THE GOOD NEWS IS FOR YOU!

THE GOOD NEWS IS FOR YOU!
Hark The Herald Angels Sing (Charles Wesley- appeared in 1739)
Except when otherwise indicated “Scripture is taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”

Jesus Is The Reason for The Music Of The Season
Luke 2:1-20
2:1 Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." 16 And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

INTRODUCTION:
The Greek word AGGELOS and the Hebrew word MALAK both mean MESSENGER. Angels are messengers. Whenever we speak of messengers, we naturally consider that there is a message , the source of the message (God), the Carrier or deliverer of the Message (Angel), and the Recipient of the Message (Human Beings). This is precisely the situation in Luke 2.

In the Bible, two angels are mentioned as ARCHANGELS: Michael and Gabriel. The word Arch in arch in archangel means Prince or ruler. Archangel therefore means prince angel of prince of angels. The number of angels is not known to us but we are told that they number thousands upon thousands’ simply put, it is not a feasible task for human beings to try to find out how many angels there are.

Angels are, in their natural sate, invisible to us. However they, as in this passage, become visible. The modern word for this is MATERIALIZATION. The text tells us that the angels SUDDENLY APPEARED indicating a materialization which terrified the shepherds as a result.

In our text one angel, presumably Gabriel, brought the MAIN MESSAGE which is summarized as follows: Luke 2:11 .. today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "

A big number of angels materialized and did two things: THEY PRAISED GOD (probably a song) and they MADE AN ANNOUNCEMENT: Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men with who He is pleased. WE KNOW WHAT WAS ANNOUNCED BUT WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THE SONG WAS!

Consider: THE ANGELS SANG BUT WE DO NOT WHAT THE SONG WAS! One thing is clear thought: JESUS CHRIST WAS THE REASON FOR MUSIC THAT NIGHT (Forever more). There was singing, rejoicing and praising that night for one reason: THE SAVIOR IS HERE. He was and He is still the reason for the music in our lives.

What can we learn about the song of the angels (the contents of which are not known to us)?

First: IT MUST HAVE BEEN A SONG OF GREAT GLADNESS
REASON: THE LONG AWAITED CHRIST HAS BEEN BORN. He is here now. The waiting is over. 10 And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Explanation: To them, the phrase HAS BEEN BORN was of such great power since it immediately brings to mind all the stories about waiting for the Messiah. Every Jewish family must have heard about the Messiah, the Savior who will come and deliver His people. They have been waiting for Him and now He is here at last! It would be like hearing the words: YOUR LONG WAIT IS OVER!

APPLICATION: Some of you may have been waiting for something for a long time. The good news is that God can say to you: YOUR LONG WAIT IS OVER. Why don’t you ask God and say: MY FATHER IN HEAVEN, LET ME HEAR YOU SAY TO ME: YOUR LONG IS OVER.

Second: IT MUST HAVE BEEN A SONG OF GREAT HOPE
10 And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Everyone knew that the Savior would bring deliverance, freedom and joy to His people.
Explanation: The Shepherds heard the starling news: The Messiah has been born for you. Then they heard the comforting part of the News: The Messiah has been born FOR YOU! The Great Shepherd Himself is here now and this news is FOR YOU! The shepherds, long familiar with the difficulties of life, now heard something new, something that inspires hope. They started rejoicing. Things will begin to change now. The shepherds have been placed by society at the lowest part- they did not enjoy the privileges other Jews enjoy because, by the nature of their job, they were constantly unable to wash their hands and the Jews required so much ceremonial washing. William Barclay tells us that like the tax collectors, they were not allowed to testify I the court of law because of their limited credibility! Now things will change. The messiah has come them.

APPLICATION: For some of us, life may not have been very kind. We have longed for a change to and that begins by hearing the news that brings hope. Some of us may have been waiting for a good news that brings hope. The shepherds heard the good news for THEM and the hope that cam along with it. Why don’t you ask God to give you your good news that is really FOR YOU and one that can bring hope?

PRAYER: Lord, make me hear the News that brings HOPE so I can be strong enough to stand and face all the challenges that life brings to me

Third: IT MUST HAVE BEEN A SONG OF GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT
The angel told them : I BRING YOU (they were the first recipients) good news of GREAT JOY.
Explanation: They were the recipient of the GOOD NEWS that brings great joy. That was the most encouraging news they have heard all their lives. They were shepherds, unwelcome in most parts of society- now they were to be ushered into the very presence of the Savior. The one who was born was one of them- the shepherds were familiar with mangers. The manger was a trough or an open box in which feed for livestock is placed. After all, their main job is to take care of animals and the manger is the feeding trough for animals.

Gladness, Hope and Encouragement. All these the shepherds received that night of nights. All these can be yours also. Ask Him who is our Father in heaven.

IN TAGALOG- tatapatan ng Diyos and iyong kabalisahan at kahinaan. No good news is really good enough if it is not FOR YOU! The good news of great joy is also FOR YOU!