Measuring Your Light Speed – Mark 4:21-25
Measuring Your Light Speed – Mark 4:21-25
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 15, 2009 AM
I loved physics in school, especially the labs. It was fascinating to set up experiments. One of the labs we had to do was measure how fast is the speed of light. The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second or exactly 299,792,458 meters per second. The web site instructables.com teaches you how to measure it in your kitchen using a large bar of chocolate, a microwave, and a metric ruler. You take the turntable out of the microwave, place the chocolate bar, usually only three squares of a large bar, inside on a paper plate, and turn the microwave on high and wait for pools of melted chocolate to form. Zap the chocolate for about 40 to 50 seconds. Then carefully take the chocolate out and measure between hotspots with the metric ruler. When you measure between hotspots it represents the half wavelengths of light. You multiply this number by two, and then multiply that answer by the frequency of your microwave. This is usually 2,450,000,000 hertz or 2.45 gigahertz. That will give you the speed in centimeters per second.
However, the speed of the light of the gospel is instantaneous in that its message is always available and immediate in its impact on the life of an individual. Mark continues his account of Jesus using parables to teach about the kingdom of God and the gospel. And, here we find him teaching us that the gospel is to be shared and never hidden away. Jesus meant for his disciples to be light bearers of his gospel message after he returned to heaven. Jesus' disciples were to share the gospel at “light speed.” In fact, all of Jesus’ followers are to share the gospel message. So let me ask you a question this morning: What is your light speed? Let’s find out what Jesus says…
READ: Mark 4:21-25
We have all heard or sung the words, “The Light of the World is Jesus,” but what does that mean? While we may understand that it refers to the gospel message, in that understanding there is also an responsibility. It is a responsibility that has not disappeared with time, with modern conveniences, or the neglect of Christianity today. We learn from Mark that…
I. A Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source! (Vv. 21-22)
1. A lamp has to be lit by someone! In this parable Jesus pointed out the self-evident fact that an ordinary household lamp, a lighted wick in a shallow clay bowl full of oil, was not meant to be lit and then hidden under a measuring bowl (as was done at bedtime) or a bed (lit., “dining couch”). It would be useless! Rather, it was to be placed on its stand in a prominent place where it would give off the most light. Why? Because Jesus knew that even a small light source can illuminate an entire darkened room! This why he asked, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?” Often Jewish homes of the day were simply lit by one lamp! It was not only all they could afford but it was all that was really needed. We live in a day and age whereby we take for granted the cheap abundant electricity that lights our homes. All we do is flick a switch and we have instant light and it is not uncommon for us to have several lamps to illuminate any room of our house. During Jesus’ time they used simple clay bowls and placed a piece of cord for a wick into a small amount of olive oil. Olive oil was used because it was plentiful and cheap. However, while it gave off a warm glow it was a poor light source compared to today’s lighting, and you had to constantly trim the wicks. But any light in dark room was better than nothing when you needed to see! Then, Jesus continues by explaining that whatever was hidden or concealed (during the night – meaning the sin-darkened world) was meant to be brought out into the open (for use in the day – during the time of salvation when the gospel light would shine in the dark). Jesus used this story from everyday life to convey a spiritual truth for anyone willing to see by its light. Christians need to be a source of gospel light in a sin-darkened world! And just as you would not hide a lamp under a bowl the believer should not hide their gospel light either! This is why Jesus told his followers that “whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” He knew that believers can forget about the sin-darkened world around them. In fact, we discover that a Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source – the gospel message of Jesus!
EXAMPLE: Just as we take for granted the electricity that illuminates our homes, we forget about the ambient light that fills our daily lives. Every home, every office, every building we enter is illuminated by instant electrical power. And the ambient light encroaches on our senses and life in that at night we cannot see the celestial panoply that journeys overhead. We have to get far from the lights of the cities we live in, in order to see what was common in Jesus’ day. It is no wonder that one small lamp lit inside of a dark house, in a city that had no street lamps, office buildings, or neon glow to encroach on the senses, was welcomed and seen as a warm, friendly, and comforting thing. After all the night held the hidden dangers of thieves, robbers, or those who liked to hide in the darkened corridors of the village. Nighttime was no place for a respectable person to journey. The dark was seen as the realm of sinful people and represented the sin-condition of mankind for the Hebrew. But now, through Jesus, one small lamp was lit that would illuminate the entire world! And in our world today Christians often take for granted the ambient light of the gospel they are surrounded by. We fill our lives with Christian music, books, radio, and television. We go see Christian movies and go to church where we fellowship with other Christians. There is nothing wrong with this, but there is a danger because in doing so, we can become used to the ambient light of the gospel we enjoy. Jesus would remind us that a Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source!
