Peace on Earth - Fear Not, The Good News is Here

One of the most famous things we hear every Christmas is peace on earth and God's favor to those who trust Him. God said there's good news and it's interesting who He told it to because anyone that's lonely, Jesus said, I care about you. If you want to hear a word from God, some really good news, stay with me.

Welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. The mission of these daily programs is to intentionally disciple Christians through the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram. First off, happy Christmas Eve. Thanks for spending time with us the next few days as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In this program, we're wrapping up our latest series, Peace on Earth. Today, our co-teacher for the series, Tim Lundy, will focus on the most famous and probably most quoted encounter between angels and humans in the Christmas story. So go in your Bible to Luke chapter 2 as we join Tim for his message Fear Not, the Good News is Here. We've been looking at all the different passages when the angels show up and it just struck me every time they show up, they always say fear not, fear not. In fact, if you read through the Bible, you'll see that command quite a bit. It's one of the most commanded things in it as God says over and over again, you don't have to be afraid. And whenever He makes the command, here's what I love about scripture, He doesn't just give us the command, He gives us a reason why. And the same is true in these Christmas passages that we don't have to be people who live in fear or anxiety because Jesus came into our world.

You know, I think it's a message we need to hear right now because we're dealing with fear like never before. In fact, just as I was researching, I started thinking about when in my life I was most afraid. Why don't you stop for a moment, think for a minute when you go, but that was the scariest moment in my life. It may have been a jump, it may have been something with your kids, it may have been something going on in your life.

For me, I remember the scariest moment and even as I think about it, I kind of get a cold sweat from it, I came this close to losing my life. I was in Bangkok, Thailand. Lee and I lived there and we had moved there in the 90s. And while we were there, you know, Bangkok's this massive city, traffic everywhere, and you never could get anywhere. It would take hours at times to get through rush hour. And I discovered there was these guys on different street corners that had motorcycles.

They usually wore like a silk vest. I thought they were a gang at first. Then somebody told me, they go, no, those are taxis. They're motorcycle taxis. You hop on the back, put on the helmet, and they'll get you there.

The great news is it's much quicker. The bad news is you take your life in your hands every time. But I got to where there was one guy, we would go quite a bit, he would take me. And one afternoon, we were close to the little apartment where we lived. And so we're sitting there stopped, it's just jammed, and we keep looking out like, what is happening out there? And we notice there's no traffic coming toward us in the oncoming lane. And so he kind of pokes out again, and you could see that they had a block way ahead. And so he slips over into that lane. And we start going, and I'm sitting there thinking, this is why I ride motorcycle taxis.

I don't have to wait like everybody else. But then I looked up ahead, and I noticed the lane had cleared. And coming toward us was a literal Mack truck, said Mack on the front of it. And it wasn't slowing down. And so our driver tried to get back in the lane. The problem was the cars had sat there so much, there wasn't an inch to spare. And then he went over to the other side, and I was getting ready, because I knew he's probably going to have to bail out into one of these stores. It was about a couple of feet drop that went down, and then there were storefronts right there.

So I'm getting ready like, okay, we're going to have to negotiate this, we're going into it. And at some point on the way over there, my driver determined that instead of stopping, if we were to go really, really fast, we could get back in before the Mack truck came. And I still, in my mind, I can still hear the gears of that motorcycle. I can still remember that sensation as I was getting ready to stop when he guns it. And he starts screaming through the gears, like second, third, fourth. And at some point, as I'm watching this truck come, I got so scared I just started screaming. I couldn't control it. I was like, ah! And then what scared me worse, the driver started screaming.

He was like, ah! And it's going, and it's getting closer, and I see it. And I'm at a point, it's like out of a movie, I can almost reach out and touch the truck. I mean, I had visions of me in my casket with Mack right across my face.

And right at that second, he cuts back in. And we pull over to this lot, and as we're sitting there, I'll confess, at that point, I had tears. I did. I could not control it. It was like so scary. And finally, I collected myself enough that I started beating him on his helmet. I was like, that was stupid.

He's like, sorry, sorry. And he drove me back over to our apartment. I took off the helmet. I handed it to him. And he smiled and looked at me and said, no charge.

No charge. Except the moments off my life with that. Now, I don't know about you. You had a moment like that? I'm sure everybody's had something. And here's the reality. Hear me. Part of what's going on in those moments, your brain's doing what it's supposed to do. The amygdala, that emotional center in your brain is sending signals, this is dangerous. And I either need to fight it or I need to run from it.

That's what your brain's supposed to do. The problem is people have figured out how to emotionally hijack our brains. And that's where sociologists have studied, especially over the last 20 years in this country, in a time period when we should be the safest ever, in a time period when we're experiencing prosperity that many in the world have never seen.

We are terrified. And as they trace it, they trace it through different things. You can see it in music.

