Exploring the Depths of God's Mercy and Grace

When you're back against the wall and you come to the Lord, remind him of his mercy,

sing of his mercy. Satan may be naming your name to Jesus right now saying,

and Jesus saying, I pray for you that your faith failed not. Believe in me, believe in the

power of my blood. Your mistakes and your sin you think they're so powerful, they're not more

powerful than my blood. 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. I have a preaching three Sundays. I'm a little unhinged this morning,

and I want to minister to you on the mercy of God. The mercy of God. The mercy of God is a subject

that's often misunderstood, and the word mercy is often conflated with grace. People use the

terms interchangeably, but they're not the same thing. They often are listed together because

they flow from the same, ever loving God, but there's different benefits to grace and mercy.

Now, grace we should be well acquainted with. We are a new covenant church. We're a gospel church.

We realize we haven't been born BC, but after Jesus's death, the burial and resurrection,

so we're under the dispensation, the canopy of grace. And so what is grace?

Grace is his undeserved, unmerited favor. Grace is the means by which we are saved. The Bible says

we're saved by grace through faith. And we receive our justification that means we're pronounced

not guilty, not based on what we do, but based on what he has already done. That is grace.

So what's mercy? Well, if grace is you receiving that thing that you didn't deserve, total forgiveness,

healing in your body, prosperity in your finances, intimacy with the Lord is all things that

in and of ourselves in the natural we don't deserve. By grace we get those things. Mercy is us not

getting the things that in the natural we do deserve. Judgment, the lightning bolt, the hammer,

mercy is the active pity of God. And I don't know about you, but I know that I need both.

And it's not one or the other. And I want to know how I can posture myself to actively

receive the active pity of God, to actively receive the mercy of God. Mercy is me not getting the

thing that in the natural I deserve, the consequences of my decisions. Now, probably not you, but I'll

be the transparent pastor this morning. Please try to relate with me. Sometimes I blow it. Sometimes

I make mistakes. Sometimes I make really, really stupid mistakes. I'm not even talking necessarily

about sin, but yes, sin. But sometimes I just make financial mistakes. Sometimes I can make a mistake

at work. Sometimes I'm looking down the road and I'm going, I did a stupid thing that's gonna hurt,

that's gonna have consequences. What do I need? Mercy. I need the active pity of God. I need God to

come and intervene and that thing that I deserve rightfully so. The consequences of my actions,

I need God to step in with His mercy. Amen. There is a fascinating exchange between Jesus and Peter

that actually I've never ever heard preach none. I probably have only preached on it or mentioned

it several times in all of silly lights history. But it's right before Jesus is crucifixion.

Jesus turns to Peter and says, Peter, Peter, Satan has desired you. He's got his eye on you.

Jesus has Satan has desired you to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you

that your faith failed not. So there is this picture of Satan who was after the believer and he is

the accuser of the brethren. He's the one constantly going to God and accusing you to God and

pointing out all your shortcomings. We see a similar picture in the book of Job. And just

note that Jesus didn't say, Peter, Peter, Satan has desired to sift you like wheat. But don't worry

about it because I've gained the ultimate victory because it doesn't matter that Jesus gained the

ultimate victory unless you have faith to receive that victory. Are you catching this? So Jesus

says, Peter, Satan, he's after you, wants to cut you down like a reaper going through blades of wheat.

But I pray for you that your faith failed not and that you have faith in me and who I am and

that I'll see you through and that my mercy will come. And it's new every morning and that it'll

endure that even because of some of your stupidity, I'll come in. And I will avert judgment that you

in the natural do deserve. I will avert it. And mercy is the very nature of God. I want to just

take you through a few verses on the mercy of God and then we're going to look at how we can

posture ourselves. Hebrews 4.16, it says, let us therefore come boldly. And that's the key word

there boldly. I got several desires for our church. One day I'll write them out. Top 10,

like who we are, our identity. When we have our values and on the website and all that, but

one of my desires is that we don't have a man be pambi, Mickey Mouse Church. That you know,

oh Lord, you know, maybe you know, but that when you know who you are and how you've been forgiven

and you know the power of the blood of Jesus, it's not an arrogance, it's a holy ghost confidence.

You're not a braggart. You're not proud. You just know in whom you have believed. And so

there is a boldness. You come boldly. You don't come crawling up like some worm up a rock. You come

boldly. You're coming in the name of Jesus. What does that mean? People just say they pray

formulaically, father in the name of Jesus. No, when you say in the name of Jesus, you're saying so

much. You're saying I am approaching the holy place. I am now in the very abode of God. But I'm

not sashing in with my own righteousness. I'm coming in the name of Jesus. And father, you're receiving

me just as you would Jesus. I'm coming in based on everything he has done for me, washed in his blood

with the same righteousness he has so I can come boldly. You say even when I've messed up,

especially when you've messed up, that's when it actually takes faith. Hey man, when you don't

feel like it, you can come boldly to a throne. You know, John in Revelation he said I saw the one

sitting on the throne. I saw the one. It was Jesus and it's a throne of mercy and grace. And by

the way, the mercy seat under the old covenant, it was always covered with the blood. This mercy

that we're going to be talking about today, it does not come cheaply. When mistakes are made,

there has to be a death. But thankfully, it doesn't have to be your death. It doesn't have to be

your financial death. It doesn't have to be your social death. It doesn't have to be your spiritual

death. But Jesus who already gave his life for you, his blood is on that mercy seat. And so you can

come boldly to the throne of grace that you would obtain mercy, the aversion of judgment,

the aversion of divine wrath, God's active pity and find grace to help in time of need. Amen.

