Luke Part 39: The weak will crush Satan's kingdom through God's power

Text: Luke 10:17-24

In this passage, Jesus is giving further encouragement and instruction for kingdom life.

First, we see the results from the 70 people whom He had sent out previously. Remember, these were "just ordinary folk". They returned from their mission exultant in their victory in spiritual battle. They went out in the name of Jesus, and found that the devils were subject to them in His name.

Jesus explains to them in verse 19 that He has given them power in the spiritual world. That is the meaning of the "serpents and scorpions" described here, not literal insects and snakes, but rather evil spirits and men under their control. When men are saved, they are set free from Satan's dominion, and he is beaten. This is what Jesus was seeing when He saw Satan "falling like lightning." (v. 18).

Then, Jesus gives a reminder of their real reason for rejoicing. The real reason for a Christian to rejoice is that he is Christ's, not because of power in the spirit realm. We can rejoice if we know our names are written in heaven. This phrase indicates security -- having your name written in heaven is as if you are already there.

Then we see something quite remarkable in verse 21: we are told that Jesus "rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit". Their victorious mission pleased the Lord! It was a cause for Him to rejoice.

We see that He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit. This is the place where true, deep rejoicing is from. And the rejoicing led Him to thank the Father. What was Jesus rejoicing about? What was it that made him so happy? It was that God reveals Himself to the simple, the humble, and the trusting. That it doesn't have anything to do with brainpower. No one is excluded. It is all God's work.

We see here a picture of the Trinity: Jesus the Son, rejoicing in the Holy Spirit, thanking the Father for His wondrous work and revealing Him to the world. (v. 22) This is a look into the close fellowship and communion within the Trinity.

Then, Jesus turn to his disciples and tells them they are blessed and privileged to see and hear these things. This is who we are -- we are those who have seen and heard these things as well. Even a "man after God's own heart" such as King David didn't receive the blessing of seeing the gospel fully. The prophets revealing God's Word in the Old Covenant wanted to see these things, but were unable to.

But we have the fulfillment of the promise. We're not living on the promise, as the saints of old did. We are living on its fulfillment, and we are going to crush the kingdom of Satan!

Do you expect to be used? Do we expect results for our outreach and witness? Is God going to use us to crush Satan by saving men, as He did with these 70? It seems to be what this is saying; we can confidently go forth knowing that He will fulfill His work.

Luke Part 37: Ten principles for sharing the gospel

Text: Luke 10:1-16

In this passage, Jesus appoints 70 additional disciples and continues His teaching by telling them how they are to go out and spread the word. His instructions are full of good advice for leaders and pastors, but also for us today, considering that the 70 sent were just ordinary people, as we are ordinary people as well.

Here are ten principles drawn from the text, for us to consider today as we share with the world around us:

1. The work is toilsome; it is a labor (v. 2) Spreading the gospel will be a battle. It will not usually be easy. Have the proper expectation.

2. It is dangerous -- the 70 were being sent out "as lambs in the midst of wolves". (v.3)

3. We must be single-minded (v.4). Our single focus must be on sharing the gospel. Don't get distracted from your purpose! You must depend upon God.

4. Be plain and straight-forward in your presentation of the gospel (v.9). Don't try to sugar-coat it or address it obliquely. Proclaim the gospel, the Word of God!

5. Be a positive and not a negative work... the 70 were instructed to say, "Peace be upon this house" (v.5). The gospel is good news! The gospel is the power of God.

6. The laborer is to initiate the contact. We don't have to sit and wait around for someone to contact us, we should take initiative and reach out to others.

7. Jesus sent them into places where He was going to come later (v.1). This should be a great encouragement to us! Jesus has put us into places where He will come. Be confident that He will follow and bring fruit when you sow.

8. Evaluate and understand where He has sent you. Do the same people keep coming across your path?

9. Recognize the importance of the responsibility Christ has placed into your hands. He has said, "When they hear you, they hear Me." (v.16) God will have a witness, even if the rocks and stones must cry out! He has sent us as His ambassadors; we speak for Him.

10. It is a tremendous privilege to be entrusted with the gospel. We are the ones who have been privileged to represent God on earth.

Pray, plan, and speak! You must make a plan in order to accomplish anything, especially gospel work. You have been sent to particular people at a particular place; make a plan to speak. If you don't make a plan, you won't share the gospel. Forget the small talk, go directly to a single-minded, simple and straightforward presentation!

Luke Part 31: Sending out of the Twelve

Text: Luke 9:1-6

This chapter represents a turning point in Jesus' ministry. Many have referred to this as the "retirement period", as Jesus began withdrawing from cities to less-populous areas and focusing more on teaching, rather than performing miracles. Previously in Luke, we see a great emphasis on the manhood and divinity of Christ. Luke was showing that He had come as a Savior, and was careful to show that He was to be a Savior for Jews and Gentiles.

This chapter can be divided into six sections. The first, third, and fifth sections are primarily discussing the Lord's people, and the second, fourth, and sixth sections discuss Jesus Himself directly. In this first section, consisting of the first six verses, we read of how Jesus sent out the twelve apostles.

Jesus sent out these twelve as representatives of the called out people of God, otherwise known as the church. The commission given to these men is passed on down to all of the people of God, every Christian. Some will have greater involvement in the spread of the Gospel and some will have a lesser involvement. Some will spread the gospel just through their lives and contacts with people they know; others will go out as evangelists.

We note that this passage doesn't say to whom Jesus sent them. He didn't set up a grand missionary strategy; He didn't tell them to try to first convert the leaders of the societies, but just to speak the gospel to all, to whomever they encountered.

Jesus told them to take no possessions with them. He wanted them to be completely reliant upon Him. He wanted them to see that this was His work, and that He would take responsibility to supply all of their needs.

Jesus told them to go to whatever house would accept them, and stay there. They weren't to move about trying to angle for the most advantageous position. They were, again, to remember that this was the Lord's work, His doing. They needed to stay where they were accepted and allow Him to do His business. This was also an encouragement to them. They could be assured that someone out there would accept them, that there would be some out there who would be receptive to the Gospel.

Jesus also told them that some people would reject them. Yet this was no cause for great alarm. They were only to shake the dust off their feet and continue on. We can consider this that we are not required to convert everyone we share with. We are not required to have the perfect answer to all the objections and arguments that may be brought. We are only to speak the Gospel clearly and accurately, and if it is rejected, we should not worry and move on.

We see in verse 6 that they did exactly what Jesus had told them to do. They obeyed His word, even though they had never done anything like this before. This is an example to us. These simple fishermen, at Jesus' command, went out into distant cities with only the clothes on their backs and proclaimed the good news of Christ to all they came in contact with. Just like them, we may not be trained missionaries. But the harvest is all around us, and we can do the Lord's work, knowing there is no discouragement for us when we do what our God has told us to do.