Speaker 1: 0:01

You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor and teacher, Ken Davis. Pastor Ken is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro in Burleson, Texas. Please join us as we study the Gospel of Luke verse by verse.

Speaker 2: 0:17

Only people who cannot see light are those who are blind. You see, you can take the brightest search light in the world and shine it in the face of a blind man, and he will not see it. That's why he said if your eye is good, well what does a good eye do? A good eye sees. What does a bad eye do? Nothing.

Speaker 1: 0:47

Nothing. The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the Gospels of the life and teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ. As believers, there are few studies that will benefit us more spiritually than studying the life and teachings of the Master. Have you ever been in complete darkness, in a place where you can't see directly in front of your face? You see when you're in sin, when you're without the Lord, you are in darkness. We can't see the dangers around us, we're left to our own thoughts and ideas. But as believers, the light of God's Word shines, revealing the truth. Don't forget to stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Heed the Word, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, verse 33, as we join Pastor Ken.

Speaker 2: 1:39

Now, men will die for a lie, but only if they think it's the truth. These men died for something that they knew to be true, because if it were not true, these men would have known that it was a lie. That alone bears witness to the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the grave. No other religious leader in the history of our world has done that. He is unique. He's the Son of God and yet, in spite of the fact that he was wiser than Solomon, in spite of the fact that he was greater than Jonah, in spite of the fact that there was the sign given that he would die and be dead in the tomb for three days and then rise again, in spite of all of that, many of these very people who saw the miracles he performed refused to believe and, what's more, many of them still refuse to believe to this very day. There are those in our world who, in spite of all the evidence you can muster, in spite of irrefutable evidence, refuse to believe. And I ask again the question why? Well, jesus answers it. Luke 11, verse 33 no one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand that those who come in may see the light. Now we know from scripture John 8, 12 specifically that Jesus is the light of the world. He said it himself. 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 1 bears testimony to it as well. As we look at John 1, starting in verse 1, it said, as we read earlier, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Him and without him. Nothing was made. That was made in him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the. Him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him, but as many as received him to them. He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Speaker 2: 4:41

Light has come into the world, we're told, but men loved darkness rather than light. Why? Because their deeds were evil. Their deeds were evil. So Jesus is the light of the world. We know that. And Jesus says that when you light a lamp, you don't hide it under a basket or put it in a cellar. You set it up on a lampstand where all can see.

Speaker 2: 5:08

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a thing that is hidden nor difficult to understand, but it is readily available to those that will have it, to those that will receive it, and yet they don't see. Verse 34, the lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, good, your whole body also is full of light, but when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. What is he saying here? Kind of confusing words. Right, jesus is the light of the world. Light has come into the world, and john told us that the darkness can't comprehend it. Another way to say that is it can't overcome it. So that light, which is Jesus Christ in this world, cannot be extinguished, can it? And it says that he's given that light to every man. Right, he's given that to us. The only people who cannot see light are those who are blind. You see, you can take the brightest searchlight in the world and shine it in the face of a blind man, and he will not see it. That's why he said if your eye is good, well, what does a good eye do? A good eye sees. What does a bad eye do? Nothing, nothing.

Speaker 2: 6:37

The lamp of the body. That word lamp I like that word in the Greek, if I can find it in my notes here. It's interesting. It says that that word for lamp is looknos, looknos, look. A lamp is something that helps you look, isn't it? You can't look without a light, a lamp or a candle that is placed on a stand or candlestick. The lamp is likened to an eye, which shows the body which way to move and turn.

Speaker 2: 6:58

For instance, the prophecies of the Old Testament, in as much as they afforded at least some knowledge relative to the glorious return of Christ, were a lamp to us, weren't they? Look nos, look at Jesus, look at what he's done for us and let the light of what he's done for us shine in our hearts. It's when we refuse to look at what Jesus has done for us that we become so hardened that we think only of what he requires of us. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. What that's saying is if we have eyes to see the truth of the gospel, then we will be filled with the light of God, but if our eye is bad, then our whole body will be full of darkness. If we are not able or willing to look upon the light of what Jesus has done, then all that is in us is darkness.

Speaker 2: 7:55

Verse 35 of Luke 11,. What does that mean? That the light that's in you is not darkness? What does that mean that the light that's in you is not darkness. If the brightest thing in your life is not Jesus Christ, then, however bright that may seem to you, it's not light, it's darkness. Take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. You see, the Pharisees had what they would consider a light in themselves. They had the righteous outer workings of the law, the things that they would do, and yet the love of God wasn't in them. The light of God did not abide in their hearts, and so that light which was in the Pharisees wasn't light at all. Verse 36,. If, then, your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, then the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light. Jesus said in Matthew 6, 22, that the lamp of the body is the eye. If, therefore, your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in you in darkness, how great is that darkness? If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? Apart from Jesus Christ, there is no goodness in man, however good man may seem on the outside. On the inside it's all darkness Now.

