Navigating Life's Storms with Jesus: A Faith Deepening Discussion

Jesus loves the drama. He stays in your drama. He encourages you through your drama.

In the height of your drama, he is for you and with you. Nothing can stop him from being with you.

He is Emmanuel, God with us. He's in your boat and in your drama. He's in your storm.

There's not one thing that you can go through today that you can't say that Jesus is not on your side.

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.

We have a great treat because Pastor Moe is going to bring the Word today. Yes.

You know Pastor Moe as our community pastor. He loves on you. He is a fantastic leader in our

church and he has a great word that he wants to share with you. So you gave a little preview,

but let's put our hands together and give a thunderous applause as we welcome Pastor Moe to the stage.

We're blessed the Lord. I mean, was it really thunderous though?

Good morning, church. How you guys feeling?

Good. Good. By show of hands, how many people were here last week? Raise your hand.

Gotta love the good retention rate, praise God.

Well, for those of you who weren't here, Pastor James actually did the preaching and he gave

a tremendous word. If you haven't heard it yet, even those that are watching online,

if you haven't heard it, stream it. Watch it. It's on YouTube. All of our streaming platforms,

online, social media, go and listen to this message. It will bless, strengthen, and encourage your life.

It will challenge you, but in a good way. I'm not like a challenging, like you go to the gym

and then you hate your personal train of type of thing. I don't mean like that. Like,

it'll literally make you want to be better. You know, he preached on going big.

The, you know, B-I-G, like B-I-G, go big. You know, the B is for being present.

Don't just be a religious person who goes to church, actually be present, but then go a step

further even from that and get involved. And then finally, you would give. He actually shares

something with us often within our staff meetings. He speaks about these concentric circles of

fellowship. So literally, you can start on the periphery and the outside and the more you get

acclimated and comfortable in your faith, you continue to take these steps forward

into the inner circle where you're not just an attender, somebody who's coming a little bit after

worship, just started and then leaving a little bit before the service ends so you don't have to

talk to anybody. Listen, if that's you, just say amen and move on. We're growing, we're growing.

But, you know, you get to take these steps inward and upward, amen? So for me, all of that,

when I heard the message, what I really heard was a boil down invitation to surrender,

total life surrender to Jesus and his kingship and his lordship. You know, I've learned that over my

extensive Christian history and really that that would be where my daughter would just call me old.

I was telling people in the 10 AM, sometimes I want to punch my daughter in the throat.

Only the parents understand that, all the singles are like,

oh, past your moh. I mean, if you have kids, you understand like, I really, really love my kids

and guess what, I like them. They're like really fun to hang out with, but every now and again,

I just want to punch you in the throat. And not like a, I don't want to like pull back,

I just do it real quick just to just to move it out.

You know, she has this way of like not being rude because she's actually telling the truth,

but it's staying so bad because it's the truth. So like I said, she would say that I'm old,

but I've learned in my extensive Christian history. I literally hear her in the back of my head

pretty old that if Jesus, this one I've learned, that if Jesus is not Lord of all,

then he's not Lord at all. Meaning that you can't compartmentalize and put these different areas

to say, well, this one is fully devoted to Jesus, this one I'm working on, this one,

it's either you give yourself totally to the fact that you're not yours anymore and you were

bought with the price and you actually belong to him or you're going through the motions of

some form of religion and posturing and preening of getting God's approval unnecessarily.

Because really what the Lord is calling us to and what Pastor James was challenging us into

is surrender. And I think the most perfect follow-up to that message is to equip the saints with

the proper perspective on surrender. The proper perspective of the surrender, I should say,

you know, we're in for a treat. Oh, and how about this? I've learned that mis-expectation

gives birth to disappointment. And the reason that I'm saying that is because again, I want to

equip you and I want to arm you with the proper perspective. How many of you have ever believed

and hoped for something only to see it not line up exactly the way you thought it was and you

were disappointed? Nobody. This is amazing. Thank you, James. Listen, I'll give you some help right

now. For all the married folk, you can lie right now because your spouse is next to you. If you're

married, you've experienced this before, where you have had an expectation of one thing and that

thing did not happen the way you thought it was and it gave birth to disappointment. And because

there was disappointment and repeated disappointment, it actually furthered itself into resentment

and that grew into bitterness. See, people say that the number one reason that people fail marriages

and get divorced is because of money. I would say right up there 50-50 with it is uncommunicated

expectations. Where now you're believing and desiring the person to do A, but you've not actually

taken the time to articulate that desire, but you're expecting them to do it and when they don't

do it, you feel away and it births this horrible vicious cycle. I know you won't say N, A man,

but you will say Apple. Okay. So we need this perspective.

