Finding Faith and Community on a Mission Trip to Guatemala: CityLight Church Podcast Reflections

You know, Jesus said something peculiar in the Gospel of Matthew and the Beatitudes. He said agree with your adversary quickly.

So when your adversary Satan says you're not righteous, agree with him quickly. That's right.

Satan, in and of myself, I'm not. But in Christ I am.

When Satan says you're inadequate, agree with that adversary quickly. I'm not adequate.

But in Christ I can do all things. 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.

Well, a good number of us have had a whirlwind of a week. We're back from Guatemala.

From our missions trip, we want to thank you City Light for sending us, enabling us to go and enabling us to minister in that region for 15 years.

Can you believe it? 15 years, we've ministered there, visited hundreds of churches in 15 years, preached the gospel, helped pay for the supplies and build 40 plus church buildings.

You can give the Lord a hand for that. We had 26 on fire, no other gods but Jesus City Lighters come with us.

And I want to give them an opportunity this morning to share what they observed, what they experienced, and what the Lord has done in their heart.

And this will minister to you. Nobody who's going to share is in full-time ministry, but God occupies their hearts full-time.

And whatever the Lord has done in their lives know that He can do in yours.

And we're commanded by the Lord to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

And we went into the part of the world, but thankfully we live in a city where the world has come to us.

Any given time, depending on what nation is being recognized or not, there's about 180 to 196 countries in the world.

161 of them are in Queens, not even in the whole five Earths are in Queens. That means 80% plus of the world lives here and you can be a missionary without even having a passport.

So let me just get five or six people who want to share first. Can I just see your hands and we'll go in rounds of five.

Rob, Yari. Yeah, you guys, come on up.

That's how you know a kid has grown up in the church since he was one years old.

Just feels right at home, feels like an altoid, goes up to the altar, gets one.

Cassandra, once you start, hey, let me get that second mic. Do we know where that went? There we go. Thank you so much.

Give Cassandra Cometina a hand.

Hi, everyone. I'm happy to be here. So let me start with saying I know that I was supposed to be on this trip.

It was a confirmed word that I remember Nathaniel prayed over me, not only my heart for the nation, but he saw me surrounded by kids and this fit exactly into that.

So just know that when the Lord gives you a word, he's going to fulfill it.

I thought it was going to die when this trip started. I'm not kidding. I actually thought we landed on the planning Guatemala. I actually had the fear that I was actually going to die.

I started having serious medical complications on the plane and that fear was there from Satan to keep me from going.

I was thinking about how I could turn back, how I was going to coordinate a flight back to New York and my brothers and sisters and Christ prayed for me.

We got rid of the fear. I stood strong in the faith that I had in the Lord and I didn't let that deter me.

So I'm not continuing into the first day to where I were renounced all that and I took my faith over fear and what I knew needed to manifest in the fifth of the day.

And not only that, but that's because the Lord wanted to get different words to people.

So Chris had shared earlier in the previous service about a woman where he got a word from the Lord.

And this was such a confirmation, a word of knowledge. I prayed over this woman. I felt that she needed to be prayed over and I had touched her hands for healing.

Then as I walked away, I thought, okay, there's actually someone in her family that needs healing. I went back and I asked her and it turned out that she did have two people in her family that needed healing.

So we were able to pray over her, tell her that we're praying, but that the Lord was going to release healing through her, even if she didn't see it when she got back.

So Nestor, thank you for helping me to translate with her. But the point was she wanted the Lord wanted her to know that he saw her.

So when I was done praying for her, then Chris spoke to her as well and got the same word and that gave me the knowledge and courage that the Lord was speaking to me.

It was literally the exact same word that the Lord saw her.

So also know that if you don't hear the Lord the first time, he's not just going to not get the message to you. He'll send another person to make sure that you get it.

And I was able to give a few other words to people, one child that he'd be a landowner, one child that he would write music, even though he was a drummer, that the Lord would give him songs.

And one of our cooks that the Lord would restore the years that she was out of the faith. So thank you. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone. All right. So I just got a couple little bullet notes.

So I'm past the boy I first mentioned that they were going to do this Guatemala trip because I was actually sitting somewhere in that area.

And as soon as he was done saying, hey, we're going to plan to do this upcoming trip. She looked over to me and she said, I don't know what you're doing that week, but I'll be in Guatemala.

So I had to get my application.

So yeah, it was an amazing trip.

A couple of days before the trip, I started to have issues with my left foot.

I was getting swollen and stuff. And I couldn't put any pressure on it. And I had originally signed up to be part of the construction team, which I was really excited about.

And I was getting really bombed. Not only can I not be a part of it, but I was starting to think I'm going to be a liability on this trip.

I should just hit up past the boy on a Saturday. I don't know like this.

I don't think I'm going to make it because I'm just going to hold the trip back. And it's just going to be an issue.

