I. Introduction
A. New Years sermon: we are back to 2Corinthians next week, though we’ll be making small detours about once a month.
B. Luke 10:17–20 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
II. Explanation
A. Demons = fallen angels: much greater than us: in power, in knowledge, in cleverness
1. Earlier Jesus gave His disciples the power to cast demons out of those who had been inhabited by them – Luke 9:1–2 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
2. In ourselves, we don’t stand a chance against a demon, so the ability to cast out demons is quite a power to be given. It is far greater than the ability God gave David to conquer Goliath.
B. Names written in heaven
1. God knows everything. He even knows each sparrow, spider and snake. He certainly knows each person. He even knows every single hair on every single head of every individual person.
2. But even though all people are equally known by God, equally made in His image, and even though all people are equally in sin and in deserving God’s wrath, there is a sense in which all people are not equal in the mind of God. Some people are destined for salvation and some are not.
a. It is this first group, those who are destined for salvation, which Jesus has in mind in Luke 10:20 when He refers to those whose “names are written in heaven.”
b. There is a sense in which all men are the objects of the love of God, but there is another sense in which those people destined for salvation are the special objects of His love, not because of anything they have done, not because they are somehow better than the others, but because of what Christ has done, because of God’s grace in Christ. This is the gospel.
3. At Christmas time, whether we like it or not, we hear many songs about Santa Claus. “He’s making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.” That’s sort of the way we naturally think. Nice people get rewarded, naughty people don’t.
a. The problem with this kind of thinking is that actually there aren’t any truly good people. ALL people are sinful and corrupt, even the ones who don’t LOOK bad on the outside. “All have turned aside; together they have become unworthy; no one does good, not even one.” Rom.3:12
b. So, no one can be saved by human performance. BUT, now through Christ a way of salvation has been revealed apart from human performance! It is a salvation through Christ’s obedience, through His atoning death on the cross, and it comes to us as a free gift of grace. (Rom.3:10-26)
c. And the names of those who obtain salvation through Christ are said to be written in heaven.
III. There are a number of lessons we can learn from this interaction of Jesus with His disciples.
A. This passage implies assurance of salvation and perseverance of the saints.
1. How can your ultimate source of joy be the fact that your name is written in heaven if you’re not sure your name is written in heaven?
2. How can your ultimate source of joy be the fact that your name is written in heaven if you’re not sure your name will be written in heaven when it counts: namely on the last day?
B. This passage suggests why God it is that allows His people to fail and to suffer.
1. If it was easy for the disciples to misplace their happiness when they had one short season of success, imagine how hard it would be for all of us to misplace our happiness if our lives were one long series of successes.
2. You see, success can easily cause us to stumble.
3. God could give us happiness with the snap of a finger, if He deemed it good. He could take away our problems & grant us repeated success, and we’d be happy. But He doesn’t, not in this life.
a. The reason our problems exist is not because He is not strong enough to remove them, nor because He doesn’t care enough about us. Our problems exist solely because He loves us and is therefore determined to do what is best for us, and in His perfect wisdom and knowledge has called forth our problems to serve our best interests.
IV. But the main lesson here has to do with the proper location of our greatest joy.
A. In 1Thes.4:13 Paul says that Christians shouldn’t grieve when loved ones die in the same way that non-believers do. We still grieve, of course, but not like the world.
1. Why? Because we have hope, because we have the promise of eternal life. So, though we miss our loved ones and feel our loss, our grief is tempered by a bigger reality.
2. Well, we don’t grieve like the world, but we also don’t rejoice like the world.
3. Happy things happen to us, just like non-believers. But just as our grief is tempered by a bigger reality, so our joy must be tempered by a bigger reality.
4. That’s what Jesus is saying when He says, “Do not rejoice that evil spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
B. Story: Man coming out of oncologist appointment: Nothing has changed!
C. Remembering the greater realities is the key to not being governed by our circumstances.
D. The privilege of having our names written in the book of life is so great that it far outshines the greatest pleasures and the greatest sorrows this world can afford.