What is truly distressing is that far too many believers have never shared their faith. Christians have conceded the command of Christ to hired guns instead, thinking that by paying for someone else to do the command that Jesus has given them, they will somehow be let off the hook. But is this true? Not if the Christian takes the parables of Jesus seriously. Here in Mark we discover that…
II. A Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command! (Vv. 23-25)
1. Light is only good when it is shared! There was a reason why Jesus bluntly told his disciples that “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” He did not think they were deaf, but they had proven to be rather dense on occasion! Jesus knew that there would soon come a time when “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (Mark 10:26) Jesus knew he would soon leave his followers on their own and who would share the gospel light then? The gospel would be proclaimed by those who followed his command to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) Jesus taught that if someone accepts the message of the gospel, they are responsible for what they have responded to! This is why Jesus continued by telling his listeners that they needed to “Consider carefully what” they heard. The gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus, is more then a life’s philosophy or a creed to live by. It is the life-changing and Holy Spirit renewal of a person’s very being. They are eternally changed. This is why it was not some mere suggestion on Jesus’ part, but a command. Otherwise his death, burial, and resurrection would be mute occurrence soon forgotten by everyone involved! All Christians would do well to take very seriously Jesus’ command to share the gospel light wherever they go because he reminds us that “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.” In fact, “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” Wow! Does this mean we can lose our salvation if we do not witness to others with the light of the gospel? No, but it does mean we will not be the disciples God desires. Instead of a lamp that lights a whole room, we will be but dim bulbs barely illuminating the sin-darkened corner of our own pathetic self-centered lives. Jesus teaches us here in Mark that a Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
EXAMPLE: According to publiceye.org evangelicals number about 23% of the population or approximately 66 to 70 million born-again believers. If this is even remotely true, if each person just shared their faith once a week, which would be 280 million times a month! If just one person out of 20 accepted the Lord, that would be 14,000,000 people accepting Christ each month! Instead what we do is allow our fear to dictate what we are commanded to do. Less than 1 out of 100 Christians have ever shared their faith at anytime during their entire lives! In other words, a believer could live to be 80 years old and only share their faith once, if at all! Sadly, when people are challenged to share their faith, they often leave the churches that encourage them to do so out of some convoluted personal guilt. So churches have taught heresy instead in order to make their listeners feel good about themselves. Churches teach that folks can share by being good and kind by being some kind of godly Boy Scout holding a dim flashlight in a sin-dark world. In fact it has been discovered that many mega churches depend on smaller churches as feeder churches to do the hard work of witnessing and discipleship to fill their ranks! However very few within the multitudes the show up for the show on Sunday have ever shared their faith or disciples anyone! And why would they? There is obscurity in numbers and no one ever holds them accountable! Stickers on your bumper or a good gospel Sunday show cannot replace the one-on-one command of Jesus to go and share the light of the world. We discover here in Mark that a Christian is to measure their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
Conclusion:
1) A Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source, and 2) A Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission...
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 15, 2009 AM
I loved physics in school, especially the labs. It was fascinating to set up experiments. One of the labs we had to do was measure how fast is the speed of light. The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second or exactly 299,792,458 meters per second. The web site instructables.com teaches you how to measure it in your kitchen using a large bar of chocolate, a microwave, and a metric ruler. You take the turntable out of the microwave, place the chocolate bar, usually only three squares of a large bar, inside on a paper plate, and turn the microwave on high and wait for pools of melted chocolate to form. Zap the chocolate for about 40 to 50 seconds. Then carefully take the chocolate out and measure between hotspots with the metric ruler. When you measure between hotspots it represents the half wavelengths of light. You multiply this number by two, and then multiply that answer by the frequency of your microwave. This is usually 2,450,000,000 hertz or 2.45 gigahertz. That will give you the speed in centimeters per second.
However, the speed of the light of the gospel is instantaneous in that its message is always available and immediate in its impact on the life of an individual. Mark continues his account of Jesus using parables to teach about the kingdom of God and the gospel. And, here we find him teaching us that the gospel is to be shared and never hidden away. Jesus meant for his disciples to be light bearers of his gospel message after he returned to heaven. Jesus' disciples were to share the gospel at “light speed.” In fact, all of Jesus’ followers are to share the gospel message. So let me ask you a question this morning: What is your light speed? Let’s find out what Jesus says…
READ: Mark 4:21-25
We have all heard or sung the words, “The Light of the World is Jesus,” but what does that mean? While we may understand that it refers to the gospel message, in that understanding there is also an responsibility. It is a responsibility that has not disappeared with time, with modern conveniences, or the neglect of Christianity today. We learn from Mark that…
I. A Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source! (Vv. 21-22)
1. A lamp has to be lit by someone! In this parable Jesus pointed out the self-evident fact that an ordinary household lamp, a lighted wick in a shallow clay bowl full of oil, was not meant to be lit and then hidden under a measuring bowl (as was done at bedtime) or a bed (lit., “dining couch”). It would be useless! Rather, it was to be placed on its stand in a prominent place where it would give off the most light. Why? Because Jesus knew that even a small light source can illuminate an entire darkened room! This why he asked, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?” Often Jewish homes of the day were simply lit by one lamp! It was not only all they could afford but it was all that was really needed. We live in a day and age whereby we take for granted the cheap abundant electricity that lights our homes. All we do is flick a switch and we have instant light and it is not uncommon for us to have several lamps to illuminate any room of our house. During Jesus’ time they used simple clay bowls and placed a piece of cord for a wick into a small amount of olive oil. Olive oil was used because it was plentiful and cheap. However, while it gave off a warm glow it was a poor light source compared to today’s lighting, and you had to constantly trim the wicks. But any light in dark room was better than nothing when you needed to see! Then, Jesus continues by explaining that whatever was hidden or concealed (during the night – meaning the sin-darkened world) was meant to be brought out into the open (for use in the day – during the time of salvation when the gospel light would shine in the dark). Jesus used this story from everyday life to convey a spiritual truth for anyone willing to see by its light. Christians need to be a source of gospel light in a sin-darkened world! And just as you would not hide a lamp under a bowl the believer should not hide their gospel light either! This is why Jesus told his followers that “whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” He knew that believers can forget about the sin-darkened world around them. In fact, we discover that a Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source – the gospel message of Jesus!
