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Why is the gospel so offensive?

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It's offensive because it shows you up.

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The gospel is offensive because it's a loud and giant declaration, you're not all that.

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You need saving.

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And you are helpless and powerless to save yourself.

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You can give God nothing.

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You can't contribute anything to his already finished work.

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Welcome to the City Light Church podcast.

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Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that He has for us.

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If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at CityLightNYC.com.

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That's CityLightNYC.com.

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

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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.

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Speaking of experiences.

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Because baptism is an experience.

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And Jesus encountered the Holy Spirit at his baptism.

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Speaking of experiences, during worship, I was just thinking, everything in our economy is based on an experience.

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Like right now, I really want to sell my current car and buy the new Tesla Roadster.

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Because it will give me a unique experience, you know?

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You never know when you might want to go up some walls and hit those thrusters.

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I checked out the website.

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They want a $500,000 deposit.

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I might just delay that a little bit.

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But you know, they're selling an experience.

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You'll go to Disney World, spend thousands of dollars for what?

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An experience.

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Even when they advertise food, you know, they always zoom in on the person's face.

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Their eyes are like rolling in the back of their head.

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They're selling an experience.

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Why?

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Because we want experiences.

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As a child, I wanted to have an experience with the supernatural.

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I was introduced, not heavily, but the door was open from the culture I came from and what was happening in America in the 80s.

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I was introduced to the New Age movement, which is occultic and witchcrafty.

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But I sensed something.

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It wasn't good, I later realized.

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But I sensed something that was more than this physical and natural that I could touch.

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And I liked it.

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All of a sudden, I had a hunger for the supernatural.

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Supernatural.

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Super means above.

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Something above the natural.

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Something otherworldly.

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And then when I was 16 years old, in Forest Hills High School, in 10th grade, my friend, Elena Chan, she got radically saved.

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And her eyes looked different.

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Her countenance was different.

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I remember in class, she looked over her shoulder, and I saw her eyes.

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They looked like two pieces of coal glowing.

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I knew she was talking about some church thing.

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She was Chinese and she wasn't Buddhist.

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She was just kind of like nothing.

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So she...

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I just knew she was nothing.

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And some people were talking to her about church.

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And I saw her look totally different.

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And in the hallway, I said, Elena, what happened to you?

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And she said, I got baptized last night.

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And look what I can do.

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She started speaking in tongues in the hallway.

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In Forest Hills High School.

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And when she did that, I felt something.

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And I knew she had an experience.

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She looked like she had an experience.

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She talked like she had an experience.

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And she invited me to church, and I went to that church, and that's how I radically got saved.

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And I had an experience of my own.

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I encountered the Holy Spirit.

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Experiences are necessary.

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There's a value to experiences.

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A man with a theory is never at the mercy of a man with an experience.

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I meet people all the time.

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It's really funny when you're a pastor because you meet people and they always think they're the first one telling you something.

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And you're like, oh, I heard this a thousand times before.

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And they think they're going to like make your whole faith fall apart with some statement they saw a meme about three years ago.

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They're like, huh?

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How about?

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Well, Cain killed Abel, right?

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And then Cain got married, right?

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Where did Cain's wife come from?

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Oh, my God.

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I never considered that.

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Everything is falling apart.

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My whole life has been a lie.

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Where does Cain's wife come from?

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You know, where does she come from?

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The answer is there were others.

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But anyway, that's a whole other sermon.

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But I'm not threatened because I've had too many experiences.

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They got a theory.

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They got a philosophy.

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But I had experiences.

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You can't take that away.

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And God wants every single one of you to have an experience.

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You look throughout the scriptures.

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Hundreds of God's people.

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They have one thing in common.

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They had an experience.

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Abram.

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Turning into Abraham.

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He had an experience with God.

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Jacob.

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Wrestled with the angel of the Lord who was the Lord himself.

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He had an experience with God.

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Moses had an experience.

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Joshua had an experience.

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Gideon, before he did anything, he had an experience.

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Paul had an experience.

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The disciples had an experience.

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Even Jesus, who's our ultimate example, he didn't do any mighty work until he had an experience in the waters of baptism.

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Came up out of the water, and the Holy Spirit came upon him.

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The anointing came upon him.

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He experienced the presence and power of the Lord.

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I know this is a little trippy because he's God.

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But he laid his divinity down.

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It's a paradox.

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If anyone can explain it to you perfectly, they're off.

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Because it's kind of like trying to think about the universe too long.

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Your mind just starts to go on tilt.

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But he did.

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He laid his divinity down.

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So when he performed miracles, he didn't do it as God Almighty.

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He did it as a human anointed by the Holy Spirit.

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And he wasn't anointed by the Holy Spirit until his baptism where he had an experience.

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So God wants you to have an experience.

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And last week I started ministering on this.

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I noticed first service was difficult.

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First service was plowing.

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I mean, I've been to the Arctic, by the way.

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In 2002, I did a six-village tour of the Arctic.

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But still, I would say, there is no colder place in the world than any first Sunday service in most churches in America.

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Even churches that are full gospel and flow in the Holy Ghost, people just come in all.

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So it was different second service.

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But also, the anointing builds.

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The anointing compounds.

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So second service was juicier than the first service.

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If we had a third service, it would have been juicier than the second service.

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Whoa, if we had a fourth, you see where I'm going with this.

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The anointing builds, the anointing compounds.

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And I saw the Lord beginning to do things, and I really want to just really embrace what he's doing, because we cannot, we must protect the anointing at all costs.

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We must protect the move of the Holy Spirit at all costs, because God forbid that we become a dead, dry, frontal, low-bearing church.

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And there are a lot, I don't say this from an elitist standpoint, but,

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When I say there are a lot, you know, I don't want it to be like I'm on the mountain going, oh, there are a lot down there.

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You know that meme of the aristocrats that are peering over the balcony, smugly looking down?

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That's not my posture, I promise you.

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But there are a lot.

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How do I know?

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Because I talk to them all the time.

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I meet them.

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A lot of Christians who are frontal lobeian.

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the area of your brain that's for analysis.

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And that's how they relate to God, with their brain.

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But he's the Holy Spirit, not the holy brain.

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So you will not comprehend him with your unholy brain, with your analysis, with your logic.

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You will not understand him.

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It's a spirit to spirit relationship.

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And in order to have that relationship, when you start to engage the Holy Spirit, you're going to experience him.

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So I'm grateful for my experiences.

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I know for a fact I would not be here had I not, and continually experience.

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And when I say, you know, I give these examples from the past because...

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They're so dramatic, and that's how I was formed as a disciple, and that's how I entered into Christianity.

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But if I go one week without experiencing, you're going to see a very sad bow.

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Very, very, my face starts to look like a horse.

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Very long.

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Just, I'm grumpy, I'm cranky.

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Two weeks, I'm a flesh monster.

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You're like, good morning, what do you want?

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I need that oil.

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Otherwise I get all creaky and squeaky.

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If you don't believe me, ask my wife.

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She'll tell you.

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Hallelujah.

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Gotta have fresh encounters with the Lord.

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Hallelujah.

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I want to read this to you from 2 Corinthians chapter 12.

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Paul just talking about the Christian life.

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And I just love how he words this as he begins 2 Corinthians 12.

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We're just going to read this one verse.

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It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast.

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I will come.

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I will discuss.

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I will come.

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That's what it means.

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I'm going to talk to you about visions and revelations of the Lord.

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Because he had encounters.

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And he begins to describe this encounter.

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In fact, can we read the rest?

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I just want you to receive that phrase.

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Visions and revelations of the Lord.

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How many of you want visions and revelations of the Lord?

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I want that.

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I want greater visions and revelations.

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I want to know him.

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That's what first excited me about Christianity.

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Was this notion that I could know God.

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Because I always felt, even though I wasn't saved, I bet a lot of you are like this way too.

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From being a small child, I had some kind of desire for God.

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But I didn't know who he was, what he was.

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It was always misplaced, but I had a sense there is a God in heaven.

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There is a creator.

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There is a supreme being.

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If it's possible, I would like to know him.

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But I didn't know.

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I didn't know I could know him until I heard about the invitation that I can know God through Jesus Christ.

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thrilled me.

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I can have him as a friend, have him as a father, talk to him, experience him.

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I can have him fill me, fill my life.

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I could see his effects in my life.

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I can then have a well-lived, victorious life because he's flowing through me.

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I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, he's talking about himself, by the way.

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Whether in the body I do not know or whether out of the body I do not know.

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That means when the ushers caught him, he didn't even know whether he was in his body or having an out-of-body experience.

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He doesn't really care.

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He just knows he had a God encounter.

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God knows.

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God knows.

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That's what I'm saying.

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Who cares?

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God knows.

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That's all that's important.

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Such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

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The third heaven is what we just call heaven, the abode of God.

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He specifically says third heaven.

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Because the Hebrews had a term, the first heaven was the sky, the stratosphere.

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The second heaven was the cosmos.

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The third heaven is the abode of God.

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And I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows, how he was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which is not lawful for a man to utter.

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Amen.

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Of such a one I will boast, yet of myself I will not boast except in my weaknesses.

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For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will speak the truth.

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But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.

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Here's just what I want you to see, that the Apostle Paul had this phenomenal encounter.

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Yet many of them, he's just talking about one right here.

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We don't know which one he's talking about.

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People say, oh, that's the one where he got saved.

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That's the one where he got the revelation of grace.

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Who knows?

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It could have been last Tuesday for him.

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Well, actually, it says 14 years ago.

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But he had these encounters on the regular.

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He was refreshed in the Holy Spirit.

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We know that, because being refreshed and filled with the Holy Spirit is a continuous thing.

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Hallelujah.

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Hallelujah.

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The purpose, so I can just say it like explicitly, the purpose of this meeting is to move you further along in encountering God.

245
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Hallelujah.

246
00:13:31.697 --> 00:13:33.677
Some of you know what it's like to experience him.

247
00:13:34.417 --> 00:13:36.698
Some of you experienced him on the way to church this morning.

248
00:13:37.278 --> 00:13:39.098
For some of you who know, it's been a while.

249
00:13:39.798 --> 00:13:42.039
Others, you don't even know what's available.

250
00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:46.400
You've had that frontal lobe in Christianity.

