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Heed The Word
Heed The Word is the online Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Ken Davis of Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro, a non-denominational church in Joshua, Texas. We are committed to bringing our listeners the Word of God by simply teaching the Bible simply. It is our hope that these broadcasts will encourage you to believe in Jesus Christ, and to grow as His disciple as you walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called.
Our latest episodes are a rebroadcast of our "Heed the Word" radio program. These episodes were originally broadcast on KDKR. At that time our church was located in Burleson, Texas though we have since relocated to Joshua. Additionally, these episodes indicate that CD copies can be ordered, but as they are now available through our podcast, we are no longer offering physical copies of these messages. It is our continued hope that these Bible teachings are an encouragement to you and we appreciate you joining us here on Heed the Word!
Heed The Word
From Eden to Bethlehem: God's Redemptive Plan Revealed
The tapestry of Messianic prophecy unfolds with breathtaking precision across Scripture, revealing God's masterful plan centuries before Jesus's birth. Pastor Mark guides us through this divine roadmap, beginning in Eden's garden where, amidst humanity's first rebellion, God plants the seed of redemption: a promise that the woman's offspring would one day crush the serpent's head.
From this foundation, we journey through pivotal moments where God progressively narrows and clarifies His promise. Through Abraham, God establishes a covenant declaring that through his singular "seed" (not seeds plural), blessing would come to all nations. This critical distinction points to one specific descendant—Jesus Christ—through whom salvation would flow.
The promise finds royal dimensions in God's covenant with David, guaranteeing an eternal kingdom through his lineage. Isaiah adds the miraculous virgin birth, divine nature, and geographical specificity with his prophecy about Galilee seeing "a great light." Each prophecy adds another brushstroke to the portrait of the coming Messiah.
When Gabriel finally appears to Mary—a virgin from Nazareth in Galilee, betrothed to Joseph of David's house—we witness the perfect convergence of prophecies established centuries earlier. This remarkable fulfillment validates both Scripture's divine authorship and Jesus's identity as the promised Messiah.
What ancient promises from God are you still waiting to see fulfilled? The precision of these fulfilled Messianic prophecies reminds us that God orchestrates history with purpose and always keeps His word, even when circumstances seem impossible. Join us next week as we continue exploring Luke's Gospel and the life of our Savior.
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:Hear now, o house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Now, you might say, now wait a minute. I thought his name was Jesus. It is Emmanuel means God with us.
Speaker 1: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. Today, pastor Mark sets the stage for the next section in the Gospel of Luke the arrival of the Lord of heaven and earth, coming in the form of a man, the Son of God, jesus Christ. And our Savior's coming was something that was prophesied on many fronts throughout the entirety of the Scriptures. Pastor Mark spent some time today in these various portions of the Word. 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 first book, genesis, chapter one. We'll begin there and then continue in the Gospel of Luke Now with today's message. Here's Pastor Ken.
Speaker 2:And God created everything that exists, and then he planted a garden eastward in Eden, and in that garden he set a man whom he had formed from the dust of the earth, and that man he named Adam. And Adam named all of the animals as they came before him. My son wants to be a zoologist. I tell him Adam was the first one, because he named every animal that existed, but there wasn't found among those animals a helpmate that was suitable for Adam. So God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he took one of his ribs and out of it he formed a woman. And when Adam woke up, there was Eve, the one who would be the mother of all living. And Adam was a happy man.
Speaker 2:We don't know how long they dwelt there in the garden together, but we do know that God told them that they could eat of the tree, of any, or the fruit of any of the trees there in that garden, except for one, and that was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And of course, as human nature would have it, that's exactly the tree that they ended up eating from, and that's kind of where we pick up the story. So as you look at that on the screen of your mind. Just imagine a beautiful, lush garden filled with every good thing and every animal. A beautiful place, a place where the Spirit of God would move to and fro and would have communion with man. A perfect place, a perfect time, a perfect world. And in the midst of that time, in the midst of that place, in the midst of that world, there was a serpent. Now, the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the woman said to the serpent we may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, god said you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die, for God knows that in the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Speaker 2:Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him where are you? Now let me ask you for a moment Do you think God knew where Adam was? He definitely knew where Adam was, but when he called out to him, what he was wanting was for Adam to come to him. In the same way, god knows where you are in your life today, right this moment, and he calls out to you. He says where are you? He knows where you are, but when he calls out to you, what he is wanting is for you to come to him so that he can heal your brokenness, so that he can wash away your sin, so that he can give you life, and that more abundantly. And so God calls to them where are you?
