Light that Breaks the Darkness (Gen. 1:1-3)
Today we will share the grace of God’s Word with Genesis 1:1-3 regarding the Light. If there’s no light, it would be darkness. Right now, at this time, if we didn’t have electricity, we would be sitting in darkness. Simply put, we would not be able to live our proper lives. That is something God made as well. In Gen. 1:1 it says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” but in Gen. 1:2, it says, “Now the earth was formless and empty and dark.” God created the world, but still, it wasn’t full. So, until the light is shining, we are in a state of emptiness, darkness, and confusion. We call this the Light of Creation.
This world needs the Light of Creation. I’m not talking about the light from the sun, that’s just radiation. We are talking about God Who created Light Himself and Christ Who is Light. Why do we need the Light? If we don’t have the Light, we’re in the state of formlessness, emptiness, and darkness. Formlessness is a state of chaos, there’s no form or structure. It is formless. There needs to be some kind of order, but our minds are empty and chaotic, it is formless, and it’s a state of emptiness. No matter how much we try to fill that void, it will not be filled. That’s what humans are like.
Because human beings are created in the image of God, they must be filled with the Triune God. It doesn’t matter how much we try to fill ourselves with material things, we’ll always be empty, so people try to fill their void by looking around. I went to Hawaii for the first time and from my perspective, Hawaii is the same as LA. The ocean is the same, and maybe it’s because I didn’t go anywhere except the conference location, but while flying in on the airplane, I saw uninhabited islands. But that didn’t really move me. People wandered back and forth on the beach but I wasn’t moved by that.
I was praying in anticipation for the Word God would relay through the evangelist, and it was the first conference we had overseas. It’s the same in America, but I was excited for God’s Word. What am I talking about? If you’re not interested in God’s Word, you’d be more interested in going to beaches and to Hawaii over and over again, but you’re empty inside. I’m not telling you to not go on vacations, but if your heart is not drawn in that direction, it means your heart is not satisfied.
Some people go to Hawaii when they’re bored, and I know why now. The environment is ripe for tourists, and when you look at the environment of all the people, someone who is suffering from depression may feel relieved. My wife asked, “Why didn’t you take any pictures?” I said, “The ocean is the same, why would I take a picture?” I’m saying, there’s nothing new; if there were something new, I would take a picture; in other words, there’s nothing else I truly desire. However, if you’re in a state of emptiness, you have to go this way and that, looking for something, because you’re so empty, in a state of darkness.
The characteristic of darkness means you do not know, you’re oppressed and in pain because of something because you’re unaware. You’re facing suffering for no reason. My daughter came home early today and I asked her why, but she wouldn’t tell me, but she was continuously crying. When I see her crying, I want to hit her upside the head because that’s inheritance from my family line. Whenever I cry, my mom would say, “Why are you crying? Who died?” She wouldn’t let me cry. She would say, “Stop crying right now because nobody died.”
Maybe it’s because I don’t have any other women in my family but women are very strange. She was crying and I asked, “Why are you crying?” She said, “I’m depressed.” I said, “What should come has come, because if you’ve never experienced this, then how would you know Christ?” If you’re sad because something sad happens, then there’s a reason to be sad. However, if there’s nothing to be sad about? I saw her like this a few months ago as well and I told her, “This is darkness.” It doesn’t matter if she’s the daughter of a pastor; even the pastor has no light in them.
She said, “I want to worship from home,” but I said, “No, come with us,” and I forced her to come today. I asked in my heart, ‘How else would you experience Christ?” She’s heard Christ all her life and that’s not a bad thing she’s heard about it in theory, but later on, she’ll experience it; now is the time. Darkness is invisible, there’s no cause, it just oppresses you, and you just cry, you just become depressed. That’s what we call darkness. Nothing can express it better than that. That’s why the Light of Creation must come upon you.
If you just say Christ, it’s not enough. I met a pastor in Hawaii and he said he’s in so much pain and doesn’t want to meet people. I used to think back to my past, and I thought people were so difficult. We started talking about that, so we kept going. I asked him, “Pastor, is there any situation that was shocking or traumatizing to you?” I started talking about an incident he started telling me. He’s influenced by people’s words a lot. That situation began somewhere in his past.