251
00:13:47.920 --> 00:13:51.340
You're trying to relate to him based only on the written word.

252
00:13:53.681 --> 00:13:55.061
I'm not knocking the written word.

253
00:13:55.101 --> 00:13:56.521
Thank God for his written word.

254
00:13:58.382 --> 00:13:59.862
The written word takes precedence.

255
00:14:01.006 --> 00:14:02.226
I acknowledge the written word.

256
00:14:03.587 --> 00:14:06.348
But the written word is not all we have.

257
00:14:07.928 --> 00:14:09.789
All word, you dry up.

258
00:14:11.149 --> 00:14:13.090
All spirit, you blow up.

259
00:14:14.030 --> 00:14:16.431
You put the two together, and you grow up.

260
00:14:17.491 --> 00:14:19.512
And when there's church on Sundays, you'll show up.

261
00:14:20.692 --> 00:14:22.553
When the rapture takes place, you'll go up.

262
00:14:25.214 --> 00:14:27.534
Tithes and offerings are taken up, you'll pay up.

263
00:14:28.695 --> 00:14:29.455
Hallelujah.

264
00:14:31.760 --> 00:14:34.702
But the Holy Spirit is wine, the word is bread.

265
00:14:35.323 --> 00:14:37.104
And they go really well together.

266
00:14:38.785 --> 00:14:39.546
Hallelujah.

267
00:14:45.290 --> 00:14:46.891
I want to show you something from Matthew.

268
00:14:50.234 --> 00:14:53.636
Matthew chapter 5, verses 33 to 37.

269
00:14:53.676 --> 00:14:53.956
Verse 37.

270
00:14:55.833 --> 00:15:00.677
I want to talk to people who have labeled themselves difficult to receive.

271
00:15:00.697 --> 00:15:03.739
Because Satan wants to keep you from experiencing God.

272
00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:06.001
He wants to keep you a stranger to the anointing.

273
00:15:06.801 --> 00:15:08.442
A stranger to the Holy Spirit.

274
00:15:10.044 --> 00:15:11.925
Because then you have a powerless Christianity.

275
00:15:14.387 --> 00:15:16.869
Really get to be good friends with the Holy Spirit.

276
00:15:18.710 --> 00:15:20.151
Study who the Holy Spirit is.

277
00:15:20.491 --> 00:15:21.632
Hint, he's God.

278
00:15:22.493 --> 00:15:25.135
He's often called the third member of the Godhead.

279
00:15:27.622 --> 00:15:29.982
The Bible doesn't call him the third member of the Godhead.

280
00:15:30.042 --> 00:15:37.484
But theologians, he's the third, which I never really liked because it almost puts him like he's in third place in prominence or importance.

281
00:15:38.544 --> 00:15:40.044
Like the Father's really important.

282
00:15:40.784 --> 00:15:41.985
Jesus, you can't knock him.

283
00:15:42.025 --> 00:15:44.545
But the Holy Spirit, well, he's the third.

284
00:15:45.225 --> 00:15:46.405
He's got the bronze medal.

285
00:15:47.125 --> 00:15:48.266
The Father's got the gold.

286
00:15:49.026 --> 00:15:50.646
Jesus smiling next to him with his silver.

287
00:15:50.946 --> 00:15:51.886
They're one God.

288
00:15:53.346 --> 00:15:55.727
They're one God manifested in three persons,

289
00:15:56.701 --> 00:16:02.523
And the Holy Spirit is just as much God as the Father is God, and the Holy Spirit is just as much God as the Son is God.

290
00:16:03.163 --> 00:16:06.524
And for whatever reason, people keep the Holy Ghost at arm's length.

291
00:16:07.744 --> 00:16:11.205
He's weird, he's spooky, he's different, they feel he's unknowable.

292
00:16:11.705 --> 00:16:12.725
You can know him.

293
00:16:13.185 --> 00:16:13.806
What's he like?

294
00:16:13.826 --> 00:16:14.826
You want to know what he's like?

295
00:16:15.366 --> 00:16:17.046
He's exactly like Jesus.

296
00:16:18.127 --> 00:16:18.687
You know why?

297
00:16:18.707 --> 00:16:22.128
Because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.

298
00:16:25.034 --> 00:16:28.316
Jesus is so wonderful, so loving, so gentle, so kind.

299
00:16:28.736 --> 00:16:30.197
That's how the Holy Spirit is.

300
00:16:32.538 --> 00:16:33.999
And he's worth knowing.

301
00:16:34.939 --> 00:16:44.604
I once heard this, and I believe it's true, it's sad, but true, that if the Holy Spirit were to leave the church, 80 plus percent of the churches would just continue on as usual.

302
00:16:46.545 --> 00:16:49.586
In other words, they're not relying on the Holy Spirit.

303
00:16:50.227 --> 00:16:52.208
And they would just continue on with their programs,

304
00:16:53.479 --> 00:16:56.140
with their incestuous, bless me clubs.

305
00:16:57.141 --> 00:17:02.923
By incestuous, I just mean it's always the same 12 people nobody ever knew comes in and just keep their little tight group.

306
00:17:04.944 --> 00:17:05.364
Weird.

307
00:17:07.165 --> 00:17:11.247
If the Holy Spirit left, we'd be shut down within 24 hours, if we even make it that far.

308
00:17:13.388 --> 00:17:14.128
We need him.

309
00:17:14.528 --> 00:17:15.609
We're sustained by him.

310
00:17:18.890 --> 00:17:19.651
Hallelujah.

311
00:17:20.911 --> 00:17:22.312
So you get to decide that.

312
00:17:23.989 --> 00:17:26.230
how much you want to get to know the Holy Ghost.

313
00:17:28.752 --> 00:17:31.694
And it takes you letting go and being a little brave.

314
00:17:34.296 --> 00:17:38.479
Because the one who will teach you how to get to know the Holy Spirit, you ready for this?

315
00:17:39.179 --> 00:17:41.861
It's the Holy Spirit.

316
00:17:41.921 --> 00:17:46.904
You can pick up some notes, hopefully, from my examples, from the scriptures that I use.

317
00:17:48.245 --> 00:17:52.468
You can see how other people pray, how other people encounter him, but you can't mimic that.

318
00:17:53.405 --> 00:17:56.568
The Holy Spirit will be your guide to the Holy Spirit.

319
00:17:57.468 --> 00:17:59.150
You just have to make yourself available.

320
00:18:00.251 --> 00:18:01.632
You have to be hungry.

321
00:18:02.553 --> 00:18:04.694
That's why I stress the importance of an experience.

322
00:18:05.175 --> 00:18:09.819
Paul stressed the importance of an experience when he prayed for the Ephesians.

323
00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:10.860
And you know what he prayed?

324
00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:12.981
He said, I pray that you would experience.

325
00:18:14.483 --> 00:18:18.086
I pray that you would experience the love of God.

326
00:18:18.106 --> 00:18:18.206
Amen.

327
00:18:19.008 --> 00:18:21.430
which cannot be intellectually known.

328
00:18:21.570 --> 00:18:23.232
It must be experienced.

329
00:18:24.173 --> 00:18:27.916
Taste and see that the Lord is good is an experience.

330
00:18:27.996 --> 00:18:29.677
It's an invitation to an experience.

331
00:18:29.898 --> 00:18:32.020
He didn't say, go read how good the Lord is.

332
00:18:33.301 --> 00:18:33.481
No.

333
00:18:34.542 --> 00:18:35.443
Try it for yourself.

334
00:18:35.543 --> 00:18:38.105
Taste and see that the Lord is good.

335
00:18:40.278 --> 00:18:41.159
You know what I just thought of?

336
00:18:41.199 --> 00:18:41.759
I just flashed.

337
00:18:42.660 --> 00:18:43.520
I'm five years old.

338
00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:45.261
I'm in the country for about three months.

339
00:18:46.582 --> 00:18:47.663
And I'm at my mother's work.

340
00:18:48.183 --> 00:18:55.208
She worked for Hugo Bank, which I always want to chuckle because it was the Yugoslavian bank and I just find it funny it was called Hugo Bank.

341
00:18:55.248 --> 00:18:57.330
But anyway, she worked for Hugo Bank.

342
00:18:59.711 --> 00:19:02.633
And they brought out this food I had never seen.

343
00:19:02.773 --> 00:19:04.435
It looked absolutely disgusting.

344
00:19:05.555 --> 00:19:07.857
It was triangular, droopy,

345
00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:14.103
white, nasty looking, and a little plastic cup filled with this brown liquid.

346
00:19:15.063 --> 00:19:15.844
And they said, have some.

347
00:19:15.884 --> 00:19:16.584
I said, no way.

348
00:19:18.366 --> 00:19:19.827
I said, no, no, no, you'll like it, have some.

349
00:19:19.847 --> 00:19:20.748
I was like, no way.

350
00:19:20.768 --> 00:19:22.609
I still, just like it happened five minutes ago.

351
00:19:23.530 --> 00:19:25.291
It was pizza and Coke.

352
00:19:27.613 --> 00:19:28.794
I'd never seen anything like it.

353
00:19:28.814 --> 00:19:30.615
It was gross looking.

354
00:19:31.336 --> 00:19:33.197
And I took a bite of that pizza, it was a little hot.

355
00:19:33.658 --> 00:19:35.099
So I quickly washed it down with Coke.

356
00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:36.420
My eyes dilated.

357
00:19:37.761 --> 00:19:39.142
My eyes dilated.

358
00:19:40.388 --> 00:19:42.375
My life had forever been changed.

359
00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:44.863
Everything was different.

360
00:19:44.924 --> 00:19:46.328
I will never forget that moment.

361
00:19:48.060 --> 00:19:52.261
And the reality is that since then I have been hunting for that initial high.

362
00:19:52.781 --> 00:19:53.581
I've been hunting.

363
00:19:54.281 --> 00:19:56.822
I'm going from pizzeria to pizzeria.

364
00:19:57.622 --> 00:20:01.203
I want to just relive that one experience I had when I was five years old.

365
00:20:01.763 --> 00:20:05.124
But what happened was I had tasted for myself.

366
00:20:05.204 --> 00:20:05.964
I had seen.

367
00:20:05.984 --> 00:20:09.124
I thought, God bless America.

368
00:20:09.164 --> 00:20:10.625
This immigrant has come.

369
00:20:11.505 --> 00:20:12.625
This is wonderful.

370
00:20:14.165 --> 00:20:15.506
I've crossed the Atlantic.

371
00:20:16.026 --> 00:20:17.026
I have been rewarded.

372
00:20:20.468 --> 00:20:23.550
But the invitation for you is to taste and see.

373
00:20:23.890 --> 00:20:25.131
It's an experience.

374
00:20:28.752 --> 00:20:30.153
So some people just don't know.

375
00:20:30.173 --> 00:20:31.994
Well, if you don't know, now you know.

376
00:20:32.014 --> 00:20:33.855
Now you know.

377
00:20:35.176 --> 00:20:36.256
He's available.

378
00:20:42.280 --> 00:20:44.801
But I've looked at this for years.

379
00:20:44.901 --> 00:20:47.322
Why do some people have a hard time entering in?

380
00:20:48.223 --> 00:20:50.184
They've labeled themselves as hard to receive.

381
00:20:53.482 --> 00:20:58.723
And there's a lot of symptomatic things, but they all have the same root.

382
00:20:59.923 --> 00:21:01.984
And the root is control.

383
00:21:04.284 --> 00:21:05.685
Because I can talk about the symptoms.

384
00:21:05.745 --> 00:21:10.546
You know, a lot of times we hack at the fruit and leave the roots intact.

385
00:21:11.726 --> 00:21:19.227
Because someone can say, oh, the culture, oh, they're shy, they're inhibited, they're worried what other people will think, all that.

386
00:21:19.267 --> 00:21:21.608
But really the root of all that is control.

387
00:21:24.025 --> 00:21:27.087
And in order to experience God, you have to give up your control.

388
00:21:27.928 --> 00:21:32.290
By the way, that's one of the greatest themes of the entire Bible.

389
00:21:33.251 --> 00:21:36.413
The gospel is called the gospel of Christ.

390
00:21:36.533 --> 00:21:37.454
You know what else it's called?

391
00:21:38.214 --> 00:21:39.895
Paul calls it the gospel of offense.

392
00:21:41.116 --> 00:21:42.577
The gospel is offensive.

393
00:21:43.738 --> 00:21:44.818
Why is it offensive?

394
00:21:45.499 --> 00:21:47.260
What's so offensive about the gospel?

395
00:21:48.215 --> 00:21:50.936
When I first got saved, I would read about how offensive the gospel is.

396
00:21:51.616 --> 00:21:56.698
And I would think maybe because Jesus was all bloody and beat up on the cross and that's offensive to people.

397
00:21:56.778 --> 00:21:57.798
Oh, you got to turn your head.

398
00:21:58.878 --> 00:22:00.399
Why is the gospel so offensive?

399
00:22:00.699 --> 00:22:03.020
It's offensive because it shows you up.

400
00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:08.622
The gospel is offensive because it's a loud and giant declaration.

401
00:22:08.982 --> 00:22:10.442
You're not all that.

402
00:22:11.402 --> 00:22:12.623
You need saving.

403
00:22:13.819 --> 00:22:18.382
And you are helpless and powerless to save yourself.

404
00:22:18.462 --> 00:22:20.083
You can give God nothing.

405
00:22:20.123 --> 00:22:23.685
You can't contribute anything to his already finished work.

406
00:22:24.666 --> 00:22:28.969
And that's deeply offensive because we as people are deeply proud.

407
00:22:29.829 --> 00:22:37.054
And we're deeply so proud that we're self-sufficient even though we're actually a walking mess.

408
00:22:38.536 --> 00:22:40.597
But we hide that and pretend we're something.

409
00:22:41.057 --> 00:22:49.299
And the gospel constantly declares, you're nothing, but surrender your life to Christ and he makes you in him everything.

410
00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:52.620
So in that way, the gospel is offensive.

411
00:22:53.300 --> 00:23:00.362
The Holy Spirit in a similar way is offensive because you have to give up control.

412
00:23:02.722 --> 00:23:05.043
And you have to realize that you're not all that.

413
00:23:06.957 --> 00:23:11.019
And you've got to break and yield and allow him to fill you.

414
00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.701
Now, here's a passage from the Sermon on the Mount.

415
00:23:16.562 --> 00:23:17.982
Matthew 5, 33.

416
00:23:22.224 --> 00:23:23.505
You want to have a fun time?

417
00:23:23.545 --> 00:23:25.146
Read the Gospels all over again.

418
00:23:25.726 --> 00:23:34.210
And read them from a lens of how much time Jesus takes trying to help people get past themselves.

419
00:23:35.775 --> 00:23:41.737
really messing with their pride, their independence, their self-sufficiency.

420
00:23:44.979 --> 00:23:46.219
That's why so many hated him.

421
00:23:47.600 --> 00:23:51.701
Pharisees hated him because they were very proud.

422
00:23:52.542 --> 00:23:55.703
And he showed them to be like little kids.

423
00:23:56.503 --> 00:24:00.365
Not the good little kids, but little clowns running around.

424
00:24:02.609 --> 00:24:11.222
Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.

425
00:24:12.404 --> 00:24:17.171
But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven nor by heaven.

426
00:24:17.970 --> 00:24:26.032
For it is God's throne, nor by earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king.

427
00:24:26.533 --> 00:24:28.433
I'm talking about receiving the Holy Spirit.

428
00:24:28.453 --> 00:24:33.715
I'm talking about eliminating pride and how offensive the things of God are.

429
00:24:33.795 --> 00:24:34.975
I'm not talking about swearing.

430
00:24:36.536 --> 00:24:40.337
But you'll see what I'm talking about and what Jesus is talking about because they're interrelated.

431
00:24:41.998 --> 00:24:49.204
Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

432
00:24:49.945 --> 00:24:51.346
So here's what Jesus is saying.

433
00:24:52.066 --> 00:24:54.368
Don't make promises.

434
00:24:54.989 --> 00:24:55.709
Don't swear.

435
00:24:56.110 --> 00:24:59.973
For whatever reason, kids, little kids, come like prepackaged this way.

436
00:25:00.634 --> 00:25:06.078
Like when they want to show you that they really, really mean something, they'll go, no, dad, I promise.

437
00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:07.599
I swear.

438
00:25:07.619 --> 00:25:10.161
And so we had the teacher go, oh, don't promise.

439
00:25:10.890 --> 00:25:11.590
Don't swear.

440
00:25:12.250 --> 00:25:15.671
Jesus goes on to say, just let your yeses be yeses, your noes be noes.

441
00:25:15.691 --> 00:25:26.113
In other words, your word should be so full of integrity that you don't have to promise, but you tell somebody, I'll be there at three, they can take it to the bank.

442
00:25:28.633 --> 00:25:30.213
Don't be one of those people that texts.

443
00:25:31.073 --> 00:25:31.834
Five to three.

444
00:25:32.374 --> 00:25:34.174
Sorry, running 12 minutes late.

445
00:25:35.754 --> 00:25:37.095
What did you do 20 years ago?

446
00:25:38.055 --> 00:25:38.655
Anyway, sorry.

447
00:25:39.255 --> 00:25:39.815
Goose frappe.

448
00:25:42.874 --> 00:25:48.395
So Jesus is talking to a group of Hebrews who had a habit of swearing, making promises.

449
00:25:48.595 --> 00:25:49.535
And he says, don't do that.

450
00:25:50.056 --> 00:25:52.676
And then some of them will realize I shouldn't swear on my life.

451
00:25:53.336 --> 00:25:54.656
You know, people, I swear on my life.

452
00:25:54.897 --> 00:25:56.097
No, I really mean it.

453
00:25:56.117 --> 00:25:58.337
I swear on my mother's life.

454
00:25:58.837 --> 00:26:02.518
He's saying, some of you, you realize that's wrong, so now you're swearing by something less.

455
00:26:02.558 --> 00:26:03.818
You're swearing by your own head.

456
00:26:03.838 --> 00:26:05.559
And this is just how he sums everything up.

457
00:26:06.879 --> 00:26:11.000
You don't have power to turn one hair white or black.

458
00:26:11.960 --> 00:26:13.240
You use just for men.

459
00:26:14.961 --> 00:26:18.521
You have to go to the salon and pay big money for a hair dye job.

460
00:26:19.061 --> 00:26:21.382
You can't even change the color of your hair.

461
00:26:22.222 --> 00:26:24.422
And you're swearing by your own head?

462
00:26:25.002 --> 00:26:27.223
In other words, I don't want to lose you.

463
00:26:27.823 --> 00:26:30.343
Jesus is saying, you don't have any power.

464
00:26:32.264 --> 00:26:33.344
You don't have any power.

465
00:26:33.864 --> 00:26:37.024
And get comfortable with understanding you're not all that.

466
00:26:37.425 --> 00:26:39.485
Who are you swearing something where you have no power?

467
00:26:41.587 --> 00:26:46.351
The other day my daughter said, Dad, I promise I'll never ever do that again.

468
00:26:46.791 --> 00:26:48.913
I said, well, you're going to do that in about five minutes then.

469
00:26:48.933 --> 00:26:51.195
I said, what do you mean?

470
00:26:51.275 --> 00:26:52.376
I've been trying to teach you this.

471
00:26:52.396 --> 00:26:57.260
Well, because you just promised that you're never going to do that again.

472
00:26:57.520 --> 00:27:02.404
So you're saying you're strong enough and you're disciplined enough to never ever do that again.

473
00:27:03.125 --> 00:27:03.565
She's thinking.

474
00:27:04.406 --> 00:27:10.051
I said, instead say, Dad, I'm going to surrender to God and by his help I won't ever do that again.

475
00:27:10.719 --> 00:27:12.460
You think that's just a change in semantics?

476
00:27:12.760 --> 00:27:14.661
It's a completely different heart posture.

477
00:27:15.201 --> 00:27:17.442
Have you ever promised God, I will never do that again?

478
00:27:17.462 --> 00:27:18.683
We're doing it the next day?

479
00:27:19.564 --> 00:27:21.024
Or God, I'm really going to do that.

480
00:27:21.064 --> 00:27:21.905
That was three years ago.

