Rejoice in These - Lk 10.17-22

Rejoice in these!  Lk 10.17-22                       

a. The Lord of the Harvest appointed and sent out His 70 labourers into His harvest field. 
- They are warned that they are sent out as lambs among wolves.
- They are assured that all their needs as His labourers shall be met.
- They are given instructions as to how they are to conduct themselves as His labourers.
- They are entrusted with the necessary and needed authority for their mission, (19a).
- They are assured of their protection and safety from the enemy...

b. They obediently went forth in their mission. How long they were away, we are not told. However, we know that they were evidently pleased with their mission. v17 'Then the 70 returned with joy...' They returned with rejoicing.
- They have good reasons to be rejoicing.
- Though they were sent out into the midst of wolves, yet they discovered many sons of peace receiving them & the gospel message…all their needs were abundantly met... many miracles were performed, and 'even the demons are subject to us in Your name.'  Note the word 'even'. They were amazed; no wonder they returned rejoicing... great things were happening through them.

c. However, from the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, we know that something is not quite right concerning their rejoicing. put simply, it amounts to this: they are rejoicing in the effects.
- The Lord Jesus Christ has to remind them of the root cause or the source of these effects. The Lord Jesus points them beyond the effects, and to the Triune God... Let me direct our attention to three matters in this regard.

1. Rejoice in the Lord who has triumphed over Satan
a. The disciples rejoice saying, '... Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.'
- The Lord took delight in the joy of the disciples. However, He did more than that. He purified that joy by giving them the explanation of the amazing phenomenon experienced by them.
- The Lord said, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.' That explains why the demons are subject to them. Satan is the prince and master of all the demons and evil spirits. He is the enemy of Christ's people.
- The demons were subject to the disciples because their master Satan has been overcome by the Lord Christ Jesus.   Gen 3.15; Mt 12.27-29; Rom 16.20; Rev 20.1-3.

b. It is because the Lord Jesus Christ has overcome Satan that He has authority to give to his disciples to trample on serpents and scorpions (a figurative language referring to subordinates of Satan).  'Behold... I give you the authority... Lk 11.22; Mt 28.18-20; 2Cor 10.3-5:

c. It is because the Lord Jesus Christ has overcome Satan that He has power to overcome all the power of the enemy... and to set the captives free from all the power of the enemy. He has the power to remove spiritual death in a sinner... He has power to regenerate a spiritually dead sinner... to remove spiritual blindness and deafness, etc

d. The Lord Jesus Christ has overcome Satan that He is able to protect His disciples and all His redeemed people from all the power of the enemy... that of all He has redeemed, He shall not lose one...

2. Rejoice in the Lord who has written your name in heaven
a. The disciples are all excited and rejoicing in what they are enabled to do in the blessed name of the Saviour. This is something proper and lawful... it is always good to be useful instruments in the hands of the Lord.
- When we are channels of blessing to others, it is good reason to rejoice in the things the Lord is working through us. Let us always aim to be channels of blessings in the Lord's hand.
- However, we often forget something which is of far more importance. Something which the Lord has done for us is of infinitely more significance than what He is working through us... and something which we must never lose sight of... it is that the Lord has written our names in heaven. The significance of this transcend above all that the Lord will do through us.  He has done this amazing this for us ...

b. The truth that the names of people are written in heaven is spoken of in many places in the Scriptures. Let me refer you to some passages:
- Dan 12.1: it speaks of 'everyone who is found written in the book'.... who are they?  'sons of your people'... 'your people'... Who are God's people? Those chosen by God out of the fallen and condemned race of Adam and given to Jesus Christ to redeem... everyone of their names are found written in the book.

- Heb 12.22-23: '... the church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven...' The Book of Life is the Register Book... recording all the names of the elect pe

3. Rejoice in the Lord who reveals Himself to us
a. In contrast to the disciples rejoicing, we are also given a glimpse of the Lord Jesus' rejoicing. v21.
- In what is the Lord Jesus rejoicing? Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, and lifts up His heart and voice to His Father, and says, 'I thank Thee, Father... Lord of heaven and earth....'
- God the Father is the Lord of heaven and earth - ie. the sovereign and the omnipotent ruler of His creation. The Holy Spirit led Jesus to rejoice in this truth... therefore all believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit shall also acknowledge and rejoice in the same...

b. But how could Jesus praise the Father not only for revealing to some matters touching salvation, but even concealing them from others? Yes, the Lord Jesus is praising God that He is pleased to reveal the things concerning salvation to some... and concealing them to others, that the Father does as He pleased.

- The Lord Jesus Christ is rejoicing in the sovereignty of His Father in the salvation of sinners...  God does all things according to His own good pleasure... See Rm 9.14f. He is answerable to no one... He owes no one... and He does no one any wrong... The Lord is just and righteous in all His ways...

- Salvation, properly understood, is truly by grace alone. Any saving knowledge of God is not by any human effort or cleverness or merit. No, salvation is of the Lord, from beginning to end.

