We're in Luke chapter 10, and
we'll be examining verses 17 through 20 today. And I appreciated
that hymn that we sang this morning, very much appropriate for today's
lesson, Your Name's Written in Heaven. And I think the second
stanza of that verse was Grace Wrote My Name in the Lamb's Book
of Life there. So I appreciate that hymn. That
was very, very good. Let's kind of review a little
bit about where we were. It's been a couple weeks since
I was up here. So in our previous lesson in
Luke chapter 10, we had our attention drawn to the cities in northern
Galilee area, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. That's called
the triangle of the gospel up there in the northern Sea of
Galilee area. I appreciate what Norm said about
when he when he was in Europe, he saw all this superstitious
stuff. And you know, in the lesson that
we had the last time, we had a lot of pictures that, I don't
know if I had a chance to show them to everyone, but of the
iconology that was involved in some of the synagogues there,
where they had Greek gods and various things that were built
right into the, they were homogenized right into the religious setting
of the day. and in a place that should have been
just God the Father. And this area of Chorazin, Bethsaida,
and Capernaum, it said, this is where it's written Jesus had
done most of His mighty works, His healings, raising people
from the dead, and healing lepers, and those that had diseases,
and preaching the gospel, and all the things that He did there. It's also written that the Lord
upbraided those cities, because in spite of the mighty works
which had been done there, they repented not. What a statement
against Him. And the reference to those cities
and their response to the Gospel is given to us in context with
the Lord sending out other 70 is what we found in the beginning
of today's last lesson there. He sent out the other 70. to
the cities where He Himself would go, and He had instructed them
to go and heal the sick and to preach that the Kingdom of God
is nigh unto you. And the point that often gets
overlooked was the very reason why He was there. He wasn't just
there to do good and heal people, and although He did those things
as a proof of who He was, He was there for the redemption
of the church. He was there to die. And he had his face set
like a flint to go forward and accomplish that. And so as he
sends him out, he gives some last words to those 70 disciples
before they departed to declare the gospel. And they were important
words for them and to the church in all ages as well. He said
in verse 16, He that heareth you, heareth me. And he that
despiseth you, despiseth me. And he that despiseth me, despiseth
him that sent me. And it kind of goes hand in glove
with what we learned about the parable of the sower and all
the other things that he taught them before they went out. You
know, your job is to go out there and be faithful and declaring
the truth of the gospel, Some of it is going to land on bad
soil. It's not going to have any effect.
It's not going to grow anything. Some of it is going to land on
soil that's been prepared by the Holy Spirit. And that will
bear fruit. And so they should be prepared
for that result. And so he said, He that hears
you, hears me. if you're faithful in declaring
my gospel. And he that heareth you is a
son of peace. We studied that a little bit
in that lesson. Elected of God, born again by
the Spirit, saved by the Son of God. And we looked at 1 Thessalonians
chapter 1, where Paul wrote that he knew the status of that a group of people there in Thessalonians,
knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God, because our
gospel came not to you in word only, but also in power and in
the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake." Those were the three things that
he looked at. He said the gospel was effectual. because of the
Holy Spirit, because it came in power, not just word. It wasn't
just words that were sounded out with no effect. And when the Holy Spirit breathes
into one the breath of life, they have much assurance. They
know wherein their salvation lies. Not in works that they
have done, but in what Christ has done for them. And then they
sounded out the gospel in all the area. They were like, Paul,
I gave you what I also received. The gospel of how Christ died
for our sins according to the scripture. And they reiterated
that same thing that was given to them throughout the Macedonia
and Achaia and every place that they went. And so when we're
true in declaring the truth of the gospel, then Those that reject
us and the Word, they're rejecting God, and they may take issue
with you and everything, but really their issue is with God
and with His Word, and not really with us. So, important to remember
that. Paul wrote in Acts, he said,
you know, I'm pure from the blood of all men, because I've not
shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. And we find
that interesting because a lot of times people are eager to
hear things that are applied generally, but when they become
specific, then not so much. In John chapter 6, when Jesus
fed the 5,000, and then He got it down to a one-on-one level,
and He says, All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me.
