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This is the Truth Network. The Gospel of Luke, the longest book in the New Testament. More parables and miracles of Christ in the Book of Luke than any other gospel. Join me, Stu Epperson, as we journey through Luke at the end of each Truth Talk Weekend program for the next series of weeks.

Experience truth, experience the Book of Luke, the Word of God. We'd love your feedback. We'll also have a handout for those of you who'd like to do a small group study. Just connect with us at truthnetwork.com.

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Facebook page with a video is at Stu.Epperson. Now, we'll jump into the Book of Luke together like we do every week in Wednesday in the Word, right here on Truth Talk Weekend. Welcome back to Experience Truth. We're going into part two of this powerful passage. Jesus Christ Himself tells us that our greater joy should not be in power over darkness and demons. Our greater joy should be that our names are written in the Book of Life. He says this to the 70 disciples upon their return and upon their being overwhelmed with joy for having subjected underneath themselves these powers and demonic authorities.

Through the power of God in them. I'm going to read the passage again, and then we're going to get right into the final questions. What does it mean to be a spiritual babe?

Why did Jesus say, "...blessed are your eyes in the ears that hear and see..." Over so many in the Old Testament, kings and prophets didn't get to see that stuff, so we're going to get into that today and back into the Book of Life. By the way, is your name written in the Book of Life? Who's asked you that question lately? Who have you asked that question to?

That's a real good question to ask people. Is your name written in the Book of Life? We're going to talk about that a lot more today too. Then the 70 returned with joy, saying, this is Luke 10, 17-24, "...Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. He said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

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. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, but that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." 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 it seemed good in your sight. 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." "...Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see.

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." So last time we talked about why did they return with joy? Well, God used them to perform all kinds of miracles. The one that they were most overjoyed over was the fact that, "...Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name." They were casting out demons. They were demonstrating the power of God over the forces of darkness overtly.

Not just disease, not just death, but demons. So we spent some time about that, and we talked about this beautiful statement of Jesus in which he said this. He said, "...Don't rejoice in that that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

What a great statement. So Jesus tells them the source of their joy should be anchored in who they are and the fact their names are written in heaven over and above their authority over demons. So I made a little comparing and contrast here.

I'm going to share these with you. Name in the book of life versus authority over demons. So often, we get into performance and activity and behavior, and we forget about our identity. So here are some things that the Lord put on my heart to share with you about contrasting Jesus' call for these disciples to have the deeper joy in their names written in the book of life. First of all, the name in the book of life speaks to identity. Authority over demons speaks to activity. The first speaks to who I am in him.

The second speaks to what I do. The first, the name in the book of life, is a permanent thing. Authority over demons is changing and temporary. There's going to be more demons tomorrow, friend, but your name, once it's written in that book of life, is always written in that book of life. It's permanent. It's eternal.

It's secure. The name in the book of life is his work. Who wrote your name, by the way, in the book of life?

I didn't write it there. He wrote it, and he wrote it in the blood of his son, Jesus Christ. However, authority over demons tends to be my work, even though it's in his name. It tends to put emphasis on my work.

The name in the book of life is humbling. It keeps me humble. Sometimes when I do performance and have a show authority over demons, I get puffed up. I think, wow, look at the power coming from me!

And I forget the source, so it can make me too smart for my own britches. The name in the book of life speaks to total freedom and dependence on him. Authority over demons can lead to the bondage of what's called independence, not depending on God. The name of the book of life focuses on who he is. Authority over demons can tend to focus on who I am. The name of the book of life dials into his purpose.

Authority over demons sometimes can create a focus on my popularity. There's some contrarian comparing and contrasting, but let's go through our passage now. Jesus gets into this more. After he tells them where their joy should be, it says something that you don't find anywhere in the Gospels, this little statement. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say Jesus rejoiced. Now, it doesn't mean he wasn't full of joy. He was the perfect embodiment of joy. He is, in fact, joy presented. He is the joy to the world that we sing about at Christmas.

But it never says it specifically until it says it here. He was a man of sorrows. His heart is broken over and over again. He weeps. Jesus wept. John 8.35, the shortest verse in the Bible. We have Jesus later in Luke weeping over Jerusalem for her lostness. Jesus Christ absolutely embodied the notion of joy, but it's neat that it's only said about him here.

But listen to what it says. You have all three members of the Trinity here. It says, In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit. Nowhere he was led by the Spirit, controlled by the Spirit.

The perfect harmony with the Spirit of God. And he said, I thank you, Father. So you have the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit in this passage here.

