Well, it's starting to seem a little bit like Christmas, singing Christmas songs in cold weather. And we're just about 10 days out, so it's hard to believe. 10 days till Christmas Eve. My wife was reminding me today. I hope you've had a good week so far. If you have your Bible, let's go back to Isaiah 9-6. We've been in our Christmas series on Wednesday night. We're looking at the names of Jesus given by God through Isaiah the prophet. And we're taking this one verse at a time. And, or I'm sorry, one name at a time. It's just one verse. We're looking at one name at a time. We're trying to look at it like you would take a diamond and just turn it around and look at the different angles and different facets of beauty of that diamond, that reflective beauty. And I think that's what these names of Jesus will do for us. They help us to see the Savior with the wonder in all. You know, I think most of us here tonight, we're familiar with our Christmas story. But it's my hope that by working slowly and deliberately through these names of Jesus, that we can regain some of the wonder of Christmas. And it's not the wonder of Christmas that we're seeking necessarily, but the wonder of Christ. That's what we want to look at tonight. And so it's my prayer that in the midst of all of the traditions of this season, I want us to deepen our appreciation for who Christ is, what he means to us, and what he has done for us. And tonight we're gonna be looking at the name, The Mighty God. I don't know why, is that my phone that was talking? Okay, I thought it was. The Mighty God, we're gonna be looking at that name tonight. The child that was born on Christmas morning. that son that was given is not only given the name Jesus, but he's given the name the mighty God. I mean, that's a tremendous wonder to think about. The mighty God became a baby dependent upon his earthly mother and father. Let's look here in Isaiah 9, 6 again. We're going to read this and we're going to pray. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. So we're going to be looking at the mighty God tonight. Let's pray. Father, we want to thank you for this wonderful prophecy of Isaiah that has in part been fulfilled 2,000 years ago when Christ was born. But Lord, we know that there's still yet more prophecy to be fulfilled concerning Jesus. We know that he's going to be coming back sometime and he's going to be gathering his people unto himself and later be establishing his kingdom on this earth. And as this verse tells us, upon his shoulder shall be the government. He's going to rule and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Lord, as we are entering into the Christmas season and we reflect and celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, how the Son of God humbled himself in great humility to take upon himself human flesh, to be born as a baby that he might go to the cross to die for our sins. What a wonder that is, but even greater is to think that he is the mighty God. The mighty God humbling himself in such a way so that he could save us, so that he could raise us up and redeem us. Lord, we thank you for In this beautiful verse, we thank you for your son, Jesus. We pray tonight, Lord, you might speak to our hearts. And Lord, that you might minister to us through your word. For I ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. So this child that we celebrate at Christmas, this holy infant that we just sing about, away in a manger in silent night, is the mighty God. I mean, that's amazing to think about. You know, as a wonderful counselor, Jesus has a wonderful plan. And I'm glad that plan involves us. And as the mighty God, He is able to achieve His plan to the fullest. Think about that, looking at these names. We've covered His name is Wonderful. We looked at that. His name is Counselor. He's got this wonderful plan in His wisdom that He has devised. And it goes back into eternity. And it spans into the future, into eternity. And as the mighty God, we know that He is able to achieve all that He has planned to its fullest. This Hebrew name, the mighty God, you know, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and Isaiah, when he first wrote this, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote it in Hebrew. It consists of two words, Hebrew words, Gebor El. Gabor El. And you know, El is a very common name for God. It means Almighty God. But Gabor, it means mighty. It speaks of strength. It speaks of something that's strong. And so, if we were to translate literally, it would read like this. The Mighty Almighty God. because El means almighty God and Gabor means mighty. So the mighty almighty God or the mighty mighty God. And I thought that was interesting when I studied that. And just looking at it from that perspective, we see that Jesus, he set apart from all other powers, all false deities, all spirit beings. He is so much greater, so much mightier, so much better. His power is so far superior to anyone else. And interestingly, this word for mighty, Gabor, is also translated in the Old Testament as valiant, strong, but here's what's interesting, it's translated as champion. In 1 Samuel 1751, it was used of Goliath, the champion of the Philistines. The champion. You know, I bring that out because a champion is someone who's left standing after a fight is over. It's one who still stands when all others have fallen or failed. A champion is the one who gains all the respect of the people because of his mighty exploits. And you know, the real champion was not on that day in 1 Samuel. It was not Goliath, by the way. It was David. David was the champion. He was the one that stood in victory. Remember how that they begin to sing the praises of David. Saul had slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands. But David's greater son, Jesus Christ, What a fitting