Sermon Tone Analysis

A 21ST CENTURY LOOK AT THE BIG TEN

 

DON’T MISUSE GOD’S NAME

 

3~/10~/2001 AND 3~/11~/2001

 

 

*/REVIEW:/*

 

 

We have been looking at the 10 commandments from Exodus 20.

Then the laws are repeated in Deuteronomy-second law.

Jesus said two laws summed up the commandments.

Matthew 22

36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

 37 Jesus replied: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

39 And the second is like it: `Love your neighbour as yourself.'

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

We can’t keep these without the help of God.

God was giving the Israelites the structure with which they could relate to Him and each other.

So far:

#1 "You shall have no other gods before me.

#2 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Today:

#3 Exodus 20: 7 */"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God/*, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

(NIV)

 

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.

(NASB)

 

7.

“*/You are not to make use of the name of the Lord your God for an evil purpose/*; whoever takes the Lord's name on his lips for an evil purpose will be judged a sinner by the Lord.”

1.

GOD’S NAME

 

 

-The Jews felt so strongly about the name of God that they wouldn’t repeat it.

-We say Jehovah but we don’t know exactly how it is pronounced.

-Some Jewish material to this day will say G-D.

 

-When we look at the name of God we have to realize that God is One.

He has more than one name but they are descriptions of God more than titles.

*/Elohim/*-A plural name for God….Let US make man.

*/Jehovah/*-To Be~/ God said in the O.T. and Jesus said, “I AM”.

 

-It literally means the self-existent one who reveals Himself.

-We then see that name compounded with a description of God’s character.

*/Elyon/*-God most high~/supreme God

 

Genesis 14

19 And blessing him, said, May the blessing of the Most High God, (Elyon) maker of heaven and earth, be on Abram:

 20 And let the Most High God be praised, who has given into your hands those who were against you.

Then Abram gave him a tenth of all the goods he had taken.

*/El-Shaddai /*– He is the God who is sufficient  -the breasted one –more than enough

 

Genesis 17

1 ¶ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, (El-Shaddai) Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things,

 2 And I will make an agreement between you and me, and your offspring will be greatly increased.

*/Jehovah-Jireh/*-provider (with Abraham at the sacrifice of Isaac.)

*/Jehovah-Rapha/*-healer (with the Israelites in Exodus 15)

*/Jehovah-Nissi/*-banner or standard (in Exodus 17 when Israel fought Amalek.)

*/Jehovah-Shalom/*-peace (with Gideon)

 

 

*/Jehovah-Shammah/*-the Lord is present (the new Jerusalem-Ezekiel 48)

 

*/Jehovah-Tsidkenu/*-the Lord our righteousness

 

*/Jehovah-Rohi/*-the Lord our Shepherd

 

 

 

-Then you come to */JESUS ~/YESHUA/* (Jehovah is salvation)

 

-He is called */Immanuel/*-God with us.

-Christ is Messiah it means “the anointed one”.

(From Christos)

 

Mt 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, {Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.}

because he will save his people from their sins."

Ac 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Ac 3:6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

Ac 3:16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.

It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

Php 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

 Php 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

 

 

2.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO USE GOD’S NAME IN VAIN?

 

-We shouldn’t curse but putting a dam on the end of God isn’t what God was talking about here.

-That certainly isn’t right and it is mis-using God’s name.

Definitions:

 

Hebrew meaning is emptiness of speech~/false prophecy~/to no good purpose

 

The root for vain in Hebrew is to bore through and make hollow

 

Webster’s says vain is having no substance or value or importance.

It is empty.

It means to use with levity or profaneness.

C.S. Lewis said: “Large areas of the world will not hear us till we have publicly disowned much of our past.

Why should they?

We have shouted the name of Christ and enacted the service of Molech.”

-Molech stands for violence.

-The crusades were done to Jews and Moslems in the name of Jesus.

-Hitler linked Christianity with being a Nazi.

-The KKK linked their cause to the white southern Christian cause or something.

-In other words, these all said they were representing God.

 

-Christopher Columbus was looking for treasure to finance the Crusades and retake Jerusalem from the infidels.

VIDEO CLIP

 

-         A Bible example:

 

Acts 19

13 ¶ But some of the Jews who went from place to place driving out evil spirits, took it on themselves to make use of the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I give you orders, by Jesus, whom Paul is preaching.

14 And there were seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jew and a chief priest, who did this.

15 And the evil spirit, answering, said to them, I have knowledge of Jesus, and of Paul, but who are you?

16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them, was stronger than the two of them, and overcame them, so that they went running from that house, wounded and without their clothing.

17 And this came to the ears of all those, Jews and Greeks, who were living at Ephesus; and fear came on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was made great.

18 And a number of those who had faith came and made a public statement of their sins and all their acts.

-Using the name of God in vain is :

 

Using His name as though you had a relationship when you really didn’t.

It is claiming to speak for God.

God said………..

 

It is using it as a rabbit’s foot.

It is using it as an empty ritual or repetition or closing to a prayer.

Using the name in vain is not recognizing the power in His name.

3.

USING THE NAME FOR GOOD

 

-I like to give my example of using my parent’s credit card.