He went to church ever since he was young, once he was born, and until now, he’s only seen churches. It doesn’t matter at all how long you’ve gone to church or if your father is a missionary or pastor, but why do you think this person thinks the way he does because of this one incident? If there’s an incident that happens between me and this person, I must stand before God, but instead, I make a judgment. Then I’ll say, “I don’t want to see this person anymore.” It’s not that you hate seeing that person because you hate seeing that person, but it’s become a habit in your life. But it’s hard to realize that is a big sin.
It seems like you did nothing wrong, and you don’t recognize that it’s a tremendous sin. It means you stand in the seat of God, making a judgment of what is good or evil, and deciding, “I don’t want to see people.” That didn’t start from nowhere. Whether that person is aware of it or subconsciously, it doesn’t matter. Decades ago, when you faced some kind of incident, you feel the same way you do now.
You need to receive your answer by standing in front of God, but instead, you make your own judgment and you think this or that about that person. That’s what we call, “sin.” In Ephesians 4:6, it says, “In your anger do not sin lest Satan gains a foothold.” This is the stream and channel through which Satan works. This person has been seized by those thoughts his entire life, and he still now lives in that thought pattern. I told him, “Satan is listening to the conversation you and I are having.” Then he was like, “…”
Satan has a personality, he’s a corrupt angel, and the darkness knows better than you do whether you have darkness inside of you or not. The devil knows the moment you acknowledge that. I told him, “It is already finished; however, this darkness, this Satan you’ve already heard so much about, once you see how they work around you, they will flee.” It’s not just one person, but it’s the stream of their family line. He was so deep in legalism of going to church for a long time that when an incident happens, he doesn’t stand before ethe gospel of Christ, but he makes a judgment and falls before the devil.
It’s not that I’m better and he’s worse; I’m simply expressing to him the grace God has given to me. He said, “Your words are very comforting,” but I said, “It doesn’t matter if they’re comforting or not. Everyone knows the words of Satan, sin, and hell, that’s just theological doctrine; but what does that have to do with me?” It is related to every individual but if that’s not related to you, it’s just a theory. That is how He becomes your Christ and your Savior, that’s what we must relay to the remnants.
It’s not enough to just say the three roles of Christ, they will be able to answer well, but it’s specifically how the forces of darkness work in the family line. I told the person about their past and their state now. I have no choice but to remember these things because I’m interested in this person’s spiritual state. It’s not that people in America don’t know Christ, but Christ is not their Christ.
It’s the same thing for my daughter. She’s oppressed by something and suffering, until she realizes this. It will be revealed by God’s grace. That’s why nothing is a problem because if anything, she knows the problem and the answer. I said, “I’m glad you’re experiencing this, because how else can you truly experience Christ? This is how you will explain Christ to someone else as a witness. The problem here is actually darkness, you’ve heard this all your life, but one day, you will really acknowledge and understand it. Until that point, the darkness will not leave. You have been liberated from the authority of darkness, but the darkness will hold onto you and not let you leave.”
It’s the same with the pastor in Hawaii, and there’s another pastor who said, “It sounds like you have depression.” He said, “How do you know?” But it’s not the diagnosis that’s important, but one day, your depression will become a platform as you experience what the spiritual things are like, and you’ll be a witness of the Light of Christ. I told this pastor, “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve gone to church and how many generations you’ve been a Christian, even Rick Warren’s son committed suicide. You must know the cause of the depression but you stay still.
“They say, ‘Repent for your sins,’ but what sins shall you repent for? You don’t know the darkness, you don’t know what to repent for, but because we are not telling people about the true problem, the cause of the problem, and the solution, people commit suicide. This happened to a son of a pastor, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a pastor or not. It doesn’t matter at all how many generations of your family have gone to church. You cannot break down the darkness. It’s already been inside of you for a long time, so that’s why we talk about the Light.”
