SPEAKER_00: Well, good morning.
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Silverdale Baptist Church.
SPEAKER_00: It's so awesome to see all of you here worshiping with us today.
SPEAKER_00: I'd like to welcome all of you here to Bonnie Oaks campus, but also like to welcome those of you at our Creekside service and our bridges service and our North Utawa campus and St.
SPEAKER_00: Omo campus and Apison campus and all of you worshiping with us online.
SPEAKER_00: If I haven't had a chance to meet you personally, I'm Tony Walliser.
SPEAKER_00: I'm one of the pastors here at Silverdale, and I have the privilege today to share with you God's Word.
SPEAKER_00: So this one I encourage you to do.
SPEAKER_00: Go and take your Bibles, open up in the New Testament to the Gospel of Luke, turn to Luke chapter 10.
SPEAKER_00: You got a smartphone, you can open your Bible app to Luke 10 as well, our Silverdale app as well.
SPEAKER_00: And then do this.
SPEAKER_00: Take out these Bible study outlines that we provide for you so you can follow along and take notes as we study God's Word together.
SPEAKER_00: We've been in a series in the Gospel of Luke where we're looking at specific teachings of Jesus as he's teaching us how you and I can experience joy.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what's amazing about Luke chapter 10 is that in this passage is the premier passage in the entire Bible that shows Jesus actually filled with joy and rejoicing.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: And so we're gonna start with that verse.
SPEAKER_00: And so let's look at it together.
SPEAKER_00: It's Luke chapter 10, beginning verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what God's word says.
SPEAKER_00: At that time he, that's Jesus, rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Now that word there for rejoice means to be exceedingly glad.
SPEAKER_00: The root word is to leap, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so literally it means to leap for joy.
SPEAKER_00: To jump around with joy.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I can't imagine Jesus jumping around and leaping for joy, but that's sort of the idea here.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'll be honest with you.
SPEAKER_00: I very rarely leap for joy, okay?
SPEAKER_00: I'm sort of an inner kind of person, you know.
SPEAKER_00: I got a smile on my face, I got joy in my heart, and um, you know, and I'll laugh, of course.
SPEAKER_00: But it takes something really big to cause me to leap for joy, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Sort of like these examples.
SPEAKER_00: Check this out.
SPEAKER_00: And um, but the question for us today is okay, can Jesus give us that kind of joy?
SPEAKER_00: Can Jesus give us the kind of joy that we would have after we've been healed from a disease or after we won the World Series?
SPEAKER_00: Can Jesus give us greater joy than the vols winning?
SPEAKER_00: I sure hope so, right?
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's what we discover in our passage here today in Luke chapter 10.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at the whole passage together.
SPEAKER_00: Luke chapter 10, beginning verse 17.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what God's word says.
SPEAKER_00: The 72 return with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.
SPEAKER_00: He said to them, I watch Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
SPEAKER_00: Look, I've given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, nothing at all will harm you.
SPEAKER_00: However, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: At that time he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure.
SPEAKER_00: This is the word of the Lord for you today.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks be to God.
SPEAKER_00: Well, in this text, we see a lot of joy.
SPEAKER_00: You have the disciples, they're returning back from a short-term mission trip, and they're just filled with joy because the Lord used them.
SPEAKER_00: And then you have Jesus correcting their thinking, hey, this is what should really give you the greatest joy.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus himself is actually rejoicing, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so there's a lot of joy in this passage, and from this passage, we learn those things that should bring joy to us as followers of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so I want you to jot down.
SPEAKER_00: There's four of them, four reasons for rejoicing.
SPEAKER_00: So jot them on your outline.
SPEAKER_00: The very first one is this there is joy in serving Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: There is joy when you serve Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: One of the great discoveries of the Christian life is that when you start serving the Lord in his kingdom and in his church, you have incredible joy.
SPEAKER_00: And so here is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has sent 72 of his disciples out, two by two, to go from town to town, and they went in Jesus' name and authority to teach and to heal and to cast out demons, and they're coming back and they're like, Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_00: We saw lives transformed, we saw darkness push back, we saw the sickness being healed.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what they say again, verse 17.
SPEAKER_00: The 72 returned with joy.
SPEAKER_00: And you can just imagine as they're all sharing, comparing stories.