And him that cometh to me I will no wise cast out, and no man
can come to me except the Father which sent me draw him." And
a lot of those people turned and walked no more with him because
they said, this is a hard saying. When the rubber meets the road,
then a lot of people depart. And that's what we typically
find happens. So that brings us to this block
of Scripture where we're at today in Luke chapter 10, verse 17
through 20. He sent them out on their mission,
and they come back and give their report about what took place. And in verse 17, the 70 returned
again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto
us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld
Satan fall as lightning from heaven. Behold, I give unto you
power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power
of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you, notwithstanding
in this Rejoice not. All these physical things. Rejoice
not. But rather rejoice because your
names are written in heaven. What a telling thing. When I
read through this thing, you know, There was a lot of things that
came to my mind They they reported to Jesus and they said Lord even
that even the devils are subject to us through thy name They kind
of give him a little side credit there and then but it was kind
of like Pointing at themselves said we we were something we
were out there in the field and we had power over the devils
and You know, you know, it was just kind of losing track of why he
was there a little bit. And pride kind of reared its ugly
head a little bit there. And so as we look at these few
verses here, it's always important to note that The things that
are written are written for the admonition of the church. I think
Mike brought that up in a couple of his lessons there. In 1 Corinthians
10, 11, it says, now these things happen to them for in samples,
and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends
of the world are come. And he wrote that to the Corinthians
there. regarding those in the wilderness
that following the exodus from Egypt, that's the context that
he was talking about. Those things that happened to
them were for examples to us, but that is applicable here as
well. The instructions to them from
Christ as they departed was to heal the sick, and to declare
that the Kingdom of God has come nigh unto you. He said, I am
here. I am among you. And again, the
focus should be why He was there. What was His purpose in being
there? It wasn't just to go around and heal people that had defective
gallbladders and whatnot. He was there. He did those things
to prove who he was, but the purpose of him there was for
the redemption of the church. And that was the sole purpose
in him coming and dwelling among men. He shall save his people
from their sins. And so here the object, though, is not
so much the powers that were, he lists off a bunch of things
that he granted them power to do. You know, you can tread on
serpents, you can heal, you can handle scorpions and whatnot,
and nothing's going to hurt you. But the object was not so much
to focus on the powers granted to them as where and whom the
power came from and by whom it was made effectual. They said,
in thy name we've done these things, but really they were
rejoicing in that they had done those things. And he saw through
that and kind of then put them on a higher plane, as it were.
You know, whenever the Lord speaks, He's always looking at things
from a higher plane, from a spiritual higher plane that has the eternal
view in the context of what He's doing.
And so He says, I recognize that you did all that, but here's
what you should be thinking about. And it's so much deeper. Just
a few words that he says, notwithstanding, don't rejoice in that. Rejoice
that your names are written in heaven. There's a lot to unpack
in just that one sentence there. And we'll look at that a little
bit here. But they had kind of got off
the main issue that they were tasked with, which was preaching
the kingdom of God being nigh, and Christ coming among them.
He was right there with them, coming on His way to Jerusalem
to offer His life, a ransom for many, it says. And the miracle
of the Lord coming to die in the place of the guilty kind
of got buried in the pride of power over devils which were
already in subjection to the Lord God Almighty. And without
whom they would have no power at all. Again, Paul wrote in Romans,
he said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel because that is the power
of God unto salvation. not kicking out devils, not healing
people's leprosy or all those things that were emblematic or
allegorical or demonstrating of His power. It was the gospel. God chose by the foolishness
of preaching the gospel to save them that believe. It says I need to unmute here. It's like a silent movie, I guess. You know, they kind of had a
high opinion and satisfaction in what they had done. And, you
know, that's something that the reason that's written is because
with our nature, that's just how we are. Oh, well, look what
I did. And, you know, Paul wrote to
Timothy, he said, when he was kind of talking about some requirements
to be a pastor, and he said, there shouldn't be a novice being
lifted up with pride. They fall into the condemnation
of the devil. And that's, wasn't that the downfall
of the devil? Pride, I'm equal with God. I'm as good as God. I, I, I,
I, I, I. That I, I, this thing that we
often talk about. And that's just nothing but pride.
