The Redeemer Rejoices, Part 2

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this great and glorious day, a day, Lord, that you have set aside for us to come and worship you. We know that no one is here by accident, but all are here by divine appointment. And we know, Lord, that in your economy, everything runs as you have designed it. And I pray, Father, that today, as we examine your word, your hearts and minds would be receptive to the truth of your word, and that, Father, we would be obedient children. We'd follow you. We pray for those who do not know you.

And, Father, today would be the day of their salvation, that they would come to the realization of Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Messiah of Israel, and that, Lord, they would entrust their lives to the one who died for them. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. This morning, if you have your Bible, turn with me to the Gospel of Luke, the 10th chapter.

Luke chapter 10, we find ourselves once again plunging right back into the Gospel of Luke. And I want to read for you verses 21 down through verse number 24 to set your heart and mind on the text we're going to cover today, and we'll finish next week. It says these words in verse number 21, at that very time, he rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit and said, I praise thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent, and didst reveal them to babes, yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in thy sight.

All things have been handed over 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 anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him. And turning to the disciples, he said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings wish to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them. This is a text about how the Redeemer himself rejoices.

Before this, we saw how the redeemed rejoiced. Chapter 10 begins with a commission, a commission of 70 individuals who go from village to village preaching the gospel, telling people the truth about the Messiah. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 10, verse number 1, Now after this, the Lord appointed 70 others.

These 70 are set in contrast to the 12, the 12 that are the apostles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It's these 70 who are sent after Christ gives an admonition about what it means to be a true follower of him, when there are many people, curious, who say, I would like to follow you, and Christ would say, well, you know, that's nice, but the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. And Christ telling people who want to jump on the Jesus bandwagon, the cost involved in following him.

And the Bible says in verse number 1, now, after these things, now, after the fact that there were many curious people who were interested in following Christ, but not truly committed to all that following him entails, there were 70, 70 individuals who were, who are committed to Christ, 70 individuals that were called by him, 70 individuals that had been cleansed by him, and these 70 would be sent out.

And so in verse number 1 of chapter 10, we have their commission. And then down in verses 2 and following, we have their motivation. And Christ sends them out, he sends them out as lambs amidst the wolves. He tells them that. You're going to go out and you're like lambs amidst the wolves. And so you think, wow, how does that motivate anybody? But these people, because they had relinquished everything to follow Christ, didn't really make a difference what he said. They were committed to following.

They were motivated to live for him. And once we saw their motivation, we saw their proclamation. We saw what it is they were going to say as they went from village to village, how they would explain that they were bringing peace because they serve the God of peace and the gospel is the gospel of peace. And so we saw their proclamation and how it is they would go from door to door. And then we saw their admonition because if the people rejected, there was a warning that was given. And this is how they would conclude for those who rejected the gospel.

They told them that because they had heard the truth, they had seen the truth. If they rejected it, it would be more tolerable in the day of judgment for the likes of Sodom and Gomorrah and Tyre and Sidon than for those of you who have seen and heard the truth of the gospel. Jesus told them what to say. And so they went out and did exactly what Jesus said. And they came back, the Bible says in verse 17, the 70 returned with joy.

With joy. You see, they did what Jesus said. They said what Jesus told them to say. And they served their king. When you serve your king, there was always joy in your heart. Always joy. And they returned with joy. They came back ecstatic as to what had taken place. And the Bible says that they said, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.

Ministry is fabulous. It's great. And the redeemed began to rejoice. There was great jubilation in their lives. And this is important because we've explained this to you, that whenever you serve the Lord, there is a certain amount of joy that takes place because you're doing what Christ has asked you to do. You know, when I was growing up, we used to sing a song, we don't sing it today in the church at all. In fact, it's not even in our hymn book. I asked Peggy if she had heard of it, and she had never heard of it.

I asked Dave, our organist, if he had heard of it, and he had never heard of it either. I asked Mary Erin, who sings in a choir, if she had heard of the song, and she hadn't heard of it either. And I was surprised at that because I grew up singing this song. And I thought everybody knew this song. But they don't. And so I went through our hymn book to see if it was there, and it's not. I went through two other hymn books that I have in my office to see if it was there, and it wasn't there either.

