Let His Light Shine
Notes
Transcript
Mark 4:21-25
Mark 4:21-25
Here in Mark 4, we pick up another parable from Christ as He continues to teach the disciples. Remember that a parable means placing a thing by the side of something else for the purpose of comparing to have a better understanding of truth. In this section of Mark, Jesus uses 4 parables in his teaching and each one builds upon the other.
The parable of the Sower and the Soils represent the sowing of the gospel as Jesus went about teaching of the kingdom of heaven. Those who came to faith in Christ were created to bear fruit, hence we move into the second parable, the parable of the lamp.
Text; Mark 4:21-25
21 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?
22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
[Illustration of this parable]
The Sermon Notebook: New Testament You Can’t Hide from the Light (Mark 4:21–25)
A young boy of about nine went with his parents to Europe one summer. Part of their tour included visits to the great old cathedrals of the past. As he visited cathedral after cathedral he saw the massive stained glass portraits of the disciples and of other saints.
He was very impressed as he stood in these great empty halls looking through the beautiful stained glass windows. Upon returning to his church, he was asked by his Sunday School teacher about the great churches of Europe, and what he liked the most.
He thought for a moment and he said, “I loved the sense of awesomeness and the hugeness of who God must be.”
“And what is a saint?” his teacher asked next.
His mind went back to those massive beautiful stained glass windows and he said, “A saint is a person the light shines through.”
1. The Lamp; 21-22
1. The Lamp; 21-22
In ancient Israel, a lamp was a lighted wick in a clay bowl that was full of oil. The lamp was not lit and then put under a bowl or a bed, where its light could not be seen. Instead, the lamp was lit and put on its stand in order to illuminate the room.
Light dispels darkness that a person can see!
Jesus Christ is the Light of this world. He did not descend from heaven to be hidden amongst religion but to do the Father’s will, by exposing sin [darkness], by drawing people to faith [light] in Him!
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Light is truth that exposes all sin!
Since Jesus is the Light of the World there is nothing that can be hidden from Him that will not be exposed.
You may hide things from people, your spouse, your boss and even the church. But you will not hide anything from God.
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
The “Gospel” is a message of conversion to salvation or condemnation to hell based upon a persons choice to leave the darkness and live in the light or not!
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Revelation 20:11–15 (NKJV)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
It is better to confess sin today before Christ and be forgiven than for Him to expose it on Judgment Day and be eternally lost!
Do you hear Me?
2. The Lampstand; 24
2. The Lampstand; 24
24 Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more.
Since Jesus is the “Light of the world” then what is His lampstand? The church!
[Mark 4:20] The lampstand are those who have recieved the seed and are bearing spiritual fruit of the Gospel. Jesus’ light shines through them!
How bright is the Light of Christ shining through you? That depends upon what you are doing with Jesus!
Study- the more you study something the more you get from it.
How well is your understanding of God’s Word?
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Worship- your focus upon God as Lord.
How is your worship?
Do we come to give or get?
Do we come expecting or just out of habit?
Do we come prepared in heart and mind or do we just come?
1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Prayer- communication with our Creator.
How is your prayer life?
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
If we don’t grow in these three areas of our spiritual walk, the light of Christ begins to dim on our lampstand and He may remove it!
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Turning on the Light; 25
Turning on the Light; 25
Use it or lose it!
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
The eyes are the window to the soul. And what we love the most will come out of our life. People who love the Lord and His Word will grow because of the difference the word is making in their life and the joy of how God is using them. And those that are growing in the Lord, hunger for more.
Illus.
A muscle, when exercised, will grow stronger, but an unused muscle will grow weak and flabby. If a muscle is not growing stronger, it is growing weaker; it cannot stay the same. Those who are maturing in faith will continue to grow and will be given greater opportunities in serving the Lord. Whereas, like the unused muscle, those who do not listen nor understand will lose whatever they had and any new opportunities to serve Jesus.
This is the natural laws of nature, man and above all the law of God.
Those who labor and practice and are diligent and persistent see, hear, and get. They are in a position to get more and more and to be given more and more.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
But the neglectful, lazy, and the unfaithful will lose what they have.
4 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Close;
God gives the light of truth to believers for a specific purpose: that it might be shared and not hidden.
God wants others to see and know the light, the truth and purpose of life. The believer must make sure that he never hides or misuses the light of the truth.
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
How bright is the light of Christ shining in your life?
How rampant is the river of life flowing from your heart?
Let His Light Shine!!