The Light of the World

Pine Creek Valley Christian Church

Mark • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Mark 4:21–25

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Intro

Has anyone here, ever studies a foreign language? Learning different languages is really cool. I’ve studied, English, German, Hebrew, and Greek, and I’ve always been fascinated by the way that different languages work. However, here’s the thing with languages, If you are going to learn a language you need to be commited to learning that language. I studied German for 6 years between middle school and High School, and had some great teachers. But I wasn’t as commited as I should have been and I didn’t keep up with it, now I barely remember it. Hebrew was fun and I was pretty commited but I don’t practice it anymore so I barely remember it. And Greek I was committed and I do my best to keep in practice, and I can read and translate on a kindergarten level at least.

Maybe You’ve been there maybe not, but there is something that you learned in school that it seems that it all has just slipped away because you never did anything with it. like advanced math, I don’t use advanced math on a day to day basis. But my typing class and computer technology class, I could easily tell you how to do things with those classes because those are skills that I use every single day. and this came to mind as I read our passage for this week.

Isn’t it great when you’ve read a passage over and over again and every time you read it, you realize something new? Now I’ve read Mark 4:21-25 plenty of times and this past week when I read it really hit me. Go ahead and open up to Mark 4:21-25

Mark 4:21–25 ESV

21 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.”

Now I want to break up this passage a bit and start by talking about just the first half.

Mark 4:21-23

Mark 4:21–23 (ESV)

What is the purpose of a lamp? obviously to light up a room, now when we read this passage Jesus is speaking in parables meaning that the lamp represents something greater. And to better understand this passage we must better understand the analogy.

Psalm 119:105 tells us...

Psalm 119:105 ESV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

So the lamp represents the word of god and the light.

So what we see in verse 21 is saying that the word of God is not meant to be concealed but to be revealed. and not only revealed but to shine and bring light to the darkness. and Jesus goes on to explain this farther in verse 22 and 23. He explains that the word of God, which could imply Jesus himself or his teachings, is going to be revealed to those who hear. v.23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.

Verse 23 on its own may be a little confusing. Jesus isn’t talking about people physically hearing him. In fact Jesus talks about hearing quite a few times in chapter 4, and it’s always used in the same way, let’s take a look at that before we continue…

Mark 4:1-9 talks about the seed that falls on the path, stones, thorns, and soil. and in response to the seed that takes root in the soil he says, Mark 4:9 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 4:11-20 (read) This passage explains that those who hear the word, which is represented by the seed, respond in different way but the only one who yields grain is he who accepts the word and lets it take root in their life.

Mark 4:11–20 ESV

11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that “ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ” 13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

That passage isn’t on your study guide, so write down, Mark 4:11-20 and I want you to go back and read that after the sermon, I promise it will hold all new meaning to you. Moving on…

Mark 4:33 “33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.” They listened to Jesus and as they were able to understand it they allowed it to take root.

So what is the common theme here? Jesus presents the word and the people he speaks to either allows the word to enter into their heart and take root, or they reject it.

and that’s the fascinating thing about Jesus speaking in parables he does it so that those who are willing to accept his words will understand but those who reject his words will be left clueless. Isn’t that amazing.

So let’s review what we’ve talked about so far. What is the lamp? The word of God and the light. What is hidden and secret? The word of God, that being Jesus’ teachings and his gospel. What does it mean to hear? to understand and accept it into your heart, to allow it to take root.

Let’s take one more moment to talk about what it means to hear, does anyone in here garden? I wouldn’t say Im a gardener but I had a project in middle school once where we planted grass in a clear cup and watches it grow. But what was cool about that project was how the roots sank deep into the cup and grabbed hold of the soil.

This is what Jesus is saying about the word of God, that we need to allow it to take root in our heart, so that it can’t easily be pulled. That the word will bear much fruit just like an apple tree with good roots produces lots of apples.

Let’s read Ephesians 5:8-13

Ephesians 5:8–13 ESV

8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,

Walk as children of light and the fruit of light will be found in all that is good, right, and true. when you allow good roots you will produce good fruit. However, as we continue in Mark 4:24 Jesus begins to warn us.

Mark 4:24 ESV

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.

What does Jesus mean when he says pay attention to what you hear? May I suggest that Jesus is warning of us not to allow unfruitful things to take root in our hearts. If you are farming or gardening what is one of the worst things to happen to your field or garden? Weeds sprout. and what happens when weeds sprout? They don’t produce fruit and they suck all the nutrients away from the other plants. and have you ever pulled weeds? it’s like they are impossible to get rid of completely. and they come back aggressively.

Jesus is saying don’t let these unfruitful things into your heart, don’t let them take root. they will suck all of your energy away from the fruitful seed in your heart. A big problem of this is that sometimes when we hear the word of God we don’t want to allow it to take root in our heart.

So I have a little exercise for us, and you are going to see how accepting you are of God’s word.

#1 Matthew 5:21-22

Matthew 5:21–22 ESV

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

#2 Matthew 5:43-44

Matthew 5:43–44 ESV

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

#3 Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

#4 Matthew 6:25

Matthew 6:25 ESV

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

These are things just from the sermon on the mount. I’m sure you struggle with at least one of these things, that you haven’t truly allowed it to take root.

As we allow the word of God to take root in us, like Mark 4:24 says, with the measure we use, or the devotion we put towards God’s word we will then bear that much fruit. and just like the seed that landed on good soil it will produce a hundredfold.

Now Mark 4:25 basically just continues this idea from the other perspective.

Mark 4:25 ESV

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.”

Now you remember when I was talking about languages? this is the connection. Just like learning a language, if we devote ourselves to the language and put it into practice we will become fluent in the language, but if we reject the language we will certainly forget it, in other words it will be taken away.

I like to compare this passage with Matthew 5:14

Matthew 5:14 ESV

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

The Lamp is the Word of God, yes. However the lamp also represents the light. You, We, are the light of the world. As we read in Ephesians 5:8

Ephesians 5:8 ESV

8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

You are light in the world, so walk as children of light! Do you know what this means? Let me try to put this all together for you. We are to receive the word of God, and when we receive it even when it is one of those commands we may not want to accept. when we receive the word and accept it and let it take root, or in other words when we “hear” the word, we allow it to change our lives. we allow the word of God to bear fruit through us. We become the children of light. we become the light on the hill top, we become the light which causes the darkness to hide that sheds light to the world.

Is that what you desire? Let me tell you it’s what I desire. and if all that wasn’t enough to convince you let’s read one last passage Colossians 1:12-13

Colossians 1:12–13 ESV

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

You have a choice we all have a choice, to accept the word of God or reject the word of God. I think that may be part of the reason why some of us struggle to read the bible. because when we do we are confronted and convicted to uproot the weeds that we have growing in our hearts. But do you know what kind of inheritance we have to receive from God? the inheritance of eternal salvation, and if you want to reject that for the sake of letting weeds choke out the seed God has planted in your heart then there’s not much I can do for you.

But If you are sitting there and you have not made the decision to accept the word of God, don’t wait. Don’t wonder if you’re ready to be baptized. this is a matter of eternal salvation. this is a matter of producing good fruit and being a light to the world. Hallelujah! Praise God, for his grace and mercy. If you want to make that decision today or if you want to rededicate your life to Christ, there is no time like the present. Ron doesn’t just stand in the front so that you all can look at his handsome face, he stands up there for the sake of every one of you who is willing to stand up before your brothers and sisters in Christ and give your life to Jesus Christ, the man who came and died for our sins! If God has placed it on your heart to do so, as we sing this first song, come up front.