Listen up! (Part 2)
Luke 8:16-21 ·July 2, 2023· Joel Passmore
Part of: Luke, Listen Up!
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We are continuing today in our sermon series on Luke. You may not know this, but before I started seminary and answered the Lord's calling to ministry for me, I worked as an engineer, and I worked at a chemical plant near the Tri-Cities area. I worked there for about 10 years. It was a great place to work. It was really interesting work. It was challenging assignments. It was a really diverse, great group of people to work with, a few hundred people at that plant.
And there were a few people at that plant that were just known and liked by everyone, and everyone knew that they were Christians. I'm thinking of a couple people in particular, and not just because they talked about Jesus and God, but because of how they treated people, how they did their work, how they conducted themselves. Christ just radiated from them. But that wasn't true of everyone. Everyone who called themselves a Christian. After I worked there for about five years or so, somebody mentioned that a guy who worked there was a Christian, and I was legitimately surprised.
I thought to myself, really? And the person was saying how involved they were at their church. I was pretty surprised. Not only did this person never talk about their faith, but he had a reputation of being pretty difficult to work with. He was pretty arrogant, if I'm being honest.
And I was in the middle of criticizing him in my head when it occurred to me, oh, which type of person am I in this workplace? Am I like him? Do people think of me like, would they be surprised if I talked about my faith? Or would I be known like this other person that I'm thinking of, who was well-liked, loved the Lord, and treated people well? Which type of person am I? Kids, do you ever think about that? At school? Adults, do you think about that in your workplace, in your neighborhood?
What's my reputation? What type of person am I? If people know that I'm a Christian, and they probably should, do they see that my life agrees with my belief? What I say that I believe?
Last week, we heard a parable from Jesus about different types of soil. And it was all about how we can truly hear his word, how we can be the good soil. What Christ and God does through the Spirit to make us good soil, and what we can keep out of our lives to avoid being the bad soil. Well, today, Jesus tells us about what happens after we hear the word, after we hear and respond. What should our life look like? What is true about us? After we hear, after we respond.
So turn with me to Luke 8. We're going to start at verse 16. It's in your bulletin. If you don't have a bulletin or a Bible, it's up on the screen. You can follow along there. Let's pay attention. Let's receive the word of God today actively. Because this is trustworthy, and it's true and reliable. You can build your life upon this. Because it comes from God. And God does not change, nor does he lie.
This is the word of the Lord for us today. No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear. For to the one who has, more will be given. And from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.
Then his mother and his brothers came to him. For they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you. But he answered them, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. Pray with me.
Lord, it is only by your power that the word can be fruitful in our hearts. So I pray and I ask, because of the promises that you have made, that your word will never go out and return empty. That it will land in each one of us. That it will bear good fruit. Help us to listen, to pay attention to you, and most of all, to treasure you more, Jesus. Because of the word that you've given us today. We love you, Jesus, and we pray this in your name.
Okay, so, the title of today's sermon is Listen Up, Part 2. Last week was Listen Up, Part 1, coincidentally. Here's the big point of this text. The light of Christ shines through the family of Christ. The light of Christ shines through the family of Christ.
We're going to start with the first section. There's just two sections today. Those who truly hear will bring Christ's light. Now, the passage starts with a proverb. It's not really a parable. It's a proverb. It's a wisdom saying. No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand so that those who enter may see the light. Sounds simple enough? Like all proverbs, there's a certain range of meanings that it has, and it depends on the context that it's in.
Who or what here is the lamp? What's Jesus talking about? Is Jesus talking about himself being the lamp, or is he talking about his disciples being the lamp? Well, in this context, I believe the answer is both. You can look through the Gospels and see that Jesus uses this saying repeatedly, and he uses it in both directions. And I think here that it means both because the two things are related. The light of Christ and the light of his disciples are related.
Jesus is the light of the world. You've probably heard this before. He describes himself with that metaphor repeatedly. And this connects with Old Testament prophecy, which described the coming of salvation like the dawning of light. You know what happens when the dawn comes? Everything becomes illuminated. No matter how dark the night was, light breaks through and everything changes. You can see things. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, Isaiah said.
