Father, we ask that you would show us why your eternal son had to become man in time. And may you use your word about him to conform us to the character of Christ, that you might be glorified, Lord, and we might be Edified and sanctified I think about others might be saved who don't know you even in this place perhaps You could do anything Lord. We pray for Christ to be exalted for sinners to be humbled and for holiness to be promoted and All in Jesus name. Amen All right. Here's the question. What's in a name? I Names are important, but Jesus' name is the most important. Amen? Nave's topical Bible gives 250 names for Jesus. And why? He is infinitely greater than any one name can express. In fact, in the book of Acts, a battle raged around Jesus' name. And why? Peter said, there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. And so we see in the book of Acts that believers were baptized in Jesus name. People were healed in Jesus name. Believers suffered in Jesus name, and they even died in Jesus name. Now, here's my question. Have you ever wondered what the names of God's son have to do with Christmas? Now, for some folks, Christmas is a very discouraging time, very depressing time. And the reasons for that in a fallen world are endless. The loss of a loved one, you think of unemployment, keeping the in-laws from becoming outlaws, a child who won't come home, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And yet Christmas is also a time when we give and receive what? Gifts, yeah. And the savvy marketers often wrap their products around a person, might be an athlete, Nike, might be an actor. You know, are you going to see Unbroken? Someone told me we need to go see Unbroken, get a whole bunch of people from church and go see the movie. I thought, what a great point to be. I started reading the book. I couldn't put it down. But unlike those savvy marketers, God isn't selling us anything, is he? No, no, no. Instead, he's given us the greatest gift we can ever receive. So we have a reason to rejoice that goes far beyond all our difficulties and disappointments in a fallen world that we'll ever face. All God's gift to us are wrapped up in a person. Who's that? Christ Jesus, who is Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and all we ever needed, even if we didn't know it. Is embodied in a person. Christ Jesus, the Lord. A person who came to this world as a child, a child with many names. And so what is Isaiah nine, six teaching us simply this, that the names of our Lord and Savior reveal his identity and his character and his mission. But they also demand our trust in our allegiance to him. And yet it's possible if you're like me in our Christmas rush to miss the full impact of his names. In other words, have you ever seen that where you see you see a scripture on a Christmas card? And we see these things, right? Handles Messiah, you sing them in songs and we can just get what? Used to it all. Amen. Gets old hat. Well, the names and titles express what Jesus is to you and in you and for your sake. Now, listen to Isaiah. He says, for to us, a child will be born. To us, a son will be given. So what do these names teach us about the person of Christ and God's purpose for him. First, we're shown his sympathy and all of this is on the back of your bulletin. If you want to follow along and take notes, some people do. Isaiah says that men and women in sin are in darkness. You see that God's people back in Israel went into captivity because they were looking for answers in all the wrong places. They were consulting the dead. Verse 19 of chapter eight. Instead of consulting God in the teaching and testimony of Scripture through his prophets back then, they went to mediums and necromancers. Necromancer is someone who consults the what? Dead. Yikes. They were living in gloom and thick darkness. Well, no wonder, verse 22, they were doing. Bible's very contemporary. You know that? Do you know that people still are dealing in deadness? Did you know that? And darkness? Verse 19 can be translated chirping and twittering. Sound familiar? Know anybody who twitters nowadays? Yeah, I see a couple of grins. People are blind to the truth of God and they cannot see the beauty of Jesus Christ. And we're all born into that condition. But notice verse two, light comes to us in what? In the gospel. That light is the truth about Jesus. In fact, Jesus said that he himself is the light of the world. And when he came to Galilee, that's up in the north, this gloom, verse 1, gave way to gladness and joy. And why? Matthew, who quotes Isaiah, says that this tells us that Jesus began to preach there, Matthew 4. And Isaiah, he likens the joy and gladness to a harvest bumper crop and a victory of a great battle when men divide the spoil. And what's he trying to say in the text? He's trying to say that