Jesus tells his disciples after returning from a mission where they healed the sick, cast out demons and preached good news, to not rejoice in the results they got but to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. A message we still need to hear today.
When the seventy returned from their mission, they were on fire.
“Lord, in Your name even the demons submit to us!”
—Luke 10:17
Can you blame them? They’d just stepped into something amazing. The authority Jesus had given them worked. People were healed. Evil was pushed back. They saw results.
However, Jesus doesn’t share their excitement the way they expect.
“I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.”
“I have given you authority… Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
—Luke 10:18–20
This moment says everything.
Results Aren’t the Point—Relationship Is
Jesus isn’t scolding them—but He is redirecting their joy. They came back focused on what they had done. And Jesus responds by saying, Don’t anchor your joy in what submits to you—anchor it in the fact that God knows your name.
Satan fell because he loved the power God gave him more than the God who gave it.
And Jesus is saying: Rejoice—not in what God does through you, but that you are His.Because the moment we fall in love with our gifts and talents, we begin to shut the door on our relationship with the Father.
We start saying, “I got this. I don’t need You.”And while it may look like we’re doing great things for God—and we may even believe we are—internally, our hearts have drifted.
We no longer delight in needing God.
We prefer the illusion that we can succeed without Him.And let’s face it—we all prefer that.
It’s uncomfortable to rely on God.
It’s unsettling to walk into situations where we’re not quite adequate and have to trust the Spirit to show up, to give us wisdom, to speak through us.We’d all rather feel confident in ourselves.
But when we prefer that, we’re skating on thin ice.
We’ve quietly traded the intimacy of dependence for the illusion of control.
What Jesus says doesn’t make a direct connection at first. But when we unpack it, it hits hard. Especially for someone like me—someone who spent over a decade in a religious system that idolized performance.
We were taught to measure everything:
- How many people did you invite?
- How many came to church?
- How many Bible studies are you leading?
- Are you following up fast enough?
If the numbers weren’t there, we were told to examine our hearts—but not in a healthy, honest way. The only time the heart was talked about was when something was wrong. If you weren’t getting results, you were suspected of having hidden sin.
We were even warned with the story of Achan—the guy in Joshua 7 who secretly kept what God commanded to be destroyed, and as a result, the whole community suffered. That was the message: If you’re not bringing in results, maybe you’re hiding something. Maybe you’re the problem.
Can you imagine the shame that builds up when someone’s struggling—and instead of receiving support, they’re spiritually profiled?
That kind of pressure doesn’t form people in the image of Christ.
It forms them into anxious, performance-driven perfectionists who eventually burn out—or break down.
What If Jesus Isn’t Keeping Score?
Jesus doesn’t ask the seventy:
- How many did you convert?
- How big was the crowd?
- How many more are ready to go?
He doesn’t even ask what happened out there.
Instead, He brings the focus right back to the condition of their hearts. Because what they were doing for God wasn’t nearly as important as what God was doing in them.
And it makes sense when you think about it: performance can be measured—so it was.
We counted:
- Invitations
- Attendance
- Bible studies
- Baptisms
- Follow-ups
- Event turnout
These were the metrics of faithfulness.
But the one thing Jesus focused on—transformation—can’t be counted.
Transformation is slow.
It’s hidden.
It happens deep inside.
It’s often born out of suffering.
And it’s only visible over years of surrender, perseverance, and letting go.
There is no number you can hit to say, “This heart is now fully formed in Christ.”
So in a church culture obsessed with growth, of course the focus becomes what can be tracked.
That’s what you can control.
And it becomes what you celebrate.
But Jesus isn’t building a brand. He never counts how many followers He has.
He’s forming a people.
A people who live from love.
Who give without demanding.
Or go without striving.
They serve because they’re secure.
He’s not asking, “What did you produce?”
But He is asking, “What’s happening in your heart?”
Checking Our Motives: A Warning from Matthew 6
In Matthew 6, Jesus gives a masterclass on motive. Warning against doing good things—praying, fasting, giving—for the wrong reasons.
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.”
—Matthew 6:1
He doesn’t say don’t pray.
He says don’t do it for applause.
And He doesn’t say don’t give.
He says don’t do it to feel important.
And lastly, He doesn’t say don’t fast.
He says don’t do it to impress.
It’s all about the why.
If we fast or pray or preach or serve just to feel powerful, spiritual, or seen—Jesus says we’ve already received our reward.
Let’s not miss that point.
When Jesus says “you’ve already received your reward,” He’s making something very clear:
Our motive is directly tied to our reward.
Our reward exposes our motive.
We get what we really want.
If we are driven by performance and results and what is important to man—and we get those results—then our reward is exactly that:
- The praise of men
- The recognition of men
- A platform
- A promotion
- A bigger role
- More power over others
But when our motive is to be useful to God, the praise of men becomes a distraction—even a stumbling block.
Because to truly hear the heart of God,
we can’t hear it over the shouts of praise from men.
Rejoice That Your Name Is Written in Heaven
At the end of the day, Jesus offers a grounding, healing truth:
“Rejoice not that the spirits submit to you, but that your names are written in heaven.”
That’s the joy that can’t be touched by results.
That’s the identity that isn’t dependent on numbers.
The freedom that doesn’t rise and fall with your performance.
So yes—there’s a harvest.
Yes—we are sent.
Yes—it matters.
But- it only matters if it flows from the right place.
A heart aligned.
A spirit surrendered.
A motive examined.
A name known by the Father.