Living Your Purpose
November 18/19, 2023
Chris Whitelaw, Youth Pastor

What are Parables?
· The parables on the surface seem like the most simple kind of teaching of Jesus. Because they're a little explainer stories, and I can kind of get the main idea pretty quickly. But there's way more going on here.
· The parables are one of the many ways that Jesus accomplished his mission of inaugurating the reign of God, the kingdom of God. Jesus saw himself as creating a new reality of God's reign. God was taking his creation somewhere new and on purpose through Jesus. And the parables were one of the ways that he invited people into that new reality that he was creating. The parables served a strategic purpose in that mission.
· Parables first tell us about Jesus, and secondly, how we live.

The Pattern of this Parable
Design + Obedience = Result
Lamp + Lampstand = Hidden things brought to light
Hearing + Doing = Right measurement & more added
Hearing + Non-Doing = Right Measurement & everything taken away

What do I learn about Jesus
1. Jesus is THE light
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. John 9:5

2. Jesus is OUR light
For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. Psalm 18:12
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

3. Jesus Casts Out Darkness
The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light. Job 24:16
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

What do I learn about myself?

I can be a light bringer
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:12
Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Philippians 2:14
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:13-14

HOW DO I APPLY THIS PARABLE
Design + Obedience = Result


Design
“To have been created intentionally, imagined in the mind of God, and then brought into being communicates something profound about a person’s intrinsic worth. It speaks—you are loved; you are wanted; you are valued. Further to this, to have been created as some kind of reflection or embodiment of the divine serves only to strengthen the idea that human beings are of infinite worth and beauty. Lucy Peppiatt

Obedience
“Repentance is the way we make progress in the Christian life.” Timothy Keller
“But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God's love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin to be sincere. His sincerity is based on confidence, not in his own illusions about himself, but in the endless, unfailing mercy of God.Thomas Merton

Result
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10
Don’t wait for tomorrow, let the light of Christ shine through you, and as you do, he will do immeasurably more than you could ever imagine.

Those who have ears, let them hear.
Those who listen, let them do.

What do I learn about Jesus
1. Jesus is THE light
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. John 9:5

2. Jesus is OUR lightFor it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. Psalm 18:12
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5


3. Jesus Casts Out DarknessThe Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light. Job 24:16

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5