Immanuel, the name of God, meaning “God With Us,” was the fulfillment of Bible prophecy when Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was born.

Key verses:
Isaiah 7:10-14
Isaiah 9:6-7

Amen. Take your Bible, if you will, and turn with me to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter seven, and then we’re going to look over at Isaiah chapter nine. Then we’ll be sharing a great deal more scripture with you this morning, more than usual, but we won’t be turning to all of it just for the sake of time.

I do want to say, as our young people make their exit, that this morning’s message is going to be a little bit different for us. Most of the time, we take a passage of scripture and work through that passage. We aren’t going to do it that way this morning. We’re going to look at a couple of different verses, and again, I’m going to share with you many other verses.

Whose Coming We Celebrate

But I want you to understand it is December, and in December, we celebrate the coming of the Lord into this world. He came to save sinners. There’s no question about that. He said so, but I want you to think about this morning: who it is whose coming we celebrate.

Now, let me share this thought with you. This is a few years ago. I was talking to a young man, and an educated young man and he said this to me, and I’ve heard other people say similar things, but he said, “If this God of yours is real, why doesn’t He come to the Earth and show himself?” I looked at the young man, and I said, “Well, He did.” He thought a minute, and then he said, “You’re talking about Jesus.” I said, “Yes, I am.”

I’m going to tell you this morning He did come. God came. I’m going to show you that in the little bit of scripture that we’re looking at. But that is who came into this world. God did come to this Earth. I’m going to tell you something else. He’s coming again. He’s coming again.

Historical Background

With that said, by now, hopefully, you have found Isaiah chapter seven. I just wanted to give you a little background as to what’s going on in this chapter. If you’ve been paying attention to the news at all, you know that the nation of Israel is at war. They were attacked back in October in a surprise attack, a very brutal attack. And they’ve been fighting as a result of that ever since.

I just heard yesterday that there was a ceasefire that had been declared, and it had a time limit on it, but the other side, not the Israelis, but the other side decided to end that ceasefire without notice and start fighting again. So, they are fighting again. Now, that is between Israel and the people who live in a strip of land called Gaza, and that is what is considered today to be Palestine.

I’ll give you a little history. “Palestine” is a word that comes from Latin. But it is the Latin way, from when the Romans ruled that area thousands of years ago, of saying Philistine or Philistia. If you read your Bible, there were often wars between Israel and the Philistines. These are not the same people, obviously, but it’s the same kind of thing that’s going on today.

Other countries have gotten involved, and in Isaiah chapter seven, the reason I’m telling you all this is it was going on then. It wasn’t the Philistines in this case. It was the Assyrians. Think of the country of Syria today. The Assyrian Empire encompassed the country of Syria, but it went far north of that, so it was much larger than the present country of Syria.

This may be hard if you don’t know your Bible really well. If you’ve read your Bible but you don’t know a great deal about it, this may be hard to understand. But Jerusalem was in the territory of Judah. We talked about that last Sunday. Jerusalem was in the territory of Judah. But the nation had divided into North and South. So, the southern part came to be called Judah, and the northern part came to be called Israel. Prior to that, it was all Israel. So, Israel has teamed up with Assyria, and they’ve attacked Judah, and they’ve surrounded Jerusalem. That’s what’s going on in Isaiah chapter seven.

Now, the king of Judah goes to Isaiah, the prophet, and asks him to pray to the Lord. And the Lord gave an answer. In his answer, the Lord says, and this is in the beginning part of the chapter up through verse nine, the Lord said for the king of Judah not to worry. He was going to rescue Jerusalem. He was going to rescue the people of Judah, and they would not fall to their enemies.

A Sign from God

The Lord would take care of them. Let’s pick up the reading then at verse 10 that says:

Isaiah 7:10: “Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,”

Isaiah 7:11: “Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.”

Now, I want you to notice what’s happening here. The Lord God, speaking to King Ahaz, says, “Ask me for a sign. Ask me for anything. Ask me for a sign.” A lot of people want to see a sign from God. A lot of people.

