WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.400
Hearing your story is powerful. It's compelling. It's undeniable. Because here's the thing,

2
00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:11.600
people can argue religion all day long and they do, they love it. They have their little argument

3
00:00:11.600 --> 00:00:17.840
or those zingers. They can't argue results. And you're a walking testimony of a before and an

4
00:00:17.840 --> 00:00:25.200
after. They can't argue that. Your story is powerful and it's undeniable. So why are we so silent?

5
00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:31.440
Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's

6
00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:37.280
Word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us. If you want to connect with City Light

7
00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:46.480
Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com. That's citylightnyc.com. Pastor Boyan Jansik and his

8
00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:51.840
team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds.

9
00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:57.840
As you listen to today's teaching, remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are

10
00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:02.480
surrounded by His grace and that He has a real hope and a future for you.

11
00:01:05.520 --> 00:01:11.200
I have the Supreme privilege this morning to celebrate, invite and welcome up our executive pastor,

12
00:01:12.080 --> 00:01:13.040
Pastor James Chavez.

13
00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:25.280
Thank you. Thank you. How many of you know what Instagram is?

14
00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:32.000
Couple of you do. Some of you even follow Instagram, you know, the church,

15
00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:35.360
Instagram account, and we appreciate that. But if you've been living under a rock for the

16
00:01:35.360 --> 00:01:40.320
last 13 years, let me tell you what Instagram is, okay? It's a photo and video sharing app.

17
00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:43.600
Don't you feel good today? We can pray and go home.

18
00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:51.360
But this thing actually, a couple of guys started Instagram with the novel idea of creating an

19
00:01:51.360 --> 00:01:56.960
easy way to share pictures and videos across platforms and around the world and combine the

20
00:01:56.960 --> 00:02:04.320
concept of the Instamatic camera and the Telegram. Hence the name Instagram. Now you can like have a

21
00:02:04.320 --> 00:02:08.000
leg up at like trivial pursuit when you guys are playing in your life group. You're like,

22
00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:14.720
wait, I know that one. They told me that in church. So this thing, 13 years into it, October of

23
00:02:14.720 --> 00:02:22.400
2010 is when they launched this thing. Now boasts over 2.3 billion users who have uploaded over 50

24
00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:29.120
billion pictures and videos. That is a lot of selfies and stupid animal tricks. That's a ton.

25
00:02:30.320 --> 00:02:35.520
But it's simple. You just download the app to your smartphone, point, and shoot, right? And this

26
00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:44.160
thing has gone viral. What I love is watching people figure out the perfect way to get that perfect shot.

27
00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:50.560
Now they have filters like they have whole YouTube tutorials on how to get the perfect selfie.

28
00:02:51.200 --> 00:02:55.440
So you're going to take a picture of your lunch because that's what we do. You don't just eat.

29
00:02:55.440 --> 00:02:59.520
Everyone has to know what you ate because once it goes down or once you start cutting into it,

30
00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:03.760
it doesn't look pretty anymore. So you have to take a picture, right? So now you've got to take

31
00:03:03.760 --> 00:03:07.680
the picture. You've got to get the right lighting. You've got to make sure, check your backstop,

32
00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:11.920
make sure there's nothing weird, right? I've seen people take selfies in the bathroom mirror and

33
00:03:11.920 --> 00:03:15.280
somebody's sitting on the can or something in the background. You've got to make sure what's in

34
00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.160
the background. Okay? That's just a little tip that's free. Okay? But people look, they've got to

35
00:03:20.160 --> 00:03:23.360
get the right lighting. If it's a selfie, you've got to make sure you got the right angle, right?

36
00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:28.880
They've told me the higher you get, the thinner you look. I'm like, I can never get a high enough

37
00:03:28.880 --> 00:03:35.120
to look good. But you've got all these ways to get the perfect video and the perfect picture.

38
00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:39.760
I love that you've got to condense your videos, right? If you've got a long video, remember when

39
00:03:39.920 --> 00:03:46.000
they used to have like, was it stories or something, had to be in 10-second chunks, 15-second videos,

40
00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:50.960
they've evolved over the years. Anybody remember about a decade ago? There was an app called Vine?

41
00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:56.880
If you have, you remember Vine, right? Vine came on the scene and they were notorious for having

42
00:03:56.880 --> 00:04:02.400
the six-second video. That was their claim to fame. We'll let you upload a six-second video to the

43
00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:06.960
internet to show the world. Six seconds. What are you going to do in six seconds? I can't even boil my

44
00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:12.720
nose in six seconds. Six seconds. But everyone was crazy about Vine. I can remember 10 years ago.

45
00:04:12.720 --> 00:04:17.200
I even preached a whole sermon series called Six Seconds about Vine. Six seconds. There it is, right?

46
00:04:17.200 --> 00:04:20.240
But Instagram is not going to be outdone because they're up and coming. So they said,

47
00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:24.320
six seconds. You kidding me? We're going to let you upload 15 seconds. So guess what happened to Vine?

48
00:04:25.440 --> 00:04:33.360
Oh, Vine. They're gone. Poor Vine. Rest in peace, Vine. And I love that they keep evolving, right?

49
00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:38.160
It was 15-second stories. Then it was going to be IGTV if you wanted longer than 15 seconds.