481
00:27:21.925 --> 00:27:22.845
You still haven't done that?

482
00:27:23.686 --> 00:27:26.447
Because you're full of pride.

483
00:27:27.347 --> 00:27:28.248
And you're not the only one.

484
00:27:28.268 --> 00:27:32.990
We're all in this boat.

485
00:27:33.551 --> 00:27:36.272
Relating this to receiving from the Holy Spirit.

486
00:27:37.652 --> 00:27:49.219
The message of God is an offensive message because it constantly shows you up and it leads you to a place where you recognize, I'm not that powerful.

487
00:27:49.820 --> 00:27:51.181
I'm not that strong.

488
00:27:52.281 --> 00:27:54.903
I need to let go to the greater one.

489
00:27:56.703 --> 00:27:58.585
This is how you encounter the Lord.

490
00:27:59.306 --> 00:28:06.012
This is what will help you in having visions and visitations and revelations from the Lord.

491
00:28:06.793 --> 00:28:08.675
This is how you will grow in the anointing.

492
00:28:08.975 --> 00:28:10.977
This is how you'll experience the power of God.

493
00:28:11.478 --> 00:28:13.680
When you quit trying to be so in control.

494
00:28:14.961 --> 00:28:16.182
And you actually surrender.

495
00:28:17.244 --> 00:28:18.385
Knowing you're not all that.

496
00:28:20.342 --> 00:28:21.583
So that's actually the root.

497
00:28:22.103 --> 00:28:23.824
Then we can talk about the symptoms.

498
00:28:24.504 --> 00:28:26.725
People who say, oh, that's just not my personality.

499
00:28:27.006 --> 00:28:28.366
Who cares what your personality is?

500
00:28:28.406 --> 00:28:31.308
I say that with love, but really, what do you mean that's not your personality?

501
00:28:31.928 --> 00:28:33.789
Is that your impersonality to encounter God?

502
00:28:34.009 --> 00:28:36.291
Well, I saw somebody encountering God, and they were crying.

503
00:28:36.531 --> 00:28:37.251
They were laughing.

504
00:28:37.451 --> 00:28:38.352
They were really loud.

505
00:28:38.632 --> 00:28:39.933
And, you know, I'm kind of quiet.

506
00:28:40.373 --> 00:28:42.274
You don't know what you are in God's presence.

507
00:28:47.895 --> 00:28:54.057
Oh, my culture, I don't, how about the Bible culture?

508
00:28:55.357 --> 00:28:56.398
My culture is quiet.

509
00:28:57.718 --> 00:28:58.258
No, it isn't.

510
00:28:58.278 --> 00:29:02.119
I don't care what culture you come from, you say it's a quiet culture.

511
00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:04.500
Go to a flea market in your culture.

512
00:29:06.821 --> 00:29:11.862
Take the quietest culture and put its finger in the doors of the F train.

513
00:29:14.250 --> 00:29:17.231
All of a sudden, the quiet person is like, you can't be out of here now.

514
00:29:17.371 --> 00:29:18.611
What happened to your quiet culture?

515
00:29:19.591 --> 00:29:20.892
Oh, you had an experience.

516
00:29:22.012 --> 00:29:23.052
You were moved.

517
00:29:24.192 --> 00:29:26.313
Oh, you were touched by the F train, huh?

518
00:29:27.353 --> 00:29:28.633
And now all of a sudden, you're loud.

519
00:29:30.094 --> 00:29:31.734
I thought your culture was quiet.

520
00:29:32.414 --> 00:29:34.175
Really respectful and dignified.

521
00:29:34.755 --> 00:29:34.875
Oh.

522
00:29:44.690 --> 00:29:45.410
Hallelujah.

523
00:29:48.131 --> 00:29:53.172
You know, I was going to tell you, I was going to call you up before service, but the Lord said it doesn't matter.

524
00:29:53.952 --> 00:29:57.333
So can you just come up, Natalie, and just hand her a mic?

525
00:29:59.853 --> 00:30:03.374
And can I ask you a few questions, and then you can freestyle.

526
00:30:05.394 --> 00:30:06.695
But let me just, come right up here.

527
00:30:06.795 --> 00:30:08.115
Let me just ask you a few questions.

528
00:30:09.055 --> 00:30:11.316
I just wanted a few people just to share their story.

529
00:30:15.135 --> 00:30:19.017
State your full name and what you like to do, like long walks on the beach.

530
00:30:19.058 --> 00:30:19.678
No, I'm kidding.

531
00:30:19.738 --> 00:30:21.399
I'm kidding.

532
00:30:21.419 --> 00:30:23.460
That was just a throwback to 80s game shows.

533
00:30:24.481 --> 00:30:24.681
Okay.

534
00:30:25.982 --> 00:30:27.743
Were you born into a Christian home?

535
00:30:28.383 --> 00:30:28.644
Yes.

536
00:30:29.404 --> 00:30:30.385
What kind of Christian home?

537
00:30:30.665 --> 00:30:31.805
A religious Christian home.

538
00:30:33.086 --> 00:30:33.867
Did you go to church?

539
00:30:34.047 --> 00:30:35.428
How many times a year did you go to church?

540
00:30:38.390 --> 00:30:43.213
Every Sunday until I became of age where they allowed me to decide, which I think was like...

541
00:30:44.270 --> 00:30:47.812
12, around there, and then they let me say no.

542
00:30:48.453 --> 00:30:49.153
And then you said no?

543
00:30:52.095 --> 00:30:53.176
Where were you raised?

544
00:30:54.097 --> 00:30:54.397
Where?

545
00:30:54.677 --> 00:30:54.937
Where?

546
00:30:55.137 --> 00:30:56.258
Oh, Southern California.

547
00:30:57.079 --> 00:30:57.619
You're kidding.

548
00:30:57.639 --> 00:30:59.780
See, I'm getting to know Natalie after all these years.

549
00:31:00.421 --> 00:31:01.962
I had no idea.

550
00:31:03.023 --> 00:31:04.283
Southern California.

551
00:31:05.424 --> 00:31:06.605
Such a pleasant place.

552
00:31:06.805 --> 00:31:08.026
It is a very pleasant place.

553
00:31:08.326 --> 00:31:10.888
Like, you can be at a stop sign and there's avocados growing.

554
00:31:10.908 --> 00:31:11.968
You just pick one right off.

555
00:31:12.149 --> 00:31:12.669
Incredible.

556
00:31:15.781 --> 00:31:18.602
And so when did you get saved saved?

557
00:31:18.662 --> 00:31:19.823
2021 in this church.

558
00:31:20.083 --> 00:31:20.663
2021.

559
00:31:21.924 --> 00:31:24.865
And then now I'll let you freestyle.

560
00:31:24.985 --> 00:31:26.006
Tell us a little bit.

561
00:31:26.346 --> 00:31:27.527
So now you get saved.

562
00:31:28.667 --> 00:31:30.588
How did you encounter the Holy Spirit?

563
00:31:30.648 --> 00:31:31.528
What was that like?

564
00:31:31.609 --> 00:31:32.869
Anything that comes to mind?

565
00:31:33.469 --> 00:31:45.035
How you went from, so not walking with the Lord, then you make a decision for Christ, and then you kind of jump in the river with both feet up sticking out, the river being the Holy Spirit.

566
00:31:46.271 --> 00:31:46.932
Yeah, absolutely.

567
00:31:46.952 --> 00:31:55.561
So I think it kind of even pertains to what you just asked me about, you know, growing up in a Christian home and then, you know, making that decision to say no.

568
00:31:55.741 --> 00:31:58.043
Because I grew up in religion.

569
00:31:58.363 --> 00:32:02.608
And so I didn't have – I didn't even know you could encounter Jesus.

570
00:32:03.048 --> 00:32:04.390
And so it was just so dry.

571
00:32:04.410 --> 00:32:05.811
It was so rote.

572
00:32:05.891 --> 00:32:06.812
It was so boring.

573
00:32:06.872 --> 00:32:07.533
It was just –

574
00:32:08.779 --> 00:32:11.020
Yeah, it was just, it was devoid of experience.

575
00:32:11.260 --> 00:32:16.583
And so, you know, once I was able to say no, I was like, I don't, you know, what benefit does that have for my life?

576
00:32:17.123 --> 00:32:20.905
And then it wasn't until I kind of hit rock bottom that I was like, oh yeah.

577
00:32:20.925 --> 00:32:22.586
Cause you think about what the word of God says.

578
00:32:22.606 --> 00:32:26.388
And it does say, if you raise up a child in the ways he should go, you will not depart from it.

579
00:32:26.648 --> 00:32:30.029
And so all of those seeds of the time in Sunday school were in me.

580
00:32:30.349 --> 00:32:34.251
And so it was like, oh, hey, you know, maybe let me cry out to the Lord.

581
00:32:34.531 --> 00:32:37.573
Let's, you know, see what he has to say about this or what's going on.

582
00:32:37.933 --> 00:32:40.515
And it was in COVID because of everything that was going on.

583
00:32:40.535 --> 00:32:43.736
There was just, I was personally experiencing so much fear.

584
00:32:44.297 --> 00:32:53.442
And I kind of had this realization that I was like, you know what, if the world, because it's like, I do think that the way that we're wired is we do know that heaven and hell is real.

585
00:32:53.842 --> 00:32:54.723
I truly believe that.

586
00:32:54.763 --> 00:32:58.585
And so there was still this understanding that I don't want to go to hell.

587
00:32:59.345 --> 00:33:09.847
I want to go to heaven, but I want to also live my life the way that I want to live it and then just like get into heaven, which is not the way that Jesus encourages us and commands us to live.

588
00:33:10.268 --> 00:33:19.870
And so it was in that time of fear that I was like, you know, I really think that if I was faced with that, you know, is my just saying I know that Jesus is real enough and I don't believe that it is.

589
00:33:19.910 --> 00:33:21.470
And so I had to experience him.

590
00:33:21.530 --> 00:33:24.371
And so it was kind of a, gosh, how long has it been now?

591
00:33:24.411 --> 00:33:25.111
Five, six years?