the very places that had been most devastated by the Assyrian army because of Israel's sin, God raised up these enemies against them. Very places that have been so devastated by Israel's sin and his judgment would be especially blessed by the ministry of the Messiah, Jesus. But isn't that just like God to work wonders in areas where we least expect it? In areas that we've given up hope, have you ever done that where you thought there's no hope for my life or my marriage or this job? Or this friendship, whatever it is, or my health, it could be. And then we know when God comes, we know that it wasn't our mobilizing it. It wasn't our maneuvering. It wasn't our strategizing that got us out of our what? Mess. It was God working from the inside out. Notice Isaiah says child there. In verse six, for to us, a child is born. Child speaks of what? His humanity, but whereas son, he says to us, a son is given that speaks of Jesus deity. So he's, he's fully man. Yes. And he's fully God, like the Trinity, the doctrine baffles our minds. But he said at our call to worship, only God can save us from our sin and the wrath we deserve. And only man can sympathize with our weakness. Those natural inclinations of our humanity, which include liability to sin. Maybe you're here today and you've wondered if Jesus really understands. I can relay. I've wondered, did Jesus really understand my struggle before I was married? Wrestling with temptation to sexual sin, does he really know what I'm facing? Yeah, he's been tempted in all points, like who? Us. Guys and gals, yet without sin. So that Jesus has been there and he's done that, and yet never what? Sinned. Jesus has felt everything you could feel and more. And we just say, no, no, no. And we try to make exceptions thinking he can't relate. But here's the point of the text. Jesus, there is no struggle. There is no sorrow. There is no challenge that you can face that he cannot sympathize. He's not indifferent to our plight. He's not a mere out onlooker, you know, from outside in heaven, somewhere far away, a distance. No, he is one who has experienced all our weakness and adversity. And his concern is more than empathy is true compassion. He feels for you and he suffers with you in your need. And there is no hardship or difficulty for which he cannot provide you strength to endure. And why? Because unto us. A child is born. Unto us, us, guys and gals, a son is given. And then Isaiah prophesies of the son's supremacy. Notice what he says, the government shall be upon his what? Shoulder. Whoever heard of a child ruling the world? I mean, we said in America, we say, don't you study the politics? What do you mean? Well, you know, we've got legislative and judicial and executive branches of government. I mean, aren't they designed that no one person or group of individuals would carry that much power because, don't you know, absolute power corrupts? Yeah, absolutely, we say. But God's ways are infinitely higher than our ways. God's answer to everything that has ever terrorized us is a child. The power of God, so far superior to Assyrians or all the big shots in this world. He can defeat them by a coming of a what? A child. And his answer to the bullies swaggering through history, ISIS, whoever, it doesn't matter. It's not to become an even bigger bully. His answer is who? Jesus. He defeats them with a child? That's God. You say, what is the secret to world peace? I can tell jokes. I like the Clinton joke, but if you want to know it, ask me afterwards and I'll tell you. It's funny, especially because it involves someone that's probably going to run for president here pretty soon. What's the secret of world peace? It's the gospel. What is the gospel? God's weakness overwhelming man's what? Power. It's God's foolishness outfoxing the world's what? Wisdom. You can read it in 1 Corinthians 1. And every other attempt of man at peace has failed, but the gospel won't fail. And why? Because God doesn't need our strength. God doesn't need our brains. God doesn't need anything from us. God's gospel cannot fail, and why it can't fail? Because Jesus Christ is crucified as the only Savior, the only King of the world. Now here's what's interesting about this. Never was any kingdom ruled by a government so gentle and so gracious. And Jesus graciously rules his people by sweetly and powerfully influencing their hearts by his grace. This is the way Jonathan Edwards put it. He said, He does not govern us against our wills, but powerfully inclines our wills. The same thing the psalmist said in Psalm 110, verse 3. His people offered themselves freely on the day of God's power. And when the Jews realized that Jesus wasn't going to take control politically and overthrow the Romans, they cried, we will not have this man rule over us. And then they said, crucify him. We saw that last