Counting the Cost: Following Jesus in the Face of Adversity

Now, why am I saying all this today? It's not for no reason. It's because I feel the cry in the spirit from the Lord

to encourage God's people to count the cost and declare, Lord, you have my all, and I will not be moved.

I will not be moved, no matter what is happening out there by your grace, I won't be moved.

Welcome to the CityLight 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 CityLight 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.

Are you ready for the word this morning? Let's begin in Psalm 103 verses 1 through 3.

Psalms 103:1–3

The theme of this passage, these three scriptures I'm going to read is something that's been a theme

throughout CityLight since the beginning. I feel it's incredibly important. The Psalmist says,

bless the Lord on my soul and all that is within me. That's a good prayer to pray if you

forgotten to say grace and you're halfway through the meal. And bless the Lord.

Sometimes we have to pray that if the kids dive in at that point, bless all that is already within me.

All that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord on my soul and forget not all of His

benefits. There are benefits. This scripture meant the world to me a few years after I became a

Christian. I dove into the benefits that you have in God and make no mistake about it. There are

benefits. When I became a Christian, I was immediately introduced to other streams of Christianity.

And they seem to have faith for defeat. They had faith for suffering. They had faith for misery and

pain and agony. And then I dove into the scriptures and I began to discover that Jesus,

He experienced hell so that we wouldn't have to, amen. And He experienced not just hell on earth so

we wouldn't experience eternal hell but so that we could have heaven on earth and that He's a God

of victory and that His suffering on the cross affords us victory, amen. And then it goes on to

list the benefits who forgives all your iniquities and who heals all your diseases. And that's just

two. If you dive in, you'll see that Jesus' victory at the cross afforded your victory in every

category of your lives. Can we say a big amen to that? I'm not preaching on that today though.

I just wanted to start off with that. In case halfway through my message, you're wondering if I

change my doctrine. But it just does seem to me that it's difficult or challenging for believers

to think abstractly or to have nuance when it comes to establishing their own God view and

their own doctrine. And that's why you seem to have two camps. You have a camp of Christianity

where they just believe life should be hard and life should be miserable until eventually you make

it to heaven and receive your reward. The scripture says that the way of a transgressor is hard and

full of sorrow. I'm not a transgressor. My sins have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus, amen.

But then also on the other side of the spectrum and it takes a little bit of thought and nuance to

live in the tension between these two. And the other side of the spectrum is just a belief that God

is only the good time God and that you are never going to experience any kind of suffering.

And when you have that doctrine, the moment you experience biblical suffering, your whole faith is

shaken. And some people fall away. In fact, that's actually one of the four grounds that Jesus

mentioned that when persecution comes, they don't have a good foundation, they're not in good soil,

and they fall away. And I want to read this scripture to you from Jesus. And by the way,

I mentioned biblical suffering, Luke chapter 14 verses 26 through 33. I mentioned biblical

Luke 14:26–33

suffering because the Bible says we're called to suffer as Jesus has suffered. The sufferings of

Christ. Do you know what the sufferings of Christ are? I'll tell you what they aren't.

Freak accidents, sickness, disease, poverty, those aren't the sufferings of Christ. Over and

over in the New Testament when the scripture speaks of the sufferings of Christ, scripture defines

the sufferings of Christ. What we're actually supposed to partner with him in. What's our portion?

What we should expect. It's really not a lot of things. It's being really misunderstood,

being hated just because, just because you're Jesus's. Not even anything that you really did or

said. I just don't like you. I don't even know why I don't like you. Your whole energy just

disturbs me. And being envied. And he experienced that so much that they murdered him.

You look at first Peter, the entire book of first Peter, the great suffering book.

That's what it defines over and over again. Those are the sufferings of Jesus. Are you all with me?

I know some of you maybe you were really married to your suffering thinking that it's from God.

I hate to break the news to you, but it's not from God. If it doesn't fall under those categories.

Amen. But the Lord this week just was stirring up in me to remind the people of God about the cost

because there is a cost. And Jesus talked about a cost. If anyone comes to me and does not hate

his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, in his own life also,

he cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

For which one of you intending to build a tower does not sit down first and count the cost. Everyone

just say count the cost. Count the cost whether he has enough to finish it, less after he has

laid the foundation and is not able to finish. All who see it begin to mock him saying this man began

to build and was not able to finish or what king going to make war against another king does not

sit down first and consider whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with

20,000 or else while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions

of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.

