The Basis For Christian Joy – Part 2
Luke 10:17-24 (20)
February 10, 2019
As you know, we are currently in a section in Luke’s gospel
Where we are talking about the Necessity of Jesus.
• Certainly that has been revealed in Jesus’ sending out the 70 to announce His coming.
• And now we are seeing that through the lens of Christian joy.
In our current text we are looking at 4 truths which we are calling “The Basis For Christian Joy”
And certainly each of these 4 truths also highlight the necessity of Christ,
Since none of them are possible without Him.
We began looking at these 4 reasons last time.
#1 YOUR SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
Luke 10:17-19
Here is where we saw the 70 return to the Lord.
• He had sent them out into an underworked harvest…
• He had sent them out as lambs in the midst of wolves…
• He had sent them out empty handed, requiring them to operate in faith…
• He had sent them out with the understanding that not all would listen to their message…
As we noted, we don’t have any record of their specific mission endeavors.
There are no stories told by the 70 as to what took place on their trip.
But Luke is especially interested in
The universal response of the 70 when they returned.
He simply records, “The seventy returned with joy”
Luke doesn’t say that 38 of the 70 returned with joy.
Luke records that this was the common response of all on the mission.
And the reason for their joy is even recorded.
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
The reason for their shock is because
• Demonic influence and oppression is well-documented in the gospels.
• It was a severe problem, and one that humans where unable to deal with.
• We get numerous stories of the desperation of people as they face demonic oppression.
• Jews knew they were no match for demons.
• And so the 70 were thrilled to find that as they ministered in Jesus’ name, the demons were subject to them.
And I’m sure that probably indicates that they cast out demons.
But more than that, it indicates victory over the kingdom of darkness.
If you read the gospels and you think that
Only the people with physical demonic infirmities
Are under Satan’s influence then you are gravely mistaken.
• The Bible teaches that the whole world “lies in the power of the evil one”.
• Paul refers to Satan as “the god of this world”
• And Paul reveals that one of the reasons people are lost is because Satan has
“blinded” their “minds”.
Demonic oppression goes much deeper and spreads much farther
Than just physically afflicted people.
But the 70 found tremendous victory over their efforts.
And the 70 came back rejoicing in that.
So what you see from a context standpoint is that
It was the 70 who STARTED THIS CONVERSATION about joy.
It began with them because they rejoiced in their spiritual authority.
And first we noted that JESUS CONFIRMED THIS.
He told them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”
Jesus confirmed both their authority and their rejoicing there.
Jesus saw Satan losing battle after battle after battle.
AND THAT IS REASON FOR REJOICING
• Seeing a life that formerly walked in darkness set free from that darkness to be transferred to the kingdom of light is indeed a reason to rejoice.
• And being used of God to see that miracle occur is also a reason to rejoice.
BUT JESUS DIDN’T STOP THERE.
• He actually gave them more reason to rejoice.
• It’s as though He gave them additional benefit that perhaps they had not realized.
(19) “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy,” (that is what they just saw)
“AND nothing will injure you.”
In other words, it is true that you have authority,
But you should also know that YOU ARE OFF-LIMITS from him.
That DOESN’T mean he can’t war…
That DOESN’T mean he can’t at times hinder…
That DOESN’T mean he can’t physically afflict…
But just as he cannot keep God’s elect from salvation,
Neither can he re-capture one whom God has delivered.
IT IS ABSOLUTE VICTORY.
And that is certainly a reason for rejoicing.
And since this is why the 70 were already rejoicing,
This is where Jesus began.
However, spiritual authority is NOT the main reason for rejoicing,
Nor is it the most important, and Jesus makes that clear as well.
He takes the rejoicing of the 70 and confirms it,
But then helps them discern what the real basis for Christian joy is.
And that new insight begins in verse 20.
Rejoice in Spiritual Authority
#2 REJOICE IN YOUR SECURE SALVATION
Luke 10:20
Jesus clearly confirmed the rejoicing of the 70 regarding their spiritual authority,
But it is also clear that
Spiritual authority is NOT the greatest reason for rejoicing.
