Insta-Grace: Navigating the Paradox of Silence and Faith Stories

Hearing your story is powerful. It's compelling. It's undeniable. Because here's the thing,

people can argue religion all day long and they do, they love it. They have their little argument

or those zingers. They can't argue results. And you're a walking testimony of a before and an

after. They can't argue that. Your story is powerful and it's undeniable. So why are we so silent?

Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's

Word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us. If you want to connect with City Light

Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com. That's citylightnyc.com. Pastor Boyan Jansik and his

team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds.

As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are

surrounded by His grace and that He has a real hope and a future for you.

I have the Supreme privilege this morning to celebrate, invite and welcome up our executive pastor,

Pastor James Chavez.

Thank you. Thank you. How many of you know what Instagram is?

Couple of you do. Some of you even follow Instagram, you know, the church,

Instagram account, and we appreciate that. But if you've been living under a rock for the

last 13 years, let me tell you what Instagram is, okay? It's a photo and video sharing app.

Don't you feel good today? We can pray and go home.

But this thing actually, a couple of guys started Instagram with the novel idea of creating an

easy way to share pictures and videos across platforms and around the world and combine the

concept of the Instamatic camera and the Telegram. Hence the name Instagram. Now you can like have a

leg up at like trivial pursuit when you guys are playing in your life group. You're like,

wait, I know that one. They told me that in church. So this thing, 13 years into it, October of

2010 is when they launched this thing. Now boasts over 2.3 billion users who have uploaded over 50

billion pictures and videos. That is a lot of selfies and stupid animal tricks. That's a ton.

But it's simple. You just download the app to your smartphone, point, and shoot, right? And this

thing has gone viral. What I love is watching people figure out the perfect way to get that perfect shot.

Now they have filters like they have whole YouTube tutorials on how to get the perfect selfie.

So you're going to take a picture of your lunch because that's what we do. You don't just eat.

Everyone has to know what you ate because once it goes down or once you start cutting into it,

it doesn't look pretty anymore. So you have to take a picture, right? So now you've got to take

the picture. You've got to get the right lighting. You've got to make sure, check your backstop,

make sure there's nothing weird, right? I've seen people take selfies in the bathroom mirror and

somebody's sitting on the can or something in the background. You've got to make sure what's in

the background. Okay? That's just a little tip that's free. Okay? But people look, they've got to

get the right lighting. If it's a selfie, you've got to make sure you got the right angle, right?

They've told me the higher you get, the thinner you look. I'm like, I can never get a high enough

to look good. But you've got all these ways to get the perfect video and the perfect picture.

I love that you've got to condense your videos, right? If you've got a long video, remember when

they used to have like, was it stories or something, had to be in 10-second chunks, 15-second videos,

they've evolved over the years. Anybody remember about a decade ago? There was an app called Vine?

If you have, you remember Vine, right? Vine came on the scene and they were notorious for having

the six-second video. That was their claim to fame. We'll let you upload a six-second video to the

internet to show the world. Six seconds. What are you going to do in six seconds? I can't even boil my

nose in six seconds. Six seconds. But everyone was crazy about Vine. I can remember 10 years ago.

I even preached a whole sermon series called Six Seconds about Vine. Six seconds. There it is, right?

But Instagram is not going to be outdone because they're up and coming. So they said,

six seconds. You kidding me? We're going to let you upload 15 seconds. So guess what happened to Vine?

Oh, Vine. They're gone. Poor Vine. Rest in peace, Vine. And I love that they keep evolving, right?

It was 15-second stories. Then it was going to be IGTV if you wanted longer than 15 seconds.

Remember IGTV? That was another fun one. What is IGTV? Who knows? Who cares? It's gone already.

But that was when you could upload a video longer than 15 seconds. Now there's stories and reels

and carousels and posts and who cares? There's so much on and on and on. It goes. But it got me

thinking, what can you do in the 15 seconds that Instagram used to give you to post a video in?