And I thought, how come nobody sings this song anymore? Maybe you know it. It's called, There is Joy in Serving Jesus. You know that song? Ha ha, sing it for you. Okay. It goes, There is joy in serving Jesus as I journey on my way. Joy that fills my heart with praises every hour and every day. You ever heard that song? No. Oh, gee. It says, There is joy, joy, joy in serving Jesus. Joy that throbs within my heart every moment, every hour as I draw upon his power. There is joy, joy, joy that never shall depart.

Now have you heard it? Oh, gee. Verse number two. I won't sing it for you. There is joy in serving Jesus. Joy that triumphs over pain. Fills my heart with heaven's music till I join the glad refrain. And it goes back to the chorus again. Verse three. There is joy in serving Jesus as I walk along with God. Tis the joy of Christ my Savior who the path of suffering trod. Then it goes back to the chorus. Then it says, There is joy in serving Jesus. Joy amid the darkest night. For I've learned the wonder secret and I'm walking in the light.

You ever heard that song? Wow. Growing up, we used to sing that song probably once a month in my church. And I thought everybody knew that song. But I guess over the years, there hasn't been much joy in serving Jesus. So we don't sing that song anymore. Because it talks about the joy amidst the pain. The joy amidst the trials. The joy when walking along with Jesus. And, you know, when you walk with Christ, you walk alone. You don't walk in groups. You walk alone. When you serve the Lord, there is pain.

But there's always joy serving Jesus. And I think about that song and I think about these redeemed who return. Rejoicing because of the joy in serving their Master. We've seen things we've never seen before. This is fabulous. And then Jesus responds to them. He says these words. He says in verse number 18, I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions. And over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall injure you.

That's powerful. The Lord says I've given you authority over the demonic world. I've given you authority over Satan and his system. Because you're mine. I own you. And I am the overcomer. I am the one who has conquered Satan. I am the one who has conquered death. I am the one who has conquered sin. And I am delegating that authority to you. And you can imagine the 70s sitting here saying, Wow, man, this is great. We can't wait to go out again. When can we take another trip? When can we go to another village?

When can we go speak the gospel to somebody else? And then Jesus says these words. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you. But rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven. And that one verse sets the tone for the next few verses. Jesus says I want you to rejoice not only in the fact that the demons are subject to your name.

But I want you to understand a perspective that you need to grasp. There's something more joyous than earthly ministry. It is your eternal destiny. It is that your names are recorded in heaven. Because your earthly ministry is going to go up and it's going to go down. It's not always going to be the same. You're not always going to get the same kind of results. You know what that's like. You go out and share your faith with somebody and somebody gives their life to Christ. You think, Wow, this is great.

Next day you go out. Next time you go out. Next several times you go out and nobody gives their life to Christ. And ministry kind of goes up and down. You notice ministry in your own family.

You're committed to serving your family. You're committed to serving your wife and your kids. And there's no response. And so there's not always a feeling of joy that's there. Because ministry kind of goes up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down. And Christ knows that. He knows that. He wants them to keep perspective. We need to keep the same kind of perspective in our lives. We can get excited about serving the Lord in the church. Serving the Lord and taking a missions trip. Serving the Lord and taking a work project trip.

Doing something for the Lord. And get excited about that. And Christ says, You know what? No matter how successful your earthly ministry might be, don't let your joy be solely wrapped up in that. As great as it might be, there's one thing that never fluctuates. There's one thing that never changes. And that is your name is written down in the heaven. And you're going to go there. And that's where joy truly is. And that's so important. Because so many times our joy from day to day fluctuates, doesn't it?

Some days we're excited and some days we're kind of down in the dumps. Because of the circumstances around about us. And Christ wants them to understand that the circumstances around about you are going to change. They're going to fluctuate. But there's one thing that never changes. You're going to heaven. Because you've been redeemed. And that's where true joy really lies. The text says, At that very time, He, that is Christ, rejoiced greatly. So the question comes, what is it that caused Jesus Christ to rejoice greatly?

That's important. Because once you understand what caused the Son to rejoice, you will better understand what should cause you to rejoice. This becomes a very important text. A sacred text. Because there is no other record in the New Testament that records Jesus' joy. It doesn't mean that He wasn't joyful. It's just that there's no other text that records it. This is the only one that does. Matthew's account, the same scenario, does not record it. None of the Gospels record the joy of Christ. But this one does.

