From, Not For.... (Luke 10:20)

I don't want to jump into this morning sermon which continues to help assist the past week or so on serving and I want to talk about a passage that is unique and challenging and I'll read it and just a moment well, imma, let me start out by reading it and then out then I'll share something else but beginning and Luke chapter 10 verse 1. It says after these things the Lord appointed 70 others also and sent them out two by two before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to go then he said then the Harvest truly is great. But the laborers are few therefore pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into his Harvest go your way behold. I send you out as Lambs Among Wolves carry, neither moneybagg knapsack nor sandals and greet. No one along the road, but whatever house you enter first say peace to this house and then say son of pieces there your peace will rest on it. If not, it will return to you and remain in the same house. Drink you such thing as a gift for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house whatever city you enter and they receive you eat such things as are set before you and heal the sick there and say to them the kingdom of God has come near to you but whatever city you enter and they do not receive you go out into its streets and say the very dust of your city which clings to us. We wipe off against you never the last know this that the kingdom of God has come near you but I save you will be more terrible more tolerable in the day for Sodom and then for that Cee Lo to You chords anwo. Do you best a24 if the mighty Works which were done and you have been done in tea rinse it in they would have repented long ago setting in sackcloth and Ashes but it will be more tolerable Fortier and sitting at the Judgment Day then for you and you capernium who are exalted to heaven will be brought down to Hades. He who hears you hears me. Who rejects you rejects me? And he who rejects me rejects him who sent me then the 70 returned with Joy saying Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And then Jesus. He said to them I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven behold. I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt. You never let us do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you but reads rather Rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Now that's a packed passage full of lots of intriguing things. But I want to focus on the beginning and the end that Jesus sends out the 72 and equips them to go and do Works in his name and that they go out and they succeed and that they come back rejoicing that they've succeeded but Jesus corrects them a little bit at the end now, aw Tozer said religion has accepted the Monstrous heresy that noise size and active activity and Bluster make a man or woman dear to God. I think he's speaking to a truth has been part of Christian culture the past 50 or 75 years. We are tempted to measure our success by what we are accomplishing this easy to think in terms of those factors in measure numbers and size and building and budget and that sort of thing and if we're not careful that measurement which can be innocent and good in them. Self to measure certain things if we're not careful though, it can become an ultimate thing about whether we discern are we successful or is the Lord pleased with us? And I think that some of the dynamic that's revealed in this passage. We can become deceived into thinking we only matter to God or matter more to God if we do great things for God. Do you see the danger of slipping into that sort of thinking and it's part of what I think the 72 had slipped into in their own thinking and that's Jesus corrects them when they come back with Joyce any says no don't rejoice in what year were Joyce again Rejoice rather in this very easy for us to slip into that sort of thinking if we slip into that thinking our walk with God can become I track to become spiritually significant in order to please God. Do you see how easy it is? How how subtly we can slip into that sort of thinking and so my journey as a Christian is to be a good follower of Jesus. And before we know what we've got that good as this sort of Bhutan are neck as this burden that we wear and Jesus said 900 following me is this light and easier than you've got to let go of that sort of Burden, but it's so easy just to slip into thinking I need to do well so that God will be pleased with me. I might my following of him is all about me performing and succeeding and being disciplined it and read my Bible and praying again. Those are good things. But if we're not careful, they become the things that we feel burdened to accomplish in order for God to be pleased with us. They see the danger of that chronology of our walk with God that we think I need to do these things so that God will be happy with me we can slip into that store. Fast thinking think about this passage. Think about the 72 can anybody here and name any of the 72?

If you can you get a shiny silver dollar from me because we are given no names for any of the 72 they are nameless and then when you think about the 12 in chapter 9 the 12 or sent out, you know, Jesus stays up all night praying and then he comes out and selects the 12 by name and we can immediately without even working at its name six just right of that right Peter James John Andrew Matthew Judas. We've got the names of the 12. They're the famous ones. They're the ones that he prayed for in selected by name and then the 72 are the rest you can see where be tempting if you're part of the 72 to feel like the B-Team. You know, he's selected these by name and even you might even be thinking Peter. He's flying off the handle all the time. What was he thinking I should have been on the varsity not the JV kind of thing. You can see this sort of thing can slip in to their thinking and then in the path of Jesus gathered him he gave them power and he sent them out. And at the end they returned having succeeded. In proclaiming the gospel in casting out demons, they returned to him and say look we have succeeded. Can you imagine what it would feel like to cast out demons? I mean think about that for a moment. Imagine how powerful that would feel. I mean if someone was demon-possessed and your preaching the gospel, and they said he's sick all the time. He's flopping all over we don't know what to do. And you later Hannah say in the name of Jesus and he gets better get imagine how you would just be like, yeah, baby. the easy to slip into that sort of thinking but look here's a little context in the chapter before this the 12 go out to do the Lord's bidding and they encounter a demon-possessed boy, and the father says to Jesus when he shows up I beg your disciples and that's the 12. I begged the varsity team to cast out this demon and guess what they could not Now do you see in this context how the 72 come back rejoicing? And they bother to say to Jesus. Hey, guess what the demons? Obey us when we cast them out in your name. You maybe want to sub some of us no name 72 out for that precious 12 that you've got we can think in those terms are easy would be the slip into that. They come back when the 72 disciples return. They joyfully reported to him Lord. Even the demons. Obey us when we use your name. That's what they're excited about. You sent us out you empowered us and look at what we accomplished. It's very easy rights. They look Lord. Look how big the offering was look for Lord. Look how big a tendency to us. It's easy to slip into those sorts of things in the church or looked Lord. I have taught Sunday school for so many years. I've done so much. It's easy to think of that with with good motives. Sometimes just offering that and saying look out how good I've done kind of seeking approval. So this is how the 72 kind of feel when they come back there, like joyfully reporting. Hey, guess what? I'd heard the story about the other disciples the 12 who couldn't we went out in your name, even the demons obeyed us and they're kind of thinking we're doing pretty good, right you can pass on the back lord. We're doing we're doing pretty good. But here's the challenge where Jesus ships they're thinking the goal of ministering to others is to set people free not to wield Spiritual Authority for our own significance.

But you see how easy it would be to slip into that. It doesn't just have to be the Benny Hinn's in the world didn't hand makes it obvious that he's wielding The Authority that he willed and the things that he does for his own good because everything has his name stamped on it. That's usually a red flag for me. When a Ministry is constantly named and stamp with the name of the minister. If I ever start a Ministry of my own and it is Robbie Phillips International. Please come to me and say it really is there a chance that this is about you and not about what you're trying to achieve for the sake of the Kingdom. It's easy when you see somebody like that, but you may not know that name a solid humble. God focused servant Who Loved others who had his PhD and was teaching at Yale and in doing good things for the kingdom publishing books left and right and he he confessed at one point. He just left his teaching position there and went to spend the rest of his life working in a home for the mentally disabled. And when people ask him, why did you in the midst of this success? Why did you depart that and go here? And he said I knew in my heart. That I was beginning to be tempted to Pat myself on the back to say look at what I've accomplished. I've got all these books published. I've got all these degrees on a sought-after speaker. And I knew I was slipping away from Simply humbly loving Jesus and loving others and so he purposely made that decision or that shift. It's an easy Temptation. Look at the Luke chapter 4 where Jesus is tempted? Think about the fact that when Satan tempts him those Temptations are all in the category of really doing good things, right? He doesn't just blatantly say hey, why don't you go do something mean and evil? He says you're hungry. Why don't you turn these stones to bread nothing wrong with that? That's a good thing. Hey, why don't you throw yourself off the temple and scripture says the angels will catch you his angels will catch you and people will be like me and you are a rockstar and you'll have a following and you'll be able to do great things. He was tempting Jesus to do what you could think of is good, but he was taking him to do it for his own self. For his own kingdom for his own reputation for his own image for his own stomach and Jesus rejected that temptation. Think about Matthew 7 21 through 23. Jesus warns of this sort of danger in that passage. He says to his disciples look on Judgement Day. There will be those who come to me and say Lord. We did great things in your name. We even cast out demons in your name and Jesus said to those who come to him in this particular passage, who's brag about depart from me. I don't know you shoulder is the ability to do great things that we would measure as great and to not do it in the spirit and the love of