If we're going to go big, we have to have the right perspective and make sure that we have proper

expectations so we're not caught unaware. You know, the other day, I had a financial advisor in my

home and it's not that I was like eliciting all this and maybe works like one of the big banks.

I didn't really have him over to elicit financial. We were just talking basketball, eating chicken

wings. That's what we do. It's a man of God, he's a friend. And we were talking a little bit about

this particular topic and he chimed and he said, you know, I often tell people who come to me wanting

to make investments that you have to give them a preview of the climate of what it will look like.

Because some people tell you right off the bat, like, okay, I want to get, you know, maybe

minimal gains that involve low risk. So maybe two to five percent, five to seven or something

like that. And he gives them, like, listen, he gives them the full update of, you can do that,

but understand in the course of time, there will be some highs, there will be some lows,

there will be some dips. And I just want to prepare you for it so you don't freak out when it comes

in and take all your money and run. He said, now, and there are some people who go, no, I want five

to eight sometimes ten. And he's like, listen, we can do that. But again, you need to prepare yourself,

there will be some highs, there will be some lows. And there's the potential for risk and loss.

We need to prepare ourselves in the same way. You ready to take the ride with me? Okay, okay.

Mark 435. On the same day when evening had come, he said to them, let us cross over to the other side.

Now, when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was. And other little

boats also with him. And I got a note right there when it says that he took him as he was.

They're speaking about Jesus, but the context of this is that Jesus has been ministering from

sun up to sundown. He is now, this is where he is, positionally, he is on a boat a little bit

off the shore. And because of the geography of that area, there were cliffs and mountains. And it

almost created a natural amphitheater where his voice was pushed off of the wind. And it was

able to be amplified. And here he is ministering to thousands for the entire day.

How about this to give you a little insight sometimes into what preacher's experience?

Everything that tried to stop you from getting here today, everything that tried to

discourage you and make you not want to engage in the things of God and comfort community,

I now have to wrestle with every one of them that followed you because it's my job today to

deliver the word of God. And there's only like a hundred or something people in here. He was doing

it with thousands ministering and coming against all the spiritual opposition and resistance.

And it's not a thing ever to be afraid of because we are more than conquerors through him who

loved us. Amen. But it is something to take note of because the Bible is very specific and clear

and not one period, not one tea. Nothing is in there for no reason. And it says that they took him

as he was. The man was tired. So let's continue.

Let's start with verse 36. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat

as he was and other little boats also with him and a great windstorm arose and the waves beat

into the boat so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern in the back of the boat, a

sleep on a pillow and they awoke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?

Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the sea and said, peace. Be still. And the wind ceased and

there was a great calm, but he said to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no

faith? And they feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be that even the wind

and the seas obey him? So what do we see here? Another classic example of the disciples freaking out.

But I think it's funny, though, because it's not just them freaking out. It's specifically why

they're freaking out. Have you ever looked at this in thoughts yourself? What exactly is the problem?

When I look at this, what the Lord is highlighting to me, they were freaking out because Jesus was in the

boat. Jesus wasn't outside the boat. He wasn't on the shore. He wasn't in another country. He was

in their boat. And they thought they were going to die with Jesus in their boat.

Some of you might not be able to identify. OG Christians, they'll let you know, man, listen.

I've been through some rough roads, but Jesus was with me because when you're new and you don't have

the proper perspective and things start going awry, you don't exactly know what to think, but when

you look and see Jesus in your boat and you still are facing circumstances that you wouldn't choose

for yourself. Hello. See, the disciples were in this place where they were thinking,

we've got the son of God. We've got Jesus. It's all roses, baby!

Jesus said, let's go to the other side. Let's go. Everything was all gravy when it was all good.

They thought it was all roses, but come in, come in, come in.

