As I was meditating upon the word my mind went to Luke
10:1-20, this is the event where Christ sent out His 70 disciples two by two to
do ministry work in the towns and villages. He gave them power and authority to
preach the good news, heal the sick, and cast out demons.
The disciples went out in obedience to the Master and did
what He commanded them to do. On their return they were excited as they gave
Him testimony after testimony of what happened. They said even demons obeyed us
when we spoke in your name, miracles happened during our outreach, the sick
were healed.
Christ agreed with all the things they said and He said: I
also saw something else happening as a result of your crusade,
Verses 18-20 “I saw satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19
Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can
walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But
don’t rejoice because the evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are
registered in heaven”.
It was like Christ was saying to them:
1.
There was much more impact and power in what you
did than you saw the enemy is shattered and angry
2.
Do not be fearful of this powerful enemy for I have
given you authority over him
3.
Rejoice over the eternal
Christ saw something the disciples didn’t see, the disciples
only saw the physical manifestation of what they were doing, they didn’t see
the spiritual impact of what happened as they preached the Word, as they went
from town to town healing the sick and casting out demons. They knew people
were freed from the power of the devil but didn’t see how far reaching this
simple act of obeying the Lord went. The devil fell like lightning from heaven,
incensed at the great work, heaven was cheering as they continued from town to
town doing the great works they were instructed to do.
There was a shifting of powers and principalities in the
heavenly realm, the enemy was deposed. Christ further says to them: it is good
that you are happy or rejoicing at what happened. But you have an even better
reason to rejoice. In short the reason for your joy is misplaced I will give
you a better and reason to rejoice over.
·
The
miracles shouldn’t be your focus of joy. Miracles can be performed and faked by
false prophets, so miracles in themselves do not make you distinct and those
who follow after miracles run the risk of following false prophets.
·
What you
should rejoice over is what the enemy cannot fake and do: that is to be
registered in heaven
Christ was challenging them and showing them the heavenly
impact of their work and the things they should focus on- an eternal
relationship with God.
The enemy cannot fake a passport to heaven though they can
fake the miracles. Christ also alludes to the authority given to the disciples
and says this authority is above all the power of the enemy. The enemy has
power to do things but we have authority to allow or disallow him, we can stop
him and cast him away.
Christ was telling them who they are. He wanted them to know
what has been deposited in them, the power and authority given to them. He knew
the enemy would throw all sorts of things to them but He wanted them not to be
fearful of the ‘powerful’ enemy and to take their stand against him in
authority.
If you know who you are, you will act appropriately. If you
know you are a lion, you do not look back when a small dog is braking behind
you, you only respond to animals which might pose a threat to you, and when you
do, you demonstrate why you are the king of the jungle.
Lessons:
·
Know who
you are
·
Know the
impact of your work
·
Focus on
the things that matter, do not follow the fashionable seek the eternal