I like a cartoon in one of the books that I have. There’s a cartoon in it, and this fella in the cartoon is looking up to the sky and says, “God, if you’re up there, give me a sign.” And this great big, huge billboard falls down out of the sky and says, “I’m up here.” That’s the kind of thing people want to see. Can I share something with you? That’s probably not going to happen that way, but God did something greater than that, much greater. Verse 12:

Isaiah 7:12: “But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.”

Do you understand that? God said ask me for a sign. Ask me to do anything. I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I’ll show you that I’m going to do what I promised to do, and I will do it. Ask me for any sign. I’ll do it. And the king says, “I will not. I won’t ask you.”

Do you know what James said about that in his epistle? He said, “You have not because you asked not.” A lot of things you don’t get from God because you don’t ask. But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.” Now, he might be tempting the Lord if he was doing something wrong, but he wouldn’t have been doing anything wrong to ask. He would have been doing what God told him. So, in verse 13, this is Isaiah giving what the Lord said:

Isaiah 7:13: “And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?”

Come tonight, we’re going to talk more about the House of David. And we’ve been working all this time to get to verse 14:

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

I want you to pay attention to that last word there. That last word is a name. It is the name Immanuel. I’m not going to ask you to turn there, but I’m going to read to you from Matthew chapter one and verses 21 to 23 and listen carefully. This is Matthew writing more than 700 years after Isaiah wrote, and he says this and he’s referring to Mary:

Matthew 1:21: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

What’s His name? Jesus. We’re going to say more about that.

Matthew 1:22: “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,”

Matthew 1:23: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

“He shall save his people from their sins” – that’s why His name is Jesus. Why does His name have to be Jesus for Him to save His people from their sins? Because the name Jesus means Jehovah God is the Savior or Jehovah is My Savior, that’s what the name means.

Matthew 1:21: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Now, all this was done so that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet. The prophet, in this case, Isaiah, says, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Matthew 1:23: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,”

Isn’t that what we just read in Isaiah? Yes. Here, Matthew is quoting from Isaiah 7 and verse 14, but I didn’t finish the verse in Matthew. Let me start it again. You look at Isaiah 7:14 and listen to Matthew chapter 1 in verse 23:

Matthew 1:23: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

God came into this world. Now, if you’re in Isaiah chapter seven, turn over to chapter nine. The promise continues in chapter nine. Isaiah chapter nine and verse six say:

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.”

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,” – the one that the virgin would conceive and bear, a Son whose name is Immanuel. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder,” – He is going to be a King. “The government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name,” – notice “name,” not “names.” One name. “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,” – Who is this person? Who is this child that’s born? He is Wonderful. He is a Counselor. You can come to Him for counsel at any time. But He is the mighty God, and in case you wonder which God you are talking about, well, He tells you: The mighty God, The everlasting Father.”

There’s only one everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. If you’ve been with us in our studies recently, that is Shiloh, the Prince of Peace. Verse seven:

Isaiah 9:7: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Believe In His Name

All year, we say that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved, and we should say that. We also say that you need to believe in His name, and this is also right.

Acts 16:31 and verse 30, the jailer in the city of Philippi talked to Paul and Silas, who were in jail. They were in jail? Yeah, a bunch of criminals. Well, I guess you could say that. What was their crime? They’d been preaching the Gospel, telling people to believe in Jesus and be saved. That’s what they went to jail for. Yeah, a lot of people have gone to jail for that, but the jailer said to them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Acts 16, verse 30.

Verse 31, says:

Act 16:31: “And they [Paul and Silas] said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

What do you need to do to be saved? The greatest question ever asked. The greatest answer: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

1 John 5:11-13 talks about believing in the name of Jesus, and it’s not the only place that talks about that.

1 John 5:11 “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

“And this is the record,” – like a title to a car or the deed to a house.