Then, what does it say in the New Testament in John 1? John 1:1 says the Word is God. Then in John 1:3, “All things that were made were made through Him.” That’s talking about God and Jesus. He is the Word, so everything was created through the Word. It says in John 1:4, “In Him was life, and that life was the Light of all mankind,” so now the life is represented as Light.
Today, we talk about the darkness and light, and that Light is the same as life. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it, or the darkness did not understand it. He came as a witness to all people concerning the light. If Light is the life, then darkness is death. We are in a state of death, a state without life, a state of darkness, a state without light. It’s all the same. This means that this individual is dead.
Romans 8:2 says about life and death, “Through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit Who gives life,” what does it do? “Through Christ, you have been set free from the law of sin and death.” In other words, it is the law of sin, death, and darkness, it’s all the same thing because death is darkness. The authority of death. If you know Christ correctly, you escape from those things. If you understand what problem causes your suffering now, you will know Christ.
The devil knows Christ, however, the darkness also knows better than I do whether I know Christ is the answer to the problems I have or not. The moment you know this, it’s already finished. But that is the ministry that is not taking place. You need to be able to identify this person’s problem and give them the light. But instead, you don’t know their problem, so you walk circles around them.
It doesn’t matter how long you go to church, it doesn’t matter even as the pastor gives messages and everything. Until they realize. Understanding this is grace. It’s the same for you and your ministries. There’s a specific point but it doesn’t matter how much you circle around it; without knowing the point, it will not be an answer for them. But at the very least, if you’re a witness of this, you can see their problem easily. You can easily think about the history of their family line.
I told this pastor in Hawaii, “Remember when you told me that this was your problem in your family line, and when you said that, I knew that you couldn’t escape from that,” and this was someone I knew for a long time in Korea, but I saw him after a long time. Otherwise how could he tell me that he was suffering? That was the work of a pastor. He says he continues to give God’s Word without having the answer to his own problem.
2 Cor. 4:4 says that the god of this age working in those who are disobedient is blinding the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see Christ, who is the image of God. Why must we teach meditation to the remnants? They don’t know spiritual things. The darkness holds onto them, then you say logical words, asking them why they don’t understand? That’s what’s strange. You say, “I speak logically and rationally, but you still don’t get it?” You are the one who doesn’t know. What don’t you know? You don’t know the reality; you only know the theory. The darkness holds onto them but you don’t know that.
Because you don’t know that, it doesn’t matter how much you say; it’s not an answer. Because it says that he blocks the light of the gospel from shining. Then, in the name of Jesus Christ you need to attack that in concentration. Every moment you’re conscious in your thoughts, pray in concentration for the remnants. You must experience that. You say, “I tried giving them the Word but they didn’t listen”? That’s all useless. We fight the spiritual battle right now but you think your words are going to change them? What are your words to them? Even a pastor will get attacked; who are you? Even pastors commit suicide; who do you think you are?
This is darkness and we must break it in the name of Jesus Christ. We continue to pray until the darkness is broken. You must have victory in that first for the next thing to happen, so what do we do when we gather for Friday night worship? We gather the power of our prayers in one missile in concentration to attack the target.
In the military, there’s a sect for cannonball attacks. It’s the ToT group. They choose one specific target and completely obliterate it with missiles. That’s a ToT attack. It’s not just one missile attacking one target, but all the artillery is attacking that one target, so it’s completely destroyed. What is this time of Friday night worship? It is that time. When you know the meaning of that and pray, the darkness is broken. If you have become a church officer without the meaning of overnight prayer, the darkness will be over you until you realize.
That’s why the members of the Early Church constantly devoted to prayer. The fact that the doors of evangelism opened in Acts 2-11 means the forces of darkness had been broken down. When God gives you the answer from the Throne of Heaven, the forces of darkness are broken down and you will see the answers after that. That’s why we gather early in the morning to pray together.
There is something I kind of regret, that is, instead of giving a message, we listen to the prayer journal, so everyone listens in their home. Even if you’re unable to come to church, you should come and watch the same broadcast shown at the church at the same time. When we’re doing the Prayer Topics on the projector, we must all pray at the same time. After we finish that, I summarize the message, it’s tremendous strength as we unite our strength together.