SPEAKER_00: You know, one person says, Oh my goodness, I was teaching in this one village, and then suddenly this man comes up and he's rude and he's foaming at the mouth, and I rebuke him in Jesus' name, and boom, the demon went out of him.
SPEAKER_00: And he goes, Well, in our village, there was this person who was, you know, he he basically was paralyzed, and so I prayed over him, laid my hands on him in Jesus' name, and sure enough, he was healed.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, and then as you can imagine, they're just electric, they're sharing all these stories.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know that whenever you're used by the Lord in his kingdom, it produces incredible joy?
SPEAKER_00: I can remember the very first time that I led somebody to faith in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was on cloud nine.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh my goodness, someone just went from death to life.
SPEAKER_00: God used me to do that.
SPEAKER_00: This is amazing.
SPEAKER_00: Many times at the end of the day, my wife and I will share, you know, hey, what was the best part of your day?
SPEAKER_00: And every now and then I'll say, hey, the best part of my day was I am, I got to lead somebody to faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And Susan will go, you win, right?
SPEAKER_00: That that trumps everything else.
SPEAKER_00: That is the ultimate, right?
SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
SPEAKER_00: You see that when you're used to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I could remember, you know, the very first time I prayed in Jesus' name for someone to be healed, and they were instantaneously healed.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, something, I mean, I literally tears were in my eyes.
SPEAKER_00: I've seen it through the years.
SPEAKER_00: I've seen tumors that were there and then gone.
SPEAKER_00: I've seen conditions change and and and futures absolutely correct, all in the power of Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: There is incredible joy when you're used of the Lord and you're serving the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I can remember one of the mission trips years ago, I think it was like year 2000.
SPEAKER_00: Um, I went to India and we went to the northwestern province of India, and there was a remote village that was there, and there was one person there who had come to faith in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He had, you know, rejected his um idols of Hinduism, and he was standing for Jesus Christ that year.
SPEAKER_00: And so he wanted everyone else in his village to hear the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: And so he decided that he was going to um provide a meal for everyone there in this village.
SPEAKER_00: And there was probably about 250 people there, including kids, and we had been invited there.
SPEAKER_00: What an incredible honor.
SPEAKER_00: This guy's paying for this meal for everybody, and they asked me to share the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: It was, of course, through a translator, and so I'm sharing the gospel and what Jesus Christ has done and how to bring how to experience salvation in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And then I said, But if you're gonna follow Jesus Christ, you can't be ashamed of him.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you're gonna choose Jesus Christ over the idols that are around you of Hinduism, I'm gonna need you to make sure everybody in this village knows that you're now following Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So this is what I'm gonna ask you to do.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna ask you to stand up and say, I'm following Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know how anybody would respond.
SPEAKER_00: But suddenly one man stood up and then another man, and then several men.
SPEAKER_00: And the next thing you know, all these people start standing up.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, two-thirds of the village stood up.
SPEAKER_00: I look at my interpreter and I go, Is this real?
SPEAKER_00: He goes, This is a move of God.
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you see God move and you get to be a part of it, man, there is incredible joy in that.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, there is a joy in serving that entertainment can't give you.
SPEAKER_00: There is a joy that money can't buy, there is a joy that is found in serving the Lord and joining Him.
SPEAKER_00: You see, this world is on a happiness search, and the world will tell you, hey, the way to be happy is make it all about you, consume the more you get, and what happens?
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't work, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so, vacation after vacation, you know, experience after experience, purchase after purchase, and you're still empty.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because God has not designed you to consume for yourself, God has designed you to serve in his kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: That's why God's designed you.
SPEAKER_00: And if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, there should be this inner desire to serve in his kingdom and in his church.
SPEAKER_00: I can remember as a new follower of Jesus Christ, I was almost 20 years old, right?
SPEAKER_00: Come to Christ, so excited Christ had changed me.
SPEAKER_00: And so um, I'm like, hey, where can I serve?
SPEAKER_00: And they go, Well, we got this fifth-grade boys' Sunday school class, and I go, I'll do it.
SPEAKER_00: Didn't have a clue, right?
SPEAKER_00: I'd never taught Sunday school before in my life.
SPEAKER_00: And then we had this bus ministry, and they say, we need more people to visit on Saturday mornings, and I'm like, Well, I'm not getting hungover on Saturday mornings anymore.
