Rejoice Like Jesus // Luke 10:21-24
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Intro
Intro
Alright, let’s dive into the message tonight. We are continuing in The Gospel of Luke, learning what the spirit chose to reveal through Luke about Jesus. Every week, we are learning something new about Jesus, seeing him in a different light…all with the hope of following after him and imitating him, to become more like him.
Tonight we are going to be focusing on Jesus as a Rejoicer. As one who Rejoices. And the title of tonight’s message is...
Rejoice Like Jesus
And as we start out time together tonight, I want to ask you…when is the last time you Rejoiced in the gospel?
Now the definition of Rejoice is to “show or feel great joy and delight”…so what I’m asking is…when is the last time the Gospel, your salvation, has caused you to feel and show great joy or delight?
A feeling of overwhelming joy that causes you to see things differently, or act differently. It causes to either laugh, or smile, or worship. When is the last time that the gospel has done that in your life?
Now, I know for some of you that’s more recent. You’ve had your heart stirred by the joy of your salvation within the last few weeks. But I also know, that for some of you it’s been a long time.
Life has gotten to you. Your sin has gotten to you. You’re weary, burdened, heavy. Maybe you’re discouraged, or disconnected.
I’m thinking that many of us in the room tonight are like King David, when he has sinned against God by committing adultery, he feels far from God, and in that moment, in Psalm 51 he says this:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Even King David, a man after God’s own heart…had moments where he pleaded with God to return to him the joy of being saved, the joy of coming to know God, the joy of being brought from death to life...
Because sometime we don’t always feel joyful in the Christian life. We don’t always take pleasure in it. And the best we can do is pray to the Lord like David did, and seek God in his word.
And here’s my prayer for us tonight…that we would see how Jesus rejoiced in this passage, and that it would restore to us the joy of our salvation.
That’s my prayer for you tonight. That as we turn towards the holiday season, and it gets colder, and darker out…that God would restore a joy in you that is unexplainable and amazing.
I want to pray that over you right now.
****PRAY****
Alright, so turn in your bibles to Luke chapter 10. As you’re turning there, let me set up what’s going on in this moment of Jesus’ ministry.
So at the beginning of Luke 10, Jesus sends out the first ever missionaries. Really, a huge historic moment. And he doesn’t just send out a couple… he sends out 72, two by two, into every town that he was planning to go to.
Essentially sends out 72 people to prepare the way for the gospel to be preached. He sends them out and he gives them some specific tasks.
Pray for laborers.
Go into danger - “Lambs amongst wolves”
Rely on God’s provision.
Heal the sick.
Preach the Kingdom.
No small task right? Many of those things we struggle to do on a daily basis, let alone being sent out to do all of them at once.
So…Jesus sends out these missionaries and in verse 17 they return.
And when they return, it says that “with joy” they spoke of all these amazing things that happened and all the amazing things that they got to do.
It’d be like me rejoicing over the things I just got to do, right? So Brittany and I were gone last week and we got to go to disney and unviersal...
It’d be like me coming back and being joyful and being like, we got to ride roller coasters, and eat food, I got to drink butterbeer, and see hogwarts and diagon alley. I tried some crazy slushies and dole-whip…it was amazing.
That’s what they are doing, rejoicing in the things they were able to do and got to experience. And Jesus says to them
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.
So, you’re right you got to do all these things. All these good things. None of the things you did were wrong, for you indeed had the ability to do them...
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
But, Jesus says, don’t forget that what you should be rejoicing in…is the fact that you have been saved in the first place. That you have assurance of salvation from hell, that you have been redeemed to God, that you have been saved a place in heaven…that’s what you should really be rejoicing over.
Just like on the vacation my family had, yeah..we can be rejoicing over the specifics we just got to do…but what Jesus is saying is rejoice over the fact that those things you were able to do, happened because someone bought your ticket for you.
Yes, rejoice over the roller coasters, and food, and experiences…those are things that you were able to do…but…what you should really be rejoicing over is that your ticket was bought in the first place. And that that experience was given to you because someone loved you enough to buy it for you. (my mom).
But here, Jesus isn’t talking about their moms buying them tickets to disney world, he’s talking about God saving them from the wages of sin, which is death.
And it’s on the heels of making that clarification, that we see Jesus himself rejoice.
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. 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.”
Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 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.”
So, in this passage, we see Jesus as A Rejoicer. We see him rejoice over the gospel, and we see three reasons why we should also rejoice over the gospel.
And here’s the first one.
Rejoice in the Gospel because it’s simple. (v.21)
It’s simple. As in it’s easy to understand. It’s easy to comprehend and digest. And not just that it’s simple, but that God purposely made it that way. And the fact that God purposely made the gospel simple, is a reason for Jesus to rejoice. Look back at verse 21.
In that same hour…that’s saying that shows that this is a connected story/line of thought from the previous one told. So in relation to people having their names written in heaven, it says Jesus “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit”.
Now the word “rejoiced” here is a super special word. The greek word is aggaleow…which there’s no reason for you to know that word, other than it’s fun to say. Aggaleow.
