah

hallelujah

Worship team come on up. I'll close with this second Corinthians chapter 9

2 Corinthians 9:6–7

Verses 6 through 7

While you're sitting here the Lord is moving

If your heart is open the Lord is moving in your life

It is amazing how quickly the Lord can move and what he can do

Sometimes it's one connection away a person he's gonna have you

Cross paths with sometimes it's just something that hasn't been released that gets released in your life

I I can't I'm only a little frustrated right now because I feel like I'm more excited about your future

Than you are

I'm excited

I believe the Lord wants to move at city light do something unique among us

Where my testimony is multiplied and miracles pop like popcorn

I've and the reason this isn't something I just invented. I've seen how the Lord moves

I've seen them when he comes in churches

There are flavors he puts on churches. There's certain miracles

It's not just one person that gets it and then becomes like a whole flow

Yeah

Remember this this is out of the amplified Paul saying remember this he who's so sparingly and grudgingly will also reap

sparingly and grudging

And he who so generously that blessings may come to someone will also reap generously and with blessings by the way

You like you ask what made me

Preach on this more you see this it says from 2nd Corinthians chapter 9

All of chapter 8 and all of chapter 9 is an offering message

Like that's mind blowing to me

People get upset if the preacher spends more than two minutes on the offering yet Paul took out two chapters to talk on the offering

I'm not gonna read all two chapter reading your portion of them

But if in the holy bible Paul is talking about the importance of giving

The importance of giving concerning your own abundance and your own prosperity took two whole chapters then

Why would I want to do?

The opposite of what he did he got great results. I like Paul's results. I'd like to get a tenth of Paul's results

Let each one give as he is made up in his own mind

And purposed in his heart by the way. This is the apostle Paul who communicated with other churches

He wasn't about to take the tithe from another local church

So he's talking about what you purpose in your heart

You don't have to purpose the tithe in your heart. It's already an amount. It's called a tithe a tenth

10%

When you give an offering that's something you purpose in your heart. Is this making sense?

You sure

Because that's all right because there's people who who believe that this negates tithing they love this

This is like the verse

They have this blown up right in their living room this one verse. This is their reason they don't tie they go see

They're going to ignore the hundred other scriptures on tithing and say see the scripture say whatever you purpose in your heart

So if you purpose in your heart a bazooka gum. Hey you purpose that in your heart

This is what you purpose in your heart. First of all you invite the Lord in your heart concerning and offering

Tithe you don't need to debate about do any math

The only math you have to do is move the decimal place over one point to the left

Jesus

Not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion

For god loves

Now watch this he takes pleasure in

Prizes above other things and is unwilling to abandon or to do without now

in 2009 as part of me not participating in the recession

When money

They were saying the economy was tight. That's when we launched in full force our whole missions program

And we adopted that gray center the orphanage in Ethiopia

We started working with the macooms back then we supported a church in Croatia now

We're supporting in mountain aegro and in Serbia and we did Liberia for nearly half a decade

I launched that whole thing you know why

Really quite a selfish reason. I wanted to be indispensable to the Lord

You see how it says that a prompt to do a cheerful giver

God is not willing to abandon or to do without them

So my mindset is Lord I want to be such a generous church such a giving church that you don't allow us to be taken out

Not that you ever need us you don't need anyone

But I want you to smile down on us and I want to be so that

You're sustaining powers on us because you not only care for us

But you also care about the orphanage in Ethiopia you care about the macooms in Guatemala

You care about Liberia and other works overseas are you catching this when you're a giver your confession

It's to be God is unwilling to do without me. He's unwilling to abandon me

I'm a joyous prompt to do a giver whose heart is in my giving and so I reap generously

And God is on my side. Let's say this together

The Lord takes pleasure in

Prize is above other things and is unwilling to abandon

Or to do without me

Because I'm a cheerful joyous prompt to do a giver whose heart is in my giving

I

Feel that the only thing this message is missing and I can't get into it right now

But I want to encourage some of you are still stuck

Because for some reason you just equate Jesus with poverty

Probably because of the hallmark cards

But really it's not the hallmark cards hallmark cards just kind of copy Catholic art

And it's in the Catholic art that present you know in the Catholic Church they make them take a vow of poverty

Why?

What good does it do?

God's not a god of poverty

God's a god of prosperity look throughout the scriptures whenever the presence of the Lord

Moves away whenever the blessing lifts you know what one of the first things to come in is poverty

Have you ever been to a third world country anybody here come from a third world country?

You know electricity only on three hours of the day plumbing that doesn't work broken roads

I've been to I've been to many of those countries

You know what happens when you're there you don't think wow there's something holy about this place

So much poverty so much holiness no you think the opposite you think this place is cursed

Fruit of the curse is poverty fruit of the blessing is prosperity

They shouldn't be so hard yet people get so tripped up about it

But they have a hard time getting it because they think Jesus was poor

They think he walked around in rags

And just kind of they really what they think is that Jesus was like a hobo

They just traveled around old dirty and hobo like but happened to teach you know, he had a good word and he did miracles

But look at the gospels from a fresh lens and see that gold was brought to him when he was an infant

And whenever he needed anything whether it was the upper room or Colton which never man sat or in John chapter 8

John 8 · chapter mention

It says how people ministered to him out of their substance. He was a money magnet

He never ever once lacked any financial thing you never see a finances as a limiting factor in Jesus's life

In fact even in his death

There was a prophecy in the Old Testament that he'd be buried in a rich man's tomb

How was that going to happen? He didn't have a rich man's tomb

But as he was as his body was being carried off after he died in the cross a man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea

Stepden and said he's going to be buried in my family tomb and he was the rich man

Even in death Jesus drew prosperity to himself

Do you know why you're asking us of why they gambled for Jesus' clothing

Why did the why did well-paid Roman soldiers the Bible says they gambled for Jesus' clothing why

They didn't even believe he was the son of God. You think they wanted like a relic

You start a deep question because he had fine clothes

That's why

He wasn't wearing the white potato sack they show you in the art

In fact theologians and his turns believe that it could be likely that he was wearing purple

With golden thread there was some people from the line

That Jesus had from the line of David that would wear a golden thread to signify that they're coming from a messianic line and

Where potential candidate to be the Messiah

Yeah

Hallelujah

A broke man would freak out if a year's worth of salary was poured out over his feet

Jesus was like this is nice

Now leave her alone. She's done a good thing

Hallelujah

I want to pray for you

Heavenly Father in Jesus name

We are your people your special

possession

The Bible says with favor you will compass us around about us with a shield

I pray Lord

Raise up your people that their cups overflow

A life of no limitations of abundance of increase in Jesus name amen

Amen. Well, let's worship and honor the Lord with our tides and offerings shall we?

Amen

Now most of you have already given I know some of you the giving information is on the side

You're going to be scanning now a lot of you have already given

This morning or yesterday or two days ago or automatically or you give through your phone on the way to church

But just take this moment to worship him

Take this moment to say thank you Lord receive my giving as worship and I trust you for increase

I believe in giving and receiving amen

Hallelujah

Yeah, I know I know I know the good stuff is up here

Hallelujah

If you want prayer a ministry team will be right over by that blue light

If you need hands laid on you you want someone to agree with you

In prayer

We love you

Jesus loves you

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 boy on jansic and city light church

Visit us at citylight nyc.com that's city light

NYC.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

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