The Difference Between News and the Good News “Live your faith and proclaim the Good News.” Luke 7:18-23 Chuck Gaidica January 23-24, 2016 Royal Oak First United Methodist Church, Royal Oak, Michigan I am so glad to be with you now at ROFUM. Susan and I join just as your renovation is getting started. You may recall last week John preached about the difference between noise and the sound of joy. For many the really good news and joy is found in the fact that the church renovation project will be done someday. I have been part of the news business most of my adult life. It has changed over the years. A woman here at the church last week told me she couldn’t watch the news on TV because it is always so bad and depressing. If you think about it, television, hundreds of channels, is filled with depressing news which is sandwiched in between shows that teach us how to cook and infomercials that tell us we need to go on a diet and lose weight. There always seems to be good news and bad news in life. But the bad news seems to prevail everywhere, your TV, radio, smart phone, computer, billboards, even some cars have a screen that shows weather and news headlines. We don’t have to focus on the bad news. It’s not that we should ignore it, but we are assured as children of God that there is Good News. I am not just talking about some good news but The Good News of Christ. The Gospel. Take the word God and slip in an extra “o”. Now you have the word, good. Right from the beginning of time there was good news and then bad stuff started to happen. In Genesis chapter 1, there is no disease and suffering. That is followed by rebellion by Adam and Eve. Sin enters the picture; there is the fall, hurt, death and loneliness from each other and separation from God. Within two chapters in Genesis God is promising to send a sacrifice to save us. There is recognition of both the good and the wicked. This becomes the story of our Bible; it will become the greatest rescue mission ever. We will indeed need a Savior. 1

In our Scripture reading today, Luke 7:18-23, we find John the Baptist and Jesus. John’s mission had always been to make way for another. From prison, John the Baptist sends his disciples with questions for Jesus. Among the questions: “are you the One who is coming?” The disciples present their questions and on the spot Jesus heals many maladies. I don’t know about you, but when I am studying Scripture I like to read what comes before and after the pertinent verses I am studying. It brings context and often clarity to my study. In the verses just before our Scripture reading today, Jesus approaches a dead man being carried out of the city of Nain. A large crowd is accompanying a widow, the mother of the dead man who is her only son. Christ has compassion on this woman and touches the stretcher and the man gets up, he speaks and the man goes to his mother. Can you imagine the awe and wonder of this crowd? They realize God has come to help His people. To become an eyewitness to such an event of restoration would be etched in your mind forever as the biggest news of the day. What if you could personally obtain restoration? It would change your life for all time. This is The Good News. So again, we are in the book of Luke this morning. Who is Luke? Luke is likely the author of both Luke and Acts. While no author’s name appears at the beginning of either book the scholarly evidence points to Luke as the author of both books. Luke starts his writing by addressing Theophilus. This name translates into “friend of God” and “lover of God”. Scholars think Luke may be addressing one person, “the most excellent Theophilus” or he may have been addressing all of us, “friends and lovers of God”. Either way, this man Luke is one of the great writers of the New Testament. He is a physician, he is so precise in his writing he becomes a historian. Luke exhibits great humanity in tackling many issues from social outcasts, lepers, women, Gentiles and the poor. Luke can help us understand the way God deals with His people. Luke helps us find our place in the world. The Good News for readers of Luke is his main concern, presenting God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. This Christ is The Good News!

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Back to some of the bad news, right at the beginning and still to this day we find that man messes up. Everybody has problems; some of the greatest in The Bible had problems even after they believed in Christ. Can you relate to that? From Old Testament through the New Testament we find the Creator of the Universe looking for Holy relationship with all of us. We also find many verses pointing to a coming Savior who will bring The Good News. God fulfills His promises, He sends us a hero, and He sends us a Savior. Forget the movies, God’s story is so much better. God’s mission is to send His only son, Jesus Christ. God sends us a sinless person in Christ. He is both man and God who suffers on behalf of us. Christ is the perfect sacrifice; He dies on a cross and rises again on the third day. Jesus conquers death. And if we just believe, truly believe in Him, trust Him and repent we can come back to right relationship with God. We get a promise from Jesus that if we believe we get eternal life. This isn’t just some news; this is the best news of all. There is more on this to come. In the news business that is called a tease. Continuing in Luke 7:18-23, a short line deserves great attention. “And good news is preached to the poor”. Looking at what Christ has just done, healing, curing a life-long illness and raising a man from the dead preaching to the poor can seem insignificant. But the word poor is not just referring to those without wealth; the word should mean something to all of us. We can all be poor in spirit. The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament speaks of being “anointed” by the spirit of the Lord to declare good news to the afflicted and to those on the margins of life. I should mention other translations of the words “good news” from the Greek include glad tidings or the gospel. The Hebrew word we find here is basar; it means rosy or cheerful news. Jesus preaches the cheerful, Good News to the poor. We are to accept it too, as we are poor in spirit. We are also to bring this Good News to the poor among us. But there has to be more to a poor person than some happy talk and a promise of a far off kingdom of some kind.

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One of my favorite trips in life was to the Holy Land. There I saw parts of the great Isaiah scroll that was discovered by Bedouin shepherds in 1947 near the Dead Sea in Qumran. The actual scroll is locked up for safekeeping but a realistic copy is now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and says so much to us. Here we find a scroll carbon dated to hundreds of years before Christ is born. We could be reading from Luke but we are reading from the Old Testament, Isaiah 52:7. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of a messenger who proclaims peace (Shalom), who brings the good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, Your God rules!” The feet mentioned here are the feet of Jesus, or any of us who bring The Good News. This shalom that Pastor John Hice often speaks about means so much more than peace. In the context of welfare and health, its meaning is deep and rich in texture. Shalom can mean peace, health and restoration. You are restoring your temple, called ROFUM. In Scripture God is offering us a covenant relationship of restoration, which includes safety, prosperity, serenity, and renovation of our hearts. In this renovation we are becoming new in Christ. In Luke 8:11-15, which follows our main Gospel reading today, Jesus, tells of the parable of the sower. Jesus is the real sower. He is not sowing seed but He is sowing His Words. The Good News Jesus speaks to the poor, to us, can deliver us from any need. Jesus’ words bring faith and hope because His words are The Word of God. The Wesleyan tradition shows us that faith includes a hope of renovation of heart and soul, change and moving toward holiness. Let us not take too lightly the goodness…The Good News of God. Christ believers know that the Word of God is active and mighty. We know it makes us alive.

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The poor who received The Good News of Christ are told they would be richly blessed beyond all they could ask for or even think about. The Good News was and is preached to the poor among us so we would truly glorify God. From this mighty Word of God would flow sufficiency in all things and good fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. Everybody in this room can profess The Good News through Word and deed. So, what is the take away today? There are a few things; 

We can all receive The Good News of Jesus Christ.

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We can all share the news, we can tell our life story, our faith story to somebody. Even if you don’t like to evangelize, your story about how God has worked in your life is the most powerful and authentic story there is, share it!

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We can invite others to church, even during a renovation.

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We can confess our faith through Word and song.

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We can serve; help the poor, the blind, the ill and all those in need.

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And finally, remember people are watching. Your kids, your relatives and even your co-workers are keeping an eye on you and waiting to find a hypocrite.

Live your faith and proclaim The Good News daily at home and at work. I think people are starving for Good News. “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.” Proverbs 25:25 And here is one point to reflect on this week. You and I are promised by Jesus that if we believe The Good News we receive eternal life. When we believe in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. If the Holy Spirit of God indwells us we are already living in the kingdom of God. Eternity doesn’t start someday out there somewhere. We can all start our eternal lives today, if we believe The Good News. Amen.

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