week with Pilate. But what did Jesus carry on his shoulders when he was here? What did he carry? What did he carry? Tell me. He carried the cross. Very interesting. And the cross is how he conquered his enemies. And yet on the way to Golgotha, where he was crucified, the Roman soldiers pressed Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus' cross. You say, so what? They got a guy to carry his cross. Simon was the father of Rufus and Alexander, who were well known in the Christian community at Rome in that first century. And many years later, when writing to the Romans, Paul greets Rufus and his mother, Romans 16, verse 13. Why? Why did this guy's sons get saved? Do you think maybe he got saved? Yeah. What happened to Simon of Cyrene? By carrying the cross of Christ, that cross being, he became governed by Christ. Simon got saved. Why? He realized what Jesus said. Come unto me, all you are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Yokes were made by what? Tell me. Carpenters. What was Jesus? He was a carpenter. Think he knew about yokes? And they took the strong animal, the older, strong one, and put him with a younger, weaker one. Now, which one do you think carried the brunt of the load? The younger, weaker one, right? Not a chance. He said, what? Take my yoke upon you and learn from me and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. What is the yoke that Jesus places on our shoulders if we'll take it? It's the cross. And if you're wondering, well, wait a minute. Cross isn't easy, Pastor. How can that give rest to my soul? Jesus knew and he demonstrated, as no one else can, that the key to life is in taking up your cross and dying to who? Yourself, yeah. As Jesus died for our sins, so we are to die to ourselves. We're to live, if we live for ourselves, we end up dying, he said. But if we die to ourselves, we'll find that his burden is easy and his load is light. Why? It is love, I said like last week, that makes our load light. It makes it seem light. And the cross is a sweet yoke. And if you wonder, you could ask Simon, he would tell you today. He said, wait a minute, that cross beam was heavy. Don't you think he was burdened by it? Well, yeah. I think he was, but God used that cross beam to draw him to who? Christ. Embracing our crosses will have the same effect. Let me ask you, when you're yoked to Jesus, does he carry the main brunt of the load or you? So here's my question, and this is very practical. Are you weary and worn out today? Have you just had it? Are you saying in your mind, in your heart, I can't take any more! Too much pressure! I can't carry it all! Never meant to. I can't control it all! Never meant to. If that's you this morning, then you need to what? Surrender. You need to submit it all to who? To Christ. Amen. And what child is this? Isaiah tells us about Jesus' what? Sagicity. He's a sage. He is a wonderful counselor. Now, Bikero had a whole sermon just on this. But counselors are many, but the only one is wonderful. In chapter 28 of Isaiah, he says that Jesus is wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom. That's 28-29. Well, here's what's interesting about Jesus. Unlike presidents, Jesus doesn't need counselors or advisors. He doesn't need any Dear Abbie's or Dr. Laura's or Dr. Phil's. Are we glad? This is what Paul says, for who has known the mind of the Lord is quoting Isaiah or who has become his counselor. And then he goes on and he says in Colossians, he says in him, in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He says to the Corinthians, he, that is, Jesus has become to us wisdom from God. But what good is Christ's counsel if we're not going to live by it? Let me give an example. A man bought a hotel in Spokane, Washington. There was only one problem. The bar was the big moneymaker grossing $10,000 a month. But as a Christian, the owner wasn't going to keep the bar because he chose not to run a business subsidized by alcohol sales. The hotel manager argued with the new owner that if the guests didn't drink, they couldn't drink and they'd be out the door to a competitor. He also gave the new owner some convincing statistics showing that he couldn't make it financially without the bar. The owner listened politely and then closed the door to the bar. He had to stick to his convictions. The manager promptly quit. The owner remodeled the hotel lobby and he turned the bar into a coffee shop. Spokane, it sounds familiar, doesn't it? In the first couple of years, the business of food sales went up 20% and then the room bookings went up 30%. Still, profits weren't what they could have been if the bar were opened. But the hotel owner's reply was, listen to this, police aren't worth much if a fellow is not ready to live by them. True. Life in this fallen world gets complicated, which is why Jesus gives us