Micah 718. One of my responsibilities here is to recognize that I'm preaching to some of you you've

been coming for years. And some of you, this is your first Sunday. And we're in Queens. What does that

mean? That means not everyone has the same mindset. You go to some small town, down south,

everybody thinks the same, walks the same, talks the same. We have 161 nations here that actively

come through our door. So people have different mindsets, different mentalities, people have

different notions of God. There's people who've come in and the message that we preach, the emphasis

on Jesus, his person, his power, his blood, grace, it blows their religious mind. They delight

in judgment. You talk about the judgment of God, they go, oh, they see him as a God with like Zeus

two thunderbolts in each hand, just rated a, he's like, he's looking. I can't wait to punish.

That's their, that's their view of God. Here's what Micah, prophet Micah, how he spoke of the nature

and character God, who is a God like you, pardoning an equity and passing over the transgression

of the remnant of his heritage. He does not retain his anger forever because he, Yahweh God,

Lord God, he delights in mercy. So if you need mercy, like I know I do,

you can take confidence that you serve a God who actually delights in mercy. That means it does

him good to be merciful to you. It pushes his buttons to show his tender mercies toward you.

Hallelujah. And one of the first acts you see, I'm just trying to show you the nature of God,

the character of God. It's not like he was a big meaning in the Old Testament.

And then God got born again in the new and now he's different. He's the same God.

His nature didn't change, his character didn't change. Just the setup changed.

God didn't change just the way he deals with man changed because you know something kind of

happened in between the Old and New Testament, something pretty significant.

They changed the course of world history. I was just reading, can I take it aside,

you're the second service. We have no end time. I'm going to take a side. Somebody remember where I was.

Do you know how few Jewish people there are on the planet? Do you know how few Jewish people

there were 2,000 years ago? Do you know how few people understood about the God of Israel? 99%

of the planet was heathen and paganistic and polytheistic. When did the God of Israel become famous?

A man who preached for 3, 3 and a half years changed the course of global history so that today

everyone has heard of Elohim. Everyone has heard of Genesis and the creation story and the

God of Israel. That is powerful. That's who Jesus is. Hallelujah. Now where was I? Please

somebody help me out. Micah. Where are we in Micah? I think we finished that. Let's go to Genesis

321. Oh, we're talking about God just showing his nature who he is. And this is why Micah

prophesied and said what he said because none of the other heathen religions believed in any of

their false gods having a characteristic of mercy. None of them. They were all with swords and

hammers and liking boats. Ready to fry you at the first wrong thing you did. But God showed his

nature and his character right from the beginning. Adam and Eve fell. Please let's just understand

that God did not owe them anything. God does not owe us anything. Sometimes we can have this

picture like we're old something like what he did he had to do. He didn't have to do anything.

He created them. He created them perfect in his likeness. Put them in a garden where they had

everything they could possibly need or want and still they willingly rebelled against them.

And then they were excommunicated out of the garden. He could have left them alone.

But right as early as Genesis 321 you see also for Adam and his wife because they were naked

and they were cold and they were being pushed out of the garden. The Lord God made tunics of

skin and clothed them. One that was an act of mercy and act of his compassion to cover them, to

close them. Two, it was one of the earliest, if not the earliest, pointings to Jesus.

Because the underside of the tunics, I mean, we basically made nice fur coats for them.

Our God is a God of style and class. And the underside would have been wet with the blood of

that animal, freshly killed. And it was pointing to the blood of Jesus that would cover.

Hallelujah. Let's go to Hosea 66, which is a verse that Jesus paraphrased.

He paraphrased it in John 8, when the woman who was caught in adultery was brought before him.

Many of you know the story to those of you. I'll give you the quick clip notes version.

A bunch of Pharisees, religious leaders find a woman who is caught in adultery and they say she

was caught in the very act. And they throw her before Jesus. And Jesus actually ignores them and

is just writing in the sand. We don't know what he was writing in the sand, but he's just writing

in the sand. I like to think that he was writing something like, hey, Moise, how did you know she was

in the very act? And why were you watching? You Phariseical peeping time you.

But then he gets up and says, you were without sin, you cast the first stone.

And then he paraphrases Hosea 66 where God says, for I desire mercy and not sacrifice and the

knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. God is a God who desires mercy and not sacrifice.

Everything that we read under the old covenant, please know there's a dual application.

There's how they understood it under the old covenant, which is God saying, rather than bring

me all these animals as burnt sacrifices, I desire you to receive my mercy and consequently be

merciful to each other. Under the new covenant what he's saying is, I am a God of mercy and I would

much rather that you receive truckloads, mega doses of my mercy than sacrifice. What do you sacrifice

when you miss it, when you blow up your life, when you make a mistake? What does a typical person do?

They fall under guilt, shame, condemnation, and they sacrifice their personal joy.

They sacrifice their confidence before the Lord. They sacrifice their hope of success.

