Advent Gems #8 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Luke 1: 30-31:  Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.” 

You shall call His name Jesus which means savior, deliverer. In Him, we are delivered from sin and the wages of sin.  In Him, our salvation is secured. In Him, in Him alone, we have salvation. 

 

Ephesians  2:8-9: 8.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. 

Take a few moments and meditate on the lyrics to Bill and Gloria Gaither’s “There’s Something about That Name.” 

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there's just something about that name. 
Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain; 
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim 
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, 
But there's something about that name. 
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, 
But there's something about that name. 

 

 Advent Gems #7

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

He shall be called Immanuel meaning God with us.

John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Bob Mcgee’s lyrics puts it so beautifully.

Emmanuel Emmanuel
His name is called
Emmanuel
God with us
Revealed in us
His name is called
Emmanuel

Do our lives reveal Emmanuel, God who lives in us?

 Advent Gems #6

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Isaiah 7:14 : “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

The best commentary and confirmation of scripture can be found in the scriptures themselves. Isaiah 7:14 is a confirmation of Genesis 3:15: To the serpent, the Lord said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed.”

Notice that it is not the seed of the man and the woman. It is the seed of the woman only.

The Seed of the woman is confirmed in Matthew 1: 18. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”

The virgin birth is more fully explained in Luke 1: 26-35: “ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!''

“But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.''

“Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?''

“ And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

 Advent Gems #5 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

The Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and allowed the prophet to see, prophetically, both the guiding star and the patriarch from whose tribe our King and Redeemer would be born. 

Numbers 24:15-17: “Then he took up his oracle and said: "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; the utterance of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes opened wide: I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.” 

The Scepter (the rod of authority) of the Messiah will not be taken away nor destroyed. 

Daniel 7:13-14: "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. 

Revelation 19:13,16: “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God... And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” 

 

 

Advent Gems #4
Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

In Jacob, who became Israel, we know the nation from which the Messiah will come. Israel passed that blessing on to his son Judah. Therefore, we know the tribe from which He will come.

Genesis 49: 8-10 ``Judah, your brothers shall praise you. You shall destroy your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow before you. Judah is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. He has settled down as a lion--who will dare to rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes, whom all people shall obey.”

Judah means praise. The tribe of Judah always led the Israelites into battle. Our spiritual warfare must always be grounded in praise for our Lord. Psalm 22:3: “God inhabits the praises of His people.”

Shiloh means tranquil or peaceful. Notice the meaning of the names. Isaac means laughter. Laughter is the grandfather of praise (Judah). Shiloh, peace, is a fruit of the Spirit. Philippians 2:9-11: 9. “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

  

Advent Gems #3 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

We see the lineage of our Messiah established in God’s covenant with Abraham. Genesis 17: 6-7: "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you” 

The covenant continues through Abraham’s son, Issac. Genesis 17:19: Then God said: "Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.  

Issac passed that blessing on to his son Jacob. Genesis 27: 28-29. “Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!'' 

After wrestling the Jacob, Lord Himself gave Jacob the name of Israel. Genesis 32:28: “28.  And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.''

 

The Living Bible explains, “``Your name is Israel--one who has power with God. Because you have been strong with God, you shall prevail with men.'' 

In Jesus Christ, we can have power with God and prevail in spite of this troubled world.  

 Advent Gems #2 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Mankind fell. He was here. Redemption began. Genesis 3:14-15: “So the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.'' 

Genesis 3: 21. “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” 

As He was in the beginning, so He has always been and so He will always be.