LUKE 15:1-10 – Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
THEME OF THE DAY: BE A SOURCE OF REJOICING IN HEAVEN. What an awesome thought to think we might be instruments to bring about rejoicing in heaven! Yes, we, finite, sinful, rebellious, and sheep prone to wander are given the opportunity to bring gladness in heaven. Today’s scripture contains two parables of the Lord Jesus proclaiming this truth.
In each parable we read of joy in heaven – “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents” and “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” And what is the cause of such shouts of joy and rejoicing? Repentance. Sinners turning away from their sinful selves and to the Lord. God, and angels, delight when sinners are awakened to their rebellion against God, turn from such disobedience, and look to Him with godly sorrow and desire to obey Him. But there is something else to remember about the repentance that brings rejoicing in heaven. It isn’t just sinners. It is God’s people as well.
The great reformer Martin Luther offered an excellent insight on repentance. He said, “All of a Christian’s life is one of repentance.” This should become a daily discipline and practice. In fact, a good habit to incorporate into our lives is at the end of each day, take a few moments in prayer and ask the Lord to reveal areas of the just finished day where repentance is needed. It might have been an unkind word, impatient attitude, a complaining heart, a giving into a passion of the flesh, or any other act of disobedience either by commission or omission. Allow the Lord to show us ourselves and then rejoice in the gift of repentance.
As we rejoice in the Lord showing us sin in the right light, granting us a repentance that includes confession, don’t forget to also rejoice what we receive in true repentance. It is the promise in the first letter of the Apostle John – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And that brings the spirit of rejoicing in the heavenlies!
PRAYER: “Father, thank You for granting me the gift of repentance. May I use this gift regularly in my life.”
QUOTE: “The Lord delights in humble, broken, and repenting sinners and saints alike.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim