WEBVTT 00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:05.259 I'm going to read scripture for us now, the passage that David is going to preach from, 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:13.400 ! which is Luke chapter 10, verses 17 to 24. If you've got a church Bible, it's on page 868. 00:00:13.740 --> 00:00:17.359 If you don't have a church Bible and you'd like one, they're just on the table at the back, so feel free 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:24.760 at any time to get up and grab one. So Luke chapter 10, verses 17 to 24. 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:34.660 This is a word of the Lord. The 72 returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us 00:00:34.660 --> 00:00:40.500 in your name. And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I've given you 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:46.600 authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:52.620 hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that 00:00:52.619 --> 00:00:58.719 your names are written in heaven. In that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:04.620 I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden these things from the wise and 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:10.519 understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 00:01:11.039 --> 00:01:17.219 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, 00:01:17.219 --> 00:01:23.120 or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:28.879 Then turning to the disciples, he said privately, blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:35.000 For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and did not see it, 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:43.000 and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. My name is David, not Derek, 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:50.439 and I'm one of the ministers here, and we're working our way through the section of Luke's gospel. 00:01:51.239 --> 00:02:01.420 We turn tonight to Luke chapter 10, verses 17 through 24. Some years ago now, I went on a mission trip 00:02:01.420 --> 00:02:09.900 to southern Malawi. It was quite the experience. I was certainly well pushed out of my comfort zone. 00:02:09.900 --> 00:02:15.760 Very different culture, very different culture, very different climate, very different churches, 00:02:16.819 --> 00:02:24.360 a very different way of life altogether. And perhaps one of the most striking features of the 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:33.980 trip that we made was this very stark contrast between the material poverty of the people and the 00:02:33.979 --> 00:02:42.699 richness of their faith and joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here were people who in one sense materially 00:02:42.699 --> 00:02:53.339 had nothing, and yet in another appeared to have everything spiritually. Despite their material 00:02:53.339 --> 00:03:03.000 circumstances, there was this remarkable, unmistakable note of joy and delight amongst God's people there. 00:03:03.979 --> 00:03:11.780 I think over past years, a number of different social commentators have commented and noted that 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:20.339 here in the West, we seem to be living in an increasingly joyless culture for all our great material wealth, 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:29.419 unrestricted freedom and choice, expressive individualism, pursuit of pleasure. And yet, strangely, 00:03:29.419 --> 00:03:37.399 all these things appear to have left many people deeply unhappy and unsatisfied. There is, I think, 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:43.699 an emptiness, a hollowness at the heart of our culture. And yes, I'm not saying that people don't enjoy 00:03:43.699 --> 00:03:50.179 themselves. There isn't joy and pleasure to be had. Indeed, it's sought in all manner of different 00:03:50.180 --> 00:04:00.120 pursuits. But what is pursued is often a kind of joy that never lasts. Tonight, as some of you will know, 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:05.640 is Burns Night, so I've got a quote from Rabbie Burns. Don't often do that, but here it is. 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:16.139 But pleasures are like poppies spread. You seize the flower, the bloom is shed. Or like the snow falls 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:27.659 in the river, a moment white then melts forever. The notion that lasting, enduring, fulfillment, and joy 00:04:27.660 --> 00:04:37.040 can be found in our me-centered lives has proved to be a moral and spiritual dead end. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:47.560 We live in a culture that has rejected the faith of our Christian forebears and has abandoned the very 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:57.300 thing that can give our lives real meaning and joy. For the bold and, I would say, audacious claim of the 00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:06.900 Christian faith is that there is only one source of true and lasting joy. It's not to be found within us, 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:18.500 but without. It is to be found only in God, in Christ, and in tethering our lives to Him. Christian 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:28.779 discipleship is the way of joy in a joyless culture. That shouldn't really surprise us, 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:35.519 because on any reading of the Bible, you can't help but notice the number of references that there are 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:41.480 all through the Scriptures to delight and joy and exultation and rejoicing. 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:49.580 Shout to the Lord, all the earth, says the psalmist. Paul, the great apostle, rejoice in the Lord always. 