In my communion time with the Holy Spirit this morning He reminded me of how Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit on occasion and how we must have that same mindset and posture in our lives about what is worth rejoicing over. In Luke.10:21 & 22 we read these words : 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 so it seemed good in Your sight. 22 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.”

Now this discourse of Jesus rejoicing in the Spirit comes on the back of what caused His disciples to rejoice in Luke.10:17-20 which reads : 17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 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. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Now when we look at what made the Disciples rejoice versus what prompted Jesus to rejoice we see a complete difference in thought, intent, purpose and reason as to why each person chose to rejoice. I certainly want to rejoice on the grounds and basis Jesus rejoices because He is my Master and Lord and do not want to fall into the shoes of temporary rejoicing that can disqualify me from my position. Several years ago as I studied this scripture the Holy Spirit revealed to me that if I did not see satan fall in any situation I dealt with the job was not complete.This became my process and it always worked.

This is because Jesus said I saw satan fall from a position or place of authority he was ruling in, like lightning. I also came to understand that the delegated authority you are given to use is not authority you own or possess but which you are allowed to use as long as you abide by the rules given to operate in that authority. Jesus therefore ruled from the place where He knew exactly how satan fell whereas the Disciples only used His name unconscious of what operation that transpired in the Spirit realm that dethroned those spirits, but only saw those spirits obeying their commands in Jesus name.

Now Jesus then explains to them what has happened and points out clearly that they should not rejoice in the fact that the spirits are subject to them but in that their names are written in heaven. This is because those spirits did not die but were removed from service and could be released again and defeat those Disciples because they did not know them or understand how they could be affected by them though those spirits had obeyed the command of Jesus’s name not their voice. In Acts.19:15 we read these words : And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

This makes it perfectly clear that spirits check if you have a place in heaven in Jesus and not what you scream out and declare. They knew the authority Jesus walked in and also the authority Paul walked in and respected that position and made it clear. This shows us why Jesus said don’t rejoice that the spirits are subject to you but that your names are written in heaven because that is your ticket to continued triumph over satan and His Kingdom your abiding in Jesus and His abiding in you.

Jesus wants us to rejoice because we follow Him and have revelation from Him to live out our lives on earth by the Holy Spirit not just actions that make us look powerful and capable of doing miraculous things in a singular event.Jesus rejoiced not that the spirits fled at His name but at His position of relationship with His Father and the guarantee that from that place He could never be moved because His father was the greatest and could never be defeated and Jesus could rejoice in what was eternal not temporary. The position of humility before God and total reliance and dependence on Him for everything is what we must rejoice in, the Holy Spirit reminded me and find our confidence and dependence on not what we achieve.

The Apostle Paul makes this truth clear when in Galatians.1:15-17 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. The authority Paul walked in only came as Jesus was revealed in Paul as opposed to when Jesus was revealed to Paul in Acts.9.

My prayer for you this morning is that as you hear and receive these words you will be convicted and make the necessary changes and find the grace supplied in these words that enables you to again walk in this place and find the comfort and rest in the Holy Spirit that will propel you into the fulfillment of the plan of Jesus for your life which will bring glory to His name as you go forth and bear much fruit for Jesus and fruit that remains as an expansion of His Kingdom of which there is no end in Jesus name. Amen.