Jesus is that light, because he is the one who fulfills the redemptive plan of God. But he's the light for another reason. Because he reveals people and situations. He reveals the state of people.
I love a well-lit room. Those who live with me, my family know this about me. I don't like harsh light, but I like it when a room is well-lit, especially when people are in it. At our last house, I installed recessed lighting in our living room after 15 years of wanting it to be there and always being dissatisfied with the light in that room. There was no overhead light. It was all just lamps. It was never very well-lit. I finally did the project, and when I first turned it on, it was amazing.
I was probably the one who was the most excited in my family. I was like, everybody come in here, look at this. It did look great, but we suddenly noticed, this room is pretty filthy. Did no one go in this corner ever? Look at all the dust that's collected over here. Somebody threw something over here and never picked it up. You could see everything. So in one sense, Jesus is a lamp on a stand because he is exposing where people are spiritually. Everywhere he goes, he brings to light where people really are spiritually.
In the last passage, Jesus said his parables were obscure to the crowds, but even among the crowds, they still reveal something. They reveal whether people will stay away scoffing or whether they will come nearer to try to understand what he said.
Who is going to press in closer with humble faith? The light of Christ reveals that. It will be known. Everything will be known. He says nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
In a way, the light of Jesus is like the check engine light on your car. Anyone ever had this check engine light come on while you're driving? And you're like, everything seems fine. Should I pull over now? I mean, nobody does, right? You drive home, you forget about it, you turn on the car again, oh, that light's still coming on. Well, you can ignore it all you want to, but eventually the problems are going to come to light. They're going to be made manifest with that engine.
Jesus, that's one side of Jesus being the light of the world. Showing up on your dashboard, saying that there's a problem. Pay attention to it and be blessed. Ignore it at your own peril.
But there's another sense here in which the lamp, the lamp that's been lit, that's put on a stand, are Jesus' disciples. Because when people come to him in humble faith and truly seek to hear, something in them changes. Christ is in them now. The light of Christ is in them now. They have been lit. We heard this earlier from John 1. Go back and read the passage from John 1 sometime and see how well it lines up with the passage that I'm preaching on today.
It lines up incredibly well. We heard this earlier from John 1. In him was life. That means spiritual life, real life, eternal life. And that life was the light of men. If Jesus has come into your life, then there is light in you now. If Jesus is your Savior, then you are a lamp that has been lit. And if that has happened for you, he intends for you not to be covered, not to be put under a bed, but to be put up on a stand so that those who enter may see the light.
Our response to his word, it'll be made manifest. It will come to light. What went in must come out eventually. True faith is self-evident. That's what I'm trying to say. True faith in Christ is self-evident. It will be known and it will be seen by the radiance of Jesus coming from us. Now when we hear about us being the light of Christ, most of you might be thinking about evangelism right now. Talking about Jesus. Sharing our faith. That is true.
We should all be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. That's what Peter tells us. But of course, that assumes that they can see the hope that is in you when they ask about it. Right? So it actually starts before talking about your faith. It starts with, is there hope coming out of you?
We bring Christ's light by being conformed to his image, by being sanctified and renewed. When we're patient, when we're humble and gracious, when we're self-controlled, when we love enemies, when we endure suffering, and most of all, most of all, when we repent of our failings and our sin, then we are bright lights in the world. we show that Jesus is alive and at work. Theologian and author Don Carson puts it this way, the norms of the kingdom, the truths about Jesus, worked out in the lives of the heirs of the kingdom, which is all of us who are in Christ, all of you if you are in Christ, constitute the witness of the kingdom.
I'm going to read that sentence again. The norms of the kingdom, worked out in the lives of the heirs of the kingdom, constitute the witness of the kingdom.
Then he goes on to say this, such Christians refuse to rob their employers by being lazy on the job or to rob their employees by succumbing to greed and stinginess. They are first to help a colleague in difficulty, last to return a borrowed reply. They honestly desire the advancement of the other's interests and honestly dislike smutty humor. Meek in personal demeanor, they're bold in righteous pursuits.
