WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.000 Show me a Christian who has a faith-goal list, but isn't ruled by that list, but is just happy with their relationship with the Lord and is happy with the clothes on their back and the breath that he's put in their nostrils, happy that their sins are completely forgiven. 2 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:22.000 They've been made the right choices of God through faith in Jesus Christ, filled with the Holies, can they get any better than this Lord? 3 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:26.000 Also, I have that list from so happy, so filled with joy! 4 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:35.000 Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today, as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that He has for us. 5 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:44.000 If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com, that's citylightnyc.com. 6 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:52.000 Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds. 7 00:00:52.000 --> 00:01:03.000 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. 8 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:19.000 So we just got back last Monday, we had a really special vacation for two weeks in Belize, and I highly recommend Belize. 9 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:32.000 If you want fancy, don't go to Belize, but if you like adventure and the best snorkeling and school beddiving and spearfishing and just jumping off docks with stray dogs, you're going to find that. 10 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:38.000 You're going to find that in Belize, there's no resorts there, I like it that way. 11 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:45.000 People like Antigas better, Aruba is better, I don't want to stay on the 30th floor of a Marriott. 12 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:59.000 You know, like a bunch of drunk Americans in the pool going, these days are freedom, as all I've ever had, I don't want to see that person. 13 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:04.000 I want to see Belizeans, hey man. 14 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:13.000 We had two, it was just so much fun, and with the kids, our kids are 11 and 7 now, so it's non-stop comedy hour. 15 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:25.000 And we got back late Monday night, and for whatever reason, I woke up at 5 a.m., no alarm, just 5 a.m. Tuesday morning. 16 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:34.000 You know, there's so much to do when you first get back. I first wanted to just get with the Lord, and you know how you have your favorite playlist? 17 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:39.000 For worship songs, no one's looking at me, you have playlist, right? 18 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:49.000 I have my favorite playlist, but sometimes you play your favorite playlist so much that you've kind of sucked all the anointing off of all those songs, and now they don't do it for you anymore. 19 00:02:49.000 --> 00:03:00.000 So I'm like, what have I listened to in a while? That's awesome. That has an anointing on it, and I thought, oh Jason Upton, I've put him on a shelf just long enough to where if I listen to it again, it'll be fresh to me. 20 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:09.000 And I ask Alexa to play my favorite Jason Upton album, which is Jacob's dream. Alexa play Jacob's dream. 21 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:18.000 She doesn't start the album. She thinks I'm talking about the song also by that same name, and she puts on the song, and about 30 seconds into the song. 22 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:28.000 See, I just fresh from a two week vacation. JFK is like, what a rude and rough welcome back home. 23 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:37.000 We crawl in, right? Fridge is empty. We don't know up or down. Kids at school that say morning, all the unwashed laundry. 24 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:47.000 And Jacob's dream comes on, and I didn't expect it. I love it when the Lord does this. I wish he'd do 10 times a day. He smashes me. 25 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:57.000 I'm listening to the song, and I'm crumbling, laugh crying, cry laughing in my home office. The Lord just, I mean, I'm coming undone. 26 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:05.000 I'm wrecked completely, and I get the download for this year, and I get the download for us as a church. 27 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:11.000 So this is kind of like my new year sermon that I should have preached last Sunday. I know in the fan you'll say, and the Lord did a fantastic job. 28 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:21.000 But this is what the Lord put on my heart. I want you to just check out the lyrics to this song, Jacob's dream by Jason Upton. 29 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:51.000 Hallelujah. 30 00:04:52.000 --> 00:05:09.000 You see, one of my pledges to the Lord for 2026 was to be much kinder and gentler, especially to the media team. 31 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:20.000 He said, son, this is the final boss in your life. Once I work this out of you, you will have arrived. 32 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:30.000 So the old me would be there. Because in the first service, it came right up, you know. Right when I said the song, but something got lost in translation. 33 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:39.000 Which is okay. Because perhaps you're new. Maybe you didn't see it. No pressure. 34 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:54.000 There was a lot more of these little moments back in the day for everything had to be timed to the second. 35 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:59.000 Let me tell you what he's singing about and then the lyrics will come up. 36 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:08.000 He's singing about Jacob. Abraham had Isaac. Isaac began Jacob, Jacob had the 12 tribes of Israel. 37 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:17.000 Jacob, the very name means schema or scoundrel. Jacob was the quintessential New Yorker. 38 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:31.000 He was very prone to NYC 2026 hustle culture. He sharpened his elbows. His motto along with many New Yorkers motto is if it's to be, it's up to me. 39 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:40.000 I'm ambitious. I'm going to be successful. I'm going to get mine. I'm going to make it happen. I'm going to take it. 40 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:52.000 I'm going to do whatever it takes. That is not God's way. And people who are believers are just getting a very frustrated. 