title this is for him. He is the great champion, the great warrior that has won the final battle for us over death. He is going to win this final battle. He's coming back. He's going to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He's going to be known as the mighty champion. You know, you think about it, Jesus, he might've come to the earth as a little baby. But He was, He is, and He always will be the mighty God. Don't forget that. He was, He is, and He always will be the mighty God. We're gonna look at some things tonight concerning Jesus as the mighty God. And I want you to, if you would, take your Bible now to Hebrews. You know, we spent this entire year in the book of Hebrews. I want you to go to chapter 1. And we're about to finish up Hebrews this Sunday. I think it's fitting that we were able to finish it this year and started it in January, the first Sunday in January. But I'm going to be giving supporting scriptures out of Hebrews because it's going to be kind of like a review. We've been focusing on Jesus is so much better this year. And tonight we're going to see how he's so much mightier. He's a mighty God. He is the mighty God. And so I want you to be in Hebrews because that's where we're going to be looking at some scriptures. We could look at many others, but we're going to focus in on Hebrews. And the first thing we're going to look at tonight is that Jesus is mighty in who he is. He is mighty in who he is, his person and who he is. He is a mighty, the mighty God. And so under this, under this is the sub point. He is our mighty God. He is our mighty God. That's who he is. You know Jesus is your Lord and your Savior. He is your mighty God. Think about that. I want you to notice in verse 3 in Hebrews chapter 1, this is speaking about Jesus. And it says, who being the brightness of his glory, speaking of God's glory, and the express image of his person. It says here in Hebrews that Jesus is the express image of his person speaking of God. Because you'll notice in verse 1, it's speaking about God. God. And so Jesus is the express image of his person, of God. He is very God of God. And he Even though he came in great humility, I was listening to those songs, I was looking as we were singing, it talked about how that in humility he came. And I want to say it was great humility, because think about this. He is God. He is, now we know the Godhead, there's the Father, Son, the Holy Spirit, these three are one, they're co-equal, they're co-eternal, but yet there are three personalities, but one God. And Jesus, being the Son of God, the second person in the Godhead, but He is God. He is the mighty God. And the mighty God stepped out of eternity into time. and became a baby. I mean, that's just amazing to think about. He took the form of man. You know, it reminds me what Paul wrote in Philippians 2, 6 and 7. He said, who being in the form of God, bought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." I want you to understand that what happened when Jesus came to this earth, He did not cease being God when He was made man. He just added humanity. He was still the mighty God. He added humanity. The Word is another name for him. John described it this way, the word was God, you know, and how the word was made flesh. So he didn't cease being God when he was born. You know, some people look at that passage and Philippians and and I try to give it all different kinds of interpretations, but The Greek word there, no reputation, it has a meaning of how he emptied himself. And try to say that Jesus emptied himself of deity, but he didn't. He emptied himself of... in the sense that he humbled himself. He came and he was made flesh. I mean, Paul explains it in those following verses that he became a servant. Now, think about that just for a minute. Almighty God, the mighty God, becoming a servant. Now, the word servant that Paul uses there is a bondservant, a slave, a doulos. The mighty God becoming a doulos, a bondservant? Yes, that's what it means. When he made himself with no reputation, when he emptied himself, he, the mighty God, he took on himself humanity, became a servant. Now, there were some of his prerogatives as the mighty God that he set aside, but he never ceased. being God. He never ceased. He was always, and He always is, always was, always will be the mighty God. And so when we look at the incarnation of Jesus there in Bethlehem, when He was born, that was not the beginning of His existence, but the beginning of His personal ministry on earth. His personal mission to save us from our sins. the mighty God entering into time and come and obey that he might grow up and go to the cross. I want to just say under this sub point that to reject Jesus Christ is to reject the mighty God. You know, there are people that say that it's not necessary to have faith in Christ to be saved and go to heaven. I'm here to tell you that it is required. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Him. There's no other way. He's the mighty God. If you reject Jesus as the mighty God, you've rejected God. So don't forget who He is. He's mighty in who He is. He's our mighty God, but He's also our mighty creator. Look in verse 2. He hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he had appointed heir of all things, by whom also," notice this, "...he made the worlds." He made the worlds. Jesus is the mighty Creator. He made all things. You know, John put it this way in John 1.3, he said, all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. Nothing was made without Christ. Colossians 1.16, Paul said this, by him were all things created that are in heaven. and that are in earth visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. He is the mighty creator of this universe, the creator of all things. He created our world. as the mighty God, He created you and