SPEAKER_00: I can do that.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, you need somebody to mow the yard?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah, I can do that.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because there was just joy in serving the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: See, some of you are spiritually bored because you're spiritually uninvolved.
SPEAKER_00: You want to really get in on the joy of the Lord, start serving somewhere, volunteer somewhere, start praying for people, start sharing your faith.
SPEAKER_00: You'll discover the joy of the Lord like you've never experienced it before.
SPEAKER_00: And so, how do we experience joy?
SPEAKER_00: What are reasons to rejoice?
SPEAKER_00: When you serve the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: But there's a second thing that gives us joy as well.
SPEAKER_00: Job this on your outline.
SPEAKER_00: Number two is there's joy in Christ's power.
SPEAKER_00: There's joy in Christ's power.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus sends the disciples out, gives them his authority to heal and pray and cast out demons.
SPEAKER_00: And so, sure enough, look what happens when they come back.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 17.
SPEAKER_00: The 72 return with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to them, I watch Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
SPEAKER_00: Look, I've given you authority to trample on the snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: Nothing at all will harm you.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus had given them his authority.
SPEAKER_00: They go out, they're praying in Jesus' name, and suddenly things begin to happen.
SPEAKER_00: They're like, it worked, it worked.
SPEAKER_00: There really is power and authority in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Now we read that verse and you go, now, Pastor, it says there that we can tread on snakes and scorpions.
SPEAKER_00: What's that all about?
SPEAKER_00: Is this whenever the church sort of gets weird?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm glad you asked that, okay?
SPEAKER_00: So um I'm gonna ask the ushers to come forward with the venomous snakes now, and we're gonna find out who really's got faith here today, all right?
SPEAKER_00: I'm just kidding, all right?
SPEAKER_00: The only poisonous snake I've ever touched is one that I shot, okay?
SPEAKER_00: They just give me the hippie jeebies, they wig me out.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not into poisonous snakes.
SPEAKER_00: You go, what is that all about?
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's symbolic, right?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is talking about Satan and demons, and he's basically saying this that the venom and poison of Satan will not harm you.
SPEAKER_00: If you'll take your stand in me, it will not harm you.
SPEAKER_00: Now you may go, now, Pastor, are you telling me you believe that there's a devil and he's got demons?
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you're gonna take Jesus and the New Testament and the gospel seriously, over 250 times in the New Testament alone, it mentions Satan or the devil, right?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is a real thing.
SPEAKER_00: Spiritual warfare is real.
SPEAKER_00: Now I know that some people will take it to an extreme, right?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, but let me remind you, Satan is not God, he's not all powerful, he's not everywhere.
SPEAKER_00: A lot of people act like he does.
SPEAKER_00: There's a demon under every rock, and they blame the devil for everything, right?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I flunk the test, the devil really distracted me.
SPEAKER_00: Um, bro, did you study, right?
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, I can't crank my card, the devil, you know.
SPEAKER_00: Well, it could be a bad battery.
SPEAKER_00: Did you check that, right?
SPEAKER_00: So, so there is a reality.
SPEAKER_00: Some people take it to extremes, but the reality is there really is a spiritual warfare that we are in.
SPEAKER_00: I've taught on this in the past.
SPEAKER_00: If you're interested in that, you can go online and check out an entire series on it.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus gives us a little insight here in verse 18.
SPEAKER_00: Look at what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: He said to them, I watch Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
SPEAKER_00: In essence, what Jesus is saying is, hey, you guys are excited because you want a battle.
SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you about the whole war, right?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, Hey, I know you're excited because one of the devil's little minions got defeated by you, but let me tell you about whenever I saw him fall from heaven, right?
SPEAKER_00: Now, the Bible doesn't give us a lot of details about the devil before he fell.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, why?
SPEAKER_00: Because the Bible is about God.
SPEAKER_00: That's the primary reason we study the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: But we do have these few little tidbits, nippets about the devil before he fell.
SPEAKER_00: He was an angelic being, he was around the throne of God, and then suddenly pride entered his heart.
SPEAKER_00: We have a real interesting passage in Isaiah chapter 14, where Isaiah is actually describing this evil king that's rebelling against God.
SPEAKER_00: But you begin to read and understand, okay, he's not just talking about this king, he's talking about the spiritual force behind that king.
SPEAKER_00: Notice how he's described, look at it, in Isaiah 14.
