Making Heaven Rejoice
Good morning Second Missionary. Will you please bow for a word of prayer? Our foundational Scripture will come from Luke chapter fifteen and I will be reading verses seven and ten, which read as follows, “(7) I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance…. (10) Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The title of my message this morning is “Making Heaven Rejoice.”
This morning you’re going to hear what causes heaven to rejoice and as you listen to the message, I want you to ask yourself this question: “Are you individually and corporately as a Church body causing heaven to rejoice?” This is a question that all Christians should ask themselves every day. You can do a lot of good things for the kingdom of God – preach, teach, be in church leadership, sing in the choir, tithe, give to the needy, and even volunteer your time and resources helping others. But there is only one thing that’s guaranteed to make all the inhabitants of heaven rejoice – a sinner repenting and being saved. As this is the time of year when we make New Year’s resolutions, I am going ask you to consider adding one additional resolution to your list if you already have one.
To set the stage for what you will hear this morning I want to ask you a question. On a beautiful Sunday morning Jesus takes a stroll down a busy city street. On one side of the street, He notices a beautiful building where people are dressed up as they enter to praise His name. He can hear the beautiful praise going up honoring Him. On the other side of the street, He sees all the people that the Church folks pass by as they entered their Church to praise Him. These people were known throughout the city as sinners. Now here is the question: where would Jesus go? Would He enter the Church where they are praising His name, or would He cross the street to engage all those overlooked sinners? Now as you think about your answer, which one are you doing?
The answer to the question I just asked you is found in Luke chapter fifteen, which is well known because of the story of the prodigal son. I know that many of you have heard the story about the prodigal son as several of your ministers and guest speakers have mentioned him in recent months. As you listened to the story of the prodigal son how many of you at one point identified with that son? Would you be surprised to know that the prodigal son cannot describe you unless you meet certain criteria? This is the criteria you must meet to identify with the prodigal son: first you were saved and had a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ; second, you abandoned that relationship and returned to the world; and third you came to your senses and returned to the Lord. If you have done this in your lifetime then yes, you can identify with the prodigal son. Being in the world before you were saved doesn’t qualify because you didn’t have a prior relationship with God. The Israelites, however, could identify with that son because they had a long history of turning their backs on God and serving other gods. It is important that we keep Scripture and the stories that Jesus told in context to understand their meaning.
With this in mind you must know that the message from the well-known story about the prodigal son was actually not about the prodigal son? The purpose of the story was about the response of the elder son when his brother returned. This confusion is caused by the subject titles given to sections of Scripture to help the reader understand and place context around what they are about to read. When the Bible was translated into the English language the editors added subject titles, chapter breaks and verses to help the readers understand what they are reading. While this can make it easier for the reader, it sometimes distorts the message Jesus was delivering, as is the case here. It is important that we keep Scripture in context because we cannot build true faith on a misapplication, misinterpretation or outright lie when it comes to what the Bible says.
Let me give you an example of what I am talking about and please understand this is something that I did in my past for years. One of the favorite Scriptures read in Church for taking up tithes and offerings is Luke 6:38 which says, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Now I must admit that it sounds wonderful when we are encouraging people to give. Who wouldn’t want to give and then have it given back to them, pressed down, shaken together and running over? When this verse is read by itself, when it is pulled out of context, it makes a compelling case for giving. Now don’t get upset with me when I tell you that this Scripture is not talking about giving money to the Church.
Two weeks ago, Minister Green stood in this pulpit and prayed during altar call that in 2026 this Church would stand on the Word of God. I pray that this happens because when that happen God can move. But if you’re going to stand on Luke 6:38 you must understand what Jesus was saying. When you read Luke 6:38 in the context of what Jesus said before that verse, Jesus was talking about our giving of ourselves to others. He talked about the Beatitudes as He described a blessed person. Next, He transitioned to those with means who did nothing for others. Then He gets to the good stuff where He talks about loving your enemies and doing good to and for those who hate you and cannot return it. And right before Luke 6:38 He says the following in verse thirty-seven, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37) When verse thirty-eight is kept in context, Jesus was talking about our giving love, grace, mercy, and not being judgmental of others and, this is important, being willing to freely forgive those who wrong us.
