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Satan's job is to keep you from experiencing the presence of God and Satan lied to you and said

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you're hard to receive and you said yeah I am and the moment you said yes I am this is how it

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works with all of Satan's lies by the way you that partnered with that lie it's like you covenanted

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with a lie and now you received it now you're bound by it and you need to say Lord I'm sorry

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wash me a fresh in your blood welcome to the city light church podcast thanks for joining us

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as we look into God's word and discover the hope and truth that he has for us

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if you want to connect with city light church feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com

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that city light nyc.com faster boy on janskik and his team believe that the power of the

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Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds as you listen to today's teaching remember

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that you are deeply loved by God that you are surrounded by his grace and that he has a real hope

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and a future for you you know I had to make a decision when I was saved at 16 and called to the

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ministry at 16 I had to make a decision very quickly about what kind of pastor I was going to be

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because there's a fork in the road for every minister on the one side you can go to cemetery I

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mean seminary and you could become highly educated and you can wear a quarter zip with authority

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and when you've gone to seminary see I didn't earn this quarter zip but if I went to seminary this

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is what I would live in I'd be very smart and I'd be a Christian egghead so that's on the one

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side and on the other side you can become a minister who actually meets God and who experiences

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his presence and then invites others to come and partake of what they themselves have first

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hand experience of and I'm so glad the Lord invaded my life at 18 so that I believe I made

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absolutely the right decision and that I didn't go to seminary but I went to a place that

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focused on the presence of God because that is the ultimate prize that is what it's all about

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we're celebrating Christmas it's the incarnation of the living God who came from heaven earth

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the word of God made flesh that is the celebration of his presence it's not just about presence underneath

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the tree it's of the presence and isn't it amazing that you can go about Christianity and lose

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sight of that that's why you see Jesus in Revelation chapter three he's actually standing outside

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of the golden lamp stands that means he's been pushed out by the church the lamp stands are the

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church he's been pushed out and then he pleads with the church he says behold I stand at the door

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and knock if any man open the door I will come into him and we'll die in with him I'll eat with him

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it's a picture of intimacy I will die in with him and he with me

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so it's possible to be in the church but over time you push the presence of God out you know you

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can come to church every Sunday and keep the Holy Spirit at arm's length and Jesus is pleading saying

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you've forgotten the first thing the principal thing my presence and my love so he pleads he's saying

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I'm not beneath pursuing you I'm pursuing he's pursuing you right now he's pursuing by standing

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at the door knocking if any man hear my voice and open the door open up that door those gates

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I'll come into him and we'll stop with him and he with me I was saved in a church

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it was not on a pretty street the whole neighborhood wasn't pretty back in 92

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and the heart of Bedstuy Brooklyn and I'll just sum it up this way the church had a neon sign

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it said Jesus saves this was 92 now I remember that neon sign

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because all the people I would try to bring to church and many of them got saved but they would

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all comment on the neon sign my parent my mother first church had a neon sign you see my mother

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usually worshiping the front row first thing says they got a neon sign I mean because in the natural

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like one of the tachiest cheapest things you can do is hang a neon sign anywhere especially in front

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of a church I don't know at times of change we have LED everywhere but a neon sign only like massage

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parlors and psychics had neon signs and it didn't look pretty inside at all I mean everything was

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worn crackly staticky sound system that sounded like you are on the other side of the Burger King

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drive-through but I walked in and I was hit by the presence and the presence did in me in the

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space of half an hour what any man trying to reason with me and use logic with me couldn't accomplish

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in a lifetime I got radically saved in fact just talking about it I call them Holy Ghost flashbacks some

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of you know what I'm talking about you talk about a time that got touched you and it's a holy

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ghost flat and you relive the same anointing that touched you this is how 30 plus years ago 33

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years ago I can feel that anointing I still love that church I would love to have it smelled a

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particular way I thought it was heaven and I called up the guy who lit him into the Lord and I

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said listen that church every time I smell it but it was really the presence I was feeling

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but I'm a very old factory kind of guy really I I can smell something and I'm like three years old

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again you you bust out copper tone for me and I'm three years old at the beach I flash back

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so I said I associated with the presence I said what what are they burning it just smell

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he said it's airwick and he told me the scent it's like you can get it in any supermarket I was so

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disappointed it's like it's just airwick we use airwick I have it above my toilet but I guess

