New Name

Introduction

Good morning everybody!

Before we jump into the text today, I want to show you something.

[OLD PHOTO ON SCREEN]

Now… I don’t know if this is funny, emotional, embarrassing, or all three at once. But every time I look at old pictures like this, I always think the same thing:

“Man… that version of me had no idea what God was about to do.”

Anybody know what I mean?

You look back and:

your priorities were different

your perspective was different

your maturity was different

your confidence was different

your identity was different

Some of you look at old pictures and remember:

insecurity

addiction

heartbreak

fear

depression

anger

loneliness

hidden sin

church hurt

bad relationships

rebellion

confusion

And if we’re honest, some of us still carry labels from old seasons.

Still answering to old names.

Still allowing old failures to define present identity.

And that’s exactly where Genesis 17 meets us.

Because Genesis 17 is about a God who doesn’t just make promises… He transforms people.

This chapter is about identity.

This is about God looking at a broken old man and saying:

“You are not who you used to be.”

And I came to preach to somebody today: Just because your past explains you does not mean it defines you.

Your history may be real. Your pain may be real. Your mistakes may be real.

But they do not get final authority over your identity.

God does.

So if you have your Bible, go to Genesis 17.

And today we’re going to watch God take Abram… and turn him into Abraham.

Genesis 17:1–2 (ESV)

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.’”

Let’s stop there.

Because this verse hits harder when you remember what just happened in Genesis 16.

Genesis 16 was messy.

impatience

compromise

Hagar

Ishmael

trying to help God

forcing the promise

Abram and Sarai got tired of waiting on God… so they manufactured their own solution.

And now when Genesis 17 opens… Abram is 99 years old.

Ninety-nine.

Which means thirteen years have passed since Ishmael was born.

And here’s what’s wild:

For thirteen years… Scripture records no words from God.

Silence.

Can you imagine that?

Thirteen years carrying:

regret

consequences

disappointment

confusion

Thirteen years wondering:

“Did I ruin this?”

And some of you know exactly what that feels like.

You love God… but there are seasons where heaven feels quiet.

You pray… and nothing changes.

You worship… and still feel heavy.

You ask questions… and get silence.

But Genesis 17 reminds us:

God’s silence is not God’s absence.

Just because He is quiet does not mean He walked away.

And then suddenly… God speaks again.

And the first thing He says is:

“I am God Almighty.”

In Hebrew:

El Shaddai.

The all-sufficient One. The Almighty God. The God who is more than enough.

And notice WHEN God introduces Himself that way.

Not when Abram is young. Not when the dream looks easy. Not when circumstances make sense.

God reveals Himself as El Shaddai when the situation becomes impossible.

Abram is 99. Sarai is barren. The body is failing. The dream looks dead.

And THAT is when God says:

“Now let Me show you who I am.”

Because God often waits until your strength runs out… so His sufficiency becomes undeniable.

Abram spent years trying to help God. Trying to manufacture the promise. Trying to control outcomes.

And now God says:

“Stop trying to produce through flesh what only I can produce through promise.”

That’s a word for somebody.

You are exhausted trying to carry something only God can sustain.

Trying to:

fix yourself

heal yourself

save your marriage yourself

control your kids yourself

force ministry fruit yourself

break addiction yourself

And God says:

“I never asked you to become your own savior.”

That burden is crushing some of you.

Because religion says:

“Perform for God.”

But covenant says:

“Walk with God.”

Look at the verse again:

“Walk before me…”

Not:

impress Me

entertain Me

perform for Me

Walk before Me.

Live aware of My presence.

This is intimacy language.

This goes all the way back to the garden. Adam walked with God. Enoch walked with God.

And now God invites Abram into restored nearness again.

Church… God is not just trying to get something FROM you. He wants relationship WITH you.

And the older I get… the more I realize God cares less about image and more about intimacy.

Less about appearances. More about surrender.

Genesis 17:3–5

“Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ‘Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.’”

This is one of the most powerful moments in Genesis.

Abram means: “Exalted father.”

Abraham means: “Father of many nations.”

And here’s what’s wild: He still doesn’t even have the son yet.

God changes his identity BEFORE He changes his circumstances.

Before Isaac is born. Before the miracle happens. Before the promise fully unfolds. Before Abraham sees even one piece of evidence in the natural… God speaks a new identity over him.

