Opening, Theme, And Setup

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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.

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If there is no resurrection, then why do we do the things that we do? Why do we come to church on Sunday mornings? Why do we read our Bibles? Why do we do anything other than just spend an entire lifetime enjoying ourselves? Because if there is no resurrection, then this life is it, and we'd better have a doggone good time while we're here. Paul said that himself. He said, hey, if there's no resurrection, we are all men most miserable. And so he's saying, listen, I want you to be encouraged that your labor is not in vain, because there is a time coming when you will stand before God to give an account for your work.

Moses At The Burning Bush

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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. The scriptures teach us that God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to make a way for us to have access to Him. By the blood of Jesus, we all now have the opportunity to spend eternity with God. His salvation is free to all who will accept it. So, will you receive God's forgiveness or will you reject him? Don't forget to stay with us after today's message to hear more information about He the Word, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, please open your Bibles to the book of Exodus, chapter 3, verse 1. We'll begin there and continue in the Gospel of Luke. Now, here's Pastor Ken.

God Of The Living Explained

A Better Country In Hebrews 11

Jesus Prepares A Place

Do We Really Live For Heaven

Paul’s Glimpse Of Glory

How The Resurrection Body Works

From Adam To The Heavenly Man

Mystery: Changed In A Moment

Death Swallowed In Victory

Labor That Lasts Forever

Heaven, Hell, And Urgent Choice

Assurance, Resources, And Next Steps

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Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight. Why the bush is not burned up? When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses, and he said, Here I am. Then he said, Do not come near here. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. He said also, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. God was saying to Moses in that moment, not I was the God of Abraham, or I was the God of Isaac, or I was the God of Jacob, but he was saying, I am right now, in this moment, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. And he was saying this over 400 years after those men, those patriarchs, were no longer here. They had been dead for over 400 years, as if the children of Israel had been in bondage there in Egypt. And yet, there in that wilderness, in that burning bush, God spoke to Moses and he said, Right now, at this moment, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. What does that mean? That means that though they were dead, yet they lived, right? Jesus said the same thing to Martha. He says, I am the resurrection and the life. He said, I'm the life. I'm the one that brings life. I'm the one that gives life. He told her, look, if you believe in me, you're never going to die. And if you do die, you're still going to be alive. Because God is the God of the living. Amen. Hebrews 11 speaks of this as well. Let's turn there. We're going to look at verses 12 through 16. And the writer of Hebrews says, All these died in the faith. He's referring to the patriarchs and those that went before them in the faith. He says, All these died in faith without receiving the promises. So did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the patriarchs. Did they die? Yes, they did. These all died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth, for those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And if indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. He had prepared a city for them. Do you remember in that last night when Jesus was breaking bread with his disciples? They were there in the upper room. And he had just told them that one of them was going to betray him. And he had told Peter that he was going to deny them. And then he had told them that he was going away. These guys were having a really bad night. And in the middle of all that, he says, But don't be troubled. Don't be worried. It's going to be okay. He says, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will return again and take you unto myself. That where I am, there you may be also. And so Jesus was telling them, He was going away to prepare a place for them, and that place is the heavenly kingdom. And there's a day coming, guys, when we will be there with him in that kingdom. And that is going to be an awesome and a wonderful time. Now, in his application commentary of the New Testament, John Corson has this to say about the resurrection and about our belief in heaven. According to an April 24th, 2000 Washington Post article, 88% of all Americans believe in a literal place called heaven. That's an important statistic because imagine what our society would be like if we didn't believe in heaven. I mean, think about it. We look at the world now and we say how bad it is, right? And yet 88% of Americans say that they believe in heaven. Well, John goes on to imagine what it might be like if people in America did not believe in heaven, and this is what he says. A society that didn't believe in heaven would be obsessed with youth. It would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to look, stay, and feel young through plastic surgery, diets, and exercise programs. A society that didn't believe in heaven would spend billions of dollars on life support systems to delay facing an unknown future. In a society that didn't believe in heaven, crime would soar without fear of eternal judgment. The theology of a society that didn't believe in heaven would be based upon the here and now, on health and prosperity. Wait a minute. We are that culture. Because although our generation gives lip service to the idea of heaven, we do not live out the reality of heaven. You see, if 88% of the people in America really did believe in heaven, would our society look the way that it does? No, it wouldn't. Because though we say we believe in heaven, we do not live as though we believed in heaven. How many of us really know what heaven is like? How many of us really even begin to think about what heaven is like? So often we think of heaven and we think of what it's not. You know, in heaven, I won't have to get up and go to work and pay all these bills, right? Or in heaven, I won't have all these aches and pains, or in heaven I won't this or I want that. But how often do we really think about what it is like? My sister-in-law once told her young son, when he asked her