50
00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:43.840
Remember IGTV? That was another fun one. What is IGTV? Who knows? Who cares? It's gone already.

51
00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:48.960
But that was when you could upload a video longer than 15 seconds. Now there's stories and reels

52
00:04:48.960 --> 00:04:55.360
and carousels and posts and who cares? There's so much on and on and on. It goes. But it got me

53
00:04:55.360 --> 00:05:00.640
thinking, what can you do in the 15 seconds that Instagram used to give you to post a video in?

54
00:05:01.280 --> 00:05:08.320
Well, there's the obvious you can post an Instagram video, right? But you could also make a first

55
00:05:08.320 --> 00:05:15.360
impression. You can do that in 15 seconds. You could tie a tie if you're good at it. Not a bow tie.

56
00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:22.240
That takes longer than 15 seconds. But a regular tie. You could watch a quality bull ride

57
00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:29.280
if you're into a rodeo, maybe three-fourths of a second one. You could solve the Rubik's Cube five

58
00:05:29.280 --> 00:05:36.320
times in 15 seconds and beat the World Record Holder Max Park. Can anybody beat the Rubik's Cube?

59
00:05:36.320 --> 00:05:42.320
I have to peel the stickers off to beat a Rubik's Cube. But this guy can beat it in like three seconds.

60
00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:53.280
It's ridiculous. You could start a conversation with the phrase,

61
00:05:53.280 --> 00:06:00.160
Jesus has radically changed my life. Can I tell you about it? That took less than 15 seconds.

62
00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:06.320
Was anyone counting? There's a lot you can do in 15 seconds and there's power in sharing your

63
00:06:06.320 --> 00:06:12.320
story. That's what I want to talk to you about today. Does anyone remember back in 2007 when Apple

64
00:06:12.320 --> 00:06:17.040
got into the phone business and they launched the iPhone? Any early adopters had the first generation

65
00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:24.240
iPhone? There were a few. I want to show you something. I actually was an early adopter and I

66
00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:30.800
still have my first generation iPhone. Even in the box. Can you believe that? Did you know that the

67
00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:36.240
first generation iPhone still in shrink wrap mind you just sold for over $63,000 at auction?

68
00:06:37.760 --> 00:06:41.840
I think I'm going to put some cellophane on this and try and get some money out of it. I've opened it.

69
00:06:42.640 --> 00:06:50.560
But this thing, look at it. Steve Jobs, June of 2007, introduced the first iPhone to the world.

70
00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:59.200
Look at that. Look in this thing. It even still powers on. Let's see. The Almighty Apple.

71
00:07:02.640 --> 00:07:06.640
In a few thousand years people are going to find these encrusted in the subway and they're going

72
00:07:06.640 --> 00:07:12.880
to say, what was that? It was their God. Look at that thing. I'll tell you what. This thing was

73
00:07:12.880 --> 00:07:17.040
amazing. We had never seen anything like that. The camera on the back. It's like a one little

74
00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:21.920
dot camera. Who does that anymore? Now there's like six telephoto lenses on the back of your camera

75
00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:27.440
bigger than the whole thing. We were just joking before between services. He pulled out his cell phone

76
00:07:27.440 --> 00:07:31.920
and it's like a hundred times bigger than this. It's like an iPad. But this was the phone. It's

77
00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:38.160
like Zoolander and it's like, hello. But this was the perfect size phone. I got this thing

78
00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:42.880
early and I was so excited. So I remember going out of town with a couple of friends to a conference.

79
00:07:42.880 --> 00:07:47.040
And this was down south mind you. So if I slip into a Southern accent, it's because I'm living it

80
00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:52.320
in real time. Okay. So we went down and so what did I have? I had my trusty iPhone with me because

81
00:07:52.320 --> 00:07:57.040
you never leave home without this anymore. Back in the old day, I had a brick phone and I didn't

82
00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:01.200
just have the tan one. I had the gray one. This was like the fancy executive brick phone. But it was

83
00:08:01.200 --> 00:08:06.720
like $45 a minute to use this thing. So I had calling party pay on my thing. So if you call me,

84
00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:10.960
it's got charge to your bill because I didn't want to pay that. So you just most of the time left this

85
00:08:10.960 --> 00:08:14.640
thing off and you left it in the car in case you got a call for an emergency because you didn't use

86
00:08:14.640 --> 00:08:20.400
the iPhone until this thing came along and it changed our lives. This thing could do everything.

87
00:08:20.400 --> 00:08:24.400
So I took the phone with me everywhere. You could put it in your pocket. The old brick, I used to

88
00:08:24.400 --> 00:08:29.840
have this leather case and you clip it to the side and once you put it on, you go, oh, what's wrong?

89
00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:36.000
I got the phone. But now this thing's so small, it doesn't affect your, you know, center gravity,

90
00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:43.680
your phone to body mass weight ratio. So I had in my pocket, we go out of town. We're getting to

91
00:08:43.680 --> 00:08:50.640
the car rental place and my friend hands me the directions he printed out to get us to the hotel.

92
00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:55.920
Now this is how long ago this was because do you remember back before everyone had GPS?

