INTRO….

Everyone loves stories that have a hero…be it a true story or just a movie/book, our hearts are drawn to the good guys winning, the hero of the story acting bravely, or valiantly or mightily, rescuing the innocent, delivering peace to the oppressed, to vanquish the enemy or to defeat the villain… || some of my favorite movie heroes…William Wallace in Braveheart || Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird || Clarence in It’s A Wonderful Life || Jimmy Chitwood in Hoosiers || Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV || Bible heroes…David in his battle against Goliath…Daniel as he faced King Nebuchadnezzar…Moses when he faced the Pharaoh of Egypt… || There is just something satisfying when the hero does heroic things. || When Isaiah wrote about the coming Messiah…he wanted us to know something specific about the child who would be born, this Son who would be given to us…and one of the names he gave him was MIGHTY GOD…

1. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE NAME 'MIGHTY GOD'?

This name is the compound Hebrew title El Gibbor

- The first part of the title is EL, the singular form of the word Elohim. In the Old Testament this referred to the one true God. Isaiah 9:6 was predicting One who would be far more than a man…indicated by the third name “Everlasting Father”. JESUS who walked on water, died voluntarily for our sins, and then physically rose from the dead is the One who also said...
JN 8:58“Before Abraham was, I am”.

He is the One of whom John wrote...
JN. 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made..."

- The SECOND part of the name is Gibbor, which carries the meaning of “Mighty, Strength, Power, Hero, Champion, Conqueror, Warrior.”
What a statement! In a world where heroes are often determined by athletic prowess, personal talent, or financial power, we are told that the only One truly worthy to be called “hero” is the One whose might is unparalleled.
The focus of Isaiah’s prophecy is that El Gibbor, the mighty God, is our TRUE HERO. What this Isaiah anticipated, the New Testament confirms. Because the Messiah would be God, He would have God’s power—but to Isaiah the amazing thing was that the Messiah would not only have the power of God, He would be the God of power!

2. WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE 'MIGHTY GOD'?

- By His perfect life
- His sacrificial death
- His resurrection

--> But also because of how he was received by others…even though he wasn’t received by the majority of Israel, some did recognize him as the long-awaited Messiah…

--NICODEMUS: a rabbi of Israel, recognized Him
[JN 3/JN19]“39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.”
--THE DISCIPLES:
[MT 8:27] “27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
[MT 16:16] “16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
-- MARY MAGDALENE recognized Him, and her life was transformed
[LK 8:2] “Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out”

-- Others’ lives were changed as well, including the church’s most feared persecutor, Saul of Tarsus ACTS 9. || These and thousands of other first-century people believed—and for good reason.

-- Jesus Christ proved Himself to be El Gibbor as He displayed His life-changing might and power. Still today, for those who see their need of a Savior, the evidence of Christ’s mighty power is overwhelming. For those who sense their own inability to live up to God’s standard, the apostle John wrote…
[JN. 1:12] “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name”.

The New Testament provides us an opportunity to see the fullness of the “Mighty God” Isaiah predicted, showing both how His power was displayed in His life on earth—but also how it was seen before He even came to the earth.

--> Jesus, the Mighty God before His birth.
The Bible clearly states that Christ displayed His might by creating the world before He physically entered it.
[John 1:3] “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
[Colossians 1:16] “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Christ’s display of might in the act of creation distinguished Him from mere humans. We have the ability to make things, but we require some basic raw materials. Christ showed His might in the ability to create—to make something out of nothing. It takes divine might to truly create. || Christ demonstrated that power in the most profound way—by creating the universe.

--> Jesus, the Mighty God during His earthly life.
Jesus showed His right to be recognized as the Mighty God by demonstrating...
1. POWER OVER NATURE...[LK 5:1-11 “miraculous catch of fish/Jesus calls Disciples to follow him”]
2. POWER OVER DISEASE...[MT 9:18-26 “girl raised from dead/woman healed touching his robe”]
3. POWER OVER DEMONS...[LK. 8:26-39 “Gerasenes, man lived in tombs, pigs”]
4. POWER OVER SIN...[MK 2:3-12 “paralyzed man, roof”]
5. POWER OVER DEATH...[1 COR. 15:1-19 “Paul retelling Jesus’ resurrection”]

Throughout the course of His public life, Christ revealed His divine might in ways that not only were undeniable but also intentional validations of His claim to be MIGHTY GOD specifically by his resurrection (JN. 20:30-31).

