Desperation Leadership Academy

DILIGENT STUDY

Mark 4:24-25
21 And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lamp stand? 22 “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” NASB


Mark provides great insight into the heart of Jesus. It is His desire to give what is good to those who love Him and pursue Him. In the explanation of the verses above, we see what God is saying to us about this subject. When Jesus brings up the lamp, His intention is to point out that the purpose of a lamp is to give light. Since that’s the purpose of a lamp then of course you won’t take a lamp and put it under a basket or a bed, instead you will put it on a stand because the purpose of it is to give light. Jesus goes on to say, in the same way that a lamp’s purpose is to give light, the reason there are hidden things and secrets about God and the kingdom of God is that they may be revealed. This is exciting! God is showing us His desire to tell us the secrets of the kingdom of God! He goes on to show us how to gain revelation and understanding about Him. He says with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. This means to what measure of effort you put into studying, meditation, and the pursuit of God is the measure of knowledge, revelation, and understand that God will give you. This is important for us to understand because it gives us great encouragement and motivation to study the Scriptures and pursue God with all of our hearts. The statement at the end of verse 24 that says, “… and more will be given you besides”, shows us insight to God’s desire to give us more than we deserve. The Scripture explains, to the degree of effort and diligence that you put into studying me and my ways is the same degree that I will pour out knowledge on these things. Actually, I will give you more knowledge than you have even strived for because it is my will to reward you abundantly beyond your efforts for seeking me and my ways! Incredible!

It is also noteworthy to explain that this passage is not talking about salvation, so we need to know that it’s not talking about earning salvation because salvation is a free gift by grace and through faith, Eph 2:8. However, revelation on the nature and character of God is given to those that search Him out. We gain insight and understanding of the Scriptures by diligently studying them. And we find the secrets of the kingdom of God by pursuing to know those secrets with all our hearts.

The last thing Jesus states in this passage is, “For whoever has, to him more shall be given…” The idea here is that to Him who holds in high regard what revelation he has already been given; more will be given to him. In other words, if you value the knowledge God has given you already, by meditating on those things, taking action, and implementing them in your life, more knowledge will be given to you. But to those who deal with contempt (disdain, disrespect, disapproval) what knowledge and revelation they have been given, then what little knowledge they have will be taken from them.

Tyrel Koenes
DLA Director
WWW.DESPERATIONLEADERSHIP.COM