The Parable of the Revealed Light

Today on Renewing Your Mind where not to take the word of God as we understand it takes root in our hearts. Put it under a bushel, hide it under the bed, but we are to put it in a place of prominence where it can be made manifest in word should be seen clearly by all who are present. It's a familiar parable Jesus makes the point that no one lights a lamp and then immediately covers the is easy to another heads in agreement but that's not where the parable in the second half the story puts a very personal twist on the analogy of light joint doctors. We continue this morning with our study of the Gospel according to St. Luke were still in chapter 8. I will be reading today from verse 16 through verse 21 no one when he has little lamp covers it with the vessel or puts it under a bad but sets it on a lampstand that those who enter may see the lights from nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Therefore take heed how you hear for whoever has Memorial be given, and whoever does not have, even what you seems to have will be taken from them that his mother and brothers came to him and could not approach them because of the crowd and I was told him by some who said your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you but he answered and said to them, my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. This brief parable is one adage through the larger parable of the sower that we considered a few couple of weeks ago and Jesus further elucidates on the significance of the larger parable and so what you have heard this morning comes to us from the lips of our Lord. It is his wisdom is his truths that comes with the full measure of his authority. Please receive it as such. Let us pray. Again, our father when we hear parables at times they seem almost incomprehensible, and without the illumination of your spirits. We cannot grasp them fully. We ask that in this hour. Your spirit may stoop to our weakness and grant to us.

Clarity of understanding for we ask it in Jesus name, amen. If you recall when we looked at the parable of the sower, which is sometimes called the parable of the soil.

Jesus explained that in that parable that the seed was the word of God that was being so, in various places and he explained how some of that seed fell on rocky soil.

Some upon the hard drive. Next of the field.

Some among the thorns and finally that which fell upon the good soil that took root and did not die out quickly, but rather came to fruition, bearing fruit in abundance, and of course Jesus was saying that those who hear the word and that word takes root in their souls well bring forth fruit amount of further amplified that point that our Lord was making. He gives this smaller parable of the lamp where he says no one when he's lit a lamp covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bad but rather puts it on a lampstand so that it can aluminum the dark place of the house. I brought with me this morning and artifacts to use as a brief object lesson I have it here in my hand and probably only those in the first few rows of the sanctuary can even see it. It is so small, but this object that I'm holding before you is actually over 2000 years old.

It is an authentic lamp from ancient Israel. You can see the shape of it.

It is like a simple piece of pottery like a saucer that has the front of it pinched together and in that saucer was oil, and in the front of the lamp words pinched together a wick was inserted, that basically floated on the oil and that wick was then ignited with flame and so this tiny little thing was what was used, to illumine a dark room. Now I don't know how much light is created by a little lamp like this, but this is not the kind of thing that would intimidate Thomas Alva Edison. That's not the kind of thing that we used to bring light into the darkness of our homes at night and had a very very few power of illumination very little power of illumination in as little as it is Jesus that you don't think that anybody in their right mind wants save put the blame to the wick in this lamp with them.

Take it and put something over it like a bushel or else put it under the bad because that would indeed quench all of the light that came from such a lamp but anybody in their right mind if they want to have any usefulness from such a lamp would put on a stand, where would be elevated where the maximum amount of light would be given to the darkness of the room now this does not require rocket science to understand the simplicity of the point that Jesus is making here but what he is saying is that the light that comes from the word of God that is just explained in the parable of the sower if it takes root in your soul is truth truths that must never be head where not to take the word of God as we understand it takes root in our hearts.

Put it under a bushel, hide it under the bed, but we are to put it in the place of prominence where it can be made manifest in word can be seen clearly by all who are present.

He goes on to say that nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Here Jesus is referring to the day of judgment which will be the day of great epiphany. It will be the day when all of truths will be made clear and may bay reveal and this has two sides to it. The positive side, and the negative side, the positive side is this that our Lord is saying on that day the word of God will be manifested clearly and finally, as the truths on the day of judgment. Every mouth will be stopped, and no one will be able to gainsay the truth claims of Christ that Christ is the son of God that Christ is our Savior will be so clear and so plain that everybody who repudiates that claim everybody who rejects that truths will be put to other sharing. So in the first instance. The good news is that in that grand epiphany. The truths will be demonstrated to be the truths once and for all and every body and every falsehood will be destroyed. But the downside of it is the secrets of men's hearts. The things that we do in darkness. The things that we seek to hide from the world will all come in to open view. That's a scary thought is not this and said that there skeletons in everybody's closet and that there are things about ourselves that we would not want the whole world to know what just take a second here what you think about that and think for a moment of those things in your life that you would most like to keep secret forever and no that that is impossible because not only the truths about the gospel will be made clearly now, but also the truth about me and the truth about you the whole truths will be made known nothing that is hidden will remain hidden. Everything that is concealed now will be revealed then this is not good news to sinful people because we are by nature the word of God tells us, not the children of light, but the children of darkness, and John tells us in his gospel that by nature.