Roses smell amazing and they look beautiful, but they've also got thorns. See, I told my wife

when she walked in, I said, you don't have to pray my strength because it always just happens

that the Lord always wants to give me the messages that are not raw, raw happy. Hey, man, brother, go

forward. I want to invite you today to have the proper perspective on the fact that trouble is coming.

Tribulation is coming. Woo! Man, I love problems. So amazing. Nobody ever says that,

but here these disciples are experiencing this first hand, an unfortunate truth that every one of

us is going to have to come the grips with, that even after getting saved, you are not exempt from

the human experience. Because if you're going through something and you're unaware of what's about

to happen next, you are blindsided thereby. I almost feel like I want to do the object lesson,

but again, as I said in the first service, nobody wants to get punched in the face on a Sunday morning.

Keith, could you stand up? Keith is a large, nice, healthy man. I feel like with enough force and

enough strength, I might be able to push Keith over. But if he has his eyes open, it gets harder

and harder to do that because he's prepared and he can brace himself and go, not to day past him.

But if he closed his eyes and he didn't know what direction I was coming from or how fast

I might can get him. Thank you, brother. So we know that sometimes these things that, again, we would never pick for ourselves.

These unsavory circumstances and situations, if we're not looking for them and we don't think that it's

possible that they can come, we have our eyes closed like the Emu bird of the ostriches, put our

head in the sand. When these things do come, you will get caught unaware. And that is not what the

Lord has called you to be. He called you to be circumspent and sober to have your wits about you and

to be ready. When he calls you to go big and to take this next step to go in, you didn't realize this,

he wasn't just calling you to be a Christian, he was enlisting you to be mobilized in an army.

Two people got excited today. I literally just heard of my spurs and people like, listen, I was just

trying to get out of hell. What? It's real. But let me tell you what Jesus says.

John 1633 says this. This is Jesus speaking. These things I've spoken to you that in me you may have

peace. In the world you will have tribulation. It's another word for trouble. It's another word for

unchosen circumstance. Problem, issues, drama. Nobody likes drama.

But I love what he says. Be of good cheer. He says, you're in the world and the world is

going to give you stuff that you don't want. But I have overcome the world and in me you have peace.

Hallelujah. And just to prove this point further, just to show you, because really all of this is

today is me equipping you with the fact that trouble is coming. Yay. But I just want you to have

the perspective so that you're not shaken. I don't want you like this and somebody pushes you over.

I want you standing ready so that even before they come you want you really want to do this?

Listen, that's a whole nother preaching where you can look at trouble even before it comes and you

can go out day. Let me share a little bit about. I'm going to go with it just for the sake of

realness so that people can understand this. There are normal people and then there are African

Americans. I'm going to say this. Don't be offended. I've been African American long time. I know

this. This is real. We have a wish spirit sometimes. My wife will tell you this. I'm one of the

most holy men on this planet. I'm a lover of Jesus but sometimes my fuse is real short and the

Lord is working with me every day to make it better. And I also too have a wish spirit because

sometimes when I'm driving and people cut me off, I go, I wish you would. When I'm waiting in

line and things are not going right and I go, I wish you would. But like I said, the Lord

is working with me. I don't need you to judge me. They all judge me already. Where were we?

These issues they come, right? I need you guys to be prepared. I need you to be strengthened. I

need you to look at your issues as they come and go, I wish you would. I have access to the name

of Jesus. The Bible says that all things are subject to the name of Jesus, the very weather,

elements and circumstances of all of creation is subject to the name of Jesus and all authority

under heaven and earth has been given unto Jesus who is the head of the church and I am his body.

I wish you would. So it's not all bad to be a wish person.

So let's look at Paul for a minute. We can all identify Paul as somebody who's going big.

There's a real Christian. He's showing up. He's volunteering. He's going to Pastor Moe's Life Group.

His attendance is, he gives. He serves. He is a committed Christian in the kingdom, amen?

But let's read about some of the circumstances of his life. And just for context, even before we

start reading, he's in this situation because he has been falsely imprisoned,

shipwrecked and awaiting trial before Caesar. That's just some of the context. Let's read.

This is a man who wrote about two-thirds of the New Testament, a man that God chose who he knew

God, a man who went to the third heaven and heard things that it was not legal for him to say when

he got back to earth. This is a man who knew Jesus. But yet this was his life.