his counsel and his word. But isn't it easier, at least in the short run, to do whatever everybody else does? or what seems reasonable to us or what feels right. Yes, but Jesus counsels us to trust him by denying ourselves again, pick up our cross daily and following him. The call to discipleship is radical. It's not casual. But here's what's profound. Robert Murray Shane, he pointed this out. He said your deepest desires, your best interests are aren't different from Jesus. You want light and you want joy and you want peace and you want justice and you want righteousness. So does he. And that's why he was given in a manger and on the cross. You see, my desire is not different from God's desire when you get right down to it, is it? Well, you say, what about sin? Well, that's different. But deep down, you want the same things that God wants. Here's my exhortation this morning. Do not take the world for your counselor. Don't look to manuals. Look to Emmanuel. God with us. Amen. Don't look to the media. Please don't. Amen? Don't look to a man or a minister. And don't even look to your mama. Amen? Look to who? Flee to Jesus. Don't lean on your books. Now, that's a word for me. Or even your own brains. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And don't lean on your own understanding. Listen, everyone who has Christ has all that's in Him. And isn't it wonderful that if you go to a counselor, they usually want what? And you have to make an appointment, amen? No fees with Jesus, amen? And no appointments, amen? He's always available. You never could ask, is the doctor in? Is the counselor in? And Jesus would say, 24-7, amen? Always available to each and every person. What child is this? Isaiah tells us of His sovereignty. He is mighty God. That can't ever be said of any mere human baby. There's no clearer declaration of Jesus' deity, in other words, that he's God than this. And the amplification of the word, Emmanuel is God with us. And it means in power and might, invincibly working on behalf of his people. Now, take the two titles together. Wonderful counselor. He makes the plans as mighty God. He makes the plans work. Amen. You might have plans, but you can't pull them off. It ever happened to you? Maybe you could pull them off, but you didn't have the right plan. You see, well, he's always got the right plan and he can what he can make it work. He plans his work and he works is and you know how you say, well, that's Sean. Listen, all his wonderful plans will be carried out with his infinite power, whatever he desires, he's able to achieve. Now, here's what I find in my world that I live in, and I know it's the same world you live in. For the most part, the world, those who don't know the Lord, They don't mind baby Jesus tucked away in a manger. You know why? He's helpless. He's vulnerable. Babies don't pose a threat to people's sin and pride and personal autonomy, wanting to be God themselves. But if you declare that this child in the manger is also mighty God, holy, infinite, sovereign over all, everybody, then they want nothing to do with him. In fact, then they want to say happy holidays and not Merry Christmas. And yet the only sovereign is also the suffering servant. The world rejects him whom it doesn't understand. Let me illustrate it. H.A. Hodges was a brilliant young philosophy professor at Oxford University, and he had these troubling questions about God's existence until one day he's strolling down the street and he passes by a store and he sees a picture in the window and it showed Jesus kneeling and washing his disciples feet. And Hodge knew the story, but suddenly the meaning of it ripped his heart. God humbling himself to do the lowliest of tasks. And then Hodge thought, if God is like that, then that God shall be my God. And seeing that painting was one of the circumstances that caused Hodge to surrender his life to the true God. To the foot-washing God. You ever think about that God? Not only became man, but he humbled himself and washed what? Dirty feet. You ever dug out toe jam? You go, that's gross. That's what he did. He washed their what? Feet. Sometimes what we do is we take God's existence for granted. But more often than not, we are tempted to question his character, especially when disaster strikes. And yet the mighty God is also a foot washing God. Jesus' unfathomable, sacrificial love for us should cause us to surrender our lives to him. And see, and what is the Bible saying here? There's no middle ground. There's no middle ground. If Jesus is not mighty God, we are fools to worship him. Ah, yeah. But if he is mighty God, we're fools not to worship him. And if he wasn't our mighty God, then Satan and sin would daily defeat us. But by his life and his death on the cross and his resurrection and his intercession, Jesus has defeated them all. Let me