What a Name: Jesus

Theme:  We are in a series this Christmas entitled: What a Name!

Truly Identifying the names of Jesus or the references of Jesus

Last week we discussed that He is Messiah…

We will be looking at Immanuel, Prince of Peace, and so many other names…

Today I want to address his earthly name:  Jesus!

2 Cor 5:17-20

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 

ESV

Luke 19:10

10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 

NKJV

Matt 1:18-25

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. 

ESV

1. Seek and to Save
   1. Jesus came to do more than just take us to Heaven…He came to do the will of the Father…
   2. So what is the Will of the Father…”to seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
      1. So that should make you ask…” what, not just who, was lost.”  
      2. We know humanity was lost at the fall…
      3. But that isn’t all that was lost when Adam sinned…the Kingdom was lost…the influence of spreading the Garden throughout the earth was lost…so Jesus has come to expand Heaven’s reach, to expand the influence of the Kingdom of Heaven back on Earth.
   3. When you pray, pray this way: “Our Father (relationship) which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. (Worship) Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done. (Kingdom of God came to invade earth.) …
   4. Jesus came to establish His Kingdom one heart, one person and one family at a time… (Lives Changed, Relationships Restored and Destiny’s discovered.)

Transition:  So, the ministry he has given to all of us is the ministry of reconciliation…

Introduction:  

Names matter….it is the earliest way we are identified.  

Names in the Bible really matter…who names you matters even more so…because it not only bestowed identity but also destiny was shut up in a persons name…another reason it was important who named you is…the person who named you, you have access to all they have. 

Transition:  Jesus’ name was given to Him by Heaven, not His earthly mom and dad…they announced Jesus’ name, but they did not originate the name.

Why in the World would God interrupt time and space to be concerned about a Name.  

It should be enough that the only Begotten Son of God is going to be Born in the World…So why is the Name so Important. 

1. Jesus
   1. Jesus means:  Savior, Rescuer, Deliverer.
   2. The Old Testament or Hebrew annunciation of the name Jesus is Joshua…
      1. Joshua was the one who delivered his people out of the wilderness, out of their wanderings, out of their searching…and He delivered them into the Promised Land…then helped them establish victory over their enemies that were living in their promised land…
      2. What you are delivered into is as important as what you have been delivered out of…
         1. Don’t just come out of your Egypt…
         2. Go all the Way and Step into your Promise
      3. Joshua led the way into Blessing…
      4. So, when God was ready to name His only Begotten son, He named him Joshua (Hebrew), Jesus (Greek), Jesus’ (Latino)
2. The Reason
   1. The primary reason why God became a man and named His son Jesus is He wanted to Rescue people from their sin.
   2. The reason Jesus doesn’t rescue us from a bunch of other things is that we won’t allow Him to rescue us from the main thing…Sin
      1. We want to be rescued and delivered from the circumstances….
      2. Just leave the sin, the cause, the central thing alone
      3. What Jesus wants us to understand is “He desires to deal with the central things of our lives” 
   3. This is like Jesus dealing and saving us from Sin….
      1. We want Him to be free to fix (it) my circumstances as long as he doesn’t deal with that (sin.)
   4. We have a world today that calls on Jesus to fix the:
      1. Racial Problems
      2. The Economy
      3. Fix my marriage
      4. Fix my family
      5. Fix our Nation
      6. We call on Jesus for everything except the main thing…and it is the main thing that needs to be addressed…SIN!
   5. When we call on Jesus, we are truly asking Him to deal with the Root not just the Fruit of the Problem
      1. The Cause (sin) must be dealt with at the root.
3. The Nature of God
   1. I’m not sure most Christians understand the nature of God…
      1. We think God responds the way we would, we think God thinks as we think…we even think our ways are God’s ways…
   2. God lives in His Nature which is perfection
      1. Everything about God is perfect
      2. So, as it pertains to God’s standards…all sin has the same consequences
      3. God cannot and does not dumb down his standards…to accommodate our sin.
      4. So, He must address the issue at hand whether Big or Small…all sin leads to death.
   3. So, we call on him to rescue us from our circumstances…. we also need to ask Him, is there a sin issue that must be addressed.
      1. Fix your relationships…is there a sin issue that needs to be addressed
         1. Selfishness
         2. Pride
         3. Jealousy
      2. Fix your money issues…is there a sin issue that must be addressed.
         1. Covetousness
         2. Pride
         3. Greed
         4. Do You Tithe? 

Transition:  If we don’t allow Jesus to deal with the sin issue it’s like having cancer and expecting Tylenol to fix it…

1. The Right Solution is Critical
   1. So, locked up in the job description of Jesus is to address and deal with the contamination of sin
      1. Romans 3:23 – the wages of sin (it is not quantified as big or small…it is simply the same wage for all sin) is death…”
      2. Death means – separation, not the succession of life
   2. If we don’t address the root, we’ll talk about issues forever with no resolve:
      1. Jesus came to resolve the sin issue…knowing that will begin to resolve the other issues….

Jesus Came To Fix Causes

1. 1. Sin’s Goal is always the same
      1. Death 
         1. Separation from God
         2. Separation from Others
         3. Separation from Family
         4. Separation from Spouse
         5. Here’s one you won’t believe…Separation from You.
      2. But to the Rescued, the Delivered, to those who are Saved…
         1. Jesus has defeated Death for you…
         2. Matter of fact to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord…
            1. To a Christian…I’m not even sure you’ll know you have died before you enter the Presence of the Lord Jesus’ 
2. Importance of the Name
   1. Scripture tells us – “There is no other name other than the Name of Jesus whereby men and women can be saved.” 
   2. Phil 2:9-12

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. 

NKJV

1. 1. Have you ever been around Name Droppers…
   2. Let me tell you there is no better name that you can drop…than the name Jesus
      1. In Prayer, Drop his name
      2. When facing a sin issue, drop his name
      3. When facing a challenge, drop his name
      4. When dealing with a devil…drop his name
   3. But if we are going to drop his name, we must be willing to do two things:
      1. Take a Knee
      2. When you are taking that knee…Open your mouth and Confess He is Lord.