When we read these two verses together the context shifts. They say, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Do you see how this changes verse thirty-eight? Imagine standing on this verse when you are struggling to forgive someone and you remind yourself that when you give forgiveness you will receive forgiveness from others. The same is true with grace, mercy, and judgment – what we give we will receive back. And when you continue reading at verse thirty-nine you see Jesus continuing to talk about not judging others and being able to tell a good tree by its fruit.
Second Missionary, true faith will come when we correctly interpret and apply God’s word and then stand on it. God said in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” God’s word will prosper in the things for which He sent it and not based on how we choose to apply it! Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” When we stand on the truth of God’s word – His truth, not ours - He has promised that it will accomplish and fulfill what He meant for it to.
And this brings us to Luke chapter fifteen where we find Jesus telling three parables with one message. He told these parables in response to the attitude of the religious leaders who complained about Him spending time with sinners. The first was about a lost sheep; the second about a lost coin; and the third about a lost son. Because the parables were given titles it gave the impression that they were separate parables but joined in context because there was rejoicing when what was lost was found. But the problem is, while all three parables were about something/someone being lost and later found and the rejoicing that followed, the true message was captured in the last parable which, like I said, was not about the prodigal son at all. Although Jesus told three parables, He was delivering one message. To understand the message that Jesus was delivering we must first understand God’s heart towards sinners.
The Bible tells us that God loves sinners, and He has no desire that any of them should perish. Paul wrote this to Timothy in First Timothy 2:1-4, “(1) Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (4) Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Paul told Timothy that we should pray for all mankind because our Savior desires all to be saved. This was also expressed in the thirty-third chapter of the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 33:11 records God saying, “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” So, we see that God’s heart’s desire is that everyone be saved so that they can spend an eternity with Him. God knows that many will reject Christ, but that does not change His desire that they be saved. Now let’s look at those who Jesus told the three parables to.
Jesus told these parables to the Pharisees and scribes who did not care if a sinner repented and were saved. In fact, because the Pharisees and scribes wanted nothing to do with sinners, they complained when Jesus willingly entered their presence and ate with them. Although heaven rejoices when a sinner is saved, the Pharisees and scribes could not care less. This is the reason Jesus told them the three parables – He wanted them to see how their response to sinners conflicted with God’s response. Before we go into this chapter, I want you to understand something that hopefully will cause you to go back and search it out for yourselves. Jesus told three parables, the first two were similar, but the third one was not. In the first two something was lost and the owner searched diligently until what was lost was found. The first two parables was the reason Jesus came, to save the lost.
Now the third parable was different. In this parable a son “chose” to walk away from his father. Jesus was plainly showing the Pharisees and Scribes their history with God. In this parable the father did not go searching for his son who “chose” to walk away, but gladly received him back when he returned home. But the focus on the story was on the elder’s brother’s response when his brother came home. This brother’s response was exactly like the Pharisees and Scribe’s response to sinners. This is the opening scene of Luke chapter fifteen. Luke 15:1-2 records, “(1) Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. (2) And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’”
This was not the first time that the religious leaders had complained about Jesus being around sinners. In the fifth chapter of Luke when this same group of leaders complained about Him hanging out with tax collectors the following is recorded in verses thirty through thirty-two, “(30) And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, ‘Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ (31) Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (32) I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’” (Luke 5:30-32) By the fifteenth chapter they already knew why Jesus was “hanging out” with sinners and yet they are still complaining because He had the audacity to try and save those who were lost. Because of the hardness of their hearts towards sinners, Jesus pauses and tells three parables to show them their hearts in comparison to God’s heart.