If you’re unable to do that, you must do this. If you understand the spiritual principle, Satan knows how frightening this is. Then of course, Satan will try to make you scatter and not do this together. What is the difference between dozens of people shooting at a target simultaneously versus one person shooting once or twice a month? You must know this about prayer; if you don’t, you’ll always be blocked by something firm and dark.
Our young adults must experience this, it’s not enough to just run your mouth. You didn’t study theology; how much of the message do you possibly know? This is something even pastors don’t know. Break it down with prayer. When the power of the Throne of Heaven is established, the forces of darkness will be cast out and the heavenly hosts will be mobilized. The problem of this earth is nothing other than death and sin and darkness, and if the light goes in, they’re saved. Right now, the depression is not the problem, but when life goes in, darkness is broken and they live.
If someone is making a mistake, they can just make mistakes, but if there’s a repetitive problem that continues to come regardless of that person’s actions, it’s a spiritual problem. Even if they try to stop, they cannot. It’s not something you can change with your words. They already know it’s not working, then what shall you do? Pray until it’s broken. Continuously pray for them, 24 hours. You have to experience the forces of darkness being broken down to understand what prayer is.
For example, if she’s not listening and refusing to listen to the word and she’s wandering, continue to pray for her and for the forces of darkness to be broken. As time passes, you’ll see it. Experience that, then it’s connected to all of your business. Of course, the forces of darkness will block you with the economy of darkness, because if you get a taste of this, you’ll spend your money on Temple Construction and missions. Of course the darkness will block you, because if you use your money for offering, then the future generations, Temple Construction, and missions will come to life.
The darkness must be broken, the problem is not the person or people. If you knew this, you’d understand why you keep talking about prayer and 24 hour prayer, there’s no other method than that. You’re working diligently in the hospital but there is a background of darkness in the hospital and it doesn’t matter how much you cry about it and cry about the injustice; you’re the only one who will fall. In Gen. 41:38, “Whom can we find like this, one in whom is the spirit of God?” But you go to your field without strength, then you’re pressed down. That’s why the power of the throne must be within me first.
We talked about this for 30 minutes with the pastor. I told them very honestly, “I’ve never gone to any other church, I’m accepted into the gospel movement, but the way I experience the Holy Spirit is different from the way you talk about it,” so the evangelist said to talk about the 3, 9, 3 prayer to the remnants, but it seemed like they understood it differently. But from the perspective of evangelism it seems everyone understands differently. If someone has been in the Presbyterian church for a long time, they don’t think the filling of the Holy Spirit is a big deal. They change the filling of the Holy Spirit, “I’m sure they’re talking about the filling of God’s Word,” and that is true, because the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, will teach you and remind you of Christ’s Word, and it’s true, but this person has no strength. They know so much of God’s Word but they are powerless, because that’s how they understand the Holy Spirit.
How does the Pentecostal church understand it? These people do not understand the filling of the Holy Spirit like that; they understand the filling of the Holy Spirit as power. There’s actual power being shown, diseases are healed, they speak in tongues, and that’s not wrong, either; that’s still correct. There are two different groups, one sees the filling of the Holy Spirit as being filled with God’s Word; the other says it’s power you experience and can speak, and neither group is incorrect.
However, if the pastor has lived a long time in that kind of church, when they talk about Pastor Ryu talk about the filling of the Holy Spirit or the power of the Throne of Heaven, they will understand it in that way. On the other hand, people who grew up in the Baptist church have the “filling of the Word,” so they understand the Throne of Heaven as the Word. They’re both correct but it can’t just be one. Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you,” so without a doubt you will receive power, and then, you will be a witness of Christ to the ends of the earth, so God gives you that power for the work of evangelism. They’re holding onto the wrong target.
Look at Acts 2, yes, they’re speaking in tongues, but their goal is to stand as a witness. The pastors must be able to relay the history and work of evangelism to the remnants, but if they only understand in a one-sided way like this, they cannot understand the message. So, in that kind of aspect, I lived as an nonbeliever without religious doctrine, so it’s better that I didn’t have any other imprinted understanding. I may have an nonbeliever imprint, but I received the imprints from the evangelist from a long time ago.