592
00:33:25.671 --> 00:33:43.002
kind of journey into just encountering him and it was through it was through getting baptized in the holy spirit what was that like okay yeah let's talk about that but getting baptized in the holy spirit you were saved that i remember because you were saved just a little bit like a few weeks few months no like yeah a few weeks a few weeks

593
00:33:44.594 --> 00:33:48.796
And then Emily and I said, hey, you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

594
00:33:49.176 --> 00:33:49.616
Yeah, it was.

595
00:33:49.656 --> 00:33:56.259
So I had joined the church like right around before you announced 21 days of prayer and fasting.

596
00:33:56.500 --> 00:34:02.662
And I don't know what inside me was like, oh, yeah, you know, I'm brand new, but I'm going to fast and pray for 21 days with the church.

597
00:34:03.043 --> 00:34:08.845
And you had just casually mentioned the baptism of the Holy Spirit in like the beginning intro of going into prayer.

598
00:34:08.865 --> 00:34:09.726
And I was like, what's that?

599
00:34:10.106 --> 00:34:12.127
And so I had sought you after a Friday night service.

600
00:34:12.147 --> 00:34:12.707
Okay, set it with you.

601
00:34:12.847 --> 00:34:13.968
So you sought me after.

602
00:34:14.188 --> 00:34:18.493
See, some of you have heard me use certain phrases, and you go, I don't know what that is.

603
00:34:18.893 --> 00:34:23.478
Anyway, I wonder what's on TV tonight.

604
00:34:24.199 --> 00:34:25.220
Who's playing tonight?

605
00:34:25.700 --> 00:34:31.166
But when you're hungry, the evidence of desire is in pursuit.

606
00:34:31.186 --> 00:34:31.286
Yeah.

607
00:34:33.921 --> 00:34:38.164
So she goes, I don't know what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I'm going to ask.

608
00:34:38.905 --> 00:34:39.826
So I forgot that part.

609
00:34:39.846 --> 00:34:40.446
You asked me?

610
00:34:40.466 --> 00:34:40.666
Yeah.

611
00:34:41.007 --> 00:34:46.571
And so I got you before service was done on a Friday night, and you had given me the red and blue pill.

612
00:34:46.591 --> 00:34:49.293
And then you said, read this and then book an appointment with me.

613
00:34:49.313 --> 00:34:50.314
So we have a mini book.

614
00:34:50.374 --> 00:34:51.916
It's a red book and a blue book.

615
00:34:52.056 --> 00:34:52.916
You should read those.

616
00:34:53.517 --> 00:34:57.000
And we jokingly refer to them from the Matrix as the red pill and the blue pill.

617
00:34:57.740 --> 00:34:58.481
Take both pills.

618
00:34:58.501 --> 00:34:58.741
Okay.

619
00:35:00.134 --> 00:35:03.236
And then so we set up an appointment and it was right over there.

620
00:35:03.256 --> 00:35:03.636
I remember that.

621
00:35:03.656 --> 00:35:06.057
And it was right before the women's conference.

622
00:35:06.738 --> 00:35:09.719
And I remember like you were praying, the best thing ever.

623
00:35:09.959 --> 00:35:10.820
I don't know if you remember this.

624
00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:13.001
You were like, oh, wow, there's a lot of cobwebs.

625
00:35:13.864 --> 00:35:15.025
And I was like, okay.

626
00:35:15.045 --> 00:35:17.047
I was like, I don't know what that means, but okay.

627
00:35:17.427 --> 00:35:24.513
And I just remember in my conscious mind, I was so uncomfortable because it was like the worship team was practicing.

628
00:35:24.794 --> 00:35:26.675
And I was like, they can hear me if I start praying.

629
00:35:26.816 --> 00:35:27.676
I don't know what this is like.

630
00:35:27.716 --> 00:35:29.518
And I was so locked up in myself.

631
00:35:29.538 --> 00:35:30.038
Just to clarify.

632
00:35:33.527 --> 00:35:34.728
No, because I know what you're saying.

633
00:35:34.828 --> 00:35:39.433
But one thing you'll see as you speak more, people don't at all know what you're saying, but we know what we're saying.

634
00:35:39.773 --> 00:35:40.434
But they weren't there.

635
00:35:40.794 --> 00:35:45.879
So she made an appointment, and I was like, well, like, just come before service starts.

636
00:35:46.440 --> 00:35:47.441
And it was the women's conference.

637
00:35:47.921 --> 00:35:49.863
So worship team is rehearsing.

638
00:35:50.524 --> 00:35:52.566
People are moving and setting up the sanctuary.

639
00:35:53.206 --> 00:35:55.609
And my wife and Natalie and me are right there.

640
00:35:57.394 --> 00:36:00.717
And so, you know, it was less than ideal, right?

641
00:36:01.118 --> 00:36:03.400
Ideally, you want your privacy.

642
00:36:03.981 --> 00:36:08.044
You want to have light music gently playing in the background.

643
00:36:08.405 --> 00:36:11.188
Maybe two ladies around you with hankies, right?

644
00:36:11.828 --> 00:36:12.709
But it was messy.

645
00:36:13.750 --> 00:36:14.351
And you got...

646
00:36:14.371 --> 00:36:15.552
It was very public, which...

647
00:36:15.572 --> 00:36:16.272
Very public.

648
00:36:17.554 --> 00:36:19.055
Which, that wasn't you back then.

649
00:36:19.396 --> 00:36:19.696
Okay.

650
00:36:20.510 --> 00:36:27.355
And so now it's funny that I said, the Lord's getting rid of the cobwebs, knowing that you grew up in religion and tradition, because those are the cobwebs he was sweeping away.

651
00:36:28.276 --> 00:36:30.658
So you got really baptized in the Holy Spirit.

652
00:36:30.678 --> 00:36:30.758
Yes.

653
00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:37.723
And when I say really, obviously, it's either you get baptized, or you don't receive, you're just delayed.

654
00:36:38.083 --> 00:36:39.885
But I just remember it took like five seconds.

655
00:36:39.925 --> 00:36:41.986
I was like, open your mouth, receive and speak in tongues.

656
00:36:42.026 --> 00:36:44.508
And Natalie just started speaking in tongues, full blast.

657
00:36:45.389 --> 00:36:46.910
What was that like, crossing over?

658
00:36:46.930 --> 00:36:47.030
Yeah.

659
00:36:48.628 --> 00:36:51.249
Because you didn't just cross over, you slipped right in.

660
00:36:51.529 --> 00:36:52.249
What were you thinking?

661
00:36:53.669 --> 00:36:56.410
That it was exactly what I was missing all my life.

662
00:36:56.570 --> 00:36:57.590
Wow.

663
00:36:58.491 --> 00:36:59.211
That's awesome.

664
00:37:00.291 --> 00:37:01.031
Hallelujah.

665
00:37:01.971 --> 00:37:02.572
That's awesome.

666
00:37:02.872 --> 00:37:04.132
I think that helped a lot of people.

667
00:37:06.973 --> 00:37:09.413
Luke, can you just come and share a little bit?

668
00:37:11.154 --> 00:37:12.134
Thank you, Jesus.

669
00:37:14.763 --> 00:37:17.465
I wonder if I should ask you some questions, but I don't think I will.

670
00:37:18.305 --> 00:37:20.646
I think I'll just let you talk.

671
00:37:21.907 --> 00:37:35.615
Well, one of the things I said in the first service is it occurs to me that everybody here knows me from City Light and knows me kind of sometimes acting a little goofy or crazy up at the front and being super into church.

672
00:37:35.635 --> 00:37:38.116
That's not who I thought I was my whole life.

673
00:37:38.136 --> 00:37:38.336
I didn't.

674
00:37:41.358 --> 00:37:45.140
I'm not naturally like that, that as far as I knew I grew up.

675
00:37:46.740 --> 00:37:52.463
Always going to church, always feeling like I knew what was going on, but very religious, never having those types of experiences with God.

676
00:37:53.863 --> 00:38:11.171
But something that I would like to highlight is when the Lord did start encountering me through this church, through City Light, I started falling in love with God's presence, which I actually didn't even know that I could experience God's presence, that that was a real thing.

677
00:38:11.917 --> 00:38:18.920
And when I started experiencing his presence, I realized that in his presence is the fullness of joy that I was looking for.

678
00:38:19.121 --> 00:38:20.581
In his presence is life.

679
00:38:21.061 --> 00:38:22.142
In his presence is love.

680
00:38:22.362 --> 00:38:31.266
And all these things that I was missing my whole life, even revelation and understanding on who Jesus is, we can't understand that apart from the presence of the Holy Spirit.

681
00:38:33.876 --> 00:38:35.377
I think it's easy to see people like...

682
00:38:36.817 --> 00:38:41.399
When I first came to City Light, it was like a few months after Natalie got saved, I guess, but I didn't know that.

683
00:38:41.419 --> 00:38:43.279
And then I just saw her acting the way that she did.

684
00:38:43.299 --> 00:38:45.840
And I was like, this person is a super Christian who's been here forever.

685
00:38:47.021 --> 00:38:49.261
And then I just found out that she had only just got saved.

686
00:38:49.281 --> 00:38:57.424
But it's easy to look at people having an experience of the Holy Spirit and be like, wow, that must be nice, you know?

687
00:38:58.064 --> 00:39:02.206
But it's not like... For me, it wasn't so...

688
00:39:03.693 --> 00:39:04.534
easy, you know?

689
00:39:04.794 --> 00:39:05.674
It was a challenge.

690
00:39:06.234 --> 00:39:08.836
He only gave me a very small taste at first.

691
00:39:09.596 --> 00:39:10.997
At first, it was when I was...

692
00:39:11.237 --> 00:39:16.940
I remember the first time it happened, I started feeling a slight warm glow on the inside of me while I was reading the book of Acts.

693
00:39:18.075 --> 00:39:23.958
And then the next day I was like, wow, I wonder if, I think that was God, you know, that seemed like it was God.

694
00:39:23.978 --> 00:39:25.759
Let me see if I could get that again.

695
00:39:26.220 --> 00:39:29.822
And so I went and sure enough, the same thing happened the second day.

696
00:39:30.282 --> 00:39:32.703
And then the third day I was like, wow, can't wait for it to happen again.

697
00:39:33.104 --> 00:39:36.566
And it didn't happen, you know, and I just stayed there.

