Two by Two

[00:00:01] In the name of Jesus. [00:00:02] Amen. [00:00:12] The last verse of what we just sang. [00:00:16] First of all, I love the way it starts off saying, let none hear you idly saying. [00:00:21] It's like, oh, better listen here. [00:00:25] Let none hear you idly saying, there is nothing I can do. And it's a call to action, right? Why? Well, we've been made God's own people, people for his own possession. We've been made his family. And he's poured out his gifts into our hearts through Jesus. [00:00:43] And so how could we be idle? [00:00:46] But then what's the task before us, right? Why not be idle? [00:00:52] And the hymn says, while the multitudes are dying and the Master calls for you, right? What kind of death are we talking about that the multitudes are dying? [00:01:04] It's. [00:01:05] Well, it's spiritual death, right? It's not saying get out there to the hospitals and, you know, do surgery physically on people. I mean, that's good, right? [00:01:18] In a sense. But. [00:01:20] But this is speaking on a spiritual level to recognize that life outside of Christ is death. [00:01:29] But that's a flipped perspective. That's a perspective you have by faith in Jesus. The eyes of your hearts have been enlightened to see that life outside of Christ is actually death. [00:01:42] To see that that choice back there in the garden to abandoned God and his Word and to follow our own desires that. That led to death. [00:01:55] The eyes of our hearts have been enlightened to see that even on my best day, when I'm enjoying all of the things around me and things are going well and I'm flying high on some kind of success, that outside of Christ, even that is death. [00:02:14] It's a flipped perspective that you have by faith, if you have it, you have the mind of Christ flips everything upside down so that the things that you used to value, now it's like, well, I've got Christ and his gifts, things you used to be afraid of. Well, but Christ has given me life forever. And like he promises in this passage, nothing shall hurt you. [00:02:41] It's beautiful. [00:02:44] All right, well, let's get to the text. We're going to focus on the gospel reading here. [00:03:02] Jesus sends out these 72 others, sends them ahead two by two. [00:03:10] Let's just pause there. What in scripture you think of when you hear two by two? [00:03:17] Noah's Ark. Isn't that fun? [00:03:20] We already touched on one restoration theme. We did a little bit of the work ahead of time with the children. Thank you. [00:03:29] So we had sort of the desert and. And the scorpions and the serpents and that imagery. Eden Versus the wilderness that they're cast into and needing God's word and life. And Jesus has come to give power over the serpents and scorpions to raise us back up to Eden. But here we have Noah's Ark, right? And the 72. Why 72? [00:03:55] Since we've been talking about numbers, we won't exclude this one. [00:03:58] Maybe because it 12 times 6. This is really. This is the way numbers are used in scripture. [00:04:04] These kinds of significances. Okay, but 72 actually occurs a few times in the Old Testament and New. And I don't know. That's the best I've seen is 12 times 2 or 12 times 6. 6 is the number for Earth and 12 got the tribes of Israel or the apostles. [00:04:26] And maybe it's going out to all the world. Okay, but you have the whole world go into the ark two by two and be saved from destruction, right? Saved above the waters, kind of lifted up into the heavens on the waters while the earth below is destroyed. [00:04:43] And that's what's happening here, that Jesus is lifting up these disciples to have. [00:04:51] Well, to tread on, right? To have authority and tread on. To be above and to trample down all the enemies. [00:05:00] Jesus has lifted them up to heaven and they're going around releasing people from the power of demons, saying, the kingdom of God is at hand. Why? Because Jesus the king has come near. [00:05:14] Jesus the king over all. Who has power over. [00:05:17] Over all? No one is above him. Everything is subject to him. And so then as his people, we are delivered from everything. Jesus can deliver on that promise. Nothing shall hurt you because he's been exalted above everything so that he's got the highest name. And in his name every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confession that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [00:05:46] So Jesus has lifted up his disciples and given them power over all enemies and then sent them so that others would be lifted up in Jesus, so that others would be raised above their enemies, so that they would be released from the power of demons. [00:06:06] And it works. [00:06:10] Not the best way to say that, but they go out and they come back and they say, Lord. [00:06:17] Well, they return with joy, saying, so what are they rejoicing about saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. [00:06:29] Now, Jesus sees in this a wrong perspective. [00:06:35] Okay? So they're focused on the power that they have over demons. Remember in the passage before this from last week, Jesus said, foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of man has no place to Lay his head. [00:06:54] That was