What I keep feeling is, when I speak to pastors, it seems like we’re not speaking from the same angle. It’s so important. The power of the Triune God and Throne of Heaven comes to you in faith so if you don’t have faith, you have nothing. He promised to give it to you, so you believe in that promise. Then, what happens when you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit? You have assurance in God’s Word, your spiritual state completely changes, in other words, because His power is on you.
The evangelist calls it, “landing of the Holy Spirit,” as if an airplane lands on an airstrip, but the Americans only talk about, “the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” when the Holy Spirit completely controls and reigns over all of you. That’s what it means for the Kingdom of God to come upon you. The Kingdom is where there is authority or sovereignty. You know, “reign,” wherever that reigning power is in force, that is the kingdom. It doesn’t matter what problems you have, your depression is the limit of your abilities, but when you pray for the kingdom of heaven to reign upon you, it’s not a problem.
God gave you the problem because you have to realize, “I can’t do it,” so you can experience the blessing truly. If things are taking place without true blessings, that’s fake. I experienced this a lot in Korea, and the reason I enjoy Early Morning Prayer so much, the early morning prayer is great, I don’t have any calls, I can use that time however I want. At that time, I enjoy the taste of prayer. Without this strength of prayer, you cannot overcome America. It doesn’t matter even if you graduate from Harvard; you cannot overcome the darkness. More specifically speaking, you cannot change the stream coming down your family line. It doesn’t change because you go to church for a long time. If anything, the longer someone goes to church without this answer, the more oppressed they will be. Legalistic people try to gain some kind of benefit or blessing from their actions, but that doesn’t break down spiritual problems.
I hope the remnants experience this a little bit while you study. Stop saying, “I tried this but why are my grades not doing better?” Do you think your grades require the filling of the Holy Spirit? Then, should your grades be bad? It’s not your concern. When you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, then you’ll see things differently. Yes, in my experience, grades do get better because God’s power is greater than your power and now it’s upon you. That’s what it’s talking about.
Raise up that watchtower in your field. Shine the light. We’re talking about the light today because the world is in darkness and death. Watchman means you’re on the watch, see the fact that people are dying in the field. If you see it, then see and pray for them, shine the light for them. What is the bartizan? It means you must have building or location or facility. Like the barracks for soldiers. You need to raise up that bartizan. You need to continue to shine the light in that region, that is how the people who are coming will see that Light and live. But if the person shining the light is continuously falling asleep, that cannot happen. This is the 24 hour mission.
People running a business, have your 24 hour mission and shine the light, raise up the bartizan in that region to do your business to shine the light and save people. Be the antenna that communicates the Word and plan of God to that person, and you communicate that all the way to the 237 nations of the world. No need to go anywhere; the 237 nations are here in America, so you must have the content. That is how you are the platform. Without the content, you cannot shine the light or be a bartizan for anybody.
First, whatever you have within you, come to that answer through the Light, then you’ll have a desire to live, and you receive the power of the Throne of Heaven to shine the Light. Shine the Light, looking at the field, we’re not talking about vague or abstract things. See the field and shine the light there, right? You need to see people are dying without God in disasters, shine the light there.
In Isaiah 60, it says the world is covered in thick darkness, but nations and kings will come to your light. That is true success. Everyone in your business and studies gather to you because you have true success. Remnants, study while imagining this image. Your goal and the end is correct so God will guide your studies. Because you must shine the light into the field with your studies and job, God will guide you there to success. If you just study, that is a study that will take you into darkness. That is not true success. Without a doubt, I hope you will hold onto the covenant. Same for the church officers. It’s just unbelief. Those are the words darkness says to darkness.
The word, “experience” is correct, you may not feel something physically but you feel something inside, then even if you don’t try to heal the scars inside of you, you’ll be healed. It doesn’t matter what weakness you have; God’s power is in you, and that’s what Rev. Ryu means, “When darkness goes away, there’s nothing more to say.” Even Pharaoh knelt to Joseph, but without that, you say a lot of nonsense. If you receive an answer in the hospital, doctors and nurses have no choice but to follow you. Enjoy true success.