698
00:39:36.586 --> 00:39:38.887
I was like, no, I think this was God.

699
00:39:39.567 --> 00:39:44.410
I remember it took me an hour of reading the word and then it slowly started to come back.

700
00:39:44.470 --> 00:39:46.331
And I was like, he's back, you know.

701
00:39:46.852 --> 00:39:52.115
And I think of even in the Song of Solomon, like it's not so cut and dried.

702
00:39:52.135 --> 00:39:54.036
Like it's kind of weird.

703
00:39:54.056 --> 00:39:54.957
She knocks on the door.

704
00:39:55.197 --> 00:39:55.517
Yeah, yeah.

705
00:39:55.637 --> 00:39:56.358
This is great.

706
00:39:56.378 --> 00:39:57.939
You didn't share this stuff in the first service.

707
00:39:57.999 --> 00:40:00.740
And this is something I preached on 20 years ago.

708
00:40:00.780 --> 00:40:01.121
Hold on.

709
00:40:01.321 --> 00:40:03.222
There's a lot in that last one sentence he said.

710
00:40:04.640 --> 00:40:08.643
He experiences the Lord in a subtle way, very little.

711
00:40:10.184 --> 00:40:11.644
And he recognizes it's the Lord.

712
00:40:11.664 --> 00:40:12.925
Of course, there's always some doubt.

713
00:40:12.985 --> 00:40:15.167
You might think maybe it's just me.

714
00:40:15.487 --> 00:40:17.888
Maybe I'm just feeling a feeling.

715
00:40:18.849 --> 00:40:23.472
But it's deeper than that, so you pursue it the next day, and you get rewarded with his presence the next time.

716
00:40:24.072 --> 00:40:27.815
Then you pursue it again, and for whatever reason, it's like you get nothing.

717
00:40:28.635 --> 00:40:32.838
And all this doubt creeps in, and maybe like spiritual insecurity creeps in.

718
00:40:33.642 --> 00:40:35.783
And then you're about to talk about the Song of Solomon.

719
00:40:36.484 --> 00:40:37.164
Yeah, well...

720
00:40:37.444 --> 00:40:38.585
I'm sorry, I just want to set the stage.

721
00:40:39.746 --> 00:40:44.869
So the Song of Solomon, it's not erotic scripture.

722
00:40:48.872 --> 00:40:53.735
It is the pursuit of a groom and his bride.

723
00:40:54.396 --> 00:40:56.197
And it is a picture of Christ and the church.

724
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:01.281
And it's supposed to be how we relate to the Lord, how the Lord relates to us.

725
00:41:02.121 --> 00:41:06.283
And I'm sure what you were going to say is there's various instances of how he pursues her.

726
00:41:06.303 --> 00:41:11.864
But at one point, he comes to her and he puts his hands on the lattice to take a look at her.

727
00:41:12.545 --> 00:41:14.725
And she goes, oh, my love, my dove.

728
00:41:15.826 --> 00:41:16.366
There he is.

729
00:41:16.886 --> 00:41:19.007
And as she turns around, he's gone.

730
00:41:20.047 --> 00:41:21.668
And she goes pursuing after him.

731
00:41:21.748 --> 00:41:25.769
In other words, it would appear that at times God is elusive himself.

732
00:41:26.528 --> 00:41:29.511
But he's not running away from you, he's running for you.

733
00:41:30.212 --> 00:41:33.194
Because he wants to see how much you want him.

734
00:41:33.214 --> 00:41:39.380
Because you only treat something as precious that you have to pursue.

735
00:41:46.167 --> 00:41:51.152
Everyone who ever got anything from Jesus, they actually pursued him.

736
00:41:52.093 --> 00:41:54.737
Show me one that just got something in it.

737
00:41:55.178 --> 00:41:56.240
Blind Bartimaeus.

738
00:41:57.522 --> 00:41:59.806
He said, son of David, have mercy on me.

739
00:42:01.188 --> 00:42:03.712
And everyone, the Bible says everyone said, shh.

740
00:42:05.597 --> 00:42:06.438
They told him to shut up.

741
00:42:07.259 --> 00:42:11.322
And the Bible says he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me.

742
00:42:11.903 --> 00:42:15.386
See, when they told him shut up, nine out of ten people went, oh, sorry.

743
00:42:16.327 --> 00:42:18.068
But he had to pursue.

744
00:42:18.489 --> 00:42:24.554
He was so hungry that at the risk of socially being ostracized, he raised his voice.

745
00:42:25.495 --> 00:42:27.297
We talked about the woman with the issue of blood.

746
00:42:27.537 --> 00:42:28.778
What about the paralytics?

747
00:42:29.179 --> 00:42:31.541
They couldn't get, a lot of people would go, oh, look.

748
00:42:32.857 --> 00:42:35.519
Jesus, there's a crowd like 19 deep around him.

749
00:42:36.220 --> 00:42:37.101
You can't get to him.

750
00:42:37.681 --> 00:42:38.802
But they're like, no, I know.

751
00:42:39.423 --> 00:42:42.825
Take me up to that man's house and rip the roof off and lower me to Jesus.

752
00:42:43.086 --> 00:42:44.507
There's always a pursuit.

753
00:42:47.950 --> 00:42:50.632
Even when the Holy Spirit fell right on the day of Pentecost...

754
00:42:52.381 --> 00:42:53.202
Jesus said, wait.

755
00:42:53.862 --> 00:42:56.664
The day of Pentecost is 50 days after Passover.

756
00:42:57.445 --> 00:43:00.907
So they were waiting for days and days and days.

757
00:43:01.527 --> 00:43:03.829
You don't think they ever had the thought, what are we even doing?

758
00:43:05.010 --> 00:43:06.090
Maybe we should just go home.

759
00:43:07.431 --> 00:43:13.415
But they waited, and the first church, our church, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, was birthed.

760
00:43:14.176 --> 00:43:18.159
Because people pressed in and were hungry enough to wait for the release of the Holy Spirit.

761
00:43:19.720 --> 00:43:20.941
So go on with your story.

762
00:43:20.961 --> 00:43:21.481
Wow.

763
00:43:21.756 --> 00:43:30.324
I mean, one anecdote that comes to me is I started beginning to experience God here at City Light in the services and worship.

764
00:43:30.484 --> 00:43:31.605
Little tastes here and there.

765
00:43:32.466 --> 00:43:34.187
And I wanted to have those.

766
00:43:34.948 --> 00:43:36.870
Something in me knew I could experience him every day.

767
00:43:36.890 --> 00:43:38.951
I could experience him on my own like that.

768
00:43:39.552 --> 00:43:40.693
But I couldn't break through it.

769
00:43:40.773 --> 00:43:47.299
And one of the things that I started doing is I realized if I went to Anika's Life Group in Brooklyn...

770
00:43:49.475 --> 00:43:55.306
I realized if I could get around Anika, I could experience God, you know, during those times.

771
00:43:55.346 --> 00:43:57.751
And then even when I went home, the next day there'd be some residual.

772
00:43:57.811 --> 00:43:58.953
And I remember...

773
00:44:00.570 --> 00:44:24.143
that one of the times we were there, there was this dog, and Natalie, like, was going to go give it a treat or something like that, and then this dog just started doing everything that it could think of, like, it started doing tricks, rolling around, you know, trying to look cute, you know, and running back and forth, I was like, that reminds me of me trying to get to the presence of God, because I had no idea what I was doing, you know, it's like, let me try worship,

774
00:44:24.443 --> 00:44:26.024
No, let me try reading the word.

775
00:44:26.144 --> 00:44:27.985
Let me try putting on preaching.

776
00:44:28.265 --> 00:44:32.087
You know, because I was pursuing him, and a lot of times it wasn't working.

777
00:44:32.568 --> 00:44:38.251
But, and he didn't tell me, there wasn't any one way to do it.

778
00:44:38.291 --> 00:44:39.311
Every day was different.

779
00:44:39.331 --> 00:44:41.473
I was trying to find him every day.

780
00:44:42.553 --> 00:44:46.996
So that was kind of how it started for me, was just a back and forth pursuit.

781
00:44:47.016 --> 00:44:49.037
But I think God really will test us to see it.

782
00:44:49.377 --> 00:44:53.638
are you willing to go to Brooklyn from Washington Heights on the subway to go to a life group?

783
00:44:53.938 --> 00:44:57.259
Because you think, just maybe I might meet God there, you know.

784
00:44:57.359 --> 00:44:59.179
Is the pursuit worth it then?

785
00:45:00.339 --> 00:45:01.820
It's been so worth it, you know.

786
00:45:02.700 --> 00:45:03.360
So worth it.

787
00:45:03.840 --> 00:45:04.160
Amen.

788
00:45:04.220 --> 00:45:05.781
Put your hands together for Luke.

789
00:45:05.801 --> 00:45:06.201
Thank you.

790
00:45:10.161 --> 00:45:13.602
You know, I realize it takes different strokes for different folks.

791
00:45:14.923 --> 00:45:16.363
So I want you to hear different stories.

792
00:45:19.072 --> 00:45:19.772
Is this helping you?

793
00:45:23.294 --> 00:45:24.635
Uni, I'd love to hear from you.

794
00:45:25.115 --> 00:45:26.055
Can I ask you a few questions?

795
00:45:26.075 --> 00:45:26.996
Can you and Kwok come up?

796
00:45:27.196 --> 00:45:28.976
I'd just like to ask you a couple of questions.

797
00:45:30.117 --> 00:45:30.677
Just come up.

798
00:45:31.958 --> 00:45:33.418
I'll just ask you a couple of questions.

799
00:45:35.019 --> 00:45:40.562
Now, Uni, Kwok is a member here, also a dear friend of mine.

800
00:45:41.542 --> 00:45:43.163
We've been cycling together.

801
00:45:45.633 --> 00:45:47.154
Getting closer on those trails.

802
00:45:47.194 --> 00:45:48.335
But here, here's a microphone.

803
00:45:48.355 --> 00:45:53.679
I'm just going to ask you a few questions, because I'm going to go back to the first time we had dinner together, and I heard your story.

804
00:45:54.399 --> 00:45:58.942
So let's just go back 10 years, because you came to City Light in 22?

805
00:45:58.982 --> 00:45:59.843
21 or 22?

