“Good
Tidings Of Great Joy”
Luke 2:8-12
8)
And there
were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night.
9)
And, lo, the
angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them: and they were sore afraid.
10) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11) For unto you is
born this day in the city of
12) And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying
in a manger.
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here
are not many things in the world today that can be considered “good tidings.”
The coming of Jesus to the world was and still is the most joyous of tidings.
However, most people do not understand what is so great about one who came to
kill the flesh and its actions.
To
follow the Lord, one must follow the plan of self-denial and most people desire
to do what pleases flesh rather than what pleases God. Jesus came to deliver
mankind from the bondage of sin. You would think that deliverance would be
welcome after the suffering of Egyptian bondage for 400 years.
The
name “Joshua” (or Yeshua, in Hebrew) means
“salvation” or deliverance from bondage. Yeshua
translated into English = “Jesus.” The savior or “Joshua” of the new Testament. Jesus’ coming represents redemption for all
mankind. Too many people confine Him to a manger. If he had stayed there, the would never have had hope. There should be no problem
with Him being born in such a lowly estate. The power of His resurrection
brought freedom from dictates of the flesh.
Many
believe that they are not “living,” but drug and alcohol highs only last so
long. The love f the world is temporal. The price one sometimes has to pay to
be “friends” must be realized by the world.
A
church that allows you to do anything that you want cannot offer salvation. Man
must be condemned for sin because sin is the reason why we are out of
fellowship with God today. We must be free from sin in order to be reconciled
with God.
The
best tidings are that we need not stay in sin because deliverance has come.
Saints should be happy if no else is happy! We must learn to enjoy salvation!
Look what God has done! Look what He has paid for—or freedom from sin!
He
wants us to be of service to Him. This we can do only when we are “free.” That
is why we are commanded to go free.
Spread
the good tidings of great joy—we are free from sin and ready to serve Him.