And so Luke lets us into a better understanding as to the identity of Christ and what causes Him joy. You see, he knew that these 70, they would be around after the birth of the church. And he knew that there would be a time where persecution would overrun Jerusalem. In Acts chapter 8, as persecution began to run rampant in Jerusalem, the disciples were spread across all over the place because of that persecution. He knew the pain that they would encounter. He knew the pain that John the Baptist's disciples encountered upon his death, John the Baptist's death.

He knew that. And so he knows what's going to take place. He knows that not every missions trip, not every evangelistic effort, not every ministry effort is going to end the same way. He knows that. Jesus is on a mission. He knows everything. And he doesn't want to dispel their joy. He just wants to redirect their joy to a heavenly perspective so they will understand what true joy is truly all about. And the Bible says that this time Jesus rejoiced greatly.

Now you need to understand what this time is all about. If you go back and you read the prophet, you realize in the book of Isaiah that our Lord would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. That's how he was described. The Messiah will be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We know that in John 11, he would weep profusely at the tomb of Lazarus. He would weep over the effects of sin. He would weep over the fact that sin brought death. Meaning there's separation from God himself because of sin.

And he would weep over the effects of that sin. We know that in Luke chapter 19 when he embarked on the city of Jerusalem at that Passover, he would sit and look over that city and begin to weep again, once again, over that city. Knowing that he was the king of peace. They were the city of peace or lived in a city called the city of peace. And they forfeited their peace because they rejected their Messiah. And so he began to weep over the city of Jerusalem. We know that the book of Hebrews tells us that in the garden of Gethsemane, he would cry aloud and he would weep profusely once again.

He truly was a man of sorrows and one who was acquainted with grief. And yet the text says at this time, he rejoiced greatly. What caused the Messiah to truly rejoice? Now remember, he's been in ministry now for two and a half years. By the time you come to Luke chapter 10, it's about two and a half years into the ministry. And so we begin to understand that as he has preached the gospel, he has presented the kingdom, a kingdom that's about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. He has healed the multitudes.

He has caused the blind to see, the lame to walk. He's raised the dead. He's done all kinds of miraculous things. And so you know that throughout the ministry we have seen what Christ has been doing over these first 10 chapters as we have studied this gospel.

We have known what the Lord has accomplished. The gospel had been clearly presented. The credentials of the Messiah had been clearly seen. And yet, he came into his own and his own received him not. Having presented all that he is through all that he does, the rejection of the Messiah was mounting. And yet at this time, he greatly rejoiced. Even though the 70 had gone out and they came back rejoicing, the multitudes truly were beginning to reject him more and more and more. In fact, the hostility toward Christ had begun to reach a fever pitch.

In fact, just turn over to Luke chapter 11 if you would for a moment. Verse number 14. Just a few weeks away, if that. It says, And he was casting out a demon and it was dumb. And it came about that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke and the multitudes marveled. See, there was always something that caused the multitudes to live in astonishment as to the work of the Messiah. Even at this point in his ministry, they were still marveling at his works. But listen to what it says next. But some of them said, He cast out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.

And others to test him were demanding of him a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts. Now this is a very important text. Because you see, they were saying to themselves, and they were saying to one another, upon what they had seen, because they couldn't deny the miracle. See, that's one thing they never denied about Christ. I mean, when you see a blind man and now he sees, or you see a dead man who was once dead resurrected, you can't deny that, right? You can't deny a man who was paralyzed for 38 years, and now all of a sudden he's walking.

You can't deny that. And they never, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the scribes never denied the fact that miracles were performed. They couldn't. So what did they do? They began to sow a seed that was a lie. That what he did, he did under the power of Satan, not God. So when he would heal this man who was demon possessed, and the crowds would begin to marvel, there was this whispering in the crowd that would go around saying, yeah, he does it by Satan. It's all about Satan. Now this is important, because in Luke 11 he's in Judea.

But in Mark 3 he's in Galilee. And this is where it all began. Listen to Mark chapter 3. And it says this, And he came home, and the multitude gathered again to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. And when his own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of him, for they were saying, He has lost his senses. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, He is possessed by Beelzebul, and he cast out the demons by the ruler of the demons. You see, during his Galilean ministry, there had become a huge swell of people following Christ.

And so the Pharisees thought that the way they could denounce the Christ, this man called Jesus, was to begin to spread a rumor that what he does is not by the power of God, but by Satan himself. That was in Galilee. When you come to Luke 11, he is done with the Galilean ministry. He is now in Judea. He is making his way toward Jerusalem. And you hear in the crowd, Yeah, he does what he does because he's of Satan. That was the rumblings in the land of Israel. The Bible says that this time Jesus rejoiced greatly.