1 John 5:12 “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

Stop right there. According to what we’ve read from the Bible this morning and what I’ve read to you, what is the name of the Son of God? Only a few people know that, I guess. What is the name of the Son of God? Jesus. Oh, thank you.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know,” – not guess, think hope, so – “you may know that you have eternal life and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.” So, it is important that we understand the name of the Son of God. It is important that we understand that we are to believe in Jesus. We are to believe in His name. Then, we are to honor His name.

Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:1 both tell us, “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” We do that all the time. “Oh, I know what you’re talking about, preacher, people who curse and swear.”

I told this story here before, but I think it’s a good time to tell it again. Besides, I want to hear it. Years ago, we bought a device, and I don’t know that you can even buy such a device anymore. I haven’t seen one in many years, but we bought a device called curse-free TV. You could hook it to your television set, and if you were watching something and people were cursing on it, it would blank it out. You wouldn’t hear it. How many of you know about a device like that? Yeah, I’m not kidding you. We had one, and you put it on there, and you didn’t have to hear the bad language.

Now, I’m going to name a TV show, and you may know of the show, you may not, you may have liked it, you may not have. But I’m just going to tell you what happened. I was watching an episode of the TV show “Walker, Texas Ranger.” Now, whether you know that or not, it’s beside the point. In this episode, the ranger takes a man to prison. He had been arrested and charged with a crime. He was taking him to prison, and the ranger asked the prisoner, he said, “How did you get mixed up with this gang that you were with when the crime was committed?” The man looked at the ranger and said, “Well, ranger, I used to be a really bad man, but that was before I trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior.”

“He didn’t say that on network television?” He did. I almost fell off the couch, but here’s the reason I’m telling you that story. When he said, “I used to be a really bad man, but that was before I trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior,” curse-free TV took out the words “Jesus Christ.” Why? Because it thought that that was swearing, that that was profanity. What does that tell you about our society? Tells you a lot about it, doesn’t it? If you say, “Jesus Christ,” you’re swearing. Well, a lot of people are, aren’t they?

But that’s what the Lord says when He says:

Exodus 20:7: “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

So, should we honor the name of the Lord? We should. We should. Now, that’s not all that that verse means. It also means don’t use the Lord’s name lightly. Don’t misuse the Lord’s name.

Name of God

Throughout scripture, the name of the Lord is given to us in many different ways. I’m going to spend the next few minutes telling you about many of those ways. I don’t think I’ll get all of them, but let’s begin in Genesis 1:1. You don’t need to turn there. We’re going to go too fast.

Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

“God” in Genesis 1:1 is the Hebrew word “El.” It is spelled just like it sounds: “E L.” I know there’s a suffix on the name there, and it’s “ohim” – “Elohim.” Now, “El” means “God” and the “ohim.” The “I M” ending makes it say, “God who is one but many.”

“I thought there was only one God.” You thought right. You weren’t wrong. So, what does it mean, “God who is one but many”? Well, later on in that same chapter, God says, “Let us,” – a plural personal pronoun – “Let us make man in our image,” – another plural personal pronoun. So, God said:

Genesis 1:26: “Let us make man in our image.”

Well, in whose image is God creating man? Later on, we read:

Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Only one God. Why did He use plural personal pronouns? He’s talking about what we call the Trinity. “Well, preacher, I want to tell you something. I’ve read the Bible, and you can’t find the word “Trinity” in your Bible.” You’re right. The word “Trinity” is not in the Bible. It isn’t. There’s another word that you’ll find in the Bible that means what we mean when we say Trinity. It’s the word “godhead” you’ll find that word in the Bible. So, there are not three Gods. There’s one God. God, who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Now, if you’re sitting there, “Preacher, can you explain the Trinity to me?” No, I can’t. I can give you some ideas. I can help you relate to it in some ways, but I can’t fully explain it to you. I can tell you this: God lives in eternity. You and I live in time. Time had a beginning. Eventually, time will come to an end. In time, everything in time has a beginning and an end. God lives outside of time in a realm we call eternity, where things do not have to have a beginning and an end. They are constant.

