Faith that Commands / Living in Your God-given Authority

I just want to invite you to live the high life. I want to invite you to realize

that you have been given authority from Jesus. If you are saved, if you're

trusting in Christ for your salvation, you represent Jesus here on earth. Amen. You

know how to make it a good morning? Say good morning. Maybe it wasn't, but now it

is. Amen. 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. I've

preached a lot of Palm Sundays. So if you want to Palm Sunday message there on

YouTube and on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. Today I want to continue on with the

series that we're doing on faith and you cannot teach about faith without

talking about authority, the believers authority, commanding power. And it's

something that seems to elude most Christians. I'll read a couple of

passages with you and then you let me know where you stand. Luke 916. Here's one

of the quickest ways you can tell. You can judge. You can judge your fellow

believers when you go out to eat with them at life group. This is how you can find

out whether you have and walk in more revelation than them. So I'm so glad for

Pastor Mo. If it wasn't for Pastor Mo, half of you wouldn't know that I was

kidding. But just remember when I kid every joke is half true. At least 30% of

the time. This is how you can tell when they pray for the food. You say who

you're nitpicking. I'm just showing you little ways because I want you to come

up. I want you to be the ambassador, the Christ child that God has called you to

be, and the Mickey Mousey man be Pambi spirit. It creeps in in all sorts of

subtle ways and makes us take a back seat where God wants us in the front seat

right along with him. In fact, so much along with him, you're seated together in

heavenly places with him. This is how Jesus blessed the food. Then he took five

loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he asked the Father to bless

the fish. No, he blessed them. He blessed and broke them and gave them to

disciples to set before the multitude. Mark 14, 22. And as they were eating,

Jesus took bread. Did he ask the Father to bless it or did he bless it? He blessed

it. He blessed and broke it and gave it to them and said, take eat. This is my

body. I'm no, I'm choosing to start my sermon off in a bit of a different

way, but I'm trying to catch your attention here. And I would venture to say

eight out of 10 of you, you as God to bless your food. Why? He's busy. He's holding

the whole universe together. And he went through the trouble of being made

flesh, dying on the cross for your sin, giving you authority, giving you his

name, telling you to go out and represent him. And now you're asking him to do

what he told you to do. So bless the food in Jesus name. Now religion comes, oh

that sounds so arrogant. That sounds so. No, it's not arrogant to walk out in

biblical principles. It's not arrogant to do what Jesus told us to do. When he

saved you, he forgave you all your sins. Okay, that's the fundamentals. But he

raised you up. He put you into the family of God. He made you his representative.

He gave you his name. And most importantly, he gave you authority. And I'll show

you scriptures for that. But Christians have to have a strong understanding of

the authority they carry or the Christianity's not going to go very far. There'll be a

short circuit there. He gave you authority. So you do the blessing. It's not that

you have the power to bless. I never blessed anyone in Bose name. But I'll

bless you in Jesus name. Now I'm a vessel. Now I'm a conduit. So you bless the

food in Jesus name. I know in healing rooms, you better not ask God to heal for

you. Yeah, show me in the New Testament where Jesus prays to the Father and

ask the Father to heal. Yet someone needs healing. You call six Christians around

them nine out of 10 times. Oh, Father, we come to you with this wretched sick

miserable body here. And we ask you to heal them if it's your will. I know. Be

healed in Jesus name. It's not that you're so great in and of yourself, but

you're carrying his presence. And you have authority. What is authority? It's

delegated power. Okay, I'm always amazed when you come out of the Midtown

tunnel. What do you see traffic cops that famous or infamous depending on your

take white glove and the whistle. And you can be doing 70 and have a 90 pound

woman soaking wet. Put up that white glove and you're hitting the brakes. Is it

because she's so powerful? No, she has authority from the state of New York and

the city of New York. She has delegated power. That's what Jesus has given you. Amen.

This message isn't about how you talk to God and how you talk to your food by

the way. Amen. I'm using it just as a kickstart example. It also shorten your

food so you can eat before it gets cold. Your prayer over food. Because in the

other one, it said Jesus gave thanks and blessed. And then the second one, he blessed.

Doesn't seem like it takes too long. Okay. Amen. Mark 437. But show me a Christian

praying for their food and praying for a sick person. I know right away whether

they are walking in their authority, whether they get it, whether they understand

it. And if they don't understand it, they're struggling. They still see themselves in

a lesser position. And Jesus bled to elevate you. Yes, to his position. You are in Christ.

Some of you would even recall, what do you mean I'm in his position? He's high. He's

lifted high. Yeah, you're in him. I'll show you scripture and verse for all this.