SPEAKER_00: How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawn.
SPEAKER_00: How you are cut down to the ground.
SPEAKER_00: You have said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will set my throne on high, I will make myself like the most high.
SPEAKER_00: What's going on there?
SPEAKER_00: Lucifer, this angel of light, he starts coveting.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's seeing all the worship going to the one true Yahweh God, and suddenly he's like, I want some of that, right?
SPEAKER_00: And so five times in Isaiah it says, I will, I will, I will.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you before that, there was only one will, and it was God's will.
SPEAKER_00: All of creation acquiesced to God's will, and then suddenly here is Satan going, I want my will.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you something?
SPEAKER_00: The heart of satanic rebellion is you saying, My will.
SPEAKER_00: Not God's will.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus taught us to pray, your will be done.
SPEAKER_00: What does Satan tell us to pray?
SPEAKER_00: My will be done.
SPEAKER_00: That is the heart of rebellion.
SPEAKER_00: And so Satan rebelled, and then what happened?
SPEAKER_00: We understand based on revelation that one-third of the angels rebelled with him, and they were cast out of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: You go, okay, cast out of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Where did that where are they sent?
SPEAKER_00: Here.
SPEAKER_00: Planet Earth.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: And now they control this world.
SPEAKER_00: He is the prince and power of the air.
SPEAKER_00: And he and all of his demonic forces have one aim, and that is that they will coerce you to rebel against the one true God, just like they did.
SPEAKER_00: How do they do that?
SPEAKER_00: Through deception.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says that he's the father of lies.
SPEAKER_00: The Apostle Paul puts it like this that we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
SPEAKER_00: It's our battle's not against each other, but it's against principalities and powers.
SPEAKER_00: There's a spiritual force behind that.
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever thought that maybe a lot of what's going on in the world today is demonic forces pulling the strings?
SPEAKER_00: You ever think about that?
SPEAKER_00: It's true.
SPEAKER_00: You ever wonder, hey, maybe Hollywood and their demented, you know, teaching that, okay, sexual pleasure is the way for fulfillment.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's an evil force behind that.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe there's a force behind the lie that says, hey, acquiring more stuff and possessions is really how you'll get ahead and be successful.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe there's the lie that says, hey, you don't need God.
SPEAKER_00: Government will be your God.
SPEAKER_00: The government will be your mama and daddy.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: It's the force behind that professor that taunts, hey, science is all you need.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need faith at all.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's seen in the pulpits today in America.
SPEAKER_00: That basically say, hey, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: God wants you healthy and happy and rich.
SPEAKER_00: Which is a lie.
SPEAKER_00: Or other pulpits that say, okay, you really can't um trust this.
SPEAKER_00: It's just an ancient book that, you know what, you can't trust it for, you know, sexual ethics today.
SPEAKER_00: Or um, you know, the reality is that what if there's a lie and a spiritual force that that speaks to couples and says, hey, divorce is your only option?
SPEAKER_00: Or, dads, your kids don't really need you involved.
SPEAKER_00: Or you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Debt, that's the way you get ahead in life.
SPEAKER_00: Or what if you're checking out Christianity and you've got these doubts?
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever thought maybe there's an evil force behind that that's giving you those doubts?
SPEAKER_00: In all of those situations, you need to know that Satan comes with a lie.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, to steal, kill, and destroy.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus is saying this passage, yes, you have an enemy, but I have conquered that enemy.
SPEAKER_00: I have authority over this.
SPEAKER_00: So you need to resist it.
SPEAKER_00: And if you do in my name, the poison won't poison you.
SPEAKER_00: What do you got to do?
SPEAKER_00: Well, notice how the apostle James puts this.
SPEAKER_00: Look at this in James chapter 4.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, submit to God.
SPEAKER_00: Resist the devil, and he'll flee from you.
SPEAKER_00: That verse is very important.
SPEAKER_00: Submit to God.
SPEAKER_00: What is that?
SPEAKER_00: Your will be done.
SPEAKER_00: Not my will be done, but your will be done.
SPEAKER_00: And then what do you do?
SPEAKER_00: Resist the devil.
SPEAKER_00: No, that's a lie.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to believe it.
SPEAKER_00: And then what happens?
SPEAKER_00: He will flee from you.
SPEAKER_00: There are so many Christians that get stuck.