93
00:08:55.920 --> 00:09:02.000
What did you have to do to find your way somewhere? MapQuest! You either had to know where you were

94
00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:07.040
going. Nobody does that. Or you went onto a website called MapQuest and you print out the

95
00:09:07.040 --> 00:09:11.360
directions. We used a lot of paper but we print this thing out and it's like go my turn left,

96
00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:15.440
go this one, turn right. See you have like six pages for this trip and you carry it everywhere

97
00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:19.760
you go. Who has a direction? Oh my gosh, I don't know. We got to stop at a gas station and buy a map.

98
00:09:20.640 --> 00:09:24.800
Anybody ever heard of a map? We used to buy paper maps. I'm talking old school, okay?

99
00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:31.360
Now he hands me these directions. I said I don't need these. I have GPS in my phone. He's like what

100
00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:35.520
what do you mean GPS? I knew that was going to get him because he had been in the market for GPS

101
00:09:35.520 --> 00:09:42.160
system. Even before the phone you go buy these like GPS boxes and stick them on your dash and then

102
00:09:42.160 --> 00:09:47.200
you could like navigate and this was like government technology. You'd like the satellite could

103
00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:53.440
tell you where to go. Only you, NASA and the army knew how to use this stuff. And so he was excited

104
00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:57.280
because this is why she get lost even in their neighborhood. Bless her heart. So he was really

105
00:09:57.280 --> 00:10:02.080
shopping for this Garmin like GPS thing. I'm like I have one right here because I'm always thinking

106
00:10:02.640 --> 00:10:08.560
it's as big as like your credit card. So we threw those map quest pages in the back seat and he said

107
00:10:08.560 --> 00:10:14.160
well lead on very sarcastically because he was confident I was going to get us lost. But I didn't.

108
00:10:14.160 --> 00:10:19.520
My GPS in that iPhone got us right to the hotel. I was so proud. I puffed out my chest.

109
00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:24.480
What do you think of that? Fine. So we went. We dropped off our bags. They said well let's just

110
00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:27.840
drive around and let's see if we can find a place to eat lunch. I said we don't have to do that.

111
00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:31.360
I have an app. I could just press this little button right here. It'll show me all the restaurants

112
00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:34.800
around us. And then I could just look at the restaurants see what people are saying about them.

113
00:10:34.800 --> 00:10:39.040
Which one's good. Which one's bad. I could click another button. I can see their menu. And then

114
00:10:39.040 --> 00:10:44.880
if we want to go there. Hit another button. GPS will take me right there. He's like how does it do all

115
00:10:45.680 --> 00:10:51.040
that? There's an app for that. You remember that? A little commercial campaign. He said well what's

116
00:10:51.040 --> 00:10:55.680
an app James? He said well an app. It's an application that you download from the app store onto

117
00:10:55.680 --> 00:11:00.480
your smartphone. Tells it what you need to know. It's like all right sounds great. Let's get some

118
00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:05.840
food. So we had lunch. I'm poking them like hey one of these days you guys are getting the 21st

119
00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:09.680
century. Get yourselves a real phone. They were still using the razor flip phone. Remember the

120
00:11:09.680 --> 00:11:16.880
razor flip phone. They just snap that thing at me. We don't need your phones. Fine. Can yours

121
00:11:16.880 --> 00:11:21.440
help you find a place to eat lunch? I didn't think so. Probably can't even take a picture

122
00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:26.560
or send a text message. So I'm rubbing it in. I'm really laying it on thick. So they said well

123
00:11:26.560 --> 00:11:29.840
we've got a little time before the conference. Why don't we drive around and maybe see if there's

124
00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:35.440
a place to do shopping? I said there's an app for that. He said well what if we want to go see a

125
00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:41.360
movie? There's an app for that. He said well what if I want to punch you in the face because your

126
00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:46.000
iPhone is far superior to my razor flip phone. Is there an app for that? He didn't say that but

127
00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:51.520
I could tell he wanted to. So I went on and on. You could surf the internet. You could watch

128
00:11:51.520 --> 00:11:55.360
movies. You could listen to music. You could even make a phone call. We used to do that on these.

129
00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:59.040
I don't think anybody actually used it for a phone now. He just text or send an instant message

130
00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:05.920
to tell my kids now. Hey did you call them? Call them. No, send them a text. So but it is a phone

131
00:12:05.920 --> 00:12:09.360
for those of you that don't know that you can still make phone calls. There's all kinds of things

132
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:15.600
you could do with this phone. They said wow that's incredible. I said I know. There's an app for

133
00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:23.360
just about everything you need. I was an evangelist for this thing. I was selling it big time. Crazy.

134
00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:29.040
It could do anything you want. Why was I so excited about my piece of technology?

135
00:12:30.560 --> 00:12:36.000
Because we will go on and on and on about something we're excited about. If the Yankees win a

136
00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.880
championship you're going to talk about it. Well if you're a fan of something you will.

137
00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:43.360
If you find a new great place to cut your hair you can tell people who cut your hair.

138
00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:47.600
Find a great store, a great restaurant. I found this great restaurant. Did you know I found

139
00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:50.480
burger village just a few blocks away to make a great burger? You got to go check it out.

140
00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:56.880
You're going to tell people about things you're excited about. Right? New song. You got to catch

141
00:12:56.880 --> 00:13:03.040
a beat. Would you hear this? It's really good. We'll share. We'll instant message. We'll post things.

142
00:13:03.760 --> 00:13:08.080
There's a new TV series that we're binge watching. Streaming. We're going to tell people.

