Honouring the God Whose Name We Bear

The scripture reading comes from Deuteronomy chapter 5. Please follow along on the screen.

Deuteronomy 5 · chapter mention

And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them,

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today,

and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image,

or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,

or that is on the earth beneath,

or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or serve them.

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children

to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,

for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy,

and the Lord your God commanded you.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

On it you shall not do any work,

you or your son or your daughter

or your male servant or your female servant,

or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock,

or the sojourner who is within your gates,

that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt,

and the Lord your God brought you off from there

with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother,

and the Lord your God commanded you,

that your days may be long,

and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder,

and you shall not commit adultery,

and you shall not steal,

and you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,

and you shall not covet your neighbor's wife,

and you shall not desire your neighbor's house,

his field,

or his male servant,

or his female servant,

his ox,

or his donkey,

or anything that is your neighbor's.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thank you, Christina.

Many of us know the importance of a name.

There are many families in Watermark that are looking forward to the arrival of their first child,

and you can be sure that many of those families at the moment are spending countless evenings on websites,

researching names,

how certain names go well with other names,

which names can possibly be teased when their kids grow up and go to school.

Finding names for your children is not an easy business.

For those of you who maybe have to find an English name as well as a Chinese name,

you've got double the work cut out for you.

And then, of course,

we've got to find out how our names will go with their siblings' names.

Will they rhyme?

They want something similar,

but not too similar.

Finding names for our children is complicated business.

For those of us that are parents and are picking names,

on the one hand,

you could go for something really simple and straightforward,

something uncomplicated,

like Kevin Murphy.

For me,

when my parents were picking my names,

they wanted no complicated middle names,

no embarrassing names,

nothing too long.

My dad didn't want to write too many letters on school application forms,

so he chose Simon Murphy for my brother,

Kevin Murphy,

Andrew Murphy.

That's all there is to it.

On the other hand,

some people really want to honor their parents,

and their generations,

and their uncles,

and their aunts,

and their grandparents,

and their great-grandparents.

And so you might have a family name

that gets passed down from generation to generation to generation.

But then you've got the tricky business of

what happens if you don't really like the family name that's being passed down?

Are you going to be the one person to break the seventh generation of family names?

It's all very complicated business.

You could do what Elon Musk did.

He and his girlfriend recently had a child,

and named their son

X-Ash-A12 Musk.

Who knows what it means?

But all of this shows that names,

and picking the right names for our children,

is complicated business.

And part of what makes it complicated

is that we realize the importance

and the significance of names.

Names are so much more than just describing somebody,

or calling somebody's attention.

It's more than just showing,

or describing that person over there,

as opposed to this person over here.

Names carry significance.

They carry meaning.

Names signify relationship.

I remember when Claire and I were trying to find names for our girls,

when Claire was pregnant with them,

and she would often throw out,

what about this name?

And I would say,

oh no, I went to school with somebody with that name.

I could never name my children that name.

Why?

Because names aren't just sounds.

We attach relationship,

and meaning,

and significance to them.

This morning,

we are continuing looking at this body of teaching

in the Old Testament.

This famous body of teaching

that's come to be known as the Ten Commandments.

Ten words for abundant life.

And these words God gave to His people

as they transitioned out of Egypt

and went into the Promised Land.

And they are words that God gives to His people

to remind them of His faithfulness and His goodness,

and to call them to trust Him and obedience

as they continue on their journey as the people of God.

And today,

we are looking at the third one of these commands,

and it goes like this.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,

for God will not hold him guiltless

who takes His name in vain.

In Scripture,

God takes names very seriously.

And names have deep significance,

especially God-given names.

Names say a lot about the nature

or the character of the person.

And that's why quite often in Scripture,

God actually renames somebody

according to the calling that He's got in their life.

God takes somebody and says,

I've got a plan for your life.

I've got a purpose for your life.

No longer will your name be this.

I want to rename you this.

And so God takes a man called Abram,

and He renames him Abraham.

God takes Sarai,

and He renames her Sarah.