SPEAKER_00: They get stuck in deception and they have fear and addiction and shame and spiritual defeat.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is saying, yes, there is a spiritual force and power that's out there that is against you.
SPEAKER_00: But it is not ultimate.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, I am the ultimate one.
SPEAKER_00: And I am the one who has authority over death and hell and sin and Satan.
SPEAKER_00: So submit to me.
SPEAKER_00: And if you'll submit to me, the poison of this evil one in this world will not harm you.
SPEAKER_00: Folks, whenever you experience the authority and power of Jesus Christ over this world, it produces joy.
SPEAKER_00: So how do you experience joy?
SPEAKER_00: There's joy in serving, there's joy in the authority and power of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: There's a third thing that produces joy.
SPEAKER_00: Jot this down.
SPEAKER_00: There's joy in your salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what what's real interesting, this is really the main point of this passage.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is going to correct their thinking.
SPEAKER_00: Check it out, look at it in verse 20.
SPEAKER_00: However, Jesus says, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And so what does Jesus do there?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is redirecting our joy.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is saying, hey, don't find your ultimate joy in your performance.
SPEAKER_00: Find your ultimate joy in your salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: Now, we we typically will do that, right?
SPEAKER_00: Whenever your business succeeds, whenever the ministry expands, right?
SPEAKER_00: What do we go?
SPEAKER_00: Woo! We find a lot of joy in that.
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing that will come up and down.
SPEAKER_00: Success fluctuates.
SPEAKER_00: There are times in your Christian life whenever you feel on top of the world.
SPEAKER_00: You pray, and it always answers to prayers, and goodness gracious, God's working and moving, and everything's successful, and you think, oh my goodness, the Christian life is amazing.
SPEAKER_00: And then you go through another season and you pray, and it's like you don't feel like they go above the ceilings, and you're struggling with that sin all over again, and you feel defeated, and nobody's applauding you anymore, and the ministry's going down.
SPEAKER_00: What do you do in those kind of times?
SPEAKER_00: Do you lose your joy?
SPEAKER_00: No, because Jesus says your joy isn't based on your performance, your joy is based on your salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Now, let me put it to you like this okay?
SPEAKER_00: Imagine you have a child who has A distorted view of their parents' love.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, you know what, mom and dad, they love me, they're proud of me.
SPEAKER_00: When I do good in school and when I do good on the ball field, that's when they're proud of me.
SPEAKER_00: Now we would all go, you know, that's a distorted view of love, right?
SPEAKER_00: But can I tell you, that's the way we often view God.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: We have that distorted view of God.
SPEAKER_00: We go, okay, whenever things are going great, and I'm, you know, I'm reading my Bible a lot and I'm praying and I'm conquering that sin and I'm serving and I'm doing good for Jesus, that's when God is proud of me and loved me.
SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you again, folks.
SPEAKER_00: God does not love you based on your performance.
SPEAKER_00: God loves you because of the performance of his son, Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: My righteousness, Pastor Tony Walliser on his best day, my righteousness are filthy rags, and so are yours.
SPEAKER_00: It is all about Jesus Christ and what he has done for us.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: So think about this.
SPEAKER_00: At the moment you repented and believed in Jesus Christ, in that moment of surrender to Jesus as Lord, in that moment, something spiritually happened.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says God adopted you.
SPEAKER_00: And then God transferred you from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear son.
SPEAKER_00: And in that moment, God wrote down your name in the book of life.
SPEAKER_00: Your name is on the list.
SPEAKER_00: The good list.
SPEAKER_00: Your name is written down in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Now, have there ever been those times in your life that you're like, you know, I never seemed to be on the good list.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe in school you tried out for that sports team and they posted the list and you look and you go, your name's not on the list.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you say, okay, well, let me try a drama.
SPEAKER_00: So you do drama, you try out for that part, and you, you know, they post the list and you look and go, okay, my name's not on the list.
SPEAKER_00: I gotta be a tree or something.
SPEAKER_00: Or hey, you get hungry and you go, hey, I understand there's this great restaurant in town.
SPEAKER_00: You go there, it's packed out, you go to Major D and said, Hey, I'd love to eat.
SPEAKER_00: And they go, is your name on the list?
SPEAKER_00: No, my name's not on the list.
SPEAKER_00: Well, sorry, out the door.