Speaker 2:So Adam says I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. And God said to him who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded that you should not eat Again? Does God know that he had already eaten of it? Yes, he does. What is God leading him to do? To confess his sin before him, because the Bible tells us that if we confess our sins to God, he is faithful and just to forgive us for our sins. Then the man said I'm so sorry, lord, forgive me. No, that's not what he said. He said the woman whom you gave to be with me. She gave me of the tree and I ate. And the Lord, god, said to the woman what is this that you have done? The woman said dust all the days of your life and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.
Speaker 2:Now the story goes on from here, but, as the editor of the film today, that's where we cut to the next scene, because that, friends, is the beginning of the messianic prophecy. That is the moment in which God promises that he would send his son. And he says the seed of the woman. Not seeds plural not many seeds, as in all of us today, but the seed singular Not many seeds, as in all of us today, but the seed singular meaning the promised seed, the one who would come one day through her line. He would crush the serpent's head. He's referring there to our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:Fast forward several, several books and chapters and years not books, but rather chapters and years to genesis, chapter 2. During this time, men populated the earth. They were wicked before the sight of the lord and he wiped them all out, save one family, noah and his three sons and their wives. And all of the animals were saved there as well, two of every kind. And then the earth was repopulated again and out of all the peoples of the earth, god chose one family, indeed one man, and we find his story here in Genesis, chapter 22, starting in verse 15.
Speaker 2:Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven and said by myself, I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son. Blessing I will bless you and multiplying. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashores, and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies In your seed again, singular, not plural. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. Now, what had Abraham done, just now that God is commending him for?
Speaker 2:The bottom line, friends, is this Abraham had believed God and it was accounted unto him as righteousness, in the same manner we are to believe God, and in believing him we are made righteous through the blood of his son, jesus Christ. You see, god had given Abraham a promise. He had said that all of this land, as far as you can see, I'm going to give it to you and to your descendants after you. And Abraham had said well, what's the good of that? There's a man in my household who's a servant of mine and he's going to be my heir. Because I have no son. And God said no, abraham, I'm going to give you a son, and through that son is going to come the promise and all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed in you.
Speaker 2:And so Abraham believed God, but of course, along the way, he thought maybe God needed a little help. And so he and Sarah decided that they were going to allow Abraham to have a child through Hagar, sarah's handmaiden, and that son's name was Ishmael. And, of course, as a result of that, the people of Israel have had a lot of trouble ever since then with the descendants of Ishmael, haven't they, even to today, the Palestinians and the Arabs in that area. But God said no, no, the promise is not through Ishmael, but the promise is going to come through Sarah, your wife, and Abram's like how's that going to come through, sarah, your wife, and Abraham's like how's that going to happen? Sarah's old I'm over a hundred, she's like 90. We're way past childbearing years.
Speaker 2:But, as we read last week, nothing's impossible for God, is it? Nothing at all? Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth. They had a child in their old age, and this was just a repeat of what God had already done with Abraham and Sarah. And so, sure enough, a child was born to them and his name was Isaac, which means laughter. And Isaac was growing up and the promise was through him, and God had made it very clear that it was through Isaac that the promise would be fulfilled.