And I love this because it means God is not waiting for you to become successful before He calls you chosen. He’s not waiting for you to get clean before He calls you redeemed. He’s not waiting for you to get your life together before He calls you His.

God speaks to who you are becoming… while you are still standing in the middle of who you used to be.

Can you imagine Abraham after this moment? Still old. Still waiting. Still walking home to the same tent. Still looking at the same circumstances.

But now every time someone says his name… they are speaking prophecy over his life.

“Father of many nations.”

And maybe people laughed. Maybe it sounded ridiculous. Maybe it felt impossible.

But faith means learning to agree with God before your circumstances catch up.

And some of you are frustrated because externally nothing has changed yet. But internally? God is already doing a renaming work.

You may still look the same to everybody else… but heaven already started calling you something different.

Because we think:

“Once my situation changes, then I’ll become different.”

But God says:

“No. I change who you are first.”

And throughout Scripture, God keeps doing this:

Abram to Abraham

Sarai to Sarah

Jacob to Israel

Simon to Peter

Because when God changes your future… He often changes your identity first.

And some of us still answer to names heaven never gave us.

We answer to:

failure

addict

ashamed

abandoned

unwanted

damaged

anxious

angry

divorced

rejected

But heaven says:

chosen

redeemed

forgiven

adopted

holy

beloved

son

daughter

And I need somebody to hear me today: The enemy speaks to your history. God speaks to your destiny.

The enemy wants you chained to old labels.

But Jesus specializes in renaming people.

Some of you walked in this room carrying names spoken over you by:

parents

exes

coaches

culture

trauma

addiction

failure

But those voices do not outrank God.

Only the Creator gets authority over identity.

And culture right now is screaming:

“Define yourself!”

But Scripture teaches: Identity is received from God… not invented by man.

You don’t discover yourself apart from God. You discover yourself THROUGH God.

And Abraham has to learn something difficult: You cannot step fully into your new future while clinging to your old identity.

Genesis 17:9–14

Now here comes the uncomfortable part of the chapter LOL.

Circumcision.

Everybody say: “Please move quickly, Pastor.”

Listen… this matters deeply.

Because covenant in Scripture always involved sacrifice and marking.

God marks covenant people.

Circumcision was:

physical

painful

permanent

personal

And here’s what’s fascinating:

The covenant mark was placed at the place where future generations would come from.

Why?

Because God was saying:

“Even your future belongs to Me.”

That is DEEP.

God wasn’t just asking for church attendance. He wasn’t just asking for outward religion.

He was saying:

“I want every part of your life surrendered.”

And the New Testament teaches us something powerful.

The old covenant sign was external.

But under Jesus… God cuts deeper.

Romans 2 says true circumcision is now of the heart.

Meaning: God is not after religious appearance. He is after transformation.

And this is where Christianity becomes dangerous in the best possible way.

Because religion is usually obsessed with behavior modification. God is obsessed with heart transformation.

Religion says:

“Clean up the outside.”

Jesus says:

“Let Me heal the inside.”

That’s why Jesus constantly rebuked the Pharisees. Not because they lacked religious activity. But because they mastered external performance while neglecting internal surrender.

They looked holy publicly… while remaining hard privately.

And if we’re honest? That temptation still exists today.

A lot of modern Christianity is really good at external signs.

We know the language. We know worship culture. We know Christian posts. We know church behavior. We know how to lift our hands during the slow songs. We know how to say “blessed and highly favored.” We know how to smile in the lobby while silently falling apart internally.

And the scary part is you can fool people for a long time with external religion. You can build an image. You can build a reputation. You can even build a platform.

All while your heart slowly drifts from God.

That’s why this covenant conversation matters so deeply. Because God is saying:

“I’m not interested in cosmetic Christianity.”

He’s not trying to make you appear transformed. He wants to actually transform you.

And transformation is painful sometimes. That’s why circumcision is such a powerful picture.

Cutting hurts. Surrender hurts. Dying to flesh hurts. Letting God confront pride hurts. Forgiving people hurts. Repenting hurts. Healing hurts.

But God only cuts what would eventually harm you if left untouched.

And some of us want resurrection power without crucifixion surrender. We want promises without pruning. Victory without dying to self.

But covenant always costs something.