But glory to God, he spoke to me through some people and told me I needed to be on this trip.

And it was a blessing to be part of the VBS team to work with the kids.

It was a blessing I didn't expect to have.

Because like I said, I was originally just only thinking about doing the construction work.

But the opportunities the Lord gave me to pray over some of these kids, pray over some of the teachers that were there was truly remarkable.

So the Lord can take anything and really use it.

There was a couple of things that stood out to me, which was on one of the services.

I believe it was night number two after we were done with our service with the kids.

But right before we headed up with Pastor Barnes to pray over the members of the church, there was a little boy that came up to me and said that he needed prayer that he had.

He was dealing with some stomach pain. But this wasn't a normal stomach ache.

This was, I got the information, this was like something internal, something within the organs, something a lot more serious than just a little stomach ache.

So see, I ever happened to be next to me and I got Kate to come over as well and we prayed for that little boy.

And when we were done, we gave it all we had.

And when we were done and to see that boy lift his head with tears on his eyes, saying that he doesn't feel any pain anymore.

It really is only something that I can do.

Then Kate shared this early at the first service.

We prayed over one of the teachers there. Brian came along and helped us too.

We just prayed the peace of God over her. One of the things that stood out is that even though for some of us there was a language barrier, when God wants to get a message through, there is no barrier.

And at the end we got to ask her how she felt and she just pointed at her heart saying that she just felt the peace of God like when it was all over.

So it was just an incredible trip. And I'll finish off with this. One of the biggest things I got out of it was an increase in boldness when it comes to praying for others.

When we were at one of the services, they warned us that you may see some manifestations and stuff of that nature, especially if you're not accustomed to seeing that, just be aware it may come out.

And I've seen it before, but I've always just like I never went up to pray for anybody about it. I just would wherever I was sitting out, I would just pray over the person. So pretty much from a distance.

So I remember when we were praying at the second service when he had a festival and had thought pretty much almost the whole congregation come up and we had to go forth and just start praying for people.

I'm praying for this young man. And I see this lady kind of manifesting and it's kind of irking my spirit a little bit. Like she's kind of annoying me, but not in a personal way, not like she does something wrong.

It's like the fact that the devil thinks that he still has territory, even though he's already lost. So I'm praying for this man, but I can't leave him, because I don't want to chip him out of his own blessing.

So I finished with him. And when I was done, I like bypassed like 17 other people who came up for prayer. And I just went straight to that lady.

Because there was just something that made me that was like, all right, these things, we got to start nipping them in the bud, you know, start hanging them in the room.

So just an increase of bonus that came from this trip was absolutely amazing. Thank you for the opportunity to bring us along.

Yes, and thank you all for keeping us in our prayers and your prayers.

Good morning, everybody.

I shared first service. I'm hoping everything lands just as well. Second service.

So first and foremost, I'm still in many of us all riding this Holy Spirit wave of just how cohesive this team worked together while we were there.

How powerful, how effective our prayer was there. And quite honestly, just how many tortillas with the red sauce we put down.

It was amazing to watch. Very grateful.

But it's also a testament to the Holy Spirit working through us that we were able to quite simply go there, do what we were called to do.

And for a large portion of that, we were called to do battle and prayer. And as you've heard in these testimonies, it wasn't glamorous.

It may not have been an immediate, durable change in the natural, but the seeds Lord used us to plant the lives, the Lord called us to touch,

whether it was by stirring up concrete in a room that'll later be used to worship the Lord and spirit and in truth, or whether it was the songs we sang with children reminding them to have joy in their heart.

When we placed hands on a minister to the still spiritually oppressed to show people in the region to help them receive the love of God,

it was and forever will be for the glory of God and the furtherings of the kingdom and Jesus' name.

As Paul tells us in Ephesians 6, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the world forces of this darkness and spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.

So without getting too deep into the thoughts and theories behind it, it's enough to say that this region for hundreds, if not thousands of years, worshiped the false gods and idols.

And their gods were a wrathful, unappeasing, unforgiving, unloving gods.

And so when the Spanish came and implemented Catholicism, as one of our team members Chris really powerfully put it, they just treated one god for another, but their method, their manner and their mentality and worship and identity didn't change.

And even as they became Christians, they still struggle with the weight of feeling unworthy in a faith destructive, in a faith inhibiting sense.

Their cries and whales are not, excuse me, their cries, whales and finally shaking are not what Paul had in mind when he tells us in Philippians to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

This fear they felt was not an all-struck, reverential one, but rather an incoming destruction, wrathful, vengeful god sort of fear.

The trembling was not from the weight of God's presence on them, but the weight of their own guilt, their own shame, their own fear of not being able to appease God themselves.

Their violent shaking would evolve into convulsions and projectile vomiting and that told us we're in the midst of a battle, but we simply had to remind them who had already won.