Speaker 2: 9:42

As he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed before dinner. Now, some of you might marvel if someone didn't wash before dinner, but when you marvel it's not that they didn't wash the way the Jews were thinking didn't wash. I mean, obviously we're thinking for health reasons, it's good to wash your hands before you eat, right? That's not what they were talking about. They were talking about a ceremonial cleansing. As they would come in to eat, they would dip their hands in the water and lift their hands so that the water would literally drip off their elbow there, and that was to make them ceremonially clean. You see, they had taken the Levitical laws and they had expanded them to include a lot more than they were meant to include.

Speaker 2: 10:30

And Jesus never acknowledged these requirements because they were not the requirements of God. They were the requirements of men, and God is not interested in acknowledging the requirements or the religiosity of man. He's interested in the condition of people's hearts, and he's going to make that very clear in just a moment as we read on. Then the Lord said to him Now you, pharisees, make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness, foolish ones. Did not he who made the outside make the inside also, but rather give alms of such thing as you have? Then, indeed, all things are clean to you. But woe to you, pharisees, for you tithe, mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass by the justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. These Pharisees were so meticulous in their observation of the outward things of the law that they would come to their little bushes right of herbs in their gardens and they would count the number of leaves on that bush that were used for herbs in order to make sure that one of every 10 was taken to the temple. They were meticulous in their tithing and in the outward fulfillment of the law. And Jesus says listen, you do all of this, but you completely forego the greater principles of justice and of love. He said, these you should have done without leaving the others undone. He's saying look, it's good that you pay tithes. That's great, that's wonderful, but you can be the greatest tither in the world, but if your heart isn't right with God, then it doesn't mean anything. If there isn't love in your heart for your fellow man, then it's worthless.

Speaker 2: 12:23

I'm sure you've heard the story of the young pastor who was pastoring a church and he had two brothers in that church who were extremely wealthy but also extremely reprobate. They were ungodly, cruel men, and one day one of those men died. It was about this time that the pastor was going through a building program because the church had been blessed and they really needed a new facility. And one of these two brothers the one that remained alive came to him and he says listen, I know you need to raise a million dollars for your new building fund and I have a check for that million dollars right here, and I will be more than happy to give this to the church on one condition, the pastor said. What condition was that? He says well, you're about to do my brother's funeral in the next day or two and I want you to get up in front of everybody and tell them what a good and godly man he was. Pastor sat back and thought about it for a moment and he says well, okay, I'll do it. And so he took the check, went out and deposited it in the church's bank account, made sure all the funds were there, and a day or two later, at the funeral, he gets up in front of everybody and he says I need to let y'all know that this man who lies dead here before you was a reprobate. He was a sinner and he was a godless man who did not know the Lord. But compared to his brother he was a godly man, right?

Speaker 2: 13:48

It doesn't matter what you give, it doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter whether you're here in church every Sunday and you fulfill all of the outward requirements of what you think it is to be a godly person. Maybe you read the Bible and pray every day, maybe you spend time in fellowship with other believers, maybe you even go out and tell people about Jesus Christ. But you know what, if you don't regard love and justice in your heart, if you don't really know the Lord that you're talking about, then it's all for nothing. You can make the outside of the cup look as beautiful as you want it to, but it's not the outside of the cup that God is concerned with. It's what's on the inside that matters.

Speaker 2: 14:41

You know there's a lot of talk in some denominations, about how people should dress and about what they should wear and shouldn't wear. And you know, I had a man ask me recently so what would you do if someone wore a miniskirt into your church? How do you answer a question like that? I mean, it's just a weird question, you know. Why does it matter to him what I would do if someone you know? I told him, I said, you know, brother, look. I said if someone came into the church wearing a miniskirt or whatever the case might be, I'd be glad she was there to hear the word of the Lord.

Speaker 2: 15:17

You know, it's not about telling people what to put on or how to wear their clothes or how to you know this or that or whatever. I mean it's not about having a list of rules and regulations for you to follow. My job is to introduce you to Jesus Christ and to encourage you to live by his word, not mine by his spirit, and as you come to know him and love him and serve him, he is going to tell you how to live your life. You know, the Pharisees had plenty of rules and they did their best, I think in many ways, to keep those rules, but they didn't know the love of God, and because they didn't know the love of God, they were rejecting the one who was the very fulfillment of the law they revered. But I do love what he says here in verse 42, when he's referring to the things they were doing versus the things that they were not. He says these you ought to have done. It means we are to keep those outward things as well. We are to tithe and to serve and to fellowship and to witness. We are to do all those things but not to leave the others undone.

Speaker 2: 16:33

Woe to you, verse 43, pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them. What does he mean by that? Graves that are not seen. The Jewish people made a point to mark graves why? Because to come in contact with a dead body was to be defiled. Even to walk over the top of a grave was to become unclean, and so what Jesus was saying was you look real good on the outside, but not only are you not cleansed yourself, but you're defiling those that you come into contact with, and they don't even know it. Then one of the lawyers answered and said to him teacher, by saying these things, you reproach us also. He's like, hey, hey, I'm offended by that statement, and Jesus turned to him and said woe to you also, lawyers.

