His Name
by Raymond Sloan
December 13, 2020 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church (Chattanooga, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Luke 1:26-30, Luke 1:31-33

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/raymond-sloan--his-name
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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can we pray right now together in this atmosphere lord we love you today and we know that you're holy everything about you lord is perfectly fine you're on the throne today exalted above all things one more time we look to you on this sunday afternoon lord i need you make myself available to you again thank you sweet jesus for your presence and your power we know lord that you are here your glory fills this place in jesus name have your way lord today have your way mighty god we pray in jesus name speak to our hearts lord through your word today hallelujah can you just love him one more time i love you jesus your holy god yes you are you're holy you're holy jesus amen amen you may be seated if you feel like you need to thank you singers musicians thank you to all those working doing for the kingdom for the video suite that's 109 degrees right now thank you all for your consistency those running sound and cameras and those that came in today just smiling are you one of those guilty ones yeah not so much okay well maybe so great to be in the house of the lord amen i give honor to all of our guests with us today i'm so glad that you've come to our home folk welcome home we are here once again 2020. say but today i remind you it's the most wonderful time of the year whatever 2020 has shared its challenges huh not any of us probably would have made the list of things that have transpired in our lives that have unfolded over the past several months i don't think any of us probably would have picked those things huh you and i we would have chosen a better way everybody say a better way elbow your neighbor and say an easier way yeah but as we gather today in this season of merry and bright huh many are saying why has 2020 been such a terrible year anybody say that this past seven days well 2020 ever end i've heard that on multiple sites and as we gather here today i simply ask you this was 2019 an easier year because the majority of us can't remember what happened in 2019 but yet this one is horrible horrible and and for whatever reason we we tend to think and and hold on to the the possibility of 2021 being much easier and a much better year for us is there anybody holding on to that hope yeah it's called hope thank you sister renee i understand that there's a sentiment if you will there is something about remembering the good days tough times tougher times and then trying to within yourself look to better times more better times because we as humans like to pick the high road the easy way don't we we we don't want difficulties and challenges to face us but the facts still remain you and i are here you and i understand life is life and it is happening the fact of the matter is simply this only god does not ask us for our input you realize that you can't make a laundry list of expectations from god and hope that he fulfills them god is god he'll he was god before you were ever thought of and he'll be god when you're long gone off the scene what we have to learn is through all of life's situations we gotta learn how to love him in the good the bad and the ugly how to serve him and make ourselves available to him no matter if things are right or wrong or up or down you know what i'm talking about you got to learn how to settle in yourself your god i'm not here we go now we come together every service and we have one thing in mind brother josh will you kill the reverb on that top box it's coming back to me multiple times and i don't sound like elvis so move it whatever you and i we come together and we want one thing we want to get closer to jesus we want to lift our hands and we want to just worship him anybody in that boat with me we want to magnify him we want to enjoy the connection between him and us those that are on our right hand in our left hand in fact we look forward to that connection every week that's why you come in here that's why you greet one another that's why as apostolics were challenged with just a fist bump it's amazing to watch people come in at cornerstone because many are like i don't know what to do with you and within moments it's like i'm just glad you're here anybody notice that well the greatest thing is next time somebody wants to fist bump you get up close to him with a fist bump and then grab their fist they're like that's gross why because it's odd for apostolics to do that we all love e-dubby why because when the lord gets close to us i don't want to hear him i don't want to hear him yell my name i want to hear him whisper my name that means i'm up close that means i'm next to him as you look forward to every year or every week excuse me being a part of the family of god in the good times and in the bad times right in the ups and in the downs we have to learn how to accept the plan and the actions of god as we understand he is in the driver's seat and we are not the destination is not another sunday the destination is a place called heaven the destination is not to arrive simply at retirement now the destination is to make heaven your home anybody still looking for the final destination it's called heaven i believe that that the hardest part