Good Tidings Of Great Joy! But For Who?

After a very heavy and mind numbing series on the problem of evil and asking tough questions about whether or not God works in and through evil... or even sends it (for instance God sending a tormenting evil spirit upon Saul), it was great to visit the Path of Grace website to find that series is over. It was good stuff, but after five of those teachings my head was spinning.

The new series seems to be something more people will be able to follow and understand.

The transcript of the first teaching (which is below) explains what it's about.

Enjoy!

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Hey there my friend,

This is James Flanders and I am so glad that you are here with me today. Last night I didn’t get the opportunity to really sleep much, but today I have had the opportunity to have a whole lot of coffee, so I’m a little bit spazzy. So please bear with me.

Over the next several days here’s what I want to do. I want to share with you passage after passage of Scripture which paint a beautiful picture of God’s ultimate plans for humanity being much more than what the religious institutions give God credit for. These are passages that not only reveal the heart of Father being one of love, but which also help us to see the glorious and amazing, far reaching effects of what Christ accomplished on the cross of Calvary and what He is ultimately going to do.

Now, today as we begin to look at these passages, I want to ask you to do two things for me as a favor. OK? Good. Thank you.

Here’s what I want you to do. First of all, please jot down these references so that you can look them up later and stare at them with your Bible in hand asking Father to give you ears to hear what He is speaking through them.

Secondly, as I share these with you, try to listen with fresh ears. Do what you can to set aside any preconceived religious ideas that might cause you to try and explain the truth away. Keeping in mind just one thing, the word Gospel means good news! The Evangel we have been given is to be a message of good news. We have good news to share! Good news to celebrate! Good news we can hope in. Good news we can rest in!

Alright, you ready? Here we go.

Do you remember what the angel announced to the shepherds on the night of Jesus birth? You’ve probably heard the passage a million times. In a Charlie Brown Christmas Linus read it.

In Luke chapter 2 verses 8 through 11, listen to what the angel said. This is the announcement accompanying the birth of the only begotten Son of God. 

Luke 2 verses 8 through 11.  When I read these words, I want to cry because it’s so good.

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Hhhmmm… Fear. Does that sound like something a lot of folks are experiencing today in the world we live in? Fear. Is it something people have always dealt with?

¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

It was a proclamation. It was an announcement of very good news. “I bring you good tidings of great joy for who?

Good tidings of great joy for ALL PEOPLE!” Not just a few. Not just a tiny minority who happened to live in the right geographical location to hear the message at the right point in time. Nope, this is good news for ALL people. I take that to mean all who have ever lived and all who will ever live at any place and at any time. 

The angel said I bring glad tidings… good news for all people… Good tidings that will lead to great joy for all people!

And here’s the news:  “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!”

Have you ever heard of anyone needing a Savior? Let me ask you, have you checked the statistics on death for all of humanity? Those statistics are staggering! There is a one hundred percent death rate.

From the moment Adam ate the fruit until now, we’ve have been born with death dwelling in us. That realization gnaws at us. We do all we can to avoid it because we’re scared of it. We’re afraid.  We see it all around us. Some die young, some die old. But regardless all people are in the process of dying and there is nothing we can do to stop it. 

If you’ve lived any length of time, you have closed the lid on at least one casket containing someone you love. You have dropped a handful of dirt into their grave and choked back the tears. You have experienced the agony and the pain of sorrow and grief.

But this angelic proclamation is truly good news! That greatest enemy… The enemy of enemies… Death… It does not have the final say. Death does not win. Love wins!

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1^st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 26 that ultimately on the agenda of the babe born in Bethlehem is that He will destroy death itself.

Again, that’s 1^st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 26.

Not only will we be raised from the dead thanks to the sinless One who died and was also raised, but we will be raised up and death itself will be destroyed to no longer gnaw at or instill fear in anyone! Eventually everything is going to change, but right now, we need a Savior and according to that angelic messenger sent from the throne of God’s grace, this is good news, good tidings for all people because a Savior was born. He is Christ the Lord.

I want you to notice that the angel did not say a potential Savior has been born, which is what religion teaches. Religion teaches that Jesus kind of only sort of got part of the saving done. He is the potential Savior of everyone, but and it’s up to you and me to somehow complete what He didn’t finish. We have to do something to merit it.

If that were true, then Christ could not be called the Savior because we in effect would be saving ourselves through our own effort or merit. That cannot be! 

The good news is that our Savior was born and Scripture teaches us that He succeeded at what He came to do! The message Paul the Apostle makes clear to you and me is that it is all of grace. It is purely a gift, given gratuitously to humanity by God.

Some believe sooner. Some believe later. But Scripture tells me one day all will be believe. All will bow. All will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. I’m getting ahead of myself, stepping into some passages that I wanted to reserve for a few days from now.

I pray though that you would believe it.. that you would rejoice in it.. and that you would rest in it right here right now, and that you would share it with somebody else because this is good news the world needs to hear.

My name is James Flanders. Thank you for spending this time with me. Be blessed my friend. Be blessed.

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Here is a link to the original audio: http://www.jamesflanders.com/3/post/2013/05/good-tidings-of-great-joy.html