What makes some experiences filled with joy and rejoicing? In this study Pastor Clark shares why heaven is so into rejoicing – and how heaven invites us to be a part of the joy as well.

<p>What makes some experiences filled with joy and rejoicing? In this study Pastor Clark shares why heaven is so into rejoicing – and how heaven invites us to be a part of the joy as well.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Dalton SDA Church

Chester Clark

Rejoicing

I think rejoicing is 1 of those things that we look forward to.

Rejoicing is different than just joy, it's just different than just happiness.

Rejoicing is something that usually comes after something else, right?

It usually comes after there's a special event or a special occasion or a special gift or a special experience.

And today we're going to be talking about rejoicing.

Do you want to know what the Bible says about rejoicing?

Let's bow our heads as we begin with prayer.

Father in heaven, we thank you that you've given to us an opportunity to open your Word and the few minutes that we have together, Father, I just pray that Your Spirit would speak to our hearts, that You would open our minds, that Lord, we might understand what the Bible has to say about rejoicing and that we might experience it as well.

Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Luke.

Luke 15 is the chapter we think of when we think about the lost and the found.

Luke 15, I want to just look at 2 parables together with you from Luke.

There's actually 3 in Luke 15, but I want to look at 3 of them with you together today.

You know, we have just a few minutes to share, and so I hope that we can Just still our souls and hear what God's voice would speak to us today.

Luke chapter 15 beginning with verse 1, it says, "'Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him, and the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "'This man receives sinners and eats with them." Can you imagine it?

So he spoke this parable to them, saying, what man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses 1 of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the 1 which is lost until he finds it.

And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, " and what's the next word?

And when He comes home, He calls together His friends and neighbors saying to them, "'Rejoice with Me, for I have found My sheep which was lost.'" Now if we just break down this parable very briefly here this morning, we're going to notice that Jesus here uses a shepherd to represent God, right?

He uses a shepherd to represent God, right?

Now, you could say that the shepherd was simply a good businessman, right?

You could say that, I mean, any shepherd who's in the business of sheep-tending, shepherding for a livelihood, is going to care about the 1 sheep, right?

I mean, I don't know what the profit margin is in taking care of sheep, but you know that if you lose 1, it's not just the profit margin you're losing.

And so he may just be a good businessman and he say, you know, I'm not willing to have if my expenses are 90 percent and I'm not willing to have just 99 percent.

But I suspect that it's not so much a matter of profit in this parable.

It would be 1 thing to be interested in that lost sheep because of its value.

I suspect that this shepherd actually cares for his sheep.

I don't know how Many of you have had the opportunity, perhaps traveling overseas, to see a shepherd and his sheep.

New Zealand, some places in, even in Italy, in the Waldensian Mountains, my favorite part of the world, away from home, You'll see a shepherd walking down the road with his sheep following him.

And you know that that shepherd knows every sheep.

Those sheep, he's not having to drive them, he's not having to force them, he's not herding them from behind, they're following Him.

There's a relationship, and I believe in the relationship between God and His sheep.

It's not a matter of profit that compels God to want to make sure all are saved.

And so here's the story of this shepherd who is recognizing that he has 99 sheep safe in the fold, but there's 1 who's missing.

There's 1 who's lost out on the mountainside, and it's dangerous out there, both for the shepherd searching for the sheep at night and also for the sheep out by itself.

And yet the Savior, the shepherd, has no concern about his own safety as he presses out into the gathering darkness.

He's only concerned about saving that 1 lost sheep.

And when he finds it, he goes on his way, what does the Bible say, what's the word again?

Now, I want you to notice something about rejoicing here today.

I want you to notice that rejoicing isn't just for those who have had this wonderful experience.

Rejoicing is contagious, and that's the good news about finding that which is lost.

Jesus here gives this parable, And He says when He gets home with His sheep, He's so happy that He has to share His happiness, right?

He gathers His neighbors and His friends and He says, "'Rejoice with Me, for I have found the sheep which was lost.

Rejoice with Me.'" And then Jesus says in Luke chapter 15 and in verse 7, I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over 1 sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance.

So evidently God loves those who are already in the fold.

They especially rejoice when the lost is found.

There's More joy over 1 sinner who returns to the fold than over 99 who need no repentance.

And I can just imagine, even though this great controversy is still going on, even though there's a lot weighing on heaven's collective mind and heart, I can just imagine, can't you, Those days where heaven's courts are ringing with praise because someone has given Jesus their all.

Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful God we have who rejoices, and He rejoices over us.

The next parable is the parable of the lost coin.

And the Bible says in Luke chapter 15, beginning with verse 8, or what woman having 10 silver coins, if she loses 1 coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully, diligently, until she finds it.

And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together saying, " What does she say?

"'Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace which I lost.

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over 1 sinner who repents." Joy in the presence of the angels of God.

Now the lamb probably knew that it was lost.

Neither could do anything to find their way home.

But friends, thankfully there was someone looking.

And that's what we want to think about here this morning as we consider rejoicing.

There was someone looking, and the reason they were so excited after they found it is because they had invested something.

There was personal investment in that lost lamb.

There's personal investment in that lost coin.

And in both stories, the search precedes the rejoicing.

In both stories, there was time spent looking.

There was a calling and an effort put forth to find that which was lost.

So why is heaven rejoicing, you might say?

It seems as though, I mean, Jesus would rejoice because He's the 1 who came down here looking for us, right?

He's the 1 who came and died for us, but why all of heaven?

Why is all of heaven rejoicing when someone comes to Jesus Christ?

I believe that there's a good reason why heaven rejoices, And I want to just explore that with you briefly here this morning.

I want us to see how God has invested, the Father has invested in our salvation as well.

We probably don't even need to turn there in our Bibles.

It's known as the most familiar text in all the Bible, most memorized.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Rejoicing

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