The first parable He told was about a lost sheep. He said beginning at verse four, “(4) What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? (5) And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (6) 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!’” (Luke 15:4-6)
Can you see the Pharisees and scribes nodding their heads in agreement with Jesus when He talked about what they would do if they had a lost sheep and the steps they would take to find it? This man had one hundred sheep and lost one, just one percent of his total, and that one lost sheep meant so much to that man that he left the other ninety-nine and searched for the one until he found it. Jesus says when he found his lost sheep he calls his friends and neighbors to celebrate with him. Now focus on what Jesus says in verse seven. “(7) I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Jesus tells them that their rejoicing over finding one lost sheep was nothing compared to the rejoicing in heaven when one of those sinners, whom they despised, repented, and was saved. The point that Jesus was making was a simple one. While they sat around complaining about Him being in the presence of sinners, there was rejoicing in heaven when one of them repented and was saved. These were religious leaders, who should have been rejoicing that Jesus was actively focusing on saving sinners, were not. Sinners rarely see themselves as sinners and this was the case with these religious leaders. Let’s look at the second parable.
Continuing with verse eight it says, “(8) Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? (9) And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost! (10) Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10) A woman lost one of her ten silver coins, or ten percent of her total. Why would she be so stressed about losing one silver coin and then calling her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her when she finds it? I have lost money in my lifetime and when I found it, I did not call anyone to celebrate it with me because then I would be expected to spend said money on the celebration. So, it begs the question what was so special about these coins?
The coin referred to in this parable is a Drachma. It was about the size of our dime. Some believe that this coin was part of a Semedi, a beautiful headdress a woman would be given by her betrothed. It represented their upcoming marriage and was a symbol of their commitment to one another. This kind of headpiece or neckpiece was made of ten silver coins held together by a silver chain. Not only would losing a coin from her Semedi be an economic loss but it would also reflect neglect of this most important gift from her beloved. She could not wear this headpiece or neckpiece with one of the silver coins missing from it. Also of note is that a Drachma was worth about a day’s wages for a day laborer. So, think of this coin as worth what a laborer would get today for working one day. While not a great fortune it is enough to cause concern if lost. So, losing one of the ten coins was traumatic.
During biblical times, the houses in Israel were not noticeably big, and they were also very dark. Most were tiny and if they had windows, they were small with little natural light coming through. The floor would have been dirt and straw leaving plenty of nooks and cracks for a coin to fall into. This being the case, the woman lit a lamp and swept the entire house, not stopping until she found her precious coin? When she finds her coin, she calls her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. With this second parable Jesus places more of an emphasis on the diligent seeking of sinners by God. Here the woman lights a lamp and sweeps the house and searches through the straw and in all the cracks in the stone floor until she finds the lost coin. The Greek word we translate as “carefully” is used in other places to describe a careful, ordered, and diligent search. In verse ten, Jesus makes it clear that this parable is about God diligently seeking to bring sinners to repentance and the joy in heaven when a sinner repents.
Jesus told the religious leaders in Luke 5:32, “(32) I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Jesus left heaven to come and seek those who were lost. In these two parables Jesus tells them what He was doing. He was actively seeking what was lost to Him. The first parable asked the Scribes and Pharisees what they would do if they lost one sheep. This parable asked what a woman would do who lost a silver coin that was from a group of ten silver coins. Both questions are asked of the Scribes and Pharisees with the intention of pointing to “how much more” was God’s behavior toward sinners – He is seeking them. Jesus was asking them very pointedly “Is not a lost sinner of more value than a lost sheep or a lost coin which gave cause to a celebration?” Jesus wanted them to see that He was here searching for those who were lost and when one sinner was found there was rejoicing in His Father’s house because of it. After telling these two parables He shifts and brings it home with the third parable.
I am not going to read the whole story of the prodigal son, but I want to focus on the father’s response when his son returns and his brother’s response to his father’s celebration. Let’s read beginning at verse twenty. It says, “(20) And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. (21) And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ (22) But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. (23) And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; (24) for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” (Luke 15:20-24)
Because this parable is titled the parable of the prodigal son, many people read this parable and stop at verse twenty-four, thinking the story is over. But again, we must keep the story in context with the audience Jesus was talking to. He was talking to people who did not care if a sinner ever got saved. In this parable Jesus talks about a son who goes to his father and asks for his inheritance. The thing about the son’s request is that according to the Law, a son can only inherit his father's possessions when his father dies but this son did not want to wait that long. The father agrees to give him his portion of goods, which would be property that could be transported like cattle, sheep, gold, silver, etc. This son chose to leave behind everything he knows: protection, prosperity, everything his father has, to go to a land that doesn't care about the God he serves. When he gets there the Bible says he “wasted his possessions with prodigal living.”
