..."THIS PRODUCT is not made BY THE MAKER of the brand name medicine that we want you to compare this with."  In other words, if you don’t want to pay the price for the brand name product, our company thinks that our product can be an adequate substitute, but we want you to know that our product is not made by the maker of the name brand product.  WE HAVE NO AFFILIATION WITH THEM. 

When it comes to Christianity and the Word of God, some churches think that the costs are too high to include the requirements that God is calling for.  They look at the original formula (the Bible) and think because some people are unwilling to pay the price of the original, that people will be satisfied with a generic, cheaper product.  Other churches may think that there are some things that are unnecessary in today’s church, so they decide to cut out of the original formula and leave it out their so-called formula. 

People’s mentality today is if you don’t like something, you can always go somewhere else and get a comparable product.  If you don’t like the original church, you can always find a generic, NO-NAME church to go to.

And since most of America today is concerned with cost, the mentality carries over that if you don’t like the sacrifice and the commitment required at a place where the NAME OF JESUS is found, then you can always find a generic church where it is half the sacrifice or half the cost or even sometimes, nothing, is required of you.  But understand, finding the REAL THING is priceless.

Mat 13:44  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

This is the definition of the brand name, CHRISTIAN - having the qualities demonstrated and taught by Jesus Christ, and the true traits of the early disciples.

Generic Christianity is not a new thing that just started in the 20th and 21st centuries.  Even the early church saw the evidence of the Generic mentality. 

Acts 19:13-16
13  Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14  And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, which did so.
15  And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16  And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

One man thought that he could buy his way in by giving money.
Acts 8:18-22
18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21  Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
22  Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

Some folks do give big money supposing that they can give their way in and others use other things as their passport.

I know that comments like these might strike a nerve, but if so, that’s an indication that you need the Holy Ghost to do a deeper work in your heart.  You can’t buy your way into a relationship with Jesus. To assume that you could would make you a Generic Christian.

Now, Generic Christians are not always hypocrites.  Hypocrites are those claiming to be something that they are not. 
But, instead, they are people who have been sold on the idea of a Christian social club rather than on Jesus Christ himself.  They are people who have no idea what the meanings of faithfulness, commitment and sacrifice are, and the definitions of true humility, holiness, moral purity and righteousness have been left out of their teachings.

I feel sorry for some of these people because, where they worship, the code of morality is so vaguely defined that it’s a shame.  They are sincere people, who are happy with the sensationalism and emotionalism of Christianity, constantly being fed the baby’s milk, and yet haven’t yielded a total surrender to Jesus, resisting deeper truth, and still living in carnality.  They have become Superficial Christians with no real substance.

We are facing a real enemy of our soul and we need the real medicine to take care of the ailments of sin that we are born with.  We don’t need placebos.  Tell me, do you want a sugar pill or the real thing when the end result is going to be where you spend eternity? 

Isa 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

It’s a shame that today churches need to be evangelized just as much as our world does.  …That when you think about witnessing to somebody, the Generic Christian and the sinner look and act the same. 

How can you know whether or not you are a generic Christian?

1. Are you a no-name Christian?  Does it matter to you whether the name of Jesus was used in your baptism?  The early church had the name called on them in baptism.  Remember the asterisk on the label of the no-name brand.  “This product is not made by the maker of the brand name medicine that we want you to compare this with."  In other words, if you don’t want to pay the price for the brand name product, our company thinks that our product can be an adequate substitute, but we want you to know that our product is not made by the maker of the name brand product.  We have no affiliation with them.  We are just a substitute for the real thing. 

2. Do an inventory of the things that you love most and list them in the order of importance to you.  Now, what do your activities say are most important?  Does your list and activities match up?
John 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Luke 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

3. Are you easily offended?
Psalm 119:165
165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

If Christianity is just another status among many others in your life, it’s possible that you are nothing more than a Generic Christian.

Heaven is not going to be peppered with no-named, not willing to pay the cost, Christians.  Matt 7:21    Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

You need to be rejoicing if you have the NAME.  But, if you have never been baptized in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST for the remission of your sins, then click on the link in this site to find a JESUS NAME church.  "Generic" has no place in salvation when you see verses like Acts 4:12… Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.  We need the NAME!  Don't leave it out of your prescription for salvation.

Of course, that is a trick question.  The year would be 1655 (from 2014).  That is way before the first president of the United States of America.  I looked up people and events of the year 1655, and I did not recognize anything.   

Now, on February 2, 1653, New Amsterdam is incorporated.  Has anyone ever been to New Amsterdam?  It was later renamed New York. 

What I am trying to show you is that the passing of 359 years is a lot of water under the bridge.  Most of your ancestors probably were still over in Europe, or wherever they originated.  And where are they buried now? 

