What in the World is Happening to Me?!

Jesus said, Whatsoever things you desire, you will have what you say.

This earth, the sun, the moon, the stars were created and framed with the words out of God's mouth.

God created things with words and you were made in God's image, in the similitude of God and he put creative power and authority in your mouth and on your tongue and yes, your words matter.

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 Jancic 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.

It's good to have you, those of you joining us online.

And thank you to our worship team who's singing live and definitely not lip syncing.

Hallelujah.

No, they're really not.

Imagine it comes out this whole time.

Imagine you go to talk to Sean.

And like he has this thick Indian accent.

Sean, can I do it?

Can I do the head thing?

And you're like, what?

And it turns out he was lip syncing the whole time.

Oh, hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Oh, man.

No, sorry.

We had a...

I found out Santa Claus wasn't real in the first service, which I fully intend on disproving like this week.

Steak lunch.

Steak lunch.

All right.

We'll see.

And I'm going to have, I mean, I will interview on video.

I will get the truth out.

Who will?

Katie, no.

Katie, you agree?

And she would know what she's talking about.

All right, we won't revisit all that, but Sean is the real deal.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

And we all appreciate him.

So connect with us if you're a guest.

Like, what was happening the other week?

Oh, we had that monsoon.

terrible that nor'easter cars were floating away it was awful and like we had to send the text out saying that our Saturday ring or fling that it was it was it was canceled and postponed thank you now I see I knew that but I was thrown off somebody talking in the front row totally told someone really loud they have no awareness of how loud they are totally threw off their father and

Pay attention.

This is how preachers' kids backslide.

This is how.

So in other words, what I'm saying is sign up.

We're not going to bombard you, but this way you get to be in the know and say you wanted to go to Ring of Fling, and now you're in the monsoon that never came, and you found out that you didn't know it was postponed, but we're just going to send you one email a week and like four text messages a year, and just sign up.

And by the way, this is the number one way to communicate with us.

You know, there's some people think that like this is a one-man show.

I can tell from the way they talk to me.

You know, I tell them to email info, and they're like, so, okay, and then you'll email me back.

No, we actually have full-time staff and lots of part-time.

And we have this, we really try to serve you.

We really try not, we're actually overstaffed for our size church to help meet your needs.

But you'll never be able to receive all those benefits unless you, like, plug in.

And this is an easy plug-in.

Just sign up and connect with us.

And then, of course, they're letting you know that the Ring or Fling Conference is October 24th, which seems so far away, but now it's just a few weeks away again.

So if you're single, be a part of that.

But I really want to talk to you about two main things before I get into the Word this morning.

One is baptisms.

Baptisms are coming up, and they're happening November, exactly November 7th.

On a Saturday in Manhattan, we show you this footage because the number one question we get is, how long do you keep me under the water?

Really?

So we stopped getting that question when I started addressing it.

But for the first, like, ten years, people would be nervous.

They didn't know what full baptism by immersion.

They only saw a little dabble do you, a little sprinkle.

So they thought I was trying to do an exorcism by keeping them under the water.

One second.

But you must go under the water.

Because Jesus did.

Because it's a type of death.

And like he was raised from the grave.

You will.

I promise you.

You will come up out of the water.

But it will come up.

And things will be different.

Baptism is powerful.

We know that because at Jesus' baptism he encountered the power of the Holy Spirit.

This isn't some rote religious ritual.

And by the way.

This also isn't optional.

The early church didn't treat it as optional.

The early church baptized people the day, the moment they were saved.

Somehow...

The 21st century, especially in America, we do it months later.

Some wait years.

Some treat it like an advanced step.

Like, okay, I got saved.

I received Jesus.

That's like the bachelor level.

And then baptism in water is the master's level.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit, PhD level.

I have to really get my act straight before I can get that.

No, it should be one, two, three, and that's available to you.

So baptisms are November the 7th.

And you can sign up for them by... You can come at us by land, air, and sea.

Texting, emailing, filling out a connection card, giving it to an usher.

Should not be difficult to just communicate what you want.

Hallelujah.

It's like Burger King in here.

Your way, right away.

As long as it's scriptural.

And then we have growth track.

Growth track is important.

Because that's the plan for membership.

Membership is biblical.

In the modern day, membership isn't popular because people want consumer Christianity without commitment.

They want to come in, kind of listen to this like it's a TED Talk, dip their feet in when the water seems nice.

And they don't like that it may require anything of them.

That's just not the biblical model.

You are, as a Christian, invited to be a part of a local body called a church.

Now, some people say, I can't find a church that fits me.

Maybe you need to change.

Or maybe you just haven't looked hard enough, but I find it hard to believe that in New York City, a city of 8 million people, there's just not one church that fits you.

Find one that does.

I know one that I like.

Find one that does.

And be a part of it.

Don't be a leapfrog Christian, hopping from church to church.

Don't be a Lone Ranger Christian, not being a part of a church.

Commit to a local body.

It is God's plan.

In fact, in the scriptures it says it's a bad habit when you forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as is the habit of some.

