Celebration of Christ

This evening, we are here to remember the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and to worship and adore Him. We are going to celebrate the coming of the Son of God. It’s like a Happy Birthday Jesus, party.

Jesus came to be known by many names. Prior to His birth, when He came to this world as a Human. Fully God and Fully man, the Prophets gave Him names such as: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, While He was here on earth He was described either by others or by Himself as The Word, The Light, The Lamb of God, The Bread of Life, The Good Shepherd, The Way, The Door and many more.

In the time after His ascension he was also given many other names and titles,

The Almighty, Our Peace, Our Hope, The Rock, Supreme Creator, The Great High Priest and many more.

I’d like to ask that join me tonight in thinking about just a few of the other names that were given to Him.

First, Consider with me the name that Isaiah the prophet spoke of in .

Immanuel= God with Us

Isaiah 7:

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

This name helped the people of Israel to understand that God desired to dwell among them. He desired to have an intimate relationship with them by coming to earth to be with them. That same truth is extended to us as well for Immanuel made it very clear while He was on earth that He desired to make a way for men to spend eternity with Him. He told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. He was not simply looking to dwell among them for just over 30 years, which He spent on earth as the God Man. God’s sovereign plan was that those who believe in Him would be reunited with Him in Heaven.

This prophecy was given to the people of Israel

The next name that I’d like to consider for a few moments is the name “Jesus”

Jesus= The Lord Saves / Savior

Luke 1:30 ESV

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Luke 1:30–31 ESV

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

Luke 1:30

Jesus is a transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means Savior. The Holy Spirit made it very clear to Mary and Joseph that this new baby whom they were instructed to name Jesus, would be the Savior, who would become the Ruler of the House of David (God’s people).

Matthew 1:20–23 ESV

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).

He didn’t come to save them from Roman oppression as many people thought He was intended to do, He would save them from their sins.

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 ESV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This death that is spoken of here is not a physical death but a spiritual death, meaning a separation from God.

And Christ made it possible for us to be at PEACE with our Heavenly Father, despite our sin and disobedience.

Messiah- Anointed / Chosen One /God’s appointed One

Luke 1:31–32 ESV

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Luke 1:

The first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of the one who is called Jesus Christ. Christ = Messiah

This idea of Christ being the Anointed One of God is a huge deal. All throughout the Old Testament God related to His people through one person or another who was anointed to be a representative of God to man and man to God. Jesus Christ from before the beginning of time was destined to be THE MESSIAH, THE CHOSEN ONE, who would crush the head of the serpent, and reconcile us to God by His coming to earth as a man, living a sinless life, dying a horrendous death and raising to life three days later.

The death was as I said horrendous in a number of ways. It was horrendous in the physical sense. He did not die in his sleep. We was not given a sedative to make Him unconscious and then put to death. He was brutally beaten and tortured by a ruthless group of soldiers, who were experts in this sort of horrific crucifixion.

Isaiah 53:5 ESV

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

However, more horrendous than the physical aspect is the spiritual aspect of Jesus Christ’s death. This is what Christ cried out about on the cross as He neared death and said, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.

This is not a pleasant thing to discuss and some of you may wonder why I would bring this up during a sermon titled, Celebration of Christ. This is not a topic one would typically bring up at a party but it is a critical ingredient into our ability to celebrate Christ and Christmas.

Yes Jesus, Savior, Immanuel, God with Us, The Anointed, Messiah, Chosen One of God came to earth and was born as baby, This we celebrate! But how empty and void will our celebration be if we do not fully comprehend and recognize the complete story of His life, His death and yes, the best news of all, His resurrection.

He Saves, because He has WON! He conquered sin and death so that the righteousness of God could be revealed, So that we could believe and trust and know the JUSTICE, wrath and judgement of God, which cannot be separated from The Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love of God. His grace is truly amazing and we celebrate tonight and always because of The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

Hope, Joy, Peace, Love are all found in HIM.

This is the Pre-Pre party.

We are here two days before Christmas, celebrating the coming of the Messiah, the Savior.

Christmas Day most of us will again celebrate. Some of us will do that with family and friends, others may do that alone, but we all have a reason to celebrate.

What a shame it would be if we go out from this place and are drawn away by the frills and the pleasures of this world, to be drawn away from this celebration of God’s most precious gift, and become distracted by the hustle and bustle of our lives.

As you celebrate this Christmas, I want to encourage you to enjoy the many blessings that God has given, but most importantly remember even Christmas day is just a “pre-party”

The real celebration takes place in Heaven. A celebration that goes on forever, celebrating with Christ, in His presence, together with Jesus our Savior. That is when we will enjoy being joined together with God for eternity.

We often greet people with a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I’d like to suggest we have much more to celebrate than a Happy New YEAR.

We should greet one another with a MERRY CHRISTMAS! AND A HAPPY ETERNITY!