SPEAKER_00: You can't eat here, right?
SPEAKER_00: And you go, why can't I be on any good list?
SPEAKER_00: It seemed like the only list I'm on is a bad list.
SPEAKER_00: I'm on the junk mail list.
SPEAKER_00: Who put me on the junk mail list?
SPEAKER_00: I'm on the spam list.
SPEAKER_00: How did I get on that list?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is saying this to you.
SPEAKER_00: If he is your Lord and Savior, you're on the list.
SPEAKER_00: Your name is on the list in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: You're on the list, and there is heaven waiting for you.
SPEAKER_00: There's a Father God who loves you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, I'm preparing a place for you.
SPEAKER_00: One day you're gonna die.
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna stand face to face in front of the living God.
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna look you in the eyes and then look down at the list and go, Well done.
SPEAKER_00: Come enter into the joy of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: You're on the list.
SPEAKER_00: Folks, that should give us joy.
SPEAKER_00: So, if you're dependent on the ups and downs of life and your ministry success or your business success, guess what?
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna be very joyful in this world.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because your health can deteriorate, your money can disappear, friends and family can abandon you.
SPEAKER_00: That's not where your joy is gonna be.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said this in this world, you will have tribulation.
SPEAKER_00: You better find your joy someplace else, other than the ups and downs of this life.
SPEAKER_00: You will have tribulation.
SPEAKER_00: Christian, let me remind you of something.
SPEAKER_00: This is as bad as it gets for us.
SPEAKER_00: This is our hell.
SPEAKER_00: This is as bad as it gets for us.
SPEAKER_00: Everything that's waiting for us on the other side is heaven.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is saying here the greatest miracle is not that spirits submit to us in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: The greatest miracle is that a holy God receives us into heaven, sinners like me and you.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we rejoice because we're on the list.
SPEAKER_00: But there's one final thing that gives us joy.
SPEAKER_00: Jot this on your outline.
SPEAKER_00: There is joy in knowing the Father.
SPEAKER_00: There's joy in knowing the Father.
SPEAKER_00: Now, up until this point, it's just been the disciples and their rejoicing.
SPEAKER_00: But now we actually see Jesus rejoicing.
SPEAKER_00: Check it out, look what it says, verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: At that time he, Jesus, rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure.
SPEAKER_00: See that word good pleasure?
SPEAKER_00: That means, yes, this has brought you great joy.
SPEAKER_00: Good pleasure, right?
SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't know if you caught it or not when we read those verses.
SPEAKER_00: You have the Trinity.
SPEAKER_00: You have all the members of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: You have Jesus who's rejoicing.
SPEAKER_00: You have the Holy Spirit who's causing Jesus to rejoice, and then you have the Father who's taking good pleasure.
SPEAKER_00: And you go, wait a minute, what is it that breaks the triune God so filled with joy?
SPEAKER_00: Well, we discover it's right there in the middle of those verses.
SPEAKER_00: Look at the end of verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: What's bringing God this joy?
SPEAKER_00: Because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants.
SPEAKER_00: Almighty God is revealing himself to humanity.
SPEAKER_00: But what Jesus is saying, that you know what?
SPEAKER_00: The people that are self-sufficient, God hides himself.
SPEAKER_00: But for those who are desperate and dependent, he reveals himself.
SPEAKER_00: To the proud, God hides himself.
SPEAKER_00: But to the humble, God reveals himself.
SPEAKER_00: To the wise of this age, God hides himself.
SPEAKER_00: But to the helpless of this age, God reveals himself.
SPEAKER_00: To those individuals that think they got their life all figured out on their own, God hides himself.
SPEAKER_00: But to the people that will have childlike faith, Jesus calls them infants, God reveals himself.
SPEAKER_00: If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, it's because God revealed himself to you.
SPEAKER_00: And you are humble enough to hear him and respond to him.
SPEAKER_00: I love the way the Apostle Paul puts this in 1 Corinthians 1.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't, you know, doesn't do much for our ego here, but it's it's true.
SPEAKER_00: Look at what it says.
SPEAKER_00: The Apostle Paul writes this.
SPEAKER_00: He's talking about the church in Corinth.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, brothers and sisters, consider your calling.
SPEAKER_00: He basically says, look around at the people that are followers of Jesus in this church.
SPEAKER_00: Consider your calling.