complicated, but we enjoyed it. I did Jacob's ladder, you know, and Jesus not hanging out in the heavens to lord it over people, right, Like James and John, who wanted to send fire down and then not coming to earth to enjoy earthly things, to make himself at home in earthly pleasures or possessions or anything, but simply, yeah, being in the heavens, because that's where he is, but then coming down for our sake and then being exalted for our sake, to lift us up into the heavens, like he does for these disciples, like he does for those who are being released from the power of the demons, from the power of the enemies. [00:07:39] So they come back and they. They're rejoicing that they're hanging out in the heavens. Look at us, Jesus. [00:07:45] We're above everybody. Not even the demons have power compared to us. Here we are. [00:07:53] And Jesus flips it around and says, don't rejoice that the demons are subject to you. [00:07:59] Rejoice that your names have been written in heaven. [00:08:03] He kind of brings them back down to earth in humility, right? To sit where they belong. It's like as soon as you see yourself as up in the heavens, looking down at everything else. [00:08:14] Well, now you're following the pattern of. Of Satan who clung to power and so fell. [00:08:24] I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, and I don't want the same for you. [00:08:30] He's saying, satan who, well, was created good, perhaps the highest of angels. He was created in an exalted position, but one that was given. [00:08:48] And as soon as he looked to take it and to seize power for himself, then he plummeted. [00:08:55] Jesus does not want the same for his disciples, who he's raised up to heaven and given power to tread on all their enemies. [00:09:05] I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I've given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. And. And nothing shall hurt you. Nonetheless, nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. [00:09:22] Notice he doesn't even say, rejoice that you've written your names in heaven, Right? That would be to give them too much. [00:09:29] It's like, rejoice that this heavenly gift has been given to you, that your names are written in heaven. How did that happen? [00:09:39] Through Jesus gracious descending to us, coming down and taking the form of a servant, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. His humility accomplishes our exaltation. [00:09:56] He's come down to lift us up so that your names are written in heaven. That is to say, your names are on the ark above the destroying waters. [00:10:06] Your names are above all the enemies that would try to take you down, including death. The last enemy to be defeated is death. [00:10:20] Right. And where is your sting, O death? Yeah, where are your victory? [00:10:25] We've been given, well, power over all our enemies in Jesus Christ. Only don't rejoice in that power. [00:10:38] Have you ever thought like, oh, I'm doing pretty well, you know, I used to struggle with that, but now I don't. [00:10:47] And then you just, like, succumb to the same thing. [00:10:52] You're like, I haven't gotten angry in a while. [00:10:55] And then you turn around and get angry. I don't know. Maybe that's just me. [00:11:00] It's a pattern. This is a pattern to watch out for, right? [00:11:06] What's that passage that just came to mind? Beware if you think you stand, lest you fall. [00:11:14] That's the thing. It's like, oh, here I am standing. Here I am in the heavens, and the demons are subject to me. Well, that's how you fall. [00:11:25] Rather, remember Jesus Christ, through whom you've received everything that you have. If you have power over the demons, if you've been released from one form of sin or another, don't forget whose power that is. [00:11:46] And then what does that mean? [00:11:48] Practically? Like, then what do you do about it? [00:11:52] Rejoice that your names have been written in heaven, Right? So what do you rejoice in? [00:11:59] When you rejoice, you're focusing on something, right? So let's say you just finished high school or you just finished college and you graduated. If you rejoice in that, you're like, hey, you. [00:12:15] You got it in your mind you can't rejoice about something without thinking about it. [00:12:18] So you pay attention to that thing, to that accomplishment, whatever it is, and you rejoice as kind of a natural thing. [00:12:28] So rejoicing has to do with attention, but rejoicing in the wrong thing can mess us up. Here's kind of a silly example. [00:12:38] Have you ever walked into a room where. Where there were maybe, let's say there was a young child and music playing, and the child is dancing. [00:12:47] You ever seen that? Like, really natural dancing where, like, he doesn't know anybody's watching him and he's just dancing. Daniel right now is in that stage. Daniel does all kinds of dancing, and you see him doing it, but then once he sees you doing it, that could change. [00:13:05] Not always, right? But okay, let's just take this to an adult. Let's say an adult is dancing with reckless abandon to the music and then realizes people are watching him. [00:13:18] It changes the quality of the dancing normally. Although