E. Everything else is second.
1. That’s why when good or bad things happen we need to ask ourselves: What is the big thing?
2. The thing we must always remember is that God’s grace for us in Christ is always the big thing.
3. It is bigger than our biggest foe. It is bigger than our biggest disappointment. It is bigger than our biggest success!
4. So, whatever we’re looking at, whatever we’re facing, whatever we’re experiencing, it’s not a big deal compared to having our names written in the book of life.
F. Notice that Jesus doesn’t trivialize secondary things: “He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.’”
1. He acknowledges the significance of their experience. He rejoices with them in their success over demons.
2. But He then goes on to remind them that however significant this experience has been, there is something more important, more significant, more magnificent.
G. This is so different from the way the world thinks. The world says, What do we have but our lives? We have but one life to live. And we’re tempted to have the same attitude.
1. But to His people Christ says NO! You have something bigger than your life. You have Me. You have My love for you. My lovingkindness is better than life! (Ps.63:3)
2. And when we grasp what a Treasure Christ is, we say, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil.1:21)
3. And we’re ready not only to discount our worst failures and hardest trials. We are ready to discount our greatest successes and our most prized achievements.
H. This has special relevance for those who, like the disciples, are involved in ministry.
1. It’s very easy to gain our joy and identity from ministry success instead of from the gospel.
2. Our joy should not be in the work God does through us, but in the work God does for us.
3. Church history is the story of ebbs and flows of kingdom growth. In God’s providence, sometimes the gospel advances and it is so exciting!
4. While I was in college I worked in youth ministry. In my junior year, when I was working with ninth graders, revival broke out. Kids were becoming Christians left and right, a number of them from prominent Washington DC families. That was really fun. Then, in my senior year, I worked with the college ministry, and then after graduation I got hired by the church to work with the junior high again. I expected to pick up where I left off. But in spite of all my efforts, nothing much happened. Little did I know that the original revival was not a result of my impressive ministry talents after all.
5. Unfortunately, I’ve had to learn the lesson again and again. Twenty years ago when there were 350 people in our church and we no longer could fit in this room, I was feeling pretty good about myself. And boy was it easy to put my joy – and my identity – in ministry success. And boy was it easy to look at those who weren’t being as successful and think they were second rate. I see now that I desperately needed to be pruned.
6. It’s not wrong to be saddened by setbacks in the growth of Christ’s kingdom. It’s not wrong to rejoice over kingdom successes. However, HOWEVER, these things are always secondary. And our emotional life must always be stabilized by the biggest and most important reality: on account of Christ our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
V. Conclusion
A. None of us know what’s going to happen in 2019.
1. However, it is extremely likely that if God allows us to make it to 2019, we will experience both successes and failures, both triumphs and defeats.
2. We need to recognize the potential of either to get us off track.
a. Many are aware of the fact that losses and failures and tragedies can throw us for a loop.
b. But though we see it in others, and though we know the concept of success going to somebody’s head, often we don’t realize that we are susceptible to dangerous temptations when blessings and successes come their way. It’s so easy to rejoice in – and put our identity in – the wrong thing.
B. Setbacks and accomplishments must be tempered by the truth of what God has done for us in Christ.
1. In other words, we need to keep the big picture in mind.
2. The big picture is that though there is a cosmic struggle going on, God has us in His hands and nothing can separate us from His love, and no one can snatch us from his hand.
3. We can put our absolute trust in His promises of salvation, in His promises of deliverance, in His promises of glory, in His promises of victory, in His promises of seeing Him face to face and dwelling with Him for all eternity.
4. “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever.” – Martin Luther
VI. How do you know if your name is written in the Book of Life? The Bible says several things:
A. The Bible speaks about this, I think clearly, but it doesn’t speak about it very much. It’s as if it expects that the rule will be that folks will know. The exception is when someone doesn’t know.
B. There are times when truly saved people are insecure about their salvation (e.g. 1John 3:19–20).
C. There are people who are confident they are saved who in fact are not (Matt.7:21-23; 25:11-12).
D. This is discussed in 1John more than any other place in the Bible, so if you want more on this subject, that’s the place to begin.
