What is the ultimate goal of professing Christ and the reward for been called to be among the laborers sent into His harvest? What is actually the reward for being a faithful witness to the testimony of Jesus Christ? It is simply that your name may be written in heaven. In case you don’t agree with me, see the statement Jesus made in Luke 10:20. He said “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” What does this statement mean? It means that it is possible for one to rejoice that he/she is doing the work of God but his/her name is not written in heaven.

 

See what Matthew 7:22 says; “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” See the response He will give to them; “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”  So, is it possible to practice lawlessness and yet be proclaiming the gospel? Yes, it is possible! If demons are subject to you, we praise God for that, but we will rejoice the more if your name is written in heaven. These are the issues we are going to be considering in this series as the Holy Spirit helps us in this journey.  

 

Why is lawlessness such a grievous offense that Jesus would have to deny certain laborers who worked in His vineyard rather than reward them? The answer to this question is simply stated in verse 21 of Matthew 7, it says; “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” Did we see that? “The will of My Father in heaven” Not doing the will of my father Abraham, not even the will of Moses. It says; “One who does the will of My Father in heaven.” So as much as you are doing what you do in ministry, sensitivity to the will of God at every point is very important. Don’t be carried away by the works, be more concerned with the will of the Father.

 

Now let us continue with the Scripture we began with in Luke 10, but we are going to see verse 17. It says; “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” See how this text we just read began. It says; “they returned with joy.” So, it means they were sent out to the place where He Himself was willing to go. They didn’t go on their own volition. The Scripture says as many that are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God. You can’t be a son and your name is not written in your Father’s kingdom.

 

They went by the consent of Jesus and the result was that they returned with joy not shame. See what they said; “Lord even the demons are subject to us in your name.” This reminds me of the Scripture in 2 Corinthians 10:6, which says; “and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” Because they obeyed Jesus, because they agreed to be sent, because they didn’t send themselves, because they went with the approval of Jesus, the demons were subject to them, they were able to punish every disobedience. You can’t walk or work in disobedience and expect to do great things. Obedience is a key factor in the work of ministry, being put into the work of ministry is a key factor as well. If you will ever return with joy, if the demons will ever be subject to you, you must submit under the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, your obedience must be complete.

 

It is risky to be disobedient. The reason is because the Bible says in 1 Samuel 15:23, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.” If rebellion automatically qualifies you as a witch, what makes you different from the demons? This is the reason why those who have not been sent are been beaten and embarrassed by the devil because you neither belong to them nor the kingdom of light. See what they said; “the demons are subject to us in Your name.” If Jesus Christ did not send you, will you say you are doing what you do in His name? That is the reason for His denial. I have realized by the help of the Holy Spirit that this issue of being sent that seems like a light matter, but it is not.

 

Being sent implies that you have been given the permission. And the recognition is not done by mortals it is done in the spirit realm. Demons are clever too; they know and recognize those that have been sent and those that have not been sent. “in your name” implies that His presence went with them, His authority went with them. It shows that they didn’t go on their own, they were sent, left for them they would have preferred to stay and enjoy His presence, but because of the urgency of the message of the gospel that must be delivered, they were required to go.

 

Moses also gave us a similar example when he told the LORD if your presence does not go with us, do not take us up from here. An offer was given to him, the angel will go with you but he insisted that the presence of the Lord may go with him. Does this bother you as a Christian, as a missionary, as God’s servant? Does the presence of the LORD mean anything to you? If it does, you would have long realized that there is a struggle with His will. When the LORD has not given His response, do you wait or you just go? These are issues we must consider in order to be effective ministers and representatives of God on the earth. The question you must reflect on today is; have you been sent?

 

If I am a minster of God, a missionary, or if I am doing the work of ministry, what is required of me at the moment? That the work of ministry be done according to the will of God, or that our will superimpose that of God? If you will ever return with joy, if God the Lord of the harvest will not deny you, if your name will be written and will remain written in heaven, you must seek His will today. Anything outside of His will is called lawlessness and has the capacity to remove what has been written.

 

I believe you have been blessed!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!