806
00:45:59.863 --> 00:45:59.943
21.

807
00:45:59.963 --> 00:46:00.423
November 6th, 21?

808
00:46:00.443 --> 00:46:03.065
You know what else was November 6th, 21?

809
00:46:07.108 --> 00:46:10.409
No, the Bitcoin high was November 6th, 2021.

810
00:46:10.830 --> 00:46:12.670
Just amazing that you came that day.

811
00:46:13.231 --> 00:46:14.031
It was $69,800.

812
00:46:14.091 --> 00:46:15.011
I received that.

813
00:46:15.091 --> 00:46:15.392
Okay.

814
00:46:19.153 --> 00:46:21.874
So, let's say 10 years ago, were you Christian?

815
00:46:22.595 --> 00:46:24.655
Yes, I was born into a Christian family.

816
00:46:24.675 --> 00:46:25.376
You were born into it.

817
00:46:25.416 --> 00:46:26.456
Kwok, you were not, right?

818
00:46:26.656 --> 00:46:30.798
Actually, I was baptized in 2002.

819
00:46:30.838 --> 00:46:31.138
2002?

820
00:46:31.158 --> 00:46:33.179
2002, right before we got married.

821
00:46:33.552 --> 00:46:34.092
Wow.

822
00:46:34.212 --> 00:46:34.813
A sprinkle.

823
00:46:34.893 --> 00:46:40.736
Okay, so you made a sprinkle, but you made three sprinkles.

824
00:46:41.336 --> 00:46:41.616
Okay.

825
00:46:41.636 --> 00:46:42.157
A little thing.

826
00:46:42.237 --> 00:46:44.678
And then what kind of a relationship did you have with the Lord?

827
00:46:46.039 --> 00:46:46.579
Religious.

828
00:46:46.799 --> 00:46:47.579
Religious.

829
00:46:47.599 --> 00:46:48.240
What does that mean?

830
00:46:48.460 --> 00:46:50.501
It means you go to, you do.

831
00:46:51.101 --> 00:46:51.481
You do.

832
00:46:51.622 --> 00:46:52.002
You do.

833
00:46:52.042 --> 00:46:52.802
Do, do, do, do.

834
00:46:53.362 --> 00:46:56.204
That's a lot of do, do.

835
00:46:56.284 --> 00:46:57.905
If you don't, you're going to get punished.

836
00:47:02.235 --> 00:47:05.417
What a way to live, to serve the Lord.

837
00:47:05.917 --> 00:47:08.138
And for a lot of people, that's just normal.

838
00:47:08.818 --> 00:47:11.679
If you don't do, you will be punished.

839
00:47:12.740 --> 00:47:17.582
So then your motivation in doing is to avoid punishment, which is anti-Christ.

840
00:47:18.002 --> 00:47:19.243
It's anti-gospel.

841
00:47:19.843 --> 00:47:26.946
Because do you notice when I receive the tithes, I never say, you need to give or God is going to smite you.

842
00:47:29.175 --> 00:47:33.757
You know, you need to give or God will put a stranglehold on your finances.

843
00:47:34.477 --> 00:47:36.697
And he's really going to choke you out.

844
00:47:36.818 --> 00:47:40.059
Because then I'm basically Vinny from the mob.

845
00:47:40.959 --> 00:47:45.020
And I'm telling you that you need to pay protection money to God or he's going to break both your kneecaps.

846
00:47:46.501 --> 00:47:47.701
That's not how it works.

847
00:47:48.441 --> 00:47:50.002
We do things out of a love motive.

848
00:47:50.402 --> 00:47:52.983
I don't want you to give to avoid punishment.

849
00:47:53.765 --> 00:47:59.409
Give because, yes, there is blessing associated with giving, but give because of a love motive.

850
00:47:59.689 --> 00:48:03.932
Come to church because you love God, not because you're avoiding punishment.

851
00:48:04.813 --> 00:48:05.033
Okay.

852
00:48:05.053 --> 00:48:05.993
Was this a Korean church?

853
00:48:07.274 --> 00:48:09.476
It was an English-speaking Korean church.

854
00:48:09.576 --> 00:48:10.056
Okay.

855
00:48:11.157 --> 00:48:12.258
Now, let me just say this.

856
00:48:12.278 --> 00:48:15.980
This is a lot of Asian people that I meet.

857
00:48:16.020 --> 00:48:18.802
They come from very legalistic.

858
00:48:20.303 --> 00:48:20.944
Would you say that?

859
00:48:20.964 --> 00:48:21.524
That's accurate?

860
00:48:21.584 --> 00:48:22.265
Legalistic.

861
00:48:22.345 --> 00:48:22.525
100%.

862
00:48:23.651 --> 00:48:26.413
And like the love of God is almost a foreign concept, right?

863
00:48:26.433 --> 00:48:29.195
Like you know he loves you, but it's a harsh love.

864
00:48:29.895 --> 00:48:34.278
They know they honor the Lord, but there's no power of the Holy Spirit.

865
00:48:34.578 --> 00:48:36.259
That was a missing part.

866
00:48:36.920 --> 00:48:37.220
Wow.

867
00:48:37.240 --> 00:48:38.921
They become very legalistic.

868
00:48:40.138 --> 00:48:41.519
You know, listen to what she said.

869
00:48:41.539 --> 00:48:42.319
It's so true.

870
00:48:43.299 --> 00:48:50.623
She said, there's no power of the Holy Spirit, so they become very legalistic.

871
00:48:50.783 --> 00:48:52.324
That's what I was taught in Bible school.

872
00:48:53.244 --> 00:48:58.446
That once the Holy Spirit leaves, all you have is legalism and religion.

873
00:49:00.187 --> 00:49:01.748
And you can't have both together.

874
00:49:02.852 --> 00:49:08.516
So you show me a legalistic and religious place, and I'll show you a place without the life of the Holy Spirit.

875
00:49:08.677 --> 00:49:13.700
Because then all you have is rules and rituals and tradition and legalism.

876
00:49:14.421 --> 00:49:15.222
So what happened?

877
00:49:15.762 --> 00:49:16.703
You're going there.

878
00:49:17.904 --> 00:49:21.867
And then I tried my best, of course, right?

879
00:49:21.947 --> 00:49:28.092
And then I became trying best Christian and cultural Christian at the same time.

880
00:49:28.892 --> 00:49:32.335
But I know I never doubted Jesus.

881
00:49:32.926 --> 00:49:34.327
like my whole life.

882
00:49:35.008 --> 00:49:38.631
So I know he has chosen me, and then it was always inside of me.

883
00:49:39.392 --> 00:49:41.814
And he was talking to me.

884
00:49:42.094 --> 00:49:43.976
I just didn't realize it was his voice.

885
00:49:44.537 --> 00:49:53.225
And I knew he was talking to me, and he was revealing Holy Spirit to me, slowly, like drip, little by little.

886
00:49:54.145 --> 00:49:55.587
And then I just fell for it.

887
00:49:57.560 --> 00:49:58.260
So what do you do?

888
00:49:58.300 --> 00:49:59.701
Just because some people, they don't get it.

889
00:50:00.121 --> 00:50:04.384
He was revealing drip by drip the Holy Spirit to you.

890
00:50:04.584 --> 00:50:04.944
How?

891
00:50:04.964 --> 00:50:07.926
Like in prayer, when you're laying in bed?

892
00:50:08.006 --> 00:50:09.066
How was he doing this?

893
00:50:09.987 --> 00:50:11.487
He knows my desire.

894
00:50:11.888 --> 00:50:14.849
It's just he gave me the desire to know him.

895
00:50:15.570 --> 00:50:17.130
And I didn't even realize it.

896
00:50:17.190 --> 00:50:20.052
So he's very sneaky that way, right?

897
00:50:20.772 --> 00:50:24.314
So he just gave me desire and made me think that it was me.

898
00:50:24.354 --> 00:50:25.115
But it wasn't me.

899
00:50:25.835 --> 00:50:31.037
Yeah, and then slowly, slowly, do you want to know who you're missing?

900
00:50:31.257 --> 00:50:37.380
And, like, little by little through pastors, I never knew, like, if online.

901
00:50:37.760 --> 00:50:43.903
And I was reading the books, reading the revelation, which I shouldn't be, but I was searching for him.

902
00:50:44.843 --> 00:50:48.905
And through that, he revealed so many different ways, right?

903
00:50:50.098 --> 00:51:15.468
conspiracy theory I went there too yeah yeah because I'm searching for the truth sure and that ended up Jesus Holy Spirit I found him yeah and that's the history that's that's new beginning on my life yeah and then and then obviously Kwok your husband came to and let's just hear from your daughter where's Kate the Great

904
00:51:18.118 --> 00:51:19.099
Come here, Kate the Great.

905
00:51:19.599 --> 00:51:20.220
Thank you, guys.

906
00:51:20.240 --> 00:51:20.881
You can sit down.

907
00:51:20.901 --> 00:51:22.062
Let me talk to Kate the Great.

908
00:51:24.784 --> 00:51:25.085
Hey.

909
00:51:27.127 --> 00:51:29.569
So you were raised in that.

910
00:51:30.049 --> 00:51:30.450
Yeah.

911
00:51:37.523 --> 00:51:38.364
So what happened?

912
00:51:38.484 --> 00:51:39.084
You come here.

913
00:51:39.104 --> 00:51:39.685
What do you think?

914
00:51:39.885 --> 00:51:40.165
How old?

915
00:51:40.185 --> 00:51:40.826
Wait, how old?

916
00:51:40.846 --> 00:51:41.526
You're 20 now?

917
00:51:41.746 --> 00:51:42.327
I'm 20 now.

918
00:51:42.547 --> 00:51:45.249
And so you were 15 turning 16.

919
00:51:45.269 --> 00:51:46.510
15 turning 16.

920
00:51:46.550 --> 00:51:48.852
Okay, were you baptized in the Holy Spirit?

921
00:51:48.872 --> 00:51:49.452
No, no, no.

922
00:51:49.572 --> 00:51:50.073
No.

923
00:51:51.229 --> 00:51:55.290
So I saw my parents growing in their faith slowly.

924
00:51:55.410 --> 00:51:59.351
It was a very slow and kind process that the Holy Spirit brought our family through.

925
00:52:00.051 --> 00:52:08.813
So when mom was experiencing the Holy Spirit, especially watching our live stream on YouTube, me and dad would be in the room just like staring at her.

926
00:52:10.574 --> 00:52:11.574
And we'd just be looking at her.

927
00:52:11.594 --> 00:52:13.055
She's like crying, raising her hands.

928
00:52:13.115 --> 00:52:15.615
And we'd all be like, okay.

929
00:52:16.936 --> 00:52:18.036
I never heard this part.

930
00:52:18.136 --> 00:52:18.656
This is funny.

931
00:52:19.968 --> 00:52:23.669
Like, we would sneak off and go get breakfast while she was there.

932
00:52:24.770 --> 00:52:30.071
But I just had so much religion in my heart, because that's all I knew growing up in an ethnic church.

933
00:52:30.452 --> 00:52:42.176
And so when I was watching City Light livestream, seeing people just, like, raise their hands and go, just, like, be free in the presence of God, that was such an offending concept to me.

934
00:52:42.456 --> 00:52:45.757
I thought, like, you're not honoring the Lord if you're not sitting...

935
00:52:46.017 --> 00:52:47.479
You actually had that thought.

936
00:52:47.499 --> 00:52:48.120
I had that thought.

937
00:52:48.140 --> 00:52:49.922
So this is no, because I forget this.

938
00:52:50.483 --> 00:52:57.191
I'm so used to, I'm hanging out with on fire Christians and I'm, you know, enjoying worship and I'll take the mic and I'll see three people scowling.

939
00:52:57.211 --> 00:52:57.552
I'll go, what?

940
00:52:58.133 --> 00:52:58.573
Like, what?

941
00:52:58.633 --> 00:52:59.915
How could they be in a bad mood?

942
00:53:00.375 --> 00:53:02.138
They could be having that same exact thought.

943
00:53:02.178 --> 00:53:02.899
Yeah, I've been there.

944
00:53:03.299 --> 00:53:03.760
Yeah.

945
00:53:06.562 --> 00:53:07.942
It's not a fun place to be.

946
00:53:08.702 --> 00:53:12.724
But I just, I remember it was the day that John and Carol were in.

947
00:53:12.744 --> 00:53:13.344
Like, what is it?

948
00:53:13.364 --> 00:53:18.445
You just think, like, they're being so, like, crass in the presence of God or they're being showy or whatever?

949
00:53:18.465 --> 00:53:22.927
Oh, no, it was just, like, my flesh just manifesting.

950
00:53:23.207 --> 00:53:24.307
I didn't have control over it.

951
00:53:24.347 --> 00:53:28.208
I had no logical reason to be so upset, but yet I was so upset.

952
00:53:28.709 --> 00:53:32.090
See, you were sitting there, and you're like, why am I so angry at all these people?

953
00:53:32.130 --> 00:53:33.350
There's no logical reason.

954
00:53:34.404 --> 00:53:36.025
But it's the flesh.

955
00:53:36.065 --> 00:53:36.685
What's the flesh?

956
00:53:36.805 --> 00:53:39.207
It's that part of you not submitted to the Holy Spirit.

957
00:53:39.927 --> 00:53:40.748
And it's like, ah.

958
00:53:41.268 --> 00:53:46.851
Look, Jesus was the most awesome person, is and was when he walked this earth ever.

959
00:53:47.371 --> 00:53:48.992
And he would say something wonderful.

960
00:53:49.072 --> 00:53:51.394
And the Bible says they gnashed at him with their teeth.

961
00:53:51.834 --> 00:53:53.295
And you're really like, what's their problem?

962
00:53:54.329 --> 00:53:55.651
How would they...

963
00:53:55.671 --> 00:53:58.394
He didn't even say something that bad.

964
00:53:58.415 --> 00:53:59.576
Like, what's going on here?

965
00:53:59.616 --> 00:54:01.539
But that's how our flesh is.

966
00:54:01.579 --> 00:54:07.587
You present it with something truthful, divine, and beautiful, and you want to crucify that thing.

967
00:54:08.348 --> 00:54:08.648
Yeah.

968
00:54:09.189 --> 00:54:09.609
Yeah.

969
00:54:11.302 --> 00:54:17.605
And so I stepped foot here, and then John and Carol were preaching, and it was the first time that I physically felt something different in the room.

970
00:54:17.645 --> 00:54:20.127
It felt so different than my old church.

971
00:54:20.387 --> 00:54:22.007
I was sitting right over there.

972
00:54:22.028 --> 00:54:25.509
I just remember not even being able to hold my head up.

973
00:54:25.569 --> 00:54:30.012
I felt like a newborn baby, just, like, sitting under this weighty presence.

974
00:54:30.092 --> 00:54:35.995
And I remember just, like, resting my head on my dad's shoulder because it just—the presence of God was so weighty in that room.

975
00:54:36.335 --> 00:54:38.276
And we left the service, and I felt a lift off.

976
00:54:38.416 --> 00:54:40.497
And I just knew there was something different here.

977
00:54:40.977 --> 00:54:42.098
And it was something that I wanted.

978
00:54:42.378 --> 00:54:44.179
It was something that felt incredibly safe.

979
00:54:44.539 --> 00:54:46.160
And now I know that was the presence of God.

980
00:54:46.641 --> 00:54:47.221
Wow.

981
00:54:47.281 --> 00:55:01.049
And seeing the worship team, just like everybody being so free and just sensing a unity and a heart to chase after what's real, after I've experienced so many fake things in my life.

982
00:55:01.389 --> 00:55:04.171
And that really just, like, it started changing my mindset slowly.

983
00:55:05.031 --> 00:55:07.653
But once I really submitted my heart here,

984
00:55:08.013 --> 00:55:09.014
That is so awesome.

985
00:55:09.034 --> 00:55:09.835
The Lord changed my life.

986
00:55:10.295 --> 00:55:10.515
Yeah.

987
00:55:11.136 --> 00:55:12.036
That is wonderful.

988
00:55:12.176 --> 00:55:12.577
Wonderful.

989
00:55:12.617 --> 00:55:13.718
Thank you, Kate the Great.

990
00:55:13.858 --> 00:55:14.338
Thank you.

991
00:55:18.221 --> 00:55:19.202
So eloquent.

992
00:55:20.323 --> 00:55:21.264
So beautiful.

993
00:55:22.125 --> 00:55:23.005
So single.

994
00:55:23.426 --> 00:55:27.469
Kwok and I. Kwok and I are accepting applications.

995
00:55:29.251 --> 00:55:30.492
I'm not going to lie.

996
00:55:30.512 --> 00:55:31.753
You need to be a 10 out of 10.

997
00:55:31.773 --> 00:55:32.073
Thank you.

998
00:55:33.433 --> 00:55:38.517
emotionally stable, financially stable, proper, right, proper man of God.

999
00:55:38.537 --> 00:55:41.179
All right, this is a young, young princess.

1000
00:55:42.260 --> 00:55:43.481
She's got a lot of backup.

1001
00:55:43.501 --> 00:55:45.643
You don't want to mess with that, I'm telling you right now.

1002
00:55:47.925 --> 00:55:50.367
But I will be doing that wedding, amen.

1003
00:55:53.489 --> 00:55:54.230
Hallelujah.

1004
00:55:57.773 --> 00:55:59.174
Worship team, won't you come on up.

1005
00:56:00.980 --> 00:56:03.681
Can you, Sean, can you play a song that I like?

1006
00:56:06.402 --> 00:56:09.403
But I mean, I like them all, but one that I particularly like that you know.

1007
00:56:10.303 --> 00:56:12.524
You know what, I never asked that before, right?

1008
00:56:12.784 --> 00:56:15.405
But I just felt both, because I want to feel the anointing.

1009
00:56:16.566 --> 00:56:20.227
Because I know if I feel the anointing, actually the people I pray for will feel the anointing.

1010
00:56:20.667 --> 00:56:23.168
So I'm asking, that's the point of that.

1011
00:56:25.148 --> 00:56:29.790
Like when wind meets fire or everything you touch shall live.

1012
00:56:29.890 --> 00:56:31.291
Or any of those.

1013
00:56:32.251 --> 00:56:32.451
Any.

1014
00:56:32.471 --> 00:56:37.174
Hallelujah.

1015
00:56:39.335 --> 00:56:40.055
Thank you, Lord.

1016
00:56:42.516 --> 00:56:47.679
Lord, there's people here.

1017
00:56:47.719 --> 00:56:48.819
They need your touch.

1018
00:56:48.979 --> 00:56:50.320
They didn't even know it was available.

1019
00:56:50.360 --> 00:56:51.260
But now they know.

1020
00:56:52.601 --> 00:56:54.922
I'm asking for your holy presence to come.

1021
00:56:57.113 --> 00:56:58.994
Come and meet your people.

1022
00:57:02.717 --> 00:57:04.778
Even now, move through the sanctuary.

1023
00:57:06.699 --> 00:57:07.560
Come upon people.

1024
00:57:12.123 --> 00:57:13.043
Breathe on people.

1025
00:57:15.305 --> 00:57:16.826
And bring life to dead things.

1026
00:57:21.815 --> 00:57:27.801
I want to open up the altar for whoever wants prayer and ministry by the laying out of hands.

1027
00:57:27.841 --> 00:57:30.964
I'd love to lay hands on you and minister to you.

1028
00:57:31.584 --> 00:57:36.149
If you don't come up for prayer, I encourage you to then put your eyes on Jesus.

1029
00:57:36.229 --> 00:57:41.734
Don't be a spectator, but put your eyes on Jesus and sing to him with all your heart.

1030
00:57:42.375 --> 00:57:44.556
This is the City Light Church podcast.

1031
00:57:44.956 --> 00:57:54.280
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.

1032
00:57:54.580 --> 00:57:57.301
That's CityLightNYC.com.

1033
00:57:57.761 --> 00:58:00.822
Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime.

1034
00:58:01.262 --> 00:58:02.803
We would love to connect with you.

1035
00:58:03.703 --> 00:58:11.311
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.

1036
00:58:12.092 --> 00:58:13.033
Thank you for listening.

1037
00:58:13.534 --> 00:58:19.040
Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church Podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.