41 00:06:52.000 --> 00:07:00.000 People who are unbelievers may achieve what's on their list. However, they too will end up very frustrated. 42 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:10.000 And it will feel like sand in their mouth. And here's the song that will read the scripture. Jacob really long to be a hero. 43 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:22.000 And then God is saying, all I really wanted was a friend. Do you know that God didn't create you to be successful? He created you to have relationship with him. 44 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:38.000 When you do that, you will be successful. Amen. When you put his kingdom first and see God and his kingdom, all those other things, things God is not against, things God is not against success. 45 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:52.000 He just wants you to put him first, then all those other things will be added unto you. But he didn't create you to be successful. He created you to have relationship with you. Amen. 46 00:07:52.000 --> 00:08:03.000 Jacob really long to be somebody. The moment you try or you stop trying to be somebody is the moment God will promote you. 47 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:14.000 You ever get around somebody and you can just it's just emanating from them. They want to be somebody. Yeah, everybody should know their name. 48 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:28.000 And they're preinst the famous on their way. And it emanates from it. It smells bad, doesn't it? You're smelling them in the spirit. It's really the opposite of what God wants for us. 49 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:44.000 Jacob really long to be a hero. God saying, oh, I really wanted was a friend. I'm the way, the life, the truth. So tell me Jacob, when will the lying end? Because he was always lying, probably telling himself they were white lies, just to get ahead. 50 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:59.000 And the question from God then, and does the striving make you strong? Because when I came to love on you, say, Jacob, where came to Bethel? 51 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:13.000 And he made camp there and lie down. And God came to him and what does Jacob do? He's so full of strife. He's so full of the hustle. He's sharpened his elbows so much that he begins to wrestle with God. 52 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:25.000 Jesus visits him in the person of the angel of the Lord and he wrestling fights God until God dislocates his hip. Why did God dislocate his hip to show him that he needed a crutch? 53 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:36.000 He wasn't strong in himself. He needed to lean on God. You know how some people go? Oh, Christianity is just a crutch for you. I say, thank you very much. Do you have another compliment for me? 54 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:45.000 Because I know what your crutch is, your high half the time. You party your brains out. That's your crutch. You doom scroll 12 hours a day. That's your crutch. 55 00:09:45.000 --> 00:10:00.000 You got all these addictions in your life. That's your crutch. We as humans, we need help. We need a crutch. I'm very proud to say that Jesus Christ, the Alpha, Nomega, the first and the last and maker of heaven and earth is my crutch. 56 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:14.000 So Jacob had to learn that lesson the hard way. God has hip dislocated. But God didn't come down there to dislocate his hip. He came to bless him. Jacob immediately does what's natural to him. Let me fight. 57 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:40.000 Full of strife. Because when I came to love on you, you fought me till the dawn. It was that verse. You know, I was still I wasn't even fully in worship. I just asked Alexa to play the song. I'm still from the trip. I'm organizing the things on my desk. And I hear that verse. It was like a waterfall of the Holy Ghost. 58 00:10:40.000 --> 00:11:01.000 You fought me till the dawn. Finally, Jacob's lying down. That's where God had to come to him when he was at rest. Do you know Aaron's rod? It butted when Aaron took it and threw it down on the floor. What was it doing? Nothing. It was just being. 59 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:17.000 That's when it produced fruit. There is a consistent theme throughout all 66 books of the Bible that God is a God of rest. This is the antithesis to everything you're hearing to every motivational expert right now. 60 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:34.000 This is the word of the Lord for our church. Typically to start 2026, the word is something like to encourage and inspire and whip people a little bit. Like this is going to be a great year. You can't be lazy. You got to be disciplined. You know, six ways to stop procrastinating. You got to go. Go. 61 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:56.000 When I look back on my life, everything worth mentioning that I received from the Lord actually came when I got to the end of myself collapsed by force. 62 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:11.000 I got into a place of rest and then it came to me. My pastor was so fond of saying this. He said it for years when I was with him at random times. He said, the moment you quit struggling to get what you want, God will give it to you. 63 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:21.000 The moment you quit, and it would be like, hey, would you pass that word? The moment you quit struggling just all the time. I knew he was not to something, but I didn't have a revelation of it. 64 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:40.000 But through the years and through some of my stubbornness, God taught me. You fought me till the dawn. Finally, Jacob's lying down. And while he sleeps, I will dream of a generation not known for their crowns or success. 65 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:55.000 But again, who was not so much as interested in crowds or pleasing men, but knowing me. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Let's read that. 66 00:12:55.000 --> 00:13:10.000 Oh, Psalm 127. I want to give you a scripture. Have you ever read a scripture that meant so much to you, you remember exactly where you were when you read it? 67 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:21.000 I read this scripture. It was sophomore year of college. I was in my dorm room. First time I stumbled upon this. When I read it, I couldn't believe it was in the Bible. 