In spite of the fact that the hostility was growing with intensity against him. And the multitudes had begun to marvel more and more at his wonder and at his miracles. There was a growing rejection toward Christ as their Messiah. And yet, the Bible says, At this time, he rejoiced greatly.

Do you think that he knew what was happening? Of course he did. But yet, there was joy in his heart. He was thrilled. He was overwhelmed with joy in his heart. The question is, what brings Jesus joy? That's important for us to understand. I'm sure that many of us don't think of it this way. But a number of years ago, we did a series called, The Attributes of God. It's entitled, God Exploring His Essence. And throughout that, we covered some 35 different attributes of God. We didn't cover them all.

The one that we didn't cover was this attribute, the attribute of joy. God is joy. God is always joy. God is wrath, yes. God is just, yes. God is mercy. God is love. God is omnipresent. He is omniscient. He is omnipotent. God is all of that. But God is also joy. And very few of us ever think of God as joy. But he is. So much so, that the Bible says in Psalm 4, verse number 7, that God puts gladness in your heart.

You have joy in your hearts because God put it there. The Bible says in Psalm 16, 11, At thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Pleasures forevermore. Because in the presence of God, there is joy. The Bible says in Romans 14, 17, that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but it's righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

And the order is significant. It's righteousness. You're made right with God. When you're made right with God, you're at peace with God. When you're at peace with God, there's joy in your heart. That's what the kingdom of God is all about. John would write in 1 John 1, 4, I write these things unto you that your joy may be complete or might be full. Listen to the words of Jesus. In John 15, verse number 11, He says this, These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Jesus says, I have joy because I am joy. And I want my joy to be in you, and I want my joy not only just to be in you, but to be made full in you. And then over in John 17, John 17, verse number 13, But now I come to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves. That was the prayer of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The high priestly prayer of our Lord. That His joy would be made full in the lives of those who are His followers. Because God is joy. It's all about Him.

In fact, listen carefully. He is so much characterized by joy that everything that happens in this world happens for His joy. Did you know that? Everything that takes place in this world happens so that God not only is glorified, but that His joy is made complete. So that when you get to heaven, you hear these words, enter into the joy of the Lord. Because heaven is characterized by joy. Because heaven is characterized by God, His presence, and He is joy. And everything that God does moves toward one purpose, His joy.

His joy. It's all about His pleasure. Our Lord is in the heavens, He does whatever He wants. Pleases. He just does whatever He pleases. Now, we don't necessarily understand that, but that's what He does. And He is working all things out for His ultimate glory. Which will produce His ultimate joy. Which for those who love Him and obey Him, they will experience that joy for all eternity. Because that's who God is. So many times we don't see God as joy. We see Him as wrath. We see Him as forgiving. Merciful.

But we don't see Him as joy. And all those things about His wrath, His justice, His mercy, His forgiveness, His love, all are moving toward a direction of His joy. It's all about the joy of God. Everything is. This world is not about you or me. It's not about our happiness or our pleasure. It's all about God's joy. And that His joy would be made full in people like you and me who have committed our lives to Him. At this time, Jesus rejoiced greatly. Knowing all that's happening around Him, knowing about the mounting hostility against Him, the rejection of Him, the very fact that in His ministry there are very few being saved, as we will see in Luke chapter 13.

Are there only a few being saved? Where is everybody? I mean, if you're that good a preacher, don't you think you'd have a lot more people following you, if you're that good? If you're that really good at working miracles, don't you think that there'd be more people truly saved? Are there only a few being saved? And yet Jesus would rejoice greatly. And the English translation really does not do it justice because it speaks about His exaltation, His absolute overwhelming joy. The question is, what brings Him joy?

At this point, knowing that He's a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, knowing of the tears that He has already shed. Well, that's what the verse tells us. It says, I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and the intelligent, and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well pleasing in Thy sight. The first thing that brought joy to Jesus was the sovereign plan of redemption.

The sovereign plan of redemption brought joy to the heart of Jesus. No matter what the conflict, no matter what the hostility against Him, the plan of the Father was on course and running directly as it was prescribed to run. Remember way back in January, I guess it was really at the last Sunday in December, we told you that in order to face the future, there are four principles you must understand. And the first one was that God has a plan and that plan is unalterable.