They actually anticipate judgment and God is saying, no, better to receive my mercy than sacrifice.

Sacrifice your peace, sacrifice your happiness, sacrifice that spring in your step,

thinking around walking around all guiltily, oh, I deserve whatever's coming and I know it's coming.

I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. No, he's a God who delights in mercy. Am I preaching to

you a bunch of perfect people here this morning with someone who needs the mercy? I know I need it.

Lord, if there's ever anyone who doesn't need it, let me get their portion. Please, Lord,

I'll take it. I need extra.

My wife and kids were in the first service. We got in at 1 a.m. last night. You don't want to know

where we were. Finally, when we were supposed to come back,

they changed the flight around and sent us to Turkey to Istanbul, which why are they sending us

two hours east when we need to go to Frankfurt, Germany to catch the connecting. But they do.

We're like, whatever. But then we missed our connecting flight. But then when we got out of it and

we always pray when we vacation, Lord, sprinkle the day. Just learn, ask God, can you sprinkle the day?

That's where God just, hmm. And always every day, they were like these divine surprises. So we're

dead tired. We're in, we don't want to be in Istanbul. We asked Lord to sprinkle the day.

And so we get 24 hours paid for in Istanbul. So now we can go and we see all of the sites of

Istanbul and see the Blue Mosque. And we're looking at a thousand-year-old pillars.

And really, and you can feel the energy of objects. I'm not trying to be like new age here

anything, but it's just the fact that stuff has an energy. Do you ever grab an old DVD?

Pastor James has. I went to his house. He likes to collect some of the old stuff, an old record

album and all the memories flood in. And you remember, like you were listening to this with my dad.

And now everything is digital. You can't. But when you touch things, this is really a rabbit trail,

isn't it? He was my point. Anybody tuning in? You're like, what kind of a church is this hang on?

I had the vacation of a lifetime. And a major part of the reason was Pastor James and Pastor

Mo and the staff that kept all the stresses of day-to-day church life away from me. They protected me

and you guys showed up and showed out. And it really gave me three weeks of bliss.

But while I was on vacation, often as my kids would come and we would laugh and hug and I looked at

my wife's face glowing, I would remember what it was like being divorced as a preacher. That's

like the scarlet letter. I remember feeling like, will I ever see the sunshine on my life again?

Will I even have kids? Will I ever find true love? Will I ever you feel the weight of that and the fear

of that? And then I see what the Lord has done and I just break down and go, God, thank you for

your mercy. And I'm here talking about this this morning because I want you to, I want you to taste

of his mercy. I'm hunting for that person who's written himself off. That person who's written

herself off. That's all, you know, Lord, I'll just settle for the crumbs that fall from your table.

No! His mercy is big. His mercy is great. Hallelujah. Let's look at five ways that we can position

and posture ourselves to receive the mercy of God, amen? This is not a transaction. This is not

if you do a, God will do b. Everything has already been bought and paid for with the blood of

Jesus. But yes, there are things that empowered by the Holy Spirit. When we do them, we position

ourselves. We posture ourselves to be under the spout from which the mercy flows out. Amen?

So here's five things to receive. Truck loads, mechidosis of the mercy of God. You ready?

Yes.

Number one, be merciful. Hey, how about that?

Number one, be merciful. Found in Luke 6 and verse 35, every preacher's favorite offering

passage. Yet we'll see now in context that Jesus isn't talking about money. He's talking about

a principle of sewing and reaping. Yes, it can apply to money. It can apply to a lot of things.

Have I used it in an offering message? Yes. But if you want to get technical, it's not about money.

Jesus is talking specifically about mercy. Then when you're merciful to people,

then you can expect to receive the mercy of God. But love your enemies, do good and lend,

hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the most

high, for he is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore, being merciful just as your father

also is merciful. Let's pause right there. What does it mean to be merciful? Because

that can easily be conflated and confused with this new religion of wokeism and their first

commandment, which is thou shalt not judge. The greatest sin under wokeism is don't judge.

What's the difference? Well, number one, Jesus said judge with righteous judgment. That means if

his word says it's wrong, it's wrong. I won't partake of it. I won't put my seal of approval on it.

If you want to get all into pronouns and believe that you're the great arbiter of what is truth,

when the Bible clearly says he made the male and female, I'm not going to get into that.

But I can be merciful. I can be merciful as I take a stand on truth. That means I'm not looking

at you with disgust. That means I'm not looking at you like I think I'm better than you.

That means I'm not looking at you like that could never happen to me. One thing that we all have

to agree on is that any sin we see anybody else committing, that could be you. It was all murder,

that could never be me. You just think that because the ingredients around you weren't right.

I could never commit a murder. Really? Maybe you're on a cruise. Something hits the cruise.

You become a castaway. You're on an island. There's only six of you. Resources are limited.

One weekend, we find you and it's Lord of the Flies. You're swinging from a tree with a bone acting on it.

There are 18 works of the flesh. They're in you. As a Christian, your flesh has been done

away with it. It's been crucified. So you live out of your spirit. But if you forget that and

your flesh comes alive, you're capable of anything. You look at a sexual program. No, that's

so I could never. Yes, you could. Hey, I've pastured people who came. That whole trope,

you know, the Greyhound bus. And she's going to be an actress. I'm going to be a star. You don't

make it in the big city. I've lived that a million times with pastoring in the East Village.

