The Lamp

Luke 8:16-18,16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. 18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

I.       I would like to talk to you about the Lamp in a Jewish house

A.    When night came and they light their lamps

1.     It would be lit all night even in the poorest of houses

2.     It would be set real low so that the only thing one would see is the light and not what was in the room.

3.     The idea here was that any one could enter a room without running into something

B.    The illustration here is that we must see Christ first, in our lives before we see anything else. We are spiritual blind.

1.     Once we fix our eyes on Christ than the rest of the hidden things in our spiritual lives will be seen through Him.

II.     Christ is the key to our understanding all things

A.    Verse 17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

B.    Just as the light in the room was just bright enough to see the light and nothing else

C.    Than we can turn up the light to see all the other things in the room or in this case our lives.

III.    Seeing Christ we will be given more.

A.    Verse 18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

B.    How do we see Christ by hearing the Word

1.     When one hears and than understands they should reflect that understanding

C.    Just as one does not light a lamp in order to hide it

1.     A person does not receive the secrets of God in order to keep them secret

2.     As I learn God's word I share it with you and in turn as you learn it share it with others

D.    The people of God are to consider carefully how they listen

1.     If one hears and responds with genuine belief

2.     In turn one then will receive more

3.     One should hear with the desire to profit from it

4.     When we come to church we should look to God to use the Holy Spirit to open our understanding

E.     Those who don’t hear and receive God's word will lose what little the have

1.     Matthew 13:12, For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

2.     The devil want our attention on other things so that you do not hear the truth and therefore will not change your life.

a)     Maybe while I am preaching you are thinking about work this week?

b)     Maybe you are thinking about family?

c)     Maybe you have something to do this afternoon?

Conclusion:

Mark 4:24-25,24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

As it says in Eccl 12: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Christ should be the center of our life just as a lamp of light is the vocal point of a dark room

We should listen to all He has to says and respond to it, that will change our lives to the good

To those who do much, more will be given. The more one gives of their time and money the more God gives back.

God will truly take care of us.

Sunday Morning Biker Services 1/7/07