Sermon Tone Analysis

The Story

Starter:

Welcome and acknowledgement

Christmas wishes

Building fund

Let us prayer for the sick and for those who traveled and will be traveling soon.

on time challenge

Year end Adm meeting in January

Today our theme is “The Name Emmanuel.”

My name is Emmanuel . . .

(In this lesson I am not refer to me, but to Jesus)

The book of Matthew gives a lot of information about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For example, read below in Mat 1.

Matthew 1:1–25 (KJV 1900)

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;

3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;

4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;

5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;

8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;

9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;

10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;

11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;

14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Our focus will be on these two passages (VV 21 & 23), with special emphasis on the second.

Matthew 1:21 (KJV 1900)

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:23 (KJV 1900)

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

So Jesus has two names or at least three.

However, the Messiah or Christ, others use that as name, but it is actually a descriptive title, like the savior.

The first name we see here is JESUS.

It comes from the same root as, Yhesus, Yehoshua, Joshua ( meaning God the deliverer).

It simply means the one who comes to save another from the bad situation.

It is tied into redemption, deliverance, salvation.

etc.

That through Jesus the yoke of sin and condemnation to eternal punishment that mankind was to suffer, that yoke has been broken and the believers are free from the curse of sin and hell, that the souls that Satan had captured are not loosed into the freedom of the Kingdom of God.

If you look at it, the name Jesus is from a more spirituality complicated concept.

It has to winning a war against evil and setting freed its captive.

It is more spiritually rooted in man’s relationship with God.

It refers to our position with God in Christ.

In Christ we regained good relationship with God.

It is about fixing that relationship and re-uniting man with God.

That is the name which we know most commonly: JESUS or Jesus Christ.

But our focus at this point is the other name Emmanuel.

This name is not common in usage in identifying the Christ.

We often sing: “We call His name Emmanuel.”

But the fact is we don’t commonly do that.

Yes both names are important and appropriate.

But before I go further, I believe the two names are mentioned for our benefits, to teach us, and to help us in our walk with the Christ.

Let me put it in perspective and then move on to the details of today’s lesson.

We walk with the Christ on two dimension as exemplified by the two names.

Jesus is that Christ who re experienced at the time we got saved.

That initial encounter when we realized we needed a savior and accepted Him as saviour.

That is the convectional experience experience.

Practical part

After that experience we ought to graduate to another level of relationship with Jesus.

That level is the Emmanuel level.

Which is the more experiential level (God with us).

The Jesus level may be the same for all but the Emmanuel level is different from person to person.

Emmanuel means God is with us.

This is where the rubber meets the road.

This is where faith in the Christ becomes personal.

God is with me, walking with me,

The song writer says, “And He walks with me and talks with me and tells me I am His own.”

Oh yes, some people know the Christ as Jesus, Yeshua, but they have yet to experience with as Emmanuel.

It is at the Emmanuel level where you walk God, and deal with Him, and interact with Him on the earthly and personal level.

The name Emmanuel signifies two levels of responsibility

The first is God’s responsibility to us

This is made clear in Psalm 23.

Psalm 23:3 (KJV 1900)

3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:4 (KJV 1900)

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me [Thou art my Emmanuel]; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Whereas in the Jesus level: the vision and benefit is more futuristic (to be saved), the Emmanuel level is more practical and pragmatic.

It has to do with the here and now.

Is it an expression of daily faith.

Here is the big part.

By that name Emmanuel it is implied that God is operating in us. to guide us, to direct us, for the Spirit to control us.

Our daily living is wrapped up in and around God.

That is what we refer to as sanctification.

I am walking daily and growing with God.

As Christian, let us walk right because God is walking with us

As Christians let us think right because God is within us.

The second of the name Emmanuel is our responsibility to God