00:05:49.780 --> 00:05:57.819 I'll say it again, rejoice. Biblical faith is consistently presented in Scripture as something 00:05:57.819 --> 00:06:06.500 joyful. One of the great themes, actually, of Luke's gospel, often referred to as the gospel of joy. 00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:12.399 I was going to go through a number of references here, but that would keep you here far too long. 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:24.180 In thinking about joy, an important thing to remember is that we're not considering it simply 00:06:24.180 --> 00:06:31.240 as an emotion. Joy is an emotion, of course, but it's not simply an emotion. Emotions are often rooted 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:38.420 in our circumstances. They're frequently fleeting and superficial. They don't last. They come and they 00:06:38.420 --> 00:06:45.439 go. We're happy or sad. We're up, we're down. There's lots that we enjoy in this life, but that 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:54.519 sense of joy doesn't last, doesn't endure. When we're thinking about joy, we're viewing it more in terms of 00:06:54.519 --> 00:07:04.180 an affection. Affections, in the words of Jonathan Edwards, strong inclinations of the soul that are 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:11.159 manifested in thinking, feeling, and acting. Our affections are much deeper rooted in the mind and 00:07:11.159 --> 00:07:18.759 the heart and will than our emotions. So, when we're speaking, often speaking about joy, we're not 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:25.599 speaking about our circumstances or whether things are going well, good or bad, things going on in our 00:07:25.599 --> 00:07:32.899 lives. We're speaking about a deep-seated sense of joy and satisfaction and delight that inhabits and 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:42.740 overflows from the heart of the believer despite circumstances. A habitual sense of joy. Joy with a 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:52.060 capital J, real joy. Corey was speaking last week in the morning service about that verse in James, 00:07:52.180 --> 00:07:59.519 one verse, to count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds. And it's the theme, I think, of joy, 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:07.319 real joy that dominates the verses before us this evening. Challenging, searching words that ask us to 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:14.139 reflect on just where we are looking for joy. Are we traveling the way of discipleship? Are we really 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:21.360 traveling the way of joy? I want to look at the text this evening under three heads, the first of which 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:30.079 we'll call the joy of discipleship, the real joy of discipleship from verses 17 through 20. The 72 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:37.159 return with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. He said to them, 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:43.399 I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I've given you authority to tread on serpents and 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:49.839 scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice 00:08:49.839 --> 00:08:57.299 in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. 00:08:57.299 --> 00:09:04.740 So, the context here, you will recall, is the conclusion of the mission of the 72 that Chris 00:09:04.740 --> 00:09:11.599 looked at last week. These men had been sent out to proclaim the arrival of God's kingdom, to prepare 00:09:11.599 --> 00:09:19.919 the way for Jesus. This mission proved a great success, and they returned to Jesus full of joy. 00:09:20.579 --> 00:09:26.059 They're excited. You know, if they're being interviewed in footballers' parlance, they were buzzing, 00:09:26.059 --> 00:09:32.019 you know, that things had gone so well. They'd embarked on this mission, perhaps with more than a 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:38.099 little trepidation, and now on returning, they are over the moon. They are astounded. Even the demons 00:09:38.099 --> 00:09:46.059 have been subject to them in Jesus' name. And notice how Jesus responds to all this excitement and joy. 00:09:46.500 --> 00:09:51.619 He speaks to His disciples. He seeks to encourage them. He tells them that He has seen 00:09:51.620 --> 00:10:01.440 Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Verse 18. Nobody actually really can tell you what that 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:07.259 verse actually means, and I'm not going to try tonight. But I think what He… He wants them to 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:15.899 understand that this trainee mission that they've been embarking on is a sign of the overthrow of Satan, 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:23.199 a reminder to us that the mission of the church in proclaiming the gospel is to herald the overthrow 00:10:23.199 --> 00:10:31.139 of the powers of darkness in this world. And Jesus tells them that they will witness yet more astonishing 00:10:31.139 --> 00:10:37.480 things than these. This is just the beginning, He says. A spiritual battle, conflict lies ahead of them. 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:44.659 I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:52.560 yet nothing shall hurt you. For all his power and guile, Satan will be bound and overthrown. 00:10:54.320 --> 00:11:01.940 And then Jesus adds these telling words. Do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you. 