But it seems to be so easy for Christians to take the back seat. Oh, I'm nothing. He's

everything. Well, slow down there. You're nothing in and of yourself. But in him, you're

everything. When you really get it, it doesn't produce arrogance. It doesn't. It actually

produces true biblical humility where you realize the magnitude of what he's given you

and it causes you to want to fall at his feet and kiss his ankles. Amen. And the great

windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But

Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And the awoke him and said to him,

teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Then he arose Jesus and rebuked the wind

and said to the sea, how did he rebuked the wind? He said, we've been talking a lot about

the power of saying and the power of our words, your words. He said, peace be still. And

the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Now, we're very familiar with that part. But

this verse, verse 40, but he said to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have

no faith? He rebukes them. He's not really happy with them because he treasures his sleep.

Amen. See, I'm very Christ-like in that way and that I treasure my sleep.

He rebuked them. What? I mean, a hurricane's coming, right? A storm. What is already going

into the boat? Easy for Jesus to get up and say peace be still, but he rebukes the disciples.

Why are you so fearful? Where is your faith? He would only have rebuked them if he expected them

to take care of that. He expected them to do that. They still didn't get their authority.

So they're waking him up and he's enjoying a nice snooze, midstorm. And he rebukes them because

they should have stood on the bow of the ship and said peace be still. Oh, yeah. Luke 9, 1 through 2,

a good question to ask after I make that point is, well, did they know that?

Because it would be unfair of Jesus to be upset with them if they didn't know that. Yes,

they knew that. This wasn't on day one of their trip together. That was already when they've

been traveling a while. It was after this, then he called his 12 disciples together and gave them

power and authority, overall demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom

of God and to heal the sick. So Jesus already gave them power, authority which is delegated power,

you now get to do what I do, gave a miracle working power, power over the devil and demons,

power over sickness and disease, and to announce the kingdom and all the miracles that accompany it.

So you better believe they could have gone to the ship and commanded it to cease, but they didn't.

So I just want to invite you to live the high life. I want to invite you to realize that you

have been given authority from Jesus. If you're saved, if you're trusting in Christ for your salvation,

you represent Jesus here on earth. Amen. You know how to make it a good morning? Say good

morning. Maybe it wasn't, but now it is. Amen. Hallelujah. When you're at an airplane and that

turbulence begins shaking, what does the Christian do? Oh God save me, please Lord.

In Jesus' name this plane stays up. In Jesus, you know what Jesus said when he got on the ship,

by the way, ooh, this just came to me, wasn't even my notes. When right before this whole storm,

Jesus said we're going to the other side. He already's prophet, we're going to the other side.

And so a storm came half an hour or whatever later, but they made it to the other side.

That ship obeyed Jesus's words. You're on an airplane? I'm landing in such and such city. Amen.

We're going to the other side. Now remember, I remember doing that years ago when I went to the Arctic

with my pastor and it was, I mean, it is rough over there. There is no, you're over the tree line.

Every, it looks like a Star Wars movie. Everything is white. Everything covered in ice and you're in

a little eight-seater and you're feeling every bump and that thought just crossed your mind. If we

go down, it'll be like three weeks before they find us. I wonder who I'd eat first.

We're going to the other side. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Nothing like a good cannibalism joke to wake everybody up. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 17.

Ephesians 1:17

I want to talk to you about the source of your authority and I want you to challenge yourself.

In fact, ask the Lord to arrest you when you pray these lower tier secondary prayers. The Lord

will work with whatever you give him. But once you have the revelation, now you're responsible for it

and he's calling you a pyre. You ever take a jacket to the dry cleaning or ladies of

gold purse you're going through and you find like a folded $20 bill. You're like, oh, it's yours.

You always had it, but you forgot all about it. It's like it rained down on you. Oh, $20. I didn't

have before. You did, but you just didn't know it. There's so many Christians that have God

given authority folded up in their back pockets somewhere. It doesn't, you know, good until you

seize it. I challenge you to walk in your authority. Stop asking God to do things for you that he's

already given you authority to take care of. Kenneth Hagen had a vision of this.

He was taken up by the Lord, his whole book. If you want a book that'll blow your mind. It was old

when I read it back in college. Read, I believe, in visions by Kenneth Hagen.

It'll really challenge you. Completely scripturally sound, an awesome book. He talks about how the Lord

took him up and started conversing with him in heaven. An evil spirit came, a little demon and

caused a black, impenetrable cloud like a dark mist to come in between Hagen and the Lord.