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it smells different when when it's in a place with the anointing hallelujah so year after I got saved

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I brought my parents to church now my mom had already gotten saved I was praying with her every

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night one of the ways I got my mom to accept the Lord was I didn't ask her to get saved right

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away I just said will you pray with me and then I just prayed with her every night and then after

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a couple of months of that I shared the gospel with and she was a lot more receptive if that way

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because she was already warmed up if I just tried to get her saved ice cold she probably would have

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been that not probably I know she would have been very resistant and very hesitant but the presence

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had its way the Bible says somebody like that has fallow ground that's that hard unbroken ground

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you can't plant any seed in it but the spirit of God it breaks up the hard heart and you got to be

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careful bitterness is a trap I feel like the temptation to be bitter is is higher than ever

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simply because you carry around a device in your pocket that knows that the most engagement

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you're going to get is if you're upset do you know that if you don't know now you know

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I'm not going to do it I'm just going to say if you don't know now you know

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imagine that that they figured out that if you're happy and if the algorithm provokes you

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to happiness and joy you'll stay somewhat engaged but nothing like if you're upset

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so your algo including everything moment the moment you stop phoning or texting and go on

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into any app trying to get you what's it trying to do I thought all of it is free let me tell you

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something if anything is free you're the product it's not free you're paying you're paying with

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your attention and it knows that if you can get you riled up and angry you'll stay engaged longer

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so in that way there's a greater temptation to be angry and bitter and when you're icy

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you lock God out the Holy Spirit will make a supple heart so you can receive hallelujah

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so anyway I couldn't get my father to church but then it was Easter of 93 I was 17 years old

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and Easter morning I asked him will you I'm going to church will you come with me

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and that Greek Orthodox mind kicked in and he just thought well I guess I should go to church

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after all it is Easter and he came when a place was packed and it was packed which means that we

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were all squished in so he was already uncomfortable and the preacher glorious glorious man of God

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Bishop Wilbur Jones he just went home to be with the Lord a couple of weeks ago at the age of 83

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serve the Lord these guys don't retire they refire he just finished preaching preaching every Sunday

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until he was caught up in glory that's a role model but he was an old school aha preacher how many

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of you know what that means one woman knows what enough are go watch coming to America

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and then multiply it by 20 you all don't know what an aha preacher is I'm not gonna I cannot imitate it

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so don't you just have to know you have to know you gotta know for yourself

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he was six foot five he wore the robe and then his face glowed he's towering there

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but I guess because he was easter it was packed though already bad sound system was extra crackly

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so I could only understand like half of what he was saying my father right very hard man cynical man

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ex-communist so what does that mean that means in your mind you just believe everyone is out to

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get you and everybody's trying to trick you and you're perpetually trying to read between the

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lines and figure out how do I not get duped because you come from a country that's been duping your

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your whole life that's how he's sitting in church and now he would normally not understand anything but

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now it's a crackly sound system and I'm thinking oh Lord I'm just gonna receive for myself please

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just do what you can with my dad but I'm already thinking on the car ride back I'm gonna hear

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about everything that was fake and phony with the church and everything he didn't like

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and Bishop Jones I'll never I still hear his voice I remember him preaching saying they spread him wide

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and hung him high it's preaching about there he said then they spit upon him and they said

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prophesized on the man which one of us was he that hits you and I still hear his voice

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my father just sitting there and then Bishop Jones gave the altar call and my father started shaking

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and tears rushing down his eyes and I said dad do you want to go up and he looked you know he always

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made sure that he was your authority and I was the son and he looked at me like a five year old boy

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he went and he just stood up and went to the front and this wasn't the front where you said a 10

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second prayer and they said now we're gonna give you a tract and hope you make it they then take

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it take take everybody went through the altar call upstairs the change the clothes put on white

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robes on them get baptized right then and there then you take them back upstairs put on the dry

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clothes then sit explain the baptism in the Holy Spirit lay hands on them they don't leave until

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they're filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues now

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that church did not obsess so much about their decor

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that flashing neon sign but they got the presence right and that presence made all the difference

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in me and my mother and my father hallelujah the presence fixes everything everything hallelujah

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may we increase more and more as a church that prioritizes his presence that cultivates his presence

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it's about cultivating it in our Monday through Saturday you know what I preach about 9 out of 10