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:09.820 Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. So, what is Jesus driving at here? What does He mean? 00:11:09.900 --> 00:11:19.320 What is He teaching His disciples? There's a very famous story told about Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:25.900 one of the most influential preachers of the 20th century. And at the end of his life, 00:11:25.899 --> 00:11:34.399 he was dying of cancer. And one of his friends and former associates who was with him asked him, 00:11:34.459 --> 00:11:41.939 in effect, this, how are you managing to bear up? You've been accustomed to preaching several times a 00:11:41.939 --> 00:11:49.220 week. You've begun important Christian enterprises. Your influence has been extended across the world 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:56.480 through books and tapes. Now you've been put on the shelf. You're reduced to sitting quietly, 00:11:56.820 --> 00:12:04.240 sometimes managing a little editing. I'm not so much asking how you're coping with the disease itself. 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:13.800 How are you coping with the stress of being out of things? And Lloyd-Jones responded 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:18.179 by quoting these very words of Luke 10 20, 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:25.679 Rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rejoice rather because your names are written 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:36.699 in heaven. Why did he do that? Because he was telling his colleague that he is not tying, 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:44.620 he wasn't tying his sense of joy, well-being, identity to power or influence in ministry. 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:51.040 Because that influence in ministry was being taken from him, had been taken from him. 00:12:52.379 --> 00:13:00.420 Don't tie your joy to something that will fade and pass away. It's always a mistake to try and 00:13:00.419 --> 00:13:10.139 tie our sense of joy and identity and meaning to human success, to rejoice only in our achievements, 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:16.799 our talent, our gifts, our abilities, even our ministry successes. Because these things will not 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:27.059 last forever. They are temporal. So, what are you tying your sense of joy to? Your money, your business, 00:13:27.059 --> 00:13:33.579 your family, your body, your appearance, your academic achievements, your ministry. 00:13:35.139 --> 00:13:41.899 In the end, they will all let you down. They will all falter and fail. They are, 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:51.559 in one sense, idols that will come crashing down. There's a story told of an old lumberjack who was 00:13:51.559 --> 00:14:02.199 instructed to remove a copse of trees, and off he went with his axe. And he noticed that in one of 00:14:02.199 --> 00:14:10.819 the trees, a bird trying to nest there, make its home there. And he didn't want to damage the bird, 00:14:10.819 --> 00:14:17.459 so he kind of whacked the tree with his axe and shook the tree, and the bird would move on to another 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:21.360 tree, and he would chop that one down. And eventually, the bird would move to another tree, and they'd 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:28.180 chop that one down. And so were not. The same thing happened again and again and again. He kept moving 00:14:28.180 --> 00:14:40.120 the bird on until it eventually found a safe place on a rocky ledge. And friends, we need to understand 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:49.860 that every tree is coming down. Family, friends, health, job, hobbies, home, car, every tree in the forest 00:14:49.860 --> 00:15:01.000 is going to fall. And we need to find safety and security in the rock. We must find our joy there. 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:07.539 We sometimes sing, rock of ages, cleft for me. Let me find myself in thee. 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:14.919 And Jesus is telling his disciples here and us that we must tie our sense of joy, identity, 00:15:15.099 --> 00:15:22.679 and purpose to the gospel. We're not to rejoice in the idol of success, or indeed any other idol for 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:29.240 that matter. We're to rejoice in what God has done for us in the gospel. We are to rejoice in the grace 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:35.779 of God. We're to rejoice for the best of reasons, that our sins have been forgiven, that by God's gracious 00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:44.000 initiative. Our names, our very names have been written in heaven. We are to be constantly framing 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:52.360 our lives with the hope of the gospel. Whatever our immediate circumstances may be, one day they are 00:15:52.360 --> 00:16:01.120 going to be swallowed up by our ultimate circumstance, that through Jesus Christ we belong to God forever. 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:09.879 And nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We need to prepare 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:17.600 for the time when our gifts and abilities and successes will be as nothing. They will be taken 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:26.840 from us. And that's an important lesson to learn, especially as we grow older. Our ultimate sense of joy in 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:34.600 this life is not to be rooted in our usefulness, our achievements, our ministry successes, no matter 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:42.660 even how spiritual those things are. Our sense of joy is to be found in Christ and that our names are 00:16:42.660 --> 00:16:51.400 written in heaven. God has written them there. Nothing can erase your name from the book of life because it 00:16:51.399 --> 00:17:00.000 is written indelibly in the blood of Jesus Christ. And so, the joy of the disciple is to be found in 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:07.339 Jesus and in the salvation that is ours in Him. So, let me ask you tonight, are you rejoicing in the gospel? 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:15.839 And the good news that tonight, if you're a believer, your very name is written in heaven. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:23.500 We sometimes sing those words, don't we? My name is graven on His hands. My name is written on His heart. 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:34.019 I know that while in heaven He stands, no tongue can bid me thence depart. The joy of discipleship. 00:17:35.459 --> 00:17:45.720 And then secondly here, we'll call it the joy of Jesus. The verses that follow from verse 21, 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:55.220 through to verse 22. They're amongst the most striking in Luke's gospel. It's the only time 00:17:55.220 --> 00:18:05.799 in the gospels where we read of Jesus rejoicing. In that same hour, He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit. 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:14.720 One commentator calls it the most exultant description of Jesus in all of Scripture. And the word rejoiced, 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:22.700 there is a kind of muted, somewhat colorless translation of a Greek word, Moffat. It translates 00:18:22.700 --> 00:18:30.900 it, thrilled with joy. B.B. Warfield comments, the word is a strong one, conveys the idea of exuberant 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:36.400 gladness, a gladness which fills the heart. It's a word that communicates a fullness of joy. 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:44.660 In other words, here is Jesus literally bursting with joy in the Holy Spirit. It is a cry of joy 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:51.259 on the lips of Jesus. In that same hour, He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 00:18:51.360 --> 00:19:01.540 I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. When I was a child, we used to drink something called 00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:08.519 Cremola foam. And if you're of a certain age and generation in Scotland, you will know what 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:16.399 Cremola foam was like. It came in a little tin. It contained colored crystals of various flavors. 00:19:17.299 --> 00:19:23.059 And the crystals were dissolved in water, and they created a sweet fizzy drink. When you added 00:19:23.059 --> 00:19:29.559 the water to the crystals, they would fizz and foam, and then they would kind of overflow the glass. 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:38.679 And Jesus' joy here appears to be like the Cremola foam of my childhood, an exuberant outburst of joy 00:19:38.679 --> 00:19:44.379 that bubbles and overflows with a spirit of thanksgiving and worship and delight. It just 00:19:44.379 --> 00:19:52.559 can't be contained. And what is it that brings Jesus such joy? What is the cause of this exuberant 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:59.000 cry of delight? Well, as I said, this is an unusual passage in the Gospels. In fact, 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:04.839 in Luke's Gospel, it's actually more reminiscent, isn't it, of John's Gospel. It takes us into that 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:11.200 relationship between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It's profoundly and explicitly 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:19.579 Trinitarian. Jesus the Son rejoices in God the Father and in God the Holy Spirit. The joy of Jesus 00:20:19.579 --> 00:20:26.420 is a joy that takes place in the very heart of God. Father, Son, and Spirit is relational. It's God-centered. 00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:33.600 Spirit. Jesus is enjoying and taking delight in the Father and the Spirit. Here is the joy and delight 00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:44.200 that God has in Himself that radiates from the very being of God. Not an emotion as such, but a reflection 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:53.319 of God's perfect self-sustaining fellowship. And Jesus rejoices in the Spirit, and He gives thanks to the 00:20:53.319 --> 00:21:03.640 Father. And as He delights in God as His Father, as a man, so that should be true also for us as His 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:13.600 followers. The Son brings us knowledge of the Father, and that's a relationship that we are to enjoy. 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:21.700 The catechism puts it, doesn't it? Man's chief end to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The psalmist 00:21:21.700 --> 00:21:27.580 says, in your presence is fullness of joy, and your right hand pleasures forevermore. 00:21:29.340 --> 00:21:32.960 The great British American theologian Jonathan Edwards once wrote these words, 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:41.720 God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of Him is our proper end, and is the 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:50.200 only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven fully to enjoy God is infinitely better 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:57.460 than the most pleasant accommodations here. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, 00:21:57.460 --> 00:22:06.079 or the company of any, or all earthly friends. These are but shadows. But the enjoyment of God is the 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:14.920 substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:23.380 These are but drops, but God is the ocean. And Jesus the Son delights Himself in the Spirit, and He goes on 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:30.400 to express His thanks to the Father for this great work of salvation that is being accomplished through 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:36.920 His ministry, through His life and death and resurrection. I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. 00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:42.960 You've hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children. 