And the Lord just kept on talking to him as though nothing were happening. And, you know,

Hagen's like looking around. He says, I'm looking around. I'm going to wonder, I can't hear a word

that Jesus is saying. And this little imp like demon is running around in front of the dark cloud

with his hands up, mocking, going, yak, yak, yak, yak, yak, yak, yak.

Finally, Hagen's looking around and he's like, you know, when's the Lord going to do something about

this? And then he commands the devil, stop it in Jesus name. The moment he said that the demon

collapsed in the ground and ran away and the mist disappeared. And the Lord just kept on talking.

And he said, excuse me, Lord, I'm just wondering, did you see what just, he's like, I saw everything.

Why didn't you stop talking? And Jesus, why didn't you stop speaking to me and take care of it?

Jesus says, I was waiting for you to. I think that would be the Lord's response to a lot of things.

Lord, why aren't you, why aren't you helping? I was waiting for you to rise up in your God-given authority.

Amen. Husbands, take authority over your families, over your houses, that that, let me just say,

taking authority over your house doesn't mean crashing in when you come home from work and

what's going on here? Where's my blue shirt? It means in prayer. In prayer, you say in Jesus name,

this is a holy home. The devil has no foothold. He can't come in here even a minch. No.

The Lord reigns here. The Holy Spirit flows here. My kids are protected. My wife is protected.

Amen. If you're single, you have authority over your dwelling place. You have authority over your

life. Hallelujah. I just saw a video. By the way, Pentecostal Charismatics are local, man.

I just saw a video. And now we always knew there were local.

But now that everybody's got a video in their pocket, now we have like video proof.

And there was this nice Midwestern woman, Southern, whatever she was.

Bless God, she was taking care of her family, you know? And she had this bottle of Welch's

grape juice. And did anybody see this video? Oh, and she's walking around the perimeter of her

property and she's, you know, she's squirting the Welch's grape juice and the element of communion.

And she, you saw the video and she's, she's warding off the evil spirits and

and making sure that this house is clean, you know?

You don't, you don't have to squirt olive oil, Welch's grape juice, gasoline.

You don't have to spray any of that stuff. You, you, you can just stand and with the precious

authority that Jesus gave you that he bled for. Amen. Say this far devil and no further. Amen.

And then wait, wait and get the confirmation of the Lord. You know, when we got our house in the

Polkonos in 2020, I don't know if you remember the summer of 2020, crazy things were happening.

And we got a house in the Polkonos and the Polkonos is a weird place. It's really been afflicted by

what's that drug that's all? I'm sorry, I'm just drawing a blank. Not fentanyl, fentanyl too.

But before that, the opiate crisis hit it and now it's a mixture. But what's that?

Just, just oxycontin and any kind of opiate and then fentanyl came and its point is now it's

the middle of COVID. We're out of the middle and nowhere. And every time I go to the gas station,

I see that face that has three teeth in his head, you know, looking at me sideways and I'm going

on, wonder how safe I am here. You remember this, right? I mean, I got guns, I got ARs coming out,

I've got, if you actually saw my stash, you might wonder if you want to attend this church or not.

I mean, Rambo, are you kidding? I got like guns for my feet, hands. I felt like the Lord telling me

to calm down just. So first week there, I'm walking around the perimeter. This is my, I'm a

city boy. Now I got a house in the woods. And, and I'm, you know, COVID made you a little parent,

I'm wondering what direction are they coming from. I can take them from the roof. I got a patio,

I can take out, I got an 80 degree angle here. And I'm walking around my house and I'm taking

an authority. I'm saying, Jesus name. This is a place of peace because I talk about the guns and

I believe in a right to have guns, but any Christian that should be your last, you should not want

to ever use a gun. And I took a, I said, no enemy will come even upon these grounds. In G, if

you even have the thought, they'll turn back. And then this is what, this is the best. I heard in

my spirit, no enemy, no one that intends you harm will ever even walk on the land. I said, yes,

Lord. And that's it from that on. Never even had a second thought about it. Guns are still loaded,

yes, but I don't think about it. Amen. Hallelujah. And I just want to say this with believers,

just do a little house cleaning at city light, a little bit. Always give more glory to God than the devil.

