that I did choose thee Lord. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nyvert. I've entitled this morning's
message, What Jesus Rejoiced In. In Luke chapter 10, verse
21, we read these words. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced
in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth. because thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes,
infants. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me
of my Father, And no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father,
neither knoweth any who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him." What Jesus rejoiced in. Now before we consider what He
rejoiced in, Who is Jesus? Who is Jesus of Nazareth? He's the Son of Mary and He's
the Son of God. He's the Creator. He made the
vastness of space. All of the universe, He made
it. He made the minuteness of an
atom. He's the Creator. He is the one
who spake this world into existence. He is the express image of God,
the very transcript of God, the brightness of God's glory. That's
who Jesus Christ is. He is not like God at all. He
is God. He said, He that hath seen me
hath seen the Father. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body. That's who Jesus Christ is, the
God-man, the uncreated Son of God, the one mediator between
God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, as fully God as if He
were not man at all, and as fully man as if He were not God at
all. That's who Jesus Christ is. Now, He's the Lord. He's the
Savior. He's the friend of sinners. What a name! What did He rejoice
in? Now, it's not without significance
that this is the only time recorded in the four Gospels that He rejoiced.
Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53 that He's a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. In Gethsemane's garden, he said,
I'm exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. But here's the one
time it was said he rejoiced. And a stronger word is used than
the word that's generally translated rejoice. It means exalted, exalted. It's something you could see
Visibly, the disciples watched him as he exulted in joy. At that time, Jesus rejoiced
in spirit. Now, you know that that's not
the only time that he rejoiced. As a matter of fact, we read
in Proverbs 8, verse 29 and 30, talking about him before time
began with his father. When he gave the sea his decree
that the waters should not pass his commandment, when he appointed
the foundations of the earth, then was I by him. as one brought
up with him. And I was daily His delight,
rejoicing always before Him." Oh, to think of the Son rejoicing
in the Father, and the Father rejoicing in the Son, and the
Spirit rejoicing in the Son. God the Holy Spirit, the third
person of the Blessed Trinity, is called the Spirit of Christ. Oh, the joy in the Godhead as
they rejoice in one another. No doubt the Lord Jesus Christ
rejoiced even in the days of His flesh, but the only time
that it's mentioned in the Gospels of His rejoicing is right here. And that shows us the significance
of this passage of Scripture. What did Jesus rejoice in? It would behoove us to know what
He rejoiced in. Now it says in verse 21, in that
hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit. And if you were listening last
week, we were considering the return of the 70. The Lord had
sent them out to preach the gospel, and they returned with the news
of how the Lord had blessed them in preaching. And the 70, verse
17 of Luke chapter 10, and 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 as lightning fall 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 that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven. Now that's a reference
to divine election, the names of the elect being written in
the Lamb's Book of Life from the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world." Oh, rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Now, if your name is written in heaven, how much did you have
to do with it? Not a thing. We're called upon to rejoice,
not in what we see, but in what we don't see. This springs from
faith. You rejoice that your names are
written in heaven, in the Lamb's book of life. And in that hour,
right when our Lord said that, the scripture says, He rejoiced
in spirit. There was a spontaneous outbreak
of joy. He rejoiced. He exulted in spirit. And he said, I thank Thee, O
Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Now the word thank here is a
different word than the word usually translated thank. Literally, I make thankful confession. In other words, He wanted all
His disciples to hear this particular confession. I make thankful confession. I thank Thee, O Father. This
is the uncreated Son speaking to His Father. The Father has
a Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And here we're privileged to
get a glimpse into His communion with His Father and what He said
to His beloved Father. He said, I thank Thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and Lord of earth. His Lordship speaks of His sovereignty. He's the Lord of creation. He
created the universe. People are always wondering about
origins. Well, I can give you the answer
right now. He is the origin of all things. He is the Creator. Not only is He the Lord of creation,
He's the Lord of providence. That means everything that happens,
He is in control of. Everything. You can't take that
too far. He's the first cause behind all
things. By Him, all things consist. He's
in control of everything that happens in time. I don't care
if it's something supposedly insignificant. I love that scripture
where the Lord says, not a sparrow falls to the ground without your
Father, not without your Father knowing it, but without your
Father. Something as insignificant as a sparrow that no human being
perhaps has ever seen falls to the ground and dies, that's of
the Father. He's in control of everything.