68 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:34.000 Because it was something the Lord was trying to teach me. I could sense in prayer. I just didn't have scripture for, you know, in the beginning, everything's new. The hands come across this. And I'm like, I know this is what God, how he operates, but it's actually in the word. 69 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:45.000 And I was going to a church. Good church. I still have a great relationship. He ministered here past your time. Hallelujah. Love Christian assembly in Long Island. It was a great church, but they hadn't had this revelation yet. 70 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:57.000 He would say that you'd be the first to say that today. So everything was whipping and striving. Everything was priding the people trying to get them to do more. 71 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:11.000 Here's what the Bible says, unless the Lord builds the house. What house? The house of our life. For me, part of the house of my life is the house of the Lord. 72 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:23.000 Unless the Lord is actually building it, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 73 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:44.000 Next verse, it is vain for you to rise up early to sit up late to eat the bread of sorrows. For so he gives his beloved sleep in the Hebrew. This is stunning. It literally says God gives to his loved ones while they sleep. 74 00:14:44.000 --> 00:15:10.000 While they're at rest, provision flows most freely when the anxiety stops. The amplified really amplifies it quite a bit. It is vain for you to rise up early. You know when I said I woke up at 5 a.m. It's not because I set my alarm. 75 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:29.000 You know, when you're listening to the motivational experts, I mean, first it was get up at 6. Then it's get up at 5. Now they're getting up at 3. I get up at 3 through an alarm. I will be the most unpastoral pastor you ever met. When I say I got up at 5, it's because my body woke up then. 76 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:43.000 I really believe this is a life of message for me because everything he's done in my life, especially recently, I don't deserve and I did not hustle for. I did not work for. He just gave it to me in a place to rest. 77 00:15:43.000 --> 00:16:02.000 Come on. It is vain for you to rise up early to take rest late to eat the bread of anxious toil for he gives blessings. When you're sleeping, when you're at rest, what does it mean to be at rest? 78 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:16.000 It means that you have ceased from your own striving. It means that there's a rest in your soul because you do not trust yourself. You've done everything you need to do in the natural. 79 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:36.000 But ultimately you know that God is the one who will bring it to fruition and now you're resting in that. The highest level of faith is rest. When you see somebody who's brow is furrowed and they're still fighting in prayer, good, but don't spend forever there. 80 00:16:36.000 --> 00:17:05.000 Eventually get to the place where you believe that you have received and now you're at a place of gratitude and rest. I have seen this in our church over and over and over again. When we first started City Light, I remember I would be alone in that basement at 1217 Street. I had a folding table every morning. I had every morning about 859. I had that folding table opened up the laptop on and I'd be working and working. 81 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Not even that much work when you first started church, but I had to be busy eight hours a day, otherwise I'd be a lazy preacher. I don't want to be one of those lazy preachers. I got to make it happen and I ran myself ragged and there was no growth. Then you know what happened? I collapsed. I said, forget this. 82 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:53.000 So at nearly 30 years old, living in that basement, I went, Mom, can I crash in your couch for a while? I'm done with this. I'm like, I'm sure you crash. I'm crashing the couch for days and days and days. You say, what are you doing? Nothing. I was so tired. I had like a adrenal fatigue. I was doing nothing. And I was like, Lord, you got somehow I felt a strange piece as I was doing nothing. I really, I'm like waiting for the Lord to say, you lazy 10 you. Get up off. 83 00:17:54.000 --> 00:18:14.000 Never came. Then everything I was fighting for, he just began to do. Do you know what? By the way, here's my history. I did not own a TV from 1994 till 2009. Didn't own it. Why? Because that would be distracting in the evenings you read. 84 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:44.000 I mean, I really tried to do everything by the book, which I'm not saying that's bad. That's a good thing. But you know what I did when I moved back to my mom? And I hadn't played video games in over a decade. I moved back to my mom. This was like, oh, oh, four or five. I got an Xbox. It was no sex. I got an Xbox. So now I'm like to completely backslip and pasture. I'm playing this game that was brand new then Halo. And I'm like, reliving like what I should have been doing 85 00:18:44.000 --> 00:19:12.000 when I was 18. I had no video games. I'm like, I'm like, and the Lord, the Lord starts blessing waves of new people start coming. You can't stay on the couch, but the Lord was, the Lord was teaching me a lesson. And that's that when I work, he rests. 86 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:37.000 When I rest, he works. This is not an exhortation to be passive. No. This is an exhortation to be aggressive. This is not an exhortation to be lazy. But this is an exhortation to once you've done what you need to do with the natural. You got to back off. You got to trust the Lord to do it in your life. 87 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:58.000 This is how city like church operates. We won't do anything unless the Lord breathes on it first. And there have been times when we've missed it. There have been times where we're like, all right, you know, sometimes as you're waiting between the waves of the Lord, you don't you want to make sure maybe you don't want to make sure you haven't gone to sleep. So like I remember one year. 88 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:27.000 A while ago, we had this bring your friend to church Sunday. And the staff, all of us, we obsessed over. We planned about it. We organized for months. It was the Sunday where everybody was supposed to bring their friend, but the announcement, the graphics, the promotions, the, and then that Sunday finally comes. Nobody brought their friend to church. Not one. I'm, we, do we have the loneliest group of people coming here or what? 89 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:42.000 Then a few months later, without us doing a thing, all of a sudden waves of friends are coming to church. Wait, what's the difference? One was in our own strength. Not blessed. The other was from a place to rest. God breathed and blessed. Amen. 90 00:20:42.000 --> 00:21:08.000 And this is the year where the Lord will teach us to a greater degree, how to fall back and rest in him. When we rest, he works. When we work and strive and push and schmitz and sweat and labor, he rests. And you can't do both at the same time. Hallelujah. 