God takes Jacob,

this name that means a wrestler,

a bit of a cheat and a scoundrel,

and He renames him Israel.

Jesus takes Simon,

and He renames him Peter.

And so in the Bible,

this connection between a God-given name

and the essentially important thing about this person,

this connection between these two things

is really significant.

names aren't just a nice-sounding name.

Names aren't just given

because they rhyme with your family name.

There's a deep and significant connection

between who the person is

and the God-given name that they receive.

And then there's no more importance

or significant event in this regard

than when God gives Himself a name.

In Exodus chapter 3,

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

God comes to Moses,

and He calls Moses to deliver His people

out of slavery in Egypt

and take them into the promised land.

And so He comes up with this plan

to send Moses back to Egypt

to deliver His people.

And Moses says,

Okay, God,

but whom shall I say has sent me?

What is your name?

And God gives Himself a name.

He says,

Tell the people of Israel,

tell the Egyptians,

that I am has sent you.

God gives Himself this name.

It's an unusual name.

And the name is,

I am,

or I am who I am.

In Hebrew,

we say Yahweh,

or Jehovah.

In our English Bibles,

it's written Lord,

capital L-O-R-D.

It's a name that appears

over 600 times

in the Old Testament.

But it's this unusual name

that simply is,

I am.

I am who I am.

And the reason God gives Himself this name

is because it signifies

His essential essence.

that this God

is the God

who has no limitations.

He has no hindrances.

He has no beginning

and no end.

He's not the God

of a specific geography.

He's not the God

of only Israel

or the ancient Middle East.

He's not the God

of a time period,

2,000 years ago.

He's not the God

of a specific culture

like Israel

or maybe America

or England.

No, no.

He is the supreme,

unhindered,

unrestricted,

unrivaled,

supreme God

that has no limitations,

no beginning,

no end.

He never changes.

He is the absolutely

supreme being.

He is the great

I am.

God's great name,

Jehovah,

Yahweh,

I am,

signifies this

magnificent essence

of His being

that He is the

great supreme

God,

the one

who is.

before the world

was made,

before a single star

was created,

if there was a Big Bang,

before any Big Bang

took place,

God was there.

I am

who I am.

And then we see

why God says,

do not take

my name

in vain

because names

signify

character,

who we are

and who God is.

In the Old Testament,

to abuse God's name

was deadly serious.

In Leviticus 24,

it says this,

whoever blasphemes,

now the word blaspheme

means to slander,

it actually means

to pierce something,

to cut something

into pieces.

In English,

we might say

to shred something.

Whoever blasphemes

or slanders

or shreds

God's name

shall surely

be put to death.

All the congregation

shall stone Him,

both the sojourner

as well as the native,

when He blasphemes

the name,

shall be put to death.

Now, of course,

this is Old Testament

civil law

and in the New Testament

covenant under Jesus,

the application

of this law changes.

If someone at Watermark

continues to blaspheme

God's name,

we don't take them

to the parking lot

and stone them to death,

thankfully.

But the application

would look something

like church discipline.

Maybe somebody continues

to abuse

and slander God's name,

someone in the church,

and may after a time,

we go to the congregation

and say,

we've spoken

and we've warned

this person.

If it does not stop,

we might need to ask

this person

to leave the church.

Abusing God's name

is deadly serious.

And this is what

the third commandment

is all about.

It's about honoring God

and honoring His glory

by the way

that we treat His name,

not using His name

and who He is

for our own agenda,

our own means.

For those of us

that grew up

in Christian families

or Christian culture,

we may think

that this means

not simply blaspheming,

saying something like,

oh my God,

or using Christ

or Jesus

and His name

either flippantly

or as a joke

or even worse,

as a way of swearing.

Now,

throughout the ages,

Christians have always

held that to say

things like,

oh my God,

or to use Jesus' name

as a joke

or as a swear word

is a clear violation

of the third commandment.

Christians shouldn't do that.

And the reason is

because God's name

is holy and reverential.

But it's not just that.

