"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet." - a quote from Romeo & Juliet, a play by William Shakespeare.
One of the most challenging tasks for would-be parents is to choose a name for their child. You know, we really had a hard time choosing the name for our son --- Ram… Ramil. It’s not easy to choose a name. Probably some of your parents had a hard time. And when they finally gave you the best name they can think of, we somehow replace it with a nickname -- Panfilo – became Jun. Bonifacio – became Bon. Josefina became Jojie. Protacio became Tassy. You know as a pastor, I am pretty good in remembering the names of people in the church. But I am really bad in remembering faces – I’m one of those people who eyes are not keen enough to recognize faces quickly. One time in Guildford Mall, I saw an old lady coming towards me, I thought she was Nanay Ising Franco and with all smiles I greeting her and said “Kumusta Po ‘Nay?” and she replied “mabuti naman” but when she went past me, I can hear her companion asking her “sino yun?” and she said “ewan ko!” So don’t feel bad if I ignored you in the Mall… chances are, I haven’t recognized you.
Names are very important to God.
• In Genesis 1, He gave names to His creation, like “day,” “night,” “sky,” “land,” etc.
• In Genesis 2, He gave the name “Adam” to the man He created and He asked him to give names to all living creatures as well – this includes Eve
• Throughout the Bible, He even changed the names of different important people: Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Saul to Paul
Names are very important to God because His relationship with us is personal. He knows us intimately.
Psalm 139:13 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.”
Jesus Himself said that “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Jesus also said of a good shepherd, "The sheep hears his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name…." Then He told His disciples "I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and they know me."
The title of our message is MIGHTY GOD. This is the second part of our Christmas Sermon series (4 sermons starting last week culminating on our joint service). By the way, just a quick note about the first name of the Messiah. The King James Version of the Bible shows two names: Wonderful, Counsellor. While the more contemporary translations like the NIV, NLT shows it as Wonderful Counsellor as one. Bible scholars believe that it is more correct to use Wonderful Counsellor as one name because it is consistent with the following names: Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. All these names have two key words.
Please stand and we shall read once again from Isaiah 9:6
Let us pray:
Father God in heaven, we pray for your wisdom as we once again gather together and study your Word. Your Words are lamp on feet and light to our paths. May we live according to Your Words. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Based on the verses we read, the Lord also gave through the prophet Isaiah some of the names of the coming Messiah and today like what I said earlier, we are going to discuss the second one: MIGHTY GOD!
– with the shepherds, the angels, the wise men, Mary and Joseph and of course, the humble baby in a manger.
As a human baby, Jesus appeared ordinary and helpless as a child.
King Herod, knowing the prophecy was threatened by His birth…
He had to be protected by His parents especially when the mad King Herod ordered to kill all babies during His time.
He had to be brought by His parents to Egypt to protect him.
We love to tell and re-tell the Christmas Story. We become too familiar with it. We make Christmas plays, musicals, it was even made to a movie. The story of the Nativity. Jesus Christ -- baby in a manger, receiving gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Angels and shepherds. Sometimes it becomes more like a story in children’s books. Sometimes it becomes more like bed time story or a fairy tale like unicorns, pixie dusts and tinker bells.
I like how the gospel writer Luke puts it when Jesus was about to be crucified. He said He could have called 12 legions of Angels to help him out. Even the devil when he was tempting Jesus in the wilderness was challenging His power. The sisters Mary and Martha was crying with Him and telling Him that if He was a bit early their brother Lazarus wouldnt have died.
Do we have any idea how powerful Jesus is?
When He said all power and authority under heaven and on earth was given to me -- do we really know what that means?
When the Apostle John said that in Him all things were created and all things were created by Him and He was with God from the beginning… do we really know what that means?
LESSON POINTS
Let us start with our first Lesson Point.
How extensive is the mighty power of Christ?
Hebrews 1:3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.