143
00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:11.760
I talk to people all the time. You're watching the Mandalorian. That thing is crazy.

144
00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:15.760
A new movie. Wow. We've got to go see this movie. It's amazing.

145
00:13:16.160 --> 00:13:20.640
There's no shortage of things that we're going to talk about with our friends because we're excited

146
00:13:20.640 --> 00:13:24.960
about. We want to know what's good, what's bad. Right? And we count on each other to talk about it.

147
00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:31.040
So my question to you is why are we so strangely silent when it comes to sharing about the

148
00:13:31.040 --> 00:13:34.480
absolute most important thing that's ever happened to us? And that's Jesus.

149
00:13:36.400 --> 00:13:40.560
There's no shortage of words that come out of our mouth when it comes to things that are

150
00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:46.080
important. Our jobs. We got our promotion. I'm getting married. I got a new car. I got a new

151
00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:54.160
apartment. I got a new phone. Yet we're strangely silent when it comes to sharing about Jesus.

152
00:13:54.880 --> 00:14:00.320
Most people say they have not heard from one Christian friend in their life the difference

153
00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:07.920
Jesus has made in their life. But why do you think that is? I mean, I'm going to go out on a limb

154
00:14:07.920 --> 00:14:13.120
and say that Jesus is a little more exciting than an iPhone. Would you agree? Good. The answer is

155
00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:18.960
yes. If some of you were kind of on the fence like, he's a little more excited than an iPhone.

156
00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:24.000
Yet we're not talking about it. Can an iPhone forgive you of your sins?

157
00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:33.760
No. Has an iPhone ever laid down its life and died for you? No. I know some have tried because

158
00:14:33.760 --> 00:14:39.760
I've seen the crack screens given them run for their money. But no, not willingly and voluntarily

159
00:14:39.760 --> 00:14:47.760
laying down its life for you. Can an iPhone give you purpose and peace? Make no mistake. It's fun.

160
00:14:47.760 --> 00:14:53.360
You can do a lot of neat things with an iPhone. But it can't feel the void in your soul. It can't

161
00:14:53.360 --> 00:15:02.560
give you a purpose for living. So I don't know about you, but Jesus is more exciting. Every day,

162
00:15:02.560 --> 00:15:09.200
we walk by thousands of people who have never clearly heard from one of their Christian friends,

163
00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:12.720
the difference Jesus has made in their life. So why am I telling you that story?

164
00:15:14.560 --> 00:15:23.040
Because sharing your story is powerful. It's compelling. It's undeniable. Because here's the thing.

165
00:15:23.040 --> 00:15:28.320
People can argue religion all day long and they do. They love it. They have their little argument,

166
00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:35.280
their little zingers. Well, yeah, but what a living God do. Shut up. They can't argue results.

167
00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:44.880
And you're a walking testimony of a before and an after. They can't argue that. Your story is

168
00:15:44.880 --> 00:15:51.920
powerful and it's undeniable. So why are we so silent? Why do we keep the most important

169
00:15:51.920 --> 00:15:57.600
thing that's ever happened to us a secret? I guess we don't talk about Jesus because we think

170
00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:05.280
nobody cares. The world tells us that. You watch the news. YouTube advertisements, Instagram,

171
00:16:05.280 --> 00:16:12.160
whatever the algorithm is filling your feed with is telling you be quiet. Nobody's into that.

172
00:16:12.160 --> 00:16:19.840
That was America of olden days back when people used razor flip phones. Nobody cares about Jesus

173
00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:25.440
or religion anymore. We've evolved. We're enlightened. We're a secular nation.

174
00:16:26.400 --> 00:16:34.480
Someone wants to hear that junk. And so we slink back and we cower and fear shame.

175
00:16:36.640 --> 00:16:41.120
But I'm here to tell you and encourage you with the fact that it's not true.

176
00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:50.880
People are curious about God and spiritual things. They do want to engage. God built it inside of us.

177
00:16:50.880 --> 00:16:56.640
Even if they look antagonistic on the outside, on the inside, they are screaming for hope.

178
00:16:56.640 --> 00:17:03.040
They are screaming for answers. Gallup just came out and updated a statistic that held for many

179
00:17:03.040 --> 00:17:09.360
years that used to say that 90% of Americans are interested in God or a higher power. Now they

180
00:17:09.360 --> 00:17:16.160
had to update it and we lost nine points. Now it's 81% of Americans are interested in God or a higher

181
00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:21.920
power. And we get discouraged. I think, man, we're going in the wrong direction. But guess what?

182
00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:29.120
81% is still alive. When can you get 81% of anything anymore? We are so divided on everything.

183
00:17:30.560 --> 00:17:35.840
That still means eight and every ten people that you cross paths with is open to a conversation

184
00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:45.840
about God. That's a lot of people. I can remember several years ago, time magazine was experiencing a

185
00:17:45.840 --> 00:17:50.080
news drought and so they decided to do something kind of novel and so they just slapped the picture

186
00:17:50.080 --> 00:17:54.480
of Jesus on the cover and wrote a story about him and that was their best selling issue for the entire

187
00:17:54.480 --> 00:18:02.400
year. And I remember because it stood out to me because every year books, movies, even TV series

188
00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:07.520
will come out of our God whether they're for him or not but he's the subject matter and they're

189
00:18:07.520 --> 00:18:13.760
always at the top of the bestseller list in the box office. Why? If no one wants to hear about it,

190
00:18:13.760 --> 00:18:20.480
how come everybody wants to hear about it? We just don't want to say we want to hear about it.

