Ministry of the Christian believer. Godly neighbors. Luke 10:25-37
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Intro
Intro
Can we have joy even knowing that we are not in control?
We must answer a few more questions before we can answer that one.
If we are not in control, then who is?
What is the character of that being that is in control?
Are they good, are they evil?
This will directly impact our ability to find joy in that situation.
The sovereignty of God can be big and difficult thing for us to understand.
I think the biggest reason that it is difficult to understand though is because of our own sinful nature and sinful flesh.
Because of our selfish desires.
The sovereignty of God really boils down the the fact that God is in control and we are not.
We read of this from the very beginning.
Genesis 3.
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
We have no power over the wind, the waves, the weather.
We have no power over whether the sun rises and sets.
But God does.
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
What we must know and understand about The Lord, the everlasting God, the Creator is his character.
1 Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
Read Psalm 136
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Read in the NT
8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
God’s character is clearly shown in scripture.
We then should not find trouble in rejoicing in his sovereignty.
That is what I hope to help us do this morning.
To rejoice as Jesus did, in the sovereignty of God.
9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?
20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”
Joy in sovereignty.
Joy in sovereignty.
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Looking at this passage thus far and seeing the ministry of a Christian believer we saw that Jesus sent out the 70/72.
That prayer is of the first importance.
Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest.
Then go, go into the world telling others that the kingdom of God has come near.
And that there are consequences for unbelief.
When the disciples returned, we see reason for joy.
We have seen the joy of a job well done.
The joy that comes in salvation.
There is a third great joy in this passage.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Greatest Joy of All
the joy that God the Son has in God the Spirit and God the Father.
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
Jesus rejoiced here.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Greatest Joy of All
The Greek word agalliaō is a word for exuberant ecstasy, for complete exultation in the fullness of joy.
The word carries the meaning to exult, be exceedingly joyful.
The picture in our mind as we read this is not Jesus drably sitting there saying I thank you, Father,
But rather Jesus leaping for joy!
Like a kid who just got exactly what they had been asking for on their birthday.
I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth!
Jesus had rejoiced to see Satan defeated, falling from heaven like lightning.
Jesus had rejoiced in and pointed his followers to rejoice in eternal life.
That word joy Jesus used there was chairo meaning to be in a state of happiness and well being. To be glad.
But here this greater joy is in God himself.
Luke is showing us the joy at the heart of the universe,
the rejoicing that takes place within the Godhead, where God is both the subject and the object of his own joy.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit find joy and glory in one another.
When Jesus was baptized
Luke 3:22 (ESV)
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
and again when he was transfigured
35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
we saw the pleasure that the Father takes in his own beloved Son.
Now Jesus rejoices in the Spirit and the Father, and as he rejoices, we catch a glimpse of God glorifying and enjoying himself.
There can be no greater joy than this: the eternal joy that God himself enjoys in the being of God.
The words that follow though are somewhat ironic and confusing in our minds.
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
Wait a minute, didn’t Jesus just send out 72 messengers to go ahead of him to prepare the way, building the kingdom?
But now he is ecstatically thanking God that he has hidden things form the wise and understanding?
Isn’t this counterproductive?
From our finite human perspective, yes it does appear that way.
But what Jesus is rejoicing in here, is the sovereignty of God.
When we speak of the sovereignty of God we speak of His excellent quality.
That He is the most exalted.
That he possess supreme or ultimate power to an unlimited extent.
That He has no external control over Himself.
God’s sovereignty can be a difficult doctrine for us.
Why is God hiding things from the wise?
Why is Jesus rejoicing in that?
Why does God open the eyes of some, bringing them to a saving knowledge of Jesus, but others never repent?
The Bible never gives us the full answer, except to say that God does it for his own glory.
This shouldn’t cause us anxiety though because the Bible means it as comfort for those who believe.
The doctrine of election, which proves God’s sovereignty in salvation, is a doctrine of joy and assurance for the believer.
Paul writes in Romans
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
If you have trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, know that God chose you to be His child.
He has adopted you into his family.
Adoption is a great and wonderful thing!
