Two Year Gospel Study Week 45

Awake Us Now

Luke 10:17-21; "Eternal Victory"

It's easy to get discouraged when we look around at the world, but today's lesson will encourage us to look at what Jesus says and allow that to speak into our hearts.

Everything Jesus did was focused on God the Father's divine purpose, God's will.

Jesus in the last months of His life ministry is training His disciples to share the Good News throughout Israel and throughout the world. Jesus sends out 72 commissioning them by twos in towns in the area. As these groups begin to come back from their mission trips, they returned with joy at how people had listened and expressed excitement in people being delivered even from demons.

Jesus replies to them, "I saw satan fall" meaning satan's days are numbered because not even the powers of hell can stand up in the power of Jesus. This is still true today. We are in spiritual warfare, cultural war with struggles of darkness against the forces of God. This battle can be discouraging to believers, but Jesus is still saying to us today, "I saw satan fall!" Jesus' word and in the Holy Spirit, there is power to defeat the enemy! Jesus is still in control! There is power in His name - do not despair, do not give up. He is good, He is God and he is powerful and He will bring about everything He has promised that will happen! He is going to win the victory! Jesus knew that 2000 years ago and He knows that today. He IS the Victor!

Jesus Christ conquers!

Jesus Christ is victorious!

It is very easy to become preoccupied with the tragedies of life and miss out on the incredible things that God is doing. Today he is moving around the world in remarkable ways - Here in the western world we have lost sight of that as our western culture moves further and further away from its biblical foundations and roots.

But at the same time western culture has been moving away from God - the rest of the world has been coming to Him.

Pastor shares statistics and information from the book, "To The Ends Of The Earth: Pentecostalism and the Transformation of World Christianity" by Alan Heaton Anderson, Oxford Press.

In 1950: 80% of the world's Christians lived in Europe and North America.

In 2005: the majority of Christians lived in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In Africa:

1900 - 9 million believers in Jesus

1950 - 60 million believers in Jesus

2005 - 393 million believers in Jesus

God is doing remarkable things! This is the greatest revival of the human race!

Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the nations as a testimony and then the end will come." The very thing Jesus predicted and that scriptures declare - is coming true in our day and our time!

What was seemingly impossible 2000 years ago in Jesus being shared around the world, is a living reality today! We are seeing scripture come to fulfillment in our lifetimes.

God keeps His word and even in the darkest times He shows Himself to be God - to be good - to long for His people to return to Him. He desires to bless us and fill us with His Holy Spirit. He longs to call the Western church to the very reality that the church around the world is seeing today! That reality is that God is near, can be trusted, that His Holy Spirit is at work and can be relied upon and that He is the God that does mighty things! NOTHING HAS CHANGED! HE IS STILL THE SAME! He gives life transforming power anchored in Jesus' death and resurrection.

Jesus ends today's text with, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven!!" When we come to repentance we recognize our need for a Savior, that in our own strength we can't come to God, it's only through receiving Jesus as our Savior.

We do not need to be filled with despair. God says if we know Jesus we do not have to fear for the future. We can live with joy and peace, hope and assurance in knowing God will keep every promise, He will bring all to fulfillment. We have our names written in heaven!

Jesus went on to say, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things form the wise and learned and revealed them to little children." What does Jesus mean by this?

In western culture we are taught that the most important thing is personal knowledge, wisdom and education; but Jesus says real wisdom comes in becoming a child and recognizing that we don't bring anything at all to this heavenly party. God gives everything and like a child I need to be totally dependent upon Him.

By human wisdom no one will ever draw near to God and by human intelligence no one will ever come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Lord, raise up workers for the harvest! We ask that what you are doing elsewhere, You do here! Bring Awakening. Bring revival!"

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St. Luke's Account is part three of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. The Gospel of Luke takes a look at the life of Jesus, beginning with the well-known Christmas stories. Luke, a non-Jew, offers a unique perspective into the story of Jesus' life.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

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