If it's the raising up or the destruction of an empire. If
it's the salvation of a sinner, the Lord controls everything
in Providence, and most especially, He's the Lord of salvation. That
means salvation is in His hands. It's not in your hands. It's
not in my hands. It's in His hands. If you're saved, it's
because He saved you. He's Lord of salvation. Scripture
says salvation is of the Lord. It's not of man. It's not of
man's works, man's will, man's doing. Salvation is of the Lord. I thank Thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth. He reigns. And look what he thanks
Him for. You don't hear many preachers
dealing with this. Listen real carefully. He said, I thank Thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these
things. You've concealed these things
from the wise and the prudent and has revealed them unto babes,
unto infants, people who are not at all like the wise and
prudent. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. Now that's what Jesus rejoiced
in. He thanked His Father that He'd
hid these things. Somebody says, what things? The
things of salvation. The mysteries of grace. How God
saves sinners by His grace. How Christ is all in salvation. He's hid these things, He's concealed
these things from the wise and prudent so that they cannot see
them. Let me read you a passage of
scripture in John chapter 12, and this is a quotation from
Isaiah chapter 6, and it's the one passage of scripture that's
quoted more than any other passage of scripture in the New Testament
from the Old Testament, from Isaiah chapter 6. Now, we read
beginning in verse 37 of John chapter 12, I'm sorry, John chapter
12. But though he had done so many miracles before then, yet
they believed not on him, that the saying of Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed
our report? And to whom hath the arm of the
Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe. Now that has to do with ability
and this lack of ability is their sin. It's evil. This is not getting
them off the hook, but they lacked the ability to believe. Therefore
they could not believe because that Isaiah said again, he who
God, he has blinded their eyes. and hardened their heart, that
they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their
heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things
said Isaiah when he saw His glory, and spake of Him." God blinded
them. God hardened their heart. God
hid these things, the things of salvation, from the wise and
the prudent. Now who are the wise and the
prudent? The sophisticated and the cunning. Those who are wise in their own
eyes. I love that scripture, the Lord
knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain, empty. The foolishness of God is wiser
than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Proverbs 26, 12 says, seest thou
a man wise in his own conceits? There's more hope for a fool
than him. The wise are those who seek to
help God, with the wisdom of words. Paul said in 1 Corinthians
1.17, Christ sent me not to baptize, not to get results, but to preach
the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of none effect. Wisdom of words is when men try
to package the gospel and make it more attractive to the flesh
and more appealing to the flesh and less offensive to try to
help people believe. No. Trying to make the gospel
relevant for today? No. We preach the gospel, looking
for God to take care of the results, not with the wisdom of words,
not trying to dress it up, lest the cross of Christ should be
made of none effect. Now God has actively, purposefully,
justly hid these things from the wise and prudent, and he
makes sure that they'll never see them. 2 Thessalonians 2 says,
He shall send them strong delusion, God does this, that they should
believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not
the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now, our Lord
thanks His Father that He had hid these things from the wise
and the prudent, and he had revealed these things to babes." Now the
word is infants, and for an infant to know something, it's going
to have to be supernaturally revealed, isn't You know, an
infant is completely dependent upon somebody else to take care
of them. A babe is completely dependent. If somebody doesn't
take care of them, they'll die. Now that represents God's people. Totally dependent upon revelation. They can't figure anything out.
They're totally dependent upon the Lord to reveal Himself to
them. They're totally dependent upon
the Lord to do everything for them, just as an infant is totally
dependent. They can't be saved by their
works. They have to have somebody do something for them. They're
like the publican in the temple. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Do something about my sin. There's
nothing I can do about it. Do something for me. Now, Christ
thanked his Father that he hid these things of salvation from
the wise and prudent. Wise and prudent in their own
eyes, not true wisdom. But he revealed these things
to babes. And then he said, Even so, father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. Now that word, even so,
is quite often translated, yes. It's an act of spontaneous joy. Now, I know I don't want to in
any way lower the glory of this. When I watch a ballgame, And
something happens good for my team. I raise up, yes, yes, I'm
happy it happened. I'm glad it just comes spontaneously
from me. I'm happy, yes, this is what
I want to take place. And that's what our Lord is saying
regarding His Father's sovereignty and salvation. I thank Thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hid these
things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes.
Yes, Father. for so it seemed good in thy
sight." And if it seems good in His sight, it's good whether
anybody else sees it or not. Oh, what I'm concerned about
is what is in His sight. And the Lord said, you doing
this, it seemed good in your sight. And you know what? It's good in my sight too. Anything
that's good in his sight is good in my sight. Now go on reading
verse 22. He says, all things. That covers a lot, doesn't it?