Boy, if you want to look up something interesting, just look up that
word pride in your concordance. And there's a lot written about
that. And you know what? There is not one good thing.
It's all bad. All that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is
not of the Father, but is of the world. There's just nothing
good written about pride because it focuses on us and not on Christ. And so again, here, the focus
was not really on. I thought this was very interesting.
They didn't come back and say, Lord, We declared the gospel
in 12 cities, and there was like 16 people that believed. They
didn't say, who has believed our report? They said, wow, look what we
did. We kicked out a bunch of demons out of people. But again, it's the gospel that's
the power of God unto salvation. And the admonition for the church
here, the thing that edifies the church that causes us to
grow and learn in Christ is to always keep our eye and our heart
on Christ and be faithful in declaring the truth of the gospel
and not get mired down in things that ultimately have no value,
no eternal consequence. You know, those people that he
might have healed, those that had leprosy, physically they
were still going to die. I mean, the effect of the physical
things were limited in scope and duration. The thing that
had the lasting effectual consequence was the gospel. That had eternal
effectual consequence. And that's what's important.
And remember that Christ said in John 15, 5, says, without
me, you can do nothing. And here they were kind of wrapped
up in the devil. The devils were subject unto
us. And he said, without me, you
can do nothing. And Paul wrote in Romans concerning
a kind of a similar warning. And he said that it was better
to be wise concerning that which is good and simple concerning
evil. What's good and simple is the
truth of the gospel. And that's the only thing that
really has any power or consequence over evil things. He said in Romans 16, 19 and
20, he says, for your obedience has come abroad unto all men.
And I'm glad therefore on your behalf But yet, I would have
you wise unto that which is good and simple concerning evil. And
the God of peace, that be Jesus, shall bruise Satan unto your
feet shortly." He's taking care of that issue. And I didn't want
to spend a lot of time on that today because it's just a given. Again, in response to their elation
over this power that they were given, He speaks to them from
this higher spiritual, eternal viewpoint and moves their focus
to that which is really of value. They said, we were kicking out
demons. He says, I beheld Satan fall
as lightning from heaven. I've taken care of that. That
is a done deal. That is over. That's a nothing. And a short, simple statement,
which yet displayed such immense evidence of power. I took care
of that. And victory, which was already
accomplished. The essence of this gospel of
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world is plainly declared
again in Hebrews chapter 2. in verse 10, it said, For it
became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through suffering, for both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he
is not ashamed to call them brethren. Boy, that kinship there is so
important. saying, I will declare thy name
unto my brethren in the midst of the church will I sing praise
unto thee. And again, I will put my trust
in him. And again, behold, I and the
children which God has given me. So he's telling them. I've taken care of Satan. Rejoice
in this, that your names are written in heaven, that you're
my kin, you're my brethren, and I'm going to declare this unto
you." And he said in verse 14 there, in the close of Hebrews
chapter 2 that we just read, for as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil." He just took care
of that issue and we didn't have to worry about that anymore.
So this brings our attention to the closing verse of our text
today in verse 19 and 20, and we'll read those now. Luke chapter
10, Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions
and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing shall by any means
hurt you. Notwithstanding in this, rejoice
not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven." What a thing. Focus on that. Rejoice in that. Think about that. The church
is not really to get tangled up in issues of pride, but to
be thankful for the fact of eternal electing love by which God wrote
the names of all those children that we read about in Hebrews
that he calls his brethren. He wrote the names of all those
children that God had given Christ in the covenant of grace and
wrote their names in the Lamb's book of life. And he said, Rejoice
because your names are written in heaven written written from
eternity and you know we We look at some verses that tell us when
that happened in Ephesians chapter 4 says You were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. He elected you and not
because of anything you did or foreseen that you would do as
it tells us in Roman, that children not being yet born, having done
neither any good or evil, that the purpose of God according
to election might stand. It was just according to His
love and His purpose that He chose you. And, you know, we
don't find that out until We don't go around taking a poll,
say, are you the elect? We preach the gospel, and then
we look for the evidence of it like Paul did in Thessalonians,
that the gospel came to them in power and in the Holy Spirit,
and it was effectual. And now they love God, and they
see the effects of sin. for what they really are. So,
rejoice because your names were written in heaven from before
the foundation of the world. And you're to go out and preach
that and leave the results up to the Holy Spirit. Now, this
business of names written, you know, it's really nothing new.
