Introduction: A young boy went with his parents touring around Europe one summer. Part of their tour included visits to the great old cathedrals of the past. As he visited cathedral after cathedral he was impressed the massive stained glass portraits of the disciples and of other saints as he stood in their great empty halls looking through the beautiful stained glass windows.
Upon returning home, he was asked by his Sunday School teacher about holiday on the continent, and what he liked the most. He thought for a moment of those great churches and their grand windows and he said, “I loved the sense of awe and the hugeness of who God must be, and I loved the stained glass windows with their images of the saints.”
“And what is a saint?” his teacher asked. His mind went back to those beautiful windows and he said, “A saint is a person the light shines through.” (Alan Carr, thesermonnotebook.com)
Mar 4:21-25 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."
• Mark uses the same story recorded by other gospel writers (ref. ), but in a different light.
• The picture Jesus was trying to bring to the people’s minds was also recorded in Isaiah.
• Isa 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
• The strong, unavoidable implication Jesus was making was that He was the light of the world.
• Joh 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
• With that as our understanding, let’s look at some things Jesus wanted us to focus on this morning.
I. When Courage Retreats (21).
• Jesus began by asking a simple, logical, reasonable question.
• Do you light a candle and put it under a basket?
• The whole purpose of lighting a candle is to provide light.
• To cover the light would be counter-productive.
• It would be wasteful.
• It reminds me of the blonde who complained to her friend about the neighbors who put their dog outside early in the morning. It stood in the yard and barked and barked.
• She said, “I taught them a lesson. I moved the dog to my back yard, and so now let’s see how they like it.”
• Putting a lit lamp under a bushel (Modios) carries the same logic.
• The word there was a large clay bowl or pot used as a measuring cup to measure dry grain for a meal.
• The early English could only relate the word to a bushel basket, so translations are a little misleading.
• It is more of a clay pot would be more accurate to the original.
• The first thing preachers and teachers bring up is our responsibility to be saints, to let Jesus shine through us, as the story went.
• Mat 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
• This was obvious part of the message Jesus was presenting, as Matthew recorded it clearly.
• It is a message we need to grasp.
• Ill. I fear not the cruelty of mankind that may befall me for my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I fear not the cross. I fear not the sword, nor the rack, nor the flame. I worry not for the hatred, screamed by mobs, for me to silence my testimony. The spear carries not power over my lips to be silent, nor does the arrow, flaming or cold with death.
• But there is something I fear, something that gives my mouth to pause. Something that awakens me in the night when the thought of it simply trickles over the edges of my mind. Something that causes me to sweat and shudder, doubt my courage, question my faith, trust not in my strength and sends me to retreat in silence when perhaps I should speak the name of Christ.
• That horrible thought, that unimaginable terror, that nonnegotiable fear stands over me like a giant, casting its ugly shadow over my quivering self.
• It is but this, that others will find me simple. That I would lose respect. That I would be rejected by those I admire. That I would look like a fool to the world who does not understand.
• For this cause, not the arrow, nor the spear, nor the fire, do I be silent. For this reason, I remain a poor ambassador.
II. When Cockroaches Run (22).
• 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.
• Jesus is the light of the world.
• Light brings the hidden into focus.
• Ill. A woman complained that her bathroom lighting was not adequate to put on her makeup.
• After listening to much complaining, her husband went to the hardware store and bought two strip lights to hang on both sides of the mirror.
• He spent an afternoon hanging and wiring the lights.
• At first, the woman was very pleased.
• Later that night after spending more than an hour in front of that mirror, she told friends,
• “I hate those lights. They show every wrinkle, every gray hair and every blemish.”
• No wonder some people hated Jesus. No wonder they will hate me and you.
• Joh 15:18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”
• Joh 7:7 “…it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.”
• The sinful world hates that. It hates to be told that selfish, self-serving, Christ-rejecting living will come into judgment.
• It hates to hear that mankind is not the center of the universe.
• Your lost friends do not want to be told that the “if it feels good, do it” life-style will bring death and punishment.
• No one wants to accept the message that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
• When God turns the light on, cockroaches run.
• They hide.
• Joh 3: 19-20 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
• But how can we stand before a righteous, holy God?
• Great news… 2Co 4:6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
• Everything in your heart and mind will someday be brought out to the light of Judgment.
• Wouldn’t you want that to be covered with the blood of Jesus?
• Wouldn’t you want His light to shine through you in this life like a saint?
III. When the Crops Reward (24-25)
• 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."
• What Jesus was saying was this. Listen to me. Understand. It is important for your eternal crop.
• If you accept the seed, you will, someday, reap a crop.
• If you reject the word, you will reap death.
• It is a Jesusism for Paul told the Galatians.
• Gal. 6:7 - Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
• I was raised with is somewhat called a negative gospel.
• I am still influenced by it, and cling to part of that message.
• You plant trouble in your life, and you will get trouble.
• There is nothing wrong in that message, it is just incomplete.
• Look at the next verse…
• Gal 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
• See, it says, plant trouble and harvest death. But we forget the second half.
• Plant righteousness and harvest life.
• Jesus said it with balance.
• "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."
• There is also the positive side of the message. Listen to Paul to the Ephesians:
• Eph. 2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
• The Bible is rich with the blessings of obedience to Christ.
• Why? Because God has a very positive message for those who will hear.
• 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
• Do you hear the call?
• When I was in sales training, we were taught that there were two kinds of buyers.
• 1) Those who would purchase to prevent loss, and…
• 2) Those who would purchase to gain.
• Isn’t it interesting that God has that message today?
• God is clear that salvation will help you escape eternal loss.
• But salvation will also give you eternal gain.