And as we began to minister in lay hands on the people that first night there at church service, passable had preached powerful message reminding the people of the rest they have in Jesus.

That need for striving, for earning, for begging, for working, for God's love and forgiveness was bowed with a sermon highlighting the equal righteousness we have in Christ, not at all of our own doing, but because of his great love and sacrifice for us on the cross.

And this was, and maybe even for this room, for some of you, it's a radical view, and it's difficult to accept.

And in that room, with the Echial people, it certainly felt that way that they struggled initially to accept that truth.

But as we laid hands and prayed, I believe identities and Christ were realized in old ways.

Oh, excuse me, old ways were exchanged for a new wine.

I was particularly thinking about this occurrence at the end of ministry time that first night when I walked past the gentleman and he was whispering a sound that was both foreign and familiar at the same time.

And as he spoke and he swayed back and forth in his denim jacket, I looked at his face and there was a really long length of snot just coming down that left nostril and I immediately walked right past him and said, nope, not you.

And I don't think the Lord liked that very much. He kind of highlighted him in my heart and I was like, Lord, are you sure?

You know, I don't want to get what he has and he said, I'm pretty sure, I'm pretty sure.

So as I approached him and put my hands on him, started to pray, his swaying actually became even more violent and he started shaking.

And because crying out, his wails turned to loud, loud, anguish cries.

And my first thought was that it was something in the spirit realm that caused that reaction in him and I had to go.

Now, I rebuked whatever voice it was, it wasn't the Lord's and I reiterated and prayed to him that he is a new creation in Christ.

I continued to observe its reactions that prayed and I felt that he was doing a lot of what he was doing because he felt like that was the only way to access God.

God only see him if he shook, if he cried out, if he did all those things.

But I reminded him and asked him to repeat after me that he was saved by the blood of Jesus.

He was a love and accepted by God the Father. He didn't have to plead or agonize or work to receive God's love and forgiveness.

He was already forgiven.

As he repeated each of these things out loud, I observed the physical difference in his demeanor.

He went from violently shaking and swaying to sort of just standing there with palms wide open in a receptive demeanor.

Finally, we said together, I can rest in Jesus, single the scandal and his suit.

He completely stopped the whaling. He sort of just stood there in a posture of peace and his uttering turned into a surrendered silence.

He encountered grace and I felt so happy for him and grateful for the Lord blessing him in that moment.

So among many precious moments and conversations and friendships that we built on this trip,

that one surely is among the top for me and I'm believing his life is forever changed in that identity revealing moment.

Praise the Lord.

Good afternoon. I'm Yari, Maratino.

Robert's like.

So yes, I had the opportunity to go to Guatemala on a mission straight back in 2019.

That was before COVID happened.

And even though this was my second time going to Guatemala, God definitely did a new thing in me.

And it was just a whole different experience.

And to start, I have to say that the group that went to this trip, we were all so united.

It was just beautiful.

The level of trust and comfort that we had, we won another.

Just to have that sense, we all had the same goal, we all on the same page.

And we just want to release God's healing power over his people.

It was just beautiful.

So in 2019, when I went to Guatemala, God called me to minister to children.

He put in my heart to just help children to be rooted in the true identity.

And it was after that trip that I ended up becoming one of the city kids coordinators.

And then when I heard that the dude and Victor were going to join us to this trip,

I was filled with so much joy because having been able to see them coming to city kids

and just see them grow in this spirit and just to see the fruit of the spirit in that trip,

come alive.

When they go to city kids and they just embrace the word of God,

it was just powerful to see at nine-year-old, 11-year-old, with such boldness,

you know, praying over not only over kids, but everyone.

Their boldness was just so amazing.

It's funny because it was interesting to see their innocence during the day,

playing Uno cards and spoons and all that,

playing, running around the camp, and then at night it was just filled with the Holy Spirit

and it filled the fire.

It was like, well, you know what, what happened here, it was just very powerful.

So, I'm sorry, just really trying to cut up.

You know, that's what God's calling me to do.

It was just confirmation that this is what I want to see in your children's life.

This is what I want to see in my children's life, you know,

and just to remind them of who they are in Christ.

So, there's this story, I want to share this testimony of this little boy

that I met during our last BBS.

He was so small, and I just saw like pain in his eyes,

and he just looked at me and came to give me a hug.

And that day, for those that were doing BBS,

that day we received so many hugs, so much love.

It was like one after another, one after another.

Even the same kids would hold you and really hard,

but this kid was just special when he hugged me.

Even though he was tiny, I felt like his hug was so powerful.

It was like filled with healing.

It felt like a giant was hugging me, even though he was tiny.

So, yeah, healing power was definitely coming from that hug,

so I started praying over him and talking, you know,

telling him the calling that God was giving him to heal people.

And I encouraged him to use his hugs whenever he saw a sadness in people

just to hug them.

And I was so amazed by the power of his hugs that I even started asking him to,

like, hug all the teachers.

