Jesus: the Name above all names

“What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” A.W. Tozer

Two of our girls are here tonight with their husbands, and although I don’t want to embarrass them, I want you Dad’s to know a saying that I used with my daughters, when they would have an interest in a specific young man.

Honey— The most important thing about this guy is who he says that Jesus is. That’s it for me and your mom. The most important thing for me.

Have you ever thought about that. Tozer seems to focus in on something with this quote. Who do we say God is? That is certainly the most important thing, isn’t it>?

Think about this- What you call someone really is an indication of your relationship to them.

If someone calls me on the phone and asks for MR. GRIMS. They don’t know me, they are just mispronouncing my name on a script. If you’re in my family, you might call me J.R., or little Charlie. If an old friend from College calls me on the phone I hear— CHUCK. Ashlie and others throughout the region sometimes call me Coach.

Three young ladies in this world grew up calling me Dad, and there’s even one person here tonight that affectionately calls me, believe it or not, “Jeeves”.— My wife Wendy.

Once upon a time, there was a lovely young girl named Wendy Renee’ Davis — she walked down a beautiful isle one day quite a few years ago, and stood at an alter with me— and she became a Grimes. She took my last name and everything that was mine became hers, and everything that was hers became mine. Unfortunately for her, that actually wasn’t very much. But when you become a Christian, and you believe in Jesus, you take on his name. That means that whatever is His, can become yours. What He is, we now have access to.

Jesus has several names in Scripture. Jim helped us by reading a few of them tonight as a reminder.

You see there is a lot that I can tell about our relationship by the name you call me. The question tonight is, what name does your heart call Jesus? Do you know Jesus as Emmanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father? Prince of Peace Your redeemer, your savior? The Great I am.

By the way— I’m not asking if you just believe these things— but rather have you claimed these things in your heart? Have you believed in his name? A powerful verse just precedes the John passage that Jim read:

John 1:12 NIV

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Believing in his name, means to take his name for your own. Taking what is in those names, and grasping it, and claiming it as yours.

Jesus is all of these things in his very nature. But He won’t be these things to you, until you choose receive them.

This Christmas is a bright and shining sign for you to believe on Jesus. For unto YOU a son is given, for unto YOU a child is born. Will you receive him, will you believe on his name.

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, tonight can be the night that you choose Him. Christmas 2021. That happens through a simple prayer where you tell him how you feel. You tell him you’re sorry for the sins that you’ve committed, and that you want him to be the Lord of your life.

Through all the chaos and unrest in our world today, no matter what you’ve done, or where you’ve been--the most important thing about you is where you stand with Jesus. I hope that you know that you are loved deeply by God, and that he has a plan for your life. He sees you, he knows you, and he wants you to call him your friend. Jesus came to provide you a peace that is beyond all understanding.

We will end our service tonight in a way that has become a wonderful tradition. We encourage you to come forward here and take one of our candles, parents you can help your little ones if you choose or they can help you with yours, and then create a large circle here around the sanctuary. Silent Night is a profound song which encapsulates our Christmas celebration.

Silent Night song

I hope that you have a wonderful evening and a great day tomorrow. Praise the Lord.