I am telling you all of this to show you that Joseph had faith that Israel was coming back out of Egypt and he wanted his body to be buried in the land of Promise, not in a Strange Land.  And the amount of time that actually past was astounding when we stop and think about how many generations that covers.  If you would say that from the time that a baby is born to when he has his first born is about 25 years, and you call that one generation, then there would have been approximately 11 generations before they were packing their bags to leave.  That is nine “greats” in front of “grandfather”. 

Do you know who your great, great, great, - great, great, great, - great, great, great grandfather was?  And what is even weirder than that is to think that someone was storing his embalmed body in a coffin in their living room.  You talk about a conversation piece when you have company over.  Not too many people have a 359 year old filled coffin in their living room. 

The last verse of entire book of Genesis says,
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

359 years later in

Ex 13:19
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

How did Joseph know that the nation of Israel would leave Egypt?  Because God had spoken to Abraham in Genesis

Gen 15:13-14
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

And through the teaching handed down from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and then to Joseph, he knew that there was a prophecy given from God about the captivity and then the deliverance from the people of a strange land.  And because Joseph knew what God had promised, he knew what was going to happen.  And he didn’t want his body left in a strange land.  He wanted the Promised Land.  He wanted Beulah Land.  He knew the promise of God and he didn’t want his body left behind. 

Do you know what God has promised?

1 Thess 4:13-18
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

2 Peter 3:7-13
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

1 Cor 15:51-52
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

We have promises.  We have PROMISES!

But here is my question.
Reuben had a promise…but where was his body?
Simeon had a promise…but where was his body?
Levi had a promise…but where was his body?
Judah had a promise…but where was his body?
Zebulun had a promise…but where was his body?
Issachar had a promise…but where was his body?
Dan had a promise…but where was his body?
Gad had a promise…but where was his body?
Asher had a promise…but where was his body?
Naphtali had a promise…but where was his body?
Benjamin had a promise…but where was his body?

They were all left behind.  WHY?
Because they didn’t care enough about the promise of God to prepare for their future. 

Have you ever looked at who is listed in the faith chapter of Hebrews 11?
It starts off with Abel.  Adam is not even listed.  Why?  What acts of faith did he have?
Abel trusted God to present the right sacrifice.
Enoch pleased God.
Noah moved with fear and prepared an ark for his family.
Abraham obeyed not even knowing where God was taking him.
Sarah conceived way past the age of child bearing.
Isaac blessed his sons.
Jacob blessed his sons.
Joseph is mentioned because he knew that 359 years later his body was ready to go.  He had faith in the promises of God.
But then it skips all the way to Moses. 
All of the brothers are skipped in Hebrews, even Judah.
All of the millions that lived and died between Joseph and Moses were skipped.
I DON’T WANT TO BE SKIPPED!  I DON’T WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND.

Fast forward over 700 years, to about 3 BC, to a carpenter named Joseph who decided to quietly put away his recently betrothed fiancé because she is pregnant with a child that is not his.  Because of this choice, Joseph is visited by an angel in a dream who tells Joseph that he should not be afraid to complete their engagement and be married because Mary is pregnant by the Holy Ghost.  In other words, the child would be a miracle from God.  Then the angel tells Joseph something very significant about this child, he is to be named Jesus, and then the angel refers to the passage from Isaiah 7:14.

Matthew 1:19-25
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Apparently the prophecy was not complete in Isaiah’s day, because an angel from Heaven declares that Jesus is the true fulfillment.

Remember, God’s promise through the prophet Isaiah was that he would deliver his people. And now in Matthew’s gospel we are shown, that the prophecy is being fulfilled because this child was about to enter the world. There are two names in reference to this child which Matthew mentions which are both significant to who this child is and what that means for us today.

First of all…JESUS - for he shall save his people from their sins.

The first name is what his actual name would be – Jesus.  Sometimes you might see it referred to as Yeshua, which is more of the Greek rendering.  The name Jesus was a very common name, like John or Joshua is today, but it had a lot of significance to the Jewish people.  The name Jesus was actually the greek version of the name Joshua, which we see in the Old Testament.  Both Jesus and Joshua means “the LORD (Jehovah) saves.”  The name reminded the Jewish people of their ancestor Joshua who, 1200 years earlier, delivered the Israelite people into the Land God had promised them. The image of Joshua is one of a person who took refugees wandering in the dessert and, by God’s strength, gave them a home, a land flowing with milk and honey. Joshua was used by God to fulfill God’s promise to his people.

Now the angel tells Joseph there is a new Joshua, a new deliverer, this Joshua/Jesus will deliver us from a different kind of wilderness to a different kind of Promised Land.  The angel even says it explicitly, “for he shall save his people from their sins.”  The wilderness we will be delivered from is our sin, which poisons us; it poisons our relationships with others, and most importantly it poisons our relationship with God.  And unfortunately, all of humanity suffers from the same condition.  