I was like, oh, yeah, Eddie, oh, Carolina.

And like, because it was just, it was amazing.

And so, this other kid, you know, he was curious.

I was what was happening and healing, you know, and healing.

And what, you know, what I was speaking to this other boy.

And he said, looking confused, like, he likes to heat kids.

Like, he heard others.

Like, he's not a good kid.

And I just laughed, you know, but, you know, to the enemy's lie, you know,

because it just spoke to me how when we are in pain

and we have been heard, the enemy uses that to make us do the opposite of what we were created to be.

And the enemy, you know, made him believe he needed to hurt people.

And later than he, you know, God has, you know,

he blessed him and equipped him, you know, with a healing gift.

And I just spoke live over him.

I told him who he really was.

A child of God that God was calling him to heal and not hurt others.

He believed it. He received it.

You know, I saw a beautiful smile in his face and he just kept hugging me.

You know, I was just loving it.

And, you know, and that's what I want to continue to do for his kingdom.

You know, I just want to silence the enemies, you know, and speak God's true about the calling that, you know,

he's, you know, he's giving to his children.

So, yeah, I'm excited for the next mission's trip.

Awesome, Yari. You can give that a message.

I'm going to just call my son Victor up.

Just, you see that?

She said boldness on the cow.

Just share with the people what happened to you on the trip.

So, this is my first time doing the mission's trip.

And the powerful time of the mission's trip was when we were in the church and, like,

half of the church wasn't believing.

So, like, I was just like, okay, I better bless them.

So, like, the next minute, the whole church is like crying and, like, yeah.

So, then God touched me and spoke in tongues.

So, you know, I'm up on the altar.

Let me just say this story real quick.

I'm up on the altar.

I'm looking in one direction.

Next thing, I know I see my son just praying for people and just tears running down his cheeks.

And so, I'm really touched that he's touched and God is pouring into him while he's pouring out to others.

And so, the next day, we're on a rooftop doing construction and I just sense the presence of God, you know.

And I say, hey, Victor, I believe God wants to fill you with this Holy Spirit.

I said, just look to Jesus and by faith, open your mouth and begin to speak in your heavenly language.

And he just does it very, very fluently, too fluently.

You know, when people first get filled with the Holy Spirit, it's with stammering lips and another tongue.

And it takes at least five to ten minutes to form some syllables and words and refer to as resemble a proper language.

And now he's like an old timer and I go, you know, I wanted to have this special moment with him on a rooftop where dad ministers the baptism of the Holy Spirit to his son.

And he just takes off.

And I said, hey, son, this is not your first time.

When did you first speak in tongues?

It's all, yeah, the other night when I was praying for our people at the altar.

God is good, amen.

That's there, won't you share.

Lou, hey, what's up?

So, well, first of all, I want to thank God for taking me and putting me back out on the missions field after ten years.

And I can easily say this has been the best missions trip I've ever been a part of.

Every one was solid and, man, God did so incredible things, which I'm going to share with you one of the stories right now.

But on my testimony, you know, after I got saved, I went to a lot of cessationist churches, you know.

Churches that believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were for yesterday and all that.

Which kind of, you know, rubbed me the wrong way because I've always read scripture in in Hebrews, it says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever.

So, Mike, doesn't make sense that suddenly it's like, oh, yeah, let me just stop somewhere around like 1960 or whatever.

I've never had an encounter with deliverance in the sense where I've witnessed other people delivering.

And I've read the direct principles, I've like watched videos on it, but I'm like, all right, well, I've never had an encounter like that personally.

But if that's the way that God operates with everyone else, amen, cool.

That all changed on this trip.

And I remember this was the second day we were in a small church doing vacation Bible study with the children there.

And one of the pastors there, he was an Echial pastor, his name was Pastor Leesh.

I don't know where he just decides to come on, say, hey, you know what? Let's pray for the woman here.

There's a couple of women that have been sitting in the back during the lesson. Let's pray for them.

And I was like, sure, no problem. They bought them up to the front.

And I remember there being three women there. One of them had an eye issue.

The other one had a rash on one of her legs.

And the one that was closest next to me, you know, I spoke to her and say, you know, what's going on? What can I pray for you about?

And she explained, well, you know, I have this just crazy headache and I just have pain all over my body.

And I was like, all right, well, let's pray. Let's see what God is going to do here.

So I started praying. I put my hand on her forehead. I put my other hand behind her back.

And I'm praying and praying. I'm praying in English, by the way. So this lady doesn't really understand what I'm saying.

And I hear coffee.

And I'm like, man, this lady is really not feeling well, you know.

I just start laying into it another minute later, praying and praying and praying. And suddenly, I'm like, okay.

At this point, I'm thinking, I don't know why, but this is not something that's normal.

So I start gently tapping her on the back and then she starts beating out all over the floor.

And I'm asking her, you know, how are you feeling? She says, you know, I feel good, but like, I got a vomit.

Like, I'm really like me to just release all this.

And at this time, we were like interrupted because we really had to finish the lesson and kind of just go about our day.

And when I try to find the lady again afterwards, she was gone. She wasn't in the school.

But I continue to pray for her in my personal time.

And, you know, just thinking about that testimony.

I didn't mention this in the first service, but, you know, I remember having a conversation with Terry McComb,

who was one of our hosts down in Guatemala, which there are amazing people, the Mike and Terry McComb.

I remember we were having a conversation with them where they did an IQ test of the population in that area.

And these people only have the ability to answer true or false questions.

And while I was on a trip, I was reading this book called Sky People.

It's about Mesoamerica and my people having these crazy experiences with these Sky Gods.

And this is not something that, you know, these are not old stories. These are stories that are currently happening now from my witnesses.

So my point being number one, these people on a cultural level believe that life is inherently supernatural.

And my second point is, if these people believe that life is inherently supernatural, these just rural farmers,

how much more supernatural is life for us for those who abide in the most I got?

So I hope that this testimony encouraged you.

And just pray that if you are abiding in the Holy Spirit, expect to receive the impossible and expect to accomplish the impossible through Him.

Thank you.

Let me get another five people. Brian and Heidi, can you come back up? Josh, come on up.

Please, Chris and Matthew. And Nicole, can I ask you to share it too?

I know. Can I just give you the mic next?

Because I know you're instant in season out of season.

Guys, if you can, just because I want them to be able to hear from everybody, keep your testimonies to two minutes, three minutes max.

All right. I don't want to feel like I need to receive an offering for you after you're done.

So I do get to do ministry full time all over the country.

And please, excuse me, I think I have a half a bag of cement in my nostrils.

And my sign is still from bringing that in, which was a blast.

I will have to do a shout out to the Skirt for Great for Gabe that did all the shoveling of the rock, right?

We had a blast. One of the incredible things that I get to see is the church at work all over the country.

But what stood out to me is standing with the McCombs who are the missionaries on the ground.

See, they've been doing this for 30 years there, day after day, night after night, ministering to pastors to people all over the place.

And we got to, all over Guatemala, we got to just step in, right, and spend a week with them, and have fun, and see God move.

But they're there tilling the ground day after day after day.

And we may plan to few seeds and water others, but I thought, you know, when I came out here, I'm tired.

I wrote 24 Bible studies last year. I spoke all over the country, and it gets exhausting.

And I thought, I just want to go and do something with my hands. I just want to do something different.

And then talking in the McCombs for hours each and every day.

Are that you know what? We're called to do the hard work.

To stay consistent, persistent, to endure to the end.

And God has placed us here to endure not to look for the break, which is always nice, right?

But to see that we're here tilling the ground. We're here doing our job, our part.

And others may come in and they may seed plants and seeds and water, but our responsibility is here.

And the other thing I learned is the scripture kept popping out to me, left and right.

James and I spoke about it. Is that we don't fight against flesh and blood, right?

Principalities and powers, what our battle is with.

And when I saw those people, and they're whaling, and they are physically showing the inward oppression,

that was happening, was just coming out.

When you see them do that, not once did I look at them and say, oh, I cannot believe this.

Instead you run, you run freedom, right? Freedom.

You want to see them experience freedom in Christ.

Well, that happens here. It looks very different here, though.

And it's so easy to walk right past them. I want to do it that.

I don't want to do that homeless person. I don't want to do it that addict.

I don't want to deal with this or that, but our hearts is to see that they are oppressed.

And they need freedom, and they need freedom in Jesus.

And instead of running, we need to be tilling that ground here, day after day, and not getting tired, and keep enduring,

and knowing that Jesus is the answer, and we need to run to the people who are oppressed.

Thank you.

Hello, citywide. I'm Heidi.

And this is my husband, Brian, he and I, and our 11-year-old son, Jude, went to this mission strip together.

And we had an amazing experience. That's an understatement.

It was, I was actively seeking something more.

I was looking for a radical movement, a connection, and I got it, and some.

And there are so many moments during the trip that I can pick from that were so moving and so powerful.

And the first service I spoke on just kind of not feeling like I didn't know how I could be used,

not exactly feeling equipped, a little bit intimidated, and how God just washed all that away.

I felt like, you know, during the altar calls, we were just unleashed on this crowd of people that are dealing with unworthiness,

and this sort of ritualistic bowing down and groveling before God.

And we were able to just go out into the crowd and pray over these people to break that spirit off of them.

I was, what I didn't mention in the first service, but the second service, I didn't initially sign up for VBS.

I signed up for the construction team because, you know, I just felt like, okay, I know how I can do that.

It made sense to me. And so with the VBS on the last day, both my husband and my son, we were on that team.

