Have you ever heard or used the common idiom or the saying, "It's all in the name"? Yeah. Your plumbing goes bad in the middle of the night perhaps, and you need quick assistance. Tell your wife quickly, do a Google search and find out what plumbers are ready to go, because the toilet's not flushing too well. She comes back and says, "Honey, there's Matt's Plumbing. Or there is Speedy Gonzales Plumbers." Which will you choose? Well, it's all in the name, right? Speedy Gonzales it is. You walk into QBD bookstore or Dymocks, and you're looking for a book to help you understand your operating system on your PC. And instead of spending 30 minutes wandering around the bookstore, which my wife always seems to have a problem with. I have a problem with bookstores. An addiction. But anyway, you walk by, and as you're looking for a book, you actually turn your head and find that a book is staring right at you by the name of *Windows for Dummies*. And you know that's the one. It's all in the name. You know what the book's all about by looking at the name of that book. And the meaning of this saying, "it's all in the name," reveals that is this idea that the name reveals the most important quality, or purpose, or characteristic of that which it represents. The name defines, if you could put it that way, what the book is about or what is the special emphasis of this plumbing company, or whatever it may be. And so the saying goes basically that you can tell a thing by its name. Now, this doesn't always apply as you know. We've named our children's various names, and if we were to take a survey of all the names here of all the children, or even of your own name, they have all kinds of meanings, many to which we do not live up to. And cultures name their children in hope that their children will be as they have named them. This is true of African, Arab, Jewish, Chinese cultures, Japanese cultures, Islander cultures all throughout the world. In fact, even in Australia, we do practice this, maybe not so intentionally, but we avoid certain names because we don't like the lack of hope that they give. You know, not too many Judases around, not too many Adolf Hitlers around today, and not too many Jezebels and Cains. But the saying that it's all in the name doesn't always apply to our children. We call our son Noah, which means rest and comfort, but we wonder whether it means restless or comfortless at times. We call our daughter's name Amelia, which means strong and industrious and hardworking, but we can't get her to make her bed in the morning. We call our name of our daughter Sophia, but wisdom is justified of her children, and she doesn't belong to that child of wisdom. And so it's all in the name doesn't always apply to our children, but in the Christmas story or in the Christmas narrative as was read to us in the scriptures so far, God gives His Son a name. And God's Son has many names and titles in the Bible, but He gives Him one special personal name. God's Son is called Christ, He is called Lord, He is called the Son of Man, He is called the Son of God, the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He is the Alpha and the Omega. And all the names of Jesus point to the glory of Jesus, point to the majesty of Jesus, the wonder of Jesus. You want to know who Jesus is, you can learn about Him from just looking at His names. But God gives a personal name through the angel to Joseph concerning Christ. And in Matthew chapter 1, verse 21 to 22, the word of God says, "And she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Who is this Jesus? Well, I suggest to you that it's all in the name. So what is in this name Jesus? The name Jesus, at its meaning, means "the Lord" or "Yahweh," the self-existent eternal God, is the God of salvation. It's a name actually that is the same name as Joshua, which is my very own name, which is a declaration of the fact that the Lord God of heaven and earth, Yahweh, the Creator, the Sustainer, the One who is the self-existent One, the One who revealed Himself in the burning bush, He is the God who saves. And it declares His salvation, that God is the One who saves. But what is interesting about the name of Jesus or in this account of the name of Jesus, is that the angel makes some remarks following the proclamation of His name. He says, "For you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." The name Jesus means "God saves." But the angel says "He," that is Jesus, "will save His people from their sins." What does this mean? Well, what it means is that this Jesus is that very God of God who has come as Yahweh to save His people from their sins. This is backed up in just the very next verse, in verse number 23, when it says, "Because now it is fulfilled that behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel," which is being interpreted, "God with us." You see what's happening here? His name Jesus, declaring the salvation of God. No, no, not only that, He is the salvation of God. He is God manifested in the flesh. He is Emmanuel, God with us. This is why those passages are so closely linked together. Now, the implications