And some, look, if the most interesting thing about you is some demonic attack you had three years

ago, you need to have some more God encounters. Amen. The most interesting thing about you can't be,

you know, the devil wouldn't let me sleep. I had demonic dreams, you know, I turned not my bathroom

light so somebody in the mirror would it? However, the enemy was trying to flick you. Stop talking

about it. That's the past. Amen. What are you going to write Psalms to the devil now and how he

harassed you and how powerful he is? There is a devil and he's wicked and he wishes death on you,

but we have authority over him. In fact, where we're going to go, I know I didn't start

Ephesians, but let's go. One of the first verses I memorized, new believers are prone to this because

they just left the kingdom of darkness yesterday, you know. So they still remember how oppressed

they felt and they're still growing in their freedom in Christ. But you don't have to make it a

year's long transition. Receive God's authority. He gave it to you. It's not dependent on your

works. It's not dependent on how well you behave. Amen. He just marks you with it when he called

you his own, his own child. And this belongs to every believer. Looked at 19 and then we'll jump

right back to Ephesians. But I want you to, since I started talking about the devil and demons,

behold, there's that word again. I give you the authority, delegated power to trample on

serpents and scorpions and overall the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Memorize that verse. Get it in your spiritual bones. Do you know you come up to the ministry

team? You come up to me for prayer. We're not asking God to set you free from oppression.

We're doing it in Jesus name. Be free in Jesus name. I break the power of the devil over your life.

Oh, in Jesus, the blood of Jesus on you. Hallelujah. Why? Because we have authority to trample

on serpents and scorpions and overall all in the Greek means come on. All scholars you

and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Hallelujah. When you're, when you see this,

you can't unsee it. And then when you see other believers and I joked about judging and all that,

of course, you take the humble road. But then you will see when people don't realize all they

have in Christchurch, their 20 dollar bill is still folded in some purse somewhere in the basement.

You can do the commanding. You have authority. Now let's go back to Ephesians.

Chapter one, to talk about where this authority comes from.

Why are we so lucky, huh? How did this happen? Ephesians 1 17 through 23.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom

and revelation in the knowledge of Him. You will know who He is and who you are in Him.

One of the foundations of authorities, your identity in Christ, you knowing who you are in Him.

If you think you're a wretched old sinner in Him, then, well, you'll have the benefits of a

wretched old sinner. If you believe you're born again, you creation in Christ that's in Him,

then you'll have the benefits of a born again, you creation in Christ. The eyes of your understanding

being enlightened, He's praying that they would see. He's praying for them to come out of the matrix

to see what they've been given, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are

the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness of

His power toward us? Say this, I have power. Jesus gave it to me. Yes. And it's according to

the working, it's in proportion to the working of His mighty power, which He worked in Christ,

which we're celebrating really every Sunday here, but especially next Sunday for Resurrection Sunday.

When He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

so where is Jesus right now? At the Father's right hand, right? In heavenly places.

Okay, we just read it. Let's try it again. Where is Jesus right now? In heavenly places.

At the Father's right hand, the place of authority, the right hand.

And how far away is He from demons? By the way, the demonic realm, it's not in hell. Most of you know

that. I didn't because I got my theology from cartoons before I got saved. And when Tom got hit

by that piano, he went down into hell and then there was that that pitball dog was in hell

and all the demons, but the demons aren't in hell yet. The devil isn't in hell. He's the prince of

the power of the air. And the scripture says Jesus is elevated, not just above them, but far above

them, far above all principality and power and might and dominion. He's listing demonic categories.

And every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that, which is to come.

And he's put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church.

You can paraphrase that by saying he made Jesus, the Father made Jesus the head far above all the

demonic activity for the church's sake, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Now we're going to just make a right turn one chapter over to Ephesians chapter two verse one.

So far, we've learned that Jesus is high and lifted up, far above all the demonic power,

it's under his feet. This is a great Easter verse. And you, he made alive. Because you know,

next Sunday we're not only celebrating Jesus' resurrection, we're celebrating mine in yours

resurrection, because we were made alive in him. And you, he made alive who were dead in

trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, the devil,

according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

among whom also we once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of

the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

But God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved.

And this verse six, memorize it, this is the foundation for your authority.

This is why you can lose things and bind things. This is why you can you not, you don't need your

pastor. Happy always to pray with you always, but you don't need me to do this for you.

He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

So chapter one, it shows Jesus after his resurrection is in the highest place at the father's right hand.

Where are the devils? Well, way below him, because he's far above, doesn't just say above, far

above all principality and power and might and dominion. And then in chapter two, it says,

you are right there with him. You have been raised up together and made to sit together

in heavenly places in Christ. So when you give a command here on earth, if it's based on the word

of God, it's like Jesus himself giving the command. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I had a dream when I was

first learning these things and I was running, I was running down the the stairwell of the old apartment

where I was raised out in four stills. And there were like all these different staircases and I

felt I didn't see, but I felt like there was a fire and I needed to get out. And I'm coming up to

these different doors and yanking one, it won't open, running down to another one, yanking, you know,

like using my foot, trying to nothing won't open. And then I just hear the Lord say, command.