I’m telling you this: You and I can only be in one place at a time because we are limited by time and space. God is not limited by time and space. So, God can be manifest in different ways with only one God. “Well, I’m not sure that helped much.”

Let me try something else. You are a human being, and as a human being, you are physical. That’s the part you can touch right here. You are mental. That’s the part where when you hear those words in your head, that’s where they come from; they come from your mind. You’re physical, you’re mental, and you are spiritual. You have a spirit. That’s what it means when it says:

Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

It means we are created in the spiritual image of God. Are we in the physical image of God? Well, in a sense, because if you read through your Bible, you’ll find that God has eyes and ears and a nose and a mouth, and he has hands, and he has feet, and we have all of that. But what makes us really the image of God is that we have a spirit. In John chapter 4, Jesus said:

John 4:24: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

So, we are a spirit. I like what C.S. Lewis said years ago. He said, “You do not have a soul.” Now, you’ve got to hear the whole statement. He said, “You do not have a soul. You are a soul.” Think about that. He says, “You do not have a soul. You are a soul.” You have a body. One day, this body is going to be gone. Dust returns to the earth, which gave it man. Man, made of dust, returns to the earth from where it came, but the spirit goes on. That’s the real you. So, it is in that sense that we are created in the image of God.

Now, Elohim, a uni-plural noun, means the strong one. There are many other Elohistic combinations, they are called, where God, the root word, God, El, has a suffix which gives us a further meaning. Let me show you what I’m talking about. Elohim is a uni-plural noun, meaning the strong one.

Elyon is another, which means the most high God of all the gods or things that people call gods in the world. He is the most high God. He is the Father of all. I’m not saying that there actually are other gods. I’m saying people say there are other gods. “Well, how many other gods do people say?” At last count, I heard it was in the millions. El-Shaddai, the almighty God. El Olam is the Everlasting God, and then He’s called Adonai.

If a synagogue met yesterday, as many of them did, they generally start the services with what they call the shmah, and it sounds like this:

shmah yee-srah-ayl ah-doh-noi eh-loh-hay-noo ah-doh-noi eh-khahd.

Adonai is another name for the Lord, and it means Lord. I was watching television again just recently, and I was surprised by something. There was a character on the television speaking Greek, and I actually understood what he said. I said, “Wow, I’m so happy that I understood that.” I’m not a great Greek scholar, but I got what he said. I understood what he was saying. Do you know what he was saying? He was in essence saying, “Lord.” He said, “Corus.” Corus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Adonai, which means Lord.

And then there’s Jehovah, or Yahweh, as some like to pronounce it, and we could talk about the difference in the pronunciation, but that’s not our point right now. And that always without exception is the redemptive name of God. Isaiah 43 it says:

Isaiah 43:11: “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”

Now, stop and think about that. If Jehovah is the only Savior and you go to the New Testament, it tells us there’s none other name other than the name Jesus.

Acts 4:12: “There’s none other name under heaven whereby we must be saved.”

It tells us:

1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

Jesus is the only Savior. So, if in Isaiah 43, God says:

Isaiah 43:11: “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”

And if the New Testament tells us Jesus is the only Savior, who does that make? Jesus. It does, doesn’t it? And you know who that makes Jesus? Immanuel, God with Us. God with Us, He came. He came to be here. Jehovah Yahweh means the self-existent one. He is the I Am.

Again, in Genesis 2:7, it was the Lord God who formed man and gave him life. In Genesis 2:16 and 17, it’s the Lord who gives the first commandment not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

In Genesis 3:14 and 15, it is the Lord God who promised the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. We talked about that last time.

In Genesis 3:21, it is the Lord God, or Jehovah Elohim, who made coats of skins for Adam and Eve to cover them after their sin. An animal was sacrificed, and they were given a covering or an atonement.

In Exodus 3:15, Moses is told that Jehovah Elohim is my name forever.