the Lord to do it absent from that. There's this danger to slip into thinking. Hey, Jesus were back and the demons obeyed us baby. We are something else and Jesus senses that danger in that measuring things by accomplishment, but what they're doing it says no, no don't don't rejoice in that. So they're bragging. Hey, the demons are beta and so I think Jesus kind of says you need to have a little perspective here. If you're excited that a demon obeyed you. Let me give you a little insight to the larger picture. I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Not one demon. I'll bang you in my name to be cast out of one person look at if that's what it was all about. I could set up a a seminar and workshop and sell DVDs and I can say I saw Satan fall from Heaven like lightning. Look. I've given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and overcome all power of your enemy. Nothing will harm you. however Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. You see him correcting them. Don't be excited about the power that you saw happen. Don't be excited about what you accomplished. If it was that sort of thing. I could get up and talk about what I saw when Satan fell from heaven Ministry is not about your own accomplishment or doing great things or drawing a crowd for your own self. It's about setting free those who need to be set free. And what you need to rejoice in is Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Really to say rejoice that your names are written in heaven is to say rejoice in your salvation. That's what that language means that your names are written in heaven. It's similar we talked about it the book of Philippians at Paul talks about us having citizenship in heaven. That's what they're challenge to rejoice and rejoice in your salvation. Enjoy Rejoice that you have been saved that you have that security and that Grace for me Bob Goff said live your life like you're exactly who God says you are you're his beloved quit acting like you've got to earn it. You see that distinction if we're not careful the gospel and Christianity just becomes one more Americanized business. And we measure everything by numbers and we measure our success by numbers and we say will clearly this person is a better Christian than this person because look at all the things that they've accomplished and this person doesn't have that list of things to accomplish and the 72 a slip into that sort of Temptation to stay in your salvation Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. And the reason that's important. The reason that's a vital the reason in the midst of this amazing passage where all these miraculous things are happening and the 72 come back and say look we did it. We did it. The reason Jesus feels the need to say you got it wrong don't rejoice in that don't Rejoice rejoice in the demons being cast out. It's important. It's a vital these things. I looked don't rejoice in that Rejoice instead in your salvation Rejoice that you've been safe little bit of what We live our lives out of the fruit of what God has accomplished for us and Ms. Not out of the idea of trying to accomplish it ourselves and you see how it kind of takes God out of the mix if we flip it and we get in the wrong order and we start rejoicing and what we've accomplished as if if we accomplished enough. We'll say good job, Robbie you've done so much that I'm just going to welcome you into my kingdom. For now, it's a human Kingdom trying to accomplish a list of things. Whatever that list is it could be different for everybody in order to feel accepted saved justify you realize how easy that is right. You can be the mom who constantly Compares your home to somebody else's home ever do that. You compare your parenting to somebody else's parenting in Facebook just awful because when everybody does is they put up their best selves their best photos, you know, we have this great family photo on our Facebook and people say that is a beautiful photo and I'm quick to say you need to realize that was the one second and that two hours of family photo taking that somebody wasn't crying or pulling hair or Saint you got a small camera then we put it on the mantel.

That's how the Philips is our 24/7 365 is just a Love Fest. Our house is always clean everything. There's never been a dirty dish and I think you know that it's just amazing. As soon as you finish eating. They just miraculously clean. You just put him right back in the cabinet do before we know what we start competing and we start thinking that's the essence of life. I've got to have a home that's as good as the next home or clean enough for my children need to be beautiful enough for everything. These are my bank account needs before my career so we can beat on so many different levels or a physical fitness and what a horrible culture we live in it constantly shows us HGTV, you know, look at these homes are look at this person's Fitness with we live in a culture that constantly entices us to slip into this. I've got to earn it in order to feel good about myself and the gospel comes in and flips ever been. Around so when the 72 are tempted to slip into that sort of thinking look what we did we burned her way. We're good little boys and girls Jesus has no no don't rejoice in that Rejoice that your names are written in heaven rejoice in your salvation provided by God. Here's why it's so vital if we understand this we are free to give ourselves away in love. Please if you hear nothing else hear this connection, the reason scripture emphasizes again, and again and again Romans 8:1, there's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus again, and again the grace of our Salvation Ephesians 2. You didn't save yourself not stay by your own work but saved by the grace of God different sizes that again and again and again because there's a freedom that happens in our hearts and in our lives when we realize that our Salvation is secure and complete because of work of Christ and when we gain that freedom when we let go of that feeling of competition with others when we gain that freedom we are able to serve others more fully. Think about