Very, very unique place for all three of them. He's praying to the Father, rejoicing in the Spirit. He says, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. A great Hebrew statement of God's sovereign rule and reign, God's supremacy right here in the passage. Lord of heaven and earth. And what does he pray to him or praise him for?

Or what is he rejoicing over? That you, Father, have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and revealed them to babes. Is it possible to be too smart? Is it possible to be too wise to get to heaven? Is it possible that all because you had a super high SAC score and got a full ride scholarship and you were brilliant, erudite, and a PhD in physics or whatever, does that automatically make you a Christian?

Does that automatically make you spiritually blessed? And Jesus says, no, God's hidden these things from the wise and prudent. It doesn't mean those with great minds can't be believers. But what Jesus is saying is, if you know everything and you've got it all figured out, you don't know anything.

It's hidden from you. But he's revealed these things unto babes. Remember Luke chapter 9, where Jesus, the disciples are arguing about who's the greatest, and he grabs a little baby, picks the baby up and says, this is greatness right here, unless you become like this little child.

Well, that's what he's saying here. Think about the characters of babe that pop in your mind. When we talk about a little baby or precious little child, what comes to mind? Well, they're dependent, they're immature, they're humble, they're teachable, they're little sponges taken in everything we say. They're vulnerable.

See, a baby just like a sheep is dependent on the parent and dependent on the shepherd for their daily bread and for their leading and their guidance and their provision and their protection and all those things. And Jesus says, these great things, these great, rich, divine, supernatural concepts and teachings and rich doctrines, guess who they're revealed to? They're revealed to babes, because babes realize that they need them.

Because babes realize that when Jesus speaks, he's speaking the truth. And they hear it and they believe it, and it's gold to them. But those who are wise and prudent have figured it out, like 1 Corinthians treats this beautifully. It says, who are the wise of the world?

Who are the prudent ones? And he says, the wisdom of God is foolishness to them, to the wise. And he says, as the preaching of the cross is foolishness to them who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

But over and over again, 1 Corinthians, I believe it's 1 or 2, it says, the natural man does not receive the things of God. They're foolish to him. You have a lot of natural men who are really bright. They're so bright they come up with things as cockamamie, as crazy as evolution. Whoever thought about the most complex of beings, a human being with DNA strands, trillions and trillions of molecular components and atoms that we came from some happenstance, you know, pond scum that we just evolved over billions of years, right?

So if you look at it, it makes no sense. And yet, man has gone out of his way to try to think his way into his own plan and his own fate, and it's completely devoid of God. Evolution is a theory that is running real fast away from the true God who created the Lord of heaven and earth that Jesus references here as he prays to his Father. God's hidden these things from the wise and the prudent.

He's revealed them to babes. And then he gives this great statement about the interdependent, the harmony. He says, even so, Father, it seemed good in your sight. It all seems good in God's sight. What is good in God's eyes?

That's what you want to be after. What a great statement of God's sovereignty. All things have been delivered to me by my Father. 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 reveals him. Beautiful statement, again, of Jesus' lock and step, utter dependence on the Father. He's revealing the Father.

There's a perfect harmony. He's the Son of God. He's the begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He's also God the Son. So he is one with the Father, in essence, but he's unique in that he is the Son. The Son is not the Father, but the Son is God. The Father is not the Son, but the Father is God. The Spirit is not the Son, nor the Father, but the Spirit is God.

Three in one. A beautiful picture of the Trinity we see in this passage. In harmony with each other. Without ever a human being being created, God was in harmony. The Father was good. They were one.

They were united. And Jesus talks about this in his great high-appreciated prayer. In John 17, he says, the same love we had from the beginning of time, before the beginning of time. Father, we're pouring that out to this body. We want them to have that same one. God brings us, doesn't need us, but by his amazing sovereign grace, brings us woeful, sinful, rebellious people into that love that he and his Father share.

It's so cool. It doesn't say it any better than John 15, where he says, the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.

Inviting us in that relationship. So then, after saying all that, he turns to his disciples. He says this, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see. For I tell you, many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see and have not seen, and to hear what you hear and have not heard it.

So, Jesus makes a great statement of privilege. The disciples, their eyes had seen the king. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Jonah, these prophets never saw, never beheld the Messiah whom they prophesied about. The kings, King David, and King Josiah, and King Hezekiah, and King Uzziah, King Solomon, they never beheld the king that Jesus was. They never actually saw the Messiah who came. They never saw these kind of miracles. So the disciples were so blessed.

We're so privileged. You can hold a Bible in your hand, friend. I'm Stu Everson. Join us next time, right here on Experience Truth. Stu Everson Truth Talk Live! This is the Truth Network.