of this name Jesus are many. I can't go through them all tonight, but just a few to help us think about this idea: that God sends His Son into the world whose name is Jesus, but Jesus is the God who saves us from our sins. And so when God called His Son Jesus, or when Joseph and Mary called their son Jesus through the angel that came to them in a dream, what you have here is God saying, "This is the One who will save you from your sins." And the implications of that name Jesus, which means Savior really, is great. Firstly, it reveals to us both our need and it reveals to us hope. Think about it for just a moment. His name shall be called Jesus, which means Savior. He will save His people from their sins. The name immediately reveals to us a certain problem, doesn't it? Savior. Savior implies people need rescuing. Savior implies people are in trouble. Savior implies things are not what they ought to be in the lives of people or in the world around us. And immediately this name Jesus that is given by God to His Son reveals our need immediately, that we have a problem with sin. You see, if there is no sin, there is no need for a Savior. If we are not drowning or we are not sinking, there is no need for the lifeguard. But because of man's rebellion against God and because of the fact that we don't live up to the holy standards of God, and we don't even live up to our own standards very much anyhow, we are in need of a Savior. And the name Jesus tells us that we need saving. You see, Christmas is about the coming of a Savior into the world, someone who would deal with our sin. Someone who would rescue us from our spiritual condition. Someone that would deliver us from our violence and from our anger and from our covetousness and from our greed and from our lust and for all the things that we do which makes this world a pretty bad place and destroys the relationships that are in our lives. And God saw that the world needed a Savior because the world wasn't as God desired it to be. We had strayed from His commandments. And God says, "I'm going to answer this problem." And in the city of Bethlehem, there will be born to you a Savior, Christ the Lord. But also the name Jesus reveals to us a powerful promise. Not only does it reveal to us our need, but it shows us that there is One that can fulfill that need, One who has the power to save. The One who will save. In fact, it says His name shall be called Jesus, which means Savior, but it goes on to say, "For He will save His people from their sins." It's an amazing thing. Jesus will not fail at saving sinners. He won't fail to live up to His name. No matter how deep your sin may be, no matter how dark your corruption might be, no matter how long you've been away from God or away from His truth, no matter how long you've ignored His commandments and ignored His word and ignored the worship of the one who made you, the beautiful thing is that here is hope. No matter how guilty you feel this evening concerning your sins, there is One who is Jesus, who is a Savior, and in that name is hope. He will save. And He doesn't fail at saving. That word, Jesus, that name Jesus is filled with both hope and with power. He will save His people from their sins. Not only does it reveal a problem, which is our sin, and reveal a powerful promise that Jesus will save, but it also says it reveals a people that He will save. It reveals a people whom He will save. He will save His people from their sins. Who are the people that He will save? Is it just the Jews? Was it just the shepherds? Was it just the Magi who came there and bowed and worshiped Him? Is it just the kings of the earth or the poor of the earth? Who are these that are regarded as His people? Well, we know one thing for certain, that the Lord knows those that are His. And let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from evil. But what we also understand is this: all that the Father gives to the Son shall come to Him. And he that comes to Him, He will in no wise cast out. And so ultimately, when we're trying to answer this question, "Whom are the people that Jesus will save?" Those who come to Jesus will be saved by Jesus. Those who come and worship the King will be saved by the King. The sheep that hear His voice, that follow Him, are the ones that He will give eternal life to, and they will never perish. And the amazing promise is that it will be fulfilled in all who believe on Jesus Christ, and He will give you eternal life. You see, this Savior born in Bethlehem was born to die. He was born to die on the cross of Calvary so that He might fulfill His name. He paid the price for our sins. He suffered and bled and died so that we might have everlasting life. The babe born in a manger is a picture or a demonstration of the condescension of a great and mighty, glorious God, who did not have to come down from glory. He could have lived in the glory of heaven and in the beauty of with His Father and with the Holy Spirit in the unity of the Godhead. He could have enjoyed and as it were, lived in the glory of that and left us to die in our own