All things. I don't care what the subject
is. All things. That includes me and that includes
you. That includes everybody in the
world. That includes everybody that was dead, everybody that
hadn't lived yet. It includes demons, includes
angels, everything that happens. All things are delivered to me
of my father. Now the Lord is saying, I'm the
one running things. I'm the one who has absolute
control. The Father has delivered everything
to me. You know, the Lord said, all
power is given to me. You see, the Lord has a monopoly
on power. He has all power and all authority. The winds and the waves obey
His voice. He has all authority. Everything
is delivered. Oh, the incomparable, ineffable
greatness and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, without
egotism, stating the facts, all things are delivered to me of
my Father. And then he says, no man knows
who the Son is, but the Father. The Lord is saying, I'm so great. Oh, the greatness, the excellency
and glory of Christ. He's saying, I'm so great that
only the Father can know me. Now, His people know Him. We
know him, I know him. But like Paul said, now we see
through a glass darkly. We just know a little bit, just
a little bit. I'm thankful for what we do know. We know that we were not redeemed
with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with
the precious blood of Christ. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. They're things we know, but they're
not things that we really grasp. We just believe them because
the Bible teaches them. I can't grasp how God is one God in three
persons, but I believe it because the Bible teaches it. And we
know a little bit, but oh, how the Father knows the Son and
how the Son knows the Father. He said, All things are delivered
unto me of my Father, and no man knows the Son but the Father,
and the Father, who the Father is but the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal. totally dependent upon revelation. I cannot know Him unless He is
pleased to reveal Himself to me. Now what I'd like to do in
the closing moments of this message, and I want you to listen so very
carefully. I want to look at Matthew's account
of this same passage of Scripture, because Matthew gives us a detail
that Luke didn't give us. One of the most glorious passages
of Scripture in all of the Word of God, transcendent. Matthew 11, verse 25. At that time, Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has
revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, yes, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered
unto me of my Father, and no man knows the Son, but the Father. Neither knows any man the Father,
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." Same
thing Luke said, but look what Matthew gives us. Upon saying
that, this incomparably great one, the only one who can know
the Father, The only one who can reveal the Father. The only
one of whom it can be said, all things are delivered unto me
of my Father. The Son of the Father, what does
he say? Come unto me. All ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me. For I is one who is so glorious
in his person, he said, I am meek and lowly in heart. His character is so beautiful.
And you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy. And my burden is light. Now, this has sometimes been
called the great invitation. And I suppose it does sound somewhat
like an invitation, and I'm thankful for that. But it's more than
an invitation. It's a command. You see, there's
no crime in turning down an invitation. I've been invited places, and
for whatever reason, I couldn't go. I couldn't be looked upon
as a criminal for not going. I just didn't go. But if it's
a command, that puts it in a completely different light. This is his
command. Come unto me. Now understand this. I don't
come to Christ because I know I'm one of the elect. I don't
come to Christ because I know I've been born again. I don't
come to Christ because I know he shed his precious blood for
me. I come to Christ because he tells me to. Come unto me
all ye that labor and are heavy laden. Now, that's me. laboring and heavy
laden, all who are under the burden and guilt of sin. And this is who he calls on to
come to him. All who are under the burden
and the guilt of sin. I'm that. I labor under the burden
of sins committed in giving into temptation, and of a sinful nature. I'm burdened under a hypocritical,
self-righteous nature. I see that I'm so sinful, and
yet I can stand in judgment and look down on, oh, my sin is a
burden. David said, my sin is ever before
me. Now, the Lord says to every burdened
sinner, come to me. and I will give you rest. Now, what is this thing of rest? When the Lord finished creation,
the scripture says he rested. It wasn't because he's tired
and worn out. It's because he was responding to a finished
work. You rest when the job is done. Now the Lord says, I will give
you rest. He's both willing and he's able. And as you hear that, do you
need rest? Are you weary and heavy laden
under the burden and guilt of sin? You're a sinner before God
and you know it and you know you deserve to go to hell. You
know what the Lord says to you? Come to me and I will give you
rest. You know, the scripture says
in Hebrews 1.3 that when he had by himself purged our sins, he
sat down at the right hand of God. You know why he sat down?
Because the work was finished. The purging of sins had taken
place. He saved everybody he died for. He saved everybody who comes
to him for mercy. He said, come to me and I will
give you rest. He said, take my yoke upon you.
and learn of me, not about me, but learn of me. For I am meek
and lowly in heart." Do you know you'll never feel threatened
or judged by the Lord Jesus Christ? This one who is God also lets
us know He is meek and lowly in heart. He says you'll find
rest for your souls, for my burden is easy. Gracious take my yoke
upon you your yoke brings two together. I want to be yoked
to him Don't you he said take my yoke upon you. So you're you're
yoked to me and my yoke is easy. It's gracious It's not heavy.
It's all of grace. That's why it's easy. My burden
is light because he bears all the load Come unto me all ye
that are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest take my
yoke upon you and learn of me and I'm meek and lowly in heart. You'll find rest for your souls,
for my yoke is easy. and my burden is light." Oh,
what a glorious thing it is to be yoked to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a yoke of grace, and it's
an easy burden with Him bearing all the load. Oh, rest in Christ. That means you know that there's
nothing for you to do. It's all been done. To request
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