This week, in our devotionals in Luke, we are using this parable of the lamp to inspire us. Today I want to briefly consider the truth of final judgement and how it is to affect how we live.
‘“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”’ (Luke 8:16-17)
Lesson: On judgement day, all that we have done will be brought into the open for judgement so, before then, we are to help bring others to Jesus for cleansing.
To listen to this devotional, go to:
When we go and visit someone’s home, we get a glimpse into who they are. We see something of their interests and habits. We get to see if they are people who throw or horde things. We get a sense of their tastes… However, this is only a veneer of who someone is and can never give anything like an accurate account of who someone is. However, the uncomfortable truth, maybe, is that God knows us and what we’ve done perfectly. He knows the actions and motives for our actions and everything will come into judgement! In order to look more tidy, we may throw things in cupboards, put things is extra storage, conceal things under the bed…However, nothing is concealed or hidden from God and all will be ‘disclosed’ and ‘brought out into the open’, as the author to the Hebrews writes:
‘Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.’ (Hebrew 4:13)
This truth is to drive us to God for the mercy that is offered to us in Christ through the gospel. As John so wonderfully writes:
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ (John 3:16)
Those who put their faith in Christ, have all of the rooms of their lives completely and perfectly cleaned and decorated. For the Christian, all that was hidden and concealed - all of our sin and shame - was exposed and dealt with on the cross!
In light of this, I hope we can see, that we are to do all that we can to help to bring others to Jesus for cleansing. As the light of the gospel revealed the mess that we were in, so we are to help others to see the mess that they are in and the hope of cleansing in Christ.
Response
On judgement day, all that we have done will be brought into the open for judgement so, before then, we are to help bring others to Jesus for cleansing. Our simple response to this is to do all that we can to put our light on a stand so that others can see the hope of forgiveness that is offered in Christ. As we let our light shine through our example, our words and our loving service, God will give us opportunities to invite many to Jesus for salvation.
COMMUNITY GROUP NOTES AND STUDY
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
Please ensure that the members of your group are aware and familiar with using the daily devotionals which is accessed in Church News or the 'Teaching' button on the website.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week and how has this helped you? (Again, as with last week, this parable of the lamp on a stand, that we are looking at today, is very much linked with knowing and doing God’s Word).
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
This week, in our devotionals in Luke, we are using this parable of the lamp (Luke 18:16-18) to inspire us.
In our days of electric lights, the need to tend a lamp has gone. Most of us find it hard enough to change a lightbulb let alone to tend a lamp that’s fuelled by oil! Jesus tells this parable as a compliment and reiteration of what He said previously in The Parable of the Soils. Both parables are about how we ‘hear’ God’s word, put it into practice and share it with others.
Please read Luke :8:16-18
What were you particularly struck by in Sunday’s message from Luke 8:16-18?
What would you say is the central teaching of this parable on putting the lamp on a stand?
What does it mean to hide our light and put our lamp on a stand?
How can we seek to put our light on a stand?
In verse 16, we read, ‘For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.’ How is this reference to final judgement to affect how we live?
SIV - How, specifically, are we to let our light shine on our community that’s outside of faith?
SIV - Why might we be tempted to hide our light from our non-believing friends, family and colleagues?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?
Let’s pray together that, this week, we will have opportunities to SIV; and pray for anything else that’s come out of our time in God’s Word.
Comments