And now I'm running again, running real fast, so fast into the door like if something doesn't

happen, I'm going to crash right into it. I go, in Jesus name, be open and the door swings open

into another cord, another closed door. In Jesus name, be open. It swings open. Now I'm having fun.

Now I got, now I'm running through this dream and I'm like, in Jesus name, before I could even say

be open, double doors swing open. Hallelujah. With your life, God is holding you by the hand. He's

taking you somewhere. I get there's some doors that are closed right now. You say I'm waiting for

the Lord to open them. Great, but have you spoken to them to be open? In the name of Jesus,

every closed door that should be open to me. I command opened in Jesus name. Hallelujah.

When it comes to our church building, it doesn't exist yet. We're constantly looking for what's

on the market. There's not even one that comes up where we're like, we want to believe for that.

So what are we doing right now? We're using our authority and saying in Jesus name, church building

arise. Now what does that mean? We're not expecting one to, you know, like I was Superman,

started the fortress of solitude. He threw the crystal in and a building came up from the ground.

That's not what we're doing. But right now that building could be locked up in some boarded

directors meeting, some whole church or just imbureaucratic red tape. And when we speak that way,

it could be a church that should have finished 20 years ago and they got three people meeting.

And by the way, this happens all the time in New York City. You got a church that should have

folded generations ago, but because churches don't pay land taxes and the buildings already paid

off, you got churches with a thousand seats and you look inside and there's six people in there.

So when we pray that way, the Lord will do some shaking and make a whole lot of shaking going on.

And that's how the church building will arise so that we can believe for it. Amen. Right now we

just need something on our radar. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Romans 517, worship team, you can come on up.

Thank you, Jesus.

A frequent thing that I hear about is people being tormented with night terrors, people being tormented

in their sleep. And it really shows you what Satan is like. He's such a coward that he comes to you

when you're at your weakest, when you're literally unconscious. And try to inject your mind and

put thoughts and dreams. And I had that 30 years ago, but it stopped when I started taking authority

every night. In the name of Jesus, the Word of God says, you give your beloved sweet sleep, sweet

sleep. Devil, you can't touch me. I sleep under the blood of Jesus. You can't hear it. It's illegal

for you too. Hallelujah.

For if by one man's offense, death rained through the one, much more those who receive abundance of

grace and of the gift of righteousness, any people here receive God's grace. Amen. The gift of

righteousness, shout, that's me. Oh, the gift of righteousness purchased with the blood of Jesus.

You get grace and you get righteousness. And the Bible says, you will reign in life through the

one Jesus Christ. You are royalty. You are terrain. When are you supposed to reign in heaven? No.

He'll do all the raining there. But it says rain in life, rain in life. When I was a Christian,

when I was a Christian, getting my butt kicked, I knew something was wrong. And thank God I had

other more mature Christians I can peek into their lives and go, wow, they seem way freer, way

more at peace. And I'm encountering the devil just as much as God. What's going on here? I'm always

feeling oppressed. You know, there was a saying, I squash that quick around city light because

what happens is people go online and get their brains messed up with weird podcasts and go down

weird rabbit holes. And then there was a group in their own midst. Every other sentence was,

oh, I feel the resistance. Pray for me. There's great resistance. I want to do something this Friday,

but you know, the devil's resisting me. Well, if you keep talking about it, that's all you're going

to get. It's a trap. You know, there actually is an evil spirit called wrong focus.

It is a demon called wrong focus. It gets you to focus on the demonic.

And what you focus on is what you realize more in your life. Hey, man. So I think a lot of

Christians, they came out of the new age or something, but then they start to blur Christianity

with like this old Nintendo game with a constantly pure, pure spiritual warfare. Stop focusing on

the devil. Focus on Jesus. Declare your victory and then stand firm in your authority and victory.

Amen. Well, what if a text still come? The worst thing you can do to your enemy, the most offensive

thing is to ignore them. Ignore it and keep doing what you're doing. Amen. Hallelujah.

Rage out this rain in life. I'm terrain. Lift your hands up. Say in Jesus name,

you've given me authority. I have delegated power. So I decree over my life. I am blessed.

My sins are forgiven. I have intimacy with God. You make me the prosper. I walk in the love

of Christ. Good things happen to me all the time. I'm a magnet for the blessings of God.

Doors open. New opportunities arise. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

Online or in person anytime. We would love to connect with you. We pray that you have been

encouraged today. That you have been reminded how much God loves you and that you are surrounded by

grace. Thank you for listening. Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church podcast wherever

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