191
00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:28.640
It's like in the political world there's the quiet majority and there's the very loud minority.

192
00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:31.840
So everyone believes that everyone believes this crazy stuff.

193
00:18:33.760 --> 00:18:37.600
So no one wants to admit, you know, polls are all crazy now. When you come out of the voting

194
00:18:38.320 --> 00:18:43.680
stations and you say, well, who did you vote for? And they lie. They don't want to tell the truth.

195
00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:45.920
And then the real statisticists come out and you're like, wait, what?

196
00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:55.280
You made it sound like 100% of people are gay and conservative. They went the way of the dinosaur

197
00:18:55.280 --> 00:19:00.800
and no one believes in morality anymore. But we're not really voting that when we draw the

198
00:19:00.800 --> 00:19:08.800
curtain and the voting booth. But we're afraid. But just look at reality. Look at what is really

199
00:19:08.800 --> 00:19:14.640
happening. It's been my personal experience that people are open to a conversation even with a

200
00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:19.920
crazy preacher like me. You don't have to be like a normal person. They expect it to be scary

201
00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:24.080
when they talk to someone who works for a church. You're like, oh my gosh. So, you know, sometimes,

202
00:19:24.080 --> 00:19:27.920
you know, Pastor Boyan's joke, did they ask what he does? He's like, I work for a non-profit.

203
00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:32.160
All right, you dress. Kneeg it in. See if there'll be normal for like five more minutes before

204
00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:38.560
you like hit him with the zinger. But they'll still engage in a conversation about God, church,

205
00:19:38.560 --> 00:19:45.440
the Bible. Even with someone like me, if I'll just show him a little respect. If I let them speak

206
00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:49.360
their mind, I want to know what they have to say, what they think, what they believe, questions

207
00:19:49.360 --> 00:19:53.760
they have. Then in turn, they're going to listen to what I have to say. Guess what now happened?

208
00:19:53.840 --> 00:19:59.280
We had a meaningful conversation. Go figure. Never once did they throw something at me.

209
00:19:59.280 --> 00:20:04.720
They didn't flip their razor phone at me in my face. They didn't yell at me. No arguments.

210
00:20:06.080 --> 00:20:11.520
That's weird. I mean, when you turn on the news, it looks like you need riot police and gear just

211
00:20:11.520 --> 00:20:21.200
to talk about Jesus. But that's not the case. People are open to conversations about Jesus. They're

212
00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:26.320
interested in talking about things like that because they're hungry for something that'll give them

213
00:20:26.320 --> 00:20:33.280
purpose and meaning in their soul. Jesus said in Matthew 936, when he saw the crowds, he meaning

214
00:20:33.280 --> 00:20:38.480
Jesus, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless like sheep without a

215
00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:45.920
shepherd. He said to his disciples, the harvest, it's great. But the workers, they're so few.

216
00:20:46.560 --> 00:20:51.600
So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest and ask him to send more workers into his fields.

217
00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:58.640
The world is full of people who are lost and confused. They don't know where to go. Their problem

218
00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:06.080
seems so big. They don't know where to find the solution. Satan has gotten us believing that no one

219
00:21:06.080 --> 00:21:10.880
cares about the solution we have and that we need to stay silent. That nobody believes anything

220
00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:16.640
anymore. They're not interested in anything spiritual, but that's not the case. And there's evidence

221
00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:23.440
upon evidence to prove otherwise. People are interested in the difference Jesus has made in your life.

222
00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:27.760
As a follower of Christ, they're going to want to know the difference that Jesus has made in your

223
00:21:27.760 --> 00:21:32.160
life and so you get the opportunity to tell him the difference he's made in your life. You have the

224
00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:38.400
privilege of showing them the difference Jesus has made in your life. When you let people know that

225
00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:42.560
you're a follower of Christ, the first thing that they're going to want to know is if what you say

226
00:21:42.560 --> 00:21:52.720
you believe lines up with what you live and how you react. Right? We can talk a big game. They can

227
00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:58.640
go to Wikipedia and find out what Christians are, but they want to see what you do. Is it different

228
00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:03.120
and is this thing real? People are going to watch to see if we extend the same forgiveness to people

229
00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:08.720
in our life that Christ has extended to us. They're going to want to see if we extend the same

230
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:14.480
love to the people in our life that Christ has extended to us that aren't very lovable. There's a

231
00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:19.840
lot in New York City, I'm just going to say. They're going to want to see if we relate to people in

232
00:22:19.840 --> 00:22:24.320
our life the way Jesus has related to us and our relationships with our spouse, our co-workers,

233
00:22:24.320 --> 00:22:30.720
our kids, our friends. They're going to want to see if what we live and how we react to life lines

234
00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:36.560
up with what we say we believe. Bottom lines are going to watch to see if there's a real difference.

235
00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:43.200
Lee Strobel in his book The Unexpected Adventure, he tells the story of a guy named Ron Bronsky.

