A Light to the Nations

Praise God we are here this morning celebrating seven years in the ministry of Love Christian Center. There’s been many hours of prayer, study, research, teleconferences, training and even set backs to get to this place and glory to God we are still moving forward.

8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. 9 Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”

Praise God we are here this morning celebrating seven years in the ministry of Love Christian Center. There’s been many hours of prayer, study, research, teleconferences, training and even set backs to get to this place and glory to God we are still moving forward.

From club house, to our house, to this space, back to our house and back here again now we’re looking for and forward to the next space, and through it all, God has blessed us and will continue to bless as we continue to stay in His will.

Many have come and gone, but the one thing that has stayed consistent, is this is a place where people are just people, who need love, who need acceptance, who need forgiveness, and most of all, who need a Savior. And that is our goal, to give anyone who walks through those doors and even as we go out, the Savior. All we have that truly matters is Jesus. And He is more than enough.

So as we celebrate this day and our seventh church anniversary, our theme this year is “Let Your Light Shine”. Turn with me to

Isa 42:1-9Some translations have subtitles on them to give you an idea of what the text is talking about

Isaiah 42:1–9 NRSV

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

NLT - “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or raise his voice in public. 3 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. 4 He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.” 5 God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says, 6 “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. 7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons. 8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.”

2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

5 God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says, 6 “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. 7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons. 8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. 9 Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”

3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says, 6 “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. 7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons. 8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. 9 Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”

Some translations have subtitles on them to give you an idea of what the text is talking about

The title of today’s message is, “A Light to the Nations”

I must say, not in all churches but there are some in which we’ve lost sight of our mission. It’s a simple mission, but in what has become a “me focused” society we’ve forgotten what’s really important. In our quest to name it and claim it, prosperity preaching, we’ve lost sight of the fact the church exists, to win lost souls for Christ; to bring people back into a relationship with the God who not only loved them enough to send His only Son into the world to die for their sins but also loves them enough to wait for them, to be the patient and long-suffering God who sees fit to bless us even when we aren’t obedient.

And so God says to, “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me.” This is an Old Testament passage which points to the coming Savior of the whole world. God had a plan from the beginning of time to reconcile His people to Himself. He was not caught off guard when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and his plan wasn’t a contingency plan, it was the ultimate plan. One that would not depend on fallible man, but on the infallible God.

Jesus was the chosen servant of God the Father and came as such. He learned obedience to the will of God and practiced it. What are you practicing? Is it your will? Is it the will of someone else or is it God’s will? Have you asked God what His will for your life is or are you relying on someone else to tell you? Are you waiting for someone else to put you into the box they think you’re supposed to be in, telling you what you look like to them? Be careful you don’t find yourself trying to please man rather than God.

God trusted Jesus to do what He assigned Him to do. Can God trust you to do what he tells you, when he tells you, how he tells you? Or do you think you have a better plan? You know, just a little tweak to make it perfect. Not only was Jesus able, He was faithful to the task. What or who are you faithful to? Does what you do please God?

Jesus was strengthened by God to not only do what he did, but to go through what he went through because we must remember, when Jesus came in the form of a man, he came with all the frailties and physical limits we have, but the difference is He was God in the flesh. Fully God, yet fully man, so God the Father strengthened Him for the journey He would take.

And the good news for you today is He’s here to do the same for you. tells us, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” What is it you need strength to do? God’s got the strength you need for your journey, just try him.

Jesus was not only strengthened by God, He was His chosen one, who pleased Him. How did he please him, let Jesus tell the story. In Jesus said, “28 When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.”

Is that your testimony? Can you say with confidence you do nothing on your own and that you always please the Lord? Well my first guess would be no, because the Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Perhaps you need the next portion of this passage…that says, “I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.” Do you have the Spirit of the Lord on you?

