Caution In Success!
"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits
are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your
names are written in heaven."
Luke 10: 20
Jewish leadership often involved the number seventy. Seventy
members of Jacob’s family went down to Egypt (Exodus 1:5).
Moses appointed seventy elders to lead Israel (Exodus
24:9).
Seventy men were anointed with the Holy Spirit to govern Israel
in the wilderness (Numbers 11:25). The Jewish ruling council,
the Sanhedrin, was made up of seventy men.
It’s not surprising that Jesus chose seventy disciples to train
in the ministry, sending them out two by two. They had great
success and returned to the Lord exuberant about all they
had seen and done, saying, “Lord, even the demons are
subject to us” (Luke 10:17).
Jesus cautioned against being too excited about visible results.
Sometimes we don’t see immediate fruitfulness or sudden results
from our work. We are to labor both in season and out of season
(2 Timothy 4:2).
If we’re too excited when things go well,
we may become discouraged when they don’t.
But here is something in which we can always
rejoice: Our names are written in heaven!
"The Lamb’s Book of Life is the book of Jesus Christ
in which are entered the names of those who have
received His eternal life."
Tim LaHaye
