Christmas: 700 Years In The Making Series

Pastor Allan Kircher Shell Point Baptist Church

Christmas: 700 years in the making

Date: December 4, 2011

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7

Do you know what an APTRONYM is?

 I don't remember covering this in ENGLISH class when I was in college

 But one of the benefits of weekly sermon preparation/ always learning new things

 So I’ve learned about Aptronym’s.

An APTRONYM is a name that fits some aspect of a character. Mr. Talkative. Mr. Wordly.

Or a name that fits a person’s nature or occupation.

• Britt Barefoot, punter for The University of Southern Mississippi college football team

• Margaret Court, tennis player

• Cecil Fielder and his son Prince Fielder--both baseball players

• Willie Thrower, former NFL quarterback

• Tiger Woods, golfer (Wood is of course a type of golf club)

I bring this up because today, as we continue our 'Christmas B.C.' series, where we are studying the Scriptures that predicted the Messiah's coming centuries before His birth—

 Today we come to a very familiar text in which God gave four names to the coming Messiah—

 names that are what you might call 'Advent Aptronymns, '

 These names match up with what the Messiah came to do.

 These four prophetic names tell us about His character and about His mission.

And speaking of names--have you ever stopped to realize how important descriptive names are to God?

 I would say that God INVENTED the concept of an aptronym

 The Bible tells us that, from the very beginning, our Creator gave appropriate names to things.

Genesis 1 says that, 'God called the light 'day,' and the darkness He called 'night '...God called the expanse 'sky'...God called the dry ground 'land.''(Genesis 1:5, 8, 10).

God gave descriptive names to PEOPLE.

 Isaac means 'laughter' , which makes 'aptronymic' sense

Genesis 17 tells us that when God told Isaac's father, Abraham, who was then 99 years old, that he would have another son, the wrinkled patriarch literally fell on his face laughing.

Here's another: the definition of Jacob is 'deceiver,' and that name fit that child perfectly!

Remember how Jacob deceived his brother and later his father-in-law?

One more: Moses' name means 'drawn out,' matching the fact that, as a baby floating in a basket, he was DRAWN OUT of the Nile by the Pharaoh's daughter.

And Jesus--a perfectly suited name that means, 'Jehovah saves'

 Jesus is the best, the most COMPLETE, example of God's use of aptronyms

 The Bible records the fact that Jesus was given not just one, but many names.

 In fact the Scriptures contain over 100 different descriptive names that were given to the Son of God.

 Why so many?

 The beauty and the fullness and the magnificence of this matchless Person cannot be expressed by just one name.

 One name doesn't begin to completely describe Who Jesus IS and What He DOES in our lives.

Remember, Jesus is INFINITE God in the flesh so one name would be too finite, too limiting.

 It has been said of Jesus that '...every name He BEARS, is a blessing He SHARES,'

 that is true because our Lord gives and gives blessing after blessing, until our cups overflow

 So one aptronym won't suffice!

Sermon

• This morning we're going to zero in on FOUR of Jesus' names

• Names/given him through/prophet Isaiah 700 years before He was born.

• Turn/Bibles to our next 'Christmas B.C. text,' Isaiah 9:1-7,

As we begin our study: let’s look at verse 6:

Did anyone see a 'Christmas song' imbedded in this text?

o Those familiar words are READ in tons of Christmas cards

o They are also HEARD whenever Handel's oratorio, “Messiah” is sung because they are the lyrics to one of the most popular choruses of that great work.

Let’s continue in our Messianic predictions:

o Looking back at chapter 7,

o in 741 B.C. the prophet Isaiah was sent to Jerusalem

o To speak to King Ahaz when his city was surrounded by the armies of their enemies.

Isaiah told the king to ask God for a sign that would convince him and his people that the God of Israel still loved them and would protect them.

o But Ahaz refused the offer, hoping that Assyria/protect him.

So the Lord gave His OWN sign, saying that a Deliverer would come out of the house of David.

 In the next chapter Isaiah predicted the downfall/ten tribes by Assyria.

 Then here in Isaiah 9 the prophet foresaw the Assyrians invading Galilee,

 which they did twenty years later

 Causing a great emotional and spiritual darkness to come over the people of God.

But Isaiah was also given prophetic insight that in the future God would place his Messiah in the land of Galilee as a great Light.