The Parable of the Lampstand

Welcome

What’s going on guys!? it’s awesome to be back with yall after fall break. I got to hang out with some of you at the bonfire the other night, which was awesome! And we definately missed those of you who couldn’t make it. I’ll be honest, i was pretty tired that night. For those of you that don’t know, A few years ago, i started out on a journey, a goal if you will. That goal is to see a game at every SEC stadium. This year, Jessica and I decided early in the season to go to Neyland Stadium, to watch Alabama take on the Tennessee Volunteers. A game that at the time, didn’t seem like that big of a deal. We drove up on friday, got up and went to college gameday on saturday morning, lunch, and then the game at 2:30. We had a blast!! All except for the end of the game, lol.

But you know, I was reminded of something while we were there. There are a lot of people in our world who need Jesus, and it’s our responsibility to tell them about him. As the Bible says to shine the “Light of Jesus” to the world.

Intro

Last time we met, in your small groups we started talking about Jesus’ parables. and we defined as Parable as what? “A Simple Story used to Illustrate a Moral or Spiritual Lesson”

We started off by discussing the Parable of the Sower, or as some call it the “Parable of the Soils”.

In that time I really wanted you to see a few things

Jesus’ Parables will only really make sense to “Real” Christians

We have to fight to keep our hearts from:

Becoming Callous towards God because of Stuff that’s happened

being Shallow and allowing the things of the world to blow us around and shake our faith.

Becoming to Crowded with other stuff that God gets pushed out in favor of the other “Stuff”

That we are to be like that “Good Soil” and be Ready to hear from and act on the Words of God!

Tonight we will build on what we’ve already seen, so that we understand that:

Real Christians Shine the Light, the don’t Confine it.

Let’s read together:

Mark 4:21–25 ESV

21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The first thing that we see in this parable is that:

The Light of Jesus brings Life

Show Picture

Brian Bell illustrates this by noting that "The River Jordan supplies two large lakes. Sea of Galilee (full of fish/plant life) & the Dead Sea (nothing living in it at all - It’s stagnant & lifeless). Both lakes have the same source, but only the Sea of Galilee has an outlet. In other words, it passes on what it has received...the Dead Sea does not! That is the challenge of this passage, the message that Jesus has brought is not to be kept to ourselves but it is to be passed on to others."

Vs. 21 presents what seems like a silly question. but You see in this time, there was no electricity, there weren’t multiple lights throughout a home that a switch could be flipped and the whole house is lit up and bright! The lamps that they had were filled with oil, had a wick that floated in the oil, and it only cast so much light. So in order to maximize the lamp, there had to be some thought put into where it was placed. So the people figured out that if they would build stands that would reach up higher than most other things, then the light wouldn’t be obstructed by anything.

This is an everyday example that Jesus is using to teach a super important lesson!!

We must hold the Light of Jesus above everything else in our lives,

so that other’s may see Him, meet Him, and gain Eternal Life!

The Issue is that:

Many “Christians” want to Choose when that Light shines

Mattoon comments on the possible meaning of putting the lamp under a bed - The mention of the bed is a reminder or symbol of leisure. Beloved, we can become so involved in pleasure-seeking or frivolity, that we cease to shine. Many Christians today do not want to be inconvenienced by sacrifices, interested in spiritual matters, or involved in serving the Lord because they want the freedom to pursue their pleasures.

Guys, There is nothing wrong in having fun or a good time, but if our pleasure seeking hurts our Christian testimony, causes us to neglect our responsibilities for Christ, or gets us out of church, then we have a problem.

We neglect to fulfill the purpose for which Christ saved us, and suffer from a case of mistaken identity. Victories for the souls of men are not won on the playground, but on the battlefield of life.

Check it out: Mark says

Mark 4:22 ESV

22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.

Listen to me:

I know that everyone, and everything, around you says that you need to be “true to yourself” but it’s impossible to be true to yourself by the worlds standards, and be faithful to God.

Vs. 22 Calls out that duplicity, it calls out that two faced life that we try to live. It tells us that Truth will always win!!

Do you have secret sin in your life, and hoping that no one will ever find out?

Are you struggling, but you don’t want anyone to see it?

Jesus tells us that in the same way that His light will save lives, it can save you from yourself!

The other important truth of this Passage is that:

The Light of Jesus Strengthens Life

What do i mean?

Mark 4:23–25 ESV

23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Jesus is telling us that if we will truly buy in, surrender our lives to him, study our Bibles, spend time in prayer, share the Gospel with others, make Jesus this most important thing in our lives, then He will bless us with more than we could have ever imagined.

But in the same breath, if we choose not to do those things, then in the same way that our muscles get smaller when we don’t exercise, or that we can forget things that we don’t use often, the blessings of God will decrease, and our lives will become more and more difficult.

Not that we can ever lose our salvation, but we can definitely find ourselves living outside of God’s will, and thus we put distance between us and God.

Closing Illustration

Get Lamp from the house

Cut out all lights in the room.

Our World is a dark place that desperately needs Jesus! There are some of us in this room who claim to be Christians, who claim to have the Light of Jesus in their heart, but nobody sees it, because it isn’t shining. Either we’re covering it up, or it’s not really there. Neither of which are good.

Light the Lamp

But some of us let that light not only shine, but we let it guide our next steps. And in letting that light guide us, God shows us the next step we are to take. and know that “it’s in Steps that God lights, God delights!”

When we walk by the guidance of the God’s light, He will not only take care of us, but he will use us to introduce that light in the lives of our peers. It’s great to have the light in our lives, but how much greater is it to rescue our friends from that darkness that once enslaved us!

Is the Light of Jesus shining in your life?

If not:

Is it because you’re hiding it?

Or because you don’t have it, because you don’t really know him?