ask you, do you ever feel helpless? You can't change things. Maybe you feel like you can't even change yourself and you struggle with ongoing, remaining, besetting what? Sin? He is all powerful to deliver you. Are you carrying a heavy burden this morning? Listen, you can submit to a sovereign rule and you'll find he is more than able to empower you to obey all he commands you. He says all he says this morning is simply to us what? Take my yoke upon you, hook up with me. He's saying, let me what? Steer you. Amen. And I'll carry the brunt of the load. We say, no, no, I can handle it, Jesus. Reminds me of the guy who was going along. He was carrying his big sack of potatoes, I told you before, but some of you haven't heard it. The guy came along in the wagon and he said, hey, mister, you want you want to ride? He said, yeah, yeah, thanks. He jumped up on the back and he still had the sack of potatoes on his shoulder. The guy riding in, you know, he's driving the buggy, their cart there, he said, hey, hey, mister, the wagon, he said, You can put your potatoes down. He said, Oh, no. He said, Sure, sir. It's sure nice of you to carry me, but I wouldn't want you to carry my potatoes, too. Jesus, I know you can carry me, but not all the stuff that I'm carrying. Really? Really? Take his yoke upon you this morning and you will find rest for your soul. What child is Isaiah tells us? Sensitivity. Jesus is. Notice the text. Verse six. Everlasting father. If he's a woman, this is a timeout. This can't be. How can he be everlasting father when he's God's son? Isaiah must have been drinking too much wine. Amen. Nope. Isaiah isn't saying that the son is the father. That's a heresy. It was denounced in early church councils. The word father is a descriptive analogy, and it's pointing us to Christ's character, that Jesus is father-like in his care for us, meaning that he has this tender sensitivity of a compassionate and affectionate father. Let me ask you, do you need someone who's truthful, who will speak the truth to you? Yeah, you do. You need someone who will speak the truth in love and compassion? I do. You need someone who's merciful, someone who's kind and patient. Do you need someone who will reprove you when you're wrong, correct you, discipline you? You need someone who gets angry at hypocrisy. Guess what? God's son perfectly reveals the father. When Philip said to Jesus, he said, show us the father and it'll be enough. Jesus said, whoever has seen me, I've seen the father. And yet, note the adjective there, everlasting or eternal. Jesus is before, above and beyond time. He is the forever Father. That's the crucial thing. Why? Because that's just what we all need. You know what's inside of every person? I realize it. The more and more as I get older, a father hunger is inside of us. We all hunger for a perfect what? Father. George Herbert said this, one father is worth more than 100 schoolteachers. I say, Amen. Do you know how much money our government spends every year due to fatherlessness on programs? $100 billion. If you take care of that, I think the budget deficit pretty quick, wouldn't it? Amen? $100 billion. I was blown away when I read that. But no one, lives forever on this sin-cursed planet. An earthly father must eventually leave us as orphans. But Jesus said, John 14, 18, listen to this, I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. What's he talking about? I will come to you by way of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And when he loves us, then he loves us forever. And therefore, he has to be everlasting or eternal. A dead Christ won't do us any good. Dying people need a risen living Savior. And in eternity, when Jesus raises from the dead, he will be like a father to us. We'll follow the lamb wherever he goes. He will feed us and lead us. He will love us forever. Fully and freely. Now, let me illustrate it before we go to our next point. Watchman Knee told about a new convert. Guy was a new Christian and he came to see him and he was deeply distressed. And this is what he said. No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I'm losing my salvation. Well, we know for one thing, he was losing his mind. Amen. And Knee replied, listen to this. He said, Do you see this dog here? He's my dog. He's house trained. He never makes a mess. He's obedient. He's a pure delight to me. But out in the kitchen, I have a baby son. And he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he makes a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? My dog or my son, who is my heir? Which one? Listen, and this is what Ne told this new Christian. You are Jesus Christ's heir because it is for you that he died. Are you a Christian this morning? You are Jesus Christ heir, not by your perfection, not by your performance, but only by his grace. You say, yeah, but