Remember what I told you at the beginning about the criteria that must be met if you were to consider yourself like the prodigal son? The prodigal son had a relationship with his father and walked away from it. The father did not go seeking his son but waited for his son to return. The Pharisees and Scribes, based on their attitude and actions, had walked away from God and yet did not recognize it. Jesus came seeking those who did not have a relationship, not those who claimed to have one and didn’t. Do you see the difference? The Pharisees and Scribes claimed righteousness but rejected Jesus. They rejected Jesus with understanding so Jesus let them be. They had no excuse. Now please understand, although Jesus was seeking the lost, the religious leaders were in a different category because they refused to accept Him.
They rejected Jesus with full knowledge of what they were doing and this is why they were condemned and why Jesus spent His time trying to save sinners. But nonetheless, if any of them repented and believed on Him, and some of them did secretly, He accepted them and heaven rejoiced. The Bible makes it plain that we can turn our backs on God, but it must be our choice to return to Him and this is the picture Jesus was painting for those religious leaders. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 5:20, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So we see the prodigal son finally coming to himself. Can you see the expressions on the faces of the religious leaders? They know what’s coming. They saw themselves as righteous so the prodigal son is not them as he represented sinners. The prodigal son was a sinner; just like the ones Jesus spent time seeking and whom they believed wasn't worthy. Unlike the previous two parables where the owner went searching for what he had lost, in this parable the father did not. What the father did do was receive his son back home as a son when he returned and then celebrated his return. As I said before, many stop reading here because the prodigal son came home and the father received him with open arms and held a celebration and all was good. But, keeping the story in context, let’s get to the point that Jesus was making with these three parables.
Let’s continue with verse twenty-five. “(25) Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. (26) So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. (27) And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ (28) But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. (29) So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. (30) But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ (31) And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. (32) It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:25-32)
With the elder son, Jesus wanted the Pharisees and scribes to see themselves and how they had responded to sinners. The Pharisees and scribes were just like this elder son. What did this son do? How did he respond to his brother’s return? He got angry and refused to attend the celebration. In verse twenty-eight it says that the father came out and pleaded with his son to come in and join the celebration. The father did everything he could to get the elder son to join the feast. Although he pleaded with him the elder son was not having it. The elder son was angry because he felt he had not gotten the attention and appreciation for all the work he had done for his father. You see, this son had remained faithfully by his father’s side and yet his father never threw him a party.
Notice in these verses that the elder son essentially says “I always did what you told me to do. I carried out the garbage. I fed the sheep. I never did what your other son did, and you never even gave me a kid goat. You never prepared a sacrifice for me, threw a party for me, and I did everything you wanted me to do.” The scribes and Pharisees kept the law, and they thought that keeping the law was what separated them from the tax collectors and sinners. How many times have we looked down on sinners as we rejoiced in our many years of being a Christian? Some people’s identity is so wrapped up in their years of service and church membership that no new convert will ever attain their level of Christianity. This was the mentality of the Pharisees and scribes. Knowing that the Pharisees and scribes believed that He was spending time with the wrong types of people, Jesus, in verse thirty, begins to show the Pharisees and scribes the kind of people that they were.
The elder son in verse thirty really tears into his father for throwing a party for his brother who has wasted his inheritance on riotous living. In this Jesus was letting the Pharisees and scribes know that they were the elder son. In the parable, Jesus says they were judging the father for loving his son. They were judging the father for loving his brother. The younger brother is everything that is wrong with sinners – greedy, impatient, selfish, and doesn’t honor his father. But he repents and has a heart change. Jesus was showing the religious leaders that their hearts were ruined as they were not allowing their hearts to be changed.