And then 10 years later, I can't believe what I got myself into. I never thought it could. Yeah.

Back in Kansas, the ingredients weren't right. Now you're New York City and

so we should be merciful. Amen. And when we're merciful, then we receive mercy. Let's keep

reading. Judge not and you shall not be judged. Condemn not and you shall not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven. So what's Jesus talking about? Mercy. And then he says,

Luke 638, which is the most quoted or one of top three in every pastor's arsenal when it's

offering time. Give and it will be given to you, right? But what's Jesus talking about? Mercy.

Give mercy and it will be given to you. Good measure, press down, shake together and running over

will be put into your bosom for with the same measure that you use that you give out mercy.

It will be measured back to you. Amen. So in today's world, have you ever noticed how culture

tries to get you to think in only one of two ways? I look at arguments on social media and it's like,

do you not know how to walk in shugam at the same time? It's either I'm going to tolerate everything

or I'm an absolute big it and nothing in between. That's the trick. That's why so many well-meaning

people have been duped in tolerating everything. Like if you tolerate everything, then what is

sexual perversion? Then there is no such a thing as sexual perversion. Where do we draw the line?

At what point does it become hurtful and harmful to people, to society, to the family union,

which is the cell of the body of a nation? So let's erase that line. But then if you erase that line,

now you're an intolerant bigot who hates everyone. No, actually, I can love you. Actually,

I can be merciful and I think that I'm better than you. But at the same time, as Jesus said,

judge with righteous judgment and say, according to the word of God, this is wrong and I will not align

my life with that. So we can walk in shugam at the same time, amen. And don't fall for that trick

where you're one or the other. Hallelujah. Psalm 1825. Every time. Let me just, I'm just,

because there's a difference between people pondering a truth and resistance and I actually feel waves

of both. But when you come against the prevailing spirit of the age, oh, it'll meet you back.

And the prevailing spirit of today is this sex religion of wokeism,

because it includes so many tentacles, has wrapped around so many minds.

Psalm 1825. With the merciful, you will show yourself merciful. So how to posture and position

yourself to receive the mercy of God. You'll be merciful to others with a blameless man. You will

show yourself blameless. Amen. Number two, on how to receive the mercy of God. Faith,

like everything you've ever gotten from God, you do it by faith. Again, even in the first

service, whenever I say faith several times in row, I hear George Michael. Faith, the faith, the faith.

Isn't it true in Montenegro, all they play is 80s music. It's like an 80s music heaven.

Or, you know, folk, you know, I'm really loud accordions, but where I was, it was mainly 80. In fact,

this morning, because a refrigerator was empty, we showed up at 1 a.m. this last night.

Wife and kids were here and then they just, not my wife, but the kids,

conked out. They got like three hours of sleep and were artificially full of energy because of

the time change towards the end of children's church, just conked out. But we had breakfast just

down the road. And for the first time in over 20 days, I heard auto tune because there was only 80s

music and I heard auto tune and I realized what was missing from my life and it was wonderful.

It's not just 80s music, but that auto tune. It's been too long. I want to hear people's voices.

It was 2009 Jay Z. wrapped about death of auto tune. He lied. It was a false prophet. They kept

on going. They never listened. Why didn't they listen? It takes faith. Psalm 86.5, mercy like everything is

appropriated by faith. For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in mercy to all

those who call upon you. Now, you look at the Old Testament. You will see the people of God,

the children of Israel. And you know what you're going to see? They're messing up frequently,

oftentimes very, very stupidly and at the time very, very intentionally. And so what comes

consequences? Judgment. And then there is this one thing that you'll see repeated throughout the

Old Testament. Is this one phrase? And they cried out to the Lord their God. And they cried out to

the Lord their God. And then God will come and be merciful. Some people, you got to get your

cry back. You got to get your cry on. If you messed up, if you're expecting judgment, if you

expect, and when I say messed up, it could be something in your business, at your place of work,

in investments, whatever social interactions. And you did wrong. Cry out to God. When you mess up,

every time you mess up, you're going to stand out of fork in the road. On the one side, you can take

this road to the left. My left, you are right. This road is where you feel ashamed, so you

power. You avoid prayer. You avoid God. You hide under a rock. You stick yourself in a bush

until that feeling of unease just kind of goes away. Probably the next time you're in church and

you feel it. On the other side is you, in faith, despite what you feel like crying out to God.

God, I believe, even in spite of my stupidity, despite my stupidity, my mistakes, I believe you are

God of mercy. That means that that thing that I deserve, that bad thing that I deserve, you're

going to withhold from me and you're going to change it around. At work, you don't even know,

there's a hammer coming down on you. You feel it. Cry out to God. And you won't just survive,

you'll thrive. Hallelujah. You know when you find out that a preacher fell.

And you hear the first wave of reports and sole over the media, TMZ, you find out a preacher fell

because he did XYZ. And over some time, you find out, oh, it wasn't that he did XYZ once and got

busted. He was doing XYZ for years. All right, the first service really resonated with this.

