Nothing Will Harm Them
Dr. Larry Thorson
Luke 10:17-20
Today’s New
International Version Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society
For the past number of weeks we’ve been in Luke 10
analyzing Jesus’ pep talk to his team of 72 sales reps whom he was sending out ahead
of himself to all the villages and towns as they traveled to
We read beginning in v.17… the seventy-two
returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your
name."
18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning
from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions
and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However,
do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are
written in heaven."
I would say that’s a pumped up sales team. “Even the demons submit to us in your
name…” For them it was like going from an
85 horsepower French Renault Cleo to an 05 Corvette with over 400
horsepower. Such power under the sole of
one’s shoe. Wow.
Power is important to people. Having something that you’re in control over
is important. Much of domestic violence
is caused by men who want control over something or someone. I’m told that giving up one’s drivers’
license when we’re too old to drive is not just giving up your independence but
control over when and where you can go.
Power to control our circumstances is important to us.
So while these 72 men probably saw some serious
healings take place like the lame walking again and the blind getting their
sight all Dr. Luke the author records for us is their fascination with power.
Typical guys.
Then Jesus responded to them “I have given you authority to
trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy;
nothing will harm you.” Can you
imagine what you could do if you knew nothing could harm you?
A few weeks ago there was a story in the news
about a 25 year old soldier taking his first skydive as a Christmas gift from
his girlfriend. We all know that lots of
things can go wrong in skydiving like the chute not opening or getting tangled
up in the cords. But none of that was Daniel’s
problem. He was safely strapped to his
experienced 49 year old instructor George “Chip” Steele and they were dropping
just right when the instructor had a heart attack and died in their freefall.
So here was Daniel on his first jump relying on
the experience of his instructor only to realize part way down that he was strapped
to a corpse and he was on his own. I’ve
often thought what it would be like to be in a freefall…actually it’s a
recurring nightmare I have. I always
think I’d probably have a heart attack even if I was strapped to an experienced
jumper.
Well Daniel landed the parachute nicely on his own. His mother, who had been watching the jump
from the ground, said she asked the Lord to keep her son safe. "I just
give the glory to God. He was just covered with that hedge of protection that
us mamas pray for," Daniel said afterwards
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime story, and I told them I hope I never have to
top it," He wants to jump again, but it looks like his first skydive will
be his last. "My family has told me I have to keep my feet on the
ground," he said.
Think what you could do if you knew that nothing
could harm you. Instead of being
paralyzed by fear the possibilities for our lives could be almost unlimited. But fear boxes us in. We have phobias or fears of what can happen
to us that keep us from fully developing.
I looked up how many phobias have been formally identified by
psychologists and psychiatrists. Until
recently, there were 530 identified phobias that people struggle with until
triptadeckophobia was diagnosed and then there were 531. Triptadeckophobia is the fear of running full
speed backwards into a door knob. That’s
another nightmare I keep having.
There’s “noctiphobia” – the fear of night. Auroraphobia – the fear of northern
lights. Numerophobia – the fear of
numbers. Then there’s “Cyberphobia” –
the fear of working on computers. Phobias
can be paralyzing. Everybody has
something they fear or don’t like doing but it doesn’t necessarily paralyze
us. I have a fear of heights but that
doesn’t keep me from getting on the roof and fixing something. I don’t like flying but I don’t hesitate to
catch a flight. But I do have a serious
phobia of needles and that does paralyze me.
My last church required me to travel on mission trips to places that I needed
shots for protection and I had to do some battle to keep my phobia from
paralyzing me.
Imagine knowing that you were immune from anything
that could harm you. Imagine you were
immune from fear. Now I recognize that
that isn’t always necessarily a good thing.
Last week Jeremy Lusk, a champion 24 year old motorcycle stunt rider from
Temecula attempted a dangerous motorcycle summersault in the air and came down
on his head at a competition in central America. He didn’t make it. Two years ago he had the same accident and
survived. At least he died doing what he
most enjoyed doing.
Jesus didn’t offer his team immunity from pain, or
immunity from gravity just immunity from failure. Would you like to have immunity from
failure? You see the biggest problem we
have in attempting something is not just the fear that we’ll get physically
hurt but it’s the fear of failure. What
if we try something and it doesn’t work?
What will people think of us?
Those of you who live with people who criticize all the time can actually
develop a phobia of failure. That’s
called Atychiphobia or the fear of failure.
“You can’t do that”. “That’s not any good.” “You’re not any good at that.” Those words never came out of Jesus’
mouth. When you sign up to be on Jesus’
team he gives you power to succeed not fail.
