Artistic Reflections on Radiant Discipleship

But if Jesus is the light, we should be a light as well.

Look at what Jesus goes on to say in Matthew chapter 5, beginning in verse 14.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

You are the light of the world, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

No one likes a lamp and then puts it under a basket, instead a lamp is placed on a stand

where it gives light to everyone in the house, in the same way let your good deeds shine

out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

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 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.

Do you know that there are some painters who are masters of light, and there are some

painters who are masters of darkness?

Doesn't that sound ominous?

But I'm not talking about like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, kind of light and dark, okay?

There are some different implications, not just the moral symbolism, and I'm not even

talking simply about the issue of technique, either.

In the 19th century, French impressionists, for example, that were masters of light, they

were interested in the optical effects that they found with paint, finding methods to make

paint on canvas, resonate and resemble what light does in real life.

But for them to capture light on canvas, it wasn't a means to an end by itself, it wasn't

the process only, but in a more realistic depiction of the world is what they sat out

for.

When painters in early centuries showed a special interest in light, it was often just

as much for the symbolism of light as it was for its physical properties.

Oftentimes what we would see is light shining through darkness, right?

You ever see a painting like that, and you'll see this shaft of light cutting through

the darkness.

That's what I love about this building, and I think it's appropriate we're meeting in

here today.

Normally, the area we meet, we don't have windows, but we've got these beautiful stained

glass windows, and the light can come through, and it turns different colors at different

times of the day and different periods during the year.

I was joking before the first service with a couple of people in the back, and I said,

you know, it's kind of interesting.

When we meet here on Friday nights, I feel like it's kind of the lights pop a little bit

more.

I don't know why the lights are really shining, and they looked at me and he said, because

it's daytime, and the sun is shining through the windows, James, oh, wow, wow, you see

sometimes when it's cold, oxygen doesn't go all the way to the top.

You hear what I'm saying?

But light has some powerful implications, and we see that lightness shining through the

dark.

Darkness usually is symbolizing ignorance, and we see light typically symbolizing truth,

goodness.

I find it interesting throughout history, we find a representation of light being truth

and life, right?

And then Jesus comes on the scene, and he says this in John 812, Jesus spoke to all the

people once more and said, I am the light of the world.

If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light

that leads to life.

Jesus calls himself the light of the world, and the light that leads to life, no less.

Today we have the privilege of celebrating our first service of the New Year.

We made it to 2024.

Some of you didn't think we were going to make it, but we did.

Happy New Year.

Are you glad to have 2023 in the rearview mirror?

I'm kind of glad to say goodbye to that thing.

I don't want to live in the past like Paul said, I press on to what is ahead.

So happy New Year, 2024 is ahead of us.

So what does it have?

More opportunity.

That's what I'm excited about.

So I thought it would be appropriate on this first Sunday of the New Year to really

talk about what city light is all about.

What does it mean to be a part of city light and what does 2024 look like around this place?

If you've been around here for maybe five minutes or longer, you know that at city light

we are passionate about making fully devoted followers of Christ, right?

That's really our mission.

We want to invest God's word into your heart and see a transformation, his spirit living

through you and you in turn being a fully devoted follower of Jesus.

So what does that really mean to say a disciple, fully devoted follower really means disciple.

You sum it up really with that one word.

So I like to go to the dictionary and say, well, what is that one word?

We like to just throw words around like they mean nothing and we let culture change the

meaning of words and we just go with it.

But what is the word really mean?

So Webster's dictionary defines a disciple as a personal follower of Jesus during his life,

especially one of the 12 apostles or a follower or a student of a teacher, leader or philosopher.

So Jesus asked us to make disciples, right?

Disciple is a follower of Jesus.

But where do we get that idea that we should be focusing on making more disciples?

I just gave you the answer, is anybody know?

Jesus.

Jesus told us to make more disciples, right?

So I'm not making it up.

No one else making it up.

Jesus made it up.

He told us himself before he went back to heaven after his resurrection, he gave us his

marching orders and this is what he said in Matthew 28, beginning in verse 18, Jesus

came and told us disciples.

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth, therefore go and make disciples

of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

teaching these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.

And be sure of this, I am with you always even to the end of the age.

So his last command to his followers, Jesus tells us to go and make disciples, make more

disciples in Jesus.

That part seems pretty clear, right?

Everybody with me?

What are we supposed to do?

Make disciples.

He tells us go and make disciples so that part is clear.

So if you're in agreement with me, you're in good company.

But what doesn't he tell us how to go and make disciples?

I think that's kind of interesting, right?