So there is a cry I hear in the spirit right now of God saying strengthen yourselves in me,

gird up your loins, that's actually a scripture in Jeremiah, gird up your loins like a man.

Doesn't mean to run away, that means gather your robes together so you can run swiftly, not run away

but run towards a battle and that you have a resolve and a strength and that you've counted the

cost and my heart is for everybody who's a member of city light church who calls city light their

home to have that resolve and to have counted the cost, counted the cost and that their heart is

Lord you gave me or everything therefore hence hitherto I'm giving you my everything you gave me

your life now my life belongs to you I'm no longer my own God but you are my God and what you say

goes and where you go I'll follow amen this is the way Christianity was presented to me and I'm

so glad for that sometimes Christianity is not presented in a biblical way we focus so much on the

benefit and then it's like this old bait and switch and the person doesn't doesn't understand what

happens the first time they encounter a trial and their faith starts to shake but the gospel was

presented to me actually in a hard way like they told me right away this is how your life should

look after you become a real Christian and I said what I mean the first thing 16 year old me I

I just repeated you know sex until I'm married what that's expensive you're telling me to count the

cost I didn't plan on that one and actually the first thing I buy say you come on that's like the

old-fashioned stuff right the old like that's not today right and they just calmly look back at me

and they said you know Jesus said whoever loses his life will find it and whoever finds his life

excuse me whoever whoever finds his life will lose it whoever loses his life will find it the

word carries so much anointing these were all teenagers mintment this I would didn't what didn't

sit down with the pastor and and the elders of the church these were teenagers and they share

that with me and when that word hit I I immediately knew okay what the Lord is asking me to put away

he's there is a reward connected with that that's infinitely greater than what he's asking me to put

away and I didn't even yet know that it wouldn't be me putting it away with my own strength but that

he would empower me with his grace and that you can't take any credit for any outworking of holiness

in your life that he's behind all of it this is this night the night I got saved Friday night

August 14th 1992 and I was already at that church outside of my parents will because my parents

forbid me to go to that church any church that wasn't a Greek Orthodox church they forbid me to

go to because I say Greek Orthodox now I'm not Greek I'm from former Yugoslavia but it's the

Eastern Orthodox church it's the same thing it's more than just the faith it's more than just

the religion it's your ethnicity it's your culture it's your identity and they saw me going outside

of that as a complete betrayal like family back in the motherland would be saying what happened

to the Janskiks that poor kid got Americanized went off the deep end and joined some sect some cult

they said that about you right some version of that that's what they thought the only reason

eventually they thought it was a phase when I started Bible school they got a little more nervous

they said this this phase is compounding this fire is growing

it bothered me because the way I was raised the way we're raised in our culture it's actually very

similar to Asian culture we're taught to really honor our parents really respect our parents

don't do things that will dishonor your parents don't do things that will grieve your parents

and here I was dishonoring them disrespecting them grieving them

but account of the cost and I've read that Jesus said and he's using these examples of mother

and father those things that are most precious to us if you're willing to forsake that

and by the way when Jesus asks you to forsake something 9.9 at a 10 times he's not actually asking

you to turn your back on and forsake forsake it he's saying lose the grip that that thing has on

your heart and once you lose the grip that that thing has on your heart then I have your whole

heart then heaven can come and invade your life it was a few months after I got saved there was

a constant tension in my in my home because of my Christianity and because I wouldn't be quiet

about it I refused to be a closet Christian and so my dad is a wonderful man and he was not

he was not such a physical disciplinary and I just have to say that my mom was quicker on the

drawer than my dad my mom was like Clint Eastwood it was like I say my dad wasn't

but I was and this was a bizarre and you know when you know some things just supernatural demonic

we're in my kitchen we're in a 12 floor 12 F and four stills queens little compartment where I was

raised and I was trying to witness to my dad and he starts beating me hitting me hitting me so I'm