236
00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:49.360
At the time Lee was a writer for the Chicago Tribune and he was in criminal court doing a story on

237
00:22:49.360 --> 00:22:55.520
this very unique case because Ron was actually, he said a really hardened criminal and he since

238
00:22:55.520 --> 00:23:01.040
the age of eight had been in the criminal system. He was a drug-using, alcohol-abusing, glue-sniffing

239
00:23:01.040 --> 00:23:05.840
delinquent in his words. I didn't know him so I didn't call him that. He might be a very nice fellow.

240
00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:10.720
But he had gotten some really bad stuff and so by the time he's 21 years old he's got a rap sheet

241
00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:16.080
like as long as my arm and now he found himself in some serious trouble. See he's in a gang and

242
00:23:16.080 --> 00:23:22.800
a rival gang had attacked one of Ron's really close friends. So he vowed revenge. So what he did is

243
00:23:22.800 --> 00:23:28.720
he tracked down the brother of the attacker. His name was Gary and he found him and he put a gun in

244
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:35.040
his chest and he pulled the trigger one day. Now the gun misfired so he put the gun up in the air

245
00:23:35.040 --> 00:23:39.360
and he pulls the trigger again and this time it fires. So Gary takes off running while the second

246
00:23:39.360 --> 00:23:44.240
time he hit his mark. He hit Gary in the back and the bullet lodged through next to his liver.

247
00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:48.560
He hits the ground. He runs over to Gary, flips him over, puts the gun back into his chest, pulls

248
00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:57.120
the trigger and now he's out of bullets. Not very good criminal. So before he could reload his gun

249
00:23:57.120 --> 00:24:00.720
he hears sirens in the distance making their way to him so he makes his escape.

250
00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:06.560
Well Ron and his girlfriend they flee to Portland, Oregon and they decide that they're going to

251
00:24:06.560 --> 00:24:11.840
count lay low. The Chicago police put out an arrest warrant and they're looking for him. Meanwhile

252
00:24:11.840 --> 00:24:16.160
in Portland he and his girlfriend are there. He gets a job and one of his new co-workers over time

253
00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:20.800
starts telling him the difference Jesus has made in his life and as a result of those conversations

254
00:24:20.800 --> 00:24:24.720
Ron and his girlfriend they give their life to Jesus and become fully devoted followers of him.

255
00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:30.880
Turns his life around then he's telling people about Jesus highly active in his church.

256
00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:41.200
Years go by. He's living this life. He's made things right with God but he said

257
00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:45.200
something was stirring and his conscience wasn't right because he hadn't been made things right

258
00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:51.680
with society. Now the Chicago police had long given up looking for him. Years had gone by. It's

259
00:24:51.680 --> 00:25:00.400
another unsolved crime but he decided to do something mind blowing. He left the security of the

260
00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:06.400
new world he had created. He went back to Chicago turned himself in. So now he's standing before a

261
00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:14.480
judge and he says I did it. I'm guilty. I'm the guy you're looking for. If I have to go to jail for

262
00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:20.400
what I've done so be it. I've become a Christian and the right thing for me to do is to confess and

263
00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:29.920
take whatever payment you think I deserve. Well Lee is dumbfounded. At this point in his life he's

264
00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:34.160
an atheist and I don't know if you know about Lee Strobel. He's written books like The Case for

265
00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:39.440
Christ and he's an incredible apologetic for Christ and his journey is amazing. You should read

266
00:25:39.520 --> 00:25:45.680
about it but at this point in his life atheist doesn't believe anything and he is shocked at this man's

267
00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:51.760
faith in Christ. So he said you know I didn't even wait for Ron to approach me to tell me about his

268
00:25:51.760 --> 00:25:56.640
faith. I approached him and said tell me about Jesus. Tell me what is going on in your life. So over

269
00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:01.200
a cup of coffee Ron told Lee the entire story of what had happened and how Jesus had changed his

270
00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:06.960
life. Well Lee still being a skeptic he said I just I can't believe this so he was looking for holes

271
00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:12.640
in the story so he interviews Ron's family his friends his co-workers back in Portland even his

272
00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:18.560
pastor and they all said the same thing. God was the one who turned this young man's life around

273
00:26:18.560 --> 00:26:28.800
and he was the real deal. So the judge ruled that Ron was no longer a threat to society gave him

274
00:26:28.800 --> 00:26:39.120
probation and sent him home. That's pretty incredible. So Ron asked Lee as Ron what do you think

275
00:26:39.120 --> 00:26:45.120
about what the judge just said that decision? He said I'll never forget this he said Ron looked

276
00:26:45.120 --> 00:26:51.440
me right in the eyes and he said well what the judge did today would show me grace kind of like

277
00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:58.880
what Jesus did. He said can I tell you something Lee if you let him God will show you grace too

278
00:27:00.080 --> 00:27:07.840
don't forget that. And Lee said I never did. Never underestimate the power of a change

279
00:27:07.840 --> 00:27:18.800
life in the eyes of a skeptic. Powerful. The Bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians 6, 3 we try to live

280
00:27:18.800 --> 00:27:23.760
in such a way that no one will ever be offended or kept back from finding the Lord by the way that we

281
00:27:23.760 --> 00:27:30.320
act so that no one can find fault with us and blame it on the Lord. So when Christ followers start

282
00:27:30.320 --> 00:27:38.560
living like Christ followers people stop and take notice. They begin to see that our Christianity

283
00:27:38.560 --> 00:27:44.480
is not just a set of superficial beliefs but it has truly transformed us from the inside out

284
00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:48.160
and they want to know if it's real and they want to know if they can have some of that.