He tells us to go do something.

That's like the last command.

It's like very important because it's the last thing he said.

It's like your parting words are big, right?

You always say, what do people say on their deathbed?

Usually that's kind of important.

They told you where the combination was to the safe so you can get all the money.

What is the last thing he said?

Go and make disciples.

But he didn't tell us how.

I think it's kind of interesting.

And I think one of the reasons is because Jesus knew that our communication was going

to change throughout the centuries, right?

The way the world relates, as it evolves in our culture, he knew that we needed to stay

relevant and current with the culture in which we're ministering to, just like he did.

He came on the scene and he upset everything.

He talked in a relevant way.

He talked in parables and stories in the rabbis and the other priests.

They weren't talking that way.

They were going very old school, very lamentable, and they were talking like old days.

No, Jesus came on the scene.

He's telling stories.

He's sarcastic.

He's telling jokes.

And they're like, what is this?

I think Jesus wanted us to continue to grow in our communication stuff.

That's why I'm preaching out of the NLT version today and not the King James version.

Some of you say, I like the King James version.

It's closer to God.

No, it's not.

It was closer to King James, okay?

In the year 1611, he decided he was going to put a Bible together and where the

Jews were vies and nows were those, don't worry about it.

Pastor Bow uses the new King James.

We look for relevant translations because our communication is important.

If we want to reach a culture that has no idea what this stuff is all about.

If we come on talking all this flowery, you know, 16th century stuff, they're going

to say, what is wrong with you?

So we just talk normal.

We talk relevant.

I think another thing that's important, God knew that we needed to actually work together

to find a solution.

Now one of us has the full picture, right?

We each have a piece of the puzzle and when we come together, we contribute our pieces

and then the more we work together, the puzzle picture starts to get clearer.

Anybody ever put a puzzle together?

I got a puzzle for Christmas.

I eat puzzles.

My wife loves puzzles.

So we sit down and we do puzzles and I give up early and she sits there and she finishes

the puzzle and I say, look at what we did.

We come together with our own experiences and we make it clearer together.

So let's figure this out together, right?

We have so many different kinds of churches in New York and throughout the world.

It's because they've all come together and they're trying to figure out their why, right?

So here's the question I want to ask today and I want to help us answer.

What has city light landed on in terms of our why?

Our how?

How are we actually going to make disciples?

So what we found is that we're better together.

So we're better together.

We're stronger together, right?

The picture becomes clearer when we contribute together.

So the first thing that I want to share with you that I think is going to be helpful

is that we actually have the privilege of doing life together with God, okay?

We can't separate him from the equation.

If we do it in our own power, are we going to succeed?

No, that's it.

You get to talk back.

No, you're not going to succeed.

So the first thing if you're taking notes and I hope you do because the shortest pencil

is longer than the longest memory and you're going to forget 90% of what I said by the

time you get home and eat lunch.

That's sad because I worked hard on this, but that's okay as part of what we do.

But if you write it down and put some notes in your phone, maybe this will stick with you

later in the year, you think, what is my purpose in life?

Why are we making disciples?

Why do I even go to city light church?

You pull this out and you say, oh, I remember.

Because we have the privilege of doing life together with God.

It has to do with our relationship with God.

Christ living through us allows us to love the people in our lives in ways that we don't

have the power to love them.

It helps us to be patient with people in our lives that is really hard to be patient

with.

We in the church world call them extra grace required people, EGRs, okay?

If you don't know what that means, you're probably one.

That's all I'm trying to say.

We have people that are not like you and they get on your nerves, but we got to love

them anyway, right?

Through Christ's spirit and his power, we have the ability to show patience and compassion

with Christ living through us.

Paul tells us in Galatians 5, beginning in verse 22, but the Holy Spirit produces this

kind of fruit in our lives.

Love.

Joy.

Peace.

Patience.

Kindness.

Goodness.

Faithfulness.

Gentleness.

And self-control.

There's no laws against these things.

Doing life together with God not only allows us to experience all the benefits that I just listed,

but it shows them to the people in our lives.

Apart from God, we can't hit the mark in any of those areas.

No matter how good you think you are.

And some of us we do, we walk around like, oh, my God, there's anybody watch the office?

That's a funny show right there, right?

There's an episode in later seasons where Dwight and Jim are at a sales conference together

and Jim is trying to get Dwight to help him and so he tells him there's bedbugs in their

hotel, right?

And he says, Jim, what about these bedbugs?

He said, oh, it was smug.

How smug?

He's like, and so every time I think of smugness thinking, I got it all together, I picked

your Jim and say, that bedbugs, like, and that's when we walk around like, but we got

to be real.