Speaker 2:But one day God says, abraham, I want you to do something. He says I want you to take your son, your only son, whom you love, and I want you to go to the mountain that I'm going to show you and I want you to sacrifice him on that altar there. Now imagine this this is his favorite child, this is his son, the son of promise. And here he has been commanded to kill this child. And so he does what God tells him to do. He takes the donkey and he takes the wood and he takes the fire in his hand and he takes the boy with him and two servants, and they go off to do this. They get to a certain point and Abraham says to his servants you guys stay here, the boy and I are going to go and sacrifice, and the boy and I are going to return. He said we're going to go, we're going to sacrifice and we are coming back.
Speaker 2:Now some people might say, oh well, he was just trying to put the servants off, because if he had let them know he was going to kill Isaac, they wouldn't let him go. No, that's not it at all. Abraham had enough faith to know that God had made a promise to him that the blessing was going to come through this child, and so that, even if he slew him, god would raise him from the dead in order to keep his promise. And so there they are, and they're walking up and Isaac says hey, dad, I see the fire. I see the fire, I see the wood. Where's the sacrifice? And Abraham says, in prophetic words, the Lord will provide for himself a sacrifice. And so they get there and he binds Isaac and he lays him on the altar and he raises the knife to plunge it into his son's heart. And what happens? An angel appears and he says stop, don't harm the boy, for now I know that you do believe in me. And actually now Abraham also knew that he believed in God, didn't he Many times?
Speaker 2:The testing of our faith is not so that we could prove it to God, but rather so that God can prove that faith to us. And so Abraham had obeyed God, and as a result of his obedience that sprung from belief. See, he would never have obeyed had he not first believed. And so his salvation came through his belief, not through his obedience, but obedience did indeed follow belief. Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven and said by myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son. Blessing, I will bless you and multiplying, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies In your seed. Again, singular. All the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned to his young men and they rose and went together to Beersheba and Abraham dwelt in Beersheba.
Speaker 2:Cut to the next scene. First we have the promise given, then we have the line chosen through which the promise would be fulfilled. Turn with me now to 2 Samuel, chapter 7. And the children of Israel have been taken to Egypt. They've been there for hundreds of years, generations. They've become a people. God delivers them by a mighty hand from Egypt and brings them back to the land of Canaan that they might possess it. Even as he had promised Abraham, they lived there for years under the judges.
Speaker 2:You remember, as we studied through Ruth, that was the time in which all that occurred. And now they've gotten to a point where they say well, we don't want to be ruled by God anymore. We want a king like other nations. And so God sets up Saul as the king. But because Saul disobeys God, god rejects Saul and another man has become king in his place, and this man was a man after God's own heart, a man that we know as King David.
Speaker 2:And King David is sitting one day in his house of cedar and he begins to think. Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around. That the king said to Nathan, the prophet see, now I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains. Then Nathan said to the king go and do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying go and tell my servant David.
Speaker 2:Thus says the Lord would you build a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel. Have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I command to shepherd my people Israel, saying have you not built me a house of cedar? Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David. Thus says the Lord of hosts I took you from the sheepfold from say to my servant David. Thus says the Lord of hosts I took you from the sheep fold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people of Israel, and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all of your enemies from before you and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people, israel, and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more. Nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people, israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also, the Lord tells you that he will make you a house when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers. I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chase in him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men, but my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I have removed from before you, and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever, according to all these words and according to all this vision. So Nathan spoke to David. So again, the promise is renewed.
Speaker 2:David wanted to build a house for the Lord. He wanted to build a temple for the Ark of the Covenant to rest in. Oftentimes we're the same way. We want to accomplish great things for God, don't we? But you know what God says. Listen, it's not you who is going to accomplish for me, but it is I who have accomplished for you. It is God who would build a house for David, and God promised him. Hey, you're not going to build a temple for me, but your son, solomon will, and I'm going to establish his kingdom and his throne. But he also said he was going to do something. He said he was going to establish the throne of David forever.