And I was completely, I was like, wow, I get this. The VBS, like this is where it's at.

The innocence and the engagement of the children were so moving.

They were just so thirsty and open for God, like there was no barriers.

There was nothing you just saw in their eyes, and you saw them, like little lights.

It was so beautiful and so moving. I felt like I'm supposed to be pouring into you guys, and I'm receiving.

I felt like that moment was just amazing. It was, it was so moving. And I just wanted to share that.

Thank you.

All right. So my 11-year-old can't be here today, but I have a quick little thing from him.

He said, I had an amazing time with CityLight on this trip. I think Victor was a big part of that, too.

I guess I had a ton of fun together. Yari, I think, hit it on the head when she said they were running around the camp.

And kids, one moment, the next moment, praying on people. And what a joy it is to see kids, especially your own kids, serving the Lord.

That was amazing. Doing that as a family was special. He wanted to call out one particular memory he had was Saturday night.

He was able to pray for a number of people. He said, I remember praying alongside Miss Yari for one woman we could see who was feeling a lot of distress.

As we prayed for her, we saw the peace of God in her face as she received his love and healing.

So this is an amazing experience. I could just tell you, he's really anxious to get back at it and pray for people.

I mean, he really enjoyed that. I think there's nothing like experiencing God flowing through you and touching somebody.

He really experiences love in some kind of new, profound way. And I think he just, he saw a part of God's heart yet and seen before as he prayed for people.

Alright, this is my bit here. I wanted this trip expecting to be impacted by ministering to the issue of people.

And I was, it was awesome to see the Holy Spirit move and set people free. I'll never forget that.

But something else happened on this trip that I was not expecting. I wasn't expecting to be so deeply impacted by being able to spend a week with this amazing, the amazing people of this church.

We took flights and bus rides together. We prayed for other people and we prayed for each other.

We shared meals together, morning, noon and night. We shoveled rock and gravel and mixed them in together in the hot sun.

We sat around fires in the cold evenings and played games, laughed, shared stories of God, how God had drawn us to him and to this church.

We shared the miracles we had seen God perform in each of our lives.

In the process of it all, Heidi and June and I felt our hearts being knit together even deeper with this church family.

We felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude, welling up in us for God placing us in this family.

We found ourselves truly amazed by the maturity, strength and love of the people around us.

And we felt such gratitude for the church leadership team for helping lead us into greater maturity in Christ.

So just like I did in the first service, I just wanted to give a few words of gratitude for the leadership team because the health of this church is no accident.

To pass your boy on an Emily, thank you for leading us with strength and speaking to our identity in Christ so often to give us the courage to step into the freedom that is bound in him.

You're a strong leadership and just being an apologetic about the truth is evident in the health of your people.

So thank you.

To pass their mo and Tiffany, you have invested tirelessly in the community of this church through life groups and otherwise and your leadership is evident and help people connect and love each other here.

To pass James and Nicole, thank you for the joy that you carry the transparency with which you minister and the way you draw people in and make them feel valued.

And to pass the rob and yard, thank you for showing us how to serve with love and grace and compassion.

You two are an amazing example.

Can we just give them a round of applause?

It's hard work.

I'm a leader in a business sense and a lot of times the people around you are a reflection of your leadership.

You look around and say, well, I'm not really happy with how things are going.

I've got to change how I'm leading.

It's amazing to see how healthy this body is.

We're so blessed to be a part of this church.

I've been a part of a lot of different churches growing up.

Sometimes people brag on their church, which I think is kind of cool.

But sometimes it's about the work way.

I have really great worship.

We have really great kids program.

And we have all that here.

But I was blown away by the depth and the maturity of the people.

I mean, just turn to your left or your right at any time in here and you're bound to run into somebody really amazing who can pray for you.

I'm sure they're about to walk in the Lord.

This is amazing.

Amazing.

Hi, everyone.

My name's Josh.

So it's just funny just because a couple of years ago when I first started coming to City Light,

I didn't even want to cope on the overflow section or the back row.

And now I'm here to testify coming back from a mission trip.

Yeah.

And I just also just found like a couple of years back.

I remember just finding mission strips.

They're so offensive for some reason.

But now coming back from one.

It's just funny how God works in that way.

But I think just even so.

I just had a hard time understanding why I always even selected in the first place when I got the email.

I was like, really?

This is the best we can take.

But.

But I think just thinking about it, I just remember getting a couple of words,

even from like Pastor Nathaniel is saying, there's a gift of healing on your life.

And I just didn't know where there could be an opportunity for that.

This is the perfect thing.

But I think just even amidst my struggle of wanting to know why I was even selected and why God even placed me to be in this.

I just learned that there's so much authority.

Just go and just know that your authority is in Christ and just trust that he's going to take care of everything when you do show up.

I remember just like the second service in particular, just the way it was set up.

We all were kind of called up to the front in the line.

And then it was time for alter ministry.

And I just remember just a wave of people coming towards us.

And I was like, OK, we got to do this now.

And I remember Pastor Boyne just said, OK, now go.

And we just had to kind of just step out and go in faith.

And I just think this knowing that, you know, if we just, you know, step out in faith and just pray and just pray and just know that God has taken you.

You know that God has taken care of everything.

You can just, you just have to step up.

I just remember just praying for this one person.

I remember just saying, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

And the demon that was inside had to respond.

And it is just like just coming back at it, Jesus, Jesus.

And I just saw things just move in just ways that I never thought I could imagine.

And that's available to all of us here.

And not necessarily not just in these remote areas where there may be a lot more receptive to it.

It's here and we can do this in our everyday lives.

And I just, you know, just know that even though like there may not have been like, you know, a physical outward appearance that, you know, that there's something there that the Lord is working something in the spirit Lord that we planted those seeds and that something powerful is going to come up from that.

And I think one of the things I was just blessed with is just what other folks have said is that we've just grown so close as a family.

It's like I've received just by being there.

We were just administering to one another, just praying for one another, just seeing all of us just show up in unity and just being in Christ with one another.

And just pouring into each other, it was the most encouraging thing.

And I came back, like, you know, just so filled and just so blessed.

And so I just want to encourage it if there's anyone kind of that was like me a couple of years ago that didn't want to go beyond that section.

The Lord has so much prepared for you. He has so much that he wants to give you.

And he has so much that he wants to use you to share to his kingdom.

So thank you guys so much for just allowing.

Thank you.

This trip was amazing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I felt like to share something I'll share earlier, but to be a little more vulnerable about why the trip was so transformative for me.

But I'll be brief, keep it under two, three minutes.

So the trip, so growing up, I've carried a lot of pain. I've gone to a lot of pain. I don't know if childhood.

There's some things that God's healed like over time, but there are some things I was still carrying.

One of the things and one of the lies the enemy still had on me, like a hold on me, was this thought that I'm still alone.

Alone, I misunderstood, you know, and sometimes it comes like the thought that nobody cares and nobody understands you.

You know, it's something I struggle with.

No, not anymore, praise God.

Let me get there, let me get there, let me get there, let me get there.

So we go on this trip and my intention is, I believe in God, to see this supernatural miracle sign to wonder which we did, see God move, which we did.

But the thing I was not prepared for was experience the love of God and the family of God.

We just had a such a good time and, you know, through the community, through us praying together and talking together, playing games together.

You may hear a rumor about a grown man and a child wrestling over a spoon.

I am said man, I am said man, Victor was that child.

He did win however he had help.

I'll leave that there.

But we just, we just had such a fantastic time and it blessed me and the Lord really just, you know, gave me a clear revelation that I am in the family of God.

And I just want to share that for anybody who may feel that way, who may be experiencing like that lie that thought.

It's in community where it's set free.

And that's where I've seen that happen on this trip.

Now you don't have to go to Guamalmala to have that same type of transformative experience.

We can have it here.

She was playing for Pastor Moe.

Life groups are starting soon.

So you can sign up for one.

And I just want to let you guys know the love of God is here.

So God loves you.

We love you as a church.

And, you know, we just want to see everybody winning God. Amen.

Hey guys, I'm Matthew.

Hello.

So my story actually starts.

I'm new in this thing.

I'm only a year and a couple of months in.

I didn't know how to pray.

I didn't know what to cross it for.

I didn't know I was loved.

I didn't know how to express love.

I was broken.

Beyond broken.

I would come in here.

And when Pastor Boyne was like, thank you.

I was out before you.

Gone.

And I was like, I didn't want none to do with anybody.

Now the Lord doesn't really done a working in me.

We're now on Captain Lunch.

We're on.

I want to, I love community.

And I thought, and really it's through the revival.

I learned that that to appropriate God's love for me.

And I started loving myself.

And then that just turned into loving others.

So on this trip, I only had one expectation to learn how to minister.

But I kept telling myself I have no expectation to start for me to show up

and the Lord to show up.

And he did in a tsunami of just constant waves from the time I got to JFK.

And now I'm still receiving these waves of his goodness, his grace, his love.

And it's really a beautiful thing.

But I tell you that because when I get to the airport, I'm battling.

I guess remnants of self hatred.

I'm not good enough.

How am I going to pray over the people?

I can't even pray over my family.

And just the enemy started lying to me.

And then just kind of how a lot of people shared, you know, you're there.

And you're looking up at Pastor Boyle on this stage.

And he says, now go.

What are you going to do?

No.

So you're just going.

And you're going in faith.

And it was really a journey for me to go, wow, I'm doing this.

And also being in this place of just questioning, is this working?

Am I working?

Is the Lord working in me?

And you just saw it.

It was one woman we were praying.

Oh, it was actually a young man.