for humanity is trust trust that's a very challenging thing for you and i as humans is to trust god to trust that he knows the unknown he also knows what you don't know and so when you call on his name many times the greatest challenge is not that god can or will it's the fact that you and i have to submit and trust that whatever happens he's still god and in control if you could write your own story i've said this multiple times it's been sung about thousands of times if you could write your own life story believe me you'd come up short you'd live you'd get the short end of the stick you could never choose the blessings and the goodness of god to work in your life except for the challenges and the days where you don't know what else to do come on you need to know that god is good or in spite of what you feel or what anybody else says around you why learning to trust the master is what we're all trying to do now there's a story that comes to mind believe it or not we're in the christmas season and i'm headed there today there's a story that comes to mind in this season it speaks specifically about trust it's not always easy all right it's not always convenient trust ism but trust is a necessary part of the growth of anybody wanting to get closer to the master it's necessary now here's how this story unfolds there was a young lady that was simply minding her own business doing what she did trying to do what was expected of her trying to please her parents if you will she had friends in the neighborhood she grew she learned she lived life she did school she worked she did her chores she was found doing what she was supposed to be doing it was something about this young lady that said i want to i want to be responsible i want to do and i want to be found doing what i'm supposed to be doing but all of a sudden in the midst of life in the midst of day in and day out at a particular moment at a particular place in time lo and behold an angel from heaven appears to this young lady y'all know the story luke the first chapter tells us verse 26 and in the sixth month of the the the month and the sixth month the angel gabriel was sent from god unto a city of galilee named nazareth to a virgin a spouse to a man whose name was joseph of the house of david and the virgin's name was mary anybody ever heard of this young lady mary yeah the bible says the angel came in unto her and said hell thou thou that art highly favored the lord is with thee blessed art thou among women and when she saw him she was troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be verse 30 and the angel said unto her fear not mary for thou hast found favor with god an angel a heavenly being something not of this world came to a specific detailed place with a particular moment in time an exact moment that this angel came to this young girl and began to speak to her notice i've said many times he'd probably freak out most of us but this angel says to her you are highly favored the lord is with you you are blessed beyond comparison to other women her name was a gentle married a simple girl with a simple life but then at the moment the angel of god came to her everything changed with this heavenly visit there came an onslaught of information and words that would forever change this young girl's life why because hear me today when you find favor in the eyes of god you better watch out why because god has a plan and a purpose in your life mary was soon to find out i'm a nobody from nowhere just simply trying to live and do the best that i know how but the god of glory had another opinion in mind no mary you found favor i've got something to do with you why because god's favor on her life changed everything mary received kindness from god and the angel was there to inform her of her blessings that were to come now you and i we might see this as an interesting sequence of events she had a visit from an angel the angel reveals god's plan to her right this turns her world literally upside down if you spend any time at all with this story you're going to find out something very intriguing she found favor therefore those around her would now consider her to be something of an oddity i mean know what it's like when you're getting closer to god and you're feeling his breath and you know he loves you but then your neighbors your friends those who are supposed to be close to you they begin to make you feel uneasy why because when you when you get close to god it makes those around you who are not so close who don't want to go the journey to begin to make fun of you and to mock you and maybe to pick catcher does anybody in here know that testimony yeah when you begin to decide lord i'm not my will but yours there's probably a lot of friends that you had to let go by the wayside there's probably some family members that you had to basically say i love you but i'm not going that road i'm choosing his road why because i found favor joseph listen carefully joseph literally could have had her killed and the law would have protected him it was his right joseph could have done that and god knew that the man joseph could have called that shot so because god has a plan god says gabriel go talk and gabriel shows up to joseph and joseph hears this story unfold and in his mind and in his spirit in his heart he's trying to figure it out he's now as confused or questioning all this as well can you imagine what joseph's going through now in his mind he hears that there's been favor found in the one that he's