Acts 28, verses 2 to 6, it says, the people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and

Acts 28:2–6

rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. As Paul gathered in an armful of sticks

and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand.

The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, a murderer no doubt.

Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live. But Paul shook off the snake

into the fire and was unharmed. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead.

But they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn't harmed. They changed their minds and decided

he was a God. I could literally see some of us in that circumstance.

I have seen Christians lose their salvation, start cursing God because they stub their toe.

So, here this man is imprisoned for the sake of the gospel and he is just the happy,

go lucky one trying to encourage everybody. They just been shipwrecked, almost lost their life

and he's gathering sticks to be helpful. Like, the Lord is good, the joy, the Lord is with me.

Get these sticks right here, throw them on the floor.

Notice that the Bible doesn't say after the snake bit him that he cursed God.

The Bible doesn't say that he started screaming.

The Bible doesn't say that he started complaining. The Bible says that he did what?

See, when you have the proper perspective, when circumstances come, you will actually learn from

Jesus' example. Because Jesus handles storms differently than you do. Remember, Jesus was in the

boat and anything and anywhere that he is, he does for an example to us. He showed us what we

need to do to our storms. That's how you should be treating the trouble in your life.

Now I'm good. I know who's with me. I know where I'm going. But we don't do that. We freak out.

Oh my God, they just see that bill. Man, the IRS is calling me, Pastor James.

Oh, man, I don't know what I'm going to do about this and we worry and we do the thing.

We circle, circle, circle, circle, problem. We call people to circle the problem with us.

And we're not exactly looking for prayer or solution. We just look to talk about it or complain

about it and go, who are I? Me. I don't understand. I'll be praying. I go to church.

What? What? What? Yo, a couple of months back on a Wednesday. We have two cars in our family

just because, you know, Sundays become hard because we got to go different directions. My wife

doesn't work for the church so she shouldn't be here at seven in the morning when we start setting up.

Amen. I get a call. My car has been wrecked in a hit and run on the highway. This is Wednesday.

Thursday. I get a call that the second car has been hit and run on the highway.

Now, there's the temptation to go and complain and moan and begrudge God and say,

I don't understand you, God. I shake my fist in frustration.

The temptation is there. But I serve a bigger God who just like the disciples in the boat.

And this is the part that we miss sometimes. He has prepared us how to handle these circumstances.

They don't just come because what did he tell the disciples on the boat even before they hit the

waters? Let's go to the other side. See, that's a small detail but some of us have been missing

that in our life. When God gives you a word, that is the encouragement and the direction and the

power meant to face anything. Because I don't have to worry about the in between if God told me

the end result already. He said, let's go to the other side. That's important because it's one

thing. If I tell you, hey, maybe down at the jerk shack or shake shack, whatever they call this

place, okay, maybe he might show up, maybe he not. But when God says something, do you know that

the God that we serve, he cannot lie? No, no, no, I'm serious. He can't. It's not that he's just

morally upright and chooses never. He can't lie. There's too much power at play.

When he said, let there be light. History and science has told us that from the moment light

has existed, it has gone for us. So really that moment looks more like this. Let there be light

and light said, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light,

to this day, science has confirmed that our universe is ever-expanding because

he said it and it has no choice but to be. So when you get God Almighty, who sits on the throne,

who died in your place for you and asked you and redeemed you and he tells you go to the other.

The problem I have sometimes is we don't actually believe. We take a cursory believing because

it sounds nice but we don't internalize that thing so that it affects all of our decision-making

because again if we would truly get this what it really means is that when God says that he's

not a man that he should lie or the son of man that he should repent what he's trying to say is

I can't lie meaning if God said today that this microphone was black all of creation would have to

conform itself because he said that it was white so the reason he can't lie is because there's

too much power and when he says that you are going to make it you've got to stop giving into your

feelings because your feelings that have you up one day and then down another you'll eat a little

bit of pizza and you'll wake up thinking like this going to end when really all you have to do is

go back three steps to the anchor point and the cheat code that he gave you to which says

let's go to the other side see Jesus asked them very pointed and specifically

what's up oh that's the past of Muhammad paraphrased Bible by the way

he said what's up number one you messed up my nap but uh I like why you worried I oh I already said

go to the other side meaning there's not anything in the created world that can stop you from

oh God I wish we could get that we would be so empowered for victory if we would take him at his

word the first time I can't tell you how many times I have seen circumstance in situation that I

would never choose for myself and it comes but I remember what he said initially and I'm not

listen I wish that I could tell you that I've gone through these circumstances like a proud