It was pretty fascinating. They did a study of pop music for the last 50 years. Took 150,000 songs and just started studying the words that were used. 50 years ago, you know the number one word that was used in songs? Love. All you need is love. Love, love, love.

Everything was love. Love as a word is diminishing in our music. You don't see it nearly as much now.

They just trace it. In fact, you know the words they're seeing more? Angst, hate, anger.

Something's happened to us when it shows up in art like that. They studied 23 million headlines, news headlines. You know what sells in the news? Fear, anger, disgust, threat. As they tracked the emotional health, one of these sociologists said, we live in a time of fear mongering, that fear is almost only constant that actually unites people. This sense of it's a scary time to be. Now, maybe you're sitting here and you go, Tim, I'm not really a fearful person. And I wouldn't say I'm a fearful person. But the thing about fear is it can kind of show up in different ways. Usually it doesn't just come out with being terrified. We give it other words like anxiety. Do you have any anxiety? Anything that makes you worried, kind of keeps you up at night at times?

Maybe it's a financial uncertainty. One form of fear is just anger. Isn't it interesting how angry people are? And a lot of that is just trying to control something. And anger is an easier expression than being afraid. Control, if I can just stay on top of it, especially as a parent.

And I feel, especially for young parents today, I mean the combination, if I have technology and Google, I can keep my child safe from all things. And you live under that fear that you're responsible for it. One way fear shows up is drivenness. There's this fear of failure.

There's this fear that, man, I've got this education and I've got this. I've got to make it. I've got to throw myself. We've got to do the next project. I've got to do the next offering.

I've got to make it here. And you see some of the most driven people that if you were to peel back a little bit what's going on, man, there's something driving it. A lot of times there's more fear there than we'd like to admit.

See, in the Christmas story, four times angels show up. And every time they say, fear not, fear not, fear not. And if we were going to be totally honest, they're speaking to a world that had a lot more to fear than we do. They're speaking to a couple in Mary and Joseph. When you look what was against them, man, we have it made in comparison.

I mean, when they come to this couple who, can you imagine living in a world where there's an emperor and he can just declare, yeah, I want to count everyone. And here's how I'm going to do it. You can't stay at your home.

You can't fill out a form and send it back in. You have to go back to the home of your ancestors. I don't care how far it is.

It doesn't matter if you're nine months pregnant. You go when I tell you to go. Can you imagine living in a world like that? Can you imagine living in a place like Israel where you've got this paranoid, crazy quasi-king named Herod who would kill people in a moment if they threatened his authority? Who's willing to wipe out a whole region of little boys because he heard a king had been born?

Can you imagine what it would be like to be a refugee on the run from a man like that? Can you imagine the social fears that come with the kind of rejection of being a couple in a town and you have a miraculous conception the world's never seen before and you have a miraculous birth that the world's never seen before and having everybody in the town talk about you and reject you? So much so that when Joseph and Mary show up in Bethlehem for the census, where all of Joseph's family would be, by the way, because they're all of the same line, they'd all have to go back to Bethlehem, nobody invites them in. Nobody gives them a space. There's not even a room in the inn for them.

Can you imagine every day waking up knowing people are talking about you like that, what that would do? And I don't know about you, one of the most fearful days in one way in my life, man, especially when our first child was born, and I was in a hospital with doctors all around and people, but I was still scared to death about the whole thing. And there's Joseph and Mary, and they're in a place where animals are kept, and the only thing they have is a manger to be able to put their child in. I mean, you talk about reasons to fear, and yet it's interesting when you read through the story, they're not scared. Because see, when the angels came with the message to them, they actually took them at their word, and they believed them. My favorite fear not in all the stories is the one we're going to look at today, because it's the one for you and me.

It wasn't just for Mary and Joseph, because after they had baby Jesus, you know the story that there were shepherds in that region, and look what happened with the shepherds. You can read with me. An angel showed up and said to them, fear not. Now there's the command, fear not. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. This is why this is my favorite, because this one's for me. I'm one of all the people.

You're one of all the people. This one's for you too. They're making a declaration. I've got some good news that will lead to great joy. What is the good news? For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. That unto you, given to you in your world, immersed in your world, is a savior. Someone has come to save you. Someone has come to save you from your sins. Someone has come to save you from yourself. Someone has come, and I would say, to save you from a lifetime of fear. A savior has come, and he's not just any savior. He's actually Christ the Messiah, the Lord, God himself.

And the amazing part, this will be a sign for you. You'll find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. He's an actual person. He came as an actual baby. He actually came into our world for you and for me. See, you don't have to live in fear because I got some good news. Jesus came. And as soon as the angel said this, suddenly the sky was filled with angels.

Look what it says when they all showed up. Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. You don't have to fear.