Jesus makes that clear here as He uses the word “NEVERTHELESS, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you”
Jesus here isn’t say that it is sinful to rejoice in spiritual authority,
He is merely MAKING A COMPARISON.
It is similar to in Luke 14
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”
• Clearly hating your father and mother and wife and children is not a command.
• In fact we are called to love them.
• Rather in that statement Jesus is making a comparison that the love we
have for Him must supersede the love we have for others.
He is doing the same thing here.
It’s not that we don’t rejoice in spiritual authority,
It’s just that that isn’t at all the main reason for rejoicing.
It’s as though Jesus says, “You’re rejoicing in your authority,
Well I’ve got a much better reason than that for you to rejoice.”
And here is that much better reason:
“but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
Here is the beauty in what is said:
• You are rejoicing because you had authority over the enemy,
• And you saw him losing battles,
• And you saw people freed from his grasp.
Well then you should rejoice that THIS IS WHAT WAS DONE FOR YOU!
• You were rescued from Satan’s grasp.
• You were rescued from his bonds.
• You were transferred to the kingdom of heaven.
Colossians 1:13-14 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
When Jesus says that “your names are recorded in heaven”
He is saying that “you have been saved.”
But I am grateful that Jesus said it the way He did
Because there is a great deal of insight that we can glean from this.
I don’t know that we’ve ever just sat down and focused on this statement
About our names being recorded, so let’s do that this morning.
Instead of simply saying “rejoice that you have been saved”,
Jesus said to “rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
So let’s chew on that phrase for a moment.
• What we are talking about here is the heavenly register.
• It is the log of all the citizens of heaven.
• It is the roll sheet of those who will inherit the kingdom.
The writer of Hebrews said it like this:
Hebrews 12:22-24 “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”
The writer of Hebrews is making his strong case
As to why the Hebrews SHOULD NOT CONCERN THEMSELVES
WITH BEING EXCOMMUNICATED from Jewish worship.
• So what if they have lost their access to the temple…
• So what if they have lost their access to the synagogue…
• So what if they have lost their access to the feasts and sacrifices…
All of those things are like trying to draw near to the old Mountain of Sinai
Which (as all Jews should have known) no one was able to effectively draw near to.
The writer of Hebrews told these that
They are drawing near to a different mountain; a heavenly one.
They draw near to the actual Mount Zion, where God lives.
• He calls it “the heavenly Jerusalem”
• It is the place were “myriads of angels” dwell.
• It is also the location of “the general assembly and church of the firstborn”
And then the writer says of the church “who are enrolled in heaven”
Isn’t that a great statement!
What a beautiful reality for the church to ponder
That we are those who have been “enrolled in heaven”
Kids today make a big to do about being ENROLLED IN COLLEGE,
Obviously we are dealing with something far greater here.
Paul makes reference to it in his letter to the Philippians.
Philippians 4:3 “Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”
• There are 2 women there who can’t get along and Paul askes Syzygos (whose
name meant “true companion”) to help these women get along.
• He tells him to get Clement to help and all of the fellow workers and then Paul
says, “whose names are in the book of life.”
That was Paul’s way of describing salvation.
They have been granted eternal life.
They have been written down as alive.
This is what we are talking about.
Those whom God has recorded as His children,
Heirs of His kingdom, recipients of His life.
But without a doubt, the book that likes this statement
More than any other is THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION.
Your first recollection to it is most likely in association with the final Day Of Judgment.
Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
If you had no other understanding of the phrase,
THAT PASSAGE ALONE would be enough to persuade you
To see the importance of having your name recorded in heaven.
It is the sole determining factor in whether or not men escape hell.
If your name has not been recorded in that book of life;
In that registry of heaven, you are consigned to judgment.
ON THE FLIP SIDE, not only do those
Whose name is recorded in the book escape judgement,
BUT THEY ALSO INHERIT THE KINGDOM.
Later when speaking about heaven:
Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Your name has to be recorded on the registry or you don’t get in.
For further clarification it is here referred to as “the Lamb’s book of life” which is even more enriching.