that for a moment. The reason we sometimes don't serve is because we don't want to look like a servant. I paid money for this note the restaurant. I'm not going to be down in my suit on my hands and knees cleaning up underneath the table. There's a waitress for that. I'm here because I can afford to eat here and that says something about me and I'm not going to see how easy we can slip into it's all about notches or levels or I've got to succeed to a certain degree. So people are impressed with my car my house my wife my children, whatever it is and Jesus's look all of that. Let go of it rejoice in your salvation. You are safe. And when we understand that truth, there's a freedom that comes that allows us to serve others like Christ open handedly and graciously and even radically and that is part of the power of the Gospel going out into our culture when we let go of ego and that sort of need to succeed no matter what and that competition with others and we become not just people who serve as a task, but people who understand and see their own identity as servants. What freed up to serve in such a way in Matthew 3:17 before Jesus ministry ever begins. They sometimes when we think of the The Narrative of Jesus ministry, we think of him accomplishing all these great things and then after accomplish is all these great things God saying, that's my boy. That's my boy. I'm so so proud of him. But when you look at the actual record in the gospels, Jesus lives at home with his mom for 30 years, right you talk about Failure to Launch, you know by our culture standards the way we would look at stuff we would say, what's he done? What's he done? And yet at the very beginning of his ministry Matthew 3:17 occurs when he's being baptized. God says, this is my son whom I love with him. I am well pleased that comes at the beginning of his ministry with God the Father not at the end and that means something that that's the way the record record it and that's the way God Did It John 13 Washes, his disciples feet. again, if anybody good feel like I'm above this wouldn't it be the son of God? If you and I have the pretense to feel like we should have to clean up after ourselves at a restaurant or I'm going to tip poorly because that waitress I'm here for anybody can feel Justified when it be the son of God. Who can say I'm not washing your feet? I'm a Son of God. Like you guys are all just humans. I'm Divinity incarnated in Flash. I can just wave my hands and you have no feet and you be like and you want me, you know, I'm supposed to know. He willingly intentionally deliberately and John 13 gets down on his hands and knees and washes the disciples feet and look at verse 3 that explains why Jesus was able to do this. It says Jesus knew that the father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God and then an amazing verse. And because of that because of that confidence and God the Father his relationship of God the Father God the father has planned for him that he's come from God and he was returning to God. He wasn't worried about what anybody was going to say or what anybody was going to think he got down on his hands and knees and he wash their feet because that was God working through him to show his love to the disciples and if we can get that truth of confidence of God's love for us of confidence of our Salvation being secure that we can serve in a way that isn't just a to-do list of doing tasks that are good we can serve with a heart and a spirit that we embrace our identity as servant. So every day there's opportunities to open a door to pay for somebody's bursaries to pray with somebody we discover in tears and not to be above any of it because what we were Joyce is that our names are written in heaven that the grace of God has been understood and received and we are saved and it is secure and were freed up to serve in such a way that it can change the very World itself. I stole all of this from a guy named John Tyson who's a pastor in New York City and I love when he turned this passage on its head and talked about this or the truth and what he said was we serve our Reddit a devotional is and I turned it into a much longer sermon obviously than his devotional we serve from blessing not for blessing. You see the important distinction if we're not careful, we can live our lives in such a way that we think we're serving in order to get God blessing. If I go to church if I read my Bible if I pray if I'm good to others if I get my emissions the nose of the things that will equal God's blessing upon my life as matter fact, there's an entire industry right that teaches you do these things and God will bless you you send in your money to my Ministry and God will bless you. You get my DVDs and learn the correct way to understand everything and God will bless you. It's when it reverses the relationship where we are the ones accomplishing what equals God's blessing because the gospel is God showing up in the flesh in Jesus Christ and giving himself away for us. So it is from blessing that we serve not for blessing. It is from blessing that we serve not for blessing. It is from blessing that we serve not for blessing. Sometimes. I think I need to get up every morning and tell myself that over and over maybe every hour. I need to have my phone set alarm and go. Okay, that's right. It is from blessing that I serve not for because if I slip into the mistake of thinking it's four then what happens when one of my goals or my agendas or my attempts at Ministry what happens when it fails miserably Then I have to fear about my relationship of God. Oh, no, I just realized my yearly devotionals. I last time I read it was January 13th. This is June. I'm going straight to let you know we can slip into this sort of dynamic. We're if we don't succeed if we in Ministry if we don't have the numbers or the wrong person, like if we don't do these sorts of things we could slip into think it's that we rise and fall based on our own performance and then our walk with God becomes a roller coaster. Can I get an amen? And I ever feel like your walk with God is a rollercoaster. Some weeks worship is great.