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times can fall under the umbrella of cultivating the presence of God I have to come up with a different

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sermon title every week Pastor Mo make sure that if I don't have it by Wednesday 1 p.m now it's

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become a joke among us

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I'd had nothing to do with what I said he's getting he's getting so touched here and I

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I looked at his face and then I got touched he's in heaven right now he's gone

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he's Jesus I don't even know what I was saying oh sermon titles

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yeah I mean if I didn't want to be creative really I could just have

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cultivating the presence of God part one cultivating the presence of God part two

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what do you preach on that next week yeah you guessed it part three because that's really

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what it's about staying in that place of intimacy whispering to him in the mornings talking throughout

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the day say a scripture out your mouth for goodness sake and let it not be John 3 16

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memorize another and say and see how that cultivates and builds the anointing the reason why some

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Christians never seem to progress is they get hit by the anointing on Sunday and then Monday you

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know it's the whole one step forward two steps back thing but imagine if you took a couple of steps

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forward every single day now the anointing can compound and build and God can take you where he

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wants to get you amen hallelujah you show me a church that has a group of people that have become

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good at cultivating the presence of God I will show you a church that's unstoppable where God's

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prosperity is everywhere miracles pop like popcorn the supernatural is in every day event hallelujah

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yeah thank you Jesus let's read Genesis chapter three and verse eight

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and they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day now you know

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why they heard that sound because that's what God did every single day if you read a little bit

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before that see God didn't and I used to think this before I was saved because I had heard

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the story of creation and it seemed to me when I heard it and it wasn't explained correctly and

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specifically it seemed like God created Adam and Eve said don't touch that fruit and then

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pieced out and like didn't come back to the messed up but that's not the reality he walked with

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them amen the God of the universe would walk with them every day in the garden what was he doing

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fellowshiping with his creation loving them Adam probably had a lot of questions God disclosing

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the secrets of the universe to him they had sweet fellowship and now it was broken and they

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hid themselves by the way that's what people still do all the time even when you feel like you've

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messed up rather than go and be cleansed and realize you're now completely forgiven made perfect it's

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like you would never ever send once in your life the moment you look to Jesus and his blood people

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don't tend to go there first they hide and and they punish themselves by withdrawing from the

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presence of God even though he's still I don't care if your eyebrow deep in sin right now he loves

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you he's pursuing you he's already forgiving you for Christ sake you need to receive that forgiveness

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fall on your knees and kiss the king he is not forsaking you you know who that was for

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your spirit lived within you when I said it it's for you quit withholding

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so just pride you want to come back to God on your own terms when it's what when it's cinematic

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cinematic right now it's lovely right now do it now hallelujah

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so the real tragedy isn't the loss of authority which they lost authority they lost dominion

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authority they've been given dominion you know man he could say to a lion here kitty kitty

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little lion would come up to Adam here dominion over the sea the land there that's a tragedy but

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the greatest tragedy is that they were locked out of the presence of God that's the lost and then

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Jesus came God in the flesh to restore what intimacy you know people have sometimes asked that I'm

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glad they're at least thinking they ask people who don't know anything about the gospel they hear

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the term salvation and savior and they've asked me say from what they don't even know and there's

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a lot of answers I can give say from hell's good starting point say from eternal destruction say

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from separation from God but it's not just that you were saved it's the you were restored will

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restore to what restored to that prefall intimacy and fellowship that's available to us and

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presence fixes everything hallelujah when when I graduated bible school

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the focus was on the presence I'll tell you what the focus wasn't on anything administrative

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anything that had to do with any kind of planning forward thinking I mean you asked anybody

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leadership for advice like what should I do the answer was always follow the Holy Ghost follow

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the Holy Ghost yeah but how what do I follow the Holy Ghost so I planted city light church at 26

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years old and I didn't even know what I didn't even know so it was doubly ignorant

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it like there's a lot to it by the way sometimes people just show up and they go look church you

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know how much has to happen talk to some of our staff what has to happen behind the scenes

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every day week after week they don't get Sundays off you can take a Sunday off they don't take

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Sundays off well I didn't know any of that stuff like for example one of the things was the

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concept of a first impressions team this is just one of a thousand examples old school churches

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like where I went there was no first impressions team you put like the meanest snagley toothy