mom what is heaven like, she told him, Son, heaven is like getting to eat all the cheeseburgers you want and never getting a stomachache. It's a simplistic answer, isn't it? And it's probably not a very theologically deep one, but it is true in this sense. If you imagine the most wonderful, incredible, happy, and fulfilling experience that you can possibly imagine. Just realize that that isn't even close to what heaven is like. Heaven is that much better. Turn, if you will, to um 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Now, Paul was a man who had actually seen heaven. In the epistles, he talks about the fact that he was caught up to the third heaven, whether in the flesh or not, he didn't know, and that he saw things that were there that would be unlawful to even speak of. Paul had seen what it was that awaited him and all of us. Because of that fact, Paul was the type of person who, when faced with death, said, Hmm, let me see. I think I might just want to go ahead and do that because I really don't want to hang around here anymore. But there's still work I have to do. So I guess for your sakes, I'll have to stay. But you see, he would rather have gone on to be with Jesus. Paul was the one that told us that to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord. And so Paul had no fear of death. In fact, he looked eagerly towards it, saying, Man, I cannot wait to get home and be with Jesus. Now, it might be something if a person that had never seen what heaven was like said that, then we might have some hesitation and say, Well, I don't know, you know, you may not know what you're talking about. But here was Paul, a man who had with his own eyes seen the glories of heaven. And having seen it, he wanted nothing more than to get back to it. But he recognized that God still had work for him to do, so he had to remain. Well, Paul gives us some wonderful insights into what it's going to be like for us and how it's going to happen. And he recognizes the fact that there are those that would scoff and that might have a hard time believing. And so here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, starting in verse 35, he gives us some insight. He says, But someone will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain, perhaps wheat or some other grain. I want to pause there for a moment because that that thought may not be complete in your mind. What he's saying is this in order for something to bear fruit, it really has to die. Take a watermelon, for instance. In order for us to eat and enjoy that watermelon, we have to pluck it from the vine, right? And the moment you pluck that watermelon from the vine, what begins to happen to that fruit? It begins to decay, doesn't it? It begins to break down and eventually it will, you know, go away into nothing if we don't, you know, eat it. And so let's say you do eat that watermelon, then you take from that watermelon a seed. Does the seed in your hand look anything like the watermelon? No, it doesn't, does it? In fact, if you weren't someone who knew that that's what a watermelon seed looked like, someone might hand it to you and might say, this will one day be that, and you might say, Yeah, sure right, I don't believe you. This little bitty thing is going to become that huge thing right there. You take the watermelon seed and you bite it and you break it open, it doesn't taste anything like a watermelon, does it? Not at all. But when you take that watermelon seed and you plant it and you give it enough water, over time it begins to change. It metamorphosizes, if you will, into something completely different. It had to die, it had to be planted and be buried in the ground in order for it to grow into something else altogether. And Paul goes on to say in verse 37, and what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain, perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as he pleases, and to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies, but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial or earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differs from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, just like that seed that I talked about that was dying. It's sown in corruption, but it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, but it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spirit is not first, but the natural and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust, the second man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust, meaning, hey, when we're born, we're just like Adam. And as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are heavenly. So what he's saying is, listen, you were born with an earthly body. And with that earthly body, you are like Adam. And what happened to Adam? Adam died, right? But the second Adam, Jesus, when he came down from heaven, he was not of earth. He was of heaven. Now, yes, he took upon a bodily form when he was here. He was born of the virgin, and he walked among us as one of us, but he came from heaven. And when we receive him, when we are born again or born from above, born of his spirit, then we also take on that life in the spirit that is not in the likeness of Adam, but rather is in the likeness of Jesus. And so when we die and our body decays, and that which was made of dust goes back to dust, that which is spirit remains, and it goes to be with the one from whom it came. It goes to be with God. And as he is, when we see him, it says we're going to be just like him. Let's go on. Paul says here, as was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust, and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. What Paul is saying here is this look, this flesh and blood, this body of mine, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Because corruption cannot inherit incorruption. And not all of us are gonna die before the time of the Lord's return. But even those who remain alive until the Lord's return, even they will be changed, he tells us. Verse 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep. That is to say, we won't all die, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Why would the fact that we're all going to be with Jesus? Why would the fact that even if we die we'll be raised to be with him, and if we live, we'll be transformed that we might be with him, why should that fact encourage you that your labor is not in vain? Well, think about it. If there is no resurrection, then why do we do the things that we do? Why do we come to church on Sunday mornings? Why do we read our Bibles? Why do we do anything other than just spend an entire lifetime enjoying ourselves? Because if there is no resurrection, then this life is it, and we'd better have a doggone good time while we're here. Paul said that