When we see the otherwise inexplicable demonstrations of God’s might in the unparalleled life of Christ, it becomes clear why Paul would call Jesus “the Son of God with power”

[ROMANS 1:1-6]
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ…”

3. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NAME 'MIGHTY GOD' TO BELIEVERS TODAY?

A. IT MEANS THAT…Jesus is our MIGHTY GOD!
Of the names of Jesus in this passage, this is the one some find most difficult to embrace…The world is willing to acknowledge the “baby” Jesus, “away in a manger,” helpless, cuddly, and vulnerable. Christmas is o.k., if that’s as far as it goes, for it poses no threat to one’s sin and pride and personal autonomy. Speak and sing, if you must, of swaddling clothes and the tiny, tender infant. But then declare that this babe in a manger is also the MIGHTY GOD, Holy, Infinite, Sovereign over all, and they want nothing to do with him. || Jesus in a manger is one thing. Jesus on a throne is something else altogether! || HE IS THE Mighty God, The Strong One, The Powerful One, The Hero, The Champion!

B. IT MEANS THAT…Jesus is the CHAMPION of our SALVATION!
He has defeated our greatest enemies —> Satan…Sin…Death || The apostle Peter wrote in 1 PET 1:5 that we are “kept by the power of God”. Nothing can overcome the power of Jesus to keep us in God’s hand. What a great assurance it is to know that we are secure not because of our own ability to hold on to Him, but by His power holding on to us.


C. IT MEANS THAT…Jesus is the SOURCE of our POWER and STRENGTH!
In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to empower us to be His representatives in the world. He will empower Us! By this provision of the Spirit He wants us to live distinctive lives in an impure world as evidence of His presence in us. || In Philippians 4:13, Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” What a great promise! He will empower and strengthen us for all the circumstances and inevitabilities of life. This doesn’t mean that we will never know pain or hardship, but that we can endure in triumph. How can we do that? Only as we rest in His power, not in our own.

D. IT MEANS THAT…Jesus is our CONQUERING KING!
(this is where it gets exciting…) JESUS is looking for a people who will WORSHIP Him as KING. || We must turn away from our sins, our way of living, and confess Him as our KING. He becomes the Lord of our life. He becomes our reason for living || Listen to how JESUS is described in

[Rev 19:11-16]
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice, he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

EL GIBBOR…NOT just a baby born in a manger…MIGHTY GOD, STRONG, POWERFUL, HERO, CHAMPION, CONQUEROR, WARRIOR, KING!!!

4. SO, HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO OUR MIGHTY GOD, JESUS?

A. TRUST our MIGHTY GOD
It’s not enough to just believe in Jesus Christ. You have to trust in him. After all, Satan believes in Jesus, but he refuses to trust in Jesus. As a consequence, he will never experience the power of Jesus’ goodness and grace. Jesus Christ isn’t just wise enough to give you the solutions to your problems; he is strong enough to carry out those solutions, deliver you from your problems, heal you from your diseases and save you from your sins. So trust him. Jesus Christ is mighty to save.

B. LOVE/WORSHIP our MIGHTY GOD
When Jesus was asked in...[Matthew 22:36-39]
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

How exactly do we do that? Well, remember that love is not an emotion, although it includes emotions. Love is a choice. Love is a decision. Love is an action. We choose to love Jesus, the MIGHTY GOD by obeying him. We must do what he says. Jesus tells us plainly in...[John 14:15]
“If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

C. SERVE our MIGHTY GOD
One of the greatest Christians in the New Testament was the Apostle Paul. He was a great leader in the Church. But more than anything else, he just wanted to be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. He wanted, at the end of his life, to hear Jesus speak to him those six glorious words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Paul understood that Jesus came to earth as a baby not to be served, but to serve. And Paul urges us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as a servant. As he wrote in [Philippians 2:5-8]
“5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

OUR MIGHTY GOD lived as a servant, follow his example.

PRAYER
Jesus Christ was born here on earth to be the lowest of the low, to be the servant of servants, because he loved us and wanted to set an example for how we should humbly serve each other. But make no mistake about it: Jesus Christ is our mighty, all-powerful God. He is our God Warrior. He is our God Hero. || LETS NOT FORGET THAT TRUTH