SPEAKER_00: Not many were wise from a human perspective.
SPEAKER_00: Not many powerful, nor many noble.
SPEAKER_00: God has not choosing very many rich and famous people.
SPEAKER_00: You go, well, who is it that God chooses?
SPEAKER_00: Well, check it out.
SPEAKER_00: Look at the next verse.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in this world to shame the wise.
SPEAKER_00: And God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
SPEAKER_00: God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world, what is viewed as nothing to bring to nothing, what is viewed as something.
SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
SPEAKER_00: That means when you come to Jesus, you can't have this attitude, whoo, God, when you got me, you got a winner.
SPEAKER_00: No, it's not true.
SPEAKER_00: God only accepts a bunch of losers, right?
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Why is it that God chooses only those kind of people?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, well, I want to be a winner.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Paul says if you're following Jesus, you're foolish, weak, insignificant, and nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to church.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: That's how God describes us.
SPEAKER_00: Why would God choose those kind of people?
SPEAKER_00: Look at it, verse 29.
SPEAKER_00: So that no one may boast in his presence.
SPEAKER_00: I think about my life.
SPEAKER_00: I came to faith when I was 19 years old.
SPEAKER_00: I was an addict.
SPEAKER_00: Illiterate, maybe best, sixth grade reading comprehension.
SPEAKER_00: Hog farmer from Wai Mama, Florida.
SPEAKER_00: Why would God choose anybody like me?
SPEAKER_00: Because when God can use a nobody like me, he gets all the glory.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: That's what it's all about.
SPEAKER_00: So many times we think, oh, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, if this rich and famous person, if they would come to faith, oh my goodness, that would really sparkle for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: God don't need those kind of people.
SPEAKER_00: He is bright and glorious enough.
SPEAKER_00: When God uses and chooses people like us that are broken, that are strugglers, that are nobodies, guess what?
SPEAKER_00: He's the one who gets all the glory.
SPEAKER_00: There's been a lot of rich people that have been a part of our church.
SPEAKER_00: Formerly rich.
SPEAKER_00: We don't have any rich people now.
SPEAKER_00: What do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: Well, you see, whenever they were rich and powerful, they were self-sufficient and they didn't need God.
SPEAKER_00: But God has a way of humbling them.
SPEAKER_00: And now they don't, they're not rich anymore.
SPEAKER_00: But guess what?
SPEAKER_00: They got plenty with Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That's what God does.
SPEAKER_00: Christ saves the humble.
SPEAKER_00: God has come for all of humanity.
SPEAKER_00: But the doorway into salvation is so low, only the humble can enter.
SPEAKER_00: And so let me remind you of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Here it is.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is God's Son who came to live the perfect life that you and I could never live.
SPEAKER_00: He fulfilled the law.
SPEAKER_00: And then He died, He experienced the death that we deserve to die.
SPEAKER_00: He died on the cross and in our place for our sins.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus died for your sins.
SPEAKER_00: But then Jesus rose again to do what?
SPEAKER_00: To give you life.
SPEAKER_00: His resurrection life.
SPEAKER_00: But what must you do?
SPEAKER_00: You must repent and believe.
SPEAKER_00: You must turn from yourself and trust in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: You must say, not my will be done, but your will be done.
SPEAKER_00: And in that moment of surrender to Jesus Christ as your Lord, in that moment, God says, I see that.
SPEAKER_00: Now I'm going to forgive you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm adopting you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm transferring you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm writing your name in the book of life.
SPEAKER_00: And then what happens?
SPEAKER_00: Then he gives you his Holy Spirit where you can experience his authority and his power to overcome the darkness of this world.
SPEAKER_00: And then you start serving Jesus and his kingdom, and you're experiencing joy, and the entire time you're getting to know God more and more and more.
SPEAKER_00: And can I tell you something?
SPEAKER_00: All of that produces joy in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Folks, that's how you find joy.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you so much for your word.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, I thank you that you choose the humble.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Lord, I'm so thankful for the many here in this room that have humbled themselves before you.
SPEAKER_00: And so, Lord, you know every person here, you know the lies that they have believed from this world that are stealing from them.
SPEAKER_00: That are stealing your joy from them.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I pray that you would set the captives free.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, would you do your myths, your work in our midst, even right now?
SPEAKER_00: We pray this in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.