00:22:44.540 --> 00:22:49.840 Father, yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will. All things have been handed over 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:56.919 to me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, 00:22:57.659 --> 00:23:03.859 and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. And that's how Jesus refers to the Father here as 00:23:03.859 --> 00:23:11.019 Lord of heaven and earth, a reference, of course, to His power, His omnipotence. And in this work of 00:23:11.019 --> 00:23:18.539 salvation for those who have rejected His glory and turned away from Him, we're told that He gives 00:23:18.539 --> 00:23:27.119 insight to the humble, not the proud. He is sovereign in whom He gives salvation to. He reveals the truth 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:39.680 to His people. And Jesus here rejoices in this great truth. To some, His salvation remains hidden and 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:48.740 obscured. Because it's not a matter of education or intellect. It's hidden from those who are wise in 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:56.060 their own eyes. It cannot be seen by those who stand on their pride and refuse to humble themselves. 00:23:57.340 --> 00:24:05.220 It's obscured for those whose vision is captivated instead by idols. It's revealed to those who are 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:10.799 willing to become like little children, those who have been humbled under the mighty hand of God, 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:18.500 those who come to trust and rely on God rather than themselves, those who despair of themselves 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:23.519 and accept His salvation as a free gift of His grace. 00:24:26.180 --> 00:24:29.039 Notice how Jesus speaks here about that revelation. 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:37.220 Revelation. I think generally speaking, theologians talk about two kinds of revelation. They talk about 00:24:37.220 --> 00:24:44.559 general revelation, a knowledge of God that is available to everyone. That's the revelation of 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:51.740 God that we have in creation, maybe in conscience, and that moral sensibility that is built into our 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:58.559 humanity. But of course, men and women have rejected that revelation of God. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:01.700 People would rather worship anything rather than their Creator. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:05.519 The truth of God has been exchanged for a lie. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:14.180 And that being the case, we might well ask, how can anyone know God? 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:20.519 And that's why theologians speak about another kind of revelation, special revelation. 00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:28.200 And in that, God directly illuminates the hearts and minds of His people through the work of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:37.599 God shines His gospel light into dark hearts and minds. He opens the eyes of the blind so they can see. 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:44.700 He does for us what we could not do for ourselves. And this is what Jesus rejoices in, 00:25:45.139 --> 00:25:53.639 this great divine work of revelation and salvation. Remember how Paul, when he writes to the church in 00:25:53.640 --> 00:26:00.500 Corinth, he says, and towards the end of chapter 1 of that letter, 1 Corinthians, 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:05.560 consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:12.680 not many powerful, not many of noble birth. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 00:26:12.840 --> 00:26:18.940 He chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. He chose what is low and despised in the world, 00:26:18.940 --> 00:26:27.720 even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:35.620 presence of God. And I think that's the point here. God reveals Himself to those who know they're 00:26:35.620 --> 00:26:44.460 nothing, to those who are considered weak and lowly and foolish. He saves and rescues little children. 00:26:44.460 --> 00:26:51.940 And if we want to enjoy God and enjoy the salvation that He offers, we too must become like little 00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:58.539 children. And Jesus said that, didn't He? Except you become like little children, you will not enter the 00:26:58.539 --> 00:27:06.519 kingdom of God. And of course, this cuts across every instinct of our hearts, because we want to be 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:16.000 thought clever. And we want to be respectable. And Jesus says, no, the kingdom doesn't come to the 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:23.180 self-sufficient. It comes to the self-emptied. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father. 00:27:24.119 --> 00:27:29.940 No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom 00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:39.000 the Son chooses to reveal Him. The Father's sovereignty, God's sovereignty and salvation 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:48.640 is tied to the Son. All things relating to this work of salvation have been given over into His hands. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:55.600 The Father and Son share authority. Jesus speaks with the authority of the Father. There is no sense of 00:27:55.599 --> 00:28:02.779 Jesus the Son being inferior to the Father. He is equal to the Father. He is one with the Father. He is the 00:28:02.779 --> 00:28:11.519 one in whom all the fullness of God has been pleased to dwell. And to deal with God, one must deal with 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:18.619 Jesus. He is the Word made flesh. He is the image of the invisible God. He is the mediator of this great 00:28:18.619 --> 00:28:28.579 salvation. He alone is our true source of knowledge about God, because God was in Christ, reconciling 00:28:28.579 --> 00:28:37.779 the world to Himself. A saving knowledge of God comes only through Jesus. We don't find it anywhere else 00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:47.579 except in the Son. And the joy of Jesus is found in His relationship with the Father and with the Spirit. 