I saw Satan fall

Luke 10:1-24

Key Verse 10:18

He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Today we would like to think about Jesus' wisdom in serving the Lord's ministry successfully during the fall semester. Already a lot of schools were opened. Cerritos College was opened on August 14. Citrus College was opened on August 14, and Shepherd Jonathan has already gone out to meet students, and he already met one student named Charlie. CSUF opened on August 19. Along with Shepherd Neal, Jeff, and Gerald, Shepherd William went out to invite students to Bible studies. CSULB also started its new semester on August 21, so under the leadership of Shepherd Daniel Tourn, co-workers went out for table fishing. Apparently Shepherd Greg joined and garnered considerable success in meeting students. LBCC and Fullerton College also opened up a new semester on August 21. And we have a great expectation that the Lord God is going to bless the work in an unprecedented way.

In regard to getting any thing done successfully, we are reminded of Ecclesiastes 10:10 which says, "If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success." We are also reminded of Exodus 31:3 which says, "And I have filled him [Bezalel] with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts--" Regarding the wisdom to get anything done, we can rest assured that Jesus is the giver of the Spirit of God. He is the ultimate master who has a complete mastery of skill, ability, and knowledge. 

In the passage for today we see Jesus saying, "I saw Satan fall like lightening." This statement indicates that through Jesus' field-work Jesus was able to give Satan a knock out punch. How did he do that? A lot of things can be said. But basically for our own purpose we would like to think about Jesus' wisdom in seven points. 

First, the importance of the number of believers ready to work for the Lord's harvest 

 

Look at verse 1. "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others..." In Luke 9, the Lord had already appointed 12. Now here in the passage the Lord appointed 72 more. This indicates that in Jesus' mind the number of workers is important in waging the Lord's battle. 

About a year ago a pastor I know visited Montreal Canada for the first time in his life. In Montreal he saw something interesting: the public phone book was unusually thick - about five inches. He quickly figured out why: it was bilingual. The first half was in French and the latter half in English. One missionary in Montréal UBF explained that in the past it was all in English. But the Catholic priests (who were from France) operating in the Montréal area kept encouraging their church members to produce children. Because the priests even forbade the church members from using birth control devices, the church members produced lots of children. The parents of the former Canadian Prime Minister Joseph Jean Chrétien are a good example, for Jean Chrétien is 18th of 19 children. What was the result of number of French speaking people increasing? The phone book! Because of this increasing trend, about a year ago Missionary Luke Hong the director of Montréal UBF started out a French worship service, in addition to the English worship. He also had to learn French. He hated the cross of learning French. 

On one of the Korean TV programs, a professor predicted that sooner or later God will punish South Korea because nowadays South Koreans are not producing as many children as in the past. Indeed South Korea registered a record low birth rate last year due primarily to women choosing to marry later in life, the Korea National Statistical Office (NSO) said a week ago. According to the NSO the number of babies born per woman of child-bearing ages 15-49, or fertility rate, was the world's lowest in 2005. The NSO compared this figure with the U.S. at 2.04 in 2003, France at 1.89 in 2003, and Japan at 1.25 in 2005. 

In Bible history we see that God is very interested in seeing the number of believing children "increasing." Why? It is because God hates rebellious people taking over the planet earth. No wonder that in Noah's day God had to destroy all peoples on earth except Noah and his family. In the city of Sodom and Gomorrah the number of the righteous was completely outnumbered by the number of the rebellious people like the homosexuals. So fire and sulfur rained down from heaven, so that all the rebellious people became like a bunch of French fries. 

Here is an interesting point that deserves attention: when Jesus came to the land of Israel, the Bible believing, God worshiping nation, no matter where he turned, he ran into the enemies of God - in synagogues, at the Jerusalem temple, and everywhere, he saw enemies lurking around, ready to pounce on him, and finish him. But Jesus did not despair. Rather he fished several disciples such as Peter, John, and James. Then he developed seventy two more. Now, he is sending them out to the harvest fields.

The situation of our own generation in the U.S. is not that different. Although we are living in a so-called bible believing nation, we see increasing signs of the nation and her people being swallowed up by materialism and secular humanism. But let us not despair. Following Jesus' example, may the Lord bless us to increase in the number of people ready to go out for the Lord's harvest fields. 

