Amen

Leslie Basham: We say “amen” all the time. But what does it really mean? Here’s Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: It means He is faithful; it means His promises are true. It means whatever He says is sure—it will happen—it’s true. He is the God of Amen.

Leslie: This is Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of The Wonder of His Name, for Christmas day 2018. 

Nancy’s been in a series called "The Wonder of His Name: 32 Life-Changing Names of Jesus."

We’ve focused on Jesus all through the Christmas season and timed it out to end on this day we celebrate our Savior. So today, we’ll be grateful for the Baby born in a manger. And we’ll also be reminded of the serious reason He had to come to earth.

Nancy: We come today to the last in this thirty-two-day series on "The Wonder of His Name." What a precious time this has been, together, for me over these months as I’ve studied and prepared for this series.

Just reflecting back on what we’ve experienced and considered over these days, do you agree with me that we’ve come to see that Jesus is the focal point of all human history? He’s the focal point of heaven. One day will be the focal point of all the earth. It’s all, all, all about Him. I hope that as we’ve gone from one of His names to another, you’ve come to realize the wonder of that name in a fresh, new way.

One of the things we’ve seen is the continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament. We’ve talked about the New Testament names of Jesus, but so many of those had their foundation and their root in the Old Testament. We’ve seen that Jesus is Jehovah God. He is the God of the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, those were shadows of what was to come that the Jews of the Old Testament didn’t quite get or grasp. But we can see, today, as we look back on the cross and on Christ.

We’ve seen that the name of Jesus is a strong tower—the righteous run into it and are safe. Whatever you need, whatever your season of life, whatever your circumstance, whatever your challenge, whatever you may be facing this day, you find all that you need in the name of Jesus.

I hope that you haven’t just filled a notebook full or your head full of new facts about Jesus, but that you’ve got a new heart full of love for Jesus—as we come to realize that He is worthy of all our love, all our praise, all our worship, all our trust and our heart’s devotion and our life’s service.

We come today to a final name. We’ve been in the book of Revelation for some of these names. We’re going to stay there and see the final name of Jesus in this series, in Revelation chapter 3. This falls in the letters to the churches in Revelation. We’re looking at the letter to the last of the seven churches, the church in Laodicea. This is the church that, arguably, was in the worst spiritual condition of all the seven.

In each of these letters Jesus is identified with a different descriptor. Here’s the description we read at the beginning of the letter to the church in Laodicea: "The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation” (v. 14).

The word “amen” may be the best known word in the world. If you go to a church service anywhere around the world, you may not understand anything that’s being said, but chances are you will hear this word “amen”—pronounced in a number of different ways—but you’ll recognize it.

It’s a word that means, both in the Hebrew and the Greek (it’s transliterated from the Hebrew to the Greek), “truth,” “firmness.” Something that is “amen” is:

• reliable
• sure
• true
• permanent
• absolutely certain

In the Scripture, sometimes you’ll see this word as the last word of a solemn statement. “Such and such, and such and such is true . . . amen.” It’s the last word of that important statement. Sometimes “amen” will be a congregational response in the Scripture to express affirmation or agreement with what has been said.

For example, in the book of Nehemiah, when the law of God was read, all the people said “amen!” (Neh. 5:13; 8:6) Let me hear you say it. Amen! That means, “Let it be so. We agree; it is so. Amen.” Some of you go to churches where you say amen when there is a point that you want to affirm. You want to agree, so you say amen. And some of you go to churches where, if somebody said that out loud, the chandelier might crack. Whether you say it out loud or in your heart, I hope you’re at least saying it in your heart—amen, let it be so. It is so.

Now, Amen is an Old Testament title for God. It describes His character. You see this, for example, in Isaiah 65:16, where He is called twice in one verse “the God of truth.” That word “truth” in the Hebrew is “amen.” He is the Amen, the God of Amen—the God of truth, certainty. What He says is reliable; it’s true.

In Deuteronomy 7:9, He’s called the Faithful God. That could literally be translated the “Amen” God. It means He is faithful, His promises are true. It means whatever He says is sure—it will happen—it’s true. He is the Amen God. He is the God of Amen.

So, in Revelation 3:14, Jesus calls Himself the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness. This is the only time in the Scripture that Amen itself is used as a proper name. It’s used elsewhere as an adjective, as a descriptor, but here it’s used as a proper name. Jesus is God. He is the Amen God; He is the God of Amen. This name fits Him perfectly. In fact, it couldn’t, in its truest sense, apply to any other person.

He is the True One, the Amen. He is the Truth. We’ve looked at that in this series. That’s important in the context of this letter to the Laodiceans, because this is a church that was deceived about their true spiritual condition. They thought they were doing just fine, thank you, but Jesus was going to expose their true condition . . . the condition of their hearts, what He saw and knew that they couldn’t see.

So He starts out by saying, “The One who is about to tell you this . . . I am the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness. What I’m about to tell you, you may not believe, you may not see it this way, but it’s amen, it’s true, it’s absolutely true." Jesus is Amen. He is constant, unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is immutable, unchanging in His wisdom, His love, His grace, His power, His presence with us.