This emphasis on God’s sovereignty is not to be emphasized without also talking about human responsibility,
And we see this in Matthew’s account of this event
Matthew 11:25–30 (ESV)
25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Then in verse 28 Jesus offers a call.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
You see, again Jesus thanks God even though not all believe, but then swiftly adds the gospel call.
Jesus calls people to come to Him, to see their need, where they are lacking,
and to see His rich and willing provision for them and how He wants to minister to them and give them peace.
If you recognize that you are a sinner who cannot help themselves,
that you have sins that need forgiving,
that there is nothing you can do to save yourself, then come to Christ.
There is a balance here and this balance is one that we, in our finite human forms, cannot reconcile.
Because God has created us for relationship, with Him and with one another.
God did not create mankind as a bunch of pre-programmed robots.
We have a role to play.
But that role is only one thing.
And scripture is quite clear on that.
Believe.
31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Paul also writes in Romans 10.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
To attempt to put is simply
Is God sovereign in His bringing individuals to salvation?
Does God begin the process?
Yes.
Does man have a responsibility?
Yes. (But only to believe.)
It is not an either or, it is a both and.
C.S. Lewis wrote a letter
To Mrs. Emily McLay, August 3, 1953:
I think we must take a leaf out of the scientists’ book. They are quite familiar with the fact that for example, Light has to be regarded both as a wave in space and as a stream of particles. No-one can make these two views consistent. Of course reality must be self-consistent; but till (if ever) we can see the consistency it is better to hold two inconsistent views than to ignore one side of the evidence.
Charles Spurgeon wrote
The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Spurgeon on Predestination and Responsibility
“I should not like to handle the doctrine of responsibility with the view of proving that it squares with the doctrine of predestination. It does do so, assuredly. I believe in predestination without cutting and trimming it; and I believe in responsibility without adulterating and weakening it.”
We can and should find joy in that just as Jesus does in this passage.
The two have been debated for centuries and will not be resolved until Christ returns.
We cannot ignore either side of the evidence.
Both happen ultimately for the glory of God.
Jesus rejoices in the Father’s gracious will to reveal salvation to some but not to others.
To be specific, God has hidden the secrets of his gospel from people who think that they are wise, and revealed them instead to little children (literally, to babies)—
in other words, to people who know that they do not know everything, and who therefore come to him in simple, childlike faith.
God by His grace saves the unworthy.
Christ delights in God’s grace to unworthy sinners as well as God’s dealings in justice with the so called wise.
So Christian, take assurance that God has chosen you to adopt into His family. He has brought you in.
If you have not yet trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, know now, that you have a choice to make?
Will you follow Jesus?
He offers forgiveness of sin, he offers right standing with God, he offers more than we can ever imagine.
Giving grace to the humble is one of God’s greatest joys.
As Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, he continues on to say
22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
In verse 21 Jesus had rejoiced in the revelation of the Father; here in verse 22 he rejoices in his own revelation as the Son.
It is all interconnected. Jesus Christ is God the Son.
Therefore, everything that belongs to the Father—such as his sovereign power and divine authority—also belongs to the Son.
Jesus is God.
And the only way to know God is through Jesus.
As the son of the father, Jesus enjoys a unique knowledge of the relationship between the God the father, himself the son, and remember, He is also still rejoicing in the Holy Spirit.
What this matters to believers today is that we are able to have a relationship with the creator God.
And that this relationship only comes through Jesus.
Jesus brings this conversation to a close with a blessing on the disciples.
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
It is a great privilege to know the Father and the Son, with the Spirit.
Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
Have you ever wished you lived in the days of Moses—
when you could see the Red Sea parting, the Egyptians drowning, the pillar of smoke and pillar of flame?
Have you ever wished you could live in the days of Elijah when fire came down from the sky and he rode a chariot into heaven?
Jesus says, in effect, they wish they were us because we understand what they could only wonder about.
24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
They could only guess at the meaning of what they wrote, but we see the full picture because we see Jesus,
and in Him everything comes together, everything makes sense.
This is true of you today if you have trusted in Jesus as your Lord and savior.
You have been invited in to share in the fellowship.
3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
What great joy it is to know Jesus, and to know that he is in and over all things.
That we have a good, loving, all powerful God.