That should be the prayer of every Christian, every day, that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon us. I can’t speak for anybody else, but the only thing keeping LaSonja at bay is prayer, because the flesh is just waiting for an opportunity to come out and do what it does best—and that is be contrary to the Spirit of God. The flesh is continually evil and there is no good thing there in. You don’t believe me, don’t pray for a few days and get on the road driving anywhere in Atlanta and you’ll see how your flesh will be when someone cuts you off in traffic or doesn’t move out of your way when you’re in a hurry, running late because you didn’t leave home at the right time. Paul said in , “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Spirit of the Living God I need to fall fresh on me everyday.

19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Jesus brought justice to the nations. How? Well here’s what he didn’t do, verse 2 says, “He will not shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.” Jesus didn’t have a herald announcing his arrival as he went from town to town. There was no parade, no billboard, no announcement that he was coming. There was no honorarium waiting for him or even agreed on in advance. He didn’t argue with those who disagreed with him, he just let them talk and condemn themselves by the word of their own testimony.

Likewise, we don’t have to get in people’s faces and scream and beat them down with our Bibles. It’s not on us to condemn, all we need to do is give them Jesus, first by living what thus saith the Lord. You can’t speak to the spiritual until you’ve spoken to the physical need.

Then, you must realize you are not the redeemer, but the message you have is from and about the Redeemer. How many have had someone help you out in some manner and they held it over you, reminding you, repeatedly, “you remember when I did such and such for you?” “You know you wouldn’t have that job if I hadn’t put in a good word for you?” “Remember when I introduced you to your husband, your wife, if it wasn’t for me you’d still be single.” When the fact of the matter is we are all just vessels fulfilling God’s plans and purposes. Please don’t get it twisted, if you don’t want to do it, God always has a ram in the bush, his plan will go forth with or without you. The show, the program, the mission will go on.

For those whose don’t have it all together, (Is that anybody out there or am I the only one still trying to figure this thing out?) praise God He doesn’t crush us when we are the weakest reed, He’s long-suffering, he gives us space to repent and doesn’t wipe us out. We may get a little bruised but we won’t be broken.

For the ones whose candles are flickering, in other words, your brother or sister may not be as confident as you, but don’t put out their light because of it, lift them up, encourage them, speak life to them. They may never have had anyone tell them they could do something and all they need is just a little encouragement to move them into their calling, maybe even a small push in the right direction. But make sure it’s the right direction for them.

And then for those who have been wronged, for those who have been looked through, passed over, ignored, had opportunities taken away from you; Jesus brought justice to all who of you, so don’t you go out there trying to get your’s. Jesus didn’t falter or lose heart, he stayed on the cross until justice prevailed throughout the earth; until the work of the cross was complete, until he proclaimed, “It is finished”. He stayed and finished his work so you could finish yours, waiting for your instructions; even distant lands beyond the sea wait for his instruction.

Jesus set things straight for everyone, that’s why all we need to do is preach Jesus, teach Jesus and live for Jesus. He’s got this, and He doesn’t need our input. Has He given you your instructions? If He has just do that; if He hasn’t keep praying, waiting for his instructions and doing the last thing He told you to do.

“God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it.” And when He did, he didn’t just forget about it and say I’m going to just see how things work out. God is involved in everything that happens, he sees everything, He knows everthing and when you belong to Him, there’s nothing that happens to you that he didn’t approve.

You feel like you’re lacking what you need for the task God has given you? Ask Abraham about his ram in the bush.

You feeling like you’ve been thrown away? See how God provided for Hagar and Ishmael.

You feeling ashamed of your past — read about Jacob and how he tricked his brother out of his rightful inheritance.

You feeling ill-equipped — look at Moses’ testimony. He was a stutterer and God used him to be the spokesman to free the children of Isreal.

You feeling abandoned, like God has forgotten about you? Read about Ruth and how God restored her even after her husband and two sons died.

You feeling insignificant, like God doesn’t see you — check out Gideon’s story. He said not only was he from the smallest tribe, he was the least in his family.

You feeling like a victim? Look at Job’s life. He lost everything he had to include 10 children, all his livestock, his body was covered in sores and his friends were all trying to tell him why it was his fault.