Aim for the highest summit. People need to have a hope, a goal. It’s not enough to wander around, aimlessly. It’s the same for remnants receiving training, “I must do my ministry like this based on evidence of God’s Word,” and that will happen. God will show you and guide you. May you have a blessed time like this.
Prayer
Let us pray together at this time. In other churches they call this “targeted prayer.” Let us pray for the region. Everything is within your region, including your job, your children’s school, your life. When you pray for it, the darkness is broken, and at that point, your job, your work, your studies will open a way. That’s why the devil blocks us from praying together. Let us pray together for the region, “God may the Holy Spirit establish God’s Kingdom here, may all the organizations and darkness of Satan break down,” what’s the goal of breaking it down? The goal is to open the door of missions and evangelism and to raise up disciples. Let us pray together.
Our second prayer topic, without a doubt, the 237 nations are connected to our business. That’s the promise, but Satan blocks us from doing this. First, we have no assurance of this in our thoughts. That’s darkness. Originally this was all given to us in Christ. May the forces of unbelief be broken down. It must be broken down. No need to go far to see darkness; unbelief works upon you. May all the forces of darkness and disbelief blocking the 237 nations, missions, and evangelism be cast out now. May the doors of missions and evangelism to the 237 nations and the 5000 people groups open. Let us pray.
The answers are already on their way to your prayer right now because God promised and fulfills that Word. If you have that promise, give your prayer to God and you’ll stand as a witness. You don’t see it right now but the answers are on their way from the Throne of Heaven. Even right now, God is working without rest. That’s what it means to give Him no rest, day or night, then no one can overcome the one who prays. Not prayer from my greed but the prayer God promised. That’s how prayer takes place as promised.
One day, the answer of 25 will be upon you, then you will live and save. Let us pray for Temple Construction. To do world evangelization, we must have a platform, and it’s the darkness that blocks it that is the problem. May the economy of light open for Temple Construction. May all the curses of poverty be broken down. Poverty is a curse. Poverty is not a problem but if you’re too poor to do the work God wants you to do, that’s a curse, so we must receive answers. Let us pray together for Temple Construction.
Lately, Rev. Ryu has been talking about opening the age of the 3 day weekend, to completely change the culture of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I talked about this on Sunday as well, but I want to bring successful individuals on Saturday to open the eyes of the youth. They’re not able to have these conversations and cannot talk about this to their parents, so the kids live without knowing. We need to open their eyes to see, “This is a successful person in their branch or field, they’re just like me,” and this is what the Jewish people do for their coming of age ceremony. The Jewish people figure out what they want to do and then get connected to successful people in that industry. They teach their remnants how to get to that place quickly and easily, supplying them with funds. It is a structure to raise leaders.
We have the church organization and you have nonbelievers you’re connected to as well. You can use that well to open the eyes of the youth. We want to raise this platform for the kids because just about a month ago, I had in my heart that I wanted to do this, but we weren’t able to do this because of the parachurch ministry. Even before last year, we continuously received the Word for the kids to do summit prayer, so we opened the summit school. First and foremost, we don’t look back at what God gave us but we move forward. Para follows along, whatever is correct must be followed. If the kids receive answers, everyone will follow. We’re not forcing anyone, but we must raise the remnants, so we think of Saturday so preciously. They are the future so many people must be attached to this.
For people who have come to their senses, be attached to this and I hope you will receive double the answers for the sake of the remnants. If you stay by yourself, you will have no answers. Let us pray for Saturday and Sunday, the children’s evangelism school, youth evangelism school, young adult evangelism school, the business and industry message, and the Sunday message.
One more announcement. There’s a 16-year old boy named Moses in Sedona, and his bail is $50,000. Our church wants to help with that, and then he would be released for a year. Pastor Dick Snyder has been visiting him in jail. More than using church funds for this, it should be voluntary from church members. As long as God allows us to hear about this, we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to it. I hope you will be praying and led.
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to enjoy and testify of the light that is within them, be upon their businesses and academics, be with us from now until forevermore always, amen.