Second, the wisdom to work together

Again in verse 1, Jesus sent out the seventy two others "two by two." The phrase "two by two" shows us the importance of two or more persons "working together." 

In general "working together" (or simply "team work") produces far better results than working individually. This is particularly true in fighting for the Lord's battle, because among other reasons team work is critical to building up the spiritual morale of the workers. 

The phrase "two by two" then reminds us of the example of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians, for 2Co 2:12-13 reads, "Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia." [In King James Version, "I still had no peace of mind" is translated to read, "I still had no rest in my spirit." We know that the Apostle Paul is such a valiant soldier of Christ. He is a veteran of veterans. Yet, he saw his co-worker Titus absent in Troas. So he chose not to go there even though the Lord had opened the door to preach the gospel there. 

The same is true even with Jesus. We say that Jesus is perfectly God. At the same time however Jesus is perfectly human. As a human he also had feelings such as fear and anxiety. On many occasions facing enemies his soul came to be greatly troubled. But he withdrew great comfort from the presence of his disciples, particularly the ones like John and James. At the last supper table, Jesus then said to his disciples, "You are those who have stood by me in my trials." (Luke 22:28) And he said this "after" Judas Iscariot had left (to betray him). 

Jesus sent out the seventy two, "two by two". Let us therefore dearly learn to work together "encouraging" one another, rather than "discouraging". In the fall semester, the battle may go thick, and the going may go "tough". But let us all pray that each of us would never leave fellow soldiers unattended much less desert the Lord's army. 

Third, the vision for the plentiful harvest

Before sending them out Jesus said something interesting. Look at verse 2. "He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." In Jesus' day the political and spiritual environment of the harvest field looked very dark and unpromising. Yet, why does Jesus say, "The harvest is plentiful"? Yes, in the land of Samaria the Gentile territory people like Samaritan woman were willing to accept the gospel. But in the land of Judah and Jerusalem, by and large people remained hostile to Jesus and his claims. Yet, why does Jesus say, "The harvest is plentiful"? In my opinion the answer is found in Matthew 28:19 where Jesus commanded the disciples to make disciples of "all" nations. In Jesus' mind, all who are yet to be saved represent the crops that need to be gathered. So to say "The harvest is plentiful" means "Plenty are the number of people who are yet to be saved." Therefore in Jesus' eyes even those who are as hostile as the religious leaders of Jesus' day are crops to be harvested. Viewed this way we can see that there are tons of people in corporate America and the world who are yet to be saved. 

Fourth, the importance of prayer 

Let us look at verse 2 again. "He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Here again before sending them out Jesus asked them to do something which seemed unnecessary. We know that Jesus had already given them the power and authority to do God's work. Yet why did he ask the disciples to ask the Father?

In my opinion it is because of Jesus' absolute faith in God who is sovereign. God is a sovereign God. The word "sovereign" means "free from external control". In all dimensions (or spheres of the created universe) God is in control of everything that is going on. In the immediate case Jesus stated that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Who then caused this to happen? Again the answer is the same. It came from God. For example God hardened the hearts of all those whose hearts remained hardened and thereby closed up their hearts. What does this mean? This means only one thing: God the Father, who caused the situation to be that way, can also turn the situation the other way around. 

Now that God sent Jesus to save all who believe, and now that we are living in the year of the Lord's favor, when we pray God the Father answers our prayer. Knowing the efficacy of prayer, one shepherd suggested that a few fellow soldiers should gather to have regular prayer meetings at one of the co-workers’ houses at nine p.m. from Monday to Wednesday each week. 

Fifth, the action plan

The next point to remember is an action plan. What action plan did Jesus give to the seventy two? Let us read responsively verses 3-12. Here four words stand out - go, say, stay, and heal, describing Jesus’ four-pronged action plan for his harvest workers. 

(1) Go! Here "going" means going to a dungeon of "wolves". "Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves." Physically the physical environments might have been as nice as the CSULB campus. But spiritually their mission fields were filled with "wolves". People may look kind and nice. Physically they may look "gorgeous". But spiritually they may be like "wolves". We know wolves are sly, cunning, and deceptive. Although they look slim and sleek, they are crafty, sneaky, and ferocious. But we should not be afraid. We must go to the place where wolves are roaming around. 

