Remember The Name

Exodus 20:7 (GIVE TEXT EARLY)

15 minutes?

TAKE NOTRE DAME JERSEY AND PUT IT ON BEFORE STAGE, NO NAME ON THEIRS CAUSE ABOUT TEAM.

INTRO: What’s in a name? What’s the big deal about a name?

Did you put a lot of time, effort and thought into naming your children? If you are having a baby soon, give them a name that people don’t misspell all the time, what a gift!

Do you ever wish your parents would have put more time, effort and thought into naming you?

I want to remind you of a story that takes place in Exodus 3. It’s the beginning of the story of Moses who is delivering the 10 Commandments. He has an encounter with God. There’s a mountain, a burning bush that is not consumed, and a voice that speaks to Him. He’s commanded to go to Pharaoh and demand that he “let My people go…” Remember that story? But Moses has a very important question… “Who should I say has sent me?” This is key! Don’t miss this. God gives His name. “I AM WHO I AM.” “Tell them all, I AM, has sent you. His name has no beginning. He is I Am. His name has no end. He is I Am. His name is absolute reality and all truth. His name is independent. No name compares to His name. His name is THE standard. His name is priceless. He is the I am. Fast forward, Moses goes into Egypt, says everything God told him to say, God pours out His judgment on Egypt, His people are set free and now here we are in Exodus 20 and God gives His people the Ten Commandments He says.. “I AM the Lord Your God, that has brought you out of the house of Egypt and set you free... “ and then verse 7 says this…

Exodus 20:7 ““You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”

PRAY

INTRO: Today’s commandment in my opinion is the one that we have watered down the most. There’s a lot of preaching out there today that equates to something like God’s last name is not… darn, or we say oh my gosh not oh my god. Maybe you are even so holy that when you send OMG in a text message you type out the word gosh so people know you aren’t breaking the commandment. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not condoning empty uses of God’s name like that, but in preparation for this message something really caught my attention. God will potentially forgive me for committing adultery, murdering someone, or stealing a $1,000,000, but saying Oh My God won’t go unpunished? I bet if we took a poll today on which one of those four things you would prefer your pastor to do, you’d probably go with me screaming out our savior’s name when I hit my finger with a hammer rather than going on a shooting rampage. Am I right? What’s the point of this intro? If God said this sin would not go unpunished, while others may, have we perhaps minimized a statement given by God to level of saying a swear word?

At the heart of this commandment is the sin of hypocrisy. Stick with me for a minute. The Hebrew word that is used here for “take” is the word nasa. Which interestingly means to carry or lift up. With this rendering the verse reads, you shall not CARRY the name of the LORD your God in vain.

So then… How do we carry the name of the Lord today? That’s what is important right? Understanding how the Bible relates to us where we are today.

Before we answer that question, let’s go to the 1st century for a minute. There were 12 men Jesus called to follow Him. These men were called disciples. Today we have theological discussions about whether you can be a Christian without being a disciple, or if you can be discipled before you become a Christian. Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus never called anyone a Christian? The word Christian, which means little Christ, was a word that others used to described those who were acting like Jesus did, or following what He taught. Isn’t it interesting that they didn’t have to announce they were Christians, put it on their facebook, or be part of a denomination? They were characterized by their behavior rather than their announced affiliation.

Why is this important?

Well because after this point and time, we now were allowed to self-identify as Christians. We got to call ourselves the people of God. While I’m sure this started out as well intentioned, the problem that arose was that people who called themselves Christians started doing some really horrible things. Not all of them, but some of them. I’ll bet you even know someone who calls themselves a Christian today and doesn’t act like one. 1.2.3… and If someone other than yourself just came to mind, maybe you fit into that category every once in a while, too .

You have to wonder if I’m going to make a point soon. I promise it’s coming.

We probably all have that pet peeve preaching idea that we don’t like when someone preaches something different than we believe it, let me share one of mine with you.

Romans 10:9 says If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, You will be saved. I’ve heard this preaching so many times with a pastor then proclaiming the verse says right there that’s all you have to do… ALL YOU HAVE TO DO? When Paul wrote this to the church at Rome, confessing Jesus Christ was a crime that was punishable by death. I’m going to say that 65% of Americans would not identify as Christians today if it were punishable by death.

Plain and simple here’s the challenge for you today. How are you carrying the name of Christ?

Early in our marriage Allison and I had this thing we did when things got a little tough. We’re both sports fan and I can still remember the time we hit our first hard spot, she looked at me and said don’t forget the name on the back of your jersey. Do you know what she was saying? she was saying we’re a family, we will get through this, we don’t quit, we will find a way, because we are Barkers. We are Davis’. We are Nelsons, We are Smiths, We are Dutiels, We are Dobney’s. Fill in the blank accordingly…

How much more power than when we say we are Christians. Don’t let anyone have a negative perception of your God, of your church, of your pastor. I have a pastor friend that has a saying he uses when people aren’t acting Christ-like in his church, he says “We don’t do that here.” What he is saying is we are carrying the name of Christ. It’s a powerful name, a miracle-working name, the name that is above all names. We want the whole world to know that we are Christians, but not because we tell them we are, but because we carry the name well.

So as we close today the challenge again simply is this. How are you carrying the name of Christ?

PRAY: OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME. Let your kingdom come and your will be done in the way we treat others. Forgive us when we do not carry your name well. Keep us from temptation in the strong of name of Jesus and deliver us from the evil one. It’s not our kingdom, it’s yours. It’s not our power, it’s yours. It’s not our glory, it’s yours. In the name of the Father, In the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.