Speaker 2:And we know that the kingly line of David ceased to rule Israel. So that leaves an unfulfilled promise there. Not unfulfilled, as in, never to be fulfilled, but unfulfilled, as in hadn't been fulfilled up to that point. What God was promising David, very simply, was that there would be someone upon the throne of David and when that one, that seed, came to the throne, that there would be no end to his kingdom. And we know today who that is. That is Jesus Christ, the son of David. Today, who that is, that is Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of God, and there is no end to his kingdom and he will sit upon the throne of David forever and ever and ever. So the promise is being continued. Turn in your Bibles. Now to Isaiah, chapter 9. With each step in the process, the promise of God becomes more specific. First we're told that it'll be from the children of Eve, from the seed of the woman. Then he selects a specific family line, abraham, who became a nation, and then, in that family line, a specific king, king David. And then, from David's family line. God begins to become even more specific with the promise that he is making Isaiah, chapter 7.
Speaker 2:Now it came to pass, in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Ramaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it. But they could not prevail against it. And it was told to the house of David, saying serious forces are deployed in Ephraim. So his heart and the heart of his people were moved, as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. In other words, they were scared friends.
Speaker 2:Then the Lord said to Isaiah go out to meet King Ahaz, you and Shir Jeshib, your son, at the end of the aqueduct, from the upper pool on the highway to the fuller's field, and say to him take heed and be quiet, do not fear or be faint-hearted for those two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of resident syria and the son of remaliah, because syria, ephraim and the son of remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying let us go up against judah and trouble it and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves and set a king over them, the son of t-ball or table. Excuse me. Thus says the lord god. It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass, for the head of syria is damascus and the head of damascus is resin. Within 65 years, ephraim will be broken so that it will not be a people. The head of ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established. What's God saying? He says listen, don't be afraid these guys, no matter what they say, no matter what they do, they're not going to win. I'm going to establish you, if only you will believe.
Speaker 2:God's giving Ahaz an opportunity here. Moreover, the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord, your God. Can I tell you something? When God tells you to ask for a sign, ask for a sign. And if God doesn't tell you to ask for a sign, then fine, don't. But when he tells you to do something, do it. Ahaz should have, but he didn't want to. He said Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God. Ask it either in the depth or in the height above. But Ahaz said I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord False humility. Who am I to question God Now? He was disobeying God. That's what he was doing. The Lord said to ask a sign. He should have asked a sign. This is Isaiah speaking. Actually, the Lord really threw Isaiah Hear.
Speaker 2:Now, o house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Now you might say, now wait a minute. I thought his name was Jesus. It is Emmanuel means God with us. And so what he's saying is the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and he shall be God with us. So now the promise becomes even more specific.
Speaker 2:Turn just a page or two over to Isaiah, chapter 9. Nevertheless, verse 1, the gloom will not be upon her. Who is distressed as when, at first, he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali and afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death. Upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nations and increased its joy. They rejoice before it says and garments rolled in blood will be used for burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this, amen. Turn with me now to Luke, chapter 1. Starting in verse 26.
Speaker 2:Now in the sixth month. Well, the sixth month, of what? The sixth month of Elizabeth, elizabeth's pregnancy. You remember last week Elizabeth was with child. She was going to give birth to John, who was to be the forerunner of our Lord. So now, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. Remember what we just read in Galilee, that the people who were in darkness have seen a great light. Well, this is the light that was promised to them, the coming of the one whom Gabriel was going to announce Now in the sixth month, one whom Gabriel was going to announce. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin. Remember the sign that Ahaz should have asked for and that God gave him, that the virgin would conceive. Well, here is the fulfillment of that sign and that promise. Sent to a virgin, betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.
Speaker 1:Do you ever feel like the circumstances you're going through are more than you can bear, that God is in some way punishing you? Well, consider the words of Paul. And we know that all things work together for the to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. So we learn from this verse that all things, not some, but all things work together if we love God and are called according to His purpose. Just something to think about from your friends here at Heed the Word Heed the Word is the daily Bible teaching ministry of Ken Davis, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel in Burleson, Texas. There's a great deal more that Pastor Ken has to share with us from the Gospel of Luke, so please join us again Now.
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