Think about this, God has enemies that don’t want
him to succeed. We read about that
throughout the Bible. Where do you think
all this drug and sex addiction that’s breaking up marriages and homes comes
from? An enemy who wants God and us to
fail. Where do you think this greed that
brought our economic collapse came from?
There’s an evil spirit world that runs counter to God’s Spirit. But when you join Jesus’ team you get
authority over those evil spirits.
That’s what amazed these 72 disciples. This story convinces me that these 72 were
Presbyterian elders. How do I know
that? Because they were amazed at the
power they had over the evil spirits.
Baptists would have denied they saw demons coming out the people. Methodists would have gotten the evil spirits
to join their church. Lutherans would have sung a hymn to the
demons. Pentecostals would have been “ho
hum, business as usual” but only Presbyterians would be amazed that this was
even possible.
My experience as a Presbyterian is that we’re not used
to having that kind of power. We’re known as intellectuals, people of the book.
We’ll study it. We’ll discuss it. We’ll get in a committee and vote on it. Driving this power is a little scary for us
as it was for them. But the power is
intoxicating. The danger with being
intoxicated with power is getting caught up more in chasing demons than having your
name written in the Book of Life in heaven.
That’s why Jesus said to his pumped up team “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice
that your names are written in heaven." At the end of the day when you inventory
all that you have and all that you’ve lost in your investments and all that
you’ve achieved that day, no matter how good or how bad that day was, if you’ve
given your life to Jesus Christ your name is written in heaven. You have a
reservation at the finest restaurant in the world waiting for you. You have a room at the poshest resort
reserved for dignitaries.
The real reason to rejoice
isn’t what we’ve done, how effective we’ve been, how successful we’ve
become. The real reason to rejoice is in what our Lord has done for
us. He has chosen us and made us his own. He has loved us now and
forever. He has claimed us and kept us eternally. That’s where real
joy, lasting joy, comes from. Not from what we’ve done, but from what he has
done, is doing, and will do for you and for me.
This part of the sermon is for me. To me,
and to others like me who get caught up in performance religion. It
happens a lot to “professional Christians” – to pastors and church leaders
especially, but also to people who want to serve the Lord, who want to be used
by him, who want to have their lives make a difference for Jesus Christ.
We begin to think it’s all about how we’re doing, how effective our ministry
is, how many lost souls we’ve reached or how many hurting people we’ve helped
or how many hungry children we’ve fed or how many new members we’ve taken in or
how many people we’ve prayed for or how many. . .
I
think you get the picture.
Jesus says, “Don’t rejoice in your service.
Rejoice in your salvation. It’s not about what you do. It’s all
about whose you are.” I love the very first question and answer in the
Heidelberg Catechism, written back in 1563. Question: “What is your only
comfort in life and in death?” Answer: “That I belong – body and soul, in
life and in death – not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus
Christ.”
At the end of the day, it’s not about what I’ve
done or what I’ve failed to do. It’s about the fact that I belong – body
and soul, in life and in death – to Jesus Christ. I am his, and he has
chosen to write my name in heaven, and that’s reason to rejoice.
Reason
to rejoice – even if you’ve been in pain this past week. Even if you’ve
found yourself confused and discouraged. Even if you feel overwhelmed by
the needs around you or within you. It’s not about how effective or
successful you are. It’s not about what you’ve been able to
accomplish. It’s about the fact that in Jesus Christ God loves you
eternally. And if you belong to him, your name is written in heaven, and
nothing can ever erase it.
That is not an excuse for kicking back and dozing
off the face of the world’s great pain. That’s the best reason I know for
giving your whole self to Jesus Christ and saying once again, “Lord, here I
am. Use me in whatever ways you will, great or small. Use me to
bring peace to my own home. Use me to bring healing and hope. Use
me to share your love, even if the people around me aren’t ready to hear it.”
See, the bottom line is: you cannot fail.
You are loved now and forever. No matter what happens, your name is
written in heaven. So go and say to someone you know “would you like to
go to church with me this Sunday?” Even
if they don’t come, your name is still written in heaven. You can’t fail.
Maybe today you’re not certain your name is
written in the Book of Life. You can
know for sure this very morning if you simply acknowledge to God that you are a
sinner and want to change. Then
regardless of what you’ve done in the past, good or bad, ask Jesus Christ to
come into your life and take over. Pray
with me the sinner’s prayer “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner who has and is doing
things that I shouldn’t be doing. I
accept your forgiveness and invite you into my heart to be my savior and the
Lord of my life. I want my name written
in the book of life. Thank you for
saving me. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer this morning then
rejoice that your name is written in heaven with the millions who have prayed
that before you. Now spend time each day
in at least a little reading of the Bible and go tell someone the best news in
all the world that God loves them. You
can’t fail. Amen.