17 years old at this time I mean I dropped to my knees I can't you know I can fight back to hit

your dad that lightning bolt might as well come and hit you before you commit patricide you know

so I fall I fall on the ground and now he's won't stop he keeps going so I don't know what to do

so I start praying and tongues real loud as soon as I start praying and tongues he doubles down

he's whacking me now it's not relenting I never experienced anything like this in my life

I pull away my mom is on him pulling him away later I asked my mom what got into him he like

double that was bad the first time she said she knew what it was but she said well when you started

speaking in tongues he said he was trying to put a hex on me so I have to hit him to protect myself

he's a can't you see he's doing some witchcraft he's trying to curse us

now the promise that I received when I was becoming a Christian was that God was going to come

and touch my family and bring healing to my family and bring all this love and that's actually

what the person leading with the Lord prophesied to me that that I would receive

fast forward six months later I got the exact opposite in reverse like in an accelerated way

that's a good time when if you're listening to the devil you say you know

this isn't working this is actually working in reverse not only is it not working I'm going backwards

what a bowl of lies I swallowed up but I counted the cost and said yes to it's only Jesus

and Jesus no matter what and it wasn't shortly after that that they both gave their lives

to Jesus and the home yeah it's actually not a cost it's a it's not a cost period it's a cost

that pays that when you in your heart say Jesus I give you my all and I will not be moved amen

and why am I saying all this today it's not for no reason it's because I feel the cry in the spirit

from the Lord to encourage God's people to count the cost and declare Lord you have my all

and I will not be moved I will not be moved no matter what is happening out there by your grace I

won't be moved God forbid that people here be moved because they have encountered the cost

if you're following a Jesus and experiencing a Christianity that doesn't cost you anything

you're following a false Jesus another Christ a bastardized western version of Christianity

it's nowhere in the Bible for years I've preached on grace and how it's all for free and it is this

message is in nullifying that but what's required of you is simply you all of you and that you give

your life to him your hopes your dreams your ambitions Lord I won't go that way unless you go

before me Lord what do you want for my life that is the sure foundation that we just sang about

by the way you can't sing that song with your chest out and your whole heart unless you're willing

to forsake it all for the sake of the call and it's not by accident I'm preaching this now because

it has been a bizarre two weeks has it not if if you don't know that it's been a particularly bizarre

two weeks especially to you we should have ushers with bells maybe we can talk about that at the

next staff meeting maybe pots and pans and then to people who don't amen when I do that well

the ushers can just run around clincly can you appreciate how strange it is that in an eight day period

this is what happened within just eight days a former president running for your re-re-re-election

was shot there was an assassination attempt and in the same eight days the current president

stepped down from re-election not via video because he wanted to protect the videographers from

catching COVID but through a tweet the same president that for days was saying I'm in this election

I'm gonna run this election I'm not stepping out then all of a sudden stepped out and here's

what makes it even more bizarre that we know nothing more about this attempted assassination attempt

than the Saturday afternoon evening that it occurred on we know nothing more have you guys if

you haven't you should see in the the grilling of the secret service director I'm you know

she reminded me of my kids when I catch in the act and you know how Vivi she'll go into that corner

and grab some chocolate and you go Vivi do you got the chocolate I like okay you know you're not

supposed to lie do you have the chocolate I mean the word salad you if you haven't listen forget

about the 10 second tiktok shorts for comedy watch the interrogation the congressional hearing

with the secret service director I mean I've never seen someone just so dodgy lying lying lying

withhold like the most basic questions that we should have answered what country is this

so we need Jesus like never before we need to count the cost like never before and make sure that

our feet are in a sure foundation because if there's one thing the last four years have taught me

it's that the bizarre will get bizarreier and it's nowhere near November yet so what's up next

by the way in case you haven't noticed this is not a political message this is a keep your feet on

Jesus message look to him only message and know that they're lying to you left and right

cling to Jesus to be above the lies hallelujah let's read Jesus in Luke 14 uh no

mark 10 because Jesus never talks about the cost without also talking about the reward

I guess I just want us we're very strong by the way from the stories I hear we're I want

us to be stronger even because I think I still have you can pray for me for healing inner deep

inner healing lay hands on me so zoom me away because I still think I have PTSD from 2020

because here's what happened in 2020 going into 2021 you know we were one of the first churches to reopen

and I think we were the first there was a bunch of us that same the first Sunday we could we re-opened

and so many of our people came back especially those that were alone alone watching the death

ometer tick-tock away on CNN do you remember the deathometer how could you forget that right if

a thermometer except for deaths and it just kept I mean just that is enough to do such a mind

number on you they were just different the elevator didn't go to the top floor anymore

I'd come in for the appropriate distant pastoral side hug and they're

oh you know then I then I just I just out loud said hey this experimental job that they really

really want us to take I don't want to my body my choice I don't want to I don't want to put

in this this this chemical experiment that's just a few months old that they're already telling

us if I take it and when I say that I mean if you dig a little bit into the medical not what

politicians were telling you they're telling you won't prevent you from getting COVID and it won't

prevent you from spreading COVID therefore hands hitherto air go it's not a vaccine it's a jab

what kind of jobs some kind of jab the kind of job that every six months you've got to take

another job for it to work so I'm not offending anybody here because none of you are vaccinated unless

you got your 19th booster within the last six months so that's right

so this is what happened why I'm preaching this now I got so many phone calls and I appreciate

phone calls text emails any I appreciate anything other than just disappearing and leaving for

those who we have a relationship I understand there's different people here I'm talking about

those who call city light their home not just if you're still checking us out welcome if you're

still checking us out check us out you want should I turn around 360 check me out

you know too many of these kind of phone calls pasture I agree with everything you're saying

they knew it was right they knew it was reasonable they knew it was logical but if people found out

especially if my place of employment do you remember how it was four years ago oh I left out

the cherry on top was when spontaneously on Sunday the best stuff is the spontaneous stuff

spontaneously on Sunday I said and spontaneously it doesn't mean erratically by the way it means I

moved when I sense the Holy Spirit move and it just occurred to me by the Lord and I said anybody

who wants a religious who does not want to get the job will provide you a religious exemption on

city light letterhead because I'm now not loving my neighbor right I'm the grandma killer

and I got so many of these kind of phone calls pasture I agree with everything you're saying

but if people knew what kind of church now when someone leaves I don't ever say any like if you

ever if you ever call me up to say look I'm I'm moving to another church or I'm leaving the only

thing you're going to hear from me is I bless you that's been like that since day one the Lord

put that in my heart there is no sense in arguing with you and trying to convince you if you're

out you're out and I'm going to see that in the best possible light that God is calling you out

so don't ever tell me you're leaving hoping that I'm going to get you to stand and don't think

don't think I'm cold if I say listen bless you because that's all I'm supposed to say but a few

of those times when they called I felt tempted to say something and what I would have said was

because in each kind by the way each case was a man I wouldn't fuck fuck fuck a woman

but when a man the head of his house calls up and says I got to leave because I'm scared

I'm scared what they might say if they find out because they're so important they're going to

be going through their social media doing the detective work to find out they go here I'm scared

that I go to a church where the senior pastor tried to bring some semblance of of sense concerning

COVID and told people hey you shouldn't have to take an experimental cocktail if you don't want to

well they would really talk bad about me by the way don't forget those were the times we were

living now we all we all laugh about it do you know we should replay when how we talk just like

this in 2020 what the atmosphere was like in here you can hear a pin drop just people he's going

there which if you ever let out that energy it makes me want to go there all the more so don't

and I don't know what's on the horizon but something is this is what we have to admit to ourselves

we as humans even Christians we're easily programmable we really are there are people who know how to

hijack our emotional state hijacked our program and for lack of a better term hypnotize us

to where we all you know right now there's over 80 different nations represented here