going to marry but she's going to have a child and he's scratching his head saying how can this be is it that i don't okay god if you said it i'm going to hold on to y'all hang with me today as joseph agrees he then as a man takes on the responsibility of everything that should happen to her joseph would have to give an account therefore they leave everything you know the story they leave everything they go to bethlehem they deliver a baby in an animal stable does anybody in this room ever wonder why it had to be a manger an animal stable that the christ child would be born yeah we know it's because years would come later where a bunch of bath robes would have to show up on a stage to represent the nativity and it would have been very difficult to replay a restaurant or something a manger is simple you simply nail some wood together set it there um we all know i'm not no here hear me hear me joseph has to accept this responsibility now i've often wondered why would it be that the creator of all of the universe would come to birth in a manger i've come today to help somebody the lord woke me the other night just smacked me in the face with this could it be could it be that in a in a manger in a stable in an animal stall where the cow spit lays where the goat droppings are where the chicken droppings are where the horse spit is where all the junk and the garbage from animals living in that here mia where all of these animals come in and they do their business on the floor they eat out of the trough it's a dirty place it's an ugly place it's a place that not many want to dwell could it be that god himself understood i'm going to go into the place where nobody will want to be y'all hang on the pastor moment why because there'll come a day when humanity will feel the same shame dirt grime and grit and they'll say the world has spit on me chewed me up and thrown me to the ground they've stomped on me and made me to be a bad person therefore the king of glory himself could say to every single one of us living in here you think your life is a mess you think you're the one that reached the bottom i was born on the bottom i know what it's like to come in a dead place where there's spit slime guts junk food all the things that are cast off of an animal i was born in that why because i have no reputation to live up to i'm the god of all of creation i speak and it happens i think and it transpires therefore somebody in here in this room listen to me somebody listening online you feel like that you've got to the bottom and your worthless nothing how can god love me i'll tell you how he went to the bottom to go to you today and say i still love you i still died for you my plan still works in your life go to bethlehem deliver the baby leave there and go to egypt after a couple years leave there and head to nazareth all of these steps were connected hear me to old testament prophetic words that this young couple really didn't understand or know about they just knew that an angel said do this so they do it they just did what the angel said hang on to me a moment every step that was taken was god ordained and in the journey more and more challenges came more and more obstacles came they were unsettled their actions were unknown others would look at them and say why i thought you were from here now you're going there all you're doing is riding a donkey you're going from one place to another it appears that this baby is not getting the response of those that are responsible for him to take care of it properly hear what i'm saying today under the under the the protection of parents could it be could it be that possibly this baby would die under their management if you will because they were living quite literally from pillar to post they were simply going and following the voice of god in all the places that they were going but lo and behold friend of mine the truth of the matter is this that god himself knew what was transpiring do you think it's strange that sometime later wise men came seeking this christ child that even the leadership of that day would say i better not find that baby i'll kill it he's not taking over my kingdom and he would be so enamored with what this prophecy was that the ruler would say of the day i want you to go kill every man child that you find why because there's a rumor going around the stars have lined up this prophecies are coming to pass and these wise guys are saying we came to look for the one that would be the savior of the world i've come to tell somebody on a sunday in december that the lord god has a plan and a purpose and when jesus christ came into this world as crazy as it sounded as odd as it was mary and joseph simply had to yield himself under the god of creation to say we'll keep moving we'll keep going forward i don't know how it's going to happen and i can assure you it's not an easy task but i will persevere because god is with me the voice of god was speaking to them leading them i come today on this sunday afternoon in december the challenging year that we have had could it be that god knows exactly where we are today might it be that god knew there would come a sunday afternoon that somebody would come into a a plastic covered painted concrete facility and say god i don't know what else to do i quit i've been trying i've been fighting i've been trying but for some reason i'm here today and my life has been a mess there's been all kind of junk going on in my heart and in my life sin is chasing after me my mind and my spirit are dragging me down every moment could it be that the story of a joseph and ameri and the birth of the christ child living in the midst of confusion and contradiction could it be the city in this sanctuary right now that you and i can look back over the eons of time and we could see specifically that the hand of the lord god was leading them as they went from one place to another it very well could be you sitting here today listening to me the life that you have lived has brought you to this juncture and although you might not understand the future there's one thing that you can say is that if jesus came and he lived and he died the way he did evidently he loved me enough to follow a plan and a purpose therefore i'm not going to quit doing the things that i'm doing but instead i'm going to yield over everything that i've been doing into the hand of the lord god to say whatever road brought me here has brought me back into grace whatever road has dragged me here has brought me to a place where the plan of god can be fulfilled what makes our time different from their time why do we think sometimes that we are suffering we are hurting when actually what's happening is god's plan is working my wife and i when we had our children we didn't have to load up on a donkey and ride across the deserts trying to go pay our tax although we pay them we didn't have to go round about egypt heading to a place of galilee in nazareth just so a bunch of prophecy could be fulfilled somebody needs to hear this you know joseph and mary they didn't quite understand what all was transpiring but one thing they were assured of the angel of the lord spoke i submitted and i'm standing here today looking at this 12 year old in the temple talking to these wise guys and them standing there scratching their heads saying we've never heard anybody say what this boy is saying hey come on it was that one standing at the foot of the cross that said surely surely this is the son of god why because when you are in the plan of god you need to understand something no matter what culture generation or where you are if you'll submit yourself to the plan of god his name will do things in your life just like it did then you got to know something you got to understand something luke 1 31 says it this way and behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name jesus he shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest and the lord god shall give unto him the throne of his father david and he shall reign over the house of jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end you're gonna have to travel with me for one moment someplace this jesus had no place to call home he was simply going where his mom and dad told him to go it might be that in your life you are simply following the voice of god eating what you can just like mary and joseph did sleeping where they could just like they did dealing with the challenges and the difficulties of life why because there's a purpose under heaven for your life the kingdom of god is at stake if you are going to give birth to a child you will have to establish a kingdom that will last forever this is what the angel was speaking unto joseph and to mary establishing this kingdom your child would be its king so every road you've got to go down joseph and mary every sacrifice you've got to make is all because of the kingdom when his name was given the scripture reveals to us come on brother jerome that you will call his name jesus jesus in your king james version that word in that verse is all capital letters is it not that signifies something of reverence that the translators tried their best to adapt to when you bring jehovah has become salvation on the scene an entire world opens up to the plan of god everything perfect about this time of year has nothing to do with santa claus a christmas tree reindeer and elves but it has to do with a mary and a joseph that went through everything they went through to bring this christ child to birth you sit here right now in this crazy 2020 year all we want it to do is pass all we're trying to do and we've said and we've heard said why is it all coming like this now why doesn't it ever when will it ever end can it not become easier the fact of the matter i have no doubt that mary and joseph thought that while the sand was blowing around them and there was nothing for them to eat yet they were holding the creator of all things in their arms if you are part of the thing called the church here what i'm saying as i bring this to a close if we are part of the thing called the church then we understand the church is the representation of the body of christ not one of us could say to anyone that the cross of calvary was an easy task for jesus not one of us could even begin to think of the stripes and the mockery and the spitting and all the evil things that were done to the body of jesus there's no way that we could say yeah he went through that but you want to see what i went through the fact of the matter is there are multiple times in the new testament that we see the baby jesus the young man jesus the adult jesus and all the things that he did and we noticed multiple times that there's one thing that's said about this mary his mother this was done this was said this was accomplished and she pondered these things in her heart how can three wise men come with gold frankincense and myrrh find him after months of traveling bow before him and say we bring the greatest gifts to this child she