- Without the new birth by the Holy Spirit we remain in spiritual deadness.

- Without the Father drawing sinners, they shall not come to the Saviour.

- Without the Saviour coming and seeking for them... they shall remain lost as ever.

- But bless the Lord - rejoice with great rejoicing... that the Lord Jesus Christ says, '... the Son wills to reveal Him, the Father.'  O what blessed truth... There is a Saviour who wills to reveal God unto sinners, that they may come to the Father through Him and be saved to the uttermost... Heb 7.25, Jn 14.6.

## O rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has revealed the Father to you... Blessed are the eyes which see these things concerning the glorious salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ...

The Lord of the Harvest - Luke 10.1-16

The harvest truly is great!

The Lord of the Harvest  Luke 10.1-16        

a. In 9.1-6 we read of the event of Jesus sending out the twelve disciples. Here is another account of Jesus appointing and sending out other disciples... 'appointed seventy others also.' So even though there are some similarities between the two events, there are significant differences.

- On this occasion, Jesus designated Himself as the Lord of the Harvest, and some details related to this title: the abundance of the harvest, the scarcity of labourers, the pleading with the Lord to send labourers to gather in His harvest, the mention of the sons of peace (v6), etc.

- Let us give our attention to these things, and may God bless His word to our mind and heart.

- We are all familiar with the picture of harvest. In nearly all human societies in every generation, there are activities of ploughing the fields, sowing seeds, cultivating crops, and gathering in of the harvest.

- The Lord Jesus Christ uses such a familiar picture to teach us some very important spiritual truths.

- Let us set our minds to learn some of the things the Lord has to say to us in this passage.

1. Jesus is the Lord of the Harvest
a. From the first two verses, it is quite plain that the title 'Lord of the harvest' is a self-designation of Jesus Himself. Verse 1 speaks of the Lord Jesus appointing and sending out gospel preachers. Verse 2 speaks of the 'Lord of the harvest' sending out labourers into His harvest field.

- And the rest of the paragraph only confirms that truth. Let us consider this truth a little closer: Note that the preposition 'of' in the phrase 'the Lord of the harvest' is a genitive of origin and possession.

b. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest in the sense that He is the originator of the harvest... He brought this harvest into being. Without Him, there would be no harvest to speak of. It is as a result of His redemptive activity that there is this harvest. It is because of His saving work that there is this harvest to gather in.

- Jesus is the Lord of the harvest in the sense that He is the possessor of the harvest... It is His harvest. It belongs to Him and He is the Lord of it...  He has purchased it, and He has the right and privilege and honour to appoint and send whoever He desires to be labourers in His harvest field.

## So Jesus is the originator or source of this harvest. He is also the owner of this harvest. But how did these come about? How did Jesus become the originator and possessor of the harvest?

c. The Scriptures tell us that God the Father had chosen a vast multitude out of the fallen and condemned race of Adam... and gave them unto His Son Jesus Christ, and the Lord Jesus Christ came to this world to save all those whom God the Father has elected and given to Christ.

## Without the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ, there will be no harvest to be gathered into the churches
## Bless the Lord of the harvest if you do understand and know this truth in your heart...

d. The Scriptures also tell us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of all those whom He came to save. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the harvest He has produced by His saving work.... Lordship of Jesus Christ over His redeemed people. He is the Lord of His harvest.

- Lk 10.2: He exercises His right and authority to gather them into His barn... His kingdom.  He exercises right and authority in commanding how His labourers are to conduct themselves... how they are to be treated and respected... to declare severe judgment upon those who do not receive His messengers...

## The harvest is the Lord's harvest... not the pastors... no right to lord over the Lord's redeemed people
## How very thankful you must be that we are not the harvest to some men... no men can rule over us.

2. Jesus has a truly Great Harvest
a. Jesus said to these 70 disciples, 'The harvest truly is great.' It doesn't say, 'The harvest is great' but in a very emphatic manner... 'The harvest truly is great.' What is the Lord Jesus Christ saying to us? What is the significance of that word 'truly'? On what basis does our Lord Jesus make this astounding statement? In what sense is the harvest great... and truly is great? Let us consider what the Bible tells us:

b. Now remember we said that God chose a great multitude of sinners out of the fallen and condemned race of Adam and gave them to Jesus Christ, and for whom Jesus Christ came to save. The harvest is great because of the great multitudes of sinners Jesus Christ came to save. So, it is great in the vastness, the abundance of the number of redeemed sinners among His harvest. Rev 7.9; 19.1,6.

- But this truth was prophesied and foreshadowed at the beginning of the Bible: Gen 22.15-19... stars of the heaven... Now the NT clearly interpret this passage as referring to Christ and His harvest ... cp Gal 3.16.

- It is true that the Lord Jesus says in Mt 7.13-14 these words: '...there are few who find it.'  But the point here is the comparison between the two ways that His redeemed ones travel on.

