Messages from Malachi

SERMON NOTES

Sunday, October 3, 2004

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Name Above All Names, 2 of an 8-Part Series

Rev. Jimmy Painter

Cresthill Baptist Church

“What’s in a Name?” Names say a lot about the people who wear them. Names like Ajukwu, McBride and Marchionne are names that speak of a native homeland. Names like Fallowfield, Greene, and Arch speak of places and locations. Names like Miller, Cook, and well, Painter, speak of occupations. Most of us have a first, a middle and last name. Many here have a maiden name. Some here have hyphenated names. And let’s not even talk about “nick-names”.

Jesus has hundreds of names, titles and descriptions ascribed to Him in the Bible. Today as we ask that question, “What’s in a Name?”, I invite you to come with me as we investigate that “Name Above All Names” in the first Chapter of the last book in God’s Word.

Come, let’s find out “What’s in a Name”, the name of Jesus, as found in Revelation Chapter One.

¹This is what God showed to Jesus Christ, so that He could tell His servants what must happen soon. Christ then sent His angel with the message to His servant John. ²And John told everything that he had seen about God's message and about what Jesus Christ had said and done. ³God will bless everyone who reads this prophecy to others, and He will bless everyone who hears and obeys it. The time is almost here.

⁴From John to the seven churches in Asia. I pray that you will be blessed with kindness and peace from God, who is and was and is coming. May you receive kindness and peace from the seven spirits before the throne of God. ⁵May kindness and peace be yours from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. Jesus was the first to conquer death, and He is the ruler of all earthly kings. Christ loves us, and by His blood He set us free from our sins. ⁶He lets us rule as kings and serve God His Father as priests. To him be glory and power, forever and ever! Amen.

⁷Look! He is coming with the clouds. Everyone will see Him, even the ones who stuck a sword through Him. All people on earth will weep because of Him. Yes, it will happen! Amen. ⁸The Lord God says, "I am Alpha and Omega, the one who is and was and is coming. I am God All-Powerful!"

⁹I am John, a follower together with all of you. We suffer because Jesus is our king, but He gives us the strength to endure. I was sent to Patmos Island, because I had preached God's message and had told about Jesus. ¹⁰On the Lord's day the Spirit took control of me, and behind me I heard a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet. ¹¹The voice said, "Write in a book what you see. Then send it to the seven churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea." ¹²When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lamp stands. ¹³There with the lamp stands was someone who seemed to be the Son of Man. He was wearing a robe that reached down to His feet, and a gold cloth was wrapped around His chest. ¹⁴His head and His hair were white as wool or snow, and His eyes looked like flames of fire. ¹⁵His feet were glowing like bronze being heated in a furnace, and His voice sounded like the roar of a waterfall. ¹⁶He held seven stars in His right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword was coming from His mouth. His face was shining as bright as the sun at noon.

¹⁷When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead person. But He put His right hand on me and said: ‘Don't be afraid! I am the first, the last, ¹⁸and the living one. I died, but now I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys to death and the world of the dead. ¹⁹Write what you have seen and what is and what will happen after these things. ²⁰I will explain the mystery of the seven stars that you saw at my right side and the seven gold lamp stands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the lamp stands are the seven churches.’ (Contemporary English Version)

1. JESUS (Revelation 1:1, 2, 5, 9) BibleGateway.com, a link on our church’s website, lists no less than 1,281 results from a word search of that name “Jesus”! What’s in a name? Everything when that name is Jesus! And what is so special about that name? Matthew Chapter One, verses 20 and 21 tells us that “… an angel of the LORD appeared to (Joseph) … and said … you are to give Him the name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.” (NIV, selected text)

2. CHRIST (Revelation 1:1, 2, 5) BibleGateway.com provides 536 results from this word search of God’s Word. The Greek word “Christ” and the Hebrew word “Messiah” both mean “God’s Anointed One.” What does it mean to be “anointed”? To be “anointed” means to receive God’s special touch for God’s special task.” (O. S. Hawkins, Shields of Gold, Shields of Brass) And what was Christ’s task that He received this touch? His task was “…to save His people (you and me) from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

3. THE FAITHFUL WITNESS (Revelation 1:5) Revelation Chapter One, verse 5 says, Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits 5 before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus is “THE Faithful Witness”, who truthfully testifies concerning WHO HE IS, WHAT HE IS, WHAT HE HAS DONE, CAN DO, and WILL DO! Jesus is the Faithful Witness.

4. THE FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD (Revelation 1:5) Revelation 1:5 tells us that Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead.” That word “firstborn” is the word prototokos in the Greek, and is a unique New Testament word. Prototokos, “firstborn” is used only once in the book of Revelation and eight times in the 27 books of the New Testament. “What’s in a name?” Eternity, that’s what, for Jesus lived and died, and now lives again! But not only that, He is the “firstborn from the dead.” What does that mean? That means that each and every one of us, and each and every person who has ever lived who receives Christ as Savior and is born again are also born “from the dead”. He’s the first and we are the benefactors of His blessing!

5. THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH (Revelation 1:5) That’s the name Revelation 1:5 gives Him -- “The Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.” He is the “ruler”, the arkwn, the first, the best, from the very beginning "en ton arywn" now and forever will be “large and in charge”! Psalm 72, verse 11 tells us that “One day, all kings will bow down to Him and all nations will serve Him.” We now can, and should worship Him this way, for Revelation 1:16 identifies Christ Jesus as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Pray for your mayor. Pray for your governor. Pray for your congressman and senators. Pray for your president – BUT WORSHIP AND FOLLOW YOUR KING. HE IS THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH!

6. HIM WHO LOVED US AND FREED US (Revelation 1:5) Revelation 1:5 identifies Jesus as “… Him who loves us and has freed us (from what?) from our sins (how?) by His blood.” Christ has freed us FROM our sins and freed us to (look at verse 5) “… be a kingdom of priests to serve His God and Father.” Freed from sin. Freed to service. All because He loves us so! Thanks be to God for Robert Lowry who gave us this song to sing: “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! Oh, precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

The next name for our Lord found in Revelation’s first chapter is the name …

7. ALPHA AND OMEGA (Revelation 1:8) Revelation 1:8 tells us that Jesus is the “Alpha and Omega”. These are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. That’s why some of your Bibles call Him the “A” and the “Z”.

Following that same train of thought, the eighth name in today’s text for Christ is …

8. THE FIRST AND THE LAST (Revelation 1:17) Revelation 1:17 describes our Lord this way. The first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:1 declares, “In the beginning, God …”. The last verse in the Bible, Revelation 22:21 ends with the word “Amen”. “In the beginning God” – in the end God – and everything in between God. “Amen”. That’s Christ – “the First and the Last”.

Let us now investigate the ninth name for Christ in Revelation, Chapter One. That name is Him …

9. WHO IS, WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME (Revelation 1:8) One of the fundamental, foundational, theological truths of the Christian faith is that Christ is timeless and ageless. He has always, now does, and will forever reign as God the Son, the second person of the Tri-une God. History recognizes His first coming – it is “His story”. The church proclaims Him as “an ever present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1), Immanuel, God with us. The Bible also tells us time after time, text after text, that Jesus Christ is coming again!

Irish song writer Robin Mark sings, “Behold He comes, riding on the clouds, Shining like the sun at the trumpet call; Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee, Out of Zion’s hill Salvation comes.” (“Days of Elijah”, www.gpz.org/lyrics/doe.htm) The tenth name in today’s text is …

10. THE ALMIGHTY (Revelation 1:8) Three hundred and thirty-four times we find this name given to God. “Almighty” in the Greek is the title pantokrattor, meaning All Powerful, All Encompassing, All in All, Omnipotent God. The Contemporary English Version of God’s Word translates “the Almighty” as “I am God All-Powerful.” That’s quite a statement! That’s quite a claim! That’s quite a name! Jesus Christ is “God All-Powerful”, “The Almighty.”

11. THE LIVING ONE (Revelation 1:18) He is to zowon, the living being, possessing and giving zoE, life, abundant life to all who come to Him. If you want to live, really live, you’ve got to come to Christ!

And this brings us to the twelfth and final title of Jesus found in Revelation Chapter One. That is the name …

12. LORD GOD (Revelation 1:8) “Lord God” is found no less than one thousand, three-hundred and ninety-eight times in Scripture. Jesus is not just “A God”, and not just “THE God”, but Halleluiah, He is “MY God”, and He is “MY LORD”!

J. Alfred Smith in a message entitled, “An Ageless Christ in an Aging World”, asks, “Who is this Peerless Prince? Who is this Ageless Christ? Who is this Matchless Master? … Jesus is the Wonderful Word, the Wonder of Wonders, the Worthy of Worthies. … Who is Jesus? … He is ‘Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.’ ” Who is Jesus? He is Son of God and Son of man, Son of David and David’s Lord, Ancient of Days, born of woman, yet older than His mother. He is God’s mystery, God’s revelation, Prince of Life, dying on Calvary, death’s Conqueror transfixed on death’s spear, Fountain of Life bursting from the grave of death. He is the Rose of Sharon, blooming in the garden of Sheol. Who is Jesus? He is Heaven’s love for earth’s hate. Heaven’s glory for earth’s shame. Heaven’s grace for earth’s guilt. Heaven’s gladness for earth’s grief. Heaven’s pity for earth’s pain. He is God, our Redeemer. He is God, the Purchaser of our lost estate. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Southern Baptist Preaching Today, pp. 377, 378)

CONCLUSION “What’s in a name?” Everything, if that name is Jesus! His name is Above All Names!