91 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:25.000 Let's go to Matthew 11. This is the case for ceasing from religious striving. 92 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:44.000 Because we're talking about, let me back up a little bit. For 2026, I hope you have like a vision list. Call it a prayer list, a vision list, you have five things you want the Lord to do in your life. 93 00:21:44.000 --> 00:22:07.000 That is good. That is healthy without a vision that people perish. They cast off for strength. You need faith goals, right? If you want to be married, you're not married. Bam. That should be number one on your list. You're not happy with your job. You want another job or promotion. Boom. Put it on your list. Increase in finances. Put it on your list. Have a list. If you don't have a list, where's your faith directed at? 94 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:25.000 But here is the tension that few Christians have learned how to navigate. You're at point A, that's your current life. Point B, all the way over here, is the fulfillment of that list, right? That's point B. But you're a point A, and you're looking at your list. 95 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:34.000 And probably in the back of your mind, you're going, how in the world is the Lord going to fulfill this list? 96 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:46.000 As long as you're obsessing over the list, as long as the list is a priority in your life, for some, the list becomes their God. The list will never be fulfilled. 97 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:55.000 The tension isn't, so, okay, that's one side of the spectrum. Let me backtrack even more. The other side is some people, look, I don't have a list. 98 00:22:55.000 --> 00:23:12.000 Akuna Matata. No worries. Whatever will be will be. You know, I just kind of go with the flow, man. You ever see someone talk like that? Do you want to emulate their life? Not me. 99 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:23.000 So the tension isn't, you have the list, but the list doesn't rule you. The list is something external that's going to make your life better, that you believe is bringing you into your destiny and God. 100 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:39.000 But while you're at point A, have the list, you can talk about the list to the Lord every day. Feel free to do so. But your peace, your contentment, your rest is apart from the fulfillment of that list. 101 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:50.000 That's the tension. That's what I believe the Lord will teach us quickly this year, how to walk into, because that's exactly where the promises are fulfilled. 102 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:59.000 Show me a Christian who has a faith goal list, but isn't ruled by that list, but is just happy with their relationship with the Lord. 103 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:06.000 And it's happy with the clothes on their back and the breath that he's put in their nostrils, happy that their sins are completely forgiven. 104 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:13.000 They've even made the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ filled with the Holy Spirit. Can't again any better than this Lord. 105 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:24.000 Also, I have that list, but I'm so happy. So filled with joy. And then you're praising Lord, you go, oh, I wasn't. You did that. And you did that. And look at that. You did that. 106 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:32.000 Hallelujah. I'm trying to condense really what the Lord has been teaching me since 1992 in one sermon. 107 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:42.000 More than anything I've seen, I study, why do some people get answers to prayers? Others don't. Why do some people's lives change? Others, it's like they're the Lord. They change that. 108 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:51.000 What is the difference? This is the difference. Hallelujah. Matthew 1128. 109 00:24:51.000 --> 00:25:09.000 So we cease from our striving. We do everything we can in natural. Also, the rest of God is ceasing from trying to be perfect before God apart from the blood of Jesus. 110 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:16.000 We are really in and of ourselves completely unimpressive, and that's an understatement to the Lord. 111 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:24.000 He's not impressed with my religiosity and my law keeping. I have no ability to dot every T and cross every I. 112 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:39.000 Reverse that. Yeah. Jesus. He said, come to me. All you who labor. Who was he talking to factory workers? No. 113 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:49.000 Because I've heard that verse often. Are you tired this week? Have you had a long time at the job? Jesus says, come to me. All you who labor. He's not talking about that kind of labor. 114 00:25:50.000 --> 00:26:00.000 He's talking about religious labor. Do you know what Judaism was like in Jesus' day was not like the Judaism that was around in Moses' day. 115 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:05.000 It had warped while they were in Babylon. They didn't have the word of God with them. They didn't have the temple. 116 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:13.000 And they began writing outside of the word of God in the Talmud. And Talmudic Judaism had crept in. That's why Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees. 117 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:23.000 Saying, you whitewash tombs, you brood of diapers. Because of your traditions, your man made stuff. You make the power of God of no effect. 118 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:33.000 How will you avoid the condemnation of hell? Who's talking to people who added to the word of God and add they did? 119 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:40.000 So much so. Can you imagine every time you want to drink some water, you got to put a bunch of nets as you pour the water, you got to strain for nets. 120 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:52.000 He said, you strain for nets, but you swallow camels. You have to strain for a little net or mosquito, lest they go into the water you're about to drink, and it'd be uncosure and unclean. 121 00:26:52.000 --> 00:27:00.000 That's tedious. That's religious labor. When Jesus said this, they wouldn't wear sandals on the Sabbath day. 122 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:09.000 Lest they accidentally step on a kernel of corn and the husk break, and it'd be considered work, and it'd be considered a breaking of the Sabbath. 123 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:18.000 Who wants to live that way? That's not how God wanted them to live. So what is he saying? He's saying, you're working for God too much. 124 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:32.000 You're trying to do stuff to win his favor. No, no, no, come to me, you labor, and you're under a heavy burden, you're heavy laden. 