December 29 Joyful Victory

Luke 10:17-18 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven.” 
 
LET’S pause for a moment to recall Jesus’ instructions to the 72. Do you remember how the word “urgent” weaved its way through Jesus’ directives? Jesus was very precise. He was distinctly purposeful with the 72 new missionaries: Be urgent to keep going, take very little, accept hospitality, reject opposition, heal diseases, exorcise demons and speak the gospel. We can look at Jesus’ instructions and perhaps question, “Isn’t he a bit too focused on the details?” Yes, surely ministry is about having fun, isn’t it?
   Yes, sometimes good fun is good. Sometimes business must be done. We may ask God regarding the Bible? “Why don’t you, Lord, give us some slack? Aren’t you too focused on the details of our faith, lives, thoughts and actions? We need a little freedom here, Lord.”
   Really? Think about what happened when Adam and Eve looked for some room to do their own thing. Consider what happens when your friends or you have looked for some freedom from God’s directives. What happened?
   Jesus’ precise instructions were give to accomplish a precise mission. We see this as the 72 returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”  Joy comes when Christ reigns. Christ reigns when his Word is foremost in our lives. The Son directed them; the Spirit empowered them. Satan’s forces “fell like lightning from Heaven”.
   Some say Jesus spiritually saw Satan’s demons fall as lightning from those they possessed. Those words can also mean Jesus was pointing to the eternal past when Satan was expelled from Heaven. Or Jesus could be prophesying the time Satan would fall eternally into the pit of his destruction. Revelation 20:9-10 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
   Victory over evil comes in God’s precise words. Victory over evil is joy to all who are on mission with God. Follow God’s Word. Live in joy. The victory belongs to the Lord. 1 John 5:4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 
    
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for Jesus’ great victory over Satan. I pray I follow your precise Word on mission with you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.