Christian soldier I have been dragged by the will of God kicking and screaming and complaining

only to end up at the other side and go man I knew you had it all along Jesus

it's only a 21 day fast bro relax

is it then I call you to the back I know you call me to the fast Jesus but the burgers be calling

oh God and you know you you go through these things

but I've learned having come on the other side of so many times God's faithfulness coming through

that when I get to the valley I remember the mountain top of answered prayer the mountain top

of God's faithfulness you know I asked my wife the other day because she's believing in some things I

said you know do you do you remember the feeling for the last time he answered the prayer

and you might say well what does feeling have to do with that because feeling will encourage you

and remind you back to that point of faith when you said no I trust God to do that and regardless

of what happened on the end between the end result was he did it sometimes you got to go back to

that moment and that's your monument stone that that is your shepherd's stick like David where

you write the testimonies of God and you go I remember when I was in need and the Lord came through

and he did it and he did it contrary to everything that was around me because how many know that

sometimes when the Lord gives you that that word of direction and confirmation that prophetic word

that encourages you that word of instruction that commands you to go forward that sometimes not

sometimes pretty much all the time after he says that that what's going to be presented to you is

the exact opposite of what he said come on single people listen I haven't been married that long

that I don't remember I'm going to bless you with a wife and then it got real cold it got real

lonely it's like Lord have you forgotten me Jesus I feel like I'm a Siberia over here with the love

to one day she just showed up you cannot make this stuff up like when I look you some of your

don't and I hate this as a pastor because we we we we don't like to encourage people with these

supernatural stories of how you met your spouse and sometimes it's super normal and it's not super

natural I just happen to have one that kind of is but but I encourage the normal have some coffee

with your friends and look this is taking a left turn but I feel it I got to encourage the single

people like listen because we're waiting for this magic moment between people and really all

you really need to be doing right now as a single person is doing your best living your Christian

life in community when you start running for the Lord I don't need you to now be evaluating and

praying 21 days Lord San the one you just do your part and you run for the Lord and you run

after him and you seek his face and you go big and while you're going big and you're running

I want you to look to the left and I want you to look to the right and I want you to look at who's

keeping pace listen don't you be looking back to the club where they don't even notice a race

that's not it look at who's like they might not even notice you they running so well

they don't know how to look left or right so you might have to lovingly encourage them to go hey

I've been running this race and I kind of noticed that you kind of keep in pace

listen if it ain't bars don't say amen amen

Mark 438 but he was in the stern asleep on a pillow and they awoke him and said to him

teacher do you not care that we are perishing the disciples were not prepared for storms and

they thus erroneously believed that what they were facing was due to the lack of God's love

do not be confused by the circumstances you face into believing that God is not for you

he is unequivocally for you there is nothing that you can do not a performance not good bad ugly

or indifferent that can make him love you any less than you are loved and I say even to the

religious folk there is nothing that you can say do or perform that will make him love you any more

you have the zenith of God's love right where you are so that you do not have to religiously

perform and get on a hamster wheel you need to simply just believe but in believing and going big

and going deeper you need to have your eyes open and be prepared because it's not the question of

if these troubles will come it's when and when they come I want you to stand lock step with Jesus

so you can knock that sucker on its butt I'm all over the fringe area I'm using words like

butt and sermon like it is

praise God

Hallelujah

we are not exempt from the full human experience neither was Jesus

here's a fact that many people don't acknowledge do you know Jesus had to poop

nobody thinks about this he was a hundred percent human he had to deal with walking

like if you're the divine don't you just want to float

he had to walk he got tired he had to preach and eat and then like oh

I don't know about your homies but this oh gosh

he dealt with the human experience we are not exempt from it

some of us have been lied to and told that because we are now Christians it is all perfect

you think it's the Mary J. Blasow no more drama like no there is drama

but thankfully oh god hallelujah Jesus loves the drama

he stays in your drama he encourages you through your drama in the height of your drama

he is for you and with you

nothing can stop him from being with you he is Emmanuel God with us despite Jesus is in the drama

oh aren't you so glad he's in your boat and in your drama he's in your storm

there's not one thing that you can go through today that you can't say that Jesus is not on your side

even the things that come as a consequence for your

haphazard behavior

oh nobody gave it amen it at when I'm gonna say amen there's some things in my life right now

they happen all because of me it wasn't the devil it wasn't Jesus it wasn't God that was me

I love that Jesus gets in the drama he's not scared of the drama he dispels the drama he speaks

prophetically before the drama even starts he battles your issues during the drama and I do stress

your issues because he gave us an example of what he does with drama versus what we do with drama

drama arose and he addressed it

unconcerned oh think about your life and think about what it would look like the next time

something happened and instead of freaking out you trusted that God was going to take care of it

somebody gets sick all we need to go to the hospital

yep we're gonna pray they're gonna get healed

well that bill needs to get paid yep because he meets all my needs according to his riches and glory

what is it that you can go through that the God of heaven won't be there for you

there's no circumstance that I've seen on this earth that he is not able to tackle

I've seen people brought out from the deepest and lowest depression of wanting to take their lives

and I've seen God give them joy and wake up every day happy

again we don't get to escape this human experience I'm gonna prophesy to you right now

tomorrow is Monday

oh

bars that's mind blowing and the reason I say that is because this earth is still spinning

you know I think back to David we all like to identify with David David is the man a man after

God's own heart you know David was anointed to be king just radically powerful moment anointed by God

literally like the Hebrew tradition is that there was a seal of wax over a ram's horn

and the prophet sami would hold it and it would only dispel or melt out and then the oil would come

out upon the lords anointed and he did it with all seven of his brothers now I don't think he

to one you don't got them all kids

till finally David is anointed king over all Israel

and guess what happened because he like us he's been called to this amazing privileged

position because we are the children of the most high God we are Christians we are them that

have been given the secrets of the kingdom of God and guess what he had to do after this

immense and glorious privilege of being the next king of Israel back to the shake

he experienced that prophetic word tomorrow is monday

and you too after being called to this illustrious life

I'm sorry to inform you but tomorrow is still monday but and here's the part and I actually don't

like to preach too much on this passage James don't mean to talk about this all the time I don't

really like to preach like this on a Sunday morning because there are tremendous benefits to having

Jesus in your boat there are so many glorious benefits and the reason why I don't like to

preach like this on a Sunday is because there are a lot of non-Christians here there are a lot of

future Christians here they're unbelievers and people that are going to be believers and

the benefits package is so crazy that I don't want people just coming to Jesus just for his stuff

and his hand I need people to come to the end of themselves and recognize their need for a savior

and there is no way to the Father except through Jesus it's not in any of the religion not in

performance and not in religion it's only in you trusting and knowing that Jesus is the only way to

save you so it's hard for me but I can't get away from the fact that it is delicious to be a Christian

it is magnificent when I get sick he heals my body when I have a need he meets it every time I

need him there he's with me when I'm down he gives me joy when I'm depressed he picks me up

when I was lonely he gave me the greatest creation the world has ever seen

and yes I'm talking about my wife if y'all don't know her that's your loss

what can he do

when he's in your boat he literally makes everything better

so that even when circumstances come sometimes I invite them because I'm a low key I like to see

him move I used to get frustrated at circumstances because again I didn't choose them why is this here

did you call this in?

Quack was this you?

who at who ordered the sickness?

who ordered the untimely death that I got to now go perform this funeral

was that you all these things that we wouldn't pick for ourselves

uncurable diseases

lack

Jesus he comes in and he destroys every one of them and I find it so glorious

I get to see him as he is as a deliver as a savior his name literally means salvation

yes sure salvation

and worship team you can come up I'll close with this

because again the benefits are there and they're strong and I do want you to come the Jesus

just on the merits of him being your savior but I can't act like it's not a real thing that when