Remember that? Well, that leads us to where we are today. That the Son understood the redemptive plan of the Father. It was sovereign. Nothing would thwart that plan. Everything was on course. Those who were designed to be saved, guess what, were saved. And it was pleasing to the Father. If it was pleasing to the Father, it's pleasing to the Son, right? Because the Son always did those things that are pleasing to the Father. The Son always wanted to please the Father. Our desire should always be to please the Father.

What makes the Father happy should make us happy. Right? We are His children. We should want Him to be pleased. The sovereign plan of redemption made the Father pleased. Caused Him great pleasure. Jesus said, Lord of heaven and earth. Describing God as the sole possessor of heaven and earth. You are Lord of heaven. You are Lord of earth. You are Lord of all. You are King of kings. You are Lord of lords. You rule over all. You are the King. Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes.

He was joyful over the fact that the plan of salvation, the gospel, was hidden from the wise and the intelligent. And that it was revealed to babes. It was revealed to the poor. It was revealed to the dependent. It was revealed to the broken. It was revealed to the contrite. Lord, your plan is marvelous. You hid it from those people who thought they were wise and intelligent such as the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees. The people who thought they knew God. You hid it from them. But you revealed it to the babes.

The little children. The dependent ones. You see, He was rejoicing over the fact that God the Father had designed a plan of redemption. That would be hidden from those who could take credit if they were saved. And it was given to those who could take no credit. Because God gets all the glory. That's what 1 Corinthians is all about. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. When it says these words. Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased to the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For consider your calling. Verse 26. Brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong and the base things of the world, and despise, God has chosen, the things that are not, that he might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God.

The son was rejoicing over the fact that the sovereign plan of redemption was right on course. And that nobody who was ever saved could ever boast of the fact that they had done it. Because God saves the brokenhearted. He saves the blind. He saves the imprisoned. He saves the lowly. He saves the contrite. That's who he saves. The son was rejoicing over that. Listen, the gospel was designed to be revealed to all men, but only apprehended by the lowly and the meek. That's important. That is so important.

You see, it's important to understand that God has designed the plan of redemption. We didn't design it. We didn't come up with it. God did. And the son rejoices that that plan is running specifically as it was designed, perfectly as it was designed. And that the wise and the intelligent, those who think themselves to be superior, they don't get it. But those who are broken and lowly and meek, contrite, blind, and imprisoned, they get it. That's why Christ said, I didn't come to call the righteous.

I came to call the sinners to repentance. I came to call those who know they have a need. Those who are self-righteous think they don't have a need. I've come to call those who have a need. You know, this is going to sound like a shock to some of you, and we'll say it more as we go through the gospels, but it's easier for the immoral man to be saved In fact, morality will damn you more than immorality will. Did you know that? Morality will damn your soul more than immorality will. Think of the people God saved.

Harlots, prostitutes, drunkards, tax collectors, those demon-possessed. But the moral person, the religious person, they didn't come bankrupt before the Savior and fall on their knees before him. Very few did. Some did. Very few did. He came to call the sinners, not the righteous, to repentance. And Jesus was rejoicing over the fact that there was a plan that was completely unalterable. The sovereign plan of redemption. It was running on course perfectly as it had been designed. And Christ rejoiced over that.

He says, I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent, and didst reveal them to babes. Think of it this way. You come to church, and you know that Lance Sparks is the pastor at Christ Community Church. You come to church today, and you can see what I have on. You can see what kind of car I drive. All those things. Unless I decide to reveal myself to me, though, you'll never know me. Will you? You can know about me. The same is true of God.

People know about God. They know where He lives. He lives in heaven. They know the clothes He wears. He wears white raiment. They know all about God, but unless God decides to reveal Himself to them, they'll never know Him. Never will. And Jesus rejoiced, listen carefully, that God the Father did not reveal Himself to everybody. Now you think about that and ask yourself, does that cause you to rejoice? Because it caused Jesus to rejoice. He hid Himself from the wise and the intelligent, but He revealed Himself to the babes.

He revealed Himself to the dependent, to the lowly, to the meek, to the mild. He revealed Himself to those who are broken and contrite. That's why the Bible says in Isaiah 66, verse number 2, to this man will I look, to him who is broken and of a contrite heart and who trembles at my word.

