There s Something about that Name

Transcription

1 There s Smething abut that Name Exdus 3:13-14, 20:7 1 Have yu ever given much thught t hw much effrt is spent in chsing the names fr the things we buy? A Ggle search turned up ver 173 millin pages having t d with chsing prduct names. As ne example, here are just a few names we give t the cars we drive: Avalanche; Intrepid; Legend; Odyssey; Park Avenue; PT Cruiser; Thunderbird. Every prduct name is exhaustively researched t be certain that its sund and its assciatins will create psitive impressins in the minds f ptential custmers. Of mre significance are the names we give t diagnse and treat disease. N matter what the prblem, it feels mre manageable nce it has a name. Whether the disease is asthma, hypertensin, shingles, tth decay, r even a particular frm f cancer, knwing its name gives a sense f cntrl, suggesting cause, curse, and treatment. Chsing names fr peple is imprtant, t, isn t it? Mst f us give careful thught t the names we give ur children. We cnsider what the names mean, hw they sund, and what the initials and nicknames might turn ut t be. Smetimes we chse a name because it represents smene in ur family wh has been imprtant t us, r whse character we hpe this child emulates. Smetimes we chse the name f a famus persn r a biblical persn fr the same reasn. Smetimes we chse a name simply because we find it beautiful. Hwever a child s name is chsen, it becmes beautiful, significant, and prphetic just as sn as it is given. That particular sequence f letters and sunds becmes special, and indeed, hly, because it represents a particular, unique, belved persn. Our persnhd is wrapped up in ur name, and its spelling and prnunciatin are imprtant. The slightest change in prnunciatin r the slightest change in spelling makes thse sunds and letters refer t smene else, nt t us. That s ne f the main reasns why I wrk hard at learning names, and why I d my best t prnunce yur name the way yu d. Fr example, my given name is David, and I answer t that, but I m really Dave. On the ther hand, I have a dear friend in Luisville wh is mst emphatically David, nt Dave. I dn t remember hw I became ne and nt the ther, but the difference is a visceral ne. I ll bet that s true fr yu, t. A persn s name represents wh they are as well as wh they might becme. Gd was s cncerned abut this that Gd actually named peple Himself r changed their names at certain key mments f their lives. 2 And even nw, when a persn receives Jesus Christ as Savir, his r her name becmes eternal, because it is written dwn in the Lamb s Bk f Life (Revelatin 21:25). 3 Yur name is perhaps yur mst precius pssessin, because it represents the essence f wh yu are. Yur name represents yur character, and besides the persns yu ve intrduced t Jesus, yur character is all yu re ging t take with yu when yu crss ver int eternity. 1 A sermn by Dr. David C. Stancil, delivered at the Clumbia Baptist Fellwship in Clumbia, MD n July 5, Key examples wuld be Abram t Abraham (Genesis 17:5), Sarai t Sarah (Genesis 17:15), and Simn t Peter (Jhn 1:42). 3 Rn Mehl, The Ten(der) Cmmandments: Reflectins n the Father s Lve (Sisters, OR: Multnmah Press, 1998, pp

