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5.06.2001 | PARABLES OF JESUS - THE LAMPSTAND- Mark 4:21-25
Intro...Rolling blackouts….Finally find the flashlight in a dark house…
Main point: The light of Jesus is so vital it needs to be shared with
everyone.
Mark 4:21-25
(vs. 23-24a Listen up, consider carefully what you hear. Pay attention,
this is important!)
What does the lamp represent?
Jesus or the truth, the good news, the gospel.
Jesus is telling his disciples, “I explain these things to
you, I give you this light, not to conceal, but to impart it to others.”
When you’ve got the light that will show the way, you’d
be foolish not to use it. Imagine you were leading an expedition through
a cave and refused to use the light...People are counting on you.
As a Xian with the light, people are counting on you! We’re at
the beach today for the same reason. We want everyone to see the light,
the truth, the way. John 14:6
Think about when you were little and your parents told you to keep
a secret. Your siblings or friends were DYING to know. Finally told
‘em, they were IN on the secret.
vs. 22:
Some meanings:
“We’re not keeping any secrets here or hiding things, we’re
bringing it all out in the open.” Things that were mysterious
to you before re: Xianity become clear as the Light, (Jesus) shines
into your life. Isn’t great when something finally makes sense?
Especially Biblically? Hidden things are meant to be brought out into
the open, and God intends that one day Jesus will be manifested in
all his glory, at the Parousia. (When Christ returns, the second coming.)
vs. 24:
Here the meaning is that the more one listens to the words of Jesus
with spiritual perception and appropriates it, the more the truth
about Jesus will be revealed to that person. Like vs. 21 The more
sense Xianity makes to you, the more you need to share it. It’s
so important (like a light in darkness) that it HAS to be shown all
around. If you’ve received the light, then you ought to freely
give it away.
How can we creatively pass on the love of Jesus?
(Shine the light)
(Hopefully, our beach services are one way to do it.)
Often in a public format like this, a preacher looks at it as a prime
example to go off on some group of people. Those crazy __________ ers!
Yes, the Bible does have standards that may not exactly be “PC”.
But, those standards need to be communicated in love.
Here the meaning is that the more one applies the truth now, the more
one will receive in the future. Whoever does not grab hold of the word
of Jesus now, even the little spiritual perception he has will be taken
from him. This is important stuff we’re handling! Don’t forget
it. In fact it’s so important, we need to stick it out there for
everyone to see and share in.
Giving, not getting is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess
impoverishes.
As Christians, we’ve got lots of good stuff to give away. We don’t
want to hide it. We want to be generous.
Let’s make it a goal to give away the love of Jesus in more physical
ways then verbal ways. Think, be creative. Astound your friends and
neighbors.
What are some things we can do to not only show the love of Jesus but
astound our friends and neighbors?
It’s sometimes easier to talk about Jesus than to act out our
love for God to others.
Our challenge? Let God’s light show in your life in ways that
are not just verbal.
If you haven’t received Gods light...gospel.
Head back to Sermon Archive.
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