Christmas
Eve/Morning
December
25, 2016
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
It’s always a challenge for parents when it comes to naming their children.
I remember trying to persuade Deb to let us name one our sons “Hezekiah”, but
she wouldn’t go for it.
I think there must be a rule somewhere that says that famous people must
give their children strange names.
Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-El
Sylvester Stallone named his son Sage Moonblood
Forest Whitaker named his son Ocean
Rob Morrow named his daughter “Tu” (Tu Morrow)
Jermaine Jackson named his son Jermajesty
Uma Thurman named her little girl Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune
Florence
Before Mary was pregnant, she was visited by the angel Gabriel.
(Luke 1:28–33 NLT)
—28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The
Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could
mean. 30 “Don’t be
afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will
conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be
very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give
him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary wouldn’t even need to worry about what to name this special baby. Gabriel already told her what God wanted to
name him.
The actual name that Gabriel told Mary would have been pronounced “Yahshua”,
or “Joshua”.
Yahshua means “Yahweh is salvation”
This wasn’t a brand-new name that had never been used before.
In the Old Testament, it was General Joshua who had commanded the armies of
Israel, and brought the children of Israel into their Promised Land.
A few months after Gabriel’s visit to Mary, another angel showed up and
told Joseph (like we read earlier),
(Matthew 1:21 NLT) And she will
have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from
their sins.”
I find it interesting that both Mary and Joseph were told by angels about
the name of their baby.
I guess they wouldn’t have to argue over whether to call the boy the Kal-el
or Sage Moonblood.
Joseph is given the reason why the baby would be named Jesus (or, “Yahweh
is salvation”), because Jesus would indeed bring salvation, salvation from sin.
He would save us from the consequence of our sin, which is being separated
from God.
He would also save us from the power of sin.
He didn’t come to affirm us in our sin, He came to set us
free from our sin.
In the Bible, names carry significance in two ways.
The concept of personal names in
the OT often included existence, character, and reputation (I Sam 25:25)[1]
Character
In the Bible, a name often conveys the character of the person.
There was a man in the Old Testament named “Nabal”.
In Hebrew, his name means “fool”, and Nabal was indeed a fool.
The name “David” means “beloved”, and King David was certainly beloved by
God.
God’s own name, Yahweh, is
connected to His character.
When Moses told God that he wanted
to know God better, Moses had a “close encounter” with God, and God allowed
Moses to know Him better by giving definition to the name Yahweh.
(Exodus 34:5–7 NKJV) —5 Now the Lord
descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the
Lord. 6 And the Lord passed
before him and proclaimed, “The Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and
gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression
and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the
fourth generation.”
What is God’s
character like?
He is a merciful,
kind, forgiving God.
He is also a just
God who will punish evil.
What does Jesus’ name (“Yahweh is salvation”) tell us about His character?
He is the Savior, the one sent to save us from our sins.
He wasn’t born to destroy us, He was born to save us.
Jesus said,
(Luke
19:10 NKJV) for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was
lost.”
He would make salvation possible by one day dying on a
cross, and becoming a sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world.
In the Bible, names also speak of …
Authority
A name is equivalent to a person’s authority.
Authority is like having a key.
With the right key you can do all kinds of things, like unlock a door, or
start a car.
Did you notice that the kid really didn’t have any “power” or authority on
his own? It was his dad’s key that made
the difference.
Just like the right key, the authority of the name of Jesus can do many
things.
As believers, He gives us His “name” so we can exercise His authority and
do things we couldn’t do by ourselves.
When Peter and John healed a lame man, it was obvious to everyone that
Peter and John were like that Darth Vader kid, and they weren’t all that
powerful by themselves. The religious leaders wanted to know where the power or
authority came from.
(Acts
4:7 NKJV) And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power
or by what name have you done this?”
There is healing in the name of Jesus.
Listen to what Peter actually said when he healed that lame man:
(Acts 3:6 NLT) But Peter
said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In
the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
(Play car starting sound)
Jesus’ name has authority over demons.
(Luke 10:17 NLT) When the
seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the
demons obey us when we use your name!”
(Play car starting sound)
Some of you are going through a difficult time right now.
(Proverbs 18:10
NKJV) The name of the Lord is
a strong tower; The
righteous run to it and are safe.
Whatever you are facing, don’t forget the name that will
get you through your difficulty. It’s Jesus.
(Play car starting sound)
God answers prayers when we pray in the name of Jesus. Jesus said,
(John 14:13 NLT) You can ask
for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to
the Father.
Asking in Jesus’ name is what makes Dad start that car (Play
car starting sound)
When we ask in Jesus’ name, we are asking …
According to Jesus’ character (praying what He would pray
for)
Asking with His authority (using Dad’s car key)
The authority or “name” of Jesus is
unlike that of any other. His is the
most important name.
(Philippians 2:9–11 NKJV) —9 Therefore
God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every
name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, 11 and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
Ultimately our salvation, the deliverance from the penalty for sin and the
power of sin, comes with only one name.
(Acts 4:12 NKJV) Nor is there
salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men
by which we must be saved.”
We find salvation when we choose to believe in Jesus.
(John
3:16 NLT) “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Christmas is a time of giving gifts, and it all started
when God gave us the greatest gift – His Son.
God’s desire is that you would receive the gift that He is
offering you, that you open your heart to Jesus.