he only disciplined me when I sinned. Yeah, but only because he loves you too much to let you dishonor his holy name and or to destroy yourself. Maybe this morning you're feeling like nobody cares. You feel unloved. Maybe you struggle with this, quote, father, unquote, image because your earthly father was a jerk. And maybe he was absent. Maybe he was abusive. I can relate. If that's your case, Jesus is the Father who will love you fully and freely forever. In him, you'll find the perfect love for which your heart longs. And we earthly fathers fail. But Jesus never fails because his name is Everlasting Father. What child is this? Last and not least, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Notice the text. The phrase literally means the Prince whose coming brings peace. And this is the final title. It's the climax to all the others. God's ultimate plan for peace rests not on treaties or economic prosperity or climate control or even precepts and principles. God's plan for peace is a person, the prince of peace. And he produces peace vertically between us and God, internally amongst ourselves and horizontally with others. And how so? By his sinless life, his sacrificial death, Jesus overcame sin and death and the devil. He purchased our peace with his precious blood on the cross. He fully satisfied God's just wrath against his people's sins. And why? The law demands death penalty for our sins, but Jesus nailed it to the cross. And now all who trust in him are at peace with God. That's the vertical dimension of peace. Jesus is our peace. Peace is the smile of God reflected in the believer's soul, as one person put it. Here's my question. Are you at peace with God? If you're not, turn from whatever else you're trusting in and trust in who? The Prince of Peace, Jesus. And yet, here's what I find, even believers get restless, amen? Especially since we live in a hostile world. And so we also need the peace of God, that internal dimension. And later in the book, Isaiah says these comforting words to God. He says, you keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you. He says, because he trusts in you, trust in the Lord forever. Paul alludes to that in Philippians. He says in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. It's a peace that doesn't depend on our circumstances and which the world can neither give nor take away. Paul says, let his peace rule in your heart. And why? So you'll be at peace with others. That's the horizontal dimension of peace. Do not be like the widow, Christian. You say, what do you mean the widow? The widow who had rest in peace, put on her husband's tombstone. But when she found out that he left her out of her will, she added to the tombstone till I come. Relational peace can be difficult. Amen. Let me illustrate it before we close. One of the greatest masterpieces is a painting called The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. But da Vinci struggled with it because right before painting it, he had a bitter argument with an enemy who is also a painter. So da Vinci painted the face of his enemy as the face of Judas Iscariot. He took great delight in knowing that others actually noticed the face of his enemy on Judas in the painting. But then he tried to paint the face of Jesus and he couldn't make any progress. He was frustrated and confused. And eventually he realized what was wrong. His hatred of the other painter was holding him back from painting the face of Jesus. And it was only after making peace with his fellow painter and repainting the face of Judas that he was able to paint the face of Jesus and complete his masterpiece. So what? Are you trying to paint the features of Christ? into your life while also painting the face of others with hostility and hatred? You know those people that have hurt you? You don't know what he said to me, Pastor. I probably don't. And I don't want to hear it. You don't know what she did to me. You don't know what they said and did. Yeah, yeah. Is there a broken relationship in your life that needs to be mended? If so, be to that person what God has been to you. What do you mean? For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. The world says, what does the world say? Never send a boy to do a man's job. Isn't that what it says? But the means that God sent is evidence of God's heart. The gift of God's Son reveals God's heart toward you. Here's a question. Are you rightly calculating God's heart toward you this morning? You say, yeah, God must be really angry with me because things are going terrible. No, what if God's heart is aching for you? Even while things are going what? Terrible. It reminds me of Ethel. You know, Ethel was there with her husband. And her husband had a heart attack. And there was old faithful Ethel right next to him. He said, Ethel, he said, you've