(2) Say

Look at verse 5. "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.'" This is what we are to offer: "the message of peace". In Hebrew the word "peace" means "Shalom." In America we say, "Good morning" (if it is a morning time), or simply "Hello." But in the Middle East, "Peace to this house" is a formal way of greeting. But in view of Jesus' practices thus far we can say that Jesus asked them to say this, not just as a formal way of greeting, but to mean business in proclaiming "God's message" to the people of this world. What is God's message? Clearly it is the message of peace from God. God sent Jesus to make peace with men. (Luke 1:79; 19:42) 

Sin breaks peace in a man, and then in his relationships with God, his neighbor, and his environment. God sent Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Speaking this message of peace, upon entering Jerusalem Jesus said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes." 

While a friend of mine was a student at a law school, he did not have any peace of mind. No wonder that at that time he was reading all kinds of books about Adolph Hitler or Mao Tse-dong. But one of his classmates shared with him the gospel of peace. Since then he gained peace of mind. His mind and spirit grew so calm and peaceful that he eats even five times a day. And to this very day he is struggling to share the message of peace among college students. 

(3) Stay

Look at verse 7. "Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house." This passage is also loaded up with a lot of wisdom to go by. One of the lessons we can consider today is the need for us to be "persistent" in feeding sheep. 

We know that unlike other creations, human beings are the most sophisticated. So just as it takes time for one to become as bad as he has become, so also it takes time for him to become as good as even Jesus is. For this reason the Bible says that the first character trait of love is "to be patient." And in helping each soul, who opens his heart towards the gospel, we are called to be persistent in helping him out.  

(4) Heal

Next let us look at verse 9. "Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'" This is the final and last point of the four-pronged action plan. 

In this world there are so many people who are sick physically, mentally, and spiritually. 

According to Dr. David Min each and every day new medicines are being invented to heal the sick. But no man-made products can heal a lot of diseases such as the addiction to substance abuse like alcohol or drugs, addiction to pornography, or even the addiction to unbiblical ways of thinking.

But the gospel of Jesus can heal all kinds of diseases. Speaking of the healing power imbedded in the gospel, Isaiah 53:5 simply declares, "By his wounds we are healed." In the same way, the Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 2:24, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." Notice the last seven words: "by his wounds you have been healed." This is in the present perfect tense. With this simple faith, we need to proclaim the message of sin-forgiveness as well as the message of healing, all in the blessed name of Jesus Christ, and we must do so knowing that at the heart of all the diseases is the problem of sin and Jesus came to take away the sins of the world.

Sixth, knowing the real enemy

Look at verse 17 and 18. "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." "He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." In the book entitled the Art of War, Sun Tsu, one of the most prominent ancient Chinese military strategists, said, "Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to fighting the battle one hundred times and never losing, not even once." 

And Satan is the enemy behind the enemy. We know that no human being is a match for Satan. And Satan is in the business of causing everyone to sin. This teaches us that we need to admit our limits and turn to Jesus Christ, so in and through Jesus, we would not sin, and but work to destroy the work of the devil. 

Seventh, simple trust

In verses 13-24, we see two groups of people standing in contrast: the first group are described as “[humanly] wise and learned”, and the second group “little children” (referring to his disciples) To the first group Jesus said “woe to you”, but to the second Jesus said, “Blessed are you.” The first group is subject to God’s woes because they remained “blind” to who Jesus is, but the second group is blessed because they received the revelation that Jesus is the Savior sent by God. 

What made the difference? The difference is that like the little children the disciples put their simple trust in the Lord, but the former group did not. They entertained human thoughts about Jesus, and ended up not believing in Him. From this we learn that instead of relying on our own human ideas or human abilities such as ability to talk, we must serve the gospel with simple faith in the Lord. 

In conclusion, we learned that Jesus came to bring about God’s healing to all peoples on earth. Since the fall of the first man Adam, people of this world came to be subject to all kinds of disorderliness. But Jesus came to fix them, so sickly people would become sound and stable like Jesus himself. In an attempt to save all, Jesus selected a few disciples and sent them out to the mission field. Through his wisdom then Jesus garnered a wonderful victory over the enemy Satan. In the fall semester, as we bring the gospel of peace to each college campus, may the Lord bless us to follow Jesus’ wisdom that he would grant us many victories in the Lord. 

One word: I saw Satan fall like lightening

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