2 2 In this sense, Gd s Name is like urs, because Gd s Name represents Gd s character. The Bible actually gives hundreds f descriptive names fr Gd, f which these are just a few: A Cnsuming Fire (Deuternmy 4:24) A Sure Fundatin (Isaiah 28:16) Bread f Life (Jhn 6:35) Cmfrter in Srrw (Jeremiah 8:18) Defender f Widws (Psalm 68:5) Faithful & True (Revelatin 19:11) Gd Almighty (Genesis 17:1) Gd f all cmfrt (2 Crinthians 1:3) Gd wh saves me (Psalm 51:14) King f Kings (1 Timthy 6:15) Light f Life (Jhn 8:12) Lrd f Lrds (1 Timthy 6:15) My Advcate (Jb 16:19) My Cnfidence (Psalm 71:5) My Friend (Jb 16:20) My Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7) My Hpe (Psalm 71:5) My Redeemer (Psalm 19:14) My Salvatin (Exdus 15:2) My Savir (Psalm 42:5) My Strng Deliverer (Psalm 140:7) My Strnghld (Psalm 18:2) My Supprt (2 Samuel 22:19) Our Father (Isaiah 64:8) Our Guide (Psalm 48:14) Our Help (Psalm 33:20) Our Leader (2 Chrnicles 13:12) Our Peace (Ephesians 2:14) Prince f Peace (Isaiah 9:6) Refuge & Strength (Psalm 46:1) Righteus Judge (2 Timthy 4:8) Svereign Lrd (Luke 2:29) The Gd Shepherd (Jhn 10:11) Wnderful Cunselr (Isaiah 9:6) Gd has many names, but Gd has ne Name that is very persnal. Gd said t Mses, I am the LORD [Yahweh]. I appeared t Abraham, t Isaac, and t Jacb as Gd Almighty [El Shaddai], but by my name the LORD [Yahweh] I did nt make myself fully knwn t them (Exdus 6:3). The truth is that the Name was and is regarded as s hly by the Jews that they d nt prnunce it, even tday, and s we re nt altgether sure hw t prnunce it. Whenever yu see Gd referred t as the LORD in yur Bible, the Name being translated is this persnal Name f Gd, which we think is prnunced Yahweh. The Name can be translated in several ways, but it basically means I AM THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IS. My friends, there is pwer in the Name f Gd (Jeremiah 10:6), and every time we pray the Lrd s Prayer, we pray, hallwed be yur name (Matthew 6:9). And because yu and I live n this side f the Resurrectin, we knw that Gd has an even mre intimate name than Yahweh. This Name is Y shua, Jesus. And just as there is pwer in the Name f the Father, there is pwer in the Name f the Sn (Jhn 17:11). Demns screamed and tre themselves frm their victims at the sund f His Name. At the Name f Jesus, the eyes f the blind were pened, withered legs became strng, and dead bdies came up ut f the grave. Still tday, the demns fear Him, and they cannt destry where the pwer f His Name prtects. The Bible tells us that The name f the LORD is a strng frtress; the gdly run t him and are safe (Prverbs 18:10). It is thrugh the Name f Jesus that we have eternal life (Jhn 20:31). The Bible tells us that salvatin is fund in n ne else, fr there is n ther name under heaven... by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The Name f Jesus is the Name that is abve every name. The Name f Jesus is the Name at which every knee will bw, in heaven and n earth and under the earth (Philippians 2:9-11). Bill and Glria Gaither were right when they wrte, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there s just smething abut that name! Master, Savir, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain.

3 3 Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven and earth prclaim: Kings and kingdms will all pass away, but there s smething abut that name! 4 And all f this brings us t the third f the Ten Cmmandments: Yu shall nt misuse the name f the LORD yur Gd, fr the LORD will nt hld anyne guiltless wh misuses his name (Exdus 20:7). Let s think abut that fr a little while. There are several ways in which we misuse, r fail t hnr the hliness f Gd s Name. I suppse the ne we think f first is cursing r swearing, particularly the terrible phrase that cmbines Gd s name with damn it, r damn yu. These wrds are terrible fr several reasns. In the first place, using Gd s name in such a way certainly des nt hnr Gd s hliness, and the 3 rd Cmmandment tells us quite plainly that Gd des nt allw such disrespect t g unpunished. But beynd this, using these wrds is dishnest, because n persn wh uses them actually means them. If we understd the awful reality t which this curse refers, we d realize with a shudder that there is n prvcatin sufficient fr calling dwn this curse n smene else. And the truth is that this curse nt nly calls n Gd t d smething we dn t really want Gd t d; it calls n Gd t d smething that Gd des nt d. When all is said and dne, Gd des nt damn anyne. The wrd isn t even in the Bible. The idea is that f being cndemned, which has t d with passing judgment; yet when even the mst hrrible persns stand befre Gd s judgment seat, Gd des nt send them t hell. Peple d g t hell; but thse wh g int that awful, utter, and unending darkness g by their wn chice. Humans g t hell because they chse, in a thusand ways, t thumb their nses at Gd, wh lves them with an everlasting lve (Jeremiah 31:3). And in the end, Gd lets them have what they have chsen, terrible thugh it is. Cmmn cursing and swearing represent the effrts f inarticulate peple t seem pwerful. But far frm demnstrating pwer, such speaking is evidence f imptence and weakness, thugh it des have an effect. There is a prverb that says, Sw an act, and reap a habit. Sw a habit, and reap a character. Sw a character and reap a destiny. Jesus tld us and warned us at the same time that ur muths speak what ur hearts are full f. 5 This is why I pay a lt f attentin t what I call The Spirituality Test. What I say r even think when prvked r hurt, that first uncensred exclamatin f the spirit, gives an extremely accurate read n the spiritual cnditin f the heart. And Jesus tld us that everyne will have t give accunt n the Day f Judgment fr every empty wrd they have spken. Fr by yur wrds yu will be acquitted, and by yur wrds yu will be cndemned (Matthew 12:36-37). Fr all this, prfanity is perhaps the least f ur ffenses against this cmmandment. Surprising as it may be, the greatest ffense t the Name f Gd is nt accmplished in rugh places where Gd s hly Name is interspersed with sewer talk, but in churches, where the wrds f sngs and prayers are spken, but nt really meant. We take Gd s Name in vain when we call Gd Lrd but d nt really mean what we say (Rmans 10:9). There are many persns perhaps sme f us wh wuld be terribly shcked t be accused f grss prfanity. These persns may never have allwed an ath t crss their lips, and may even bast f this. Yet these same persns may actually break the 3 rd Cmmandment mre ften and mre terribly than the mst prfane persn n the street. These persns talk 4 Bill & Glria Gaither, There s Smething Abut That Name, Matthew 12:24, 15:18; Luke 6:45.

