586. Gospel of Luke - Chapter 10 (#2) - Rejoice because Your Names are Written in Heaven - July 1, 2024

[00:00:06] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs. So, open and prior. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today.

[00:00:26] Lord, I pray that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every one of them. In addition, I pray that everyone listening would have favor with both God and man. I ask this in Jesus name, Amen. This is Proverbs 1, beginning in verse 1.

[00:00:48] The Proverbs of Solomon, the Son of David, King of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment and equity. To give proofs to the simple, to the young man, knowledge and discretion.

[00:01:12] A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel to understand, and a proverb, and an enigma. The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

[00:01:38] My Son, hear the instruction of your father and do not forsake the law of your mother, for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and change about your neck.

[00:01:51] My Son, if sinners entice you do not consent, if they say come with us, let us lie in weight to shed blood. Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.

[00:02:06] Let us swallow them alive like sheal, and whole like those who go down to the pit. We shall find all kinds of precious possessions.

[00:02:17] We shall fill our houses with sponial. Cast in your lot among us, let us all have one purse. My Son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

[00:02:40] Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird, but they lie in weight for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives, so are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.

[00:03:02] Wisdom calls aloud outside. She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the sheath concourses at the openings of the gates in the city. She speaks her words, how long you simple ones will you love simplicity for scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge.

[00:03:32] Surely I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make my words known to you, because I have called and you refused. I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel and would have none of my review.

[00:03:55] I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not know what to do.

[00:04:25] It not choose the fear of the Lord. They would have none of my counsel and despised my every review. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way and be filled to the full with their own fancies.

[00:04:43] For the turning away of the simple will slay them and the complacency of fools will destroy them, but whoever listens to me will dwell safely and will be secure without fear of evil.

[00:05:01] Friends today, we are going to take a closer look at verses 2 through 7. Now that's quite a bit of reading, so I'm not going to go over them now, but we will revisit them prior to closing today.

[00:05:19] But what I'd like to do right now is to begin our week where we left off on Thursday's podcast. And on Thursday, we had just begun chapter 10.

[00:05:31] We learned that Jesus set out 70 additional disciples and he gave them power, and he told them to go out. And he was very specific in his directions. He said,

[00:05:46] Do not bring an extra, napsack. In other words, don't bring clothes just basically just bring the clothes on your back. And I kind of think Jesus is telling us that that is what we need to do today.

[00:06:03] We need to be ready to share the good news of the gospel pretty much wherever we go and we all want to be ready. Today we are going to begin where we left off on Thursday, so we are in chapter 10 of Luke beginning in verse 13.

[00:06:24] Low to you, Corazin. Low to you, that's say it for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in tire and sighting they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

[00:06:45] But it will be more tolerable for tire and sighting at the judgment than for you. And you, Corazin, who are exalted in heaven, will be brought down to Hades.

[00:07:01] He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me.

[00:07:15] So friends, my first point today is low to you, Corazin, low to you, that's say it. So what I'm going to do is begin by going over the commentary for verse 13 and I am reading out of the Nelson study Bible.

[00:07:37] But verse 13 says the mighty works of Jesus were so great that if they had been performed before the worst pagans of the old era, those people would have repented. Jesus' remark was meant to wake the people up, to what their rejection of him signified.

[00:08:04] Now friends, what I'd like to do is break these four verses down and kind of just explain them a little bit because I kind of feel and I've heard a number of people tell me this that when they first begin reading the Bible

[00:08:22] that if really doesn't make sense to them and this would be a good example of a passage of scripture that if you're not used to reading scripture might need a little bit of explanation.

[00:08:39] So verse 13, it says, whoa to you, Corazin, low to you, Beth say ita. In other words what Jesus is saying is if you do not repent of your sins and if you live your entire life as though God doesn't exist then you are going to have judgment.

[00:09:02] Four if the mighty works which were done in you had been done entire and signed they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

[00:09:16] Now friends what I hear that verse, it reminds me of the book of Jonah and God had called the prophet Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and it was a city of several hundred thousand people and they had turned away from God.

[00:09:36] And when he sent Jonah there, Jonah rebelled and Jonah refused to do it. He said he did not want to do that. So he got in a boat when in the opposite direction but God through circumstances he was thrown off the boat.

[00:09:54] He was swallowed by a great whale and lived in the belly for three days and finally he was spit out on the beach. And God spoke to him again and this time Jonah repented and he did end up going to the city of Nineveh.

[00:10:14] But when he preached the message that God had told him to speak the city of Nineveh repented and they put on sackcloth and ashes and that is what this particular passage reminds me of.

[00:10:31] Let's go to verse 14, but it will be more tolerable for tire and sign at the judgment than for you. Now friends if you never turn to Jesus and never receive him as your Lord and Savior judgment will come upon you when you brave your last here on earth.

[00:10:55] And you, Capernalum who were exalted to heaven will be brought down to Hades.

[00:11:04] And friends what this is telling me is that it doesn't matter if you are in a country that is primarily Christian. You can be in a midst of say 10 people and all of the people in that group of 10 are real strong Christians.

[00:11:24] And you are not. You are not going to be saved if you are not living the right way. It does matter who you hang out with it really does but if you're still sinning, if you're still doing stuff wrong even if you have wonderful Christian friends you will be caught out.

[00:11:49] He who hears you hears me. Now I really like that. Now that is basically the way the script is supposed to be written. If we hear the word of God and if we hear the words of Jesus when we speak we are supposed to sound like Jesus sounds.