Are you all for the city light church, right? Did you know sometimes preachers fall,

just wave your head, you know, have you ever wondered? I know I have when I first got in the biz,

you start hearing about preachers falling and you go, but he was so anointed, he was so great,

he was so how did that happen? And by the way, if they fall, it doesn't discount that they were

anointed. It doesn't discount that God used them. Don't ever, ever, don't ever condemn someone

you haven't walked in their shoes for five minutes. But you can have the question in the back of

your mind, hey, why weren't they obliterated back in the day when they began this bad walk?

Haven't you had that question? Is it just me? Am I the only curious person who wonders? You have,

right? Yeah, you have. Like they go off the path, shouldn't God zap them right away, just blow their

life up just to teach them and protect the other. No, they have learned how to pastors, preachers,

ministers have learned how to tap into the mercy of God by faith. So they get a much lighter sentence

until they've now pressed and pressed and pressed and now God because he's so merciful and because

he so loves them and he would rather their flesh be destroyed and their spirit saved in the day of

Jesus Christ, then it finally comes and says, look, it's over for you. You're going to take a 10-year

hiatus until you learn how to just love me for me and serve me apart from ministry and all that stuff.

Why am I bringing that up? Because this isn't just in the negative. I wish sometimes it wasn't

just ministers who were in the biz, but that laity believers learned how to tap into the mercy of

God using their faith. He's a guy. He got a judgment on him. You're going to die. Lights out. Say

about it. Time to wrap things up as a guy. You know what he did? He cried out. God, read the prayer.

He just appeals to God emotionally and appeals to his mercy. God, just give me like 15 more years

and God's like, okay, got 15 more years. He changed my mind. Why? Because you cried out in faith.

This is so important. Some of you need to cry. It's just what am I saying? I'm saying,

you got to open your mouth and be a little foolish. You can do it in the privacy of your own home.

You can do it on the subway. Everyone's insane anyway these days. Do it in the subway.

Lose your dignity. Lose your coolness. Open up your mouth and just say, Lord, I am trusting you for mercy.

You're a God who delights in mercy. Now in the natural, I deserve terrible consequences,

but you're a God. The Bible says that you delight in mercy. That your mercies are new every morning

that I can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain this beautiful thing called mercy.

And it is the aversion of divine wrath. It is your active pity. And I believe in Jesus' name,

that it's mine now. Hallelujah. And trust me, when you've encountered the mercy of God, yes,

yes, you can abuse the mercy of God. People go, see, no, I don't like this message. You can

abuse the mercy of God. Did you know you can abuse all of God's gifts? Did you know everything

God gives you? You can abuse. It doesn't mean you should. It doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

But when God gives, He doesn't give, with strings attached. When God gives, He gives freely,

and any system like that lends itself to abuse. So we trust in the outworking of the Holy

Spirit within us that we're not abusing the mercy of God, but should you need it? It's there,

and I highly recommend that you take it. Amen. Number three, number one is be merciful.

Number two is you receive His mercy by faith. Number three is humility. Humility is so important.

Humility is defined as, can somebody shout it out who wasn't in the first service?

What? No, crisp power. You always call out and you always get it right. And now I mean,

everyone except crisp power. He's done that to me the last five times.

He even corrected me on the wood that's used in the ark. Go in the back.

Say it again, Chris. You're dependence on God. This is important. There's too many people don't

know what humility is. They think that it's how you behave, like how loud you are or how you dress

or how much money you have. It's none of those things. It is your dependence, your neediness on God.

So you can be all be dazzled out, have 36 pieces of flair. You can have money. You can have

some base in your voice, and it doesn't mean you're not humble. This is important. You don't know

how many times I've heard, heard, oh, you know, I don't want the prosperity of God. I'd rather be humble.

What? What is that even? What does one have to do with the other? That is, that is always comes

along with poverty thinking is all I'd rather be humble. Most of the poor people I know are so proud.

That's why they're poor. You see that a Montenegro. I still want to know where a 25 year old

Montenegro gets his confidence from. Doesn't have a job. Never built anything. Never accomplished

anything. Takes up three seats in a cafe. Spread out. And they're dirt poor. And there's people I

know that are so poor, but when you try to help them out, oh no, they know everything. They don't

want any help. They were because of all that pride. And you know most of the wealthy people that I

know, they're always looking to learn. They ask lots of questions. There's a neediness. They're not

afraid to be wrong. They're not afraid to admit when they've been wrong. So there's nothing to do

being well dressed or being loud or your financial status. Your humility is one thing and one

thing only. Your dependence on God. Your neediness. Jesus talked about in revelation. When he rebuked

the people, he said, you have need of nothing. You're well dressed and you have need of nothing.

You don't realize you're naked and poor and destitute. The problem was they felt in their heart

they had need of nothing. No, I want to be needy. I want to be like Solomon who says, I don't know

how to come in or go out, Lord, unless you take me by the hand and guide me.

So let's look at this in the context of mercy in Luke chapter 18, which I love the way it begins

Luke 18 · chapter mention

because it sounds like Jesus is telling a joke. Also, he spoke this parable to some who trusted in

themselves. See, that was the problem. They weren't needy. They trusted in themselves that they

were righteous and despised others. This is the part that kind of begins like a joke, right?