pondered it how can it be the shepherds would run from the field into here to this small area and simply say a host of heavenly beings came spoke to us peace on earth and good will toward men for unto you was born this day in the city of david a savior she pondered it in her heart something had transpired i have no doubt that her heart grew and grew and swelled why because there would come a day when mary would have to bow at his feet and call him his name jehovah has become my salvation there are some sitting here today you begin to doubt if the blood of jesus can still forgive sins i've come to tell you that it can he still loves and he still forgives the blood of jesus will never lose its power it reaches it flows and it moves the power of the name of jesus still puts every devil on the run hear what i'm saying and it don't matter how bad your year has been how terrible things are right now it doesn't matter you got to wear a mask and and sanitize and re-sanitize yourself the fact of the matter is this i don't have to wear a mask in the presence of the king i don't have to put alcohol on my hands and rub it real good before i lift them up all i need is the blood of jesus to touch my life and i can be clean and pure and white before him i've come to say to somebody today in this season i want to remind us that jesus is still salvation he is still a healer he is still a deliverer he is still awaymaker he is still alpha he is still omega he is still the first he remains the last he is everything in between he's the joy he is the life of he is truth he is the peace that passes everything he is the one that put you up where you are he's the one that has the next step in line if you'll simply pick up your foot and go i'm talking about jesus he is the way the truth and the life he knows where you are right now and his plan is unfolding in your life irregardless of all the junk you're going through regardless of all the steps you're walking the lord god loves you and his truth marches on what we have to do is we simply have to submit to his will and his plan for us his name is jesus his name is jesus his name is jesus i've come to tell somebody you may not know why you're on the road that you're on right now but there's a generation coming after you that's going to need to know the power in the name of jesus i'm glad that i taught my children about the power of the blood of jesus brother horton they may not get it now but they will later they'll begin to call on the name of jesus yes they will they'll begin to pray the name of jesus you want to know why i know it works because i stand here today i have no doubt my mom's watching online right now and she's looking for this little girl right here that's in another country telling these babies jesus is the answer jesus is the answer it goes from one generation to the next jennifer is what you're gonna teach him babies that's how it's gonna work it's what you're gonna teach your children it's what you're gonna put in them you better trust the name of jesus you better know the power of the cross of calvary you better know that when the story unfolds at christmas time it's bigger than a santa claus and an elf in a tree but it is the blood that never loses its power somebody today you're hungry for jesus your life is a mess this week this year whatever has happened in your life you can still come to an old rugged cross you can still bow your knee and you can still pray in the name of jesus things can change in your life the spirit of the lord has been in this room since early this morning when i got here i know that he's here how do i know that because last week we came in here we prayed and we dedicated this place to the lord he's here listen carefully the battle that's in some of your lives right now has nothing to do with who god is his ability and his desire it has to do with that five-letter word trust will you trust him today mom and dad will you trust the lord today with your kids can i tell you how many times that as my children grew that i had to take them one more time back to the altar and in the spiritual sense herb i had to raise the knife and say i will sacrifice if god tells me to but i'm trusting the ram is coming up why because i wanted my kids to know the power of submission to him your babies are going to need jesus because you're going to fail you're gonna fail mom and dad you're not gonna be there when they need you something's gonna happen in their lives and you're gonna be scared to death but there ain't nothing like getting a phone call getting a text or an email that says dad i didn't know what else to do so i just did what you taught me i prayed why because i didn't know how else to respond you could have called this one or that one i didn't have time says jennifer you know what i had time to do had time to speak jesus things happened why because the story of the birth of jesus has this entire old testament that supported it and brought it into fruition guess what's at the end of the new testament a place that he's prepared for us so that where he is we can go and be with him also i want you to stand with me all over this place put your hands into heaven right now and begin to talk to the lord jesus i'm sorry if i ever doubted you i know that your plan and your purpose is right and even if i don't understand i don't see all the detail it is evident that you are working in my life his name is jesus right now this altar area is open i say at every service on both this is the