GREAT NEWS
It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and Germans) under the command of Wellington. The people of England depended on a system of semaphore signals to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral. Late in the day it flashed the signal: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N---D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -." Just at that moment one of those sudden English fog clouds made it impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout the city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news that their country had lost the war.
Suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could be read. The message had four words, not two. The complete message was: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- - -DE-F-E-A-T-E-D- - -T-H-E- - -E-N- E-M-Y!" in a few minutes the good news spread. Sorrow was turned into joy, defeat was turned into victory! So it was when Jesus was laid in the tomb on the first Good Friday afternoon. Hope had died even in the hearts of Jesus' most loyal friends. After the frightful crucifixion, the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding had crept in on the friends of Jesus. They had "read" only part of the divine message. "Christ defeated" was all that they knew. But then on the third day - Easter Sunday - the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding lifted, and the world received the complete message: "Christ defeated death!" Defeat was turned into victory; death was turned to life!
Sometimes preachers will pause for effect when speaking. That means they pause just before saying something they want their audience not to miss. Pausing catches the attention of the one listening and causes them to refocus their attention. For 400 years after Malachi God had not spoken. During this time Israel had faced many trials yet there was still hope that the Messiah would someday come. Then one night, in the hills around Bethlehem the long awaited announcement finally comes:
Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
1. Getting the News - (vs. 10-12)
Have you ever had one of those weeks were it seems like everything you hear is negative? Everywhere you turn is bad news? Maybe you have heard the story of the base ball pitcher who was praying and suddenly God appeared to him in a vision. God asks him if there was any one question He could answer and the pitcher says, “I’ve always wondered if there is baseball in heaven.” God pauses and says “Well I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is YES, there is there is baseball in heaven. The bad news is you are pitching this coming Monday.”
Or maybe you have heard the story of the the drill sergeant who was making his morning announcements to a group of newcomers to the training camp: "Today, gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. First, the good. Private Peters will be setting the pace on our morning run.’ With this the platoon was overjoyed, as Private Peters was overweight and terribly slow. But then the drill sergeant finished his statement: "Now for the bad news. Private Peters will be driving a truck."
We all like to receive good news. This announcement given by Angels to shepherds almost 2000 years ago was the greatest breaking news report ever received. Put yourself in the place of these shepherds. An angel appears and God’s glory shines and you are terrified. Then the angel says:
Do not be afraid – what is happening is not a bad thing. This is good news, we are saved!
I bring you good news – everyone like hearing good news
of great joy - joy is a good thing, we all like joy
that will be for all the people – not just for us but EVERYONE will be affected
today – not in a hundred or thousand years but right NOW
in the town of David – not on the other side of the world but right HERE in our own backyard
a Savior has been born to you – a new leader is being raised up to help the nation
he is Christ - not just another leader but the long promised messiah
the Lord – not just a man but God himself!
The word used here for good news is EUANGELIZO which comes from 2 words EU which means good/wonderful and AGGELOS which means messenger. Together it signifies good, merry, glad, and joyful tidings, that makes a mans heart glad, and makes him sing, dance, and leap for joy. -- William Tyndale
The gospel is neither a discussion nor a debate. It is an announcement. -- Paul Stromberg Rees
2. Celebrating the News - (vs. 13)
A woman was sitting in her room and noticed a sad poorly dressed man standing by a tree on the road below. Remembering how much she had she had pity on the man. She placed a $10 bill in a letter and wrote on it “don’t despair” and then threw it out the window. The man picked up the envelope, saw the money and then looked up and smiled. Latter that day there was a knock at the door. The same man as before handed the woman $60 saying “this is yours lady, Don’t Despair came in at 6 to 1 in the fourth race”. Unfortunately the best of messages are sometimes misunderstood.
The first response to getting good news should be celebration. Like in the case of the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son - in each case the good news is accompanied with a party. When the angels appeared to the shepherd with the birth announcement there was a celebration.
Every glimpses we have into heaven shows celebration. When we come together we are doing something that we were born to do, something we will do in heaven forever. We have an opportunity to celebrate with angels over the risen savior.