Why? Because peace is here. Because now you can have peace with God. Now you can have peace with each other. Now he is going to come into your world and do what no one else could do. It's what had been promised all along. He'd been born in Bethlehem just like Micah said he would. He was the promised peace just like Isaiah promised. Look, Isaiah 9, 700 years earlier, for a child is born to us, a son is given, the government will rest on his shoulders. I look to each of these lines and it gives me peace. The government will rest on his shoulders.

Anybody here fearful about what's going to happen with the government now or in the future? You know who his shoulders that really rest on? Jesus.

Because he came into our world. He's a wonderful counselor. Anybody here fearful about a decision you got to make?

You don't know about the future. It keeps you up at night. Let me tell you, he's a wonderful counselor. He's a mighty God. He actually has the power to do something about it. He has the power to fight on our behalf. He has the power to overcome on our behalf. He has the power to overcome sin. He has the power to overcome death. He has the power to overcome the evil one. He's the mighty God. He's the everlasting Father. He actually invites us into his family. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter what you've done. He adopts us and we become joiners.

I love that last line. He is the Prince of Peace. He's the ruler who brings peace on a planet that absolutely needs it.

I love celebrating Christmas because it marks this promise that was given that impacts my life today. Question I have for you, are you actually experiencing that peace? Have you experienced it in the way that he's describing and he's promising there? And I say this pastorally. Even Christians and those of the church, there's so often I feel this fear rising in different ways that doesn't match what he's promising.

And I'll just confess to you, as I grapple with, man, what do I do with the fears in my life if Jesus really is the Prince of Peace? And we might distract ourselves. If I stay busy enough, then I don't have to think about it. Or I can deny it's there. You can kind of feel it bubbling up and you tell yourself serenity now, serenity now.

That doesn't work, by the way. And I think our problem is we take the command, fear not, and we try to address it without the promise. We try to do something we don't have the capacity to do.

I don't know about you. Sometimes I can hear that and I go, okay, I've got all this fear. I got to get rid of this fear so I can have more God. I got to get rid of this fear for what God wants to do. And I try my hardest to get rid of it on my own. The problem is it's just coming faster than I have the capacity to get rid of. And I think when we try it on our own, guys, you can find yourself stuck.

You can find yourself brimming with it. Hear me. What was the promise of Christmas? God didn't send a teacher. He says, for unto you is born a teacher who's going to teach you about how to get out of this. God didn't send a judge who's going to come and judge you for your fear and all the things you're doing wrong. He didn't even send a rabbi or a religious leader who's going to come with another system.

What did He say? I'm going to send a Savior. He is literally going to come into your world and into your life. The answer is not how do I get this out?

It's how do I get Him in? Hear me. The moment that Christ comes into your heart, the fears that are displaced in that moment, in that moment, you never have to fear again about your sin because it's paid for forever. In that moment, you never have to fear death itself because you know the moment you die, you're going to be with Him. In that moment, you don't even have to fear the shame that you feel over what you've done because Christ has paid for it. It's not a process of how do I get this out? It's a process of how do I get Christ in so He can displace in me what I've been carrying around.

Now, I know some of you, I mean, you might look and you go, well, okay, wait, you invite Jesus and it solves everything. What if I need medication? Man, what if I'm seeing a therapist on fear?

Here's what I'd encourage you. Please keep seeing them. I have people that I dearly love and I am so thrilled the medicines that God's given us. I view all medicine as gift from God when used rightly. But hear me, those people I love, they would be the first to tell you, oh, we are thankful for the meds, but they can't do what Jesus does.

They help, but they can't fill my heart like He does. They can't displace in those core parts of me what only Christ does. When you invite Jesus in your life, everything doesn't magically go away. You begin a journey with Him.

You begin a process with Him. You may look at it and you go, yeah, Tim, I know some scared Christians. Some of you are like, I know some scary Christians too. I know some scary Christians.

You know what? Scary Christians are usually just scared Christians trying to use power and anger to control their world. And so maybe you're like me that I have Christ in my life, Christ in me, but I still struggle with this.

What do you do if you find yourself more afraid? You know what that means? It just means you need more Jesus. I need more of Him in me. In fact, you read through the Bible, the whole story of coming to Christ is how can I have more of Him in me? And so one of the key ways is He says, hey, what would it look like if you were actually filled with the Holy Spirit?

You let Him have control of your life. You know one of the key ways that happens when you do that? You start praising Him more. You start singing more.

I tell you, one of the things that helps me the most is coming here every week when we sing together. Because when you're focused on Him, you can't focus on your fear as much. Scripture says, hey, if you find yourself anxious, don't be anxious. What does it say instead? You want to be filled with Jesus? Then pray. Pray more. And all you're doing through prayer is you're opening up another part of your life that goes, yeah, Jesus, I am struggling with this here. I need you to fill this too.

You're struggling with finances? Jesus said, oh man, just seek my kingdom. Be generous with it.