safest place you can find yourself you need to bring your messed up life the junk the sin the garbage that you've been dealing with the journey that you've been on you need to bring it to an altar and today you need to submit it to the lord give it to him and ask for him to come in and forgive you of your sins wash you and cleanse you come on they're going to sing a song i want you to come and pray this altar is big enough for all of us you need to come and pray come on you already know if you're doing it yourself you're going to make a mess of it but you can let the name of jesus in your life and he can work a miracle today in you come on this altar's open would you come and pray would you come and pray would you come and pray this altar is open would you come and talk to the lord i need you jesus i love you jesus come on talk to him i believe in you jesus i don't know why i'm on the road i am lord but the choices i'm making i want to make sure that i bring honor and glory to you come on open your mouth come on that's right if you don't know how to pray you just talk to the lord like you would your friend come on salvation is in this place today the name of jesus is in this place today that's right the power of the cross of calvary is here today come on it's time to call on the name of the lord call on the name of the lord oh that's right come on that's right in the name of jesus would you pray in the name of jesus would you pray it lord i need you lord i need you lord i need you jesus i need you come on he's a healer come on he's a healer he's a deliverer he's a waymaker come on he knows where you are the road that you're on he knows exactly what you're going through jesus your name is powerful that's good jesus your name is glorious that's right come on offer praise to the lord offer a praise to his name that's right he can deliver you today he can change your situation he can wash you he can cleanse come on don't be defeated by the lies of the enemy don't be defeated by the lies of the enemy jesus but let the word of god work in you right now let salvation be found in you right now in the name of jesus in the name of jesus in the name of jesus come on we're going to pray with you come on we can pray with you in the name of jesus in the name of jesus reach over pray with your neighbor right now god anoint this come on get a hold of somebody oh god you've got an answer for them you are truth dear god you are truth jesus we trust in you we trust in you jesus the call of the name of the lord call on the name of the lord he loves you the cross of calvary can work in you right now yeah that's right open your mouth praise his name bless his name lift up his name lift up his name oh that's good you are perfect jesus hey would you reach over and pray for someone else right now jesus come on call their name out to the lord call their name out to the lord the name of jesus the name of jesus that's right call their name now come on get ahold of them touch them right now anoint them right now raise them abroad raise them up jesus let the spirit of the lord work in their heart yes jesus yes jesus yes jesus it's all in you god it's all in you jesus it's all in you jesus i trust you that's good and forgiveness jesus leave the chair the place where you are right now please go find somebody go find somebody come on if it's a pro go find them come on you ain't got to get all upon them just go to them we're going to pray one for another before we leave this room come on don't be selfish reach out pray for somebody else god has a plan for them just like he does for you come on go find somebody get beyond your comfort zone just a smidge that's right let the work of god happen let the word of god unfold i want you to pray for them right now pray for them oh god raise them up come on breathe their name jesus you've got an answer for them jesus the road they're on god you are leading them you are leading them may look like it's a mess right now but your plan is unfolding things are happening god according to your will come on pray for them oh god you can cleanse them you can wash them you can renew them you can breathe hope into them yes you can you are salvation you are jehovah that saves come on pray lift your voice the name of jesus how we love you lord i believe in your lord now with one voice lifted unto heaven lord i love you lord i believe in you i believe the journey lord god that we're on is steadily every day lord blessed by you doors opened by you lord opportunities by you jesus yes yes yes the name of jesus the name of jesus holy is your name lord worthy is your name great god jehovah his name is jesus his name is jesus lord i thank you for our time together today lord i thank you for your spirit and truth and for your word thank you lord for loving us and every day every day lord touching our lives thank you lord for every heart and every life every home that's represented in this room and online today i pray you would dispatch angels lord god ministering angels lord that can reach thank you jesus for coming to earth going through all that you went through to bring salvation to us lord i plead your blood over the church today god help us as we move forward every day giving honor and glory to you keep us this week we're coming back midweek lord to learn more about you in the name of jesus be glorified lord i pray be magnified lord i pray in everything we give you thanks that is the will of god in christ jesus we give you thanks somebody say in jesus name