Two men went up to the temple to pray. Hey, listen to this one. Two men went up to the temple to

pray. One a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisees stood and prayed, vest with

himself. God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers or even

as this tax collector. Awkward. Can you imagine that prayer meeting?

And then of course, when you're proud, you always get into the resume. You always got to list

all your accomplishments. 4-1-1. He's not impressed. He's not impressed with your accomplishments with

your resume. And this is a theme throughout the New Testament, the rich young ruler. Lord,

Jesus, tell me what I must do. See, he doesn't even know grace. What do I do? What do I have to do,

do, do, do? Covered with do, do. Trying to do, do. What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?

And then he goes into the resume, the rich young ruler. Same thing with this guy, the resume.

I fast twice a week. I give tides of all that I possess. And the tax collector standing

afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, God, be merciful

to me a sinner. And Jesus says, I tell you this man went down to his house justified. He received

mercy. Why? He was needy. He was humble. And so my prayer is as the Lord takes you up.

And as he takes you from glory to glory and gives you breakthrough after breakthrough.

My prayer is the same for me, our church, that we go lower. And that the more success we gain,

the more it's Lord, this isn't me. This is you. Lord, I don't take credit. This is you doing it.

I'm still so desperate. I'm like a little child. I need you. Lord, I need you. Guide me. Teach me.

Speak to me. Lord, I'm nothing without you. That humility of the heart.

If I'm telling you when you're that way, an angel comes and paints a giant bullseye on your head.

And it's a direct target for the blessing, the favor, and the tender mercies of the Lord. Amen.

I've seen it over and over again. I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather

than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself

will be exalted. Amen. Number four, impostering yourself to receive the mercy of God as praise and

worship. Second Chronicles 20 verses 19 through 22. Here's the bottom line. You're all with me?

2 Chronicles 20:19–22

Okay. I'm wondering if I should just kick it into fifth.

Then the Levites of the children of the co-ethites and the children of the core

stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. What's happening here?

The children of Israel messed up again. And so judgment was coming upon them again.

And the judgment took the form of an army that was bigger than them,

stronger than them, and was going to take them out. Maybe I'm preaching to a lot of people,

you're just in the right place right now. You're not in a valley, you're in the season of mountaintop.

Happy for you. Me too right now, actually, it's awesome.

But I know how life goes. It's not doubt and unbelief to just realize that when you go from one

mountaintop to another mountaintop that's even higher, what's in between is a valley. And you

want to know this when you're in a valley. There's two kinds of people in a church. Those that praise

and worship only when the praise and worship team is leading them, and they're those who do it outside

of church. And it makes all the difference. When you're somebody who will have that time,

even if it's for 30 seconds, I'm not raising the bar low. I'm trying to get some of you who on

the outskirts would never ever thought in your minds that you could actually praise and

you might be shocked. There's people like that. It never occurred to them. Oh, I can actually do

that thing we do in church on Sundays in my house. I can shut myself in a room. Oh, you have

roommates. I'll wait for them to be gone. I'll take a walk in the park. I will open my mouth and

I will sing to him. And it will put you smack dab in the overflow of the mercy of God.

Let's read the next verse. Please. I kind of

went through what was happening here. Verse 21, please.

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord

so the supposing army, the judgment of God is coming. And who should praise the beauty of holiness

as they went out before the army and were saying praise the Lord. What was the song they were singing?

What was the subject matter? It was the mercy of God.

So Sean is going to sing a song on the mercy of God after serving that one.

When you finish singing that one, Google another one. Or here's an idea. He's just make one up.

Lord loves that stuff. Satan will tell you you're being silly and goofy.

The Lord loves it. Take up a song. Freestyle. It could be like anything.

Lord, here I am coming to you again. I did some stupid things. I'm so sorry.

But I heard it said in your word. You're merciful even though I'm absurd.

So Lord, I receive that which I don't deserve.

And just sing it. Let it just come out of your spirit. Amen. That was really by accident. Amen.

For his mercies endure forever. Now when they begin to sing and to praise,

the Lord said ambushes against the people of a man, Moab, and Mount C year who had come against

Judah and they were defeated. When you're backs against the wall and you come to the Lord

in light of his mercy, talk to him about his mercy. Remind him of his mercy. Sing of his mercy.

There might be consequences. There might be judgment coming your way.

In Jesus name, the Lord will set ambushes for those things. Satan may be naming your name to Jesus

right now saying, I want that one. And the Lord saying, why? Well, they've done this and they've

done that and they've thought this. They really aren't who they claim to be. And Satan wants to sift

you like through wheat. And Jesus saying, I pray for you that your faith failed. Not believe in me.

Believe what I've done for you. Believe in the power of my blood. Your mistakes and your sin,

you think they're so powerful. They're not more powerful than my blood. Hallelujah. So receive mercy.

Amen. And now number five.

Who remembers what number one is? Be merciful. Number two. I say number three.

Humility. Number four. Praise and worship. Number five. This always instigates the demon of

cheapskateism. But you'll see it in the scriptures. You cannot doubt it.

The generosity and being a giver. Again, this isn't a transaction. You don't buy the mercy of God.

But there is something about the heart of a giver that just causes you to stand out.

