Good evening, good evening, good evening. This is Bishop Collins from the House of Worship in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Thanks for tuning in to our broadcast tonight. We have a wonderful word from the Lord for you tonight.
And the title of our message tonight is Let His Light Shine. Man, the world that I live in is so dark and it's getting darker. And we are, we are, yes, you and I believe it, the authentic believer, the remnant church, if you will. We are the light of the world, the Christ light shining through us, if you will.
And it's time for us to let our light shine. It's time for us to step forward in faith and in boldness for the glory of Jesus Christ. So let's go and check out this message. I think you're going to find the Be of Lesson and I'll be back to talking to you in just a few minutes.
Then God said, let there be light and there was light and God saw the light was good. Then in verse 14, then God said, somebody said, God said, let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth. And it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.
He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth and to govern the day and the night to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. It made me see how I forgot.
So I want to make the argument today that this scripture is not simply a picture of God in his creative moment from quote unquote the beginning of time. We see two things here. One, the very first thing that God does, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, the Triune, God those are at least three sides of him that we are aware of. The very first thing that he does is he says he commands let there be light.
As we get to verse 14, we see him making a differentiation, if you will, and establishing two greater lights, establishing the sun and the moon. If you look at it from first glance, you would think this is simply a historical documentation of God create his creation of the world at the beginning of time. I want to declare to you today by the power of the Holy Spirit that while this is certainly that in the name of Jesus Christ, it is the first thing that God has done, the first thing that God has commanded, he's revealing in the name of Jesus Christ inside of time by the Holy Scriptures to us in this moment that light is significant or that the absence of darkness is significant to God. The first thing that God commands in all the creation is captured by time.
It's captured by the Holy Scriptures inside of time as we know it. The first command is let there be light, which means obviously that the absence of darkness is important to God. I declare to you today not only is he doing that, but he's also in the name of Jesus Christ proclaiming the birth of physical illumination in the name of Jesus Christ inside of the box that we call time. He's declaring the physical birth of illumination, but also commanding the revelation, the presentation and the creation of the light of the light of day, the light of heaven, the light of life, the light of prosperity, the life of instruction, the life of God's face, and more importantly the light of God's person.
He's not simply creating, but he is establishing himself in the creation. First thing that he says is let there be light, or in other words, let me be. But I am the light of the world. Let me be.
Let the creation understand that it is me and it is me alone. Let his light shine. So a couple of things I think the whole people like to help us get out of this today, as we say on Wednesday night and if you're not coming on Wednesday, I certainly encourage you to do that. We want to understand what it is that God is saying.
We want to understand what he means by what he says. But after we have done that, that's great. It's important for what's the application of that to my life today. What do I do with that?
I love the idea of whenever I hear the word of God, whenever I read the word of God, to ask the question, so what does that mean to me? What do I do with that? And so what we want to do with that today in the name of Jesus Christ as we hear from God is we want to grab ahold of it and we want to make sure that we are letting his light shine. First of all, I find it significant that it begins with creation, begins with, and the fourth day of creation begins with these two words, God said.
And now we can just go right past it if you want to just fly right past it, but I choose not to do that in the name of Jesus Christ. Let's just sit down on that for a moment and think about who it is and what's going on here, that God, that we can grab ahold of who God is. And for a great deal, this will mean more or less to you based on who God is to you and what your relationship is with God. So if God is simply something that's out there somewhere and I come to church because it's the right thing for me to do, I feel like if I do come to church, I'll get blessed from doing that by this thing that's out there somewhere that has a completely different meaning to you and I than if we understand that this is our personal creator.
This is our personal creator, the one that spoke us into being whose life and death is in his mouth for us and for the entirety of the world, that our future, our destiny forever is in his hand, that there is one true living God, not many gods, not several gods, not a competitive thing with God. There's only one God and he rules it all, he holds it all in his hands, all of the universes, all of the galaxies, all of the stars, as far as we can see and much farther in the name of Jesus Christ, that, whenever he speaks. I think it's significant and important that we should listen. But my own personal life, when I run across God said, when I run across the book that God left behind, I want to sit down and do my best to understand it in the name of Jesus Christ.