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a stasher in the front with the church bulletin with a scout and you told him to make sure everybody

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gets a bulletin he stood there nobody even taught him to pop an out to it and then I learned wow

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you can actually have joyous enthusiastic people that make a first impression because the

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unbelievers are already terrified to come into church well what if they weren't greeted by the

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angry snagley tooth usher what if they were greeted by a group of charming and lovely people who

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were welcoming you know that was like mind-blowing to me there's a thousand such examples

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so there was a church that started right around the same time as us don't try to figure it out

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who was or what it is or and they were really really good at the administrative part

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now very big unpleasant see it's attention that's constant if you get too administrative

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too in the natural then you push the presence of God out it's the same way for our life

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I try to stay planning you can't you know Christians either they plan too much and push the

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presence of God out or don't plan at all and then their life is a mess there is attention there

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and the Holy Spirit will help you navigate both so you can use both your brain and your spirit

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amen well this church was really really good at administrative things I mean the best so much so

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that within a year they had over a thousand people someone said close to two thousand it was an

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early two thousand and I study them and everything I learned it was mind-blowing to me

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because all we were good at was experiencing the presence of God but yet there was 15 of us

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clapping our hands in a basement in the East Village and that church at least could have staff

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when I went there I wasn't even on staff no one was on staff back in the early days we had one

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projector projectors are cheap now that projector was thirty five hundred dollars it was our first

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you know how we have the graphs and the bars and this week we raised I had a six month long capital

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campaign to buy our first thirty five hundred dollar projector this is just how small and

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broke we were you know we usually have a capital campaign for like a church building for twenty

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million we did it for a projector for thirty five hundred before that was the staples overhead

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thing for a hundred forty nine dollars some of you you're so young you don't even know what that is

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you have to have somebody in the front turning and that was Nova turning the slides

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I even once visited because our service wasn't until noon on Sundays you could tell I was in

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my twenties when I started it right I was like well people are gonna want to have brunch and

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that doesn't get cooked until two so we'll start to have a noon service and I went to their

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service first to scope them out it was the only time I went to church not to receive but to see

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and I was I mean they had it down to a science it was like a franchise they had it wasn't just

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a first impressions team I looked at their manual they had what they could say long list of what

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they couldn't say how to approach I mean everything and it was it was working I'll never forget

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coming from that service which was excellent I'm not gonna say anointed but it was excellent

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not a not a little piece of litter on the carpets not every everything was according to the plan

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but I then was running late to my own service I was with Sean Martin him and I went and did

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and we had to take a cab all the way from far away and then I come 20 minutes late to my own service

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so worship was already going and I come into our own service worship is already going and the whole

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time I'm thinking about I got a long way to go I got it gross so I got to change so much I got

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to like relearns I'm now I'm 27 years old at this point I spent the last nearly decade training

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but so much I haven't so I'm feeling like heavy and condemned and inferior and now we're late and I

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rush in down those steps in seventh turn coming to our own service and they're already in the middle

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of worship and I come in and and I just start weeping because I walked into a thick wall of the

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presence and all that weight and inferiority and it just came and all of a sudden I was standing in

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the midst of what I was created to be a part of which was fellowshiping and enjoying the living

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God hallelujah and I wouldn't trade our weird journey for anything and now today and I don't

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see this with delight I say this with with the reverence and a holy fear but they actually kept

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shrinking after that peak shrinking and shrinking and shrinking even though they're so excellent

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and we're larger than them now what did that not my administrative skills

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not past your most cleverness not not sure on study of music theory the presence

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the anointing hallelujah hallelujah the anointing does what no man can do

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that's why the word blessed you know it actually means we've lost sight of what it means

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because we just say bless you bless you how true bless you but it means empowered to prosper

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and it means to be envied you be envied because people can't figure out how you live the life

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that you live considering your past amen hallelujah hallelujah

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so a lot of my neighbors I get the feeling more and more they don't like me

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because they see what God has done in my life yeah and they're thinking man I've been working

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60 hour weeks all through my thirties all through my forties all through my fifties

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the ones who know my story you know they're I can tell they're like oh I'm so happy for you

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I've been diligently putting away my 401k you know I got my triple A

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everything is you know by the book every tea and then I come in hey guys

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well what do you do I'm a pastor and then look at my cars look at my house

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if you're a guest I can't get into the details I the Lord blessed me