No, God doesn't love you more. No, you don't get to heaven before the stingy mingee tightwad

Christian. But you do live a vastly different life while on earth.

Let's look at Malachi chapter three.

You know, when I was growing up in the Lord every Sunday, we'd hear Malachi three.

I think I bring it up once or twice a year. So I'm going to take my time because you haven't

gotten enough. Let's enjoy Malachi three. I'm too happy right now for Malachi three.

Let me get a little more serious. Let me get my Malachi three on. I got to be angry. We're behind

budget. Staff hasn't been paid. Building fun. That word should be.

All right, because of the jokes, let me just let me say this part first. No, you know what? We'll

will take it one verse at a time. Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. But you say in what way

have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings. What is a tide? It's the first tenth of our income.

What is an offering? It's something that's in addition to the tide. Where does the tide belong?

Well, it belongs in the storehouse. That is a type of the local church today.

You are cursed with a curse for you have robbed me even this whole nation of pause right now.

This is under the old covenant. You are cursed with a curse that was on them under the new covenant.

You. You cannot be both cursed and blessed at the same time. Do you get that? So nine out of ten

preachers, even more really, they have used this scripture not in light of the new covenant.

But under the old covenant saying you're cursed. I've heard preachers say I don't even hear you.

I won't even meet with you for counseling if you don't tide. What's the point? You're already cursed.

Come on, you've never heard you have to have heard something like that. Some variation of that.

Now, under the new covenant, you are blessed. You are blessed. You, your person.

Jesus has blessed you. Jesus has redeemed you. But it doesn't mean your finances are blessed.

I tithe. I tithe since I was sixteen years old. The people who call city light church their home

not to avoid a curse but to show their love for God and they give a tithe and then they believe

their finances are blessed. Do you see the difference? Now, this has been the message we were just

talking about this earlier. This has been the message for city light. So I don't come and try to

manipulate people and say you need to tithe otherwise. The Godfather, I mean Father God is going to

smite you and destroy you and break your kneecaps. I've always presented it this way and you know

what our giving looks like? Our giving is three times the amount of it for church, our size.

Even the fact that it's a rainy, nasty day and the place is full and I never stand here and go,

you know, you have to come in every Sunday. It's your duty. It's your job. I've never

gilted and manipulated people and yet people come and I don't gilted and manipulate people into

tithing. Yet people tithe. Isn't it amazing how the gospel is set up? You think when Jesus said

it was true. Amen. And yet I know right now there's some people they're not tithers and they have

every reason and you need to just grow up come into that place of faith and maturity. I just

I say that with love but I don't know how else to say it. How do you trust God with your eternal soul

and then can't trust them with your finances? Oh, I trust that he's going to save me on on that day

but that thing about tithing and him actually giving me more back than what I gave. Oh, that's

that's just preacher magic. But here's none of that had to do with point number five. I just

wanted to share because we don't get enough Malachi three. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

You are cursed with a curse for you have robbed me even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes

into the storehouse that they may be food in my house. That means your tithe can't go to

your tithe can't go to somebody else that tithe belongs in the local church. Amen. That they may

be food in my house and try me now in this as the Lord of hosts. If I will not open for you the

windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that they will not be room enough to receive

it. And I'll rebuke the devour. You know what the devour is originally there in the Hebrew seed

the locusts people who don't tithe it it it goes away anyway your car will break down your refrigerator

will break down something will happen arrest will audit you all these things happen and you take it

and put it in the bag with holes in it so many people like me just 10 minutes ago past your

mouth and now that's all right I say this because I love you the seed eater the devour will be

rebuke so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground nor shall divine fail to bear fruit for

you in the field says the Lord of hosts and all nations will call you blessed for you will be a

delightful land says the Lord of hosts okay this is the standard passage on tithing I want to show

you how giving is connected to mercy let's go to verse 17 there is something about giving

the Lord does not ignore in the book of Acts chapter 10 God shows Cornelius Cornelius was like why

Acts 10 · chapter mention

the angel said your praying and your giving has come up as a memorial before God

I'm free in this I know where my money comes from I know what my motives are I know how many

millions this church is given away I know what I've personally given away so I'm free I can look

you in the eye and by the way I don't know who tides I don't know when I say I can look you in the

eye people with no I don't know I I treat when I come across you I'm looking at you like you're the

top giver in the church let me just clarify that sometimes I do know who who gives because they

highlight when they send me the the financials report if anyone I don't want to say what if anybody

gives big they let me know it's like okay cool but I treat everybody the same I'm just saying when

I minister this message I know that it works I know that it's true and if you don't want to give

that's between you and God don't give that's fine I mean it's not fine but you know what I mean

no one's gonna hear twist your arm or anything but just no you're the one who's missing out

we don't we don't need another giver we have a big vision we want to see New York City shaken

but we we're not here going ah the Lord has always provided for us I'm not here saying you know