125 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:45.000 Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And in the next verse he says, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 126 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:56.000 Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So what does that look like as you're pursuing the Lord and the destiny has for you in 2026? 127 00:27:56.000 --> 00:28:04.000 You're in a place of rest. That means here's how I would define rest if I haven't already. I don't know if I did in the first or second. 128 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:18.000 It's you doing whatever the Lord puts in your heart and your spirit, but no more and no less. And when it comes to relating to him, you will always feel to a degree. 129 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:30.000 You will always feel like you're not enough. You know why? Because you're not. See your ability to keep God's law sucks. 130 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:41.000 And if you turn to me and said, pastor, your ability to keep God's law sucks. I'd say, I know. 131 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:58.000 I cannot impress God with my own self effort. There is none. If I spent the rest of my life giving stuff away, reading his word every waking hour, selling everything I have, traveling to the poorest place in the world, washing their feet. 132 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:16.000 My own effort means nothing to me. He says, all your righteousness is as a filthy rack. Eventually you must collapse and go, Jesus, my trust is in you. And because of the blood, because of the finished, completed work of the cross, I am squeaky clean to you. 133 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:31.000 I am without sin, without spa, without wrinkle. You accept me as you do Jesus Christ Himself. That's how the Father accepts you, isn't that good news? So you get that kind of a rest. Hallelujah. 134 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:49.000 Oh, hallelujah. Hebrews 410. Is this blessing you today? Thank you, Lord. For He who has entered His rest. Yeah. 135 00:29:50.000 --> 00:30:01.000 This sermon, by the way, you shouldn't just listen, unless you've been around for a long time and the Lord has already begun this process in you, this sermon may be a little frustrating because it's paradoxical. 136 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:18.000 It's mysterious and I'm not trying to be paradoxical to appear sophisticated and lofty. It just is. It's my numbing. When I got to work, but not work too much, I got a labor, but I got a labor, not how I think I got a labor, actually got a labor to enter into His rest. 137 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:31.000 What does that mean? I got to work to rest. Yeah, because when we're programmed to just work in the natural, it actually takes some work to go, yeah, I'm going to do what you're telling me I need to do. 138 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:41.000 But no more. You know what? Keep that up there. I'm going to tell you a story. It's a story time in the house of the Lord. The only thing that can actually drive this point home is a story. 139 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:54.000 When I graduated college, 1998, I'm 22 years old. I did college just, frankly, because my parents said, you're going to college, but I couldn't wait to go to Bible school of some kind. 140 00:30:54.000 --> 00:31:07.000 So a graduate college, and now it's time for Bible school. And in August, it was actually August 12th. I now remember that because August 14th is when I got saved to August 12th. 141 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:21.000 I mean, this was six years later, but it was all in August in that same week. August 12th, I landed in Tampa. I didn't know anybody except one person, Carl Brown. And I only knew him from the phone. 142 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:32.000 And he said he would take me in for a few days. He had a wife, he had two kids. He didn't need, you know, 22-year-old both fighting his way on his couch. 143 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:46.000 So he said, you can stay on our couch for a few days and I help you get started. So I had a goal of three things. One, get a car. I need a car. No buses, I mean buses, but Tampa buses, you know. 144 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:59.000 And I didn't get my license till I was, I didn't get my license till a few months before I went to Tampa. Because I'm a New Yorker. I didn't need it. I need a car, I need a job, and I need an apartment. 145 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:14.000 Day one, we go to get a car. And by the way, I have almost no money. All this I had to do with under $2,000. I remember I had a friend who I had led to the Lord who later came to the River Bible Institute of her mother worked for TWA. 146 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:29.000 Kids that's an airline that used to exist back in the day. And it was, you know how you go to the terminal with the jet blue and there's that awesome building, all architectural and wavy like. It was actually in that terminal. I had to go through that because her mother got me stand by tickets real cheap. 147 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:47.000 So I'm tied on money. I land day one. I got to get a car. He takes me to several use car lots. All these cars are like $3,000, $4,000. The final car lot. I find the car for $1,000. And it's a stick shift. And I can barely drive stick shift. So I learned grinding gears. 148 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:57.000 Day one, I get the car. Flintstone Mobile with a stick shift. Cost $1,000. Day two already. An apartment comes. 149 00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:08.000 He actually called up the ministry and said, is there anybody who's renting an apartment? They said no. We didn't even have Craigslist back then. This was like the beginning of the internet. 150 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:15.000 So he hangs up two hours later. The ministry calls back and said, you know somebody just called us and said they have this apartment to see. 151 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:31.000 So I come in. It's $400 a month fully furnished what they call a mother-in-law set up, which is return the garage into like a room and a kitchenette. It was perfect. So day one car, day two, the apartment. Now it's time to get a job to pay for all these things. 152 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:42.000 The whole time since I landed, I'm sending out resumes. And I'm determined I'm not going to be passive. I'm not going to be lazy. I'm not going to fail at this because I didn't do something. 153 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:52.000 So that's good and that's healthy. But if this is where the tension is, very quickly you can forget about God and make it all about what you can accomplish. 154 00:33:52.000 --> 00:34:03.000 This whole time I'm absolutely terrified. Everything is new for me. And every time I sit in that car to drive it, I'm going, Lord, please make sure I don't die. 155 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:17.000 So after several days of handing out resumes driving by, resume to everybody, like day five or six, I wake up and I'm thinking another day I'm going to hit it. And the Lord speaks to me. 156 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:33.000 And when I say the Lord speaks to me, I want to be very specific. He speaks to me stronger and louder than typical. The Lord speaks to us all through the still small voice, the wisdom that he gives us, the quiet, gentle nudges of our shepherd. This was louder. This was more authoritative. 157 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:53.000 This is I remember it to this day. He said, go to the beach. You have not been, it's almost a week and you haven't even touched clear water. St. Petersburg, go to the beach. That would be like the most irresponsible thing I can do. I have no job. 158 00:34:53.000 --> 00:35:11.000 I'm going to go have a day at the beach. Like who does that? He said, you're going to do that. So I do as the Lord says, I go to the beach. I'm walking around clear water beach, going for a swim all alone, saying hallelujah. I even saw a restaurant the only time I ever saw my own name. 159 00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:32.000 It was a giant sign. And they pronounced boy on Bojan. And it was called Bojan steakhouse. And I asked someone on the beach, what is that place? And they said, oh, some Canadian guy. I said, he's not Canadian. That's, I know where that guy is from. He started a station. He started like in 1978. 160 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:51.000 I have a great day at the beach. Get some sun on my face. Go back to the mother-in-law setup. And as I'm coming in, I look at the answering machine. Many of you, you don't know what an answering machine is. Watch a few sign-filled episodes, especially the one about the answering machine. 161 00:35:51.000 --> 00:36:08.000 Before visual voicemail, virtual voicemail, whatever, there were answering machines. And I look and the light is blanking. Who could it be? Nobody has my number except Carl Brown, but he quickly hit, and it was Franklin Templeton. 162 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:22.000 One of the dozens of places that I sent my resume to asking me to come in for an interview. And I got that job with Franklin Templeton, and that job is what sustained me that first year of Bible school. 163 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:42.000 To me, that was a life lesson. That was what he wanted me to use as a grid, as a blueprint for my life and for my ministry, which is, do what you need to do in the natural. But if you overdo it, and some of you overdoing it doesn't actually mean you're doing anything. 164 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:55.000 You're just in your bed obsessing over it. Now you're not in a place to rest. You're agonizing. You're worrying. You're stressing. You're talking to everyone about it because of your own anxiety. Now you're working. Guess what the God has to do. He's got to back up and rest. 165 00:36:55.000 --> 00:37:11.000 But when you're going to rest, go for a walk on the beach. And I emphasize again, after you've done the normal things, you need to do in the natural. That's when he comes and puts his super over your natural. Can we shout a big hallelujah? 166 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:19.000 Amen. I want to give you a bunch of verses. 167 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:38.000 Let echo this thing. Isaiah 30, 15. If you're into taking notes, memorize these verses. Isaiah 30, 15. The Bible says in returning and rest. I believe the King James says in repentance and rest, shall be your salvation. 168 00:37:38.000 --> 00:38:00.000 In returning and rest, you shall be saved in quietness and confidence. Shall be your strength. Israel wanted activity and alliances. But God said salvation and strength only come through rest and trust. 169 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:18.000 Hallelujah. Not frantic effort. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. 170 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:32.000 I just want to go on record. The Lord spoke this to me just driving here. I want to probably won't be used and don't get excited, but I want to give that made back away this year. I'm so I want to give it away. 171 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:44.000 That's it. I want to say to go on record. To be held accountable. Because there's something the Lord, and this is okay. I said, Lord, in order for me to do that, you got to do this other thing here. 172 00:38:44.000 --> 00:39:04.000 He said, that's nothing for me. Then it'll be nothing for me. Amen. I believe God. God wants to do some preposterous, hilarious. You know the Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. You know what that word in the Greek is, hilarious. It's where we get the word hilarious from. 173 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:30.000 So you go to the cigar lounge. Did you all know I go to a cigar lounge? I told a lot of people. You don't know. I like cigars. I like them a lot. You say, you religious religious thing. You ate fast food three times last week. 174 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:59.000 I need more unbelievers in my life. We're not going to meet unbelievers. And my wife keeps calling it a cigar bar. I'm like, baby, it's not a cigar bar. There's no alcohol there. It's a cigar lounge. A bunch of long island men. Yeah. And cigars, if you case you're wondering, because there's like Bonnie Andrews, he knows. And he said, you know, if you do this in India to them, that's like the ultimate sin. I'm going, that's so weird. Because the cigar is not dangerous. You're not inhaling. You're doing it. 175 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:15.000 You're doing it, Clinton. I didn't inhale cigarettes are bad. There's a lot of things that are bad. Look at any picture of Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, and he's got his, his trusty cigar. 176 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:27.000 So there, if you're grieved, if you're grieved, then your pastor goes to cigar lounge. You need to find out what some other pastors are up to. I'm okay. Amen. 177 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:40.000 Don't drink alcohol. Love my family. Amen. Porn free. Just that. It's really how weird the energy box shifts when you say that. 178 00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:51.000 Porn free. Amen. And, and we're, I can take the service in the whole other direction. If I talk more about that. 179 00:40:54.000 --> 00:41:04.000 May that deliverance, which has been for years and years, I have to say, because someone's always corn free as of last month. No. Years and years and years and years. 