God doesn't reveal Himself to anybody else but that kind of person. He doesn't. If you're not broken and contrite and trembling at the word of God, you'll never come to know God. Just never will. Oh, you'll know that there's a God. You'll know that He exists. But you'll never understand Him like those who love Him understand Him because He didn't reveal Himself to you. He reveals Himself to the babes, to the broken. And that caused Jesus to rejoice. The sovereign plan of redemption. But that's not all.

There was a second reason. And that was a supernatural power of revelation. Not only the sovereign plan of redemption but the supernatural power of revelation. That caused the Son to rejoice. Look at what it says in verse number 22.

All things have been handed over 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 anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Wow. That's pretty powerful. It's pretty simple. Nobody knows the Father unless the Son chooses to reveal the Father to them. Now that's important. Because that's a supernatural revelation. A supernatural revelation. Remember that it was on in Caesarea Philippi when Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And what did Jesus say? Flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, Simon Barjona but my Father who is in heaven has revealed it to you. This is a supernatural revelation. This is not a natural revelation because not everybody who saw Jesus recognized that He was the Son of God. That He was God's Messiah. But Peter did. The disciples did. They understood that. It was a supernatural revelation. And Jesus rejoices over the supernatural power of revelation. That is, all things have been handed over to the Son from the Father.

Now folks, that's incredible. Because within the triune nature of God, everybody has everything. And the Father gave to the Son all authority. In fact, over in John chapter 3, verse 35, it says this, The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. Over in John chapter 13, verse number 3, it says this, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands. Everything had been given over to the Son. So, when the Son decided to die, He died. The Son was the one who would send the Spirit.

The Son would be the one who would return. The Son would be the one who would be worshipped. Remember in Revelation, there's a scroll. There's only one who was worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals. It's the Lamb who was slain. Because all authority, both in heaven and on earth, had been given to the Son. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 28, All authority in heaven and on earth had been given to me. Therefore, go into all the world and make disciples. He has the authority to do that. He has the power to accomplish that.

He has all power over demons. We've already seen it. He's had power over sickness. He's had power over the sea. He's had power over Satan. He's had power over everything. Because all things have been handed over to Him. He is the Son. He is God in the flesh. And He has the supernatural power. And that power is what reveals the Father to the babe. To the weak, to the lowly, to the weak, to the wounded. It's a supernatural power of revelation. Which caused the Son to rejoice. The supernatural power of His revelation.

You know, it's important to realize that everybody in the world gets to God. But not everybody gets to God as Father. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. Everybody gets to God as judge. But not everybody gets to God as Father. Except through the Son. There's one mediator between God and man. That's the man, Christ Jesus. There's only one way to the Father. Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And the only way you're going to get to my Father is through me.

And the only way you're going to get through me is if I decide, if I will, to reveal Him to you. And the only ones that Jesus reveals the Father to are not the wise and the intelligent. But to the babes. Those who are humble and broken and tremble at the Word of God. They experience the supernatural power of revelation. And that's what caused the Son to rejoice. There's a plan of redemption. It's right on schedule. That's why Jesus said, hey listen, I understand your joy over your earthly ministry.

But be more ecstatic about your eternal destiny. Why? Because your name is written down in heaven. And there's been a plan of redemption from the beginning of the world. And your names have been written in the Lands Book of Life from the foundation of the world. God has chosen you to be a part of His blessed kingdom. That's what you need to be joyous about. Be more joyous about that than anything on earth because you're going to spend eternity with Him. And the joy, the bliss of glory will overwhelm you.

And at that time Jesus rejoiced ecstatically. There was an exultation of His life where He praised God because of the sovereign plan of redemption. Everything was right on course amidst all the hostility, amidst all the rejection. Even though there's only a few being saved, the few that are being saved are the ones that God has designed to be saved from the beginning of eternity. That's amazing. And Jesus rejoiced over that because it pleased His Father. Rejoiced over the supernatural power of revelation.

That the only way someone can know who the Father is is if the Son reveals Him to them. That's it. There is no other way. And some will say, well, wow, that's a heavy doctrine of election. I don't know if I like that or not. The answer to that is simply this. If it pleased Jesus, it should please those who follow Jesus. If it doesn't please those who follow Jesus, there's a problem. Not with Jesus, but those who follow Him. Would you not agree with that? No amens there, but that's truth. That's the truth.