285
00:27:50.080 --> 00:27:57.040
People aren't looking for perfection. I hear that all the time you know I'm just embarrassed

286
00:27:57.040 --> 00:28:00.880
because gosh if you know what I've done and I start telling you about Jesus they're like you're

287
00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:08.480
kidding you really? I get it. They say I don't want to represent God that way

288
00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:14.880
but I just want to encourage you right now and tell you that people aren't looking for perfection

289
00:28:15.840 --> 00:28:23.040
they're looking for honesty and when you tell them the mess you are the mess you were and what God

290
00:28:23.040 --> 00:28:32.160
has done that's powerful. It's relatable. If you're there with your shiny happy smile and you just

291
00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:36.080
tell them everything's hunky-dory and perfect down and perfect now God is good yeah you come to church

292
00:28:36.080 --> 00:28:44.080
with me who wants that they can't relate they're like well that's not my life they're looking

293
00:28:44.080 --> 00:28:51.280
for honesty and when you're honest they're like yeah man that's my story too share your story

294
00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:57.920
they're looking for something that's genuine something that is transformative about our life

295
00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:04.080
that took us from where we were to where we are they're looking for Jesus in us that reminds me

296
00:29:04.080 --> 00:29:08.000
of a story of a family driving home from church one Sunday afternoon little girl was in the back

297
00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:12.160
seat and she kind of leaned forward she said mom I got to ask you a question she said yeah what

298
00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:17.280
is it honey? She said well there's something bothering me about the preacher's message today she said

299
00:29:17.280 --> 00:29:23.440
well what's your question? She said well the preacher said the God is so big he can hold the whole

300
00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:33.200
world in his hands is that true? She said no yeah that's true. She said well he also said the

301
00:29:33.840 --> 00:29:40.320
God comes and lives inside of us when we ask him to come into our life is that true? She said well

302
00:29:40.320 --> 00:29:44.960
yeah that that's actually true too and the little girl was really confused now and you see the

303
00:29:45.360 --> 00:29:53.120
complex look on her face she said okay if God's that big and he's living inside of us shouldn't he

304
00:29:53.120 --> 00:30:03.360
show through us? Let that sink in for a second if God's that big and he's living inside of you

305
00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:14.240
shouldn't it be showing through you? Shouldn't people see it? Do they or do they even know you're a

306
00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:22.080
Christian? I'll mess up my Instagram followers if I talk like that I got a good thing going

307
00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:30.320
I might be an influencer someday he's going to shine through

308
00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:40.080
look at what it says in 1st Peter 315 always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks

309
00:30:40.080 --> 00:30:44.560
you to give a reason for the hope that you have but do this with gentleness and respect.

310
00:30:47.040 --> 00:30:52.480
Rudard Kipling was one of England's most distinguished riders in the latter part of the 19th century

311
00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:57.680
in the early part of the 20th century and he was a man of few words but profound and it was

312
00:30:57.680 --> 00:31:03.600
even reported that his publisher would even pay him a dollar per word for his work. That's pretty

313
00:31:03.600 --> 00:31:08.400
cool right? I mean my wife published dollars she got several books if you got a dollar per word

314
00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:15.840
I might be on a beach somewhere so some students at Cambridge they thought this was a really

315
00:31:15.840 --> 00:31:19.360
cool thing and they thought they're going to be super clever so they sent him one dollar

316
00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:23.920
along with a message that said give us one of your very best words

317
00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:31.120
so the clever man of few words that he was Kipling responded with a telegram that simply said

318
00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:38.800
thanks well later in his life he was deathly ill on his deathbed he was stirring

319
00:31:38.800 --> 00:31:43.120
recessally in a lot of pain and the attending nurse that is there anything I can do for you can I

320
00:31:43.120 --> 00:31:51.680
get you anything he said I want God I can't tell you how many stories I've heard like that

321
00:31:53.040 --> 00:31:57.040
people have such pride and accomplishment but at the very end if they're not wanting their

322
00:31:57.040 --> 00:32:02.160
awards and their accolades even their fans to gather around and recount their greatness

323
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:10.960
they want God because none of that stuff just like the iPhone it can't feel the void in your soul

324
00:32:12.800 --> 00:32:18.960
only Jesus can so when I read that story my question was I wonder if that nurse was able to deliver

325
00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:26.080
do you think she was able to give him God think she was able to deliver the goods and tell him

326
00:32:26.080 --> 00:32:38.720
exactly how to find God would you have been able to I want you to be able to God wants us to be able to

327
00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:49.680
imagine for a second that you're a doctor and the whole world has been diagnosed with a terminal

328
00:32:49.760 --> 00:32:57.040
disease there's no cure so day after day you go into the labs and you research and you work

329
00:32:57.040 --> 00:33:02.400
tirelessly to find a cure and one day you do you find a cure for this terminal disease

330
00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:09.520
but then you refuse to share it with anybody else what kind of a person would that make you

331
00:33:09.520 --> 00:33:14.560
so let's get really quiet in here

332
00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:24.880
every day you walk by thousands of people who have a terminal disease of sin

333
00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:31.680
and somebody cared enough about you to share the cure with you that Jesus was the cure

334
00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:37.360
his death burial and resurrection taking your sin and shame on the cross with him dying and

335
00:33:37.360 --> 00:33:43.280
rising back up from the dead conquering death sin in the grave gave you now the cure and eternal life

336
00:33:43.280 --> 00:33:49.920
you have the power to share that with people are you doing it we have to get good at this because

337
00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:55.840
there really is a heaven and there really is a hell the stakes could not be higher

338
00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:05.280
so you actually do have the cure to a terminal disease that people in your life have are you

339
00:34:05.280 --> 00:34:13.120
sharing it with them or you just keeping it to yourself I got mine I'm good

340
00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:22.000
or you're going on like a covid vaccine campaign and you got a vast necklace and you're telling

341
00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:30.960
everybody get your shot get your booster come on isn't real what we'll do it for that but not this

342
00:34:35.600 --> 00:34:42.000
this is real every day we're walking past people that need what we have somebody cared enough

343
00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:49.360
about you to share the cure with you there's a legend that recounts Jesus return back to heaven

344
00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:54.320
after his time on earth and he returned to heaven still bearing the scars of his crucifixion

345
00:34:55.200 --> 00:35:01.200
and then the angel Gabriel approaches Jesus and he says wow you suffered

346
00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:09.920
incredibly for them I was watching Jesus said yeah I did and I think Gabriel kind of looked at him

347
00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:16.800
and he said do they know how much you did for them and how much you love them Jesus said no not yet

348
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:25.120
it's okay we'll say well what have you done to make sure that people understand how much you

349
00:35:25.120 --> 00:35:30.880
love them and everything you did for them like we know but if they don't know he said well I've

350
00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:36.480
I've asked Peter James and John and some others to tell people what I've done for them

351
00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:43.440
and then they in turn will tell other people until everyone on earth has heard about my love and

352
00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:50.400
sacrifice for them well at this point Gabriel kind of was grimacing a little bit

353
00:35:50.640 --> 00:36:01.840
he said Jesus I don't mean to be disrespectful but I've been watching humans for a long long time

354
00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:10.720
they're not very dependable he said what if Peter James and John they don't tell everyone

355
00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:19.600
what if the people they tell what if what if they forget and they stop or what if way

356
00:36:19.600 --> 00:36:27.200
way down in the 21st century people get too scared or too afraid to tell people about your story

357
00:36:27.200 --> 00:36:33.280
please tell me you've made other plans for everyone to hear what you've done and the sacrifice

358
00:36:33.280 --> 00:36:37.200
you've made there has to be another plan there's got to be another way

359
00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:46.160
and Jesus kind of smiled and he said there's not I'm counting on them

360
00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:54.880
he said I've been watching him too he's counting on you he's confident

361
00:36:55.680 --> 00:37:08.480
oh Gabriel's not James is not but Jesus is there's no plan B you're just the plan

362
00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:18.320
you ready to do it I'm asked the worship team to come

363
00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:27.520
father thank you that you've given us the blueprint thank you that you sent Jesus and that he

364
00:37:27.520 --> 00:37:33.040
with all his power laid it down to pay the price that we couldn't pay for our sin now we have

365
00:37:33.040 --> 00:37:38.560
the cure for the disease that was destroying us and that vowed to separate us from an eternity

366
00:37:38.560 --> 00:37:44.080
with you but you created a way now we have a cure father now we have the ability to share it with

367
00:37:44.160 --> 00:37:49.360
everyone in our life father I pray that if there's anything in our world that's distracting us

368
00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:55.680
from sharing that understanding the importance and the critical nature of sharing that the stakes

369
00:37:55.680 --> 00:38:01.040
that you just take it away father don't let anything keep us silent don't let the world don't

370
00:38:01.040 --> 00:38:06.000
let pressure don't let culture don't let politics don't let friends relationships pride

371
00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:13.200
anything keep us from sharing the power of our changed life father you've made a difference in

372
00:38:13.200 --> 00:38:18.320
us now we have joy we have purpose and we have an eternity destined with you let us live in that

373
00:38:18.320 --> 00:38:24.000
reality with purpose confidence and a big smile on our face as we share that story with the world

374
00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:30.480
father you've given us so much to enjoy but I've prayed that everything pales in comparison

375
00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:36.160
to the excitement and the passion in which we share your story with people in our lives

376
00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:43.200
you're worth it thank you for loving us we love you back and it's in Jesus name we pray

377
00:38:43.920 --> 00:38:51.120
amen amen this is the city light church podcast if you've missed any part of today's message

378
00:38:51.120 --> 00:38:55.600
or if you would like to find out more about pastor boy on jansik and city light church

379
00:38:55.600 --> 00:39:05.120
visit us at citylightnyc.com that's citylightnyc.com feel free to visit us online or in person anytime

380
00:39:05.120 --> 00:39:10.080
we would love to connect with you we pray that you have been encouraged today

381
00:39:10.080 --> 00:39:15.280
that you have been reminded how much god loves you and that you are surrounded by grace

382
00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:20.560
thank you for listening make sure that you subscribe to city light church podcast wherever

383
00:39:20.560 --> 00:39:26.080
you find your favorite podcasts worldwide