180 00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:11.000 But it is a major temptation when you carry the smut of the world in your back pocket in the form of a phone. 181 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:21.000 And so I do take this moment. How did the Lord do that? He just, he did it. It was a supernatural deliverance. And whoever needs that may come upon you. 182 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:29.000 Boy, that was a rabbit trail for somebody. But anyway, all that I go to a cigar lounge. That doesn't sound so bad, does it? 183 00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:42.000 And they ask about my life because I started going two years ago. So they've seen the transformation in my life. And they cannot, like to an unbeliever, makes no sense. 184 00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:52.000 Because they push, but first they didn't like that I got, you know, these things. Then I explained to them, hey, you know, I gave 2.1 million dollars to the church. They just don't do that. 185 00:41:53.000 --> 00:42:03.000 How does that even work? So I believe the Lord is going to make a hilarious display out of us. 186 00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:19.000 We're doing things that are so confounding to the natural mind that the world will go, yeah, just like they looked at Jesus' ministry and was like does not compute the error five, whatever it is, 5378B. 187 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:23.000 Hallelujah. 188 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:29.000 Judges 7-2. The people who are with you are too many. 189 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:36.000 The people who are with you are too many for me to give the media nights into their hands. 190 00:42:37.000 --> 00:42:46.000 Let Israel claim glory for itself against me. Can you imagine that? The Lord is saying, hey, your army is too strong. If I let you win like this, you're going to think it's you. 191 00:42:47.000 --> 00:43:05.000 So you've got to like thin that out a little bit so I get all the glory. That's a good hint. On your vision list, it should be far enough, wild enough, hilarious enough that when it comes to pass, you can't patch yourself on the back thinking you did it. 192 00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.000 It's got to be so out there that unless the Lord comes through your sunk. 193 00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:13.000 Saying, my own hand has saved me. 194 00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:23.000 The God intentionally removed Gideon's ability to win by human strength so the miracle could only be credited to him. 195 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:32.000 First Kings 19, 7-8, arise in eat because the journey is too great for you. This is for Elijah. 196 00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:45.000 So he arose an ate and drank and when he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horab, the mountain of God. 197 00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:52.000 Elijah was exhausted. He was so exhausted, this was probably some love. This was right after he called down fire on the prophets of Bale. 198 00:43:53.000 --> 00:44:07.000 Probably a spirit that spirit of Jezebel along with some kind of bad adrenal fatigue because he went literally from that mount top to whimpering underneath the tree, depressed and suicidal. 199 00:44:07.000 --> 00:44:15.000 I shared with you how I had two major bouts of not feeling the blues or sadness, the ability to depression. 200 00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:22.000 And as I was coming out of it after I was hospitalized, I still needed lots of sleep. 201 00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:27.000 Now I go on five hours of sleep, just fine. Five, six hours is amazing. 202 00:44:27.000 --> 00:44:35.000 I'm not kidding, I was sleeping 12, 13 hours a day. And again, the way I'm wired, I don't like to do that. 203 00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:40.000 I like to be productive. I'll wake up at nine a.m. 204 00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:48.000 I'll fall back asleep. Wake up again at 10.30, look at my watch, I'm like, oh Lord, I'm so sorry. I'm like, don't worry. 205 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:53.000 I'm like, Lord, I'm just so tired. And the Lord said, so sleep. 206 00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:59.000 My head didn't want to receive that. My head is condemning me. 207 00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:03.000 What kind of a pastor are you? What kind of a leader are you? 208 00:45:03.000 --> 00:45:13.000 You should already have been to the gym and like smash through your to-do list and listen. 209 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:17.000 You know back then I thought the way this is going, I'm going to be an abject failure. 210 00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:22.000 Like you look up failure and addiction area, they'll be my picture. 211 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:27.000 And then what the Lord has done in the last few years. 212 00:45:27.000 --> 00:45:33.000 He's sending a message. 213 00:45:33.000 --> 00:45:38.000 It's hard for me to even articulate it. I hope you're catching what I'm pitching. 214 00:45:38.000 --> 00:45:42.000 We're sometimes a lot harder on ourselves and condemning ourselves. 215 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:47.000 And the Lord would come to me morning after morning, be like, Lord, I can't get out of bed. 216 00:45:47.000 --> 00:45:52.000 Say to me, you need rest, let your body heal. I'm healing it as you rest. 217 00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:59.000 And I'm going, but if I continue like this, Lord, I'm going to just, it'll be bad. 218 00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:03.000 And you know what? I spent a few more weeks like that, linking my wounds. 219 00:46:03.000 --> 00:46:08.000 And then all of a sudden a strength return, more and more. And then with a few other weeks, 220 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:14.000 I was back to my normal self. Hallelujah. Elijah was in that place. 221 00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:19.000 Some of you need to rest. Do what you know to do in the natural. 222 00:46:19.000 --> 00:46:23.000 But then rest if you need to. 223 00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:28.000 That's how you know God is doing it supernaturally behind the scenes. 