Naming the Baby

Have your Bibles with you, and I'll ask you turn with if you would, to Matthew chapter 1. We look at verses 18 through 25 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 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame. Resolve to divorce her quietly as he considered these things will hold an angel 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel oil which means God with us.

Joseph Watson sleep. He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus is pray.

Heavenly father, we thank you and praise you for this precious passage of Scripture that we use at this particular time of the year as we celebrate your incarnation.

Heavenly father, we would just ask now that you give us guidance and direction through the word, that we might better understand exactly what happened and that is the result of that we might love you with a deeper intensity. We might worship you with a deep, deeper and greater heart, Lord, that we might understand the payment that you made that we might have life and have it abundantly got us and direct us to the passage tonight get the praise, honor and glory for what you do for us this in Jesus holy and precious name we pray. Amen. You may be seated in the United States 10,379 babies are born every single day, 250 babies are born across the world every single minute. That means every single day across the world 360,000 babies were born at the main hospital effort Presbyterian in Charlotte when a baby is born. They play a lullaby across their sound system so I can go over they are in and be distant was somebody in about a hours time I hear that Lola Bob three or four different type.

What is that mean that means in this particular area of our world full babies had just entered the world.

Name the United States, the baby must be given a name before that baby leaves the hospital. The parents do not have an option. They don't have a choice on whether to wait and hold that name back they have to sign the birth certificate has to have that baby's name on it before they walk out that door when I go to visit the family use.

I just had a baby first thing I ask is how's mama Dylan has her health as a baby doing as a health second last thing I ask is this. Once the baby's name the unit with a lot of families usually met asked that because they know immediately what that babies names. Nobody is going be a junior legal name that boy after day and and sometimes they babies are named after military heroes or sports figures my sons have told me often that there really glad that they didn't come along later in in life because if I had that I might name them Dabo. After Clinton's football coach and I probably would have, but you know he also has to be. You have to be careful with names. Don't you if your last name is Dover. You don't want to name your kid being because can you imagine the the hard time they did that kid in elementary school of his name, bend over and be tough. Some people name their children a scriptural nine the name Caleb is a scriptural and I love that name means a bulldog stick to witness it means that one who will not quit one who perseveres.

Love that name. Love the name Elijah at namely means my God is Jehovah named David means beloved are some biblical names you might not want to name your kid night ball would not be a good name to name your son night ball was the husband of Abigail and his name describes his character's name means full AA means curly shipmates stupid and hardheaded and were name your son night ball and if you got a daughter you know when they were just a bail, Jezebel would be a bad name. She is the most wicked person we see in the entire problem and yet you might have a pet snake that you might want to name Jezebel but but not your daughter. Often times in Scripture names are given as a prophecy so a person will name make a baby a particular name and and then they are supposed to grow up to be that particular person and so I did not know what my name meant.

Cindy did not know what her name meant and so before we got married we decided to check amount. I found out my name Douglas means seeker of light. Her face via means bearer of light. I said see you didn't have a chance tonight, we are looking at the greatest name that it ever been given and that name is the name Jesus.

Paul said in and of Philippians chapter 2 verses nine through 11 therefore God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name, that the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every chick confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, got four points only share with you this evening .1 is the name Jesus was a chosen name a chosen name's look at verses 18 to 21 again 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, and the Holy Spirit and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame.

Resolve to divorce her quietly but as he considered these things, behold, an angel 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. You know the story, Joseph found himself in a major crisis. He had just discovered that his betrothed wife, Mary was expecting baby he just found that out. This was his betrothed wife, which is more than just a fiancé back and in those times and in the Jewish culture. When the person was get a couples getting married. They went through a betrothed full. For an entire year. During that entire year there was to be no marital intimacy as they were getting prepared for the for the wedding for the marriage and if you were to decide that you gonna break up during that year.

It was such a binding commitment that you would have to go through a legal divorce, and in order to break that marriage apart.

Joseph is absolutely shocked beyond belief when he finds out that Mary his espoused wife is is with child.

He's he's just absolutely shocked about this and he knows he is not the father name knows.

Also, the estate is because of a spouse wife is a godly woman and that she loves him. And so he's thinking what in the world was going on. His mind is just acquiring pieces has a Roman soldier attacked my wife. Is this how this went. Or maybe my wife is is a hypocrite and name and maybe she just it was putting all my errors and trying to appear to be godly when she was really promiscuous. Maybe steak and will maybe some scoundrel attacked her and this was the result of what this scoundrel did. He doesn't know exactly what happened, but he knows this.

Mary is expecting a baby and he is not the father was trying to consider his options, what can he do one of the things that he could do was to have her stone to death, but he loves her and he's not vindictive they could never do that. And so he comes up with a another option and that option is that he can just leave they can go find another city to live the end and just walk away from the situation but he knows that if he does that it's going to put a bad mark by his name and and and ruin his reputation and he will look like a deadbeat, irresponsible father. He doesn't want that.

The third option is that he could just divorce Mary privately and say you go your way and I'll go my way. That's probably the best thing we can do and so these consider the options.