## O great is the multitude of the redeemed people of Christ. Great is the harvest because of His saving works.

- The greatness of the harvest also consists in the fact that this harvest is made up of people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. (Rev 5.9). See this truth prophesied and promised to Abraham in Gen 12.3. 'In you ALL the families of the earth shall be blessed.' Rev 14.6... Mt 28.19

## O the greatness and the vastness and the abundance of Christ harvest... so vast as to include people of all races. Of whatever race you... as long as you are of the fallen and condemned race of Adam... Christ has come to call such as you...

- The greatness of the harvest certainly consists also in the vast diversity of all sorts and classes of people found in the harvest of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He did not come to save just a certain type of people... He came to save all sorts of people...

 Q1. “I send you forth as lambs among wolves.” Comment.
Q2. Why the instruction, “carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes…”?
Q3. Concerning ‘the son of peace’ in verse 6.
- What is a ‘son of peace’?
- How does a ‘son of peace’ come to be?
- Who is there first: the son of peace or the itinerant preacher?
- Does the itinerant preacher help in bringing about a son of peace?
- Why does a son of peace treat the itinerant preacher well?

Q4. What are some of the implications of how the itinerant preachers are to discharge their work from the instructions in v9-11?

Q5. Why did Jesus say the words in v16 to the seventy?
- Do they have any application to us today?

What was Abraham's Experience? Romans 4:1

Sir, why is the Hebrew word "believed" in Gen 15:6 a hiphil?

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[May 6, 2025, 4:03 PM]

I have no idea at all. I'm hardly proficient in biblical Hebrew. I use language tools to aid me. I will just stick to the translation by competent linguists, logicians, and god-fearing men.

Gen 15
4 ¶And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 ¶And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Verses 4-5 are a two-verse paragraph.
Verse 6 is a one-verse paragraph.

The LORD made a momentous promise to Abraham, "he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir... So shall thy seed be."  Out of this SEED (singular - referring to Christ), all nations shall be blessed, and Abraham's spiritual descendants shall be as numerous as the stars in space.

Galatians 3:16 KJT — "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."

Abraham believed in the Promised Seed. His faith was counted to him for righteousness - THAT IS, the LORD blessed Abraham's act of believing to experience the blessedness of his righteous standing before the LORD. This is practical/experiential/evidential justification.

Romans 4
1 ¶What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? [i.e. what was Abraham's experience?]
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. [i.e works of ceremonial laws]
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [i.e. faith in Christ  versus the observation of ceremonial laws in experiential justification.]

Apostle Paul demonstrated that Abraham experienced the blessedness of his justified state through faith in Jesus Christ and NOT through the observation of some ceremonial laws as the perverse Judaizers insisted.

Too many  - both Calvinists, Arminians, and Carminians - mindlessly read v6 as the time when the righteousness of Christ was accounted to Abraham for his justification because he believed.

They see v6 as the specific time Abraham was justified by the LORD; and He justified Abraham because Abraham believed in the promised Seed.

This stupid (lacking common sense) idea NECESSARILY IMPLIES that before Gen 15:6, Abraham was still an unjustified man before God. An unjustified man is a man STILL in his native state, under condemnation and death.

Justification by Christ's righteousness is the justification of life, Romans 5:18. What do you read in Gen 12-14 - what kind of a man was Abraham?

The LORD had freely justified Abram when he was still in the Ur of the Chaldeans. That's why he could obey the Lord when he was called to leave his homeland, etc.

Genesis 12:1 KJV — Now the LORD HAD said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.

Note  the word "HAD."

I hope this helps. 

Begetting and Parenting

Begetting and Parenting;
Sonship and Discipleship.
They are distinct!

Sonship: a condemned, dead, alien sinner being justified, regenerated and adopted into the family of God - is by God's free grace alone, completely monergistic; it is God's work alone, man being dead in trespasses and sins, is completely passive. It is God's free and sovereign activities of producing His children.

John 1
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Discipleship is by the deliberate choice of God's children in rendering obedience to God's will in Jesus Christ, in response to God's grace working in them. It is synergistic; God's children are actively involved. Their carelessness and negligence can lead to the shipwreck of their faith; God's children can fall from faith, and they can end up barren.

Phl 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Plagiarism and the word of God

I noticed this lovely cup with its unique meme.

There is no fear of plagiarism if you quote and repeat the word of God. Just be careful that you don't add to or subtract from it for the all-knowing Author may show His displeasure upon you; misrepresenting Him and misleading His children are no small evils.

Rightly divide the word of truth, and you shall be commended as good and faithful; otherwise, your fault in twisting and perverting the word of truth should shame you.

1 Cor 4
1 So let a man think of us as the Lord's servants, and stewards of God's mysteries. 2 Here, moreover, it is required of stewards, that they be found faithful.

2 Tim 2
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Job 42
7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8 Therefore, take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

"... ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job." Bearing false witness of the LORD God is a grievous sin.