A. New Years sermon: we are back to 2Corinthians next week, though we’ll be making small detours about once a month.
B. Luke 10:17–20 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
II. Explanation
A. Demons = fallen angels: much greater than us: in power, in knowledge, in cleverness
1. Earlier Jesus gave His disciples the power to cast demons out of those who had been inhabited by them – Luke 9:1–2 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
2. In ourselves, we don’t stand a chance against a demon, so the ability to cast out demons is quite a power to be given. It is far greater than the ability God gave David to conquer Goliath.
B. Names written in heaven
1. God knows everything. He even knows each sparrow, spider and snake. He certainly knows each person. He even knows every single hair on every single head of every individual person.
2. But even though all people are equally known by God, equally made in His image, and even though all people are equally in sin and in deserving God’s wrath, there is a sense in which all people are not equal in the mind of God. Some people are destined for salvation and some are not.
a. It is this first group, those who are destined for salvation, which Jesus has in mind in Luke 10:20 when He refers to those whose “names are written in heaven.”
b. There is a sense in which all men are the objects of the love of God, but there is another sense in which those people destined for salvation are the special objects of His love, not because of anything they have done, not because they are somehow better than the others, but because of what Christ has done, because of God’s grace in Christ. This is the gospel.
3. At Christmas time, whether we like it or not, we hear many songs about Santa Claus. “He’s making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.” That’s sort of the way we naturally think. Nice people get rewarded, naughty people don’t.
a. The problem with this kind of thinking is that actually there aren’t any truly good people. ALL people are sinful and corrupt, even the ones who don’t LOOK bad on the outside. “All have turned aside; together they have become unworthy; no one does good, not even one.” Rom.3:12
b. So, no one can be saved by human performance. BUT, now through Christ a way of salvation has been revealed apart from human performance! It is a salvation through Christ’s obedience, through His atoning death on the cross, and it comes to us as a free gift of grace. (Rom.3:10-26)
c. And the names of those who obtain salvation through Christ are said to be written in heaven.
III. There are a number of lessons we can learn from this interaction of Jesus with His disciples.
A. This passage implies assurance of salvation and perseverance of the saints.
1. How can your ultimate source of joy be the fact that your name is written in heaven if you’re not sure your name is written in heaven?
2. How can your ultimate source of joy be the fact that your name is written in heaven if you’re not sure your name will be written in heaven when it counts: namely on the last day?
B. This passage suggests why God it is that allows His people to fail and to suffer.
1. If it was easy for the disciples to misplace their happiness when they had one short season of success, imagine how hard it would be for all of us to misplace our happiness if our lives were one long series of successes.
2. You see, success can easily cause us to stumble.
3. God could give us happiness with the snap of a finger, if He deemed it good. He could take away our problems & grant us repeated success, and we’d be happy. But He doesn’t, not in this life.
a. The reason our problems exist is not because He is not strong enough to remove them, nor because He doesn’t care enough about us. Our problems exist solely because He loves us and is therefore determined to do what is best for us, and in His perfect wisdom and knowledge has called forth our problems to serve our best interests.
IV. But the main lesson here has to do with the proper location of our greatest joy.
A. In 1Thes.4:13 Paul says that Christians shouldn’t grieve when loved ones die in the same way that non-believers do. We still grieve, of course, but not like the world.
1. Why? Because we have hope, because we have the promise of eternal life. So, though we miss our loved ones and feel our loss, our grief is tempered by a bigger reality.
2. Well, we don’t grieve like the world, but we also don’t rejoice like the world.
3. Happy things happen to us, just like non-believers. But just as our grief is tempered by a bigger reality, so our joy must be tempered by a bigger reality.
4. That’s what Jesus is saying when He says, “Do not rejoice that evil spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
B. Story: Man coming out of oncologist appointment: Nothing has changed!
C. Remembering the greater realities is the key to not being governed by our circumstances.
D. The privilege of having our names written in the book of life is so great that it far outshines the greatest pleasures and the greatest sorrows this world can afford.