With all three parables Jesus was showing the Pharisees and scribes that they were no different than the sinners and the tax collectors. But unlike the younger brother, they didn’t see the need for the Father’s grace. They didn’t see the need because the Father owed them because of the rituals they kept daily in their “service” to Him. But it was the father’s grace on display in verse twenty when the younger brother returned home. Ladies and gentlemen, our Father's heart is to celebrate in heaven when the person who does not belong to Him repents and decides that he or she wants to belong to Him. There's going to be a party in heaven! For us as sons and daughters, we must decide whether we want to cause it and be a part of it. We have seen three parables, but there is only one message: heaven rejoices when one sinner repents! Imagine how heaven rejoiced when you got saved! Imagine your family members in heaven jumping up and down when it was announced that you were saved. Imagine all of heaven hearing your name when they hear about a person being saved because of something you did. We are here to do the work Christ would do if He were walking the earth today – saving souls!
So, Second Missionary, are you causing heaven to rejoice or are you standing in judgment of sinners? For a time, I stood in judgment of sinners while forgetting it was my job to be a vessel God could use to bring them to Him. It is hard to witness to someone if you refuse to go where they are for fear of the rumor mill. But I ask this of you, if you see me or one of your other members standing on the corner talking to a prostitute, do not assume that we are there to buy what they are selling – maybe we are about our Father’s business. If you see me or one of your members at the club, don’t assume we are there to party, maybe, we are there doing our Father’s business (and if you saw us that means you were there too hopefully doing the same.) If you see me or one of your members walk into a liquor store, before you call others, wait to see how we walk out? Maybe we won’t be carrying a bottle in a brown paper bag but stopped by to drop off some Bible tracks for someone who might need them. If you see me in a car with a known drug dealer, don’t assume I am in there buying what he is selling, maybe I am there trying to give him what I have for free. My point is this, we complain about the sinners and those we see with the sinners. This is one of the reasons why Christians do not go to where the sinners are - they do not want to be talked about or labeled. It is easier to wait and pray that they find their way to the Church and then we can pounce on them. So if this is you, when the sinners do enter this Church (as guests of someone or they find it on their own) and they come in looking like sinners and smelling like sinners – whatever that smells like - do not shun them – that’s what the Pharisees and scribes did.
When you look around at the empty seats in this Church this morning Dr. Canady told you not to worry about them and she was 100% correct. When we begin to make heaven rejoice the empty seats in all Churches will take care of themselves. I know some people believe that Church growth comes through the recycling method – meaning people from other Churches join your Church. Those can be the easy new members because then your focus can be on ensuring they understand how this Church does things. With recycling, we make a lot of assumptions. We assume they know Christ; we assume they have had some Church experience; and we assume they are saved. We then put them through our new members’ orientation and sign them up to do something in the Church and they are off and running. This is the easier way, but it does not cause heaven to rejoice unless they were backsliders who are returning to the Church.
But with the “new” method for Church growth you bring in people off the street who are new to Christ. These are the ones that cause heaven to rejoice and believe me when I tell you there are enough of them out in the world to fill every Church whose doors are open right now. But this method requires work because you are starting at ground zero. You can make no assumptions about what they know, and you must be prepared to answer their questions with Scripture. There are no short cuts with new believers.
Jesus said Matthew 7:13-14, “(13) Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. (14) Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Jesus said there will be more people going to hell than going to heaven and we are all to blame for some of it if we are not doing something outside of the four walls of the Church to save souls. I do not want to stand before God and have Him parade before me the people who end up in hell because I couldn’t see past their sin to engage them for Him as I have in my past. What about you?
So here is a New Year’s resolution that I am asking everyone to consider for the kingdom of God. Make a resolution to cause heaven to rejoice at least once this year. That means you will lead one person to Christ in 2026. Do not worry about whether they will join Second Missionary after they are saved, heaven rejoices regardless of the Church they decide to attend. If they do not want to come to your church then help them find a Church where they want to be. But remember, when you start evangelizing to the lost, you are going to have people come into your church who don't look like you. You might have a drug dealer, a drunkard, an adulterer, a prostitute, or any other person living in sin come here seeking Christ. But this will only happen if you are sharing Christ with them. And this is important, how you treat them will determine if you are like the Pharisees and scribes, or a true child of God.
Some people want their Church to be a country club. You know the type – affluent with certain types excluded from membership. Others want their Church to be a community center where everyone can come together regardless of economic status. What you seek for your Church will determine if you are willing to cause heaven to rejoice.
Until next time, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14)