Well, there's the obvious you can post an Instagram video, right? But you could also make a first

impression. You can do that in 15 seconds. You could tie a tie if you're good at it. Not a bow tie.

That takes longer than 15 seconds. But a regular tie. You could watch a quality bull ride

if you're into a rodeo, maybe three-fourths of a second one. You could solve the Rubik's Cube five

times in 15 seconds and beat the World Record Holder Max Park. Can anybody beat the Rubik's Cube?

I have to peel the stickers off to beat a Rubik's Cube. But this guy can beat it in like three seconds.

It's ridiculous. You could start a conversation with the phrase,

Jesus has radically changed my life. Can I tell you about it? That took less than 15 seconds.

Was anyone counting? There's a lot you can do in 15 seconds and there's power in sharing your

story. That's what I want to talk to you about today. Does anyone remember back in 2007 when Apple

got into the phone business and they launched the iPhone? Any early adopters had the first generation

iPhone? There were a few. I want to show you something. I actually was an early adopter and I

still have my first generation iPhone. Even in the box. Can you believe that? Did you know that the

first generation iPhone still in shrink wrap mind you just sold for over $63,000 at auction?

I think I'm going to put some cellophane on this and try and get some money out of it. I've opened it.

But this thing, look at it. Steve Jobs, June of 2007, introduced the first iPhone to the world.

Look at that. Look in this thing. It even still powers on. Let's see. The Almighty Apple.

In a few thousand years people are going to find these encrusted in the subway and they're going

to say, what was that? It was their God. Look at that thing. I'll tell you what. This thing was

amazing. We had never seen anything like that. The camera on the back. It's like a one little

dot camera. Who does that anymore? Now there's like six telephoto lenses on the back of your camera

bigger than the whole thing. We were just joking before between services. He pulled out his cell phone

and it's like a hundred times bigger than this. It's like an iPad. But this was the phone. It's

like Zoolander and it's like, hello. But this was the perfect size phone. I got this thing

early and I was so excited. So I remember going out of town with a couple of friends to a conference.

And this was down south mind you. So if I slip into a Southern accent, it's because I'm living it

in real time. Okay. So we went down and so what did I have? I had my trusty iPhone with me because

you never leave home without this anymore. Back in the old day, I had a brick phone and I didn't

just have the tan one. I had the gray one. This was like the fancy executive brick phone. But it was

like $45 a minute to use this thing. So I had calling party pay on my thing. So if you call me,

it's got charge to your bill because I didn't want to pay that. So you just most of the time left this

thing off and you left it in the car in case you got a call for an emergency because you didn't use

the iPhone until this thing came along and it changed our lives. This thing could do everything.

So I took the phone with me everywhere. You could put it in your pocket. The old brick, I used to

have this leather case and you clip it to the side and once you put it on, you go, oh, what's wrong?

I got the phone. But now this thing's so small, it doesn't affect your, you know, center gravity,

your phone to body mass weight ratio. So I had in my pocket, we go out of town. We're getting to

the car rental place and my friend hands me the directions he printed out to get us to the hotel.

Now this is how long ago this was because do you remember back before everyone had GPS?

What did you have to do to find your way somewhere? MapQuest! You either had to know where you were

going. Nobody does that. Or you went onto a website called MapQuest and you print out the

directions. We used a lot of paper but we print this thing out and it's like go my turn left,

go this one, turn right. See you have like six pages for this trip and you carry it everywhere

you go. Who has a direction? Oh my gosh, I don't know. We got to stop at a gas station and buy a map.

Anybody ever heard of a map? We used to buy paper maps. I'm talking old school, okay?

Now he hands me these directions. I said I don't need these. I have GPS in my phone. He's like what

what do you mean GPS? I knew that was going to get him because he had been in the market for GPS

system. Even before the phone you go buy these like GPS boxes and stick them on your dash and then

you could like navigate and this was like government technology. You'd like the satellite could

tell you where to go. Only you, NASA and the army knew how to use this stuff. And so he was excited

because this is why she get lost even in their neighborhood. Bless her heart. So he was really

shopping for this Garmin like GPS thing. I'm like I have one right here because I'm always thinking

it's as big as like your credit card. So we threw those map quest pages in the back seat and he said

well lead on very sarcastically because he was confident I was going to get us lost. But I didn't.

My GPS in that iPhone got us right to the hotel. I was so proud. I puffed out my chest.

What do you think of that? Fine. So we went. We dropped off our bags. They said well let's just

drive around and let's see if we can find a place to eat lunch. I said we don't have to do that.

I have an app. I could just press this little button right here. It'll show me all the restaurants

around us. And then I could just look at the restaurants see what people are saying about them.

Which one's good. Which one's bad. I could click another button. I can see their menu. And then

if we want to go there. Hit another button. GPS will take me right there. He's like how does it do all

that? There's an app for that. You remember that? A little commercial campaign. He said well what's

an app James? He said well an app. It's an application that you download from the app store onto

your smartphone. Tells it what you need to know. It's like all right sounds great. Let's get some

food. So we had lunch. I'm poking them like hey one of these days you guys are getting the 21st

century. Get yourselves a real phone. They were still using the razor flip phone. Remember the

razor flip phone. They just snap that thing at me. We don't need your phones. Fine. Can yours

help you find a place to eat lunch? I didn't think so. Probably can't even take a picture

or send a text message. So I'm rubbing it in. I'm really laying it on thick. So they said well

we've got a little time before the conference. Why don't we drive around and maybe see if there's

a place to do shopping? I said there's an app for that. He said well what if we want to go see a

movie? There's an app for that. He said well what if I want to punch you in the face because your

iPhone is far superior to my razor flip phone. Is there an app for that? He didn't say that but

I could tell he wanted to. So I went on and on. You could surf the internet. You could watch

movies. You could listen to music. You could even make a phone call. We used to do that on these.

I don't think anybody actually used it for a phone now. He just text or send an instant message

to tell my kids now. Hey did you call them? Call them. No, send them a text. So but it is a phone

for those of you that don't know that you can still make phone calls. There's all kinds of things

you could do with this phone. They said wow that's incredible. I said I know. There's an app for

just about everything you need. I was an evangelist for this thing. I was selling it big time. Crazy.

It could do anything you want. Why was I so excited about my piece of technology?

Because we will go on and on and on about something we're excited about. If the Yankees win a

championship you're going to talk about it. Well if you're a fan of something you will.

If you find a new great place to cut your hair you can tell people who cut your hair.

Find a great store, a great restaurant. I found this great restaurant. Did you know I found

burger village just a few blocks away to make a great burger? You got to go check it out.

You're going to tell people about things you're excited about. Right? New song. You got to catch

a beat. Would you hear this? It's really good. We'll share. We'll instant message. We'll post things.

There's a new TV series that we're binge watching. Streaming. We're going to tell people.

I talk to people all the time. You're watching the Mandalorian. That thing is crazy.

A new movie. Wow. We've got to go see this movie. It's amazing.

There's no shortage of things that we're going to talk about with our friends because we're excited

about. We want to know what's good, what's bad. Right? And we count on each other to talk about it.

So my question to you is why are we so strangely silent when it comes to sharing about the

absolute most important thing that's ever happened to us? And that's Jesus.

There's no shortage of words that come out of our mouth when it comes to things that are

important. Our jobs. We got our promotion. I'm getting married. I got a new car. I got a new

apartment. I got a new phone. Yet we're strangely silent when it comes to sharing about Jesus.

Most people say they have not heard from one Christian friend in their life the difference

Jesus has made in their life. But why do you think that is? I mean, I'm going to go out on a limb

and say that Jesus is a little more exciting than an iPhone. Would you agree? Good. The answer is

yes. If some of you were kind of on the fence like, he's a little more excited than an iPhone.

Yet we're not talking about it. Can an iPhone forgive you of your sins?