EXAMPLE: Just as we take for granted the electricity that illuminates our homes, we forget about the ambient light that fills our daily lives. Every home, every office, every building we enter is illuminated by instant electrical power. And the ambient light encroaches on our senses and life in that at night we cannot see the celestial panoply that journeys overhead. We have to get far from the lights of the cities we live in, in order to see what was common in Jesus’ day. It is no wonder that one small lamp lit inside of a dark house, in a city that had no street lamps, office buildings, or neon glow to encroach on the senses, was welcomed and seen as a warm, friendly, and comforting thing. After all the night held the hidden dangers of thieves, robbers, or those who liked to hide in the darkened corridors of the village. Nighttime was no place for a respectable person to journey. The dark was seen as the realm of sinful people and represented the sin-condition of mankind for the Hebrew. But now, through Jesus, one small lamp was lit that would illuminate the entire world! And in our world today Christians often take for granted the ambient light of the gospel they are surrounded by. We fill our lives with Christian music, books, radio, and television. We go see Christian movies and go to church where we fellowship with other Christians. There is nothing wrong with this, but there is a danger because in doing so, we can become used to the ambient light of the gospel we enjoy. Jesus would remind us that a Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source!
What is truly distressing is that far too many believers have never shared their faith. Christians have conceded the command of Christ to hired guns instead, thinking that by paying for someone else to do the command that Jesus has given them, they will somehow be let off the hook. But is this true? Not if the Christian takes the parables of Jesus seriously. Here in Mark we discover that…
II. A Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command! (Vv. 23-25)
1. Light is only good when it is shared! There was a reason why Jesus bluntly told his disciples that “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” He did not think they were deaf, but they had proven to be rather dense on occasion! Jesus knew that there would soon come a time when “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (Mark 10:26) Jesus knew he would soon leave his followers on their own and who would share the gospel light then? The gospel would be proclaimed by those who followed his command to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) Jesus taught that if someone accepts the message of the gospel, they are responsible for what they have responded to! This is why Jesus continued by telling his listeners that they needed to “Consider carefully what” they heard. The gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus, is more then a life’s philosophy or a creed to live by. It is the life-changing and Holy Spirit renewal of a person’s very being. They are eternally changed. This is why it was not some mere suggestion on Jesus’ part, but a command. Otherwise his death, burial, and resurrection would be mute occurrence soon forgotten by everyone involved! All Christians would do well to take very seriously Jesus’ command to share the gospel light wherever they go because he reminds us that “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.” In fact, “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” Wow! Does this mean we can lose our salvation if we do not witness to others with the light of the gospel? No, but it does mean we will not be the disciples God desires. Instead of a lamp that lights a whole room, we will be but dim bulbs barely illuminating the sin-darkened corner of our own pathetic self-centered lives. Jesus teaches us here in Mark that a Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
EXAMPLE: According to publiceye.org evangelicals number about 23% of the population or approximately 66 to 70 million born-again believers. If this is even remotely true, if each person just shared their faith once a week, which would be 280 million times a month! If just one person out of 20 accepted the Lord, that would be 14,000,000 people accepting Christ each month! Instead what we do is allow our fear to dictate what we are commanded to do. Less than 1 out of 100 Christians have ever shared their faith at anytime during their entire lives! In other words, a believer could live to be 80 years old and only share their faith once, if at all! Sadly, when people are challenged to share their faith, they often leave the churches that encourage them to do so out of some convoluted personal guilt. So churches have taught heresy instead in order to make their listeners feel good about themselves. Churches teach that folks can share by being good and kind by being some kind of godly Boy Scout holding a dim flashlight in a sin-dark world. In fact it has been discovered that many mega churches depend on smaller churches as feeder churches to do the hard work of witnessing and discipleship to fill their ranks! However very few within the multitudes the show up for the show on Sunday have ever shared their faith or disciples anyone! And why would they? There is obscurity in numbers and no one ever holds them accountable! Stickers on your bumper or a good gospel Sunday show cannot replace the one-on-one command of Jesus to go and share the light of the world. We discover here in Mark that a Christian is to measure their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
Conclusion:
1) A Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source, and 2) A Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission...
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