Advent 1: Greater is Coming: Here is the Good News By Emmanuel Philor Sr

 

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Here is the Good News

I have always had a disdain for hearing “I have good news and bad news.” My disdain for the statement comes from the thought that the purpose of the good news is to soften the blow of the bad news. If I am completely honest, we live in an era where bad news is common. So much so, that good news can, quite literally, take our breath away. We live in a sin-filled, sick-ravished, fiscally impoverished, morally inept, and inebriated society. The gift for us is that our gracious and loving God decided that this world and people (us); who are corrupt and sinful in nature, are the people in which God would deposit His son in the earth. This gift has given us direct and deep relationship with the father. And we have one job: to remind others amid all the bad that is happening in the world, there is some good news. While we enjoy sharing the good news, we should be intentional about partaking of the good news ourselves and how we benefit from it. That Good News is housed in the Advent.

Advent is one of the liturgical calendar's most significant seasons because it births the reality of the gospel. The gospel (or good news) simply tells us that Jesus came, lived, died, resurrected, and is coming back. Thus, the true essence of our belief is housed in this season, because we revisit Jesus’s birth to remind us that he is coming back. Based on all the information we knew, Jesus's initial arrival didn’t come with the best of conditions. Jesus came during a season of bondage, legal deportation, and war. Amidst the tumultuous seasons of life: the nights now get darker earlier, the frigid temperatures, storms all over the land, sickness ravishing the land, and the list could go on.

With that, we arrive at the season of advent. Advent, which means the coming of a notable event or person, teaches us that regardless of the depth of bad news around us, someone/something is coming. The first week of Advent represents Hope, which teaches us that we should remain steadfast amid the worst of conditions. This hope isn’t blissful optimism or the avoidance of reality. Instead, because of the evidence of God’s work before this moment, we are sure that there is nothing that God can’t do. This is because, despite the dark spaces that we find ourselves in, God sends us the reminder of Good News. The truth of the matter is those bad situations are not new to God. They only seem overwhelming because they are new to us. God has been handling bad situations and shifting bad news  since time began. God handled:

•          Joseph’s dark pit
•          Noah’s Ark
•          The Israelites’ captivity
•          Daniel’s Lion’s den
•          Hezekiah’s illness
•          The Babylonian Exile
•          Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego’s fiery furnace
•          Ruth, Orpah and Naomi’s grief
•          John the Baptist’s imprisonment
•          In the persecution of the Church
•          In Paul and Silas’ imprisonment  

Not just in the bible, but also in our lives. God has handled:

• Big Momma’s situation
• Granddaddy’s issue
• Momma’s problems
• Daddy’s circumstances
• Your illness
• Your brokenness
• Your habits
• Your fears
• Your dysfunction

Just like GOD handled that, we ought to be sure that whatever we are faced with, GOD can handle that too. Advent is a reminder that regardless of how much we have going on, and what is going wrong; there is still some good news. Our hope should be so anchored that despite what is happening around us, we are sure that greater is still coming. We are still sure that in the midst of all of this bad, there is some good news. Regardless of what is going on or causing an issue in your life, there is still some good news: greater is coming. And we know He is greater because 1 John 4:4b says “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” So even when we don’t behave like or believe like it, greater is coming. That’s some Good News! There is no amount of bad news that can outweigh this Good News. Since we know the good news:

•     When we are in despair, we ought to call Him: Wonderful
•   When we need to talk, we ought to call Him: Counsellor
•    When we feel helpless, we ought to call Him: The mighty God
•    When we feel alone, we ought to call Him:  My everlasting Father
•    When everything is in disarray: we ought to call Him: My Prince of Peace

 

 

Because that's the Good News!