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I don't know when a preacher usually says that it they mean I got a big raise from the church

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no he blessed me outside the church and then I blessed the church with over two million dollars

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and paid it back for every single salary check that it gave me over the last 23 years amen

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but yeah what what they don't like then is that you cheated the system you didn't suffer

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like me but you have way more than me that's what the anointing will do the anointing will do

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that for you he'll take you and put you on the accelerator path hallelujah yeah he delights in doing

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the whole picture of the children of Israel

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slaves for hundreds of years in Egypt and then taken out and thrust upward and promoted and

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blessed and exalted that is the picture of what he wants to do with every person that's in him

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today under the new covenant in Christ in the church hallelujah hallelujah Exodus 33

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if you've never spoken in tongues start there you haven't spoken in tongues I don't know how

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well to say it you're missing that's something you're missing someone so many times preachers

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of just because I don't want to hurt people's feelings well I don't want to make them feel like

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they're missing something they are missing something you I take you to to per se for three star

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Michelin 10 course meal you're gonna bounce after three courses oh stay for all 10 courses

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so why in the world was someone come and just receive salvation when there's more

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so the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues is more and you're

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not being humble you're not being queued by putting it off and going on one day well if God wants

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that for me he'll do that I mean what do you want him to do come down and tackle you and force

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himself on you you do the pursuing you press through the you show some hunger for him he's a god

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that must be sought amen so how to get baptized in the Holy Spirit you can come right after service

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talk to me we have a ministry team if they can't help you I'll personally help you we have everybody

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who's been trained and I know that lead you in the baptism of the Holy Spirit I've had books

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a little mini books there in the front we give them away for free for 20 plus years now we start

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with reading one of those books so you can be filled with the Holy Spirit it's the doorway to

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the supernatural you can't go into the deep things of God until he's filled you with his Holy Ghost

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and that's available to you I know it doesn't make you weird or strange she makes you more like

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Jesus which in turn is kind of weird and strange from the perspective of a hell bound sinner amen

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why are you going to live the low life when he's calling you up higher hallelujah hallelujah

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25 is about to get wrapped up 26 is starting we're going to start the year off with 21 days of

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prayer and fasting amen we have John and Carol are not coming in April experts in the presence of

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God professors but my heart for you is to just begin now to recalibrate and cultivate the

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presence of God get to that place where you're drop away from drunk at all times there's so many

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people here they don't even know what I mean they're like oh this pastor's cool he's really I like

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this guy I'm talking about being intoxicated and he breathed in the Holy Ghost you see somebody

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here during worship and you're like wow they're acting foolish yes that's how drunk and people act

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they're inebriated you want to be a drop away right from like what we experienced this morning

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we're having a normal conversation I said what's her name I said does she have a name

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I'll get to it later but you said yes and when I asked that question I feel it again

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does she have a name he both said yes I got hit with the Holy Ghost I look at Rob that second

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his eyes you know when you get that thousand yard heavenly look and I look and I go I have to turn

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around and I think I couldn't look at him any longer we both got hit you want to always stay in that

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place where you're just a millimeter away from stepping into the supernatural hallelujah

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and that's not hard by the way maybe you make it hard in your head

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God's not cheap he's not stingy you just cultivate a little more every single day

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some of you just need to do stuff you've never done before you ever sing a worship song in the

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shower let me blow your mind you can do that yeah you ever just wake up first thing in the

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morning and then just spend five minutes whispering to God pouring out your whole heart to him

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talking to him you can do that some people are like well you know I don't feel the I'm not a

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feely person you have swallowed a lie Satan came to you and said you're you're just different

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you're not susceptible to the Holy Spirit besides those people they just foolish anyway

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you're a dignified Christian don't be a dignified Christian there's a reason David said

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when he was dancing and his pajamas he said I'll behave even more and dignified than this

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fact you see the pattern in the holy scriptures author at the gospels no one could stay dignified

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and receive from Jesus they tell me why I will give a thousand dollar reward if you can show me

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to someone who still kept dignified and received from Jesus Zacchaeus who the Bible says was wealthy

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he had to dangle from a tree upside dangling from a branch you know what a ridiculous site that was

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especially since the Bible says he was short and stature in the Greek that meant what we

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called today a little person midget what it says in the Greek Greeks weren't politically correct it's

