Good News for a Bad-News World: Go After the One

We look outside and inside. We look outside and we see wars. We see the breakdown of family. We see crime. We look on social media and we watch how supposedly loving people interact. But it's not just out there. It's also in our hearts and our minds. This increasing sense of despair as a result of a lack of meaning and purpose. It's in this context that I believe that we live in a world that is desperately longing for good news. [00:47:49] (40 seconds)  #LongingForGoodNews

And we are surrounded by bad news and we found ourselves attached to bad news that evokes fear in us. And therefore, we live in a world that is gripped with fear. No matter how much we own or possess, no matter what experiences we have, there is this sense of fear and anxiety and dread that still tends to lurk in the background. Oh, we long for good news in a bad news world. And it's hard to find good news. [00:45:20] (39 seconds)  #GrippedByFear

In other words, if we just educate ourselves a little bit more, if we just get a little bit more sympathetic, if we just work a little harder, then we can save ourselves. How are we going with that project? How are we feeling with that project? Because the data and the stats tell us that our efforts to save ourselves is failing. Doesn't matter how much education or striving we get, we still can't seem to fix the deepest fears, anxieties, and ailments of our heart. [00:47:04] (45 seconds)  #SelfHelpIsntEnough

We know the destination. We know who wins, and that changes our experience in life. Guess what? We can relax. We can rest. We can live with a sense of peace. We can live with a sense of rest because we already know the outcome. We already know who wins and we already know where we're going. We are being made new and one day we will be made new. Paul says, good news. [00:54:16] (36 seconds)  #RestInThePromise

We have life and hope. We know the outcome. Jesus wins, and we are invited into a life giving spirit filled spirit filled relationship with him. And the good news is good news not just for a select few. The good news is good news for everyone everywhere. Paul says, for Christ's love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all. He died for all. If the good news is for all, then the good news is for the one. [00:54:52] (39 seconds)  #GoodNewsForAll

He says that you have been redeemed, that God has stepped down from heaven to earth. The transcendent God has stepped down in the in human form and has surrendered his life, has died for you and for me so that we can have life. He says it in verse 17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone. The new is here. This is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ. [00:51:35] (36 seconds)  #NewCreationInChrist

He has a 100 sheep and he starts counting. He realizes he's only got 99. So you know what he does? He leaves, we read, he leaves the 99 out in the open field, and he goes and he chases and he looks for the one. And he rescues the one, and he rejoices as he brings this one back into the fold. And he gathers his neighbors and his fellow shepherds together and says, come on, rejoice with me. Let's party because I have found the lost sheep. [00:56:16] (31 seconds)  #FoundTheLostSheep

Jesus gives us a picture of the heart of God. God goes after the one. He chases after that pesky one that runs away. That's his heart. That's the heart of God. He loves the one. He loves the one. And the early church understood this. They understood the compassion and the heart of God. They understood the kingdom of God. They understood the ethic of love. They understood God's heart. They understood the mission in which they were called to. [00:57:03] (44 seconds)  #HeartOfGodChases