00:28:47.579 --> 00:28:55.319 It's linked to this great plan of salvation that is unfolding all across the world as He redeems and 00:28:55.319 --> 00:29:05.679 purchases a people for Himself. And so, this is why there is rejoicing in heaven over every sinner who repents. 00:29:07.419 --> 00:29:17.319 The joy of discipleship. The joy of Jesus. Thirdly, finally, quickly here, we'll call the last two verses here, 00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:23.679 the joy of the kingdom. Turning to the disciples, He said privately, blessed are the eyes that see what 00:29:23.679 --> 00:29:29.899 you see. I tell you, many prophets, kings desire to see what you see, did not see it, hear what you hear, 00:29:29.939 --> 00:29:36.659 and did not hear it. I think there is a hint of joy here in these verses as Jesus turns to His disciples 00:29:36.660 --> 00:29:46.460 privately and blesses them. They should feel happy, honored, because they are seeing things that all the 00:29:46.460 --> 00:29:54.600 prophets and priests and kings of the Old Testament long to see. They are seeing God's kingdom. They are 00:29:54.600 --> 00:30:03.560 witnessing with their own eyes God's promised King and His mighty works. The whole revelation of the 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:14.419 Old Testament converges upon Jesus Christ. It doesn't converge on a new law or doctrine or another 00:30:14.419 --> 00:30:25.359 institution. It all focuses in on the person of Jesus Christ. And what Jesus is now doing here in Luke's 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:33.339 gospel is the great hope and anticipation of the entire Old Testament. All the Old Testament saints long to see it. 00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:41.299 And Jesus' disciples are blessed to be part of this new work of God instituted by Jesus. They're part of 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:47.399 this coming kingdom. And they're blessed in a way in which the Old Testament believers were not. 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:53.639 Sometimes the disciples were all kind of guilty of looking back to the Old Testament greats, Elijah, 00:30:53.639 --> 00:31:02.000 Moses, so forth. And Jesus says, no, this is about me. Seeing Jesus, seeing the King is the joy of the 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:11.140 kingdom. Coming into a relationship with God's Son, God's Messiah, is the great blessing of the kingdom. 00:31:12.339 --> 00:31:21.180 And entering the kingdom, seeing the King becoming a Christian is always a matter of joy. It is to know 00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:28.200 the forgiveness of sins. It is to delight in God. It is to discover He is our greatest joy. He is the 00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:41.840 one who fulfills all that we long for. Beware forms of Christianity that have been distorted into something 00:31:41.840 --> 00:31:45.539 moralistic and utterly joyless. 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:50.720 C.S. Lewis wrote, 00:31:50.720 --> 00:32:20.519 Let me ask you tonight, what brings you joy? 00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:30.700 What brings you the greatest and deepest happiness? That is our God. And when we put it that way, 00:32:31.299 --> 00:32:39.700 idolatry and false worship are soon exposed. Friends, the joy of Jesus can be ours. The joy of 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:47.720 knowing God can be ours. The joy of forgiveness and salvation can be ours. It can all be ours. 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:56.980 How? By trying hard. By becoming religious. By being a good moral person. By turning over a new leaf. No, 00:32:57.039 --> 00:33:04.319 no, no, no, no. It's not a new leaf we need. It's a new root. It is a new birth. We need Jesus Christ to 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:10.339 come and live inside us by the power of His Holy Spirit. We need to believe in Him. We need to trust in 00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:17.019 Him. We need to cast ourselves on Him. We need to welcome Him into our lives that we might become 00:33:17.019 --> 00:33:27.740 children of God. And that's a gift that we can only receive with empty hands and by faith alone. 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:34.779 John says in his gospel, yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the 00:33:34.779 --> 00:33:42.019 right to become children of God. Jesus said, except you become like a little child, you cannot enter the 00:33:42.019 --> 00:33:52.359 kingdom of God. That's when you put your trust in Jesus Christ, you become not just a child of God, 00:33:52.359 --> 00:34:01.539 you become a disciple, following Jesus on the way of joy. Let's pray together. 00:34:06.539 --> 00:34:17.759 Father, we thank You that the gospel is not simply information for our minds. It is rather You, 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:26.860 You, Yourself, making Yourself known to us in the person of the Son. We thank You that to know Jesus 00:34:26.860 --> 00:34:36.140 is to know You, and to know You is eternal life. We pray tonight that the same Spirit, in whom Jesus 00:34:36.140 --> 00:34:44.580 rejoiced, may move upon us in power that we might behold something of the glory of Jesus Christ 00:34:44.579 --> 00:34:51.759 and experience the love of You, our Heavenly Father. May You set us together 00:34:51.759 --> 00:35:01.380 once again, or perhaps even for the first time, on the path of discipleship and the way of joy. 00:35:01.900 --> 00:35:03.960 We pray this in His name. Amen.