• Namely it is those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.
• They have clothed themselves in the righteousness of Christ.
• They are “in Christ” and Christ is “in them”
• They have become partakers of His crucifixion and partakers of His
resurrection.
• They are His bride, and have been given His name.
• And therefore they are welcomed into His city.
Having your name on that list is of the utmost importance.
It not only is your ticket to escaping the eternal judgment,
But also for entrance into the heavenly city.
AND I would tell you that this is an IRREVOCABLE reality.
Another reference to this book is found in:
Revelation 3:5 “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
It is sometimes humorous to me that people who actually argue against the security of salvation will use this verse as part of their argument.
And yet, read the verse.
Jesus specifically said “I will not erase his name from the book of life”
Nowhere does He say that He will.
I’m not even sure God owns and eraser.
Romans 11:29 “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
So not only are we talking about those
Who are His bride and who are purchased by Christ,
But we are talking about those whose names
ARE SECURELY RECORDED in that book.
And yet there is still more information given about this issue in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 13:8 “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”
Revelation 13 is not talking about worshiping Jesus,
It is referring to worshiping the Anti-Christ (the first beast).
• He is actually the “Jesus impersonator”
• He will deceive the world with his supposed resurrection from the dead after his mortal wound is healed.
• He will speak arrogant words and blasphemies and will dazzle the world with his miraculous power which he will get from Satan.
And the truth is that everyone will follow him.
“All who dwell on the earth will worship him”
His power will be too great,
And coupled with the fact that he’ll kill anyone who doesn’t worship him,
THE WHOLE WORLD WILL WORSHIP.
And let me tell you why worshiping him is so dangerous.
Revelation 14:9-11 “Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
If you worship him, you go to hell.
It’s that simple.
Yet we learned that everyone will worship him,
EXCEPT for one group.
“everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”
The only people who will not worship the Anti-Christ
Are those whose name has been written “in the book of life of the Lamb”
There is clearly a DIVINE PROTECTION that is working on their behalf.
You see it again later:
Revelation 17:8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.”
That is in reference to the Anti-Christ’s supposed death and resurrection.
He was and is not, and is about to come (death and resurrection)
And John says that the world will “wonder”, when they see that.
In fact, the only people that won’t be fooled by him
Are those whose name is written in the book of life.
So you see that there is a sort of divine protection at work on their behalf.
• They are protected from the deception of the enemy…
• They are protected from the destruction for all eternity…
• They are promised to be granted access into the gates of heaven…
It’s an important list!
BUT ALSO GLEANED THERE, especially in the passage in chapter 13
Revelation 13:8 “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”
There it is not just called “the book of life”,
Or even just “the Lamb’s book of life”.
It is referred to as “the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”
What we are talking about then is that
This is the list of people who have been atoned for
Through the death of Christ.
This is the book of the names of the people He died for.
On the cross, after bearing the eternal wrath of God, Jesus said:
John 19:30 “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
At that moment, He actually paid in full the sin debt of every single one of the names in that book.
• It is the book of the reward of His suffering.
• It is the book of His atonement.
• It is the book of His purchased bride.
He bought her He paid for her
This book is His “bill of sale” where her name is recorded.
But even in that passage there is A LITTLE MORE that is interesting.
Both in 13:8 and in 17:8 we read the same statement.
• (13:8) “written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”
• (17:8) “written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.”
Well that is certainly interesting.
This tells us WHEN our names were written there.
And this may go against the grain of conventional evangelical thinking for you.
We typically like to say it like this:
• That on the cross Jesus paid in full all the penalty for all the sins of everyone who ever lived.
• It’s just this blanket pardon, fully paid.
• And if you are willing to claim it, then claim it, and then He’ll write your name in that book too.
But that’s not what we read here.
We read that the names written in that book were written there
“from the foundation of the world”
We are talking about a people (a bride)
Whom God selected from the beginning.
• A people’s, yet to be born, whom God chose and wrote their names in heaven.
• And then, God sent His Son to pay the price of their redemption.
• He chose them, He recorded them, and then He purchased them.