He is Faithful, the Amen. Again, a contrast to the Laodicean church, where these believers (if they were believers at all in some cases), they were wavering in their faith. They were compromising. None of that with Jesus . . . no wavering, no compromising. He is noonday—no shadow of turning with Him. He is the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness.

Jesus is the fulfillment, the Amen, of many Old Testament figures and types that point to Him. He is the fulfillment of various feasts and ceremonies and events, such as the Exodus. We’ve talked over that in some of the last couple of sessions. He is the fulfillment of those, the Amen.

He’s the fulfillment of various people who were types in the Old Testament: Adam, King David, Isaac, Joseph, Jonah (who spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish). Jesus is the fulfillment of those shadows and those types. He is the Amen, the Final Word. He is the Amen, the fulfillment, of Noah’s Ark, that provides salvation and refuge in the storm.

He is the fulfillment, the Amen, of those Old Testament sacrifices, of the Passover Lamb, of the manna in the wilderness, of the brass serpent in the wilderness, of the rock in the wilderness that was smitten to provide water. He is the fulfillment, the Amen, of the shewbread and the lampstand in the tabernacle.

He is the fulfillment, the Amen, of the veil of the tabernacle and of the temple, as His body was torn to open up access to the holy of holies, the Shekinah glory, the presence of God. He is the Amen, the fulfillment, of the cities of refuge in Israel in the Old Testament. He is the Amen, the fulfillment of the Kinsman Redeemer. He fulfills all those Old Testament types.

He is the fulfillment, the Amen, of those Old Testament prophecies and promises about the Messiah. God promised that there would be a Redeemer. In Genesis 3, He’s called the seed of the woman, the Son of David, the Son of God. We’re told in the Old Testament that He would be born of a virgin, that He would make the blind see, He would make the deaf hear. He fulfilled all those prophecies. He is the Amen.

It was prophesied in the Old Testament that He would be rejected by His own people, that He would be betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver. It was prophesied that His hands and His feet would be pierced. It was prophesied that Messiah would be raised from the dead and He would crush the serpent’s head. Jesus fulfilled every one of those prophecies. He is God’s eternal, great Amen!

So Paul says in Romans 15:8, “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the [Jews] to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs.” He’s the Amen, the affirmation that it is so, that what God has said is true. He is the Amen. His Word is trustworthy and true.

That word, "amen," is sometimes translated in the New Testament “truly” or “verily,” depending on your translations. It’s often used in the Gospel of John this way. Twenty-five times John’s gospel uses “verily, verily” or “truly, truly I say to you.” That’s the word amen. “Amen, amen,” Jesus said. It means “most assuredly; it will come to pass.” Jesus often used that double phrase, “amen, amen . . . truly, truly,” to emphasize the truthfulness, the reliability of what He was about to say.

“Verily I say unto you; amen I say unto you.” That means that whatever He says is true, and it will surely come to pass. Jesus is the faithful and true witness, the Amen. We saw that in Revelation 3. That phrase, Faithful and True Witness just amplifies Amen. It goes right with it. It means He is trustworthy; He is a reliable witness. He tells the truth. There is nothing inaccurate in His words. Jesus was faithful in declaring God’s truth when He was here on earth. And now in heaven, His witness and His revelation are forever true.

Revelation 19:11:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, [the Amen] and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

Revelation 22:6, "And he said to me [to the apostle John], 'These words are trustworthy and true." Of course they are, because they are spoken by Jesus, the Faithful and True One, God’s Amen! That means, and the church in Laodicea needed to realize this, when He speaks, when He tells us what’s going on in our churches and in our lives, His assessment is true. It’s accurate.

He’s the One Who searches and inspects hearts. He knows the truth—He knows our true condition (not what we tell other people what’s true about our lives, but what He knows, what He sees). He’s going to tell this Laodicean church the truth about her condition, which is very different from their perception of themselves. Who’s assessment are you going to trust: your own, or others’ or Jesus’? His words are trustworthy and true.

All His promises are true. They are true. They will all be fulfilled. I want to read you several of His promises, and I want us to say out loud, “Amen,” to each of those promises, as we affirm that He has spoken the truth, and that all these promises are true.

• He has promised that if we seek the kingdom of God first, that all our other needs would be added to us. Amen! (Matt. 6:33) 
• He has promised eternal life to all those who believe in Him. Amen!
• He has promised that He would prepare a place for us, and would come again and take us to be with Him forever. Amen! (John 14:6) 
• He has promised to return for His Bride. Amen! (John 14:6; Matt. 24:46; Luke 13:25, 37, 43)
• He has promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. Amen! (Matt. 16:18)
• He has promised that those who are willing to lose their life will find it, and those who hold onto their life will lose it. Amen! (Matt. 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24)
• He has promised that He would send His Spirit to be in us, to guide us and to comfort us. Amen!
• He has promised rest for our weary souls. Amen! (Matt. 11:28, 29) 
• He has promised to be in the midst of His people who are gathered in His name. Amen! (Matt. 18:20)
• He promised that those who ask will receive (Luke 11:9) and that if you “abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” Amen! (John 15:7)
• He promised that the Holy Spirit will give words and wisdom to those who are persecuted for their faith, when they are brought in before hostile authorities. Amen! (Luke 21:15) 
• He has promised us a kingdom. Amen! (Luke 22:30) 
• He promised us that we would receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon us, that we would be His witnesses. Amen! (Acts 1:8)
• And He promised, finally, “I am with you always.” Amen. Amen and amen! (Matt. 28:20) 