Then there’s Jehovah Elohim, Lord God. Then there’s Jehovah Jireh, which means the Lord will provide. Jehovah-Rapha means the Lord who heals. Jehovah Nisi, the Lord our banner, whose name is in whose name we do battle. It’s like a flag to go forth into battle, the Lord our banner. Then there’s Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace, Jehovah Rohi, the Lord our Shepherd, the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord who is always present. We talk about the ever-presence of God. You read through the Psalms, and David says that:

Psalm 139:8: “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.”

Whither shall I go from thy presence? You can’t. Jonah tried to run away from the presence of the Lord. It didn’t work. You can’t do it.

Genesis 49:10, we’re told that a descendant of Judah, a lawgiver, will come, who is Shiloh, or the Prince of Peace. Jesus said, “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” In Psalm 2, He is the Lord’s anointed. In Psalm 2:7 and 2:12, He is the Lord’s Son. He is the only begotten Son of God, and He is the one in whom all who trust will be blessed.

And then that brings us back to where we started here in Isaiah 7:14, where He says His name is Immanuel, which means God with Us. Then, in Isaiah 9:6, He is the child, the son, who is given unto us and who shall govern as a king. His name is Wonderful, and it is. His name is Counselor. We said a while ago you can come to Him for counsel at any time. He is the Mighty God. He is the Everlasting Father, and He is the Prince of Peace.

In Daniel 9:25, He is Messiah, meaning the Christ. By the way, back in Psalm 2, when it calls Him the Lord’s anointed, that’s the same word, He’s the Messiah.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 2:8 and James chapter 2:1, He is the Lord of Glory. In Revelation 19:16, He is King of kings and Lord of lords. In Hebrews, He is Prophet, Priest, and King. In Revelation 18:11, Revelation 21:16, and Revelation 22:13, He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The only way He can be the beginning and the end is to be everything and to be eternal.

Then we read to you earlier in Matthew 1:21, where His name is Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:15, he says:

1 Timothy 1:15: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

Why did He come to save sinners? Paul says, “I’m the chiefest of sinners.” He believed he was. He believed he was the worst sinner to ever live. I think some of us could give him some competition, but that’s what he said.

The Reason for the Season

Maybe you remember, maybe you don’t. Maybe this didn’t happen to you, but for many of you, I think it probably did. When you were young, you went to Sunday School, and they taught you to sing a song, and the song went like this, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in the sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior passed that way, he looked up in that tree. And He said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down for I’m going to your house to stay.’” How many of you remember that? Okay, I know what you’re thinking, “Well, I’ve heard better versions.” That’s okay.

That’s not the point. The point is that you get the story in mind. Now, that story is in Luke chapter 19, and after that story, right after that story, in verse 10 of Luke chapter 19, Jesus says:

Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

“For the Son of man” – talking about himself – “is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” That’s why He came. God came into this world to save lost mankind. That’s what we’re celebrating at Christmas time. That’s it.

I’ve mentioned this a few times. For a period of 12 years, I would teach a class in some of the aftercare programs, not during the school day but in the aftercare program in several of the elementary schools around here. And I was not allowed to preach the Word there. I would teach and then, at the end of every class, would sit everybody down and tell them a story.

For most of the students that was our favorite time of the class, story time. So, we’d tell them a story and tell them different stories. I told them about Isaac Newton. I told him about different great American heroes such as Alvin York and other people. When we get around the holidays, I’d tell them the stories of the holidays. I’d tell them the story of Hanukkah. I would tell them the story of other holidays.

One occasion I told the story of Christmas. I said this is what Christmas is about and why we have Christmas. And one little boy said Christmas is about Jesus. He was so surprised. He had never heard that before. He had no idea.

I’m going to tell you most of the world has no idea. They literally do not have any idea. They think about Santa Claus. They think Christmas is about the reindeer. Now, if you want to have reindeer, that’s fine. That’s not what it’s about. He thinks about giving presents. I like the idea of giving presents. I like to give presents, and I don’t mind getting them either. But the truth of the matter is, that’s not what it’s about.

