THREE SENTENCES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (LUKE 2: 10-12)

There are many quotes that have gone down in history.  Many of us can  quote famous “sayings” that are important to us.  A couple that come to my mind are:

•   "Ask not, what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country”…JFK
•  "One is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose”….Jim Elliot
• "Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty”…Samuel Adam  
• Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other….. John Quincy Adams

 These are just a few, I’m sure you have others.  But I want to share with you three sentences that I believe changed the world.  These sentences were delivered by a most trusted messenger, supported by the grandest background choir and presented in a most miraculous manner.  After all, the occasion of their presentation was a pretty big deal.  God’s Son was being born.  The sentences I am referring to are found in Luke 2: 10-11.  I hope you have read them and that they are familiar to you.

Let’s break them down a little and see if you agree with me.

 A SAVIOR WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD.  Who actually needs a Savior?  Let’s see, those who are lost.  Those who can’t help themselves.  Those chained to or trapped by something.  Those oppressed by a stronger power.  All of these people need someone to help them.  They need someone to act on their behalf and help them overcome their situation. 

 Until we realize and admit that we are in a situation or condition where we need a Savior, His coming is not good news to us.  Until I understand that I can’t do this alone and that I need an advocate, a rescuer, a deliverer or a knight in shining armor then any proclamation of the arrival of a savior is not good news to me.

•  If my house is on fire but I feel like I can handle this situation with a garden hose and a few more buckets of water,  I won’t call 911. 
• If I am driving around looking for a particular place and feel sure that after a few more laps around the neighborhood I’ll be able to put this all together,  I will never stop and ask for directions or help.  
• If I am sick but am sure that by taking just a few more aspirin I can cure this malady, I will not go to the doctor.

But if I am enslaved by sin, held by chains of habit, oppressed by the will of others or of my own will and come to the realization that I can’t make my life  work…..then the announcement of the coming of a Savior will be world changing for me. 

Who needs a Savior?  I do…and I bet you do too.

 GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY.  I’d almost guarantee that you can’t find it a 5, 6 and 10 on the nightly news.  If you still get a daily newspaper, it won’t be in there either.  If you can wade through all the commercials on the radio you still won’t find any of it there. 

Good news.  It’s hard to find anywhere. Oh, you can find plenty of folks who will talk to you about the problems that are happening around the block and around the world but not many who will greet you each morning with “good news”.  How would we be changed if we could?

One thing that should change about us would be our attitude.  If we could hear and accept the good news that was presented by the angels on that night so long ago, shouldn’t our attitude change?  In church, at home or on the job, people would be able to see a difference in us because we have heard the “good news”, the “gospel”, the “good tidings of great joy” and we would possess that joy in our lives.

I just stopped by to tell you this morning that the coming of the Christ child, the appearance of Jesus Christ the Lord on this planet is some very good news and should fill you and I with much joy and peace.

YOU SHALL FIND THE BABE.  So if the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior is such good news, how do I get in touch with Him?  Show me where He lives.  How do I find this Savior?

 God is faithful in showing the way. 

 

·         Initially, on that night, He used the angels.  Their message was unmistakable.  The shepherds stood there in that open field and their knees knocked together as they listened to the instructions. 

·         Later on He used the disciples.  Twelve ordinary men who believed the good news and were committed to sharing it with others, like themselves, who were in need of a Savior

·         The Apostles were also a means to this end.  No doubt you have studied about Paul and his unselfish sell-out to this Christ and the promotion of His kingdom.

·         Common folk back “in the day”, Stephen and the other seven men whose job it was to simply “wait tables” but whose passion it was to tell about that Savior. 

·         There have been countless more “common folk” who pointed the way.  I can name those who told me about the “good news”. I bet you can name those who pointed you in the right direction as well. 

 Shouldn’t it be our intent, no more than intent, shouldn’t it be our unquenchable thirst, our unending hunger our fervent passion to stand in the path and point the way?   Shouldn’t you and I do our part, especially during this time of the year, to share these world changing words and their meaning to a lost and dying world?

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger”.

 Three pretty good sentences if you ask me.