sin. But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. A Savior born to die to affect this powerful salvation in our lives. He perfectly fulfilled His name by going to an old rugged cross and dying for our sins so that we might go free. The glorious thing is that He did not just stay in the grave. This Savior that was born to die, had died to rise. God vindicated His Son. He raised Him from the dead, and He ascended up into heaven. And He's seated on the right hand of His Father as king forever. Ever living, ever reigning, ever fulfilling the word and promises of God, ever stretching out His hands to all who come to Him that He might save them even now. He lives, He reigns as the exalted one forever. As the scripture tells us, "Therefore, God has highly exalted Him." And listen to this, "and has given Him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." There you have it. He is Lord. He's Emmanuel. To the glory of God the Father. The most precious scene in the Christmas story, in my personal opinion, is when you see these wise men and the Magi come far from the east, and they come to this babe in a manger, and they bow down and worship Him. Their knees bow, their tongues confess that this one is Lord. Before God highly exalted Him, as it were, before God gave Him a name which is above every name and seated Him in heavenly places, they witnessed that before them was the One that the prophet spoke of. The One, God's own Son, who would save His people from their sins. So let us not become careless about Christ at Christmas. We wrap and unwrap our presents. We get busy with friends and family. Wonderful things to do and a great season to enjoy together. No doubt about that. We have food, we have fun. But never at the expense of this sober reflection that His name is called Jesus. Never at the expense that He was born to take away my sins. You see, Christmas is about this condescension of God who brought us salvation, to lift us up out of our pitiful condition, to give us eternal life, to change our lives so that we no longer would live in the darkness of sin and in the darkness of night. Those that sat in darkness, as was read to us, saw a great light. As we've just sung, Christmas is about God and sinners being reconciled. It's about light and life to all He brings, risen with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by, but born that man no more shall die. Born to raise the sons of earth, that is from our spiritual dead condition. Born, He was born to give us second birth, that is to give us new life, to send His Spirit into our hearts and to cause us now to be worshipers of God in Christ. So who is this baby lying in Bethlehem? Well, His name is Jesus, and it's all in His name. Will you come and worship Him this evening? Will you bow before Him? Will you confess His name as the name which is above every name? Will you confess Him not only as Christ born in a manger but Christ the Lord? Will you turn in your heart to Him this very moment and say, "God, have mercy on me a sinner. I trust in the cross of Jesus Christ who was born to die and died to rise to save me from my sins"? Why don't you come and worship Him? Why don't you lay down your sin and come and lay hold of Him? Come as you are, come as it were to this Lord and bow down and worship Him. In Acts chapter 4, verse 12, the apostles said, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." There's only one who can save, and it's Jesus Christ the Lord. No other savior, no other name. He bears the name, He fulfilled the name, and He stands as Savior and Lord to redeem us from our sins. Oh, how we need Jesus. We're going to be singing in just a moment, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel," His people. "Deliver us, pay the price for our sins," as it were, "rescue us." Come, oh Jesus, come. "That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to you, oh Israel." If you call upon that name, the promise is that He will save you from your sins. So if you've come here this evening and you want to know more about this Savior, we encourage you to seek out myself or others, someone who's brought you here to help you understand how wonderful this Savior really is. I've only unpacked one aspect of His name. We could be here for years looking at the glory of this Savior. But you'll sing of some more of His names as we sing along tonight. But if you would like to know more about your soul's salvation, please, please don't let this Christmas go by without you knowing this Savior who was born to save you from your sins. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we come to You in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that name which is above every name. Oh, help us to bow before Him today. In the songs that we sing, in the quietness of our own hearts, help us to recognize we need a Savior. And God, You have loved us enough to give us Your own Son to deliver us from our sin. We praise and glorify Your name that You've given Him a name and that He lived up to that name and that we have a Savior, Christ the Lord. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.