Title: The Name Above All Names Advent Four

Date: 2008-12-21

Reference: Luke 1: 26-38

"Most parents give some serious thought to the names given their children. Sometimes children are named after celebrities and people the parents admire. Since the election last month dozens of baby boys have been named Barak. In this way parents honor the President elect and hope their child will be successful in life just as Mr. Obama has been. Often children are named for parents, grandparents, and other relatives.

Sometimes parents don’t do their children any favors in naming their kids. A family in New Jersey named their son Adolf Hitler Campbell. His older sister is named Joyce Lyn Aryan Nation Campbell. A musician named his child God.

Each year a list of the most popular names for boys and girls is published. Names are important. Some of us like our names and some of us don’t. There is one name that has always and will always stand above all others, the name of Jesus.

The name chosen for God’s Son was so important it was determined in the councils of heaven. His name was revealed to both his parents, Mary and Joseph separately. Gabriel the angel said to Mary: “Do not be afraid. You have found favor with God. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High god. The Lord will make him a King as his ancestor Davis was . He will rule forever and his kingdom will never end.” The angel also appeared to Joseph saying: “Mary will bear you a son. You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Years later Paul the Apostle wrote saying: “God gave Jesus the highest place and honored his name above all others names. So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down. Those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And everyone will openly confess and agree that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Phil. 2:9)

There is power in the name of Jesus. The Lord himself said: “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:20) And “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13)

The birth of Jesus, next to the crucifixion and resurrection, was the most momentous event in the history of the world. The birth of Jesus became the focal point of all history. Everything before Christ looked forward to his coming. Everything since looks back at him.

The birth of Jesus was such a crucial event that the world numbers it’s years according to it. BC is before Christ. And AD means “In the year of our Lord.” Jesus made an impact on the world that has never been made and will never be equaled by any other human being. In all the anils of the human race no one is like him. Jesus altered the world completely. No one else has remotely affected history as he has. His name has been hated, fought, censored, banned, and criticized in every generation since his birth. Yet his influence continues without missing a beat. After two thousand years the impact of his life goes on so powerfully that not a day passes but that lives are changed forever by his teaching or the coming of His Holy Spirit.

Jesus has been called an ideal man, an example of love, the highest model of life and religion, the foremost pattern of virtue the greatest of all humans the finest teacher who ever lived. All of those descriptions are accurate and capture elements of Jesus’ character. But they fall short of the full truth. The Apostle Thomas expressed it perfectly when he saw Jesus after the resurrection and said: “My Lord and My God.”

The name Jesus means: “Jehovah Will Save.” The name itself is testimony to God’s salvation. After Jesus’ resurrection the Apostle Peter speaking before a religious council emphasized the importance of Jesus’ name. He said: “There is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven which has been given among people by which we must be saved.”

Christmas reminds us there is no other way. There is no religion, no philosophy, no ceremony, ritual, or good deed capable of offering salvation. The name of Jesus is powerful because Jesus came to save His people from their sins.

The Hebrew People believed in God and worshiped God. They believed God could be seen in nature. They believed God had created the world. Through all the centuries people wanted to know God personally. God became personal on Christmas. The Bible says: “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14)

At a specific time, in a specific place, a very special person was born. His name was Jesus. In his own words he said: “I have come to seek and save that which was lost.” When God decided to redeem the world, he started with a baby in a cow stable. Cradled in the manger of Bethlehem were the hopes and dreams of a dying world.

From that manger came a man named Jesus who not only taught us a new way of life, but also brought us into a new relationship with our creator.

Over two thousand years ago, on a night the world has been pleased to call Christmas a young Jewish maiden gave birth to her child. He was given a name that was honored above all others names. A name that echoes down the corridors of time. A name more meaningful than all other names put together. He was called Jesus.

Jesus is: “The Bread of life, the Lord of All, the Holy One, Deliverer, Anointed One, Lamb of God, Our peace, savior, redeemer, the Word of God, the Mighty One, The Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Beloved Son, The way the Truth and the Life, the Lion of Judah, the Messiah. Jesus was also known as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesus was wonderful in His life. He mingled with sinners and yet was sinless. His enemies found no flaw in his character. He was without reproach. He was wonderful in death, a fitting climax to a selfless life. He lived for others and he died for others.

Jesus is a counselor. If the world ever needed the council of Jesus we do today. Thousand of people everywhere in the world have accepted Christ and found solutions to their most baffling problems. He is Mighty God. When the wrongs of the world needed righting when a fallen race needed redemption, god did not send his angelic armies, he sent a tiny helpless baby named Jesus.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. We cannot have peace in our hearts, lives, homes or in the world apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ. He will give us his peace if we put our trust in Him.

Today no other name in the world is so widely known and honored. No other name is more often remembered or greatly loved. No name is more precious to young and old alike. The name Jesus means: deliverer, rescuer, savior, The name was given by an angel. His name is Jesus.

The birth of Jesus was an act motivated by the deepest desire in the heart of God to be with us. From the very beginning, in the book of Genesis God is in the Garden calling out to His people. The purpose of the Tabernacle and the Temple was to fulfill the longing of God to be with His people. God gave us the law. The reward of keeping the law is recorded in Lv. “I will walk among you and will be your God and you will be my people.” On every page of Scripture God is saying: “My desire is to be with you.”

Finally, when the time was right the birth of Jesus occurred. The birth of Jesus was the embodiment of the deepest desire of God’s heart.

Upon coming into the world, he was given a name who describes who He is..a name which contains within it all of God’s hopes and ours..Immanuel..God With Us. We are so precious to God He became one of us. So we could know Him, love Him, and come to Him.

Jesus Christ gave up heaven in order to gain those he loved. He exchanged the glories of heaven to give us what we could never secure for ourselves. the gift of salvation and reconciliation with God. Leaving behind the splendor and glory of heaven Jesus chose to come to live with us, to talk with us, to united us to himself. Our Christmas Celebration is filled with the excitement that He is with us. His name is Jesus. He came to save his people from their sins.

The first time Jesus came he was veiled in the form of a child. A star marked his arrival. Wise men brought him gifts. There was no room for him. Only a few attended His arrival. He came as a child. The next time he comes will be remembered by all. Heaven will be lit with his glory. The world won’t be able to contain his glory. Every eye will see him. He will come as Sovereign King and Lord of all. His name is and will be above all names. His name is Jesus and He is the reason for the season.

"