I. But we also see in these verses here in Hebrews 1 that He is our mighty sustainer. And verse 3 again, I want you to, I want to pick up in the middle where it says, and upholding all things by the word of His power. Upholding all things by the Word of His power. This word uphold means to support, to maintain, or to sustain. So Jesus Christ, He is sustaining all things by the Word of His power. Now, I want you to think about this. When Jesus was lying there in that manger as a baby, He was upholding all things. I believe that. He never ceased being God. He is the mighty God. Though he was a little baby, he was upholding the stars, the galaxies. He was upholding the earth and everything about creation. He was sustaining it. You know, they say that the Earth rotates at 92 million miles, or it's 92 million miles away from the sun, I'm sorry. And it rotates at a thousand miles an hour. It's tilted 23 and a half degrees on its axis, so we don't burn or freeze. But what keeps it held together? What keeps it all held in place? And scientists have talked about this fine thread that holds everything together. They've called it the atomic glue or the strong nuclear force. But they really don't know what holds this universe together, but we do. It's Jesus Christ, the mighty God. He said he's upholding all things by the word. His power. Colossians 117, he says, by Him all things consist. And that word consist means held together. All things are held together by Jesus. Everything in this universe is upheld, sustained by Jesus, the mighty God, the sustainer of all things. And so Jesus, these are just a few things that we can see that Jesus is mighty in who He is. He is the mighty God. But I want to look second tonight that Jesus is mighty in what he's done. He is mighty in what he has done. We're looking past tense here on this point. You know, we could talk about a lot of things. We could go to the gospels. We could look at, we could look at his birth. how that the power of the Holy Ghost overshadowed this virgin woman, and she was conceived of the Son of God. We could talk about that miraculous birth, how the mighty God became flesh. It's unlike any other birth. We could talk about His teaching during His earthly ministry, when they said in Luke 4.32, they were astonished at His doctrine, for His word was with power. We could talk about his miracles, how that he gave sight to the blind, he made the deaf to hear, he made the lame to walk, he raised up the dead, he multiplied the fishes and loaves, he talked to the wind and the sea and made them calm. In Matthew 8, 27, it said that all men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this that even the winds and sea obey him? We could talk about all those different things that he has done, but I want to focus on just a couple of things here in Hebrews. And that is, he was mighty in his death. You know, in Hebrews, he expounds upon the meaning of his sacrifice and how it was so much. battered. And the efficacy of his death for our sins, here in this first chapter in verse three, after he talks about him upholding all things by his word of his power, he says this, when he had by himself purged our sins. he had purged by himself our sins. Not with the blood of bulls and of lambs or goats, but by himself, by his own blood, he had purged our sins. It says in Hebrews 9, 12, Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. You know, everything about the crucifixion, if you read the crucifixion story, you can see that everything about it reveals his mighty power. I mean, from his arrest, to the trials, to the crucifixion itself, to his death on the cross, everything about it revealed that he was the mighty God in control of it all. Remember when they came to arrest him, and they were They were, he asked who they were, whom they were seeking. And he said, it is I. And they just, it says they fell back and fell down. I mean, he just revealed his power. He willingly went to that cross. to lay down his life as a sacrifice for our sins, as a substitute for us, as the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world. When he was on the cross, he himself laid down his own life when he said, it is finished. And he gave up the ghost. You know, no one took his life from him. And they were amazed when they came and they broke the thieves, the two thieves' legs. Because they had not died, but Jesus had already died. Because he laid down his own life. It was a miraculous death. Because it was bearing our sins. The sin he bore the wrath of God for us. He not only purged our sins by his death, but if you look in chapter 2 and verse 14, this is what he says, For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Jesus not only purged our sins, but he's delivered us from death, the power of death. Death has lost because the mighty God won the victory at the cross. He's delivered us from the fear of death because of his sacrifice for our sins. I mean, we could go on and on, but we can see that this mighty God, His death was sufficient to pay for your sins and my sins. It was sufficient. And we're going to see that a little bit later, but as we come to this next point, He was mighty in His resurrection and ascension. You know, back in chapter one, at the end of verse three, it says, after he had himself purged our sins, it says this, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. You know, Hebrews doesn't really spend time in speaking of the resurrection, but we know about the resurrection accounts and all the four gospels. Paul expounds upon it in 1 Corinthians 15. We know that in Acts it talks about He showed them many infallible proofs after He was resurrected for 40 days. He taught them concerning the Kingdom of God. The resurrection is another thing that's Reveals his power his mind because as he said in John 10 that he had power