Put simply, we bear the light of Christ when how we live aligns with what we believe. Jesus wants his disciples to examine themselves. He wants us today to examine ourselves, to look at what is coming out of them. We should pay particular attention to our life outside of this room, our life outside the church. Most of us can pull it together enough to act like quote unquote good Christians when we are in and among each other here at church. Right?
Most people will try their best to bring Christ's light when they're at church. But how about at work? How about at home? How about at school, kids? Beware of living a double life. Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest.
Consider asking someone in those places, someone that you trust, someone that you can be vulnerable with, how am I doing? Am I bringing the light of Christ here? Do you think people would be surprised if they hear that I'm a Christian? How could I do it more? Now listen, we are all, all of us are going to be convicted if we have the courage to ask that question. Okay? On this side of we are all works in progress. All of us. Jesus tells us what to do when we're convicted.
Take care then how you hear. Friends, the goal is to be convicted and then to bring that to Jesus and say, Jesus, help me grow. Help me to grow. There's no sense beating yourself up because you're not perfect yet. It's not going to happen. Take your sense of conviction to the Lord and say, Jesus, will you please help me? And he will help you. That's why Jesus says, take care then how you hear. Pick up your ears, move closer to him. Keep listening and learning and asking for help.
People talk about someone glowing sometimes. When they fall in love, when a woman is pregnant, people will say, you're just glowing. There's something radiating from you. Oh, friends, this passage reminds us that the way to radiate all the time is to abide in Christ. All the time. Isaiah 60 says this, arise, shine, for your light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen upon you. You. Arise and shine. Jesus is your Savior. The light is in you. The more you seek him, the more it will shine.
Now, here's the second section. Those who hear, those who truly hear are now Christ's family. Just when Jesus is wrapping up his teaching on what it means to hear the word, his mother and his brothers come around to see him. They're knocking on the door.
These days, it's becoming harder and harder to get closer to Jesus. His entourage of disciples is following him. Who knows how big it was? Dozens? A hundred, maybe? A large crowd gathers in whatever town he stops at to teach. So someone sends him word, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you. Now, like usual, he uses this as a teaching moment. Jesus always does this. Something happens and he just diverts it back to just teach more about what he just said.
And that's what he does here. He puts an exclamation mark at the end of this little sermon about hearing. He says, my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.
Now, some people who heard him say that might have been exasperated. Jesus, we're just telling you that your family's here, you don't have to teach us more. But he's trying to give them a remarkable truth, something that they can hold on to and will help them as they're seeking a life of truly hearing the word of God. He's offering them something precious. And that's what I want us to be offered and to receive today. When he says, those who hear the word of God and do it, he is just repeating himself at this point.
He's saying the same thing that he's been saying before. It's just another way of saying, truly hearing. That's the phrase that I've been using. Truly hearing the word of God. More than merely listening, more than just saying you believe something, Jesus says, hearing and doing. It is acting because you believe it.
Being a Christian, I hope you know this, but if you don't, listen to me. Being a Christian is more than just learning some principles. Faith is trust that leads to action. Faith is trust that leads to action. That's real discipleship.
In last week's sermon, we saw that God gives us a new heart so that we can be the good soil, and likewise it is God that enables us. God and God alone that enables us to hear and to do the word of God. Last week I quoted from Ezekiel and now I'm going to quote from another verse from the same chapter of Ezekiel. Look at this. God says, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. I will put my spirit in you.
God does it. This is what happens when you come to Christ in repentance and faith, humbly, with nothing in your hands. He puts spirit in you and enables you to follow him, to be not just hearers but doers of the word. This is the promise of God.
And there's another promise. Another promise is that such people have a new identity. They're his family now. They've experienced spiritual adoption. Again, we read this earlier in John 1, to all who did receive him who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Did you notice that word become? He gave the right to become children of God.
Now, the reality of spiritual adoption through faith in Christ, this is something, it's one of my all-time favorite things to talk about spiritually. I love to talk about it, I love to dwell on it, I love to proclaim it, to bring it forward, to help people embrace it and understand it, but we usually approach it in terms of us being children of God the Father. This passage offers us a different direction to come with the same concept, a different angle.