No. Has an iPhone ever laid down its life and died for you? No. I know some have tried because

I've seen the crack screens given them run for their money. But no, not willingly and voluntarily

laying down its life for you. Can an iPhone give you purpose and peace? Make no mistake. It's fun.

You can do a lot of neat things with an iPhone. But it can't feel the void in your soul. It can't

give you a purpose for living. So I don't know about you, but Jesus is more exciting. Every day,

we walk by thousands of people who have never clearly heard from one of their Christian friends,

the difference Jesus has made in their life. So why am I telling you that story?

Because sharing your story is powerful. It's compelling. It's undeniable. Because here's the thing.

People can argue religion all day long and they do. They love it. They have their little argument,

their little zingers. Well, yeah, but what a living God do. Shut up. They can't argue results.

And you're a walking testimony of a before and an after. They can't argue that. Your story is

powerful and it's undeniable. So why are we so silent? Why do we keep the most important

thing that's ever happened to us a secret? I guess we don't talk about Jesus because we think

nobody cares. The world tells us that. You watch the news. YouTube advertisements, Instagram,

whatever the algorithm is filling your feed with is telling you be quiet. Nobody's into that.

That was America of olden days back when people used razor flip phones. Nobody cares about Jesus

or religion anymore. We've evolved. We're enlightened. We're a secular nation.

Someone wants to hear that junk. And so we slink back and we cower and fear shame.

But I'm here to tell you and encourage you with the fact that it's not true.

People are curious about God and spiritual things. They do want to engage. God built it inside of us.

Even if they look antagonistic on the outside, on the inside, they are screaming for hope.

They are screaming for answers. Gallup just came out and updated a statistic that held for many

years that used to say that 90% of Americans are interested in God or a higher power. Now they

had to update it and we lost nine points. Now it's 81% of Americans are interested in God or a higher

power. And we get discouraged. I think, man, we're going in the wrong direction. But guess what?

81% is still alive. When can you get 81% of anything anymore? We are so divided on everything.

That still means eight and every ten people that you cross paths with is open to a conversation

about God. That's a lot of people. I can remember several years ago, time magazine was experiencing a

news drought and so they decided to do something kind of novel and so they just slapped the picture

of Jesus on the cover and wrote a story about him and that was their best selling issue for the entire

year. And I remember because it stood out to me because every year books, movies, even TV series

will come out of our God whether they're for him or not but he's the subject matter and they're

always at the top of the bestseller list in the box office. Why? If no one wants to hear about it,

how come everybody wants to hear about it? We just don't want to say we want to hear about it.

It's like in the political world there's the quiet majority and there's the very loud minority.

So everyone believes that everyone believes this crazy stuff.

So no one wants to admit, you know, polls are all crazy now. When you come out of the voting

stations and you say, well, who did you vote for? And they lie. They don't want to tell the truth.

And then the real statisticists come out and you're like, wait, what?

You made it sound like 100% of people are gay and conservative. They went the way of the dinosaur

and no one believes in morality anymore. But we're not really voting that when we draw the

curtain and the voting booth. But we're afraid. But just look at reality. Look at what is really

happening. It's been my personal experience that people are open to a conversation even with a

crazy preacher like me. You don't have to be like a normal person. They expect it to be scary

when they talk to someone who works for a church. You're like, oh my gosh. So, you know, sometimes,

you know, Pastor Boyan's joke, did they ask what he does? He's like, I work for a non-profit.

All right, you dress. Kneeg it in. See if there'll be normal for like five more minutes before

you like hit him with the zinger. But they'll still engage in a conversation about God, church,

the Bible. Even with someone like me, if I'll just show him a little respect. If I let them speak

their mind, I want to know what they have to say, what they think, what they believe, questions

they have. Then in turn, they're going to listen to what I have to say. Guess what now happened?

We had a meaningful conversation. Go figure. Never once did they throw something at me.

They didn't flip their razor phone at me in my face. They didn't yell at me. No arguments.