my brother in law Noah, who's here today, I would say is an exception. He can just keep dancing. But if somehow you caught me dancing to music and then I saw that you saw me, I could tell you, you know, it would stop, or at least it would be very unnatural. [00:13:44] Okay, why is that? [00:13:46] Well, it's because I've become self conscious, which is to say I've become conscious of myself, which is to say I'm looking at myself, right? Or looking at how you're looking at myself and suddenly no longer focused. I'm no longer turned toward the music. Because like, let's say natural dancing is sort of this, like receiving the rhythm of the music and letting it permeate you in a sense, right? [00:14:15] That kind of a thing. So then as soon as you turn somewhere else though, it's like, oh, it's not working anymore. [00:14:27] St. Paul says, not that I have attained it. He's talking about the power of the resurrection, Jesus gifts. Not that I've attained it. I've got somewhere to go still. [00:14:40] There's a battle to be fought, to be won. There's a road to be traveled. He says, one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straying forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal. [00:14:52] That forgetting and the straining, it's about attention. [00:14:55] Like, what are you turned toward? [00:14:57] Because that's going to determine, that's going to determine the success of the journey. Jesus said it right before this passage. He said, somebody who's plowing a field and turns back, like looks back while he's plowing isn't fit for the kingdom. [00:15:18] If you turn backwards from the goal, then, well, then you lose it. You're no longer heading in the right direction. I've never plowed a field. Probably some of you have. [00:15:30] And so you could more convincingly say, this is the way it works, but Jesus said it, so I'm convinced. [00:15:37] Okay? Another example of this is Jesus saying, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. [00:15:45] Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. [00:15:49] If we turn to the gifts that Jesus has given us, or the power or the success, or a track record, good or bad, right? Forgetting what lies behind, whether success or failure, I press on toward the goal, right? I strain forward toward Jesus Christ. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. The Author and perfecter of our faith as we run the race following him. [00:16:19] Are you subject to the stings and the bites of the snakes and the scorpions? [00:16:29] What do you experience? [00:16:31] Are you subject to, let's say, demonic influence? [00:16:36] The spirits, the demons? [00:16:39] We talked a couple weeks ago about how sin and the patterns of sin, like the patterns that you see back in the garden. [00:16:47] The serpent tempting Eve to look away from the word of God and to trust in herself or some other way to circumvent the word and find another way to happiness. [00:16:59] These are patterns that are beyond us. [00:17:03] We all participate in the same patterns. That's why I can talk about a pattern of sin. And you go, oh, yeah, that makes sense, right? [00:17:12] These are above our heads. But not anymore in Jesus Christ. [00:17:17] Jesus Christ is the one who releases from the enemy, from all the power of the enemy. Jesus Christ is the one to. To whom we look for hope in dark places. [00:17:34] Turning away from him precipitates a fall. [00:17:39] So as you encounter the struggles of life, since they always come, as you mourn the loss of a loved one, as you care for someone seriously ill and life is turned upside down like, well, I was doing normal things and now this is occupying our lives, right? [00:18:06] As you care for children and experience the difficulties along with the joys of that calling, as you encounter relationship difficulties, you encounter difficulties with your boss at work or whatever it is, all these kinds of things, the struggles of life, well, there are two ways you can turn to God or something else. [00:18:41] You can look to God, who has written your name in. In heaven through Jesus Christ, who's made you a member of his family. [00:18:48] And you can take comfort in Christ and all his gifts. [00:18:53] Or rather in Christ, let's say just in Christ, right? [00:18:58] Don't look at the gift you've been given and rejoice in it, right? [00:19:03] Take comfort in Jesus Christ, who has lifted you above all your enemies, all concerns and difficulties. [00:19:11] And then, like we saw last week, looking to him and rejoicing and having everything in Jesus, you're free to. [00:19:21] Well, to go and to serve as Jesus served. You know what? You don't even need a knapsack. You don't need sandals for your feet because you've been lifted up into the heavens and you have everything you need. Don't bring money, right? [00:19:36] Don't talk to a stranger on the road. [00:19:40] Don't get distracted just looking to Christ. [00:19:44] Plow that field looking to Christ. [00:19:46] Harvest, harvest. For the sake of the kingdom that's being grown by Christ, through his word, by his power. [00:19:55] His rain. He's reigning his word and producing a harvest. Just look to him and don't look away. In Jesus name, amen.