Monday February 03
Don’t Quit
Luke 10:17-24
17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 18 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 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. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." 21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 22 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." 23 Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; 24 for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."
In Luke 10 we have one of the best lessons on the challenges that a true follower of Jesus Christ will face as he or she surrenders their life to Him in Christian ministry and service, to be obedient and do His will. For some reason, as I was waking up early this morning, I felt so unmotivated, tired and weary and absolutely did not want to get out of bed. Immediately a verse came to my mind from Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” The Lord was gently reminding me that this is not the time to give up and quit.
The Lord never promised us an easy journey if we obediently follow Him. He told the seventy in this chapter that their ministry would be difficult. That it would often be dangerous. That there would be many distractions with temptations to take an easier path. And at times it could be very discouraging! They would also face demonic opposition as they “attack the gates of hell” with the Gospel message.
I have had the wonderful privilege of serving the Lord in ministry now for over 54 years. Within a few months after my salvation on February 21, 1971, I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ and Christian ministry. I immediately begin selling things and moved to another state to go to a brand-new Lynchburg Baptist College in Lynchburg Virginia. I’m sure glad the Lord did not give me a pre-view of what I would face over the next 54 years. It has been a difficult and dangerous journey with tremendous distracting temptations, and at times with many major discouragements.
At one point, in 1988, I did think I couldn’t go on and I did quit! But like Jeremiah 20:9 says, “I said I am going to quit, but His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not quit”. And the Lord gave me grace and strength to get up and keep on keeping on! I trust you will be able to listen or watch today’s Pastor’s chat as I share a little bit more of my challenges and journey in ministry. I assure you that looking back; the blessings far outweigh the trials and suffering in ministry.
In Luke 10:17-24, Jesus reminds them that the enemy will not give up! Satan would certainly attack Christ's servants and seek to destroy them. That is why our Lord added the words of encouragement in Luke 10:19. He assured them that their authority was not gone now that the preaching mission had ended, and that they could safely tread on the "old serpent" without fear (Gen. 3:15; Rev. 12:9).
The Lord cautioned them not to "go on rejoicing" over their victories but to rejoice because their names had been written in heaven. (The verb means "they have been written and they stand written." It is a statement of assurance. See Phil. 4:3; Rev. 20:12-15.) As wonderful as their miracles were, the greatest miracle of all is still the salvation of a lost soul. But our highest joy is not found in service or even in our salvation, but in being submitted to the sovereign will of the Heavenly Father, for this is the foundation for both service and salvation. Here we see God the Son rejoicing through God the Holy Spirit because of the will of God the Father! "I delight to do Thy will, O my God" (Ps. 40:8).
Christ's ambassadors were indeed privileged people. They were able to see and hear things that the greatest saints in the Old Testament ages yearned to see and hear but could not. The Messiah was at work, and they were a part of His work!
It is ok to want to quit. That is a good sign because it probably means that you are doing something the devil doesn’t like. And when we get “knocked down”, by His grace we get back up! (Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-18).
God bless!
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