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midget you pictures you pictures gold chains and stuff dangling and there's the kiss and Jesus

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stops is today I must have lunch with you you caught my attention because you were willing to

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get undignified so some of you you you heard the lie from Satan see Satan's job is to keep you

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from experiencing the presence of God and Satan lied to you and said you're hard to receive and you

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said yeah I am and the moment you said yes I am this is how it works with all of Satan's lies by

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the way you then partnered with that lie it's like you covenanted with a lie and now you received it

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now you're bound by it and you need to say Lord I'm sorry wash me a fresh in your blood

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and open I'd refuse to believe I'm hard to receive that I'm not susceptible to the holy spirit

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and open yourself up it doesn't matter what culture you come from

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doesn't hallelujah doesn't matter how you were born I was born shy

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shyness by the ways from the devil that's how I'm going to say

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we like to make everything hope you know people think they got a they got like this trump card or

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something well I'm shy that just excuses me from everything and all in for the rest of my life

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I'm shy the Bible says God has not given you a spirit of timidity timidity we like to quote it as fear

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timidity shyness that oh not me God has like God has given you the lion of the tribe of Judah

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has given you a spirit of power and of love and a sound mind hallelujah like my wife

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she's not here today but she's not shy she actually is just quiet big difference

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amen coming hang with me for a couple days in my house you'll see no shyness

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no shyness hallelujah man it's nice I can make jokes about her marriage she's not here and I don't

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have to get the look I don't actually ever get any look I get no look which is even more terrifying

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for me so that's the look is the no look she never talks to me about it after so yes just hallelujah

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they're in Pennsylvania this weekend

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Exodus 33 did we even read this no okay

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I just I don't know how else to say it I'm now I turned 50 in a couple of weeks

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and I think about my life how my parents immigrated here English was my second language

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growing up in Queens getting saved through just insurmountable odds from four still queens ended up

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in 1992 in Bedstuy Brooklyn in an old school holiness apostolic church where the woman were head

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coverings and skirts got baptized filled with got disciple there for the first couple of years

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of my Christianity on paper went to the wrong school other other places when they plan to church

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they start with whole denominational backing or network of churches they start with six figures

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and in seed money I started with exactly zero dollars and zero team members started preaching in

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the subways and the Lord he kept adding and adding and then I just had one request of the Lord

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I said Lord I poured everything into the church I got no so you know as a minister you can opt out

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of social security many of you don't know you can you don't you don't have to pay so you don't

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get any social security so now in my early 40s and I'm going you know I wonder if I made a mistake

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about that thing because I have no money I'm debt free so I would teach my kids that's a they

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would always say Lord thank you that we're rich I at for the last my most of my adult life I had

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usually around fifteen hundred dollars in my account but even then you remember I'm actually

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believed that was so rich because I had no debt now if my hot water heater went out it was over

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that's all I ever had for so long and then in my early 40s I didn't pay attention to it before

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then but in my early 40s I thought this might be a little irresponsible God can you like catch me

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up Lord what's happening here help me and I started pressing into that and the Lord said hey

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here you go I'm going to take eight figures and just on you

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so if you ever want to be discipled by me I'm going to tell you right now I got nothing really

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smart to tell you other than what I'm preaching this morning which is make his presence your great

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quest the prize of your life and he will add all the other things unto you amen

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so that's what I was saying as when I'm approaching for if I'm looking back and if I was to

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summarize what has the Lord done how has he done it I fall to my knees and I go Jesus Jesus Jesus

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because back when I was obsessing over things that seemed smart he would he would tell me like things

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like I just want you to roll around on the carpet and enjoy my presence it sounded like

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it sounded irresponsible sound of nonsensical but yet I knew it was him because that's the kind of

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stuff he tells you amen

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you know what I think the Lord has gotten to reading scripture it's never unannoyed to read the

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Word but I feel like if you're hard to receive our ministry team will double team you they'll

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triple team you they will keep their hands on you and soak you and a little dash won't do some of

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you only not because the Lord but because you got it in your head there's going to take a while

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and they will soak you in his presence and some of you picture all this crusty stuff from the

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world it's encrusted itself to you and they're going to come with a chisel and and a hammer and

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they're going to get get those cement chips off of you I pray you have the wettest

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soppiest drunkiest in the Holy Ghost Christmas you ever had hallelujah and I'm kind of liking this