Don't look at this way.

Look at this way.

God, we need a lot of help, so we need his power to help us to do things, right?

Apart from him, we can't get it done.

Doing life together with God means reading his word.

He gave us his Bible, right?

What's in his Bible?

It's a love letter.

It shows us his heart, shows us his character.

That's an incredible book.

Do you own one?

Everybody have a Bible?

We'll give you one if you don't have one.

We'll make sure in 2024 you got a Bible.

You got to add the U version app.

You can download it on your phone.

The Bible don't discount God's word.

He communicates through his word to us.

It means spending time and prayer.

That's simply talking to God, having conversation, the Bible says to pray without ceasing, don't

stop praying.

Pray with him.

What does prayer actually do?

Some of us have relegated that to like, mealtimes or maybe bedtime or maybe when things

get really bad in lives, like, God help or maybe if someone from church is looking,

you're in a restaurant, you're about to eat and you see someone in the city, like,

oh, definitely fine.

Thank you for that.

Amen.

You weren't just going to eat right right there without saying thanks.

Or if you're really spiritual 21 days of prayer, you're on Zoom every night at 7 p.m.

I appreciate some of you doing it.

But it's even more than that.

Prayer is connecting and communing with God.

He wants a relationship with you and a relationship requires what?

Communication.

You ever had a relationship with someone you didn't talk to?

That would be stupid.

That's not a relationship.

And it's even more than just like, hey, how's it going?

Oh, good.

Happy New Year.

You have a good year.

It's cold outside.

It's real cold.

Get wet out there.

That's not a relationship.

That's small talk.

That's superficial.

He wants to know that you know he's there.

Talk to God.

The relationship with him.

Doing life together with God also means worshiping God with other Christ followers.

Just like what we're doing today in this place.

Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25 says, and let us not neglect our meeting together as some

Hebrews 10:25

people do.

Do you know some people that didn't come today?

Give them some grief and say, he pretends to chase that today, you neglected.

But encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return draws near.

He tells us to worship him together in his house, to encourage each other to do it.

That's the next thing that we found a city like to because we have the joy of doing

life together.

And if you take notes, that first one is the privilege of doing life together with God.

The second is we have the joy of doing life together with each other.

And that is a privilege.

Some of you say, what about those extra grace requires?

It doesn't sound like a privilege James.

I know, but it is a privilege nonetheless.

That means getting in each other's business up in your grill, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Because here's the thing, the joy of life, they're just not as sweet if you don't have

someone to share them with, right?

My wife is at a town right now because our daughter went back to the school down in Alabama.

So they drove down.

I drove up with them.

And this time, they gave me a hard time on the road trip.

I don't know why this.

But I'm always trying to beat the clock and they're like, Dad, you do not stop enough.

I'm like, why?

We have gas.

And I know where I'm going.

They're like, well, I want to stop and take a picture here and let's stop at this gas

station here.

They're like, why?

And so they said, I'm not very fun to go on a road trip with.

So FYI, if you want to go to a road trip, call Pastor Mo, do not call me.

I just want to get there.

I like the destination, not the journey.

So they went down together.

My wife's flying back tomorrow.

And so I find myself so often, I'm like, hey, they got, oh, you have to, oh, it's lonely

because the joys of life are not as sweet when you don't have someone to share them

with.

So then I call her a FaceTime.

Hey, I had something I want to tell you, but I forgot.

Just come home.

And the sad times, the burdens of life, they're almost unbearable if you don't have someone

to share them with, right?

We need people in our lives.

Some of the hardest times in my life have turned into the greatest God-sized miracles

and blessings because of the people God put in my life through my life group.

Can I hear an amen for life groups?

You guys in life groups?

We're not just a church that has life groups.

We're a church of life groups.

It's the core and essence of what we are.

That's what makes this large group turn into a community.

This is not a community.

Life doesn't happen in rows.

It happens in circles.

You are staring at me.

But in a life group, you're staring at each other.

You're talking.

You're praying for each other.

You're the first one there when somebody's sick, you're bringing them chicken noodle soup.

You visit when they're in the hospital.

They're the ones that help me move.

They're the ones that really love you enough to get in the trenches and do life with you.

If you're missing out on that, you're missing out on that because there's more than just

this hour on Sunday.

Look at what the Bible says about us doing life together.

They like to call it one another, okay?

That one word alone highlights the significance of doing life together.

How do one another, in showing honor, it says in Romans 12-10, live in harmony with one

another.

Romans 12-16.

Admonish one another.