John 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made
Colossians 1:16-17 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Matthew 28:18 Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
With Christ, we are talking of a very extensive & infinite power. His power has no boundaries. Yes, when He was here on earth, there are things that He, upon His own volition, did not opt to know. Like when is the day of His second coming… He said only the Father knows. So maybe you will say --- Jesus was not too powerful eh? But no… Jesus opted not to exercise His divinity in certain occasions while He was here on earth in order to completely fulfil the purpose of the Father for Him to do. It does not show limitation of His power. It only shows His submissive heart to the will of the Father. Jesus did not need to show off His power in order to redeem mankind from our sins!
They say the “proof of the pudding is in the eating.” A basketball player can tell his coach that he can be the best player of the game – but he needs to prove it first in order to convince his coach.
Anybody can say he’s a great singer but in order for us to believe that, we need to hear him sing first.
What is the evidence of Jesus’ power?
- We have read the Gospels. We have read the Epistles. Jesus taught us from the Beatitudes, Sermon on the Mount, from the Upper Room. Jesus was only twelve and He was already teaching in the synagogue.
2. His power is evident in His miracles (Matt. 8:26)
- He turned water into wine. He fed the multitude. He made the lame walk. He made the blind see. He walked on water. He calmed the sea. He drove out demons. He raised up the dead. He comforted the broken hearted.
3. His power is evident when He endured temptation.
- Jesus was tempted and yet He did not sin. How many of us fell into temptations several times? Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness and yet He showed him his mighty power by being able resist the most alluring temptation ever presented to any man.
4. His power is evident when He suffered and died for our sins and resurrected on the 3rd day.
- Jesus power was evident in His willingness to suffer for our sins, His willingness to die to pay the penalty of our sins. His ability to conquer death by resurrecting on the third day.
- Jesus promises to redeem our sins and He did it. He died on the cross for me and you.
- Jesus promises eternal life and He has done it! He has done it for me, He has done it others… HE CAN SURELY DO IT FOR YOU!
- Jesus promises to be there for us, when we are weary and heavily laden… He wants us to come to Him. He will never leave nor forsake us.
The extent and evidence of the mighty power of Christ will not mean anything to us if we don’t experience that power ourselves. We must experience that power because that power can change our lives. This is the reason why our lesson points are three items. It’s not one or the other. It’s a package deal and the most important point is the last one. We need to experience the power of Jesus in our lives. This is the application part.
CONCLUSION
Church, Christ did not stay as a baby or as a young boy! He is way far ahead of that notion that He was there, in that manger, helpless and humble and poor and powerless. NO! He is not just Santo Nino… He is the Mighty God. He is the El Gibbor, He is Elohim Gibor, the one true Mighty God.
We need to understand the extent, see the evidence and personally experience His power!
Maybe for some of us, celebrating Christmas is just going through the motion. Just getting by the holiday season. In fact, some of us cannot even say “Merry Christmas” because we go by what most people say that we should be “politically correct” and not offensive to others. Others are offended when we greet them Merry Christmas. I am offended if you greet me Happy Holidays --- don't we both have the right to be offended and don't we both have the right to have our rights respected? Christmas 2015 should mean a lot more for us, especially “us” who call ourselves Christians. We should be confident enough to understand the extent of the power of Christ. Our eyes should be clear enough to see the evidence of His power. And our hearts should be ready enough to personally experience the power of Jesus in our lives.
A rich young man once approached Jesus and asked Him… “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied to him and said “go and sell your possessions and give it to the poor and follow me.” The rich young man was stunned! He did not know how to respond. He turned his back on Jesus and he was sad because he did not expect the response he got from Jesus.
He must have known miracles of Jesus and that was probably the reason why he was there. He heard about it. But he was not willing to experience the power of Christ behind those miracles. He cannot give up whatever he has because maybe he was not truly convinced about the extent of Jesus power.
What about you?
Prayer
Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life. Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:
Father God, I confess all my sins to you today. Please forgive me. Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ. I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord. May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen.
The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCCC Richmond during its service on
Sunday, December 6, 2015
I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors. I also apologize if I have missed acknowledging or making proper references to my sources, if any. as it is purely unintentional.
If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:
www.wordchristiancommunity.com
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