All His promises are true. So because He is the Amen, because He is the Faithful and True Witness, what does that mean for us? First of all, it means we better listen to what He says. Listen to Him! And then it means we should believe Him—believe Him. Believe His character, believe His promises, believe His Word.

We can have complete confidence in Jesus—now and for all eternity. We can cling to Him for our salvation, and we can cling to Him in every season and circumstance of life. Whatever you may be going through, you can cling to Him, because He has promised He will always be faithful and He is Trustworthy, Faithful, and True. He is God’s Amen.

Listen to Him, believe Him . . . and because He is the Amen, we had better obey His commands and heed His warnings, because they are true as well. Believe Him, obey Him, heed Him. The apostle said to the Corinthians, in 2 Corinthians 1:19,

The Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you . . . was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ]. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

You say, “What does all that mean?” Well, there’s a progression there. Paul says Christ is the Yes, the Amen of God. He displays the faithfulness of God in fulfilling all of God’s promises. Jesus is the guarantee, the confirmation of God’s promises past, present, and future. Jesus is the Great Amen, the Yes of God.

As a result, we express our amen, our yes, to God. Jesus is God’s Amen, so we say, “Amen,” we say, “Yes, Lord.” We express faith and gratitude and worship. We say, "Amen." What’s the result? “For His glory.” God is glorified. Jesus is God’s great Amen; we say amen in response, and God is glorified. That’s what it’s all about. Jesus is God’s final word. He is the Amen.

Hebrews 1:1–2 says it this way, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” And there’s nothing else left to say. Jesus is God’s eternal, final Amen. The final Word.

Do you know what that means for you and for me, in a very practical way today? It means that Jesus will have the final word. That means you will not have the final word; I will not have the final word. It’s not our opinion that matters—it’s His.

It means our adversary, the person who provokes you, who has set themselves against you, that person will not have the final word. It may look like they are winning, they are conquering, but that person is not the Amen . . . Jesus is the Amen. He is God’s final Word.

Your pastor is not the final word, your boss is not the final word, no political leader is the final word. Jesus is the Amen, the final Word of God. So we come to that last verse of the Bible, Revelation 22:20–1, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Amen, amen. The last word of the Bible . . . Amen . . . it’s all about Jesus. He is God’s final Word, God’s Amen. Amen, amen.

Oh Lord Jesus, how we worship You, how we love You, we honor You, we exalt You, we bless Your holy name. Yours is the name above all names. Jesus! What a sweet and precious name.

• The Word of God 
• The Son of God 
• The Son of Man 
• You are Emmanuel. 
• You are the Wonderful Counselor. 
• You are the Mighty God. 
• You are the Prince of Peace.
• You are the Messiah. 
• The Christ 
• You are the Friend of Sinners 
• The Captain of our Salvation 
• The Commander of the Lord’s Hosts 
• You are the mighty Cornerstone. 
• The Rock 
• You are the great I AM.
• The Bread of Life 
• The Light of the World 
• The Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd
• You are the Resurrection and the Life. 
• You are the Truth. 
• You are the Faithful and True Witness. 
• You are the Savior of the world. 
• You are the Lord of glory. 
• You are the Head over all things. 
• You are our Great High Priest. 
• You are our Advocate. 
• You are the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Author and the Finisher of our faith.
• You are the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. 
• You are the Bridegroom that we love. 
• You are the King before whom we bow and whom we serve. 
• You are the Suffering Servant, God’s righteous, faithful Servant. 
• You are the Man of Sorrows. 
• You are our Great Redeemer.
• You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 
• And You are God’s great, eternal, ultimate, final Amen. Amen!

Leslie: Amen. We don’t usually think of that word as a name, but Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth has been showing us why it’s such an important name of Jesus. She’ll be right back.

It's hard to believe this series, "The Wonder of His Name" is over. It's been such a rich study over the last thirty-three programs. If you missed any of the series, you can hear each program by visiting ReviveOurHearts.com. There, you’ll find a transcript of each program. You can also listen to the audio or watch clips of this teaching on video.

I know on this holiday some people’s routines are thrown off, and maybe you’re hearing Nancy’s teaching for the first time. If you’re intrigued by what you’ve heard, I hope you’ll listen to more. Again, all the program archives are available at ReviveOurHearts.com.

To close our Christmas day broadcast, let’s listen to Nancy on the piano. This is from her Christmas album, Come Adore.

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is proclaiming the precious name of Jesus! It's an outreach of Life Action Ministries.

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