The reason I’m taking a moment to tell you the greek, is because you need to understand the depth of this word. Aggaleow means to rejoice exceedingly or exuberantly, it means to be over-whelmingly joyful.
It’s a very strong word that describes an emotion…in fact..out of all four gospels and all the rest of the entirety of scripture, it is the most exuberant/joyful that Jesus is ever described....in all of scripture…the height of Jesus’ joy is described in this passage.
A passage pertaining to the preaching and receiving of the gospel. And what does he say that he’s rejoicing about?
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.
In other words, Jesus gets so worked up and full of overwhelming joy that he bursts into prayer and can’t help but say “Thank you God! Thank you that as the Lord over all the heavens and earth that you decided to make the gospel simple. That you don’t have to excel in wisdom or understanding to understand salvation”
“Thank you God that you are gracious and have done this according to your will”
That’s what gets Jesus excited. That’s what brings him to the greatest point of joy... The simplicity of the gospel.
And the simplicity of the gospel should bring us back to a place of joy.
Think about it…God the father created all that you see, all that we experience…the heavens and the earth. He created the complexity of the human body, and physics of creation, and the stars in space. All things that people have dedicated entire lives worth of study and understanding and have gotten no further in.
The things that took God only a word to create are so complex that mankind has barely begun to grasp the function of some of them, let alone the way in which they are built.
And yet this God who can create the most complex things in all of creation, who thought of them and then just simply spoke them into creation…that same God…chose to make his plan of redemption and salvation simple enough for my 5 year old son to understand.
Simple enough for a human mind to not only comprehend, but embrace fully.
The fact that a God who can and does create amazingly complex things chose to make the gospel simple is a reason to rejoice.
All these things may be complex in your life, difficult, hard, strenuous…all of them…except the gospel.
Rejoice because despite all the complexities of life..the thing that matters most…that can bring you the most peace, the most assurance, the most joy...is a simple thing. Yes, the response to the gospel may create comple things…but the receiving of it can be made no simpler…than “yes Lord. thank you Lord. I accept Jesus as the one who died for me. Buried and raised for my salvation.”
Practical point of application: When you want the joy of your salvation to return to you, begin praising God for the simplicity of the Gospel in your life.
Rejoice in the gospel because Jesus chose you. (v.22)
Read verse 22 again.
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.”
After starting his prayer or rejoicing with praise towards God, Jesus continues with a statement of truth that is part of his joy.
You know how we do that sometimes? Like in a prayer, we say things that are true but aren’t exactly what you would think would need to be said to God?
Like “Father, thank you for this day. It’s a day that you have made. You are in control of it. You are sovereign and Lord of all.”
As if he doesn’t know that he made the day, or that he’s in control, or that he’s sovereign. But yet, we do it all the time, because stating facts about God and who he is and what he’s done is a way of worshiping him through acknowledging him…and that’s what Jesus does here.
And the statement of acknowledgement/worship is “Father, you’re the only one that truly knows the son”…Jesus is saying who know who I am, you know my role, you know my true glory and form, you know my purpose, you know all...
Jesus says God…you’re the only one that knows me…and I know you. And I’m the only one that knows you…but than he throws this exception in. A very important exception when it comes to having a good understanding of salvation...
Jesus says I’m the only one who knows you…except those who I choose to reveal you to.
Conclusion: If you know the father, if you are saved and have eternal life and are being sanctified and are adopted as a child of God…if that’s you...
It is because Jesus, the son of God, chose to reveal God to you. Jesus. Chose. You.
And Jesus rejoices over that fact. He rejoices over getting to reveal the father to whom he chooses.
And that means that we should also rejoice over the fact that Jesus chose you.
Let that sink in. To choose something or someone is to intentionally do so. It’s not a mistake. It’s not uncalculated.
It’s not like a Thursday night.
You see, I didn’t choose for any of you to be here. You chose to be here. You brought yourself here. You made the decision to come. Incidentally…anyone could come.
That’s not what salvation is like. Jesus doesn’t just open the door and say “well, I don’t really know who’s going to come in the door…but I’ll just leave it open for a few minutes and see what happens.”
No. Salvation is much more like a banquet. A dinner party in which each guest receives an invite with their name on it.
Before they set the table, the host knows exactly who is suppose to show up..because they chose them. They invited them.
And Jesus…for reasons that only he knows…chose you. invited you. revealed the father to you.
You can’t decide where you were born, who your parents are, what age of history you live in, what country you were born into, how many siblings came before you…you can’t choose any of those things.
But Jesus can. and he does. And for whatever reasons he saw fit…he put you in this time, this place, with your upbringing, and your struggles, hardships, experiences, and gifting…through those things he brought you to a place of coming to know him.
He brought you to a place where God would open your eyes, and grant you a repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2:25)
And that…is a reason to rejoice. It was enough of a reason for Jesus to rejoice and it’s enough of a reason for us to rejoice.
Practical application: When you want to return to the joy of your salvation, praise God that he chose you for salvation. Choose to rejoice in that.
Rejoice in the Gospel because it’s highly coveted. (v. 23)
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