It’s about the greatest gift in all the world. The greatest gift is when:

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Revelation 1:18 Jesus said, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

He is the resurrected one. He’s the one who was dead but is now alive, and He has conquered death. If you come to Him and put your faith and trust in Him, He’ll forgive your sins, and He’ll give you everlasting life. He’s promised to do that. Again, the name Jesus means Jehovah is Savior.

I’ve surprised people with some other things, and to be fair, some of these things were surprising to me when I first found them out. I was talking to a lady who recently had a son, and this is not recent. That boy is a grown man now, but she named her son Joshua. I told her, “You know that’s the same as the name Jesus.” It is. She had no idea. It is. It’s the same name. You see, Joshua is how you would say it in bringing it from Hebrew into English. Jesus is how you say it, bringing it from Greek into English. It’s the same name. Joshua is the name. Yeshua, Hosea, these are all variations of the same name.

I’d spent a year, a long time ago, back in about 1983 or four, somewhere back there, I spent a long time for my daily devotions looking up every variation of Jesus’ name in the Bible. It took me a year to do it. I made notes on every variation that’s there. You’d be amazed how many there are. His name is throughout the Bible.

Matthew 12:21: “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”

That’s all of us who are not of the nation of Israel. If you’re of the nation of Israel, you’re not a Gentile. If you’re not of the nation of Israel, you’re one of the Gentiles. That’s me, I’m one of them.

His Name Above All Others

Matthew 18:29, Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

John 16:24, He said, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

Do what? Pray in His name. When I pray, I pray in Jesus’ name. Why? Because He said to. I’ve gone to places and have been asked to pray. And they’ve asked me, “Could you possibly pray and not mention Jesus?” I’ve never done this. I haven’t. I’ve been tempted to do it. I’ve done other things, but I haven’t done this.

I’ve been tempted to say to that person, “So, you would like me to pray?” “Yes.” “But you don’t want me to mention Jesus.” “No.” “Okay. So, what would you like me to do? Would you like me to just stand up when it’s time and say, ‘May the force be with you.’ Because if I’m not praying to Jesus, to whom am I praying? Some unknown entity? Some force?” No. Jesus said, “Hitherto have you asked nothing in my name: ask and you shall receive, that you’re joy may be full.”

Acts 3:13-16 tells us there’s healing in Jesus’ name, and there is in Acts 4: 10-2 Christ the anointed one, the sent one, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Verse 12 is where it said, I quoted a while ago:

Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

There’s no other name through which you may be saved. But in that same passage, Acts 4:18, the apostles were forbidden to speak or to teach in the name of Jesus. Can I ask you a question? Why is that a problem? Do you know, in society, and it would have been this way back in the New Testament times as well, if you want to talk to people about Jupiter, you could. Nobody gets upset with you, and today, if you want to talk about Jupiter, everybody’s fine with that, no problem. If you want to talk about Krishna, everybody’s happy with that. Do you want to talk about Vishnu? Everybody’s happy with that. No problem, that’s your right, it’s your freedom, do it. I’m not saying it’s not your right. If you want to talk about Allah, go ahead. if you want to talk about, again, Zeus, go ahead.

So, why is it a problem when you want to talk about Jesus? If you want to talk about Buddha, nobody has a problem with that. As a matter of fact, they may think you’re more educated. So, why is it a problem to talk about Jesus? Why is Jesus’ name the problem? I’m going to tell you why. Because Jesus is the one true God, that’s why all those others are no gods at all, none. You see, there’s no opposition to the gods. There’s opposition to God.

In Acts 5:40, they were forbidden again, and they were rejoicing to be counted worthy to suffer for His name and they ceased not to preach in His name.

On one occasion, I was I was at a large banquet. I won’t go into detail on it. I met a very famous individual. If I mention his name, many of you would not recognize it, but I think I’ll mention it. His name was Edgar Mitchell. Raise your hand if you know who that is. Yeah, I didn’t think so. Raise your hand if you know who Buzz Aldren was. Okay. Who’s Buzz Aldrin? Okay, astronaut. Best known for what? Okay, who was the first man on the moon? Okay, Neil Armstrong. Good, very good.

