The Name

Luke 1:²⁷ “to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David… ³⁰ “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

The truth is that God knows exactly where you were born before you were born. You were not born by accident. Many of us think we are Nigerians by accident. God knows you were going to come from that village. Your exact location was predetermined by God. You are not an accident. That is so comforting. Check, everyone in scripture, God always linked them to their roots – Jesus of Nazareth, Saul of Tarsus, Elijah of Tishbe, Joseph of Arimathea. Location is big with God. Jesus of Nazareth is huge because Nazareth was the worst place, it had the worst reputation. Honestly it is like Nigeria; Nigeria has a very bad reputation on the international front, but God has chosen you to come from Nigeria, the same way He chose Jesus to come from Nazareth.

John 1:⁴⁵ “Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” ⁴⁶“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth…” Nazareth had such a bad image. Everyone that is saying can anything good come out of Nigeria, in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, they would be dumbfounded the same way Jesus dumbfounded the world.

Prophecy number four is, the Messiah would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:¹⁴ “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” The fulfillment is in Matt.1:²² “All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: ²³“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” It is clear that Jesus is an embodiment of prophecy, in Him were these prophecies fulfilled. Also read Luke 1:26-31. The relevance to you and I is, God can enter a room even if the door is locked. God can step into any situation no matter how impossible it seems. He is the God of impossibilities.

The fifth prophecy we would be considering is, the Messiah would be called Emmanuel. The prophecy is in Isaiah 7:14 and the fulfillment is in Matt.1:20-23 [please read]. The first relevance of this is, God is with us. The second relevance is, God has a name for you and that is huge. Many of us are not bearing the names that God has for us. Until you bear the name that God has for you, you cannot do the things that God has created you to do. You will notice that in some cases God will have to change the individuals name. Sometimes, a realignment of destiny is required.

Prayer: Father, cause salvation to burst forth from every “Nazareth” in my life, in Jesus Name. Amen!