4 4 the talk, but they dn t walk the walk. They are Sunday Christians, pretending t be what they are nt. This is a far mre terrible thing than speaking Gd s Name in anger, calling dwn a curse withut cntent. Persns wh prfess t fllw Christ, but deny Him by hw they live, are ding far mre t blck the cming f the Kingdm than thse persns wh swear penly with n pretense f belief. It is n wnder, Paul wrte, that the wrld blasphemes the name f Gd because f yu (Rmans 2:24). One f the many ways in which we Christians fail t walk the walk has t d with the integrity f ur prmises. The 3 rd Cmmandment warns us against failing t hnr Gd s Name by making a prmise in Gd s Name with n intentin f keeping it, r f making such a pledge and breaking it because it becmes uncmfrtable r incnvenient t keep it. Hw many f us generally pride urselves n ur hnesty but cnsistently fail t meet ur explicit cmmitments such as making a phne call, paying a bill, shwing up t meetings n time, r even praying fr ne anther? What abut cmmitments such as the hnring f cntracts, hnest paying f taxes, r hnring the bnds f friendship? Our fulfillment f ur prmises makes a pwerful statement abut the nature f ur integrity, fr it requires far mre than just telling the truth in the present. T have integrity in the biblical sense requires the rigrus, almst fanatical fulfillment f ur prmises ver time, which smetimes requires the willingness t endure a higher cst than we expected t make sure that ur prmises are kept (Psalm 15:4). 6 In this respect the Jewish leaders f Jesus day were masters f evasin, even as we are tday. They wuld swear by heaven, r by earth, r by Jerusalem, r by their wn heads, and they wuld feel themselves quite free t break such an ath, because it didn t actually include the name f Gd. But Jesus tld us that Gd is inevitably present in every transactin, in every mment f ur lives, whether Gd s Name is vertly mentined r nt. 7 And because all prmises and pledges are actually made befre Gd, we are therefre bligated befre Gd t hnr every single ne f ur cmmitments. If we re wise, then, yu and I will carefully cunt the cst f any cmmitment befre making it; and, having made it, we will cnsider urselves hnr-bund t keep it. The fact that we have t put peple n ath in a curt f law is a sad thing. It ught t be pssible t take a persn s wrd as true withut requiring an ath that the truth is being tld. What the wrld needs, and what the 3 rd Cmmandment requires, is that yu and I be persns wh can be trusted t speak the truth and t keep ur prmises, aths r n aths, cnvenient r cstly. Nthing else will d. One f the highest cmpliments that a persn can ever receive is that it be said, He is as gd as his wrd, r She is as gd as her wrd. The Essenes, an ancient sect f the Jews, nted that He wh cannt be believed withut swearing is cndemned already. Yu may have seen the list flating arund the Internet that recrds sme f the answers a grup f children gave t the questin, What des lve mean? Here are a few f them: 6 David Hazny, The Ten Cmmandments: Hw Our Mst Ancient Mral Text Can Renew Mdern Life (New Yrk: Scribner, 2010), pp. 79, Vcatus atque nn vcatus, Deus aderit.

5 5 When my grandmther gt arthritis, she culdn t bend ver and paint her tenails anymre. S my grandfather des it fr her all the time, even when his hands gt arthritis, t. That s lve. Lve is what makes yu smile when yu re tired. Lve is when my mmmy makes cffee fr my daddy and she takes a sip befre giving it t him, t make sure the taste is kay. Lve is what s in the rm with yu at Christmas if yu stp pening presents and listen. Lve is like a little ld wman and a little ld man wh are still friends even after they knw each ther s well. Lve is when yur puppy licks yur face even after yu left him alne all day. Yu really shuldn t say I lve yu unless yu mean it. But if yu mean it, yu shuld say it a lt. Peple frget. When smene lves yu, the way they say yur name is different. Yu knw that yur name is safe in their muth. Let me read that last ne again: When smene lves yu, the way they say yur name is different. Yu knw that yur name is safe in their muth. That s what the 3 rd Cmmandment is all abut.