Now, listen to this. In the Gospel of Matthew, you had the same story. Except Matthew deletes something and Matthew adds something. He adds something that Luke doesn't have and he deletes something that Luke does have. Which helps you get your hand around what Christ is doing. Remember, Luke is the only one who records the joy of Jesus. Matthew does not. Luke does. And it's the only record in the Bible where Jesus rejoiced. Only one. And so it's a cornerstone text. It's a pillar that needs to be grasped.

And so in Matthew's account, you have these words. Same words that Jesus said, except it deletes the fact that He rejoiced greatly. In verse number 25, and at that time, Jesus answered and said, I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to the babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well pleasing in Thy sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Same thing that Luke said. Verbatim. Exact same thing Luke said. But Luke tells us this is why Jesus rejoiced greatly. Matthew doesn't record that, but the exact same words are there. There's a sovereign plan of redemption, and there's a supernatural power of revelation. And that caused great joy. Now listen to this. Jesus says, verse 28, Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, for you shall find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My load is light. Know this. That the doctrine of election is always balanced in Scripture with an open invitation to all. Do you get that? That's so important to understand. Come unto Me, all you who labor, all you who are tired trying to earn your way to heaven, all you who are trying to work your way to heaven. You're so overburdened with trying to accomplish something that you can't grasp.

You come to Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. I'll give you rest, but you've got to come to Me. Now how all that balances out in the mind of God, I have no idea. But that's not my problem. That's the problem that the Lord Jesus has, but with Jesus there are no problems. So I leave all that to the Lord. There is a sovereign plan of redemption that's running on course, that God is saving those whom the Son reveals the Father to. And the only ones the Son reveals the Father to are the ones He chooses to reveal Him to.

That's divine election. But there's an open invitation to all who are overwhelmed, who are burdened, weighed down by their sin, that they would come to Me, Jesus says, that you might find rest for your souls.

Folks, that's important to understand, isn't it? And so we offer an invitation to all men. We do. Because we don't know whom the Son chooses to reveal the Father to. We don't know. And so we are committed to extending the invitation to everybody. And those who receive that invitation, we know the Son has revealed the Father to them. Those who do not receive the invitation, we know, we know that they loved their sin more than they loved the Savior. We know they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

We know from 2 Thessalonians 1, they choose not to know God nor to obey the Gospel of God. Jesus said these words, You would not come to Me that you might have life. What? That's what Jesus said. You would not come to Me that you might have life. Jesus also said these words, He said, Why is it you would choose to die in your sins? Jesus also said, Whosoever will may come. That's what the Lord God of the universe says. Come unto Me all you that labor and heavy laden. I will give you rest. The Lord God said, Choose you this day whom you will serve.

I don't have to balance an open invitation with the doctrine of election. I don't have to do that. Because I don't save anybody. God does. God does everything. That's what makes salvation supernatural. And that's what caused the Son to rejoice. There's a plan. It's a sovereign plan. There is power. It's supernatural power. And everything happens as God has designed it to happen. It brought pleasure to the Father. Because it brought pleasure to the Father, it brought pleasure to the Son. It should bring pleasure to us as well.

Because we want to please Him who is invisible, right? Sure we do. We want to be able to rejoice with our God in heaven who rejoices. And so for those of you who are here today and never given your life to Christ, the invitation is given. Come to Him all you that labor and heavy laden. You tired of bearing the weight of your sin? Are you tired of trying to do everything yourself on your own? Are you trying to earn a better standing with God? Are you trying to make God happy and you just can't do it?

Jesus says, come unto me. All you that labor and heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me. Learn from me. And you will experience the saving grace of God. That's the open invitation. Given to all men. So that ultimately when they stand before the throne of grace they are without what? Excuse. They're without excuse. Because the invitation was given and the invitation was refused. That's what Jesus did for three years of ministry. The invitation was always extended. So much so that when He wept over Jerusalem He said, Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem.

Oh how I would have gathered you together. Oh I would, I long to gather you together. As a mother hen would gather her chicks. But you would not come. You wouldn't come. If you're saved. It's because of the grace of God. The Son revealed the Father to you. If you're not saved. It's simply because you would not come. You would not come. Today is an opportunity for you to give your life to Christ. Don't miss that opportunity. Let's pray. Father God we thank you for today and the joy of salvation. The truth of your word.

We thank you for the greatness of your glory. Truly Lord you have a plan of redemption that goes way beyond our little pea brains. Oh we'd like to figure it out. We can't. We just know what your word says. I pray for the salvation of those who are here today that have never given their life to Christ. May they experience the joy of eternal glory. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.