[00:12:15] Now some of you may not be there yet. Some of you may have a long way to go but that is what this verse is saying.

[00:12:25] He who hears you hears me. He who rejects you rejects me and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. Now, of course, they're talking about God.

[00:12:43] So friends once again a reminder and I often talk about this is if you claim to be a Christian there will almost undoubtedly everywhere you go.

[00:12:57] You will have someone who will confront you and will not want to hear the good news of the gospel, especially in our world today more and more people are turning their back on Jesus.

[00:13:13] And we need to be prepared for that in case it happens to us. Let's go on to our 17 then the 70 returned with joy saying, Lord even the demons are subject to us in your name.

[00:13:31] Now friends, I don't know about you but if I heard them talking that way I can't help but feel that that verse smacks a little bit of pride.

[00:13:46] And friends what I'm saying is yes you go about the duty and preaching the gospel but if something good happens to you do not take the credit yourself.

[00:14:01] Always give the credit to Jesus. Let's look at verse 18 and he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. That is a wonderful verse and that is my second point today. I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

[00:14:28] Let's look at the commentary for this verse verse 18 and see what the commentator says. This verse provides a commentary on what the disciples healing ministry meant.

[00:14:47] The reversal of the effects of sin and death which Satan introduced through his deception way back at the beginning of the Bible in the third chapter of Genesis are portrayed graphically as Satan falling from heaven.

[00:15:10] Jesus' ministry and what grows out of it represents the defeat of Satan sin and death. And friends that is a powerful, powerful commentary. So think about that. That is found in Luke chapter 10 verse 18. Let's go on to verse 19.

[00:15:36] Behold, I give you the authority and friends I like that word authority. This is a word that God has been speaking to my wife Judy really a lot lately and the authority that we are supposed to walk in every day as Christians.

[00:15:59] We are supposed to have that authority and let's listen to Jesus' comment and about the authority that we can have in our lives today.

[00:16:11] Beginning in verse 19 again, behold I give you the authority to trample on servants and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

[00:16:31] Now friends here he is talking to the 70 additional disciples that he had set out. They had come back into the city they were all full of themselves everything was going well they had a successful trip on their ministry and their missionary journey that they had been set on.

[00:16:53] But friends we should have this authority in our lives today. Let's go to verse 20 never the less do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

[00:17:18] Now friends that is my third point today and that is the most important thing. So the third point is rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Listen to the commentary for verses 19 and 20. This passage records the transmission of Jesus' authority to his immediate circle of disciples.

[00:17:49] It should be noted that similar authority was not given beyond that circle of disciples. Note the authority that is given to the 11 in Matthew chapter 28.

[00:18:04] As Jesus makes clear in verse 20, authority was not the most important thing that disciples received. Your names are written in heaven and listen to this more important than the disciples of authority over spirits was their position as God's children.

[00:18:29] Their names were known to God and were written in God's book. This was the disciples greatest blessing.

[00:18:40] Now friends before we close we're going to go back to proper one and I am going to read the first seven verses again beginning in verse two to know wisdom and instruction.

[00:18:54] To perceive the words of understanding. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment and equity to give prudence to the simple to the young man, knowledge and discretion.

[00:19:11] A wise man will hear and increase learning and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel to understand a proverb and an enigma.

[00:19:27] The words of the wise and the riddles and verse seven is key. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

[00:19:42] This is your host Bill Kelly and I am beginning my 28th month today of this podcast. I originally began on April 1st of 2022. This is my 586 podcast.

[00:20:01] I would like to believe that if you listen to today's podcast, it's going to be significantly better than when I began 27 months ago.

[00:20:12] But the reason I started this podcast is the Holy Spirit woke me up in the middle of the night and informed me that all people need wisdom.

[00:20:25] And I had a bunch of people come against me and they said, but you've got a narrow down your audience. You've got to narrow it down. Okay, and I'm sitting there thinking, no.

[00:20:36] The Holy Spirit made it clear to me that everyone needs wisdom. I don't care if you're four years old, ten years old in middle school, in high school, in college.

[00:20:51] If you're a post graduate and have a doctor's degree, every single person on earth needs wisdom. But the key to wisdom is verse seven that we must have the fear of the Lord.

[00:21:10] It says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and knowledge will eventually turn into understanding and understanding will eventually turn in to wisdom.

[00:21:24] And friends, this whole podcast is predicated on wisdom. So friends, the best way to become wise is to listen to the proverb of the day every day either listen to my broadcast or if you want to, you can read it on your own.

[00:21:45] But I would suggest getting into the book of Proverbs every day and reading the instruction manual of life. My call to action today is very simple, make a habit of hearing or reading the proverb of the day every day.

[00:22:06] Friends, I will never end a podcast without giving anyone an opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord in Savior. If there is anyone listening today and you've never taken that step, I invite you to repeat a simple prayer after me today.

[00:22:24] Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and in need of a Savior. I believe that you are the Son of God.

[00:22:32] I believe you came to earth and died on a cross and were varied. On the third day you rose again from the dead and now sit at the right hand of God the Father.

[00:22:46] Jesus, I invite you to come into my heart. I ask that you lead me and guide me from this point forward in my life. I make you my Lord and Savior.

[00:22:58] Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make us face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord liftoff his countenance upon you and give you peace. Friends, tomorrow is testimony, Daniel. Please join me and a special guest as we further explore wisdom.