himself. He said, Hey, if there's no resurrection, we are all men most miserable. And so he's saying, Listen, I want you to be encouraged that your labor is not in vain, because there is a time coming when you will stand before God to give an account for your work, for what you've done for and through him. And if you followed him and you've served him and he is your Lord, you'll enter in and you'll receive those rewards in heaven. So often the church today doesn't like to talk about heaven or about hell. They want to talk about how to be fulfilled in this life. They want to talk about how to be successful. They want to talk about how to be wealthy or prosperous. Lots of different things. They don't want to talk about heaven and hell very often. You see less and less of it in the pulpits today. The fact of the matter is, guys, heaven is mentioned in the Bible or referenced in the Bible 557 times. And if God wants to talk about it that much, I think we ought to talk about it. If it's that important to God that he includes it in his word 557 times, then I don't think it's something he would want us to skip over. But the fact remains that so many of us today live with our eyes on the earth. We are preoccupied so much so with the things that are around us that we fail to have any kind of a heavenly perspective. There's an old saying that someone might be so heavenly minded that they're no earthly good, but the fact of the matter is just the opposite is true. If we don't have heaven in mind, then what good can we ever be on the earth? Heaven is our home. We are pilgrims in this place, sojourners here for a short time. And yet, so often this is where our hearts remain. We struggle and we strain to acquire the things of this world rather than recognizing that it's God's kingdom that matters most. In fact, it's only his kingdom that really matters at all. And his kingdom is not of this world, but it's a heavenly kingdom. You see, this world that we see right here, this this earth, these heavens that stand above us, the sky, it's all gonna pass away. There's a time coming when not one bit of it will exist anymore, and there'll be a new heaven and a new earth where we will walk with Jesus, where we will see him. You know, Revelations talks about it and it tells us that there won't be the sun, there won't be the moon, there won't be any stars, because there won't be a need for them. Because the glory of God will light that world. And we will shine in it with him if we belong to him. I want to go back to 1 Corinthians 15, verse 55 and on, where Paul says, O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Hades being in the grave, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin. And the strength of sin is the law. You see, there's a law that stands against man, and that law tells us that the wages of sin is death. It tells us that when we fall short of the glory of God, we deserve to die. But the Bible also tells us that God loved us so much that while we were yet sinners, he sent his son to die for us. That's why Paul says here in verse 57, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory over what? Over sin. Over death. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Is he your Lord this morning? If Jesus Christ is your Lord this morning, then you need not fear death. If Jesus Christ is your Lord this morning, then sin can have no dominion over you. Because he's paid the price for it. If Jesus Christ is your Lord this morning, then one of two things is going to happen. Either you will be transformed in that moment when he returns for his church to receive him to himself, and you'll be just like him and you'll be raptured there to be with him in heaven, or the other possibility is that you will die. But because he is your Lord, you will not die in your sins. And the moment that you die, you will stand in the presence of the God who gave everything so that you might be able to stand in his presence. The God who loves you that much says in heaven he'll wipe away every tear. I can't imagine what we would be crying about. It's an awesome thing to realize that that is our destiny. We should be living as though it were. Now, if Jesus is not your Lord this morning, then can I tell you that heaven is not your destination? But there's another place that I haven't talked much about today. It's called hell. It's real, it exists. It's a place of torment. It's a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. That doesn't sound good. I don't know exactly what that means, but it sounds pretty bad to me. It's a place where the Bible tells us that the worm never dies. That means it's a place of eternal torment. I can't tell you exactly what hell is like any more than I can tell you exactly what heaven is like. But Billy Graham gave a very good answer to this question when asked, what is hell like? And he said, I don't know what hell is like, but I do know that in hell we are eternally separated from God. And that's bad enough. And I tell you, you do not want to be eternally separated from God. You do not want to go to hell. The choice is yours. If Jesus Christ is not the Lord of your life in this moment, he can be before we leave here today. That's a decision that only you can make for yourself.

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Truly, these are some of the most difficult times that many of us have ever seen. The economy is bad, work is sparse, and there's no shortage of strife throughout the world. But as believers in Jesus, we've been given many great and precious promises. For instance, listen to this verse, taken from our current study. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. You see, it doesn't matter how bad things get, God has promised to take care of us. Today's teaching was only part of a full-length message taught by Pastor Ken Davis on a Sunday morning at Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro in Burleson, Texas. To hear this message in its entirety, log on to heedheword.org. That's heedtheword.org. Once you're there, select the Listen Online page. Or if computers aren't your thing, that's okay, you can always call us. That number to call is 817-447-5675. That's 817-447-5675. Even if you're not ordering a copy of today's study, we'd love to hear from you. Knowing that God is using He, the Word for His glory, and to encourage His saints is one of our greatest joys. So call us today. This study through the Gospel of Luke has been a real eye-opener. Maybe you've been challenged in some areas in your walk with Jesus. Well, we want to exhort you not to just hear God's word, but to do it. Begin to walk in obedience to the things you're learning. From all of us here at Heather Word, we want to say thank you for tuning in, and may God richly bless you as you seek his face.