What's In a Name?

Good morning! Welcome to the Vineyard. If this is your first time, my name is Kevin and I’m the pastor here. Our vision at the Vineyard is simple - we want to embody Jesus to our neighbors. This happens by growing in three ways, through what we call our pillars.

First, is Presence. We want everyone to experience the presence of God. This is what transforms us to love him and others. God’s presence is where we become fully alive. We want you to know the Father.

Then, Formation. God doesn’t just love us; he is forming us to be his people who can carry his life and love to those around us. Formation is where we learn to embody the Jesus way of life. We want you to imitate the Son.

Finally, Mission. Being on mission is how we join God in the work he is doing to bring his reconciliation, justice, and mercy to earth. This is how he is bringing healing and renewal to the world. We want you to partner with the Spirit.

Presence. Formation. Mission. Be thinking about your next step. Where is God calling you to go deeper with him?

Pray...

Intro

Merry Christmas! We are actually on the 8th day of Christmas, so I can still say that!

What’s in a name? That’s today’s sermon title, but it’s also a question to consider. Many parents agonize over giving their child a name that has significant meaning. There are a few you should avoid:

Ichabod - “the glory has departed”

Ben-oni - “son of my sorrow”

Perez - “a breach”

Jabez - “he makes sorrowful”

Beriah - “calamity”

What’s in a name in relation to God’s name? When God called Moses, he gave him is name - YHWH. Eventually his name came to be seen as too holy to speak, so instead Jewish people began to refer to him by his titles, Adonai or El-shaddia. Or they just called him “Hashem”, which literally means “The Name”.

But names are given because they’re meant to be used. It would be a shame to have a name that, like the good China, only gets used on special occasions. In giving his name to Moses, God intended for it to be a constant reminder of who he is and what he has promised to his people. By invoking it, it was intended to be a way of reminding the people of the blessing they had of being God’s treasured people. That, In giving his name, God gave himself fully to us.

Read Numbers 6:22-27

This passage reminds us of the promises and power tied up in God’s name. The priests were to bless the people by speaking God’s name over them. Several things are part of this blessing. The Lord:

Keep you - to guard and protect.

Make his face shine upon you - his face means his presence. Shine upon you means that God takes pleasure in you.

Be gracious to you - this is his unmerited, undeserved, freely given favor.

lift up his countenance upon you - Not only may God be with you, but may he pay special attention to you.

Give you peace - complete well-being

It is important to understand that in speaking this blessing over the people, the priests weren’t calling this blessing down on them. Rather, as God’s human representatives, they speak for God by reminding them of what they have already received by nature of their covenant relationship with God. These blessings are already given; we need only walk in the assurance of them. The first thing I want you to take away this morning is that If you are in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you ARE blessed!

But I want to give special attention to the last verse: Num 6:27 “So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

What happens when God speaks his name over you? What’s in a name?

The Lord’s name confirms our family identity - that we are joined to God as his family, his sons and daughters, and that he is rightfully our Father.

The Lord’s name infers benevolent ownership - not in a coercive or exploitative sense, but in a protective sense. Because we are God’s - and he is ours - he will go to every extreme to protect and preserve what is his. You are his treasured possession, and he will keep you. You are written on the palm of his hand.

The Lord’s name carries divine authority - in the biblical sense, names aren’t just words, but they reflect the character of the one the name represents. To have God’s name placed upon you is to walk in his authority. This is why we end our prayers “in your name”. God’s name is power.

The Lord’s name promises his presence with us - to speak or to hear God’s name spoken over us reminds us that we are not alone.

The Lord’s name assures us of his divine favor - God is not only with you but his favor rests upon you.

When the Lord gave his name, he gave himself. We have his assurance that he is our keeper, he is our light, he will bestow grace upon us. He looks upon you with love as a father and wants to give you wholeness and fullness of life.

The second thing I want you to take away this morning is this: To put his name upon you means that God is giving himself fully to you. Perhaps this is best illustrated by when a parent adopts a child. It’s not merely a legal change in the child’s name. It implies a full commitment to the welfare of that person - for life. This is what it means when God puts his name of you.

Yet, God went a step further than this. Today the church celebrates a feast called The Holy Name of Jesus. Luke 2:21 “After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”

Jesus - his name literally means “God will save”. He is the full expression of God’s desire to give himself to us. He was not content that we understand his presence and blessing conceptually; and so he took on flesh and came to us in person. Jesus came so that we might fully see the face of God shine upon us. I’ve said this many times, and it is the truest truth I know, that if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. God is like Jesus.

Sometimes the picture the church paints of God is not very good. His wrath toward sin is often misunderstood, and his mercy and love are sometimes downplayed. Very often, God’s kids do a bad job of representing what he is really like. If that has been your experience, I want you to see God as he truly is by looking at Jesus. The one who came to save you because he loves you, not because he’s angry with you. Would you enter into relationship with him today? This is a great way to begin the new year. (next steps slide)

By our faith in Jesus, God puts his name on us. He pours out his divine blessings as gifts to be received and walked in, not earned. In Christ, God wants you to see his face fully turned toward you, and for you to see that he is smiling. God smiles on you as his beloved child. Like all children, sometimes we go astray and God may discipline us to bring us back to him. But he never stops blessing us and pouring his favor upon us.

As we look into the uncertainty of a new year, we can do so with confidence that whatever we face, wherever we go, God is with us. In Jesus Christ, God has given himself fully to you. Amen.

--------------------

During communion discuss the tradition of bringing the table of showbread (bread of the face) out, holding up the loaves, and saying “behold, the face of God”. At the table we are reminded of the extent to which God went to give himself to us.