Edgar Mitchell, whose name you don’t know, was the sixth man to walk on the moon. Nobody remembers the sixth guy. You remember the first guy and the second guy, but nobody remembers the sixth guy. You know what? He used to live right down here in Boca Raton. He lived right here, your neighbor, and you didn’t know it.

I met him at this banquet, and at the banquet, I was asked by an official to have prayer, “But we don’t want you mentioning Jesus.” Now I thought about it, thought, “What am I going to do?” I’ll tell you what I did. You may not agree with it, and it may not be what you do. Here’s what I did. I never underscore the word, never read prayers. I just pray when I am asked to pray. I just pray it. It’s talking to the Lord.

On this occasion I decided to read a prayer. I took a book up with me, and when it was time to pray, I read the prayer word for word, and the prayer closed in Jesus’ name. That official who had asked me not to mention Jesus, he wasn’t happy about that, and he came to me after the function, and by the way, it wasn’t Edgar Mitchell. He said this just to make that clear, but this official came to me and said, “I thought I talked to you about that.” I said, “Yes, sir, you did.” He said, “What were you doing?” I said, “I was reading the prayer of George Washington.” He said, “Oh well, you might have said that.” Didn’t think I had to.

Folks, what I’m telling you is that it is not wrong to pray in Jesus’ name. It is right to pray in Jesus’ name. His is the name that is above every name, as a matter of fact. Ephesians 1:15- 21 says His name is above every name. Philippians chapter 2:10-11 it says:

Philippians 2:10: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;”

Philippians 2:11: “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

That day is coming. In Hebrews 1:4, His name is more excellent than the names of the angels. “What are you saying, preacher?” Here’s what I’m saying: the name of the Lord is holy. The name of the Lord is Holy. We ought not to take it in vain. The name of the Lord is the name of our Savior.

I was out washing a car in front of the house one day, and two ladies came down the street and they stopped. They wanted to talk, and that was fine, and they said to me, she says, “We believe that God has a personal name and that he wants us to call him by that name.” I said, “Well, that’s good. I believe that also.” She, they said, “You do?” I said, “Yes. I believe His name is Jesus.” And they said, “You don’t believe that, do you?” I said, “Yes, ma’am, I certainly do. Now, if you’ll wait here a minute, let me go in the house to get my Bible. I’d be glad to tell you about it.” They didn’t want to do that. I’m not making fun of those ladies.

I’m telling you how this world does not understand who it is that came at Christmas time. They do not understand that He is God with Us, that God came into this world, the Creator and King of the universe was here.

Immanuel Was Here

I want to read one more passage to you, and we’ll be finished this morning. I’m reading out of 1 John, and I want you to listen carefully to what it says in 1 John chapter 1. In 1 John chapter 1, John is writing, obviously, and I want you to listen to what he had to say. As you listen to what John has to say, think about who John is in the Gospels. You read about Jesus and His 12 disciples, but there are three names that you read more often than all the other disciples. Some of the disciples are only mentioned a couple of times, but there are three names you see again and again and again. They are Peter, James, and John. John was with Him and here’s what John has to say about Jesus. He says about Jesus in 1 John chapter 1:1:

1 John 1:1: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;”

“That which was from the beginning,” – what beginning? In the beginning, when God created the Heaven and the Earth, that beginning. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,” –  we heard Him, “which we have seen with our eyes,” – we saw Him, “ which we have looked upon,” – we watched Him, “and our hands have handled of the Word of life,” – we touched Him. With all of our senses, we heard Him, we saw Him, we touched Him, we watched Him, and we observed Him. He was here. He was here.

1 John 1:2: “(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

“For the life was [made], was manifested.” Manifest in the Bible means made visible. Life was made visible. “For the life was manifested, and we have seen it,” – we have seen life, “and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father,” – and was manifested, made visible, unto us.

