More Thrilling to Be Saved Than to Succeed

Jesus sent out 72 disciples to go into the towns where he was about to go and to heal the sick and say the kingdom of God Has Come among you and when he greeted them on their return this is what happened this is Luke chapter 10. in verses 9 and or 19 and 20. the 72 returned with Joy saying Lord even the demons are subject to us in your name and Jesus said to them I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven behold I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy nothing shall hurt you nevertheless do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you but Rejoice that your names are written in heaven do not rejoice at the stunning power you have to liberate people from evil rather Rejoice that your names are written in heaven let's pray father that's an odd thing to say and we need to know what it means for these graduates and the rest of us Come Holy Spirit and teach us I pray in Jesus name amen do not rejoice in this power to deliver people from demons Rejoice that your names are written in heaven what does it mean to have your name written in heaven the Apostle John tells us the names are written before the foundation of the world in a book and the name of the book is the book of life of the Lamb who was slain in other words to have your name written in the book is to be saved it's the book of Salvation it's the book of the redeemed if your name is in the book is your name in the book if your name is in the book these things are true of you or will certainly be you are chosen by God in eternity you are predestined for sonship in his family you are ransomed from every evil bondage you are purchased for God's precious possession Christ has taken your place under the punishment of divine Wrath God has caused you to be born again and taken out the Heart of Stone and put in the heart of Flesh he has made you alive and given you the gift of repentance and faith he has forgiven you all your sins and declared you innocent before God you are irrevocably rescued from the Terrors of hell you stand righteous in the court of heaven and have peace with God he has adopted you into his own family as his own child made you heir of eternal life to inherit everything that exists he is omnipotently omnipotently committed to holding on to you so that nothing can separate you from the love of God he will make every Pleasant and painful thing work together for your Eternal good he will lead you in Paths of righteousness for his name's sake he will bring you safely to his eternal Kingdom and present you blameless Before the Throne of God's glory he will grant you to see the glory of Christ and be changed into his likeness he will give you a new and glorious body for the enjoyment of all the endless Delights of the age to come he will grant you to sit with him on his throne and share the universal rule he will give you access to the very presence of God where there is fullness of joy and Pleasures at his right hand forevermore that's what it means to have your name written in heaven now why would Jesus say when he's 72 returned rejoicing that the powers of darkness and the powers of evil and the powers of Destruction had fallen before them in Jesus name why would he say don't rejoice in this but Rejoice that your names are written in heaven why would he say that I don't assume that Jesus was giving an absolute prohibition of rejoicing over the rescue of people from satanic evil and the reason I don't assume that is because five chapters later in the parable of the prodigal son he tells us to rejoice when we are used to relieve people from Everlasting evil join in singing Rejoice your brother's home so I don't assume that when he says don't rejoice in this it is an absolute prohibition of being thankfully glad that we are instruments of Liberation from Satan's evil huh I take him to mean therefore that rejoicing in your salvation that your names are written in heaven is something more essential it is a more essential Joy that is a joy with deeper roots a joy that is most durable lasting a joy with the greatest satisfaction a joy that sustains and shapes all other joys a joy that is unmistakable to those around you a joy that cannot be suppressed but marks your ministry marks your life and he says let that be your joy that your name is written in heaven let that Joy be this that you are saved be more deeply more durably more gladly more pervasively more unmistakably more irrepressibly thrilled that you are saved than anything be more thrilled that you are saved and that you are gifted or competent or productive or successful or famous or powerful or fruitful in the name of Jesus even do not rejoice that was degree in hand you are equipped to make a difference let's say it more carefully because Jesus didn't say it carefully I'll say it carefully Jesus just said it and expected me to do some work so let's say it this way when you take your diploma and rejoice in the Commons or years to come when you take your diploma and rejoice to enter a world for the good of others and the glory of God do it in such a way that people will say his truest Joy is to be saved her truest Joy is to be saved does Bethlehem graduates they are thrilled that their names are written in heaven it's all over them everything comes from that so back to the question why did Jesus say this don't rejoice in Ministry success but that your names are written in heaven why'd he say that why does this matter you best friend people always talking about Joy why did he say this seven reasons with two sentence explanations for each one so it's okay legalism authenticity heal Glory love death shame number one legalism to the degree that we are not thrilled to be saved we will move toward legalism if Ministry is not the Overflow of joy in Christ it will be an achievement and it won't be in Christ if our work is not coming out Joy Joy it will be a desperate striving for joy to authenticity to the degree that we are not thrilled to be saved we will not be able to commend Christ with authenticity as the all-satisfying savior there will always be this and sense of inauthenticity in your ministry and your witness if he doesn't satisfy me what am I doing preaching and teaching and trying to lead people to him what's the point three Zeal to the degree that we are not thrilled to be saved our Zeal for worthy causes will be distorted and Out Of Tune the cause may be totally righteous but it will be missing The Melody of God's all-satisfying presence people may admire your stature as a warrior but the music of your life will not sound like the pleasures of knowing Christ for Glory to the degree that we are not thrilled to be saved God will not be glorified in our vocations the way he ought to be because the fullness of his worth and beauty and greatness are known and shown only where he is manifestly felt as the deepest sweetest most durable joy in life five love to the degree that we are not thrilled to be saved to that degree will our love for other people become compromised because What is love but to labor at any cost to ourselves to give people what is best for them what is fully and eternally satisfying the labor of love that labor of love is weakened by every degree of joy we do not find in our own salvation six death to the degree that we are not thrilled to be saved we will approach our own death without peace we will be tormented late at night with the nagging fear that we loved his service more than himself are we real am I real just a princess here sweet parenthesis my last email interchanged with Tim Keller who died today revolved around this text and I did not plan it that way we reveled we were reveling together and he reminded me you know John Martin Lloyd Jones found this text Luke 10 20 to be his greatest comfort in the last hours of his life my name is written in heaven get any peace my name is written in heaven as the last thing Tim Keller said to me so dear graduates I promise you Tim Keller would promise you 100 in this room would promise you in 60 years from now you will be very glad if you spent your life reveling in the Savior more than his service seven finally shame to the degree that we are not thrilled to be saved how will we face the Lord on that day when he asks us what did you enjoy most about the life I gave you if we cannot say you you were my most essential Joy how will we face him so I say with Jesus to the graduates and the rest of us do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you Rejoice that your names are written in heaven and if you do if God gives you the grace to live that way feel that way for the next 60 years or so you will be delivered from legalism you will minister with authenticity your Zeal will have the Melody of Heaven God will be glorified in your life you will taste the sweetness of loving people you will face death without fear and you will face the Lord Without Shame father perform that miracle of delighting in you more than anything so that when we sing a song like all glory be to Christ we know how to get there pray this in Jesus name amen

Channel: Desiring God

Views: 58,581

Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism, More Thrilling to Be Saved than to Succeed, John Piper Message, Bethlehem College, Bethlehem Seminary, Joy, Pastoral Ministry, John Piper on Success, John Piper Commencement

Id: k9azkcQaSRQ

Length: 19min 7sec (1147 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 12 2023