He believes that's the best way to go. Finally lays down to sleep as he tries to sleep that night. He does fall asleep and all of a sudden, in his dream, Gabriel.

The angel appears to him.

He's asleep but is more alert than he's ever been an angel states and when the angel speaks he has Joseph full attention and the angel says fear not for your wife is not being unfaithful to you. She is not cheated on you.

She is not deceived you, she is indeed a virgin. She is God's chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, the Christ, the chosen one. How did this happen. The Holy Spirit came upon her and and and she conceived and is going to have this son, this baby has no earthly father. This baby is the son of God. God's chosen Mary to carry the son of God in her one God's chosen Mary to other to love her heat first him to be with him as a mom and then the angel Gabriel says to Joseph God has chosen you to be his earthly father.

You are going to be accused of fornication you gonna be accused of being immoral when you were not in this son that you will be raising is going to be called an illegitimate child is this going to be tough and you get.

I have to stand strong you have to not worry about what people say you can have to to be the man you must love this child is your own.

You must teach them the word of God. You must teach him how to work you you must let him know that there was a reason that the heavenly father chose you to be the earthly father and you must give them a name and that name is Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins puts the name Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua that word Yeshua in the Hebrew is looking down into two other smaller names and ends up that name is Jehovah Ya shop.

The name Jehovah means the eternal God, the self existent God the one who is holy and righteous.

The name Josh means Savior protector deliver defender and provider put those names together. Yeshua Jehovah Ya shop. He is the eternal God, the self existent God the one who is our Savior, protector defender deliver and provider. That's who we is his name describes his character is what Paul meant when he said, for God has highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name, since Eric Sinclair Ferguson had some good insight into this, he said most of us discover at some point in our lives what our parents gave us our name in later years, no doubt, that conversation also took place in the home of the Nazareth carpenter prances a pulse from work on an oxen yoked one day Joseph took the opportunity to explain to Jesus what happened. He needed to know that his name was not the choice of his parents godly chosen it for him because he was God's chosen one, and God had planned his destiny calling Jesus because he will save his people from their sins that God had planned his destiny in advance becomes clear from the very beginning the first two chapters of his gospel. Matthew mentions five occasions when Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies when he was too young to have any choice in the matter by point number two is the life of Jesus was a chosen life. Verse 21 through 23.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus free will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel well, which means God with us until there so many in our Christian world. The day you will either get angry or defensive or confused when they hear about the doctrine of foreordination or predestination, and immediately they conjure up these thoughts in their minds that what this means is that the world is full of nothing but just mindless robots and these mindless robots never use their brain and they are not responsible for what they do folks take a look at Jesus, and you won't believe that for Jesus was the chosen son of God.

He believes that and that motivated him to know that he was the prophesied he was the, the, a predestined for known son of God and 750 years before he was born.

His birth was prophesied. 750 years before he was born it was told that he would be born of a virgin 720 years before he was born he was told by it. Was told by Michael, the prophet that he would be born in a Certain Pl. in Bethlehem.

As you go through the Gospels, you will often hear Jesus say my time is not yet come for you here Jesus talking about the heat. His particular, our talk about his hour. What is that mean when he talked about his hours talking about the time of his crucifixion and resurrection, which you will see time and time again prophesied in the Old Testament effect on the deck that Jesus died 33 Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled to the letter and Peter was preaching on the day of Pentecost in chapter 2 of the book of acts, verse 23 and 24 Peter said this this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

God raised him up, loosing the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be hailed by Peter call the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, folks. Jesus is whole earthly life was the definite plan of God. We don't need to be afraid of the clear biblical doctrine. We need to embrace it in the Lovett into treasure.

It in the Westminster confession of faith the Scripture or the list.

Confession says this God from all eternity. Did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely, and unchangeable. He ordained whatever comes to pass yet so is thereby neither is is God the author is sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established whenever you find a doctrine in Scripture to be challenging and you just don't quite get it good thing to do is take a look and see how Jesus dealt with that doctrine. What did Jesus do with it had of the work it out. His life, what did he think about predestination headed affecting headed it motivating him. Sinclair Ferguson said there was never a man so conscious that his life had been predestined by God as Lord Jesus Christ.

But this did not turn them into an automaton or a mere puppet God's predestination is not biological determined determinism, nor is it a form of fatalism. There was surely never a freer man or one more conscious that his actions were his responsibility than our Lord Jesus Christ did not become our Savior by accident. On the one hand, or merely as a machine. On the other. He was destined to be our Savior and to that destiny.

He freely committed himself to neither Saul nor felt any contradiction between God's sovereignty in his life and his own responsibility for his actions, and neither should we .3 is a dual understanding among over to Luke chapter 1 and verse 33, 31, and the angel said to her that is Mary. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus several months before the angel Gabriel spoke to Joseph in a dream. The angel spoke to Mary and the angel explained to Mary what was going to happen that she would be.

She was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that the baby in her womb would not be by an earthly father, but it would be the son of God in the angel Gabriel told Mary what his name would be his name shall be Jesus free will save his people from their sins.