And not worship. Some weeks, you know the sermon really spoke to me pastor of the weight. I just don't know what was the pastor but it might be the way we let our walk with God to come this roller coaster that Ebbs and flows based on how we measure ourselves as opposed to the steadiness at standing at the foot of the cross and seeing the unending grace of God. Snow roller coaster there. It's this continual worship and this praise and this gratitude of what God has done. We serve we Minister from blessing not for blessing and that's something we've got a tattoo on our heart on our brains will end with this version on by the worship team to come forward think about events at the end of The Gospel the Great Commission. We're so tempted to hear the Great Commission as I got it go and make disciples. I'm going to do it Lord. I'm going to do it and you're going to be so proud of me. I'm going to accomplish so much. Let's go guys. Let's get it done get it done but noticed and Luke at the end of Lou play talk about the Great Commission this little verse at the very end almost the last verse of Luke. It says while he was blessing them. He left them and was taken up into heaven.

The last thing he does is it to give the commission and say now go do this and you'll be good to seiples. The last thing he does is to bless them. And even says he's taking up while he's blessing them. So I'm not sure what that looks like if he's blessing them and then he's kind of Fading Into the background the same time. He saying bless you bless you bless you the whole time. So even as they hear that Great Commission and they go to obey they're doing it from blessing not for blessing. Before they took one step to act upon the Great Commission. Jesus is blessing them is blessing them and it's from what we have received from God his unending Grace and forgiveness and goodness that we give to others thus our ability to be gracious and forgive and love others. It's not something we're doing in our own strength in order to gain God's blessing. It's something we're doing out of the fact that we were joy seing that our names are written in heaven for a joy sing in our Salvation. We're reminding ourselves daily that we have been saved by a good and gracious and loving savior that his mercies are new every morning that our sins are forgiven that are failures. Even when even when we are attempting to do the right thing and we felt we intentionally did the wrong thing that our failures are met when we bring them before God with his grace and forgiveness. When we learn to Rejoice that our names are written in heaven, it empowers us to serve. Open handedly graciously because no longer about competition with others is no longer about some sort of record-keeping. She's assisted you worried about record-keeping. Here's the deal. Why don't I just give you my record?

Why don't I just impart my righteousness to you? Are you worried about record-keeping? Are you worried about what it's going to mean for you to stand before a holy God one day on Judgment Day in heaven? Are you worried about that? Jesus says if you will simply trust me, we'll just I'll just give you my record. I'll take yours. I'll take it with me to the cross. And I'll pay the price for it. And then on the cross I will say it is finished. Don't bring it up anymore. Don't bring it up. Again. Just celebrate each week in communion celebrate what has been given to you rejoice that your names are written in heaven. What a gift we are to be such a joyous people that people just say I want a little bit of whatever that guy's drinking or whatever was on his peanut butter sandwich because it frees us up. We need to remind yourself that every week. Gear this morning and you've never made the decision to accept Jesus as your lord and savior during the song I invite you to do that. I'll be both both in the front and the back for prayer and I'll be in the back for prayer or if you have a decision on your heart. Please come to me or you just have a question come to me. If you ever need that the church needs to be aware of come tell us that so that week we can serve and help in the Name of Christ. For all of us. Let's just remind yourself of the Gospel itself right for God so loved the world that includes you and I They gave his only son I was a joint plan with God and Jesus that he offered himself on our behalf as a sacrifice that whoever believes would not perish there be no record of judgment against us. We won't perish there won't be a jarabe. Look at all these sins in your life instead. It'll be you are in Christ and you are righteous covered by his blood. So instead of perishing I will live forever because of the work of Christ. May we Rejoice that our names are written in heaven, please stand as we sing.