• And not only that, but as we saw in Revelation, He then protected them from all the deceptions and threats of the evil one that they might remain His.
• He would not let them fall prey to the Anti-Christ.
• They are His, chosen, recorded, bought, paid for through the sacrifice of Christ, and protected church.
You want to hear some other places where these people are talked about?
John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Jesus plainly says that I came to do My Father’s will
In purchasing and keeping and raising all those whom He has chosen.
And incidentally, all those that He has given Me,
“I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”
Or:
John 10:14-16 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”
Jesus doesn’t speak there of some undisclosed group.
You don’t hear Him talking about how He hopes someone will come.
• No, He knows who are His.
• He came to die for those who are His.
• He is bringing all them, even some who are not of this fold (not Jewish)
And later in that same chapter:
John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
There it is again.
• “I know them”
• “I give eternal life to them”
• “no one will snatch them out of My hand”
Or later in His High Priestly prayer.
John 17:6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”
There it is, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world”
Even later in that prayer:
John 17:9 “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;”
That’s some distinction isn’t it!
I’m not talking about everyone here, only those whom You gave Me.
And the whole prayer is about how the Father will protect them.
John 17:11-12 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”
John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
And then of course, as we read earlier in John 19,
Jesus will then go and pay the price of their redemption.
Jesus will pay their penalty and will cancel out their debt
And will transfer them to the kingdom of light.
We are talking about those
Who at the very foundation of the world God chose,
And recorded their names in His registry,
And then sent His Son to pay the price of their forgiveness.
In Matthew’s gospel we read of the redeemed like this:
Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
So not only did God choose them and redeem them,
But the kingdom was even prepared for them.
It is really quite remarkable.
And all of this occurred from the FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
According to God’s sovereign prerogative.
Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”
Or as Paul says to the Romans:
Romans 8:29-30 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
Those whom God chose, (through the process of justification by Christ), end up in glory.
• They do not fall for the deceptions of the evil one…
• They are not condemned in the lake of fire…
• They are granted access into the heavenly city…
• They are securely written there.
I’ve always loved:
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
That’s a verse often quoted by those who wish to refute the doctrine of election,
But if you’ll apply a proper hermeneutic and read that verse in context you’ll see that the “anyone” Peter is referring to is not everyone in general, but rather “you” the elect.
And God is not willing to lose any of those He has chosen.
We saw that same thing in the “Parable of The Wheat and The Tares” where Jesus would not unleash judgment on the tares until all the wheat were safely gathered.
We are just seeing that those
Whom He has chosen and recorded and purchased;
THAT THEY ARE SECURE.
Can we agree then that having your name recorded on that list is a good thing?
Can we agree that…
• Having been chosen of God…
• Having been redeemed by the death of Christ…
• Having been protected from the evil one…
• Having been pardoned from judgment…
• Having been granted access into a heavenly city…
…is a reason for rejoicing?
• Do we rejoice when we go out and preach the gospel and see a sinner set free from the domain of darkness? Yes
• Do we rejoice when a person in affliction finds deliverance? Yes
• Do we rejoice in the fact that Satan’s dominion has been eternally broken? Yes
But what we rejoice most in is that all of these things happened for us.
Do you realize church? (those of you who have been redeemed)
• Do you realize that you are one of the chosen?
• Do you realize that your name was one written from the beginning?
• Do you realize that on the cross Christ was paying for your sin?
• Do you realize that you have been protected from the evil one?
And all this despite the fact that you lived for a time in utter rebellion against God.
• You weren’t born redeemed…
• You weren’t born holy…
• You were born in sin,
But the sovereign prerogative of God,
And the fact that He had already written your name in that book
Meant that He would stop at nothing to rescue you.
Ephesians 2:1-7 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
That is a reason to rejoice!
And this is what Jesus tells the 70 here.
In fact, we He COMMANDED them to do it.
And church, I don’t know a better way to celebrate this
Than by coming to the table of the Lord
And rejoicing in the price of our redemption.
So we’ll come to the table of the Lord, and as you do:
“rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
