A Weekend of Partying Hard
Now THAT was a party. I don’t know if you were watching Friday night, but as the 2012 Summer Olympic Games opened in London, the city hosted a party for the world. The 80,000 seat stadium was filled with partiers and millions upon millions of other partiers around the world celebrated on television and online. Fireworks, confetti, music, dancing, an enormous baby, a Beatle and a parachuting Queen all make for one heck of a party. All of this was to kick off a few weeks worth of games which include over 200 countries and over 10,000 athletes who will play some sports and maybe take home some medals. There was nothing quite like it. Well, maybe nothing on earth quite like it.
Luke 15:7,10 says, “....there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.....there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
We like a good party. We like one that lights up the skies and makes a lot of noise. We don’t always have to have a good reason to party, but most of the time we do. We party around holidays and events that draw people together for a common celebration. And we party hard.
Heaven likes a good party too and they really know how to party around the throne of God. The thing that causes the biggest party in Heaven, the hosts to come together for a common celebration, the skies to light up, the angels to dance, the bands to play loudly, and the whole place to rock, is when one....just ONE....person turns from living life their way and decides to surrender and live life God’s way. When just ONE sinner repents, the whole place goes off the hook.
Heaven was rocking all weekend long and it put London’s little party to shame. Over the course of the weekend here at Southland, from Saturday morning in the pond to Sunday evening at 608, over 85 people surrendered their lives to Christ in the waters of baptism. And after each person came up out of the water, Heaven cranked up the music a little louder and partied even harder. It was quite a weekend and it was quite a party.
Looking at the long lines of people going up the stairs towards the baptistery, the emotions covered a wide range. There were tears of joy and tears of relief. There were smiles a mile wide. There was laughter. There were lots of hugs. Words of congratulations filled the air. There was the unforgettable sound of backs being patted through wet t-shirts as people came out of the baptistery. The carpet was soaked from the baptistery to the changing rooms. There were tons of wet towels. There was a lot of forgiveness....a lot of surrender and a lot of joy. And the applause....the applause was incredible after every single person came up out of the water, the first thing they heard was a roar of applause and cheers. And that’s the first thing Heaven heard too - the applause of the Father and of Jesus. Each time someone came up out of the water, God rose to His feet in applause and rejoiced for His child had come home. This one who was dead, is alive. This one who was lost, is found. (Luke 15:32)
And that’s the greatest reason of all to throw a party.
Congratulations to all of you who were baptized this weekend. Our teams are praying for you this week and are rejoicing right along with Heaven because of the decision you’ve made. Stay surrendered, stay on guard for the enemy’s attack and rest in the wonderful grace, love and mercy of your Savior.
Welcome to the family and welcome to the party.
If you are interested in being baptized, don’t put it off. Call us at 859.224.1600 today. Heaven would love to keep the party going!
