Live Free with Josh Howerton - The Most World-Changing News Ever // Luke 2:8-11

Episode Date: December 3, 2024

There is no news in all of history as impactful as the announcement of Jesus’ birth. The message of Jesus is not primarily just good advice, it is good news that changed the world. As opposed to all the other religions around the world, we don’t have to work our way to God. In fact, the good news of Jesus is that God came to us! He came to shed His own blood in order to make a way for us to be with Him forever.   For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Well, hey, you guys, welcome to our daily drive. If we haven't met, my name is Carlos, and I get to be a part of the pastoral team here at Lake Point, and we get to hang out this week for a few minutes every day as we dive into the Word of God.

And yesterday we read Luke chapter 2 verse 8 to 11 where the angel tells the shepherd, do not be afraid. We need that more than ever. And the angel says, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah. He is the Lord. And let me start by sharing this. I was Googling the other day.

One of the most iconic, legendary history-altering headlines in the last couple hundred years. Let me share some with you. This is what I found. First one that showed up was the word peace with an exclamation mark in a newspaper in Sydney called the Sun on the morning of August 15, 1915. 45, which was the day when Japan surrendered and it began a new season of peace ending World War II. Picture that headline in all caps, just peace with an exclamation point that marked the before and after. Oh, my goodness, what a news.

Some of the other headlines of history just has been moon landing, 1969, John F. Kennedy assassination, 1963. September 11 attacks 2001, Royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, 1981. All of these were pivotal moments in history where news was shared and something changed after that. People's lives were changed. Some of these news announcement brought great grief and others brought great joy and celebration.

But there is no news. throughout all of history that compares to the news, to the gospel of the birth of Jesus Christ. It literally marked a before and after. And every other single event in history is accounted for based on when it happened in reference to the birth of Jesus. That's why we say things either happen BC before Christ

so that we live in 2024 AD, Anno Domini, which means the year of our Lord. Now here's a big idea. The message of Jesus is not primarily good advice. It is primarily good news. And here's why this is important. The true living God came to us, dwelt among us, died for us,

resurrected for us, saved us, invited us, and will come back for us. And that right there is great news. That brings great joy. When you look at all the existing religions today in the world, you'll find that they teach that humans have to do something or start something in their own strength to reach God. You have to, these religions will teach you that. You have to work for it.

And when you try to do that, it must be done in your own strength or capacity. For example, in Islam, you must obey what they call the five pillars or rules to reach their version of paradise. That means that if you have the necessary discipline, if you pray five times a day, if you go to the city and fast, then you will be in right standing with God. In Buddhism, if you have enough devotion, the right disciplines and a clear mind, you will reach this state of peace and happiness. In Hinduism, there's this belief called karma, which says if I work really hard, if I have enough devotion and do good, then I will receive something good in return in the next life as well. Now, interestingly enough, it is not just in Islam, Buddhism, or Hinduism, even in some certain circles of quote-unquote Christian churches,

even if this belief is not consciously articulated, sometimes, this is what's actually functionally lived out. And so there's a false belief that even though I am in Christ, the level of God's acceptance and love for me will depend solely and primarily on my level of obedience. And so the belief goes that if I'm good enough, then God will love me. That if I do good works or enough good works, then God will look at me and say, okay, now I love you. Okay, now I'm pleased with you.

Okay, now you have earned my affection. And this is a belief that is predominant everywhere and in some ways in everyone. But then Jesus comes in. And 2,000 years ago, the announcement that was made was not that God came to give us good advice or primarily a list of steps or rules to follow, to strive to try to reach him and receive his love. No, no, no, no. The announcement was good news that would bring joy because listen to this. even when we did not seek God, God came to seek us.

Some of you guys think that God's out there waiting for you, maybe to get your act together and finally go seek him. But the reality is the good news is he's been seeking you. He longs to have an intimate relationship with you and I. Two thousand years ago, God did not send a life coach. He sent a Savior. who came to rescue us, to bring peace, to defeat our enemy, to defeat our sin, to defeat death, to usher in a new kingdom where Christ is king, and we get to be a part of his kingdom here and now.

The good news of Christianity is the symbol of Christianity, the symbol of this Jesus movement is not a ladder to reach God in our own capacity. It is a cross where Jesus bled and by which we are saved. My invitation to you today is do not let your familiarity with this truth rob you of the joy and the hope and the new life it offers you today. We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our

our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.church slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out.