Oh, hallelujah.

So growth track, it's like the four steps to membership, but it really is beneficial to you because you'll take a personality assessment and a spiritual gifts assessment.

This isn't something we just concocted.

This is something that we've adopted from another really successful and effective, when I say successful, I mean effective ministry, that'll help you identify your unique spiritual gifts.

Because you...

have something to contribute to the body of Christ.

And you should know what that is.

So that you're not just a consumer Christian just seeking to get something, but that Christianity only comes alive when you realize, wow, I have something to give.

And as you pour out, the Lord pours more in.

As you pour out, the Lord pours even more in.

Hallelujah.

Show me a blessed Christian whose cup is overflowing, I'll show you somebody who's pouring out.

Show me a selfish Christian who's always trying to just get something for themselves.

I'll show you somebody who's starving.

And it's never working out for them.

Come on.

This is just... Look.

You know what really dispels delusions and lies?

Reality.

And yet, somehow...

More and more, because of wokeism, because of the weirdness of the culture and the media, we're taught to deny our eyes, taught to deny our ears, taught to deny pattern recognition.

Us pastors, we're master pattern recognizers.

Like Pastor Mo and I, we saw a pattern.

Wow, look, everybody who becomes a pillar, everybody who moves up in leadership, they have something in common.

There's a pattern.

They were all a part of a life group.

That's a pattern we recognize.

Another pattern we recognize is, wow, those who are overflowing, they're the ones who seem to be giving.

And those who are always whining, always pulling, there's always a need, they're the squeakiest wheel in the place, they never ever lift their finger.

By the way, there was a time years ago when I wanted to honor our top 20 givers.

And, oh, it wasn't too long ago.

I won't go into the details.

But I actually contacted the top 20 givers.

I asked for a list of the top 20 givers.

I did not recognize 80% of the names on that list.

I was like, who's that?

Who's that?

Who's that?

I don't even know them.

It's really weird.

They never, ever set up a counseling session.

Never, ever went to shake my hand.

Never, ever told me about a problem.

Weird.

Because I don't know who gives, who doesn't.

But it was just interesting that the biggest givers were the quietest ones.

Something to that.

I didn't ask, but I should have.

For like the 20 loudest people.

They gave zero and took 25 tracts and six water bottles for themselves on the way out.

But that really is how it is.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

I notice when I say something awkward, when I say a hallelujah after, it removes 2% of the awkwardness.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

If I keep saying it over and over again, it'll be like I wasn't awkward at all.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

All right.

1 Corinthians 4.2.

Son, you know we have armed security at City Light, right?

Okay, just so you know.

Thank you, Lord.

1 Corinthians 4.2.

The title of this message...

I was literally talking to my son.

Just, I love our security.

He don't play.

1 Corinthians 4.2, the title of this message is, what in the world is happening to me?

Which is a question people often ask when they're sick and tired of being sick and tired.

They're stuck in a rut and they don't know what's going on.

And we know that the Lord is good.

We know that the Lord is the God of victory.

We know that our lives should be, when you zoom out, there'll be tough seasons, but when you zoom out, our lives should be getting better.

We should be going from glory to glory.

And when they're not, when we zoom out and we go, ooh, it seems like it's going from gory to gory.

Frustration to frustration.

That's the time to do a self-examination.

A check-up.

And go, okay, the problem can't be with God.

The problem is with me.

I'm glad I got my start preaching on the streets, maximum security prisons, and preaching on the subways.

Before City Lightway, I was preaching on New York City subways.

It all prepared me to preach with my children in the front row.

It helped me.

People just don't care.

And they're breakdancing in the front and whatever.

Because now they're at the age you used to be.

I didn't have to deal with it.

They were in children's church.

And now they're both at the age.

And it's awesome.

I'm so glad that you're here.

Because I don't preach enough to you six times a day every day.

You wanted to be here Sunday morning.

What do you have there?

Okay.

So we're trying to unclog.

Because we're all clogged up.

The problem is on this side of heaven, not on God's side.

And he's good.

He wants to cause our cup to overflow.

And if our cup is empty, something's wrong.

So, look, nobody likes going to the doctor and having an exam.

In fact, really nobody likes going to the dentist, right?

Any dentist here?

I heard it's like really hard.

It's hard being a dentist because you just know nobody likes you.

Nobody, like you see 20 people that day, nobody got up that morning and said, I'm going to see Dr. So-and-so.

No, everybody hated and resented coming to you that day.

This is not really selling the message, but this message is going to be a little bit like that.

Because nobody likes looking in the mirror and saying, hey, let me do a checkup.

But that's what we got to do because we want to get declogged and get rid of the barriers.

See, there's barriers and there's obstacles that we inadvertently put up.

And God is an ever-flowing fountain of goodness and blessings.

He wants to touch us, transform our lives.

But the biggest culprit, the biggest enemy to that who's in the way is me, myself, and I.

So let's deal with that guy, shall we?

All right.

Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

What is a steward?

It's somebody who's given something.

They're placed in charge of something.

And when they're faithful, they're given more.