We prefer the darkness to the light because I'm going to say it right our deeds are evil. That's why we choose the darkness rather than the light of this problem is not something new. It begins in the garden of Eden. But I like to refer to as gate because after the very first act of transgression. The initial response of Adam and Eve to their sin was an experience of shame and awareness of their nakedness and their first action was to do what the Bible says they hid them so what are they hiding from Russian really say who were they hiding from the answers obviously were hiding from God were previously they had were delighted when God walked in the corners of the garden may rush to enjoy his fellowship but now after sin comes in. And God comes to want God to see survey hide the search for the darkness. They want a place where they can be concealed, hidden from the view of God of their friends. We might think that there's nothing more silly than the take a lamp, and after we delighted put a bushel basket over it or hide it under the bed. Well beloved, there is something sillier than that and that is thinking that we can find a place in this universe where we can hide from Almighty God, no such hide evil exists. We could go into the darkest hole in the universe and still not escape the gaze of God. This almost as our Lord search but you know me see if there be any wicked way within me and this is our Lord, you know every word that I said before a word is even formed on my lips. You know it all together.

Where shall I flee from your spirit. If I ascend into heaven, thou art there.

If I make my bed and howl. Behold the art there almost me altogether.

Fast forward to the New Testament, Jesus says of that last judgment that every idle word that we have ever spoken will be brought into the judgment. Think about that every casual cavalier off-the-cuff remark that we've ever made were going to have to own up to. Not to mention the carefully devised lies and angry statements that we have made and judiciously all of those will come into the judgment because our Lord said there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and Lucy that meets his Nate and climate eats that nothing is not a little something nothing that is hidden now will remain hidden.

So these are sobering words, Jesus is saying to us to his disciples to live in the light.

Let the truths be in the light. Don't hide the word of God.

Don't hide yourself from the word of God. But we are called to be people of the light. People who have received the truths of God who have been commissioned to proclaim the truth of God to let it be known this. Everybody who knows you know that your Christian hope and if they do, it's not because you're obnoxious about it, but I hope that they know it because there can be no such thing as a Secret Service Christian and Lisa talk about Clairol Christians honor their hairdresser knows for sure that anybody who knows you should know and appreciate that you're a follower of Christ.

If they don't know you. Maybe it's because the light you have received has gone under the couch or under the bushel.

We just can't do that the truths of God is the light of the world and we are called to be people of that light.

Finally, as Jesus finishes this little teaching somebody interrupts him and says the master were sorry to interrupt you but there are some people outside that are waiting to see you. Your mother and your brothers would like to see you. They desired to spend some time with you, Jesus kind of rebukes them, makes a strange statement who are my brothers and sisters, who was my mother but that he was disowning his mother or his earthly brothers and sisters, but he says my brothers and sisters are those who hear my word and do I hate the Passover this so quickly, but this is a brilliant statement of one of the most important doctrines set forth in the New Testament the doctrine of adoption by which, through the grace of God. Everyone who puts their faith in Christ is adopted into the family of God and Jesus calls us is brothers and sisters and we are adopted, then by the heavenly when a beautiful picture of what it means to be justified and redeemed. We been adopted into the family of God. Dr. RC Sproul is help us understand Jesus parable today here on Renewing Your Mind as we continue our verse by verse journey through the gospel of Luke.

We returned to the studied Sunday digging into the context and historical background of each verse. When you contact us today with a donation of any amount would like to provide you with a digital download of Dr. Sproles nearly 600 page commentary on Luke ended. He traces the record of Jesus life learn that this gospel is for believers and skeptics alike written so that we may have certainty about the Son of Man because today is the Lord's day. No one is here, the office, but you can give your gift and request this resource and Renewing Your Mind.org is our study of Lucas progressed, we learned that Jesus used parables to make his message clear to some, but unclear to others. Why did he do that we pose that question to regular teaching fellow, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson what he actually answers that question himself up gives one answer to it. Remember when he tells the parable of the sorting soils on his disciples don't get the come to see what was that all about, and he explains it to them and giving these explanations to you because you are my disciples, one of the reasons I Toby's parables is because when I tell the portables it's actually makes clear whether people really crossed the meaning of the kingdom on the soul that sets off in the system. It was a time when people constantly set the ministers, you should tell more stories like Jesus, so that we can understand. But Jesus didn't. Toby's parables so much so that people would understand.

They will really test cases, both for the be understood the gospel that he preached in all the walks and when you think about that that's the case, think about the parable of the Odyssey and the tax collector and no, you know, we all know the answer to the question is which man went on justified but that's only because we don't actually really crossed the potable.

Nobody listening to Jesus thought it would be the tax collector who went away from the temple justified and I sometimes sit to people well just think about these two men you're an evangelical Christian. Which of these two men are you more like you say to God, I thank you that I'm not like other men got I sent you that you help me to discipline my life. I thank you that you help me to to give away money.

Develop and hoard money when you begin to think of those things actually. You sound more like the pharmacy and that's very very uncomfortable to discover that even though you trust in Christ you Odyssey deep down inside you. So Jesus tells these parables to probe inside us to see what we really understand the gospel on for the gospel is really beginning to transform our lives from not just stories that weapons and the spiritual warfare next week as we return you are studying in Luke learn about an astonishing miracle.

It was something that should've made the disciples grateful and relieved.

In reality, it terrified. I hope you'll join us next Sunday for Renewing Your Mind