Then, much later, when Mary returned from her visit with Elizabeth, who was her cousin who was getting ready to give birth to John the Baptist when she came in the town.

Joseph saw her and for the first time Joseph realized what was going on.

She was in a family way she was expecting a baby now.

It wasn't long after that that Joseph had his dream in the angel spoke to him in that dream and explained everything to win, and he also said this to Wayne you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins that can you imagine the conversation that must've gone on between Joseph and Mary. After Joseph a.net announcement from the angel Joseph sits down with Mary reaches over and he takes her hand and he said honey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I doubted you. I'm sorry for not trusting you but the angel is explained it to me now and I know exactly what happened you conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and the child that is in your womb, is the son of God said you will be my wife and I will be a good husband to you and I will be the earthly father of this child and I will try to be a good earthly father.

I can imagine Mary get excited and she said oh Joseph you are the perfect earthly father for little Jesus and I think Joseph published it.

What you say you called it Jesus. She said that's right. What are you calling Jesus how did you know will the angel told me months ago that his name would be called Jesus he would save his people from their sins. Imagine the excitement in Joseph Hart pieces while that's what the angel told me he told you months ago. He told me just the other day and now what a confirmation a divine confirmation. This is that all that the angel said to us is absolute truth. Some of the most precious times that I have with my wife is when she comes to me and she says I got problem with some scripture here which are hailed and maybe she brings a study Bible and she said this was a study Bible says about it or this is what RC Sproul had to say this is what Matthew Henry had to say is will get the Scripture out will start looking at it will look up some Greek and Hebrew words maybe get the Bible dictionary out towing weird digging deep to get the truth of God, don't you think that Mary and Joseph probably did that same thing. I wonder if Mary said Joseph is any place in his dream place in the Scripture that says in the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, Genesis, and we, the book of Isaiah. I did have Bibles back in a in their homes than that they wanted to get the Scripture. They had to go to the synagogue went to the synagogue. I said the rabbi. We need to scroll of Isaiah.

So what you needed for the work we we need to know God's plan brings out the scroll of Isaiah. They roll it out together. I get down to the to the seventh chapter what we know is a seven chapter and he reads these words in verse 14 therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel whale. This is just conjecture but I have to believe that something like this could very well happened and perhaps the tears start rolling down Mary's cheeks and she said you see that 750 years before the birth of this child.

It was prophesied.

735 years before I was born why what it is told that that only one and I'm good.

I have a baby as a virgin.

I'm going to have a baby. She said what an honor for the privilege. What a joy for a little a little maiden from from Nazareth kind of opportunity I can imagine her looking over at Joseph and she said wait a minute. Scripture says here that we are to call him Emmanuel whale and angel told both of us and easily call Jesus.

Joseph puts his arm around her and said that's right.

Jesus is his name Manuel is his title. It means God with us .4 the perfect identification. Look at verse 21 again. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now if you picture this in your mind. If you can for just a minute 35 years after Jesus birth two years after his death, resurrection and ascension back into heaven.

You're taking a trip to Israel and you walk over and you see a man who'd been blind all of his life and yet now he sees 2020 vision is I had that happen to you and he said Jesus touched me and healed me and gave me my site and he saved my soul. And then you see a man that was deaf had been deaf all of his life and now here's perfectly and you say how that happened to you and he said Jesus touched me. He touched my ears and I was healed and he said my soul and you see a guy been paralyzed all his life is what leaping and praising God. He say you and he said Jesus touched me, and he made me while he saved my soul. Initially, Lazarus and I and you say the Lazard Lancers died had you were in the brain for four days. Your body was dictated and plotting how is it that you're alive and well and he said Jesus raised me from the dead, and he saved my soul. People Jesus's name was a perfect fit.

Who'd is he he is Jesus issue Jehovah Joshua that the eternal God, the self existent God who is our Savior protect her defender and deliver and provider who is this Jesus, how could he be our Savior could be our Savior, because he lived perfect and sinless life, and then he went to the cross he went to the cross in order that he might be our substitutionary atonement in order that he might die for us that our sins would be washed away that our guilt would be washed away that our shame would be gone forever. Folks, his name says it all for God is highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord John Newton wrote a great him.

You all know it. Amazing Grace. He also wrote another him about Jesus's name. This is what it says how sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear. It suits his sorrows heals his wounds and drives away his fear. It makes the wounded spirit holy because the troubled breast to his manner to the hungry stolen to the weary rest dear name the rock on which I build my shield and hiding place. My never failing treasury field with boundless stores of grace.

Jesus my shepherd, brother, friend, my prophet, priest and king. My Lord, my life my way my end except the praise I bring you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin (heavenly father how glorious it is to read the Christmas story to read about the incarnation of Christ and hell, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Mary conceived in and bore the son of God in her womb. Heavenly father, we would ask that you help us, that we might be Walid. By this story board may it never become common place to us, may we never get used to it. May we never see how miraculous and how glorious that story is and that we never will lose our desire to be Walid by the great Savior's name is Jesus. We love you Lord. Praise you and thank you for your love and goodness to us and we assess prayer in your holy and precious name. Amen