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theme for Christmas maybe you just worship team get ready you did it and like a spectacular job

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this morning spectacular it's their reverence for the Holy Spirit and their pricing of the presence

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that makes it spectacular one day we'll have our own building and we won't have dollar tree lights

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up in the front no poo on you no come on past your mother wasn't so personally you know what I mean

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I mean at the end of the day I was going to say we have tinsel but there's no tinsel this year

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all right you know what I mean I mean we got frosted but even frosty looks dope he does he looks

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but what I'm saying is with all those things and the worship team puts Jesus first I thought yeah

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you guys can come on up um sorry I didn't say that explicitly I was just raving about you but

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that you put put his presence first now we have Rob and Yari Martino here this morning

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past a rob he first started coming to city light in 2011 so he's been with us nearly 15 years

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Yari came in 2015 I did their wedding in 2017 on a rooftop hotel in Williamsburg overlooking Manhattan

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they've been faithful members since day one committed always serving she's in city kids and wherever

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else is needed he's ushering and wherever else is needed it was serving so much I get gotten to know

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them well then I asked them to become care pastors in our church and pastor Rob is on our elder team

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and I was so excited to see their love blossom and to officiate their wedding and then soon after

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that just started hearing from them to pray for them because they were having a difficult time

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conceiving and they continued having a difficult time conceiving for years and then about a year

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ago they made a decision to adopt they never asked for any help with adoption

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but I know because we have adoption in our family through Emily how much these things can cost

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if you don't know it's actually quite shocking you would think that they would rush to pay for

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everything since it appears the government just loves giving billions away if you commit fraud

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right but if you want to adopt legitimately it'll cost you 70,000 plus now pastor Rob is a sergeant in

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the NYPD and while he's amazing at what he does knowing that he works for the NYPD also tells me that

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he's underpaid so they just share these things with me so I could pray with them and just so as

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their pastor I could know what's happening but I immediately felt in my spirit that we as a

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church should bless them so in case you're new I made a lot of money in Bitcoin if you haven't caught

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up and then five six years ago now I took a chunk of the church's reserves took me nearly half a

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year to convince the board and put that in Bitcoin and made 10x for the church so that's not

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money we can use however but it gave us some wiggle room which we've left untouched except I said

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because I know how much expenses are we can cover half so the church you know there's nothing

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like when the Lord prospers you and blesses you then you can just start relieving suffering

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everywhere you look the only thing is he won't do people are great I can't wait for him to do that

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great start relieving suffering right where you're at because if you're waiting for your ship to come

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in and you haven't sent the ship out no ship is coming in amen everybody claims oh when God

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blesses me I'll be the most generous person you've ever seen yeah sure you will it will be at the

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golf course missing Sundays that's the first thing that happens now you prove it when you have

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nothing and then he'll lift you up so we pledge 35,000 but then I also said this and because

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they also never asked and they've been so faithful I said when it comes time I want to be able to

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receive a special offering that'll go directly towards paying the legal bills and all the bills

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of the adoption and here's why I believe the Lord put that on my heart one because we're generous

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church too is because as any Bible-believing church we are not for abortion amen that shouldn't

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be something that's even debatable if you're a Bible-believing Christian if you've committed and

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I realize you have an open church people have committed abortions you come to Jesus God has

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forgotten about it he's forgiven you and your child is waiting for you in heaven amen

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probably not an infant amen so you skip the messy part the diphtunk I'm preaching so bad because

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I'm feeling so good I'm totally liberated right now I really am I'm in heaven

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so a lot of times churches will be anti-abortion but they're not with their money very pro-family

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that's what I'm trying to say is they yak they love to protest with picket signs and all that

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but it's like all right that's nice but what are you doing to show your love of life and family

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you know I had to make a decision no church is give paid paternity leave city light does why

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because I thought hey if we're really pro-family which we are then we should be amongst the first

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to give paternity leave we should communicate that we prize and love family at all times so now with

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adoption let's communicate that we prize and love family and life amen so rabbin yari won't

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you come on up and just share briefly hello everyone we just want to thank city light because

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it's vital the obstacles that we have faced we have truly believed that the desires in our

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hearts of you know wanting kids and having a family are aligned we've got to will and you know

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city light has been in our corner believing with us and and praying you know for us believing for