Speaker 2: 17:35

Now, this isn't talk. A lot of us might think of that and say, yeah, right on, darn that ACLU. You know that's not what he's talking about here. Okay, when he's saying woe to you lawyers, he's talking about those people who were experts in the Mosaic law, you religious teachers. You might also have said Woe to you also, lawyers. That would be almost like him saying woe to you pastors, huh? Well, I'll tell you what.

Speaker 2: 17:54

It's a scary thing to be a teacher of God's word, because we're responsible for how we teach this. We're going to have to give an account to God for the things that we say regarding his word, and it's my prayer that I always represent him accurately. He said woe to you, lawyers, for you load men with burdens hard to bear and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you, for you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. In fact, you bear witness that you approve of the deeds of your fathers, for they indeed killed them and you build their tombs. Therefore, the wisdom of God also said I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute that the blood of all the prophets which were shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel he was the first martyr right To the blood of Zechariah. He was the last martyr, from A to Z, from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of it, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. You see, they love to say, oh, had we been alive in the time of our fathers, we never would have done something like that. And yet they killed the very son of God.

Speaker 2: 19:18

Woe to you, lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You do not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered. You know, there was a time in the middle ages when the scriptures would literally be chained to the pulpit, because the belief was that unless you were a priest, you had no right to read the scriptures, nor could you understand or interpret them for yourself. Thank god, thank god for men like Tyndale, for men like Luther, for men who were willing to risk their lives that the common people would be able to read the scriptures for themselves. And as he said these things to them, the scribes and the phar Pharisees began to assail him vehemently and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him and seeking to catch him in something that he might say, that they might accuse him. The queen of Sheba had heard the report of Solomon and she didn't believe it, and so she went to test him. The same way, these Pharisees and scribes and lawyers were testing Jesus. And yet when Solomon rightly answered her questions, she acknowledged that she had been wrong about him and she believed. Jesus answered every question posed to him in a way in which they were not able to trap him. And yet, instead of realizing who he was, they rejected him.

Speaker 2: 20:46

Now, let's be careful. Let's not say well, had I been there, I wouldn't have done that, I would you know, like they did regarding the prophets. But let us remember, guys, that it's by grace that we've been saved and that through faith, not of ourselves, but it's the gift of God, not by works that no man may boast. In Matthew 5, 14, 16, jesus said you are the light of the world. You see, he's already told us that he is the light of the world. You see, he's already told us that he is the light of the world, hasn't he? But here he tells us that you are the light of the world. Now, how is it you, in whom there was nothing but darkness, now have become the light of the world? It's because he is in you. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven.

Speaker 2: 22:04

There are people who will come to you like the Queen of Sheba. They will have questions. They'll have heard of Jesus and they'll have heard things about Jesus, but they won't really believe the things that they've heard. And they're going to have questions that they're going to ask. And the intention of those questions is not to learn but to test you. But, as God gives you grace, to answer those questions in love, if they have eyes to see, they'll see the light that is shining in you and they'll receive that light. Now there are others to whom you will be sent, just as God sent Jonah. And you will have a message for those people that if they don't repent, that if they don't turn to Jesus Christ, then at some point in time destruction is coming. And when you are there speaking to them, you need to understand that one greater than Jonah is speaking to them, because the one that is speaking to them is the Holy Spirit that lives in you, and if they have eyes to see, they will repent. Jesus said I am the light of the world, but then he's also said, as we read a moment ago, that I am the light of the world. But then he's also said, as we read a moment ago, that you are the light of the world and that light is not to be hidden.

Speaker 2: 23:30

A lot of people talk about their faith as being something private and personal, and it is something private and personal. That's where it begins. That's not where it's to stop. God doesn't put his light in you so that you can cover that light up and not share it with anybody, but it's to be put on a lampstand that it can give light to all those that are in the house. That's why he said let your good work so shine before men, let your light so shine before men that they see your good works and glorify you. No, and glorify your Father who's in heaven.

Speaker 1: 24:12

Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Heed the Word, the teaching ministry of Pastor Ken Davis, calvary Chapel in Burleson, texas. We are currently making our way through the Gospel of Luke here on Heed the Word. The Gospel of Luke is packed full of insights about Jesus, our Savior, so we encourage you to join us again, same time, same place, for the next study through Luke with Pastor Ken. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast, this teaching, as well as many others, are available from the Heed the Word media player.

Speaker 1: 24:46

You can listen to today's teaching, download today's teaching, subscribe to the Heed the Word podcast or even get a copy on your mobile phone. Everything's right there. There's even a Bible available for you to follow along in the scriptures as Pastor Ken teaches. So log on to heedthewordorg and continue studying with us today. If today's teaching has blessed you, perhaps you'd like to visit us for worship. Calvary Chapel, southwest Metro, meets each Sunday morning at 10.30 am and Wednesday evening at 7 pm. We'd love to have you stop by and join us. For more information and driving directions, log on to wwwheatthewordorg. This has been another edition of Heed the Word, the verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter and book-by-book teaching ministry of Ken Davis, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel, southwest Metro. Place a marker in your Bibles and join us next time for our continuing study through the Gospel of Luke, right here on Heed the Word.