3. Spreading the News - (vs. 14-15)
The second response to good news is spreading what you have heard. When we hear of something wonderful or find something of great value we are usually quick to spread the word. Put yourself in the place of these shepherds. You have just heard the greatest news ever given. Let me ask you a question - who would you tell first? What would you do? Imagine the excitement.
As Christians sometimes we are not good at communicating the good news with others.
It’s like the businessman who was travelling through Europe. He called his wife during the trip and he asked "How’s my cat?" "It’s Dead." She replied. "Oh, honey, don’t be so honest. Why didn’t you break the news to me slowly? You’ve ruined my trip." "What do you mean?" She asked. "Well, you could have told me the cat was on the roof. And when I called you in a few days from Paris, you could have told me he had fallen off and was acting sluggish. Then when I called from London, you could have said he was sick, and when I called you from Frankfurt, you could have said he was at the vet. Then, when I arrived home, you could have said he was dead." The wife had never been exposed to such protocol but was willing to learn. "OK," she said. "I’ll do better next time." "By the way," the husband asked, "how’s Mom?" There was a long silence, then she replied, "Uh, she’s on the roof."
To share good news you do not have to be a gifted speaker, brilliant theologian or anointed evangelist. The only thing you really need to have is the willingness to share. Remember the story in 2 Kings when the northern capital city of Samaria is besieged.
2 Kings 7:3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, Why stay here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We'll go into the city’-- famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die." 5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, 6 for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" 7 So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. 8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also. 9 Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace." 10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there--not a sound of anyone--only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
These lepers had lost all hope but then found something of incredible worth. Instead of keeping it to themselves they went and shared the good news with everyone.
You may think to yourselves - those early disciples were so lucky to be the first to hear this wonderful news. There are still billions of people around the world who are waiting to hear this message. We can all play the same part as these shepherds did so long ago. We need to spread the word!
During the American Revolution the Battle of Blue Licks was fought at the stream that bears that name. The battle never should have been fought, for it was fought after the war was over! News traveled slowly in those days. Blue Licks is in Kentucky, and there was no quick communication over the Appalachian mountains. No one knew the war was over. In a sense, Christ won the victory over evil at Calvary. All that is left for us to do is tell the good news
The word angel is the Greek word AGGELOS which means messenger. Everyone who tells the good news about Christ is an angel. That explains the following story. A minister went to visit a newly- married couple. He knocked on the front door. A feminine voice from within called, "Is that you, angel?" The minister replied, "No, but I'm from the same department."
Saving knowledge is diffused over the earth, not like sunlight but like torchlight, which is passed from hand to hand. -- James Strachan
The gospel must be preached afresh and told in new ways to every generation, since every generation has its own unique questions. The gospel must constantly be forwarded to a new address, because the recipient is repeatedly changing his place of residence. -- Helmut Thielicke
There is a valley in Austria that some call the most beautiful place on earth. There the wide Danube River is forced between mountain ranges so that it becomes narrow and deep and swift. There are places where the sound of a ship's horn, after a delay of exactly three seconds, comes back exactly one octave higher. The words of Jesus are echoed from generation to generation. One sound dies out only to be repeated by another voice, another generation. Each is harmonious with the one that has gone before, so that the gospel produces one lovely chord of grace and hope.
Before we go there is just one more thing I wanted to highlight from this passage today. As we read this passage did you notice the word YOU.
The angels said to the shepherds: I bring YOU good news (of great joy for all the people). A savior has been born to YOU. This is a sign for YOU. YOU will find the baby... The angel’s message to the shepherds was that Jesus is YOUR Savior, YOUR King, YOUR Christ, YOUR gift – straight from God. Just for you.
At our house the gifts are all out and the girls have been having a great time going around and finding out which ones are theirs. They can tell which gift is which because their gifts have their names on it. The message of the angels is that Jesus is YOUR gift this Christmas. YOUR name is on the gift he offers today. If you have never done so you can receive it right now. Let’s pray…