That's weird. I mean, when you turn on the news, it looks like you need riot police and gear just

to talk about Jesus. But that's not the case. People are open to conversations about Jesus. They're

interested in talking about things like that because they're hungry for something that'll give them

purpose and meaning in their soul. Jesus said in Matthew 936, when he saw the crowds, he meaning

Jesus, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless like sheep without a

shepherd. He said to his disciples, the harvest, it's great. But the workers, they're so few.

So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest and ask him to send more workers into his fields.

The world is full of people who are lost and confused. They don't know where to go. Their problem

seems so big. They don't know where to find the solution. Satan has gotten us believing that no one

cares about the solution we have and that we need to stay silent. That nobody believes anything

anymore. They're not interested in anything spiritual, but that's not the case. And there's evidence

upon evidence to prove otherwise. People are interested in the difference Jesus has made in your life.

As a follower of Christ, they're going to want to know the difference that Jesus has made in your

life and so you get the opportunity to tell him the difference he's made in your life. You have the

privilege of showing them the difference Jesus has made in your life. When you let people know that

you're a follower of Christ, the first thing that they're going to want to know is if what you say

you believe lines up with what you live and how you react. Right? We can talk a big game. They can

go to Wikipedia and find out what Christians are, but they want to see what you do. Is it different

and is this thing real? People are going to watch to see if we extend the same forgiveness to people

in our life that Christ has extended to us. They're going to want to see if we extend the same

love to the people in our life that Christ has extended to us that aren't very lovable. There's a

lot in New York City, I'm just going to say. They're going to want to see if we relate to people in

our life the way Jesus has related to us and our relationships with our spouse, our co-workers,

our kids, our friends. They're going to want to see if what we live and how we react to life lines

up with what we say we believe. Bottom lines are going to watch to see if there's a real difference.

Lee Strobel in his book The Unexpected Adventure, he tells the story of a guy named Ron Bronsky.

At the time Lee was a writer for the Chicago Tribune and he was in criminal court doing a story on

this very unique case because Ron was actually, he said a really hardened criminal and he since

the age of eight had been in the criminal system. He was a drug-using, alcohol-abusing, glue-sniffing

delinquent in his words. I didn't know him so I didn't call him that. He might be a very nice fellow.

But he had gotten some really bad stuff and so by the time he's 21 years old he's got a rap sheet

like as long as my arm and now he found himself in some serious trouble. See he's in a gang and

a rival gang had attacked one of Ron's really close friends. So he vowed revenge. So what he did is

he tracked down the brother of the attacker. His name was Gary and he found him and he put a gun in

his chest and he pulled the trigger one day. Now the gun misfired so he put the gun up in the air

and he pulls the trigger again and this time it fires. So Gary takes off running while the second

time he hit his mark. He hit Gary in the back and the bullet lodged through next to his liver.

He hits the ground. He runs over to Gary, flips him over, puts the gun back into his chest, pulls

the trigger and now he's out of bullets. Not very good criminal. So before he could reload his gun

he hears sirens in the distance making their way to him so he makes his escape.

Well Ron and his girlfriend they flee to Portland, Oregon and they decide that they're going to

count lay low. The Chicago police put out an arrest warrant and they're looking for him. Meanwhile

in Portland he and his girlfriend are there. He gets a job and one of his new co-workers over time

starts telling him the difference Jesus has made in his life and as a result of those conversations

Ron and his girlfriend they give their life to Jesus and become fully devoted followers of him.

Turns his life around then he's telling people about Jesus highly active in his church.

Years go by. He's living this life. He's made things right with God but he said

something was stirring and his conscience wasn't right because he hadn't been made things right

with society. Now the Chicago police had long given up looking for him. Years had gone by. It's

another unsolved crime but he decided to do something mind blowing. He left the security of the

new world he had created. He went back to Chicago turned himself in. So now he's standing before a

judge and he says I did it. I'm guilty. I'm the guy you're looking for. If I have to go to jail for

what I've done so be it. I've become a Christian and the right thing for me to do is to confess and

take whatever payment you think I deserve. Well Lee is dumbfounded. At this point in his life he's

an atheist and I don't know if you know about Lee Strobel. He's written books like The Case for