You feeling undeserving — see what God said about David. Even after he murdered a man. He called him a man after his own heart.

You feeling unprepared — let Mary tell you her story about how she would birth the Savior of the world when she had never been with a man.

You feeling unfairly persecuted? See if you can switch places with Jesus.

God has given breath to everyone and he’s given life to everyone who walks the earth. From the youngest to the oldest, from the greatest to the least, from the best to the worst. Not only that, then He says, “I, the Lord, (just in case there’s any confusion about who said it) have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. You, me, we are to demonstrate God’s righteousness. Our lives should not be about what can you do for me, we should be looking to see what we can do for God.

We have to recognize, when we do things, we are not doing them for the church, for work, or for our families; everything we do should be done as if we were doing it for the Lord because we are. Whatever your hands find to do, do it as unto the Lord. You do what you do to please the Lord, the church is merely a conduit through which it’s done.

So if you’re here at Love Christian Center, when you work, it’s not for me, it’s not for Pastor Ed, you’re working for God and everything we do should be done with a spirit of excellence not for attention, not with the expectation of recognition, and not solely for compensation, not that those things won’t come, they just shouldn’t be the primary reason for what you do. (Ew whee it’s tight, but it’s right.)

Ew whee it’s tight, but it’s right.

So how do we demonstrate God’s righteousness? Just follow his lead. He said, “I will take you by the hand and guard you and I will give you to my people. Now in the Old Testament God’s people were Israel, but because of what Jesus did, because of the new dispensation, God’s people includes every called out believer and here it is…

You will be a light to guide the nations. Let your light shine. When Christ is absent, there’s darkness. You who have made Jesus the Lord of your life are the light to guide the nations. Start with your family, your neighborhood, your town, your county, and go as far as God tells you to go. You may not be called to foreign missions, your mission may be right where you are.

Your mission will depend on where you are in your life. There is an order God, family, church.

If you’re single, you have more time to devote to prayer, study, meditation, evangelism and maybe even missions.

God instituted the family before the church and that is how the order should remain. Where you are in your married life will determine your season of ministry.

If you’re married with no kids, you have to devote time to each other. You’re not only responsible for, but you’re accountable to your spouse. Your time should be planned out more intentionally to make sure you are devoting time to God and each other; there must be balance.

If you have small children, they are your mission and ministry for now, you can’t be out ministering to and feeding the homeless, and your kids are at home hungry for food and attention.

As your children mature, your ministry time and obligations may change, but you must still maintain balance.

You find yourself coming full circle, being empty nesters and once again the time and mission you have for ministry outside your home may increase.

Always keep in mind to everything there is a season and you must be aware of and adjust as you hear from God and as you continue to hold on to His hand. Let Jesus lead you all the days of your life and you’ll never go wrong. Don’t let go. Hold to his hand to God’s unchanging you, You oughtta hold to his hand to God’s unchanging hand. You oughtta build your hopes on things eternal, hold to God’s unchanging hand. And when you do you can be…

the light of the world

Be the light that leads the way to salvation - go ye therefore into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world.

Be the light that speaks life into dead situations - life and death are in the power of the tongue

Be the light that encourages your brother or sister to walk in their calling

Be the light that stops the gossip instead of participating in it and carrying it on

Be the light that says while I may not be able to do it myself, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength

Be the light that builds up instead of tearing down

Be the light that illuminates the darkness that threatens to take your life and the life of those around you.

You are the light to guide nations and while that may seem like a task too big for you, remember nations are made up of people and it starts with just one.

Maybe you’re in that phase of your life where the kids are small; teach them at home and when they go to sleep or to school, start writing a book. You may say I could never do that, but let me tell you a book is written one word, one sentence, one paragraph, one page, one chapter at a time.

With God leading, “you will open the eyes of the blind, it could be physical or spiritual blindness. You will free the captives from prison, it could be a physical, emotional, mental or spiritual prison. Those in a dark dungeon could be in a serve state of depression, in an abusive situation from which they can see no way out. Trust God to lead you where He wants you to go and believe that He will equip you for what it is He wants you to do.

And what you must know, understand, recognize and acknowledge is God said, “I am Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.” Now let’s stop right there for just a moment. Again this is the Old Testament where they worshipped idols that they carved from various materials, but today, today your idol may be your husband, your wife, your children, your boss, your house, your car, money, the need for power, prestige, or position or even yourself. Anything you put before God is an idol and God said he will not give his glory to anyone else and he will not share his praise with idols, carved or otherwise.

How’s your light? Is it shining bright or is it dim? You may be wondering how your light can get dim. Well let me tell you.

Stop praying

Stop studying the Word

Stop meditating on the Word

Get too busy to take time out to be alone with God

Put other things before God

The further you get away from God, the dimmer your light gets, until you look up and find yourself in darkness. But if you want to turn up the wattage on your light…

Pray without ceasing

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workmen that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Meditate on the law of the Lord day and night.

Spend quality time alone with God daily

Put God first in everything you do

And never let go of His hand. Like a child in a room full of strangers, hold on to God.

Are you letting your light shine? Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

What we do here is not about us, there’s nothing we have done, are doing or will do that’s greater than Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.

When Jesus hung on that cross he was the perfect and final sacrifice for mankind. It was impossible for man to keep the law, so God gave us a safety net, he gave us a redeemer who built a bridge back to Himself. He loved us so much that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever, are there any whosoevers out there? That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

This place we live in, this life we have, it’s all temporary, it’s just a moment in time, it’s practice for the eternal. Are you letting your light shine?

There’s somebody out there who needs to see your light shining, they need you to reach out, they need you to invite them in. A survey published in Christianity Today reports 67% of Americans say a personal invitation from a family member would be very or somewhat effective in getting them to visit a church. 63% of Americans say a personal invitation from a friend or neighbor would be very or somewhat effective in getting them to visit a church.

So over half the people in America would come to church if only they were invited. So let’s break that down, for every 10 people you invite at least six of them are likely to come.

As we enter our eighth year of ministry, can we and I do mean we set a goal to invite at least 10 people per month to church?

The number 8 in the Bible represents a new beginning, meaning a new order or creation, it symbolizes circumcision of the heart through Christ and the receiving of the Holy Spirit (, ). Those in Christ are becoming a new creation, with godly character being created by the power of God's Spirit. Let’s take this year of new beginning and do something different than we’ve done previously, let’s be purposeful about our evangelism.

And it begins with ourselves, for your light to shine, you must first light your candle; if you’ve never accepted Jesus as you personal Lord and Savior, let today be your new beginning , let today be the day you begin to let your light shine. The Bible says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Perhaps you’ve already made Jesus the Lord of your life and you need a church home to work out your own salvation. The Scripture says we are many members, but one body in Christ. We were all baptized into one body and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. God places gifts in the church to equip his people to do his work and build up the church, which is the body of Christ. That work is to continue until we are all unified in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son so we will be mature in the Lord, so we will measure up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Where are you fulfilling Christ’s assignment to equip the Saints? Who do you have covering you, praying with and for you? Will there be one who desires to unite with this branch of Zion to fulfill the mission of this church, “Lifting up Jesus, winning souls for the Kingdom of God” Would you like to join us in becoming soul winners?

Finally, perhaps you were walking with the Lord and you fell away, God is saying while your reed may be bruised, it’s not broken, come back home, He’s waiting with open arms. The doors of the church are open for rededication.

Numbers have meaning and the spiritual meaning of the number eight represents "abundance and prosperity", as the Universe supplies infinite abundance of energy and resources to supply the needs, dreams and desires that anyone can conceive. The spiritual vibration of the number eight is prosperity and self empowerment through right action, and right livelihood. Eight is the number that supplies the energetic flow of money, giving us the opportunity to create affluence and enjoy the fruits of our right actions, and to help others learn to do the same.