E. Everything else is second.
1. That’s why when good or bad things happen we need to ask ourselves: What is the big thing?
2. The thing we must always remember is that God’s grace for us in Christ is always the big thing.
3. It is bigger than our biggest foe. It is bigger than our biggest disappointment. It is bigger than our biggest success!
4. So, whatever we’re looking at, whatever we’re facing, whatever we’re experiencing, it’s not a big deal compared to having our names written in the book of life.
F. Notice that Jesus doesn’t trivialize secondary things: “He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.’”
1. He acknowledges the significance of their experience. He rejoices with them in their success over demons.
2. But He then goes on to remind them that however significant this experience has been, there is something more important, more significant, more magnificent.
G. This is so different from the way the world thinks. The world says, What do we have but our lives? We have but one life to live. And we’re tempted to have the same attitude.
1. But to His people Christ says NO! You have something bigger than your life. You have Me. You have My love for you. My lovingkindness is better than life! (Ps.63:3)
2. And when we grasp what a Treasure Christ is, we say, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil.1:21)
3. And we’re ready not only to discount our worst failures and hardest trials. We are ready to discount our greatest successes and our most prized achievements.
H. This has special relevance for those who, like the disciples, are involved in ministry.
1. It’s very easy to gain our joy and identity from ministry success instead of from the gospel.
2. Our joy should not be in the work God does through us, but in the work God does for us.
3. Church history is the story of ebbs and flows of kingdom growth. In God’s providence, sometimes the gospel advances and it is so exciting!
4. While I was in college I worked in youth ministry. In my junior year, when I was working with ninth graders, revival broke out. Kids were becoming Christians left and right, a number of them from prominent Washington DC families. That was really fun. Then, in my senior year, I worked with the college ministry, and then after graduation I got hired by the church to work with the junior high again. I expected to pick up where I left off. But in spite of all my efforts, nothing much happened. Little did I know that the original revival was not a result of my impressive ministry talents after all.
5. Unfortunately, I’ve had to learn the lesson again and again. Twenty years ago when there were 350 people in our church and we no longer could fit in this room, I was feeling pretty good about myself. And boy was it easy to put my joy – and my identity – in ministry success. And boy was it easy to look at those who weren’t being as successful and think they were second rate. I see now that I desperately needed to be pruned.
6. It’s not wrong to be saddened by setbacks in the growth of Christ’s kingdom. It’s not wrong to rejoice over kingdom successes. However, HOWEVER, these things are always secondary. And our emotional life must always be stabilized by the biggest and most important reality: on account of Christ our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
V. Conclusion
A. None of us know what’s going to happen in 2019.
1. However, it is extremely likely that if God allows us to make it to 2019, we will experience both successes and failures, both triumphs and defeats.
2. We need to recognize the potential of either to get us off track.
a. Many are aware of the fact that losses and failures and tragedies can throw us for a loop.
b. But though we see it in others, and though we know the concept of success going to somebody’s head, often we don’t realize that we are susceptible to dangerous temptations when blessings and successes come their way. It’s so easy to rejoice in – and put our identity in – the wrong thing.
B. Setbacks and accomplishments must be tempered by the truth of what God has done for us in Christ.
1. In other words, we need to keep the big picture in mind.
2. The big picture is that though there is a cosmic struggle going on, God has us in His hands and nothing can separate us from His love, and no one can snatch us from his hand.
3. We can put our absolute trust in His promises of salvation, in His promises of deliverance, in His promises of glory, in His promises of victory, in His promises of seeing Him face to face and dwelling with Him for all eternity.
4. “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever.” – Martin Luther
VI. How do you know if your name is written in the Book of Life? The Bible says several things:
A. The Bible speaks about this, I think clearly, but it doesn’t speak about it very much. It’s as if it expects that the rule will be that folks will know. The exception is when someone doesn’t know.
B. There are times when truly saved people are insecure about their salvation (e.g. 1John 3:19–20).
C. There are people who are confident they are saved who in fact are not (Matt.7:21-23; 25:11-12).
D. This is discussed in 1John more than any other place in the Bible, so if you want more on this subject, that’s the place to begin.