Again, it's just rooted in the Old Testament. It was knowledge
that the people of God were given from the beginning of time. You
know, Moses in chapter 32, Moses was decrying the sins of the
people, and he was approaching God on their behalf. You know,
much like Paul did when he said, would God that I could be a curse
for Israel, my brethren's sake, if I could offer myself as a
curse that they might be saved. He said, I would gladly do that.
He couldn't do that. But Moses said pretty much the
same thing in chapter 32 of Exodus. He said, you know, if you can't,
he said, blot my name out of your book of life, if it would
redeem these people, if it would save these people. And you know
what? All those died in the wilderness
except just a couple. So their names weren't written. But Moses knew that his name
was recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life. That was revealed to
him. And, you know, we talk about
this name, names being written. You know what the name is? It's
the Lord Our Righteousness. That's the name. That's the name
for the Lord's people. That's why He was there. Revelation chapter 2, let's turn
over and look at a couple of verses in Revelation regarding
these names. And it all focuses on Christ. Because that's where it should
be. In Revelation, Chapter 2, verse 17 says, He
that hath an ear, he that's been given an ear to hear the gospel,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him
that overcometh, and we know that it tells us that we overcame
by the blood of the Lamb, to him that overcometh will I give
to eat of the hidden manna, the spiritual food that we feed on,
and I will give him a white stone And in the stone a new name written,
which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." And that
name is the Lord, our righteousness. He is my righteousness. Then
over in chapter 3, verse 12, "'To him that overcometh will
I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no
more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God.' What
does it say in Jeremiah? The name of our God is the Lord,
our righteousness. The same name as the church.
They're the same. I will write upon him the name
of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is New
Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. and
I will write upon him my new name." That word, new name, is what we might find also recorded
in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. And that means a new building,
Formation. They become new in Christ. They
become new. They're not what they were. And
they have this new name. Their name is the Lord our Righteousness.
So again, we find in Ephesians 1, verse 4 that we were chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world. Our names were
entered in the Lamb's Book of Life and it recorded those for
whom He would die. He would lay down His life for
ransom for them. He says, there's no greater love
than a man lay down his life for his friends. And that's what
He calls us. By the Spirit of Christ, John
recorded the Lord stating emphatically that all the Father giveth me
shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out." Then we go back to Daniel chapter 12, and he wrote,
at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book. So we have evidence that
they had knowledge of being written in the Lamb's Book of Life in
Exodus and again in Daniel. Paul wrote to the Philippians.
In chapter 4, I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help
those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement
also, and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the
book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. In Hebrews
chapter 12, verse 22, But you are come to Mount Zion
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly
and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,
and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men
made perfect. And that occurs by the shed blood
of our Savior, who died in their place as a substitute, and to
Jesus, that mediator of the new covenant, to the blood of sprinkling
that speaketh better things than that of Abel." Your name's written
in heaven. It's just so much to it. There's so much there that speaks
to electing love before the foundation of the world, to your name being
written, to the covenant of grace where the Lord's Christ agreed
to lay down His life to redeem them that were given Him. The point to the church then
is to always keep in mind that the children of God whom He gave
to the Son to redeem, whose names are written in heaven, will all
be called by the preaching of the gospel of His dear Son. That's
the way the Lord chose to do it. And it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And it's recorded
again in Ephesians that we believe according to the working of His
mighty power. which He wrought in Christ when
He raised Him from the dead. Ephesians 1, 19, 20. So, rejoice that your names are
written in heaven and be free in that. Not get tangled up in
things of pride and things that are of no value. So we'll stop
there. We're out of time for the day,
so we'll stop there and pick up again in Luke chapter 10 next
time, Lord willing. And again, thanks to those that
covered for me while I was in the hospital and everything.