And I've found that that's how the Lord works with us.

If you feel stuck, if you...

If you feel like life's not progressing like you want it to, it would behoove you, it would be wisdom to check different areas of stewardship in your life.

Because God's not going to give you more until you've been faithful with what he's already given you.

Because too much of his glory, too much of his blessings, it's like giving a three-year-old a bazooka.

It will blow him up.

So the Lord first sees how you are with the little.

And then he makes you ruler and master over much.

But it's over time as you prove yourself faithful with what he has given you.

What was the example that just came to me I used in the first service?

Anybody?

Any?

Because I forgot it, but it was good.

I remember that.

Because it wasn't in my notes, but this is a test.

It was so good, I don't remember it.

No one else does who was in the first service.

Okay.

It's just lost forever.

I'm sure it'll come back.

Mauricio is going to heaven right now.

He's going to the third heaven.

Whether in the body or out of the body, he does not know, but he'll come back with the answer.

Luke chapter 16, verses 10 through 12.

Luke 16:10–12

Number one, God actually cares about this.

This is, by the way, not about the offering.

It's not about the tithe.

It's just about money in general.

And the Bible talks about it a lot.

And it talks about money a lot because over and over again, and Jesus says this several times, there is a connection between how you handle money and your heart.

And you'll often hear people say things like, well, money is not that important.

Yes, it is.

It's very important.

How could somebody say it's not important?

You spend the vast majority of your life trying to get it.

You're releasing your life's energy, your life force.

You're getting stressed about it.

It's important.

And the Bible doesn't play games.

It recognizes that it's important.

In Proverbs, it says money answers everything.

Yet people who want to be pseudo-spiritual...

Fake spiritual, pretend spiritual.

They think they're so deep.

It's always hilarious to me when somebody doesn't know God from a piece of sheet rock.

And then they want to pretend they're spiritual.

Oh, money isn't important.

Great.

Say that to your landlord.

Say that at the grocery store.

Say that when you didn't want to go to the dentist but went to the dentist and then you get billed.

Well, you know, money isn't important.

Yeah.

And Jesus talked about it a lot.

He talked about heaven and hell a lot too.

He talked about hell twice as much as he did about heaven.

But he talked about money, stewardship, lands, talents.

And not talent like you can juggle balls, paint real nice.

Talent is a unit of measurement for precious metals.

He talked about all that more than heaven and hell combined.

Because he recognized that it's important.

So how you handle money is important.

There was a time in my 20s when I was massively in debt.

You remember that, mom.

Because you saw me getting... You get weird when you're in debt.

There's a lot of shame.

All of a sudden, I can't look you in the eye.

I pretend that I wasn't in debt.

Kind of like that bird, the emu bird that sticks its head in the sand.

You know why it does that?

Because it thinks that if I can't see the wolves trying to eat me, the wolves can't see me.

It actually thinks the enemies... You know the bird?

Yeah, it does that because it thinks... What do you think?

It's getting worms down there?

It sticks its head.

Because...

It believes that if the enemies can't see it, I mean, it can't see its enemies, the enemies can't see it.

That's how people are with debt.

Whenever I have a financial counseling session, it's the first question to ask, how much in debt are you?

Nine out of ten times, the answer is, I don't know.

Oh, I was that way.

Okay.

63K in the hole, spread out.

So you know how irresponsible it was when I tell you how spread out it was.

Over 16 credit cards.

I don't even know if they do that today.

But in the early 2000s, it was just like, get another credit card, roll the debt over, and then rob Peter to pay Paul.

Anyway, the Lord thankfully got me out of that.

I wanted to declare bankruptcy

But then I read in the scriptures, it says a righteous man pays his debt.

I went, oh.

Well, I can't do the unrighteous thing.

Because before it was just like, well, I just declared bankruptcy.

Well, who pays for it?

I don't know.

Who?

Somebody.

Somehow.

They.

Them.

The great cloud of witnesses that I don't know about.

It'll just disappear magically.

A little slap on the wrist for seven years.

I can start the whole process again.

Da-da-da-da-da-da.

Charge.

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.

And he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Therefore, if you have not been faithful, this is Jesus.

Sorry, we can't get it in the red.

But it's him talking.

He's the one bringing up money.

And people go, why in the church they talk about money?

Because Jesus did.

He who hasn't been faithful in unrighteous money, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?

So there is a call to be a good steward of money.

Unfortunately, many Christians are horrible with money.

They just are.

Because too many Christians have some weird Powerball mentality.

They don't want a budget.

They don't want a plan.

I even feel like every time I share my testimony, I almost feel like I shouldn't because some people are like, he got a windfall, maybe I'll get a windfall.

Yeah.

Let me see a lot about that right now.

The Bible is calling you

And by the way, I think we all have this in common.

We all have what's in common with all these 10 points is none of us score an A.

These are areas where we all fall short.

We all, this is not to shame you or condemn you.

This, by the way, you know how I preach?

From my own failures and my own mistakes.

You know, the best way to learn is from other people's mistakes.

That way you don't have to have the pain of having your own.