to lay down his life But he said also he had power to raise up his life again Why how? Because he is the mighty God he raised himself up from the dead the third day and It says that after those 40 days He ascended up into a cloud, he ascended into heaven, and Hebrews picks it up there and says that he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. You know, when it speaks of sitting down in the Bible, it speaks of finishing his work. You know, in the Old Testament, in the tabernacle and temple, there were no chairs because the work of the priest was never They never finished. They never sat down. They had to offer sacrifice after sacrifice, year after year. But not so with Jesus. He finished His work on the cross when He said, It is finished. The mighty God paid in full for the sins of the world. And because He finished the work of redemption on the cross, He could sit down. But he didn't just sit down anywhere, in any place. He sat at the right hand of the Father. This is a place of power, a place of prominence, a place of authority, a place of dominion. You know, this place points to his authority as the mighty God. He had victory over sin, death, and hell. So you think about it, His resurrection and ascension, what that says about who He is and what He's done for us. It very well shows us that He indeed is the mighty God. But now I want to come to the reason why this name should bring such joy and worship to our hearts this Christmas. And that point is this, Jesus is mighty in what He will do. What He will do. This is where it gets personal. This is where it applies to us here today. What we're saying is that Jesus is the mighty God. He is able to do what He promised. You know, we look very briefly. We could spend weeks and months looking at the deity of Christ and who He is and what He has done. I mean, Bible college students will spend an entire semester looking at Christ, Christology. We could spend a lot of time. We covered it very briefly. But knowing who He is, that gives us this assurance that he is able to do what he promised. And that's what's so special about Christmas today for us. For example, he is able to save all that come to God through him. You know, that's just one of the things he's able to do. And he tells us that in Hebrews chapter 7 in verse 25. He says that wherefore he is able. Now, I want you to know that wherefore is relating back to the previous verse. Let's read verse 24. But this man, because he continueth ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. So because Jesus lives forever and continues forever as a great high priest, says, wherefore he is able also to save them to the other most that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. I love that, he is able. You know, this Christmas, we can preach the gospel, we can preach the Christmas story, we can preach about Jesus, the mighty God, who is mighty to save. That He is able to save. If you're here tonight and you don't know if Christ is your Savior, listen, He is able to save you. He is mighty to save. Because of who He is and what He's done, when we look at all that He has done, I mean, He created all things. There's nothing that He cannot do. But because He gave His life on the cross and died for the sins of the world, He is able, as a mighty God, to save all that come to God through Him. This is a great promise of the Gospel. The sacrifice of Jesus, it's enough to pay for your sin debt. And this mighty God came to earth as a baby so He can be your Savior. And now that He has conquered death and hell, He is able to save you. You come to God through Him. But here's another truth related to that one. He is able to keep by His power all that come to Him. He's not only able to save you, but He's able to keep you. You know, I love the doctrine of eternal security. It's a Bible doctrine. And what it says is that all that Christ saves, He keeps. He does not lose any that He saves. And I want to show you right back in this verse, in verse 25 in chapter 7, I want you to notice Wherefore he is able to save them, notice this, to the uttermost. I don't know if you understand what that means. But it literally means to the end. I mean, the uttermost parts of the earth, what would that be? The furthest parts, the ends of the earth. Well, He's able to save to the outermost, meaning that He's able to save you all the way to the end. Because Hebrews 12, 2, He says He's the author and finisher of our faith. He's able. He's able. So Jesus promises that not only can He give us eternal life, but once He's given it, no one can take it away from us. No one. No one. John 10, 28, this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. And this is the words of Jesus. And it says this, Jesus said, and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. You know, we could go and read the next verse, but I'm focused on Jesus tonight. I want you to think about this. The mighty God. Imagine how safe it is to be in the hands of the mighty God. He says that, what did he say? Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. So where does that say that we are? Where are we as his sheep to whom he's given eternal life? Where are we? Jesus said, they're in my hand. and no man can pluck them out. He said, my father. Next one he's gonna say, my father is greater than I am. We're also in his hand too. But think about this, that the mighty hand of God himself shall never perish. Isn't that comforting? To know Jesus is the mighty God. That he is mighty to save. That he is able to save all that come to God by him. And not only that, but he's able to keep us saved. Keep us to the end, because He is the mighty God. I mean, if He lost any, then it would be a blemish on His character and His power. But the truth is, He will lose none. But here's another one. He is able to succor them that are tempted. If you'll go back in chapter 2 of Hebrews and in verse number 18, it says, For in that he himself had suffered, being tempted, You know, he just was talking about how he was made flesh and blood, how that he took upon himself flesh so that he could suffer and be a merciful high priest. It says for him that he himself had suffered being tempted. Notice what it says. He is able to succor them that are tempted. Now this word, succor, this is an old English word, but it means to help, to aid, to relieve. to strengthen. He is able. When we are going through life and we're tempted, as we suffer in this life, suffer trials and afflictions and persecutions, the Bible says He is able as the mighty God to help us, to give us aid, to strengthen us. See, this is where it gets sweet, because as we live life, we go through afflictions and trials, and just this reminder that our Savior is the mighty God. As the mighty God, He is able. He is a champion. He is a victor. He is a hero. He's able. to not just save us and keep us saved, but to succor us when we're tempted. But here's another one. He's able to give grace to all that come to Him. In Hebrews 4, in verse 14, He says this, Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. But we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. I don't know if you realize this, but this pretty much covers everything. I mean, grace to help in time of need. It could be you're lonely at Christmas time. Well, Jesus is able to give you grace during this season. if you'll come to the throne of grace, if you'll come and draw near to Him. He can give you grace to go through this lonely time. You may be weak, He's able to give strength. You may be heartbroken, He's able to give you comfort. You may be at a place in your life you don't know where to turn, things that seem to be collapsing around you in your life, He'll give you wisdom. Not just as a mighty God, as the counselor. He can give you direction for your life. If you don't have a job and you're in need, He can provide a job. If you're discouraged, He can give you courage. I mean, we can go on and on and on. It says here, very plainly, that if we would come boldly to the stone of grace, we will find grace to help in time of need. He is able to give that grace because he is the mighty God. He is seated on the right hand of the majesty on high, a place of power and authority. You remember that the father had given to him all power. Because he told his disciples in Matthew 28, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. See, the Father had given Jesus all power in heaven and earth. He has all power. He has power over the devil. He has power over all the devils. that work for Satan. He has power over all of those out there that are in opposition to Christ. All those in places of authority, in places of power, kings and people that are very powerful in this world, He is over them. He is over your situation. He is over your storm. He can come just like He did on the disciples' storm on the Sea of Galilee and say, Peace be still. He is over that storm. He is almighty God. His promises are sure because He's the mighty God. That's who He is. And we can look at what He has done, and that gives us this hope of what He will do. as the mighty God. And I hope that this Christmas as you reflect upon how that the mighty God humbled himself and became a baby there in Bethlehem, a little baby in that manger, that you'd remember who he is, that he's the mighty God. That those tiny hands were the same hands that put the stars in place. The same hands that created you and I. That boy or that baby that grew up to be a carpenter who made the tables and door frames as he was growing up was the same one who fashioned and made the whole world. The mighty God of justice who must punish sin was the very One who allowed Himself to be punished on a cross so that He might satisfy those very demands of justice for you and I. You know, this Christmas story is not just a great story about a baby born in extraordinary circumstances. It's about the mighty God taking the form of a man so that he might save us and one day bring us home into his presence. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your precious son. who is the mighty God. God, help us to keep this at the forefront of our hearts and minds this Christmas season that we'd remember who Jesus is, that he is wonderful, that he is counselor, that he is the mighty God, that he is able to meet every need that we have in our personal life, in our family's life, our church's life. He is able because he is the mighty God will humble ourselves before him would bow down before him. If we would come to him in humility and repentance and faith, he will save us. He will deliver us. Oh, Father, we thank you for these precious truths and God that we would apply these truths in our daily life that we would when we're faced with difficult circumstances, that we would know that we could go before that throne of grace boldly because we have a mighty God who died for our sins, who made it possible to come into your presence, O God, to receive, obtain mercy and grace to help in our time of need. Lord, help us to also remember as believers tonight that the work that you've called us to do, both as an individual believer and corporately as a church, that we can do it by your power. You are the mighty God. You're the one that said, all power is given to me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore. God, help us to go in your power and your strength, depending on your mighty power to accomplish the mission you want us to accomplish, to share the precious gospel message with those around us. Lord, thank you once again. for who you are and what you've done for us and what you're going to do for us. We love you. We pray in your precious and mighty name. Amen.