If I can understand what God said and understand what he meant and then apply it to my life based on his word, I think I got a pretty good shot of walking in the fullness of what it is that God has designed for me. God said, God said something. Elohim is the word in the Greek, which means the true God, not your God, not your God, not their God, not his God, but just God. Capital G, capital O, capital D, there's only one, all powerful God, all knowing God, the ever-present God, the one who's everywhere at the same time that knows everything before we do it in the name of Jesus Christ, not just tomorrow, not just next week, not just next month, but 40 years from now, the name of Jesus Christ, not just then, but even 100 million billion, trillion years into the future.
He's there right now in the name of Jesus Christ with all power in his hand knowing exactly what's going to happen. That God said something. God said, this God, this God who spoke to himself, that God who spoke to Abraham, that God spoke to Adam, that God spoke to Jacob, that God who spoke to Moses, that God who spoke to six of the kings, that God who speaks to me, that God who speaks to you, this God is talking. He's talking then, he's talking now.
In this moment, God is talking. God's got something to say in the name of Jesus Christ. Anybody listening? God is talking and it is critical that we know what he said, and not only what he said, but what he meant by what he said, Hebrews, as the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any to exit sword.
In other words, what the Hebrew writer is saying, that God's word gets to the root of a thing quickly. God's word gets to the motive of a thing quickly. God's word gets to what the real situation is quickly. God's word determines the truth from a lie quickly.
God said, what did God say? God said here in the first chapter of Genesis, the script is that we just read it. If I can paraphrase God, God said, let the light shine. Let the light shine.
And because there's no other light, but his light. I said, let his light shine. Let my light shine. God is saying here in this moment in the moment of creation, let his light shine.
Let my light shine. I can tell you today that I believe in a powerful Holy Spirit. He was not just speaking for this particular moment, but he is speaking of voice that reverbs across time and eternity that we ought to let his light shine. Let his light shine.
We see here that there are different kinds of lights. We see here that there's a greater light, there's a lesser light, there's a star. There's a lot of colors that are in the sky. I want to say to you today that even in the world that we live in, as we navigate through life that we will encounter different kinds of light.
I really want to break it down just in the two categories and that is the consistent light and the intermittent light. You know, some light you turn it on and it just stays on. You flip the switch, man. It won't go off until I come back and flip the switch.
But occasionally we run across and it's some lights that flicker. They own sometimes and they off sometimes. Because there is a problem with the connection. Help me, Jesus.
I'm saying to you today, it's been saying to us today that God wants you and I as believers to let the light shine, but to let the light shine in a consistent manner, not in an intermittent manner. Help me, Jesus. Do I have to go there? Do I have to tell you what I mean?
The consistent one is the one who's the same on Monday as he is on Sunday. Help me, Jesus. He's the same on Wednesday as he is on Thursday. The one who's intermittent.
You catch them one day, the one way you catch them the next day. The consistent one is sold out in the name of Jesus Christ. Word of God, he's following Jesus. I can't even tell you today that the light does not negotiate or compromise with the darkness.
He says, let the light shine be a consistent light. I want you to know today as we read through creation because God doesn't do anything that's not necessary in the name of Jesus Christ. There is a need for the light in the world. There's a need for the light in the world.
And Genesis chapter 1, there is a need for the light in the world today. There's a need for light because light helps us to see and to see more accurately. We even feel more secure when there's light around us. There is a heavenly light that God wants you and not to shine.
A holy light, a light that gives light to the entirety of the world. The world is wrapped in darkness and looking for light. This is the light that's his light. That light is the truth of his word.
That light is the light of the cross. That light is the love of Jesus Christ. That light is the compassion of his person. And that light shows us the way to salvation and to the abundant life that Christ died on the cross for you and I.
In the name of Jesus Christ, this light reveals the power of God. This light leads us to the abundant life. In the name of Jesus Christ, this light is the joy of the Lord manifested in all men and women. This is the light of Jesus Christ.
Let mine light shine. Let mine light shine. I want to share this with you with these lights. You see these two lights.
We see the greater light and the lesser light. And obviously today we can go outside and go outside. That's the sun and that's the moon. And this creation moment.
I want to say to you today that as we let his light shine, the name of Jesus Christ, that today Jesus is the greater light. And the authentic follower is the lesser light. Help me Jesus. The moon is simply a reflection of God.
The moon is simply a reflection of the sun. Just as we are simply a reflection of him. If you take away the sun, the moon has no light. If you take away Jesus, we have no light.
And so God is saying to you, authentic believer, the lesser light, the one who is simply reflecting the light of Jesus Christ, let mine light shine. I want to get out. If you got the light, he wants to get out. He wants to get out.
He wants to name Jesus Christ. So you don't work out your salvation with fear and trembling. I got this thing on the inside. It's dying to get outside.
He said, let the light shine. A lot of people have been asking questions and wondering about how the home for the homeless children in Mexico is going. I want to thank all of you who so many of you that have supported us both with prayers and with your financial support. I want you to know that the project is moving forward rapidly.
We have purchased 14 acres of property. We did that in December of last year. And the building has already begun. So we're hoping to be complete by the end of the summer and the worst scenario by the end of the year.
I want you to pray about prayerfully continuing support if you've already been giving. Well, if you haven't been to join us to partner with us to help us to build this home that's going to have an incredible impact for the children in that area. So thank you in advance for your support, for your prayers and for your financial support. Thank you.
And if he's just doing six says that he has raised us up together and made us sit together and heavily placed this in Christ Jesus. He picks the lights, heavenly lights and sets them in the heavens. You are believing or even though you are here, even though we are here. Christ has set us in the heavens with Christ Jesus John 1812 says, then said, Jesus again to them, I am the light of the world.
He that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And then we see in John 95, he says, as long as I am in the world, as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. We did a Matthew 5 and 14, he says, you are the light of the world. You believe us?
You follow the world Christ. You are the light of the world. A city that is on the hill cannot be here. You say, I can't hide the light.
The light is real. The light is authentic. He said, you can't hide it. He said, let it shine quick.
We're trying to hold it back. Let the light shine. God said, I want to know what he said and what he said was, let the light shine. The reason that God said, let his light shine is because God's light is a sign.
Jesus, God's light is a sign. He said, I made the light so that the world will know that I make a distinction between darkness and light. See, if I hadn't have made light, you would think that darkness and light was basically the same thing. But I made the light, help me hold it, I made the light so that the world could plainly see that God makes a distinction.
This is a sign to the world. It's a sign to the hill. It's a sign to heaven that God has made a distinction between that, which is dark, which is like, stay with me now. That's in Genesis 1.
I want to bring it to you practically today in the spirit that God has sent you and I as the light of the Lord Jesus Christ, to shine the light in the world, to let the world know that God has made a distinction between those who follow Christ and those who don't. That I can live my life anyway I want to. I can't straddle the fifth. And one day I'm going to be right in the next day I'm going to be wrong.
This is a sign. I'm a sign in the name of Jesus Christ from God himself in the name of Jesus Christ that you can't just do what you want to do. That God makes a distinction. He is sending a sign.
He's sending a sign for all the powers of the world. You know what I live in today? Everybody working for power. They don't care about God.
They don't care about the Word of God. They don't care about what's right. They don't care about what's wrong. All they care about power.
There's a political power. There's a scientific power. The L.B.G.T. plus a power of sexual perversion.
There's all kinds of power in the world today. But I am a sign that dominion and power belong to God and to God alone. That's why I'm here today in the name of Jesus Christ. Lact my light shine.
I'm a light of Christ shining in me as a sign that me and God got the power. Jesus got all the power because I'm in him and him and he's in me. I'm walking in his power and his authority. That's why I'm here.
That's why I'm not afraid. That's why I don't step back. That's why I don't get out the way. That's why I don't negotiate or compromise with the devil and with those things that are dark in the name of Jesus Christ.
That's why I keep moving forward in the name of Jesus Christ because I'm a sign. I'm a sign. You are a sign that dominion and power belongs to Jesus and his true followers. We are a sign to the world that we live in today that God is real.
This word is really true and that seasons change. I'm so glad that they didn't know that seasons change. I'm sick of the season in this witness country we're in today. I'm sick of the season that we're in today.
Evil proliferating after evil. More and more and more wickedness. Everywhere I turn, there are people who are no longer caring about God who's in charge of our nation. I'm sick of it.
I'm a sign powers that seasons change. God moves out of the way those things in the dark. Those things that won't give him honor. That won't give him glory.
He longs suffering. He'll wait. He's patient in the name of Jesus. He wanted to repent and turn to him.
But in a moment, in a blinking of an eye, suddenly. There's a change. I'm a sign. You are a sign today.
You are a sign today. I'm 26 or 18. He says to open your eyes. Paul talking to the authority, trying to tell them about the mission that he's on for Jesus.
He said the mission that I am on is to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light. And from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive the forgiveness of sins. He said, I'm on an assignment. I'm on a mission, man.
I'm a sign to the world. In the name of Jesus Christ. Are you letting his light shine? Matthew 5 and 16 says that your light shine.
People with men that they may see your good works, your righteous deeds, and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. Question that God is asking me. And if it gets on you, then let it get on you. But the question he's asking me, Collins, are you letting your light shine?
Not just at the church house. Yes, that's the question about the church house. We need to ask a question about the church house. I didn't come to church just to come to church house.
I came to church to serve the law in the name of Jesus Christ. I came to church to get it quick to go out into the world and make a difference. But he's asking me, Collins, are you letting my light shine? Are you letting my light shine at church house?
Are you letting my light shine in your family? Yes. If you deal with your wife, if you deal with your children, as you deal with your grandchildren, it's my light shining. Are you letting your light shine at your working place, your working establishment, your interactions with your coworkers and with your employers?
Are you letting your light? You're letting your listen? Are you standing for Jesus? Are you saying, I can't do that?
I'm not doing that. I can't do that. I'm not doing that. My King.
That doesn't matter. My King. I got a better way to honor him. I don't honor my King.
We're letting our light shine in the community. We drive along the roadway. We pull into the parking lot. We stop at the Kroger to publish.
Where we are? We letting our light shine. The world is desperate for the light. God is calling you and I to let his light shine.
Is the light shining? Is the light of Jesus Christ shining in your life? If it's not shining or if it could shine brighter, what is it that you need to do? What is it that you need to surrender to allow that light to shine?
The world is in desperate need of the light of Jesus Christ shining through authentic followers of Jesus Christ. You may say, I'm not a follower. I'm not someone who's really given her hearts to Jesus Christ. I want to give you that chance tonight to be a follower, to secure your eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ for his glory and for your benefit.
All you have to do is ask Christ's coming to our hearts. The render of hearts of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge you as God. I acknowledge you as my Savior.
I want to give my heart to you. I want you to have your way in my life. It can do that very quickly. When you do it, let us know because we want to pray for you.
Second, I want to speak quickly to those who over the last year, however long it's been, for some of us, who may have drifted away from the church, drifted away from the Word of God, drifted away from the presence of God, from the worship of Jesus Christ. I want to say to you tonight that it's time to come back home. It's time to come back to the house of God. It's time to come back to the old ways.
God speaks about this in Jeremiah that it's time to return to the old paths, if you will. That's the place that we find rest for our souls. That's the place that we find security in the presence of God. I want to encourage you tonight, wherever your home church might be.
It's time that if you've been out of church for a significant amount of time, it's time to go back to church. Whatever that you need to do to go back, I want to encourage you to do that. Understanding that God is a faithful God. That God is a God that knows how to heal, that knows how to deliver, that knows how to hold, that knows how to protect and keep for his glory and for the benefit of those that are his children.
Amen. Well, we love you and we're praying for you. I hope that you're praying for us. We're asking you to pray for us and that we're looking forward to seeing you next week because we got another incredible word that's going to encourage you and it's going to challenge you as you walk with faith.
Remember, we walk by faith and not by sight. See you next week. Take care and God bless.