And blessed for you, you got a pastor who's loaded with them.

Lots and lots of failures and mistakes so that you don't have to.

So God is interested in how you spend money, whether you overspend, what you do with money.

Yes, whether you tithe or not, how generous you are.

You know what?

I found some people, I'm sure you've heard this too.

They're like, go to hand me a 20.

And they're like, for the church.

I'm like, I'm not it.

You give me a 20, I'm buying lunch.

Why are you giving me a 20?

But what they, a lot of, some people think, they think that when they give to the church, they're giving to me.

Where do they get that from?

Maybe they went to some church where the pastor was the storehouse, unscripturally speaking.

I've never used one nickel of the church's money for me.

I get a salary.

That's a salary.

But we don't.

My mom's in that.

We were just reminiscing.

I hugged my mom during worship.

And I said, for 25 years.

Because mom was there on opening day.

For 25 years, we've seen the Lord's goodness and faithfulness.

And him bless our church.

We just reminisced there.

But now it reminds me of right before our first service.

I had gone to Costco.

and and gotten all that church stuff and there was a bunch of bounty towels and i was staying with you and dad and you went to grab one of the bounty towels because you needed bounty towels she went to grab one of the bounty towels from the big cart and i went no she went what i said that's the church's towels and it is she can't use those paper towels those are the church's paper

That's how the staff is.

That's how we run the ministry.

We have, and you know why?

Because I'm so holy.

No.

No.

No, really.

Because I'm not stupid.

All right?

How do I believe God for prosperity?

How do I believe God for financial breakthrough, for his abundance, and then be a crook and a thief?

Hello?

Hello?

This is like too close to home for some people.

Because the little voice is now going, that's a good point.

So how do I rob God?

By withholding.

Yeah.

Error 404.

Does not compute.

Does not compute.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Lord.

Thank you.

Number two.

This is important.

Remember, we're going to the dentist.

Who likes going to the dentist?

How you speak.

This is important.

Do you know, I shared with this guy who ministered at my Bible school, knew Elvis Presley.

Back in the day, old stuff.

And he said, Elvis Presley, everybody knows, died at the age of 42.

But what most people don't know is that throughout his 30s, over and over and over again, he said, I'll never live past 40.

I can't do the accent, you know.

I'll never live past...

No, no, no, 42.

Not a day passed.

42.

He said it.

The word was, he said it thousands of times, and he got what he said.

Jesus said, whatsoever things you desire, he said, you will have...

What you say, you will have what you say.

This earth, the sun, the moon, the stars were created and framed with the words out of God's mouth.

God created things with words and you were made in God's image, in the similitude of God.

And he put creative power and authority in your mouth and on your tongue.

And yes, your words matter.

Your words matter.

That's why in our house we watch what we say, right?

Sometimes you get frustrated and you say poopy things about yourself.

Poopy, poopy, me, poopy.

And we go, no.

You don't want poopy.

You keep saying poopy things.

Your life will be like that Back to the Future scene where you go into the trailer of horse manure.

You get poopy all over you.

Why are you acting like you can't relate to this?

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

And those that love it will eat the fruit thereof.

So if you love that fact that death and life are in the power of your tongue, you're not going to keep cursing yourself.

You're going to speak life over yourself.

You're going to speak life over others.

I would love to hook up electric shock to myself, include all of us.

Whenever we curse ourselves, and cursing yourself is when you speak death over any area of your life, and then you just get like a lab rat.

I wonder what we'd come back looking like the next week.

Who would still have nice hair?

Some people will come back looking like buckwheat.

All right, that got your attention.

All right, thank you.

You got saved with the words of your mouth.

Whoever confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead shall be saved.

So what are you saying?

What are you speaking?

And then you also got to be honest.

Hey, how about this?

You got to keep your word.

Christians should be known for keeping their word.

Because if you can't believe your word when you say, hey, I'll meet you at three, or I'll do X, Y, Z for you.

If you can't believe that when you say it and you start to distress your own self, how will you believe it when you say be healed in Jesus name?

Or when you say money, come.

Yeah.

You can command money.

Yeah.

When I say be blessed, I'm commanding with the words of my mouth a blessing.

When I was 63K in the hole, spread across 16 credit cards, I spoke when I was broke.

Poetry by accident.

When I was broke, I spoke.

And I said...

I'm out of debt.

My needs are met.

I got plenty more to put in store.

I'm out of debt.

My needs are met.

And I got plenty more to put in store.

And look at the credit card bills.

There were many.

That was before paperless was almost mandatory.

So I'd get them all.

I could wallpaper the whole place with them.

I spoke life.

And when you continually do that and you actually have integrity, what is integrity?

That means what you say and what you do aligns.

They're one.

Hallelujah.

Hey, next week, I'm not going to challenge you at all.

In fact, I'll give you the sermon title, Feel Good Sermon.

That's just the title.

Feel Good Sermon is for next Sunday.

But this Sunday, we all got to have a Holy Ghost root canal.

So glad you could join us.

So glad you're here.