Jesus says that we are his mother and his brothers. Well, what does that mean? How does that add to our understanding of being adopted children of God? Well, here's the key concept. The key concept is access. You have access. Jesus' biological family, they showed up and they thought because they were kin, because they shared the same bloodline, the same DNA, they thought that they had special access to him anytime they wanted. That's what they're asking for.
And that's usually how it works, right? When you're kin, you can invite yourself over. You can call at odd hours. You can ask for bigger favors, right? That's how family works.
You have access. But Jesus says, no, it's not my biological family. The people whose lives demonstrate a living and an active faith, they are the ones who have special access to me.
Because we have access to him, we can call out the to him for help anytime. Now, I don't mean to Brad, but there's a doctor that Nikki and I have access to. We've called him a number of times about sprains, joint issues, injuries. We recently FaceTimed him because Nikki woke up, got out of bed, and her ankle was just throbbing. So we FaceTimed him so he could look at her ankle and see if he could figure out why it was hurting, or at least eliminate some things.
When our kids were little, we would call him and we would say, hey, she's got a fever. Is it bad enough that we have to go in now or can we wait till the morning? During the pandemic, we talked to him to get his opinion, his medical opinion about masks and risk levels and things like that. Once, we were even with him on vacation, and Cadence injured her finger really, really badly. We had to go to the hospital. Cadence's finger was injured. I'll say it that way.
You can ask more about that. Her finger was injured really badly, and he phoned ahead to the hospital. He came with us, he reassured us, and then he even spoke. He went in behind the doors that we couldn't go through to talk to the surgeon that was on call, to tell him what had happened, to give him his opinion. We get all this individual help and attention from a doctor for free, without any wait time. Now, how is that true? Because he's my brother.
He's my brother, and so I can call on him whenever I need, and he'll help me. He'll drop what he's doing, he'll pick up the phone, and he'll help me. Church, do you realize that that's what you have in Jesus?
You have his attention. You have his ear. There is no wait time. You don't have to take a number. You don't have to sign in and sit there and wait. His power is your strength.
His love is directed towards you and your good. That's all true because he's your brother. If he's your savior, then he is your brother. You have access to him anytime.
You can call on him anytime and you should. Don't wait. Call on him for anything that you are facing. Now, how about my mother when Jesus says that? What does that mean? What's he talking about here?
Well, I think about something that happened when Jesus was on the cross. He looked out and he saw Mary, his mother, standing next to John. Jesus knew that as her son, it was his responsibility to make sure that she was cared for, that she was looked after.
Mary would need someone to support her when he was gone, when he ascended back to the Father. She was probably a widow at this point. So in an act of great love, he makes arrangements.
He looks at her and he says, woman, the man standing next to you, John, that's your son now. And then he looks at John and he says, John, that woman is your mother now.
In the middle of his unbearable agony on the cross, he's thinking about her. He's thinking of her needs. His compassion moves him to action. right then and there to take care of her.
This is how your Savior looks upon you. He sees you, he sees your needs, and his compassion moves him to action, to care for you. Whatever situation you are facing, he follows through to help you.
He comes close, he will never leave you, and he will supply you with everything that you need to continue following him. He cares for you faithfully, persistently, and personally, because you belong to him. You're his family, and he treats you like his own mother.
This is why we can cast all of our anxieties on him, because church, he cares for us. He cares for you. That's why we can arise and shine, for the light has come, the glory of the Lord Jesus has risen upon us. If Jesus is your Savior, that's true for you. Come to him. Be refreshed by him. You have access to him, and he cares for you actively. And he's going to help you shine for him. Pray with me.
Lord Jesus, we come to you humbly, because who are we to deserve what you have done for us? Who are we? Who am I? That you would pour yourself out, that you would die on the cross in our place.
Lord, we rest in the truth today that because of your work in our hearts, by faith, we can be hearers and doers of the word. We can bear light, and we can rest because we are family to you. You will never leave us or forsake us. Lord, will you please help these things to not just be mere words that reach our ears, but truths that affect how we live, affect how we treat people, how we manage our time, how we worship. Bear fruit in us, God. Thank you for your constant ministry to us.
And Lord, we look forward to the day when we'll see you face to face. Jesus, we pray this in your name.