Share in Heaven’s Rejoicing
ICS Daily Devotions

Mark 16:15-16(NKJV) And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

The scarlet thread running through the Bible reveals God’s passion, desire, and love for the lost. The unconditional Abrahamic Covenant is intended to ensure that nothing will be able to stop God from sending the Messiah to fulfil His plan of redemption of mankind to Himself.

We must hear God’s heart for the lost and accept His call to do His work. Every soul is precious in God’s sight, and He is mobilising His army of believers to seek and save the lost! The Great Commission is to the entire church: go to every part of the world and share the gospel with everyone. We need to advocate for local outreach to the lost and world missions, mobilise people to share the gospel, be willing to send missionaries to the field and be the people who go to share the gospel.

Jesus initially sent the twelve disciples to preach the gospel, then the seventy believers to minister, who came back with joy, and then the one hundred and twenty after their experience of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. He has commissioned all of us with the gospel and the ministry of reconciliation to the world.

We are drawing closer to Jesus Christ’s return daily. Every second, four precious people are going to an eternity without Christ. The church must not neglect Jesus’ last command to preach the gospel to the world’s end before the end comes, but make it our first concern since the Chief Shepherd will take good care of us.

Matthew 18:13-14 (NKJV) And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

The heart of God is not unlike a parent who has lost a child in a crowd or through abduction, and when the child is found, not only the parents but everyone who witnesses it will rejoice with them. Similarly, Jesus and His angels rejoice in heaven whenever someone returns to His bosom by accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

There are sinners lost without God in this world. Jesus urgently visited every town and city to preach the Kingdom of God to the lost because this is the very reason He was sent. Likewise, we also need to share the gospel with our parents, friends, colleagues, and strangers with the same urgency so that we can share in heaven’s rejoicing.

Luke 15:10 (NKJV) Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Sermon Series: One Soul for Christ