been with me all these years. He said, you were there when the house burned down. She said, yes, yes. He said, and you were there when I lost my job." She said, yes, yes. He said, and now you're here with me and that I've had a stroke. He said, Ethel, I'll tell you, you're in bad luck. He was misinterpreting Ethel's what? Love. Amen, we do that with God, don't we? Are you rightly calculating God's heart toward you? God stopped the downward spiral of tit-for-tat retaliation. And how? He sent his son to die for us while we were still sinners. Listen, this morning, maybe you need to humbly pray for courage and take that first step toward reconciliation with that person that hurt you. When Jesus came into the world, a multitude of angels said, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he's pleased. So then true peace comes to us because a child was born. And in the end, the peace of his kingdom will be absolute and universal. All disturbers of peace, from within and without, will be completely cut off. How do we apply our sermon? It's pretty simple. Are you confused today? Jesus is the wonderful Counselor. Amen. Are you weak today? Jesus is mighty God. Are you afraid? Feeling insecure? Feeling unloved? He's everlasting what? Father. Amen. Are you disturbed today? Anxious, afraid? What's going on? He's a prince of peace. A man who visited a village, he asked if any great people had been born there. One villager replied, no, only babies. Only babies. What difference can a baby make? All depends on who the child is. The year was 1809 and a traveler was passing through Kentucky. He stopped at a store and he asked, anything happen around here lately? No, was the reply. Nothing ever happens around here. There was a baby born out of the Lincoln cabin last night. That's all. Just a baby. Abraham Lincoln and slavery in America was destined to be abolished. Amen. Just a baby. Listen, the innkeeper didn't know who he was turning away that night. And even Mary couldn't fully found him at all. Mary, did you know we have songs like that? The wise men saw him and worshiped him. But so did Herod in order to kill him. But that baby born in Bethlehem has become the centerpiece of human history. We even divide our time by his coming, B.C. and A.D. Jesus is the head over his church and he governs all things for the good of his church. Adolf Hitler declared the Third Reich will last a thousand years, did it? I bit the dust like every other country, amen? Like all other nations, it fell into the dust of history, but there will be no end to the increase of Christ's government. His kingdom is forever. And why? It rests on the shoulder of the child with many names who is God the Son. Question, have you turned the government of your life over to him? That's the question this morning. And that can only be done one day at a time. And only then will you and I know the beauty and the benefits of God. Let me close with this thought. Tyler's favorite comedian is Brian Reagan. Ryan Reagan, and he has a sting where he talks about people at a dinner party and they're all talking about, well, I'm this and I'm that. And one guy says, well, I'm an astronaut and I've been to the moon. He bites into his broccoli. Try beating that. Nobody can beat, nobody can top this astronaut, right? Everything after that's what? Small potatoes, ain't that? This guy's been to the moon. After the Apollo 15 mission, Colonel James Irwin related some of the high points of his experience. He told of their weightless bodies floating free in space capsule, the rising crescent of the earth seen from the moon and the triumphal splashdown before a watching world. But then he spoke of the impact the experience had on his spiritual life. He said that from the lunar surface, he sensed both the glory of God and the plight of earthbound man. And as he came back to earth, he realized he couldn't content himself with being merely a celebrity. Instead, he would have to be a servant telling his fellow man a better way to live. Irwin concluded by saying that if we think it a great event to go to the moon, how much greater is the wonder that God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He got it right, didn't he? He got it right. And because man walked on the moon, we got science and technology that made tremendous advances. Great, great. But don't miss Christmas, because God walked on the earth. We know where we came from and we can know where we're going. We can know our creator personally and we can live in his light. And through faith in Jesus, sinless life and sacrificial death and all powerful resurrection, we can know the joy of having our sins forgiven and the experience, the fullness of abundant life. And why? All because God walked on the earth. All because for to us a child with many names is what? Born. And to us a son is given.