I love you.

You know, 25 years ago, my mom was the loudest one laughing.

And here we are 25 years later.

You're still the loudest one laughing.

That's a mama for you.

Nothing like a mama's love.

She's in the front row.

Ah!

Right?

Victor, no, that's how your mom is with you.

Just, right?

It's awesome.

Number three, how you treat, this is important, how you treat, I'm telling you, I didn't just come up with this list.

This is stuff that I found that God actually likes, that he pays attention to, that shows we're good stewards.

And it's not like...

It's not like our behavior then gets rewarded by God.

It's that when we yield to the Holy Spirit, we are aligning ourselves with him and his ways.

And then the blessings, we're not purchasing blessings.

The blessings are there, purchased by the blood of Jesus.

But this allows them to flow towards us.

And how you treat people who can't benefit you.

For example, everybody should have a friend who's goofy and unpopular.

You know?

You know in the 80s, there was always that, like the girl, and she had the thick glasses, and the weird braces, and the funky cardigan, but then like she gets her braces taken off, and then there's that scene where she takes off her glasses and does this with her hair, and it's like...

Right?

Yeah, you got to find that friend before she does the thing with her hair and gets her braces removed.

Then there's the guy, he's got the pocket protector full of pens, also the thick glasses, buck teeth.

No, really.

Everybody wants dope friends.

Everybody wants cool friends that are going to lift them up.

And all you end up having is a relationship.

They're not friends.

They're like mutually exploitative colleague relationships.

Find people who can't benefit you and be good to them.

Be nice to them.

Actually get them things.

Buy them a gift.

Find somebody in your life and just buy them something and have Amazon send it to them anonymously.

God likes this stuff.

Jeez, man, I just feel like I'm hitting that spirit, that nasty, wasty, taking spirit.

That's what people often, I was that way.

You got to have that thing broken over your life.

Where you're seeking and looking to bless.

Seek and look to relieve suffering.

Hallelujah.

You know, we're going to find out about that girl.

But I felt the anointing.

And what I was going to share was the moment I felt that anointing, I took out $100.

And I walked over.

And as I walked closer, Katie, we got to get to the bottom of this, wherever you are.

But as I got closer, I heard her voice.

Now, maybe she's like, you know, what a beautiful name.

And the other speakers are, this was in Penn Station.

We come out of the subway, and there's this little girl, little, I just mean, like 90 pounds soaking wet.

And she's singing, and we feel the anointing.

And the first thing I said was, I feel when there's the anointing, you got to give.

Now, she could do nothing for me.

And I didn't go.

I walked by, I bowed, nodded my head, put it in, kept walking.

And as I did that, more anointing on me.

And she, who was my wife, 30 feet away, she said, whoa, she felt it too.

And then we reminisced how before we experienced the deluge of a major financial breakthrough, there were two girls, it was actually John Arnott, he sent, they were from Argentina or somewhere, they were like students passing through.

And I don't say this to boast, to brag, but just to share our lives for things that worked.

This was back in the day where at any given time we had $1,500, maximum $2,000 in our bank account.

That's just how we lived.

And they came, and we saw they could barely speak English, but they were on fire.

And they were passing through New York, and the Lord spoke, which back then was huge.

He said, give each one of them $500.

And this is what the Lord said.

What would a king do?

I'm no king, Lord.

When are you going to give me kingly stuff?

And then I'll act like a king.

What would a king do?

Give him 500 each.

That was huge.

And no, I didn't take from the tithe.

I didn't take from the offering.

We're still going to give our tithe.

We're still going to give the offering.

And we gave five.

When we gave it to them, we didn't even get a thank you.

Only because I think they couldn't comprehend what was happening.

They were like, are you trying to hire me?

Wash your car?

Is this weird?

Just like, here you go, enjoy.

If you haven't gotten that expression yet, I know from that person who laughed, they have.

They know what I'm talking about.

You need to give more because you want to get to the most people don't know how to receive.

This is a taker's world and everybody's just a taker.

Well, you got to react in the opposite spirit.

You want God things?

Quit acting like the world.

Quit doing worldly things and expecting God results.

To overcome a spirit, you respond in the opposite spirit.

And more and more in this world, I'm telling you, the plan is to eliminate the middle class, have a very, very small elite, and a permanent underclass.

I have no plans on being in that permanent underclass.

I'm making positions right now to be up top, and I'm doing it, I'm making a living by my giving.

Please don't come to me five, ten years from now and go, why didn't you tell me?

Because I did all the time.

And you stared me down like this with doubt and unbelief.

Okay.

Hallelujah.

So how you treat people who can't benefit you?

Huge.

Hallelujah.

There was a fella a long, long time ago, definitely not here.

And he really, really needed friends.

So I started naming some people.

I only share this because this is how a lot of people think.

Hey, why don't you be friends with this person?

And he essentially said, well, they're kind of hokey.

They're not cool enough.

And I was like, bro.

You know.

Right now, you're not like a shining star.

I want to help you get there, but...

You know, every four and five wants a ten.

Like, why don't you find your four and a five?

Find a two and a three and just give to them and love on them.

And if you're a two and a three, find that one.

Put a bag over them and give to them.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

I mean, that's what Catherine did.

Right now, I'm just joking.

Just playing.

Hallelujah.

All right, number four.

How you use your time.

Oh, I just kissed your finger, man.

You wash your hands after the bath.

No, you're very clean.

That's right, okay.

Because I'm going to kiss your finger, and that's so awkward.

So, hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

One more.

Hallelujah.

How you use your time.

See then that you walk circumspectly.

Not to be confused with circumcision.

Circumspectly.

Which means you're looking around.

Hallelujah.

You're looking around.

Circumspectly.

Right?

You know what the opposite of circumspectly is, is that emu bird with its head in the sand.

Mom, go on AI right now and find out what kind of bird it is.

Please.

It is?

No.

Give me that back.

I need it.

Whoa.

All right.

You're paying attention.

You haven't fallen asleep.

And you realize that if you just took out half an hour, it would make you 1% better a day.

Come on, somebody.

If you took out half an hour and you weren't scrolling or some kind of time-wasting activity, you could actually use it to benefit yourself, to build yourself up,

Most people greatly overestimate what they can accomplish in a month, and they greatly underestimate what they can accomplish in a year.

Here's number five, really important, how you respond to correction.

Vivian, may I use you as an example, since you're messing with me so much this morning?

You don't have to come up, but I'm just saying, can I use something that we go through as an example?

Thank you.

I did it in the first service without your permission, so it doesn't matter anyway.

See, Vivian's eight years old now, right?

And which means several things.

She's developing, her mind is developing.

It also means that the ego is developing.

And your ego is not your amigo.

Your ego is where the pride comes from, defensiveness.

So she's just learning how to balance these things.

So we go bicycling every morning.

And sometimes I have to just correct certain things.

Like she'll have her bicycle helmet in the beginning.

She'll have it on.

And when it's time to take it off, if it's time to just tear it off.

Well, you can't just tear it off.

You've got to do the little click thing.

If you just tear it off, you're going to stretch that thing out, then it won't fit right the next time, right?

Right.

So I said, hey, you've got to click the thing off.

And she'll go, I know.

And I'll go, well, no, you don't know.

Because we're doing this for the very first time.

And you didn't know.

What do you mean you know?

You didn't know.

That's why I have to tell you.

Now you know.

That honest laugh.

You're the best.

Right?

That's all cute and fine and normal when you're eight.

Right?

Some adults are still like that, completely unteachable.

They're like walking wounds, never dealt with their ego, so they can't take correction from anybody.

They're like that Kanye West song, Nuh-uh, you can't tell me nothing.

And that's like the theme song to their life.

They won't receive correction from a book, a sermon.

They already don't like me because it was just from the beginning.

Oh, this guy's going to correct me?

And they found something wrong with me.

It has nothing to do with me.

It has everything to do with them.

Because I brought the word of God that's sharper than any two-edged sword that's correcting them.

And they can't stand to be corrected.

Because they're a slave to their ego.

By the way, people who have this problem.

They cannot separate.

The problem issue from their own identity.

Like a mature person says, oh, the problem issue is how I remove the bicycle helmet.

That's separate from who I am as a person.

Two total...

But somebody who's a man child or a woman child, someone who hasn't fully developed and grown, to them it's all the same thing.

That's why you correct them about, hey, don't put the towel there, put it there.

What do you mean?

I'll put that towel anywhere I want!

Hey, it's not that deep.

I was just telling you.

You know what I'm talking about.

It can't be just us and my daughter who knows what I'm talking about.

The demoniac in the Bible.

Legion.

Legion.

Jesus commands the devils to leave.

And do you know what the first sign of demonic deliverance was?

It says that this now delivered man was sitting down.

Sitting down is the posture of a disciple and a student.

That means he submitted and teachable, whereas before he was completely rebellious and unteachable.

There's doctors who will say, one of the biggest gauges of mental health, overall mental health, is how defensive you are.

You know when the Bible says love is not touchy?

What it means is love is not like an open sore.

An open sore.

Nasty thing.

Puss.

You can't even touch it.

I'm touchy.

I'm fretful.

That's how some people are.

They can't hear anything.

And you need to take a long look at the man in the mirror.

Can I get that?

Let me get that.

I got that, and I got to have the hat.

Give me that MJ hat.

I'm looking at the man in the mirror.

I'm telling him, I got to make a change.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Number six.

What you do when no one is watching.

A lot of the stuff I share, some of it, it's old stories because the Lord wouldn't let me share it for 10 plus years.

In fact, I tell the story now of when I was 17 and in the hotel room and I was in the Lord's hand.

Probably my greatest vision of the Lord.

It was a supernatural experience that marked me for life.

I was not allowed to share that.

That happened in 1993.

I was not allowed to share that until 2003 and beyond, the year after City Light started.

I remember.

I would even think about it.

And I mean, not from the pulpit.

No human being.

I couldn't share it.

A lot of stuff we lose because we blab about it.

You know what Jesus' most famous line is over and over and over and over and over again after miracles is, Don't tell nobody.

Except he used proper grammar.

See that you tell no one.

Don't tell anybody.

And really preachers are the first ones to mess that up.

Because as soon as something happens, testify.

Yeah, maybe they're not supposed to just yet.

Some things are holy.

Some things the Lord doesn't want spoken.

Until later, if ever.

It's like Jesus never said, but he did.

Don't tell others.

And when you do good things, if you tell others, then you have your reward.

Your reward is them knowing.

Like, were you around when there was that homeless guy in the Tompkins Square Park?

No, there's a lot of homeless guys, but specifically the one I took in and I took to your apartment.

No, but you know this story.

I told you several years later.

Like a decade later.

Okay.

So he hadn't bathed in months.

He had dreadlocks and he was white.

That speaks to how filthy his hair is.

I wanted to bathe him and then I realized there is no bathing.

It was like tubes of concrete.

So I took him from Tompkins Square Park.

It was back when my mom worked.

Dad worked.

This was like teenager stuff.

I'm 27, 28.

I took him in.

I took him to Parky Towers, to the 22nd floor.

Buzzed off all his hair.

Because there was no shampoo.

Then I got him in the shower.

I disinfected Mom.

I disinfected the whole show.

And then I took him to the Gap.

Actually, we did that before.

I got him all these clothes.

Now...

Have you ever heard me share that story before?

No.

That happened in 2003, 2004.

Today, if somebody did that, it wouldn't just be on social media.

It would be like a whole series.

Like no good deed should go unrecorded and unadvertised.

Any good thing that we do, we got to let others know about it.

And we really helped that young man.

But there's stuff that we've done you have no clue about.

I actually only share stuff that I feel released from the Lord.

And that the Lord says, all right, this will encourage them or inspire them.

But there's tons.

Make sure there's tons of good that you do that nobody knows about.

Amen.

By the way, when you give to City Light, you never ever get the phone call from me.

Hey, thank you so much.

Really appreciate you.

Really just know, you know, you're different than the rest.

You're one of those special pillar type members.

You're never going to get it.

Some people need that.

They're wired for that.

They want their name and the lobby and stuff.

This is a faith thing.

If you're truly giving to God, you know he knows.

Nobody gives me a call.

I gave $2.1 million.

Nobody gave me a that-a-boy.

I don't need one.

My that-a-boys, my pats on the back, they come from God.

Okay, this is a good time to say amen.

All right, hallelujah, amen.

Because I know that my Father who sees in secret will himself reward me openly.

I'm living it right now.

I'm demonstrating it right now.

Hallelujah.

Number seven.

Yeah, this message has all the excitement of a dental visit for sure.

Oh, if you didn't like it so far, you're going to love point number seven.

This.

How you manage sexual purity.

Why lately do songs?

I know it's really corny, but it's like songs.

Whenever I say something, like I hear songs, especially from the 80s and 90s.

Like, you know that old song, let's talk about sex, baby.

Let's talk about, like, I just heard that.

I should probably keep that to myself.

Unless it's a new prophetic thing the Lord is working out.

And then we can get some tracks and I can lip sync to those songs.

And the Lord will work.

Kate, can you help make that happen?

1 Corinthians 6, 16 to 18.

This is important stuff.

It's important stuff, by the way, because, well, we live in a time, and this has been happening slowly.

They've been cooking us like frogs.

One degree a month until we're boiling.

The message is that sex is simply physical.

That's really the root of all the weirdness and perversion.

It's just physical.

When people absolutely used to understand that, no, it's powerful and it's spiritual.

It has long-lasting effects and consequences.

It's not a handshake.

It's not a side hug.

There's actually a transfer.

There's actually an energy release.

Yeah.

So Paul says...

Do you not know, oh by the way, this is writing to the Corinthians.

Corinth, if you can believe it, was worse than New York City today.

See, my son, look it all cool in the front row, is fond of calling me an unk.

And he often tells me, dad, dad, dad, things were different in your day, like I'm from the 17th century.

Right?

Things were different in your day.

Things are different now.

And people think that about Christianity.

They'll think, oh, it was different back then, or it's different now.

Surely the Bible-disantiquated book wouldn't have the same boundaries and lines as it did back then.

Because, of course, no one knew what sin was in the past, right?

Come on.

Corinth was awful.

It was New York City times 10.

It was a major metropolitan urban center in the pagan world.

You talk about New York City.

I mean, at least we don't have temples with prostitutes.

They were called temple prostitutes.

They were part of the whole thing.

With 20 temple prostitutes outside of a pagan temple.

I mean, we got Tinder that's very similar.

But we didn't have the physical structures.

I'm wasting good jokes today.

What's going on?

That was funny.

And Paul says, do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her?

So he says, you're joined to a hoe, which is the modern word for harlot, which I just felt like saying, because you seem asleep.

And you're teaching me that there's nothing I can say that will shock you awake.

How did we get here?

So if you're joined to a hoe, you're one body with her.