Christ and he's an incredible apologetic for Christ and his journey is amazing. You should read

about it but at this point in his life atheist doesn't believe anything and he is shocked at this man's

faith in Christ. So he said you know I didn't even wait for Ron to approach me to tell me about his

faith. I approached him and said tell me about Jesus. Tell me what is going on in your life. So over

a cup of coffee Ron told Lee the entire story of what had happened and how Jesus had changed his

life. Well Lee still being a skeptic he said I just I can't believe this so he was looking for holes

in the story so he interviews Ron's family his friends his co-workers back in Portland even his

pastor and they all said the same thing. God was the one who turned this young man's life around

and he was the real deal. So the judge ruled that Ron was no longer a threat to society gave him

probation and sent him home. That's pretty incredible. So Ron asked Lee as Ron what do you think

about what the judge just said that decision? He said I'll never forget this he said Ron looked

me right in the eyes and he said well what the judge did today would show me grace kind of like

what Jesus did. He said can I tell you something Lee if you let him God will show you grace too

don't forget that. And Lee said I never did. Never underestimate the power of a change

life in the eyes of a skeptic. Powerful. The Bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians 6, 3 we try to live

in such a way that no one will ever be offended or kept back from finding the Lord by the way that we

act so that no one can find fault with us and blame it on the Lord. So when Christ followers start

living like Christ followers people stop and take notice. They begin to see that our Christianity

is not just a set of superficial beliefs but it has truly transformed us from the inside out

and they want to know if it's real and they want to know if they can have some of that.

People aren't looking for perfection. I hear that all the time you know I'm just embarrassed

because gosh if you know what I've done and I start telling you about Jesus they're like you're

kidding you really? I get it. They say I don't want to represent God that way

but I just want to encourage you right now and tell you that people aren't looking for perfection

they're looking for honesty and when you tell them the mess you are the mess you were and what God

has done that's powerful. It's relatable. If you're there with your shiny happy smile and you just

tell them everything's hunky-dory and perfect down and perfect now God is good yeah you come to church

with me who wants that they can't relate they're like well that's not my life they're looking

for honesty and when you're honest they're like yeah man that's my story too share your story

they're looking for something that's genuine something that is transformative about our life

that took us from where we were to where we are they're looking for Jesus in us that reminds me

of a story of a family driving home from church one Sunday afternoon little girl was in the back

seat and she kind of leaned forward she said mom I got to ask you a question she said yeah what

is it honey? She said well there's something bothering me about the preacher's message today she said

well what's your question? She said well the preacher said the God is so big he can hold the whole

world in his hands is that true? She said no yeah that's true. She said well he also said the

God comes and lives inside of us when we ask him to come into our life is that true? She said well

yeah that that's actually true too and the little girl was really confused now and you see the

complex look on her face she said okay if God's that big and he's living inside of us shouldn't he

show through us? Let that sink in for a second if God's that big and he's living inside of you

shouldn't it be showing through you? Shouldn't people see it? Do they or do they even know you're a

Christian? I'll mess up my Instagram followers if I talk like that I got a good thing going

I might be an influencer someday he's going to shine through

look at what it says in 1st Peter 315 always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks

you to give a reason for the hope that you have but do this with gentleness and respect.

Rudard Kipling was one of England's most distinguished riders in the latter part of the 19th century

in the early part of the 20th century and he was a man of few words but profound and it was

even reported that his publisher would even pay him a dollar per word for his work. That's pretty

cool right? I mean my wife published dollars she got several books if you got a dollar per word

I might be on a beach somewhere so some students at Cambridge they thought this was a really

cool thing and they thought they're going to be super clever so they sent him one dollar

along with a message that said give us one of your very best words

so the clever man of few words that he was Kipling responded with a telegram that simply said

thanks well later in his life he was deathly ill on his deathbed he was stirring

recessally in a lot of pain and the attending nurse that is there anything I can do for you can I

get you anything he said I want God I can't tell you how many stories I've heard like that

people have such pride and accomplishment but at the very end if they're not wanting their

awards and their accolades even their fans to gather around and recount their greatness

they want God because none of that stuff just like the iPhone it can't feel the void in your soul

only Jesus can so when I read that story my question was I wonder if that nurse was able to deliver

do you think she was able to give him God think she was able to deliver the goods and tell him

exactly how to find God would you have been able to I want you to be able to God wants us to be able to

imagine for a second that you're a doctor and the whole world has been diagnosed with a terminal

disease there's no cure so day after day you go into the labs and you research and you work

tirelessly to find a cure and one day you do you find a cure for this terminal disease

but then you refuse to share it with anybody else what kind of a person would that make you

so let's get really quiet in here

every day you walk by thousands of people who have a terminal disease of sin

and somebody cared enough about you to share the cure with you that Jesus was the cure

his death burial and resurrection taking your sin and shame on the cross with him dying and

rising back up from the dead conquering death sin in the grave gave you now the cure and eternal life

you have the power to share that with people are you doing it we have to get good at this because

there really is a heaven and there really is a hell the stakes could not be higher

so you actually do have the cure to a terminal disease that people in your life have are you

sharing it with them or you just keeping it to yourself I got mine I'm good

or you're going on like a covid vaccine campaign and you got a vast necklace and you're telling

everybody get your shot get your booster come on isn't real what we'll do it for that but not this

this is real every day we're walking past people that need what we have somebody cared enough

about you to share the cure with you there's a legend that recounts Jesus return back to heaven

after his time on earth and he returned to heaven still bearing the scars of his crucifixion

and then the angel Gabriel approaches Jesus and he says wow you suffered

incredibly for them I was watching Jesus said yeah I did and I think Gabriel kind of looked at him

and he said do they know how much you did for them and how much you love them Jesus said no not yet

it's okay we'll say well what have you done to make sure that people understand how much you

love them and everything you did for them like we know but if they don't know he said well I've

I've asked Peter James and John and some others to tell people what I've done for them

and then they in turn will tell other people until everyone on earth has heard about my love and

sacrifice for them well at this point Gabriel kind of was grimacing a little bit

he said Jesus I don't mean to be disrespectful but I've been watching humans for a long long time

they're not very dependable he said what if Peter James and John they don't tell everyone

what if the people they tell what if what if they forget and they stop or what if way

way down in the 21st century people get too scared or too afraid to tell people about your story

please tell me you've made other plans for everyone to hear what you've done and the sacrifice

you've made there has to be another plan there's got to be another way

and Jesus kind of smiled and he said there's not I'm counting on them

he said I've been watching him too he's counting on you he's confident

oh Gabriel's not James is not but Jesus is there's no plan B you're just the plan

you ready to do it I'm asked the worship team to come

father thank you that you've given us the blueprint thank you that you sent Jesus and that he

with all his power laid it down to pay the price that we couldn't pay for our sin now we have

the cure for the disease that was destroying us and that vowed to separate us from an eternity

with you but you created a way now we have a cure father now we have the ability to share it with

everyone in our life father I pray that if there's anything in our world that's distracting us

from sharing that understanding the importance and the critical nature of sharing that the stakes

that you just take it away father don't let anything keep us silent don't let the world don't

let pressure don't let culture don't let politics don't let friends relationships pride

anything keep us from sharing the power of our changed life father you've made a difference in

us now we have joy we have purpose and we have an eternity destined with you let us live in that

reality with purpose confidence and a big smile on our face as we share that story with the world

father you've given us so much to enjoy but I've prayed that everything pales in comparison

to the excitement and the passion in which we share your story with people in our lives

you're worth it thank you for loving us we love you back and it's in Jesus name we pray

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 boy on jansik and city light church

visit us at citylightnyc.com that's citylightnyc.com feel free to visit us online or in person anytime

we would love to connect with you we pray that you have been encouraged today

that you have been reminded how much god loves you and that you are surrounded by grace

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