Following Jesus is not just adding church to your life. It is allowing God to invade every area of your life.

Your relationships. Your thought life. Your sexuality. Your pride. Your money. Your wounds. Your future. Your identity.

Everything.

Because Jesus did not die simply to improve you. He died to make you new.

But God says:

“I don’t just want signs ON you. I want surrender IN you.”

That’s different.

Because you can fake external religion. But eventually your heart tells the truth.

And God says:

“I’m after your heart.”

Not partial surrender. Not weekend surrender. Not public surrender only.

All of you.

Genesis 17:15–16

“And God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.’”

I love this part.

Because God does not overlook Sarah.

And after Genesis 16… she probably felt:

guilty

ashamed

bitter

disqualified

She was the one who pushed Hagar. She was the one frustrated with waiting.

And honestly? Many women in Scripture were overlooked by culture.

But not by God.

God intentionally speaks destiny over Sarah too.

And somebody needs this:

Your failure in one chapter does not cancel God’s purpose in the next chapter.

Some people think:

“Because I messed up in Genesis 16, I lost my Genesis 17.”

No you didn’t.

God is still writing.

You are not disqualified because you struggled.

You are not disqualified because you doubted.

You are not disqualified because you had a bad season.

And I think some Christians honestly live under this constant fear:

“What if I ruined God’s plan for my life?”

Can I encourage you today?

You are not stronger than God’s grace.

And if that doesn’t make you worship… I don’t know what will.

Genesis 17:17

“Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed…”

This part always encourages me.

Because Abraham laughs.

Not because he hates God. Not because he’s rebellious.

It’s more like:

“God… this is impossible.”

And honestly? That’s relatable faith.

Because some of us were taught faith means pretending reality doesn’t exist.

But biblical faith acknowledges impossibility… and trusts God anyway.

Abraham is basically saying:

“I know my limitations. But maybe I don’t fully know Yours.”

And there are people in this room: You’ve buried dreams. Buried callings. Buried hope.

You think:

too much time passed

too much damage happened

too much sin happened

too much failure happened

But if Genesis teaches us anything… it’s this: God does His best work in impossible situations.

Dead wombs. Old bodies. Broken people. Failed moments.

That’s where grace shines brightest.

Genesis 17:23

And after all the questions… all the confusion… all the waiting…

The Bible says Abraham obeyed:

“That very day.”

Immediate obedience.

This matters because Genesis 16 Abram ran ahead of God.

But Genesis 17 Abraham walks WITH God.

That’s maturity.

That’s growth.

And some of you need to hear this: Spiritual maturity is not perfection.

It’s surrender.

It’s saying:

“God, I trust You enough to obey You.”

Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when it’s costly. Even when it doesn’t fully make sense yet.

Closing

I want to go back to that picture from the beginning.

[PHOTO BACK ON SCREEN]

That version of me:

had fears

insecurities

struggles

immaturity

wounds

And honestly? Some of you walked in carrying old labels too.

Still answering to old names.

Maybe people don’t even know it. But internally you still hear:

failure

ashamed

unwanted

addict

dirty

not enough

too broken

too far gone

But I came to announce today: Jesus still renames people.

The cross is the ultimate identity exchange.

Jesus was rejected… so you could become accepted.

Jesus was condemned… so you could become forgiven.

Jesus was cut off… so you could be brought into covenant.

And through faith in Christ:

orphan becomes son

sinner becomes saint

dead becomes alive

condemned becomes redeemed

That is the gospel.

And maybe today… God is calling you into a new identity.

Not self-help. Not behavior modification.

Transformation.

So before we leave…

There are two kinds of people in this room.

First: You love Jesus… but you are still living under old labels.

Today is your day to lay those names down.

Second: You need Jesus to give you a completely new identity.

You need salvation.

You need grace.

You need forgiveness.

You need the cross.

And if that’s you… I want to pray with you right now.

Sinner’s Prayer

Jesus, thank You for loving me. Thank You for dying in my place. Thank You for rising again. I confess that I am a sinner in need of grace. Forgive me. Wash me clean. Give me a new heart and a new identity. I surrender my life to You fully. I place my faith in Jesus alone. In Jesus’ name, amen.

And church, can we stand together all across this room?

Because some of you need to stop answering to names heaven never gave you