For the two, he says, shall become one flesh.

Why?

Because there's a transfer.

See, this is important because I've counseled people.

Especially in the East Village, when we just had the East Village location, everybody was in their 20s, and all of a sudden, this normally emotionally healthy person, like, you know, I got all this anxiety.

Where's all this anxiety come from?

Oh, you were sleeping with that person.

They battled with anxiety.

And they battled with depression.

And now magically and mystically, you're dealing with the same thing.

Hmm, how could these things be?

Yeah, because the passengers aboard their train, you two united.

Now, those passengers came aboard your train.

And you're scratching your head wondering why you're dealing with these things, why your emotions are all over the place.

Various reasons.

One, you're out of bounds.

You're out of bounds.

This is not God's, this is a gentle way.

This is not God's best for you.

What a euphemism.

This is not God's best for you.

Yeah, you just like open the door and the windows and say, well, come on in.

Look, I got some hors d'oeuvres for you.

Pitcher of lemonade.

Come on in, Satan.

Even scientists today are saying when you come together sexually, oxytocin is released.

Oxytocin is the pair-bonding chemical.

It's what connects you.

I'm about to go Tiger Dad on that.

You have dishonored me and your ancestors.

Scientists are saying oxytocin is the pair bonding chemical.

And so what's happening today is when people are having so much uncommitted sex without covenant, without each time, each successive time less oxytocin is released

And I know the way our whole society is set up is messed up because the economics are broken, because the fiat money system is broken, and people have to marry way later in life, and they make mistakes before then.

Yes, the Lord will forgive you, and the Lord can cleanse you.

I believe all that.

I've experienced all that.

The Lord can make you really emotionally and spiritually and even biochemically, I believe, a virgin again.

All that stays.

But you can't be reckless.

And the reason why now people get together and at the first sign of trouble, they're bouncing out, they want a divorce, is because nobody has any more oxytocin to release.

They've already wasted it.

Every time you come together, I'm saying come together, I'm trying to be nice.

Every time you have sex, it's like taking a petal off of the flower.

And eventually there's no more petals, your freaking stem.

Right?

What do you have to offer now?

You need to fall on your face, repent, and say, Lord, bring the petals back, and he'll do it.

But then quit giving away your petals for free.

Go to ring or fling.

They're going to be much nicer and much gentler.

They have something prepared, but that's just the uncut version.

All right, you know what?

I have other points, but you cannot bear them now.

Let's receive communion.

That's a great lesson to learn from preaching.

Know when to quit.

Thank you, Jesus.

Hallelujah.

Do we have a Joseph in the house today?

Yeah.

All right.

They said no rain.

That was nowhere.

And then the rain came.

That old devil.

Hallelujah.

Guys, get your heart ready.

Worship team.

Yeah.

So we're going to just receive the communion elements and just hang on to them and truly expect to receive something when you partake of communion.

Nothing, once again, nothing that I shared is to be received with condemnation, but with holy conviction.

And you're not the one who changes you, but the Holy Spirit changes you.

We're decluttering.

We're unclogging.

We're clearing the runway so the Lord can do what he wants to do, which is bless us.

Hallelujah.

Thank you, Jesus.

Do you guys have communion?

When you receive communion, let the power of God go in you.

Look at this piece of matzah.

Take a good look at it.

This is what Jesus had.

This is what they would have eaten on Passover night.

Do you see any holes?

If you don't, hold it up to the light.

And you'll see little holes.

That's prophetic.

The gospel is in there.

Do you see the burn marks?

Do you see the stripes?

Jesus said, take heed, this is my body.

This has always been unleavened bread.

You know where we get, this is Jewish matzah.

We don't get the little wafers that changed over time.

This is what he would have had.

And it's Jesus pierced for your transgressions, striped, whipped because by his stripes you were healed, and burnt because the fire of God's wrath rested upon him instead of you and I.

This is a physical reminder of what he did for us on the cross.

And believe that when you partake of it, remember this is not religion and it's not merely symbolic.

Paul said many of you fall asleep in death prematurely.

Many of you are dying too young because you don't understand what communion is.

You're taking it in an unworthy manner.

It means you don't really get what's in here.

So you just eat it, you're like having a cookie.

And you're drinking some Welch's.

So you don't get the benefits of communion when you don't understand the power of communion.

So here's what I believe every time I receive communion.

I believe all of the benefits of the cross come upon me and my family.

And the benefits of the cross are fivefold.

You ready?

They're spiritual.

They're soulical for your soul area.

And they're physical.

Spiritual, soulical, physical, and social and financial.

Any problem you have will touch one of those five things.

There's nothing you'll encounter that it won't touch one of those five things.

And Jesus suffered in every one of those five things so that you could be blessed in each of those five things.

And that's what I believe, according to the Word of God, you get to receive when you partake of communion.

Are you ready?

Thank you, Jesus, for your broken body.

Partake of the body of Jesus.

And your precious blood shed for us.

In Jesus' name, partake of the blood of Christ.

Shout a big hallelujah.

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 Jancic 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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