Montenegro is just a developing nation but the money goes quick and I had a vacation there

victor's feet they grow so big you know he needs new shoes every several months

if you could please just give me a penicostle handshake on your way out of the church you sure

would help me here's what the Lord says for tithers givers generous people the Bible says

the liberal the generous soul liberal means generous in the Hebrew don't confuse the two the generous

soul shall be made fat the generous soul shall be made fat that means prosperous don't confuse my

with that word don't and he who waters shall also be watered himself he says they shall be

mine says the Lord of hosts on the day that I make them my jewels and I will spare them you look

in the Hebrew there it means I will spoil them as a man spoils his own son who serves him when

you're a giver when your heart is open when you hold material things loosely when you see yourself

as a vessel that God will bring me all these things to get them through me and I get to enjoy

them and enjoy this ride also he will spoil you and I have sometimes and I always I don't want you

I don't want to I don't want to I feel bad for some people who are in a valley right now

I feel bad in the sense that you might misread what I'm about to say I feel good that I know

that he's your God I've been in the valley but he's going to get you out but right now I'm not in

the valley I've been in the valley or right now I feel spoiled like an only son I feel spoiled I

mean even financially it's just it's hitting from every way he'll bring different avenues of

revenue it's hitting I feel the increase of God the blessing of God when I was gone on vacation my

home at Kondo flooded again past James pastimo thank you they came in and

made sure that we didn't return to a swamp but while I'm there wondering what what else is being

destroyed I'm thinking where about to close on a brand new home in Long Island the Lord did that

Amen the Lord I feel

and he will do that to you you get what the screams spoil you spare you make you stick out show so much

mercy that you'll almost get embarrassed he word almost let's look at his final verse in

second Corinthians I'm glad I'm taking my time with this because some of you you don't even know

you've been bound up by a nasty lack mentality that's afflicted you since your mom said no more

for you we have to have some for tomorrow that was a joke but you received it seriously if the shoe

fix that's when these poverty spirits and lack mentalities that's when they take root I'm teaching

my kids to have an abundance mentality and it's a challenge to teach them hard work personal

responsibility but daddy doesn't just make it rain abundance on you you have to do your part

and be responsible and get A's and do well and do right and at the same time don't have limitations

God is a big God God is an abundant God don't expect to scrape through life but expect an

overflowing cup amen second Corinthians 9.7 in the amplified let each one give as he has made

up his own mind and purpose in his heart not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion

for God loves now the amplified opens up and unpacks what that word loves their means he takes

pleasure in the giver the generous person prizes above other things and is unwilling to abandon

or to do without a cheerful joyous prom to do it giver whose heart is in his giving one more

time God is unwilling to abandon or to do without a cheerful joyous prom to do it giver whose heart

is in his giving I want to be that guy I want to be that guy I know there's many of you here you

want to be that person I wanted this church to be that church there were times when I said I

want to be that guy paused I want to I want to be that guy that when God's eyes scan their

teeth goes that guy my son there want to keep him around because everything I get to him he gives

away whenever I tell him to give it away I can entrust him I don't have to tell him twice I don't

got to have my Holy Spirit ride him for nights and nights and give him dreams and confirmations and

I just I just breathe give and he gives it away I want to be that guy because God God wants to keep

that guy around and one of the things in the early years of city life when it looked like we

were going to get wiped out every week was a miracle that we were still around case you don't

know New York City is the hardest ground in America they say California California still got tons

of Christians and it's tough in some areas but New York City is the only place known as the

preacher's graveyard and where you see major churches come in with millions of dollars and still

pack it out after 18 months and we did it with no denominational support know anything one of the

tricks that I used was that quickly got into missions and I said we need an orphanage in Ethiopia

and then we need to help out in Guatemala since 2009 the orphanage in Guatemala let's build a

church a year it ended up sometimes being five six churches a year let's get into Liberia let's

help in Montenegro why because I want to be indispensable to God now you've heard sometimes maybe

saying oh God doesn't need you I get it he doesn't need you he doesn't need me can make a thousand

of me like this I get it but at the same time he's unwilling to abandon or to do without a church

in New York City that is the primary sponsor of an orphanage in Ethiopia he's unwilling to abandon

or do without a church in New York City that's built over 40 churches slash community centers in

Guatemala are you catching what I'm saying here so very early on I set us up this way and there were

times when it seemed like we weren't going to make it I'd say Lord you know just so you know if we

get taken out then we can't support all these other places I want I get calls from the office saying

we don't know where the money is going to come from do we send our support this month you know

since day one we have never ever not sent support ever no matter how tight it got because I knew

if I we can keep sending the support we're going to make it and thankfully those years are over

thankfully now it's not oh now it's now there's an overflow amen and on that note you know we

needed to raise 15 thousand dollars for Montenegro that goal was met without again without

pushing or pressing we met that goal I say for Montenegro because that's where Pastor Yubit says

but he's starting a church in Novi Sad Serbia and within three months just from the overflow

you guys met that and join me in applause for yourselves and your generous hearts amen thank you

worship team come on up if you would lift your hands say this out loud

Lord Jesus you are God you delight in mercy I have made mistakes of committed sins

there's some consequences that may be coming my way but I trust you Lord number one for your grace

because of your grace I'm forgiven because of your grace I receive undeserved favor

but also thank you for your mercy because of your mercy I don't receive deserved judgment

so thank you Lord Jesus shout a big hallelujah 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 city light

nyc.com that's city light nyc.com feel free to visit us online or in person anytime we would love to

connect with you we pray that you have been encouraged today that you have been reminded how much

God loves you and that you are surrounded by grace thank you for listening make sure that you

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