Trust me with it. Or you need His church. You need other people.

You need His word. The whole Bible is about this relationship where Jesus is the core. And the whole journey is how am I filled with Him in a way that He's displacing all of this stuff that's in me.

And whether it's fear, whether it's shame, whether it's anything that you're carrying, that's the key of Christmas. A Savior has come. And He immersed not only in your world, He's willing to immerse in your life.

And it changes everything. The question, the question for you today is, do you even have Jesus as part of your life? Have you even begun that journey that He changes? And if you do, maybe you're like me.

I have these areas that I find myself struggling with, whether it's anxiety or that. And instead of condemning myself for it, instead of going, oh man, you need to fix that, you know what I've embraced? I've embraced, I have a Savior who is literally perfect love.

And what does 1 John tell us? It tells us that there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. And so those places in my life when I see it, you know what my new thing is? I just go, okay, I need to experience your perfect love more. I need more of you and less of me. And as I focus on Him, you know what happens in that process? It begins to displace what was there.

I know you may look at this, you go, that's a pretty simple picture. I'm telling you all through this room, all through this church, it is filled with people that we've experienced that in Jesus. He has changed lives. He has changed homes.

He has changed marriages. But it took Him coming in and doing what only He can do. It didn't take us trying to do it harder or more. We needed a Savior. There's so many lives that He's changed. This church is filled with people that Christ has come into our lives, and He's in this process of displacing our fear for some people addiction, some people's shame they've carried, because He came as a Savior.

My hope for you is that this Christmas, you would experience the peace on earth, the peace in your heart, the peace in your life that only Jesus can bring. But hear me, you're not going to get there doing it and trying harder. You have to invite Him in. You have to open your life to Him.

You have to begin a process where He not only comes in, but over the course of your life, He continues to fill you in a way that He's displacing all of this stuff that we want to leave behind. And for some of you here today, this may be brand new for you. Maybe you're a little skeptical about it. Here's all I would ask. Would you just keep checking it out? Don't you owe it to yourself to just find out if it's true? Don't you owe it to yourself to pursue it?

God brought you here today. You're at least at a point that it's worth investigating. Some of you are here today and you've walked with Jesus for a number of years, but you've also struggled with fear in a real way.

I would ask you, don't turn it around and beat yourself up with it. Don't walk out of here and go, oh, I've got to do it harder. Every one of those places where you feel that fear, that's just another opportunity for you to go, oh, Jesus, that's where I need your perfect love. You're going to have to still do something there and I need more of you.

I encourage you to invite Him in that. And for some of you here today, and you need to take the first step. God has been working on your heart. Christ has been working in your life.

You know you need Jesus in you. And I would just encourage you, I can't think of a better time to invite Him in than Christmas. As we close out this message and this series, I want to echo what Tim just said. Christmas is the perfect time to begin or to deepen a relationship with your Heavenly Father. This series was built around fear not, fear not, fear not, fear not.

Different groups of people in the midst of a government that was oppressive, in the midst of poverty and chaos, in the midst of prejudice and struggle, in the midst of being alienated and being judged as Mary and Joseph were. The angels come and they say God's word, fear not. Could I encourage you as we end this Christmas season, fear not, trust God, draw close to Him. He's promised this, if you draw close to me, I will draw close to you. Could I encourage you as you begin thinking about 2025, could you set some spiritual goals?

Yes, it's good to get back in shape. Yes, there's a lot of wonderful things you could do. But as we think about this Christmas, the biggest gift you could ever give yourself and the Lord is to say to Jesus, I'm going to draw closer to you than ever before. I want time with your people and your word to take priority.

You can't change what's going on in the world, but you can change your attitude, your perspective, and your experience. Because Jesus promised, in the world you'll have tribulation, but I've overcome the world. And then he said, peace, my peace, I give to you. That's our prayer. That's our heart for you this Christmas, the end of this year, and for all of 2025. God bless you. Great way to end this series, Chip.

You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. And the message you just heard, Fear Not, The Good News is Here, is from our series, Peace on Earth. And if you prayed to receive Christ with Chip, we have a free resource we'd like to put in your hands that was uniquely created for new believers. This tool will help you understand what it means to trust in Jesus and what to do next. Request this free resource by calling 888-333-6003 or by visiting livingontheedge.org, then clicking the New Believers button.

That's livingontheedge.org or call 888-333-6003. Let us help you get started in your faith journey. As we close, if you're looking for good Bible content, check out the Chip Ingram app. You can listen to our most recent series or sign up for Daily Discipleship with Chip, a great resource to help you study God's Word at a deeper level. We want you to grow in your walk with Jesus, and the Chip Ingram app will help you do just that. From all of us here, have a great Christmas Eve, and we hope you'll join us next time as we celebrate the birth of Jesus with a great Christmas message from Chip. Until then, I'm Dave Druey, thanking you for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.