I'm sorry.

And Lou, I was started praying over him.

And just like everyone's saying, you get this moment, but times 100.

And so I put my hands on him.

And then he just started really like swaying like this and just crying.

And I couldn't really stop him from swaying.

And I was just started speaking in tongue and clocking.

And as soon as clock, as soon as clock, but his hand on his other shoulder, he just stopped.

And he took a deep breath.

And we both started praying on him.

And you could just feel the peace and the joy.

And I related to these people because I felt like then when I came here, I was crying every service.

I was crying every revival because I felt like he hated me.

And I was delivered from that.

Praise Jesus.

But I'll tell you one thing.

When I got on the bus, I was one of the first people on the bus.

I was sitting closer to the front.

And I had this revelation that one of the fruits of the Lord is joy.

And I love spreading joy.

I love seeing people laugh.

I love making people smile.

And as I sat on the bus and as each person came in, every one of you smiled at me.

Which is like the most pure smile.

I said, wow, the Lord really went from me hating myself and being angry to just being a clown.

So that's the way the Lord works.

Thank you all for our leadership.

Thank you, everyone's here.

Thank you.

Worship team, come on up.

Hallelujah.

You know, I wouldn't even get a chance to hear from everybody.

But there was a consistent theme in both the first service and the second service.

And the theme that I picked up on was this sense of inadequacy that comes upon all of us.

And I encourage you to welcome that.

God forbid you ever feel adequate and strong in and of yourself.

You know, Jesus said something peculiar in the Gospel of Matthew and the Beatitudes.

He said, agree with your adversary quickly.

So when your adversary Satan says, you're not righteous.

Agree with him quickly.

That's right.

Satan, in and of myself, I'm not.

But in Christ I am.

When Satan says you're inadequate, agree with that adversary quickly.

I'm not adequate.

But in Christ I can do all things.

Amen.

I want to share a secret with you.

I mean, if you're close with the Lord that feeling of inadequacy never leaves.

And that's a good thing.

He always, always keeps you dependent.

And you should always feel like unless the Lord comes through, I'm finished.

Amen.

I want to give you an opportunity to worship the Lord with your tithes and offerings.

Let's put our hands together.

And once again, to thank you city light church for your generosity.

Did I mention this?

The service is kind of jelled together.

But that we have not missed our sponsorship to any of the countries that we sponsor.

Did I say that in this?

So it shouldn't be this way, but it is.

And missionaries share this with me.

They have various churches that partner with them.

And more often than not, churches are inconsistent.

They'll send their monthly pledge in January.

Forget February and March.

And send it again in April, maybe May, then forget June, July.

It's very hard for missionaries to budget that way.

And for 15 years, we have never, with any of the different organizations we've partnered with,

we have never, ever, by God's grace, ever missed one month, that one.

I remember back 15 years ago, city light church was in a very difficult place financially.

And I actually had the thought you were going to have to just pause our missions giving.

And within me, I just heard, no, this is why you're still alive.

You cannot pause it.

That would be ministerial suicide.

You know, in Corinthians, God says, the scripture says that God is not willing to do without a prompt joyous giver whose heart is in his giving.

So I want to be indispensable to the Lord.

Think about that scripture. God is not willing to do without.

So I wanted a church that was so generous that it's pouring out into other countries that God would be unwilling to do without us.

It's a secret to survival in New York City. Amen.

So it just so happens, we didn't plan it this way, but this is the third Sunday of the month, which means it's mission Sunday.

We didn't plan for a mission strip to take place and for us to land on the third Sunday.

But here we are, which means that in addition to your normal tides and offerings, there's a drop down menu.

You can give an extra amount to missions.

And that's what keeps us faithful to these organizations right now, where in Ethiopia, where in Guatemala,

supporting Montenegro and Serbia, and we're going to continue to do so.

Hallelujah.

So I want to pray for you as you give.

And I encourage you every time you give to pray and to release your faith.

Don't be what's known as a bucket plunker.

Now several years ago, we got rid of the buckets because everything is so digital now.

But you know, bucket plunkers, someone who just they may even tie, but they just automatically have hazardly without actually thinking about it.

They're committed to the Lord, but it's become such a habit they're not actually releasing faith when they give.

Release your faith.

Accepting your expecting or return on your giving.

And that's okay. That's right. That's legal.

Jesus never spoke about giving without also speaking about receiving.

Every time we tied, my wife and I, we pray over our giving.

We still give old school by way of check. We hold that check in our hand.

And we give with gladness.

And we command the money to multiply and come back to us a hundredfold.

So Father, in Jesus name, for every giver and every gift may you multiply it back to your people.

You're the God of abundance. You're the God of sea time and harvest.

And we thank you that our giving does not enter into avoid, but it comes back multiplied to us.

And we make a living by our giving in Jesus name. Amen. 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 Boyan Jansik in 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 grace.

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