1 John 1:3: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

John says He was here. We saw Him, we heard Him, we touched Him. He was here. Who was? Immanuel, God with Us. When we read through the Bible, it helps us to understand the meaning of these different names of Jesus.

But my whole point today is to get you to understand who came at Christmas time. What are we really celebrating? We are celebrating the fact that God came into this world. We’re celebrating the fact that God so loved this world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever, anybody, who believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

I know some of you think, “You already said that.” I’m going to say it again. “Whosoever believes in Him should not perish,” – you won’t die, “but you’ll have everlasting life.” Therefore, we are to believe in His name. We are to pray in His name. We are to trust in His name. We are to teach in His name. We are to preach in His name. We are to hope in His name.

And if I can’t do anything else today, I want to give you hope. I want to give you hope based on the fact that God, the Creator, was here because He loves you, and He is coming again. Jesus said in John chapter 14, “I will come again.” That’s a pretty clear statement, “I will come again.” So, we should do all to the glory of His name.

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Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for blessing us. Thank you for the time we’ve had together this morning. Lord, it is my prayer that as we come to you, we will focus upon your name. But moreover, will focus on the fact that you are Immanuel. You are God with Us. God, who came to live with man. God, who endured the things that men endure. God, who suffered and paid the penalty for all the sins of all mankind for all time at the cross, who was buried and rose again on the third day. As Paul writes:

1 Corinthians 15:1: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;”

1 Corinthians 15:2: “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”

1 Corinthians 15:3: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”

1 Corinthians 15:4: “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

The same name writer wrote:

Romans 10:13: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Father, help us. Help us to focus upon Jesus. Help us to tell others about Jesus. Help us to make Jesus the center of it all.

Our heads are bowed, and our eyes are closed. We’ll finish our prayer in just a moment. Before we do, I want to ask you a couple of questions. Head bowed, eyes closed, nobody looking around. Don’t be concerned about what others are doing. Just consider your own relationship with God.

Has there been a time and a place in your life that you can remember? It does not need to have been here, does not have to have been in a church, but is there a time and a place in your life that you can remember where you understood that you, like all the rest of us, have sin? That is, you violated the will and the Word of God. You understand that that makes you, like all the rest of us, a sinner, and the sinners are separated from God forever.

But, that God loves you, and He sent His only begotten Son into this world in the form of a human being to pay for the sins that I have done, that you have done, and that the whole world has committed. He paid for them at the cross. You understood that. You understood that He rose from the grave and that He’s alive today, and you trusted Him to forgive your sins, and save you, and give you everlasting life. Have you ever come to that point?

If you have, you ought to praise God. I praise God for you. But if you’re not 100% sure of that, if you’re not 100% sure that you’ve trusted in the ever-living one, you’ve trusted in the sinless Son of God who loves you and gave himself for you, I invite you to do that right now.

Open your heart and call on Him. Say, “Lord Jesus, I believe. I believe that you are the Son of God. I believe that you are Immanuel. I believe that you paid for our sins at the cross. I believe you paid for my sins at the cross. I believe that you rose again, and I’m trusting you right now, right here to forgive me, to save me, to give me everlasting life. Thank you, Lord Jesus.” Now, maybe you followed me in that prayer, maybe you didn’t, but you can still call upon the name of the Lord. If you need help with that, say, “Preacher sounds good to me, but I don’t understand it.”

We’re going to sing a hymn. I’m going to leave the platform. You come down, meet me there. We’ll have somebody take a Bible and show you what it means to be saved. We’re not asking you to join anything or sign anything. We just want you to know how you can be saved.

Christian friend, celebrate anew, the coming of our God into this world, and understand how much He loves you and He didn’t just love you thousands of years ago, He loves you today. Whatever problem you’re struggling with, whatever you’re going through, He’s there with you.

Lord, bless now as we sing this hymn of invitation. If there are people who have a spiritual need and they need help, they need prayer, they need help, they need counsel, they have a question, Lord, this is their time to come. There’s a decision they need to make. This is the time to make it.

Father, bless and move in this invitation time. We do pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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