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the Martinez children and so much love and support that we have received from city light

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and you know something that that we have really valued is like our connection to all of you

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you know city light that being in community has been so important to us in a key in in our walk

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in faith and we just want to share the the news with excitement that we have been matched with a

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baby girl that she's gonna be here in February 14 yes and um we just can't wait to to have

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our baby girl in our arms and to bring her home and to stand here in this altar and

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dedicate our child come on come on everyone um as we went through this journey together seven seven

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long years um trying we would fill our home with scriptures thanks to remind us of God's promises

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and his goodness is faithfulness and something that Yadi had written was delayed does not equal denial

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and uh for our walk that was that was vital to be able to see every single day you know the timing

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and the terms weren't ours but they meant to that they were they were the lords like it says in

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Isaiah 62 when the timing is right the Lord will make it happen and so um our testimony is

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pushing through even when in a natural it doesn't make sense and especially with all of you it's

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our brothers and sisters and Christ being there you know having our backs at our sides praying for us

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supporting us blessing us with meals and we're going through difficult times during a baby shower

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for us when we didn't have a baby in the natural it meant so much to us so um we just want to

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share thank you you know as much as we are so uh already in love with our our daughter and we know

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that she'll be loved by so many of you as well and the name that we chose her is Anaya which means

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God has heard or God has answered me that name be a testimony for everyone here God has heard

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so awesome thank you both

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Anaya Anaya Anaya God has heard

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Lord keep your hand on Anaya from this moment forward all to up until they end up in their

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parents arms keep your hand upon Anaya hallelujah through the birthing process every step of the way

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no complications Lord butter there steps all the way amen so again I am very inebriated in the

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holy ghost you say what is this all about I don't know how else I'm gonna just say very plainly

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I love Pastor Abinyari they're very easy to love Jesus said if you love those who love you what

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reward have you so I get no reward for loving them they're very very easy to love they reward

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only comes when you love those who are hard to love but they are the most enough unoffensive

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if you know them kindest consistently sweetest always looking to see where they can help always

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looking to see really ideal Christians who aren't called into full-time ministry like I am five

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old ministry but then said okay I do this I'm a sergeant in NYPD but the rest of my time I'm

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building the kingdom in whatever way God presents himself amen I love them I love the work of the

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Lord in their lives and so I want to get behind them so we're gonna allow you to if you want with

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no pressure but it's an opportunity to bless a young family we have our regular tides and offerings

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we have the end of the year giving campaign which we're doing very well by the way it's at like

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64 67 percent 64 thank you I love it when a member knows better than me 64 then if you want

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I was just told in the first service I wasn't so clear so I want to be super clear in this if

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you want to give specifically towards Pastor Abinyari and then paying the legal bills and helping

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with all that because I want them to have zero stress they never asked for this in fact when

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at first brought it up they were like I don't know you know they weren't like yeah they were like

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uh you sure like we don't know like a special offering for us because we don't we've never done

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this I don't have we when would we know so if you want to give to bless them you hit other when

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you put on the QR code it goes to a giving website hit other and do they have to designate anything

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they have to write just write write baby right baby so you do business with the Lord right now

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detive in the offering you don't detive you don't have to pray about but the offering then

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how much you want to give towards the first fruits and then towards and if you have to decide

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between first fruits and baby pick baby God I got to handle the hundred K goal we have

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hallelujah you know there's some things you just feel like the Lord is cool with and then

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there's other things you feel like he really really likes and delights in and I feel like this he

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really really delights in and this precious girl is gonna grow up in our midst in the presence of

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God we're gonna see her like a plant grow and be nurtured and be blessed hallelujah

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yeah yeah hallelujah I just when I said that I flashed into that scripture where Jesus warns not

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to offend one of these little ones because their angels always do behold the face of their father

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in heaven there's an angel assigned to an ear beholding the father's face still the Lord is

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fashioning her and her inward parts and will carry her safely to you hallelujah hallelujah

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this is the city light church podcast if you've missed any part of today's message or if you

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would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jansik in city light church visit us at citylightnyc.com

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that's citylightnyc.com feel free to visit us online or in person anytime we would love to connect

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with you we pray that you have been encouraged today that you have been reminded how much God

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loves you and that you are surrounded by grace thank you for listening make sure that you subscribe

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to city light church podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide