September 20 “Rejoice with Me!” Luke 15: 3-7
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15: 3-7)
There is one exercise that we are admonished that is, encouraged to practice on earth that we shall also practice in Heaven, is to REJOICE! Notice in verse 6 (Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’) that we find the most valid grounds for rejoicing that it is possible to experience! What are the conditions for this rejoicing experience? I believe that the Number One condition is the JOY OF SALVATION! No one can rejoice over something that they are not aware of nor can they rejoice if they do not possess it as their own. Rejoicing comes from the awareness of God’s Love for us through Jesus Christ! I believe that the Second Condition for Rejoicing is the JUBILEE IN SHARING THE GOOD NEWS! When we possess His Grace, we need to share, and when we share, we can rejoice that we are walking in OBEDIENCE! IN the scripture today, it is clear that, as believers, we have a responsibility to “GO AFTER THE LOST!” As “SAVED” people, our responsibility is to Live True and to “SEEK THE LOST” and to “SHARE THE GOOD NEWS” with everyone that we encounter! We are told that the “Fields are white to harvest,” so we need to be about the Father’s Business! In this passage of scripture, there is one word that is one of the most “Tragic” words in any language – LOST! It was our “Lost” condition that moved God’s compassion to send Jesus to be the conduit to SALVATION for sinners like us! Friends, think of the jeopardy that our lost friends and neighbors are in being “Lost!” ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Will you REJOICE with me, as we commit to Sharing Jesus, Praying for the Lost, and to show, to this Lost World, our Commitment, by always being in a position of SPIRITUAL REJOICING! Stay Strong, Stay Focused…Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!