Isaiah himself later wrote,

Isaiah 64:6
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Jesus as the new Joshua would deliver us from our sins. For those who believed in him, He would cleanse the poison from within, and make us pure, restoring our relationship with God.  He would bring healing into the inward parts of our life and in our relationships with others.  This is why the Old Testament is so important in understanding who Jesus is, and why it is important to look at the prophecies about him.  

The name that the Angel told Joseph to name the baby to be born, “Jesus”, was more than a name… it was a statement about who He would be.  He would be the Lamb for sinners slain.  He would be the sacrifice on Earth’s and Heaven’s altar.  Through him, the Lord would save us.  Through Him, the Lord would deliver us from our bondage to sin.

The Second name is Immanuel (of Emmanuel) – God is with you.

The second name which the Angel reminded Joseph was just as important. The angel said He would be called Immanuel, which means God is with us.  Jesus would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah spoken 700 years previously.  This baby being born was God coming to earth to be with us.  The angel already told Joseph the child was miraculously conceived by the Holy Ghost; in other words, the child was both divine and human, and because of this, this child was to be called God with us.  We put these two together and it points to an amazing reality, God had come in the flesh as a person.  God came to visit earth in a bodily form. Think about that… the infinite, all-knowing, all-powerful Creator of the universe came as a human child, vulnerable, defenseless, and dependent on others to meet his needs.  It is just as mind blowing for us today to imagine that through Jesus, God was with us, as I’m sure it was for Joseph back then also.  A passage from the Bible reminds us of this truth of God in this child.

Colossians 2:9
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

This is the amazing truth about the story of Jesus’ conception and birth.  God is literally with us in the bodily form of Jesus.  This is where Christianity diverges from all other world religions.  Most religions believe in a God that is a supreme being of the universe.  Most people would agree with that.  But the miracle of Jesus’ birth and what is central to the Christian faith is that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.  God coming down to live in an earthly body. 

1 Timothy 3:16
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

But what is the purpose of the dual names for this child being born?  Jesus was the given name for this child.  The name Jesus combines the words “Jehovah” and “salvation” into one word.  So the Angel wanted THIS NAME for THIS CHILD because the child was Jehovah bringing salvation to the world.  But again, why the second “name”?  Read again Matthew…

Matt. 1:21-23
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

The second reference is what “they” (maybe those in the world who truly knows who he is) would call Him.  When they look at Jesus, the utterance from those who know his identity is to understand that “God is with us.”

Remember, though, Emmanuel may be the name of recognition that God was with us in the flesh, but the Name of Jesus is still the name used for salvation.

Acts 4:12
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Water baptism after the cross was always performed by calling on the NAME of JESUS.  The titles of Matthew 28:19 was never used at all, but even in that verse, there is a singular “name” being referred to.  Find a church today to have your sins washed away by baptism in the Name of Jesus!

They were probably sitting on the floor bound by chains that attached to ringlets mounted into the very walls made with huge blocks of stone.  Mortar would have filled the gaps of the stones.  Massive beams spanned the ceilings and finished off with rough cut timber and then covered with tiling.  Housekeeping would have been non-existent for the cells of the prisoners since they were not afforded the same rights as we give prisoners today.  Then the "great earthquake" hit.  The "foundations" were being shaken, so the walls also began to shake and move.  Years of dirt, dust and filth began falling all around them as walls were being loosened.  The air that they breathed was now causing the prisoners to choke as ceiling joists began to bounce and mortar crumbled.  The chains were loosed from them ONLY because the thick stone walls that once held the ringlets firmly in place began to shift.  The air borne dirt particles now began to irritate the eyes and caused the "midnight" vision to become impossible.  Locked door posts were moved so far out of place that the locks no longer kept the doors rigidly in place.  When it was all over, dust and bits of plaster coated every prisoner to almost an unrecognizable silhouette.  However, it was the great earthquake that brought the freedom to those who were bound.  Coughing and gagging, prisoners began to stumble out through the ruined prison doors.

This may be a different scenario from the one that we often see in our minds' eye.  We have often seen a rumbling, chains miraculously dropping to the ground and out comes two spick and span, clean disciples.  However, think about something for a second.   It may only be in the great earth moving, turning your world up-side-down occurrence that can break YOUR CHAINS OF BONDAGE.  You may feel so bound to your sin that you feel NOTHING can set you free.  So, in order for God to set you free, God may have to rattle some cages and shake the very foundation of your world in order to get the chains to drop to the ground.  But remember what really happened that night to Paul and Silas and realize it may not be pleasant for you to go through, but through it you can go if you only start allowing your voice to call upon God.  Are you ready for your deliverance?