Jesus enters your life he protects you from the very things that I'm telling you are on their way

let me read you the scripture

John 615

therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him

king he departed again to the mountain by himself alone now when evening came his disciples went

down to the sea and got into the boat and went over the sea toward cavernum and it was already

dark and Jesus had not come to them then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing

so when they had rode about three or four miles they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near

the boat and they were afraid but he said to them it is I do not be afraid now take notice of

verse 21 then they willingly received him into the boat and immediately somebody say immediately

the boat was at the land where they were going have you ever read this and caught this

something happens when you willingly invite Jesus into the boat which is your life

because again I don't I don't want to just sell you on this Jesus but there is a benefit to having

Jesus in your boat not only does he give you the example of how to respond to the storm not only

does he give you the reassurance that you will get to the other side because when he gives you a

word you can take it to the bank because he is God and he cannot lie but did you see the supernatural

miracle that takes place here they were rowing and rowing and rowing for three to four miles and they

weren't making any headway and all of a sudden Jesus too stepping on the water

you're like yeah it was Jesus not as not Jesus as it goes I'm afraid he's like nice me all right I'm

not afraid the Bible is very intentional they willingly received him into the boat

and after they willingly received him because there's two words that are important here willingly

and immediately the Bible says that they they toiled they were getting nowhere and then immediately

after Jesus is in the boat they end up on land am I the only one who's seeing this in the scriptures

I dare you to invite Jesus into your boat I dare you to believe that any circumstance that comes

your way he is gonna knock that thing out of the water and he is going to empower you and enable

you to get to the other side and sometimes it's going to be in supernatural fashion I am not

afraid to remind you that the God that we serve is mystical and powerful he's not a he's not a

Western God of intellect he's a mystical Eastern God of miracle and power

sign and wonder I've seen people seen with my own eyes not heard stories people heal from HIV

people heal from cancer and blood disorder and disease I see it on a regular

you know the healing rooms are coming up July 8th you sticking your body come and let so that you

can see it too we see God heal move deliver supernaturally God will enter your life and the things that

enter your life that you didn't choose he will battle them for you he will be there with you

so we're gonna sing soon but before we do we're gonna take communion and you can hand out the elements

and I think it's important and I'm glad that it falls on today because what communion does is

the Bible says that in taking communion we are proclaiming the Lord's death till he comes

what does that mean proclaiming the Lord's death is us proclaiming all of what he did and the

benefits that come from what he did when you take communion what you're doing is you're shouting

out loud saying I am forgiven of all my sins I am divinely healed from all sickness disease and

this ease you are saying that I am perfectly provided for financially emotionally spiritually

and physically again I told you I don't like to sell Jesus but the truth is the truth

you can proclaim the Lord's death you can in the midst of your valley of going through life

and circumstances you can believe to get to the other side because he already did it he died

for you and as you in your place every one of us deserve death the Bible says that the

wage of sin is death and all have fallen short of the glory of God

but Jesus in this divine exchange he takes our sin gives us his righteousness gives us his

perfect position in God and he says you belong to me now any storm that comes against you has to

face me so think about the things in your life that are not lining up whether it be your finances

whether it be your health whether it be your relationships and yes that means that there might

be a discrepancy there where the Lord needs to work out some things in you because you seem to

be the common denominator of all your bad relationships but he can do it listen I'm a horrible

person without Jesus I'm gonna tell you right now I'm really sweet right now because I have him

but without him I suck but thanks be to God that he's with me and every day he's making me better

and that can be your testimony too if you're in this room today and you don't know Jesus as your

personal Lord and Savior I want to invite you to receive him as Lord remember I spoke at the top

of this message if Jesus is not the Lord of all all areas of your life then he's not Lord at all

do not put him in his little play oh that's my Sunday thing he's not a supplement that you

just add to your life he is your life so as we take this we're taking communion by faith we're

taking it believing that the forgiveness of sins now belongs to us by faith we're taking that to

mean that we are now sons and daughters of the most high God we are acknowledging that Jesus

Christ is Lord and we do not belong to ourselves for we have been bought with the price by the blood of

Jesus his sacrifice enables us to be the children of God if that's for you today and you desire

that eat and drink with us and remember the benefits that come with it proclaim his death

go big don't be afraid of the storms because he's with you but know that they're coming

but you don't have to be afraid of them let's eat and drink and sing to the Lord

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 janskik 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 thank you for listening

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