Romans 15-14.

Wait for one another.

First Corinthians 11-33.

Have the same care for one another.

First Corinthians 12-25.

Be servants of one another.

Galatians 5-13.

Bear one another's burdens.

Galatians 6-2.

Convert one another.

First the Solonians 5-11.

Bill one another up.

First the Solonians 5-11.

The appease was one another.

First the Solonians 5-13.

Do good with one another.

First the Solonians 5-15.

Put up with one another and love.

Ephesians 4-12.

Be kind and compassionate to one another.

Ephesians 4-32.

Submit to one another.

Ephesians 5-21.

Give one another and forgive.

Corinthians 13.

Confess your sins to one another.

James 5-16.

Pray for one another.

James 5-16.

Love one another from the heart.

First Peter 1-22.

Be hospitable to one another.

First Peter 4-9.

Beat one another with humility.

First Peter 5-5.

That's a lot of one another's.

When Jesus says something over and over and over,

what does he mean?

Pay attention.

When he tells you something over and over,

just like when I tell my kids,

if I just say, hey, go clean your room.

Don't go clean your room.

I'm serious, clean your room.

He's been beef business when you say it more than once.

Jesus tells us over and over.

One another, bear one another's burdens.

Take care of one another.

Lift each other up, exhort each other.

Why?

Why does he say it?

Because he wants us to do life in community.

As I read through that list,

one thing is very evident to me.

You could not possibly do any of those things

without doing life in proximity with other people.

Can you bear each other's burdens all by yourself?

No, you cannot.

How can you bear someone's burdens

unless you know what those burdens are?

And then you have to be willing to bear them,

to help them, to carry them.

How are you gonna put up with each other

unless you're close enough to somebody

to actually get on their nerves?

Right?

How are you gonna forgive somebody

unless you're doing life together

and you're close enough to actually hurt people's feelings?

Or let each other down?

How are you gonna learn to submit to others

unless you struggle with their differences?

In other words, if we are to connect with our lives

with each other, it's gonna demand that we do more

than our culture tells us is acceptable.

It tells us to go to our apartment buildings,

close the door, bolt it, lock it down,

and then get on your phone.

But we gotta break down the barriers.

We have to do different things

that people aren't normally doing

to reach people that aren't being reached already.

You gotta do different things.

We have to be willing to do hard things,

counter-cultural things if we're gonna reach people

that no one else is reaching.

Author Susie Kaceman writes,

always surround yourself with friends

that have plenty of light in them.

That way you'll always have candles

around when the days get dark.

Don't try and do this thing alone.

Your only is lonely as you've chosen to be

because we have the privilege of doing life together.

The third thing that we found is that when we come together,

we actually have the tools to get our own life together.

And can I get an A-man that you're a hot mess

and you need help?

Not as many of you getting excited about that one.

I get it, I get it.

But I know I'm a hot mess and I need help.

So I am confident that you need some help as well

because we're all in the same boat.

We're all sinners in desperate need of a savior.

So we have the privilege of doing life together with God.

We have the joy of doing life together with each other.

And then when we come together,

we get the tools to get our own life together

because we need some help.

And apart from God, we can do nothing.

Apart from each other, it's gonna be harder

and we need to come together.

So the third thing is we get the tools to do

everything we can to get our life together.

We have God's instruction manual, right?

We got the Bible, we study that together.

But we offer other things like life groups.

We have healing rooms, we have growth track,

we have 21 days of prayer and fasting

and the list goes on and on of the tools

and the resources we have.

As a church, we wanna provide you resources

to make sure that you're better parents, better spouses,

better employees, better citizens, better neighbors,

better commuters on the train,

better followers of Jesus.

Because that's the goal, right?

We wanna be better followers of Jesus, more like Jesus.

Remember Jesus calls himself the light of the world.

So if we're his followers and disciples,

we need to be lights as well, right?

That's what we are.

That's what Christian means.

It's a little Christ where his disciple in the Old Testament

a disciple really was someone that followed their rabbi,

their teacher so closely that the dust they kicked up

from their sandals would cover you and you would become

up from their sandals would cover you

and you would be covered with their dust

and you would not really have your distinguishable

characteristics anymore.

You would be so close to the master.

Even when they sat down in the outhouse,

you would be so close in case they had an epiphany,

you could write it down and you could commit that to memory.

You were always there.

That's gross.

But if Jesus is the light, we should be a light as well.

Look at what Jesus goes on to say in Matthew chapter five,

beginning in verse 14.

You are the light of the world,

like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

No one likes a lamp and then puts it under a basket.

Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand

where it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see

so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

I'm gonna ask the worship team to come back up.

Not passage, he calls us the light of the world, right?

So what's our job?

It's the shine for Jesus.

Are you?

We're supposed to be a bunch of little fireflies for Jesus.

That's what comes to my mind.

You ever seen a firefly?

We have a bunch up here.

I grew up in New Mexico and then I lived in South Florida.

There were no fireflies.

Out in the desert, we have road runners and mosquitoes,

but we didn't have fireflies.

So I had never seen a real firefly.

I grew up going to Disneyland

and I'd go to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride

and I see the fake ones.

You go in the little boat and it's going through the bayou

and there's these little fireflies.

It's just a little light hanging on a wire, but it was cool.

I was 38 years old before I saw my very first real firefly.

I was so deprived.

But 38 years old.

I went for a little visit to Wichita, Kansas.

Why? I do not know.

But I went to Wichita, Kansas.

You ever been to Wichita, Kansas?

You don't have to, it's fine.

I'm telling you all that there is to know about it.

There's a fireflies.

And I was sitting there and out of the corner of my eye,

I see this little flicker of light.

What in the world is?

I look again.

Every time I would turn to where I think it was

and then it wasn't there.

I think I'm losing my mind.

I need to get a CAT scan or I need,

I got some kind of optical issue.

I'm having a stroke.

I don't know what's happening.

Why do I see these flickers of light?

And then I looked and I actually finally saw it.

And then I was mesmerized.

I couldn't turn away.

I'm just staring at these dozens of little fireflies

lighting up the night sky.

I thought that was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

So I thought I got to learn more about these fireflies.

I mean, I know what flies, dragonflies, houseflies.

I just thought of a dumber joke, yeah.

You ever see a housefly?

But I thought, what is this thing that lights up

in little tail, illuminating?

So did you know that a firefly can actually light up

at every stage of its life?

Even as an egg, it can create the chemical reaction

to actually illuminate as an egg.

That's crazy.

And the larva on the adult stage as well, they light up.

Another thing that I think is completely interesting

and fascinating is they're the most efficient things

that you're probably ever going to find.

A firefly.

Like as an example, take an incandescent light.

90% of its energy is expended as heat.

Only 10% is light.

A firefly in contrast, 100% of its energy

is emitted as light.

So I'm thinking a firefly is a pretty cool,

little creation that God made.

We're supposed to be the fireflies of the human race,

I think, for Christianity.

We're supposed to be shining up the sky,

lighting it up for Jesus.

As Christ followers, we're the human population firefly.

Ephesians 5.8 says, for once, you were full of darkness.

But now you have light from the Lord,

so live as people of light.

So like the firefly in every stage of your Christian life,

you should be shining up everywhere,

lighting it up from your infancy to your eternal promotion.

When you go to be with Jesus in eternity,

we're to light it up,

illuminate the world for Christ with Christ in us,

showing the world his goodness and his love.

So the next time you're sitting around,

scrolling through Instagram and TikTok

and you're like, hmm, why am I even here?

What is the meaning of life?

What am I even gonna do in 2024?

Your purpose for life is to be a firefly for Jesus.

That's it.

Thank you.

All your problems are solved for the year.

I was just thinking between services,

it might be a good marketing campaign.

I got my sweatshirts as faith.

I remember they all sweat pants.

I wasn't allowed to look at them,

but they said like, juicy across the rear.

Maybe we get some that say like shine,

city light, boom, shine for Jesus, light it up.

But we're gonna make disciples for Jesus in 2024, aren't we?

We're gonna give it everything we are,

everything we hope to be,

because we have the privilege of doing life together with God.

We have the joy of doing life together

and Christian community with each other.

And when we come together, we're better

because we get the tools to get our own life together.

So we're gonna make disciples,

we're gonna shine bright for Jesus in 2024,

is gonna be the best year yet.

You agree?

In Jesus' name, Heavenly Father, thank you.

Jesus' name, Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us.

Thank you for giving us another year to show your love

in a dark, dark place.

Just as I mentioned with the paintings

that we kind of can admire and take inspiration from,

New York is a dark place.

There are so many dark forces pressing against us,

but you've called us to be lights in this dark place.

And we're gonna push back the darkness

and we're gonna shine so brightly

that people aren't gonna help,

but have to know why we're shining so bright for you.

And then like you told us to always be ready

to give an account for the reason we have hope and faith.

And we're gonna bring more people to you.

We're gonna create more disciples

because that's what you asked us to do.

Thank you that we get to do it together.

We do it in your 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 any time.

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.

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