I'm not talking about like your great-grandfather immigrated here when we do the poll 80 different nations

were like me that came from another country and are here at city light yeah we have more in common with

each other as Christians as Jesus lovers Jesus believers filled with the Holy Spirit baptized

in water than other people do not ever let them come in and mess us up and divide us and get

as 2020 should never ever happen again hey man hallelujah so Jesus answered and said assuredly I

say to you there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife

or children or lands for my sake and the gospels who shall not receive Jesus never talked about a

cost without also talking about the reward who shall not have received now people

tend to think oh the reward yeah in the sweet by and by right in heaven one day he says now

now the reward is now the reward is ultimate in heaven but it's now in fact right now I'm enjoying

such blessedness and peace and familial prosperity because of what I endured back in 1992 that cost

that little price that I paid where I just kept close to Jesus when Satan was trying to rattle my

family then now it's rivers of peace now in this life in this time this is for everything I love

how he how he adds it to he goes houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and

lands that sounds like prosperity to me right but with persecution there's always that little seasoning

there yeah with persecutions people will talk bad about you this was my big eye opener in 2020

because I overcame this a long time ago wanting to be liked you can't be a pastor in New York City

and want to be liked you so the Lord dealt with that real quick but 2020 showed me how desperately people

still want to be liked still want to be popular still want to fit in you don't fit in as a Christian

and Jesus said they persecuted me he actually started by saying this the servant is not above his

master they hated and they persecuted me they'll hate and they'll persecute you

so please I invite you to make your peace with that

then you're not supposed to be the popular guy the popular girl and that popularity it means nothing

in ministry popularity means nothing I don't even remember Mike Francine years ago he came by

and he told me that years ago in the 90s an old minister said tell me the top 10 ministries right

now and Mike Francine said write them down Mike Francine wrote them down and he said in 10 years

you won't barely hear a word out of these ministries and he said it turned out to be absolutely

true so he said this to me back in 2014 so I made a mental note of the top 10 like the most

vote the most popular ministries and that one I think back at least eight out of 10 you really don't

hear that much about why because popularity it comes it goes to throw yourself on the seas of

human adoration what I'll give you this example in the book of Acts Paul the great preacher that he

was he preached the fiery sermon and you know what they said they liked him so much they said

the gods have come down in the form of men what a compliment the next day that same crowd satan

just stirred them the same people picked up stones to murder him that tells us everything we need to

know deep down inside world if we're not looking at Jesus these hungry animals that just want to

pat on the back of that a boy under that a girl you got to make a decision to get your pets from

Jesus and Jesus alone because people will flip on you they'll change but Christ endures amen

and I live for the well done thou good and faithful servant enter now into the joy of the Lord

hallelujah oh thank you Lord worship team come on up Romans 12 1

thank you Jesus thank you Lord

Paul says I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a

living sacrifice holy acceptable to God this how he closes that verses my favorite part which is

your reasonable service the Lord is not asking something unreasonable of us he's forgiven all of

our sin given us authority back crowned us with glory given us adoption whereby we're now the

very children of God we have eternity in our spirits we're heaven bound we have intimacy with him

and he's saying I want you're all you're all you're all so this is a bit of a recommitment service

I like every head bowed every I closed please

and I want to invite you to recommit your life to Jesus and count the cost

we're here today because of the cost Christians in the past have paid for us Christianity is alive

because when the Roman emperor was throwing Christians into the lion's den and burning them at

the stake and crucifying them upside down they would not renounce their faith those were Christians

who counted the cost and the torch of Christianity has been carried not just through the century but

the millennia right on down to today because Christians who counted the cost said I shall not be

moved I won't go along with popular opinion I won't make a short-sighted choice just to be safe and

keep my skin alive but I present the whole of myself even my body as a sacrifice

that we may like the apostle Paul say I have been crucified with Christ yet not I

but Christ he lived with me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the

Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me how many of you right now with eyes closed heads

about you would say Jesus I realized that this isn't just the cost the cost it pays great great

rewards and I recommit myself to you and to the Lordship of Christ raise your hands all over

this place Jesus you're my Lord you're not just Lord of part of me but you're Lord of all I

understand that if you're not Lord of all you're not Lord at all lift your hand up Lord Jesus

I believe in you and I trust you with my life

everybody let's say this prayer together Jesus you gave me everything I received that

and I give you myself I'm no longer my own God but you are my God and you are my Lord I'll go

where you tell me to go I'll say what you tell me to say and I'll do what you tell me to do

and I will not bow down to public opinion to popularity to what others say about me

I'll follow you all my days in Jesus name amen 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 jansik and city light church visit us at citylightnyc.com that's citylightnyc.com feel free to

visit us online or in person anytime we would love to connect with you we pray that you have been

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

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