“The Parables of the Kingdom!” - Part 2

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We learned last week that the PURPOSE of Jesus speaking in parables is twofold: to REVEAL and CONCEAL “…the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 13:11) at the SAME TIME!

Matthew 13:11 CSB

He answered, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.

“…Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.”

The secrets of the kingdom have been given to believers through the parables and there is a blessing in the study of the parables! –

Matthew 13:16–17 CSB

“Blessed are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see but didn’t see them, to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.

Because I believe one of the best ways in which we gain a true understanding of the Kingdom of God is through the parables, we will spend some time looking at the eighteen Kingdom parables taught by Jesus!

OUR PATTERN of study is to focus on three questions: WHAT? SO WHAT? And NOW WHAT?

This morning, we continue with…

I. The LAMP UNDER A JAR or BED! – (Mark 4:21-25; Luke 8:16-18)

A. WHAT is the PICTURE? – Light for a HOME!

As the sun would set, the room would darken and someone would fill the lamp, trim the wick, and light the lamp, and put it on a lampstand, illuminating the room!

Jesus states the obvious, “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a basket or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see its light.”

The PURPOSE of the lamp is to give light to “…those who come in!”

B. SO WHAT? – What do we learn about the Kingdom from this picture?

1. Our message must be CLEAR! – (Luke 8:16)

Folks should know what we believe and what we stand for!

We’re not ashamed of Jesus, of what He taught, of the reality of sin, the reality of hell, of His substitutionary death on the cross, and of His immanent Return!

2. The kingdom discloses EVERYTHING! – (Luke 8:17)

There are NO SECRETS! – “For…” – What follows is a GROUND—the reason you must believe what was just stated!

(v.17) –“…nothing is concealed that won’t be revealed, and nothing hidden that won’t be made known AND brought to light.”

3. In the Kingdom, there will be accountability and consequences! – (Mark 4:24-25)

Jesus begins with a WARNING – (Mk 4:24a) – “Pay attention to what you hear…”

(Luke 8:18a) – “Therefore take care how you listen...”

The admonition is both positive and negative! – (Mark 4:24-25)

(Luke 8:18) – “Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

C. NOW WHAT? – What do we do with these lessons?

1. Live in such a manner that Jesus is SEEN IN YOU! – (Luke 8:16)

People who “…come in may see it’s light”— should see the light of our lamps!

Folks, our MESSAGE must be clear! There should be NO DOUBT about who we are and what we stand for! Our very lives should reflect the light of Jesus Christ!

Your life is a witness to the world of what it means to have Jesus in your heart!

“HOW?”

Matthew 5:14–16 CSB

“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

– “…so that they may see your good works…”

Philippians 2:12–15 CSB

Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,

– By our obedience, by our commitment to holiness, and by our commitment to loving one another!

Only God could come up with a process where we are changed and He is glorified, and in so doing more people are drawn to His Son!

2. Live with the awareness that one day EVERYTHING WILL BE REVEALED! – (Luke 8:17)

Perhaps the greatest lie of Satan is, “No one will know…”

The truth is, EVERYONE WILL KNOW!

3. Live with the awareness that I will GIVE AN ACCOUNT of my life! – (Luke 8:18)

There is a Day of reckoning! – (Psalm 96:1-13) – “…for he is coming to judge the earth.”

Romans 14:10 CSB

But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

– “…For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 CSB

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

– “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

I wish we had time this morning to walk through all of (2 Cor 5), for we would learn that the whole point of walking “by faith” (v.7), of making it “our aim to be pleasing to him” (v.9), and the awareness of the judgment seat of Christ (v.10) is culminated in (v.11a):

“Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people…”

We are simply trying to share what we have experienced: GRACE! – (vv.17-21)

CONCLUSION:

As I contemplated how to close this week’s message on HOW, or perhaps WHY we must endeavor to make our lives shine for the sake of Christ, the words of one of my favorite songs, released in 1994 came to mind.

Granted, they might be a bit strange, but there’s not account for taste…

“Shine” – Newsboys, 1994

Verse 1

Dull as dirt you can't assert

The kind of light that might persuade

A strict dictator to retire

Fire the army teach the poor origami

The truth is in

The proof is when you hear your heart

Start asking what's my motivation

And try as you may there isn't a way

To explain the kind of change

That would make an Eskimo renounce fur

That would make a vegetarian barbecue hamster

Unless you can trace this about-face

To a certain sign

Chorus

Shine make 'em wonder what you've got

Make 'em wish that they were not

On the outside looking bored

Shine let it shine before all men

Let 'em see good works and then

Let 'em glorify the Lord (shine)

Verse 2

Out of the shaker and onto the plate

It isn't karma it sure ain't fate

That would make a Deadhead sell his van

That would make a schizophrenic

Turn in his crayons

Oprah freaks and science seeks

A rationale that shall excuse

This strange behavior

When you let it shine you will inspire

The kind of entire turnaround

That would make a bouncer take ballet

Even bouncers who aren't happy

But out of the glare with nowhere to turn

You ain't gonna learn it on What's My Line