224 00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:32.000 And what will really mess you up. I could not do not get on social media. 225 00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:37.000 Do not let seven different characters. I've never seen so many motivation. 226 00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:41.000 Everybody's like a life coach and a motivational expert. 227 00:46:41.000 --> 00:46:45.000 Everybody's going to teach you get their course. You're going to 100 exit, baby. 228 00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.000 I'll teach you how to 100 X. What you got to do is you got to wake up at 3 a.m. 229 00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:53.000 All right. You can't eat anything but red meat. Only eat red meat. 230 00:46:53.000 --> 00:46:58.000 And you 100 exit, baby. 100 exit. 231 00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:04.000 And you'll run yourself ragged, baby. And you'll be miserable, baby. 232 00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:09.000 Your dreams won't come true. You'll just think, ah, I failed even at 100 X. 233 00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:13.000 I just failed at everything. Let God shock you. 234 00:47:13.000 --> 00:47:19.000 He is good. His way is from glory to glory to glory to glory. 235 00:47:19.000 --> 00:47:24.000 His way is increased. His way is promotion. 236 00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:27.000 It's what he wants. Hallelujah. 237 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:31.000 Mark 631. Here's what Jesus said. Oh, I love it. 238 00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:37.000 Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place. He's telling his disciples. 239 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:41.000 And rest a little while. 240 00:47:41.000 --> 00:47:44.000 Hallelujah. 241 00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:53.000 Jesus taught that spiritual fruitfulness requires intentional withdrawal. 242 00:47:53.000 --> 00:48:00.000 Not non-stop output. Worship team, you can come on up. 243 00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:06.000 Luke 1041-42. This is famous. I've preached this entire sermon on this. 244 00:48:06.000 --> 00:48:11.000 Jesus answered her and said to Martha. Martha Martha. What was Martha doing? 245 00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:16.000 She was cooking, cleaning, serving, doing what was good for a host to do. 246 00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:20.000 But Jesus reputed her. He said, you're too busy, busy, busy, busy. 247 00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.000 You know, people love to stay busy. 248 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:29.000 Pastures especially. 249 00:48:29.000 --> 00:48:35.000 How's it going, busy? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you're that busy. 250 00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.000 Martha Martha, you were worried and troubled about many things. 251 00:48:39.000 --> 00:48:43.000 Verse 42. But one thing, everybody shout one thing. 252 00:48:43.000 --> 00:48:47.000 Shout one thing. I said one thing. 253 00:48:47.000 --> 00:48:49.000 A little bit louder now. 254 00:48:49.000 --> 00:48:52.000 A little bit louder now. 255 00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:58.000 One thing. How many things? 256 00:48:58.000 --> 00:49:01.000 One thing. I said one thing. 257 00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:08.000 One thing. One thing. One thing is necessary. 258 00:49:08.000 --> 00:49:13.000 I said not two things. Not three things. Not four things. One thing. 259 00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:19.000 Jesus really breaks it down. He really causes us to focus. 260 00:49:19.000 --> 00:49:25.000 One thing is needed. And Mary has chosen that good part, 261 00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:28.000 which will not be taken away from her. 262 00:49:28.000 --> 00:49:35.000 What's the one thing to sit at my feet, a posture of rest? 263 00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:41.000 Sit at my feet and hear my word. Hallelujah. 264 00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:47.000 Hallelujah. God is looking for the person who has forgotten the one thing. 265 00:49:47.000 --> 00:49:51.000 Oh, He will multiply the efforts of the one thing, Christian. 266 00:49:51.000 --> 00:49:55.000 Zechariah 46, I'll close with this. 267 00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:57.000 Not by might. 268 00:49:57.000 --> 00:50:02.000 Know my power. You know this verse eluded me for years as a young Christian. 269 00:50:02.000 --> 00:50:04.000 I didn't know what that meant. 270 00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:07.000 Because I thought, what do you mean not by might? 271 00:50:07.000 --> 00:50:10.000 Your spirit is might. What do you mean not by power? 272 00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:13.000 Your spirit is powerful. This is like a contradiction, not by might. 273 00:50:13.000 --> 00:50:16.000 Not by power, but by my spirit. 274 00:50:16.000 --> 00:50:19.000 You know, sometimes you can just have a brick in your head from the enemy. 275 00:50:19.000 --> 00:50:24.000 And then the Lord took it away and went, oh, not by human might. 276 00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:34.000 Not by human power, not by self effort, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts. 277 00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:36.000 Hallelujah. 278 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:43.000 Let's pray right now. Heavenly Father, we're looking forward to 2026. 279 00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:47.000 May this be the year of resting in you. 280 00:50:47.000 --> 00:50:50.000 Teach us by the Holy Ghost. 281 00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:55.000 How to rest. How to do those things that you tell us to do. 282 00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:57.000 No more, no less. 283 00:50:57.000 --> 00:51:00.000 Give us practical wisdom. 284 00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.000 Sometimes what we think is necessary really doesn't make a difference. 285 00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:09.000 And you'll tell us to do something that seems unrelated, but that's actually the important part. 286 00:51:09.000 --> 00:51:14.000 Teach us to hold your hand, to hear your voice. 287 00:51:14.000 --> 00:51:18.000 Teach us to do the right thing, at the right time, and to fall back on you. 288 00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:24.000 Not trusting in our own strength, our own cleverness, but trusting in you when you alone. 289 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:27.000 We bless you. We bless you. 290 00:51:27.000 --> 00:51:37.000 And we're excited for the best year we're ever going to have in Jesus' name. Amen. 291 00:52:07.000 --> 00:52:10.000 Thank you for listening.