It's not just a name.

God's name is holy

because God is holy.

God's name is reverential

because God is reverential.

God's name is powerful

because God Himself

is powerful.

And so Christians

should never just casually

throw out God's name.

But actually,

this instruction,

the third commandment,

is so much more

than what we say

because the commandment

doesn't say,

do not say the name

of the Lord your God

in vain.

Do not speak His name

in vain.

Actually,

the verb here

is to carry

or to take up,

to bear His name.

It says,

do not lift up

or bear God's name

in vain.

And here we see

how broad

this commandment is.

Someone may say,

well,

I never curse.

I never swear.

I never use God's name

irreverently.

But friends,

for those of us

that are followers

of Jesus this morning,

part of what it means

is when you're a Christian,

when we repent of our sin

and turn to Christ,

is that we take up His name.

We bear His name.

In fact,

the word Christian

means a little Christ,

someone who's learning

to imitate

or become like Christ.

Friends,

if you consider yourself

a Christian this morning,

you bear His name.

You're no longer your own.

You belong to Him.

Friends,

if we claim to be

the people of God

and yet live as if we're not,

we take His name in vain.

If we claim to follow Him

and love Him

and adore Him

and live for His glory

but then live

as though we don't,

we take the precious name

of God

and we render it meaningless,

insignificant,

worthless.

We take it in vain.

So,

what does this mean

for our lives?

Well,

the big idea is that

those who bear His name

or to honor the God

whose name we bear

by not using it

for our own advantage

but using God's name

to glorify

and magnify Him.

How should we do this?

Well,

there's two ways practically.

The first is

we should never

take up God's name

in the service

of that which is false

and secondly,

we should never

take up God's name

in the service

of that which is superficial

or frivolous.

So,

let's look practically

at what that means

or looks like

in our lives.

Firstly,

let's not take up

God's name

in the service

of that which is false.

How should we do this?

Well,

let's be careful

with honesty

and truth-telling.

Many of us will know

that courts of law

for tens of years,

even hundreds of years,

have often asked

that when somebody

comes to the court of law

they put their hand

on a Bible

and they swear

to tell the truth,

the whole truth

and nothing but the truth,

so help me God.

Well,

obviously if somebody there

lies

or is less than honest,

it's a clear violation.

They've appealed

to the security

and the faithfulness

of God's name

and then are dishonoring it

when they don't tell the truth.

But Jesus actually

says something interesting.

He says that

even when we give

other oaths,

when we swear

by something

in our world,

we do the same thing.

He says,

do not swear by heaven

because it's God's throne,

but do not swear

by the earth

because it's His creation.

It's in His hands.

And so when we say

something like,

I swear on my life

or I swear on the hair

of my head,

some of us have got

less than others,

even that is not

in our realm,

our control.

It's in the realm

of Jesus.

Our lives are not really

in our hands,

how much hair we have

or how little hair we have.

It's not really in our hands

unless you're trying

to grow a beard.

But even those things,

it's in God's hands,

right?

When we make these oaths

and we take on

or claim something

which is not really ours,

it's God's,

and then we are

less than honest,

we take God's name

in vain.

I remember when I was

a child,

I used to convince myself

that if I said something

that had an element

of truth to it,

maybe 20% truth,

then I wasn't really lying.

And if I convinced myself

of that,

then I could convince myself

that if I were to lie

but it was very special

circumstances,

well,

I was off the hook.

And of course,

once I convinced myself

of that,

then any circumstances

became special circumstances.

I found a clever way

of allowing myself

to get off the hook

of not being someone

who lies.

But for those of us

that are Christians,

whatever we say

or we think,

we do so knowing

that the God

who is all truth,

the God in whom

there is no shadow

of changing,

the God in whom

there is nothing

that is false,

everything we say

and think,

we do before His throne

and before His holiness.

Christians should always

be those that are honest

and truth-telling.

Second way we can

honor God's name

is by making sure

there's continuity

with what we say

and how we behave

with our conduct.

I'm sure all of us

have encountered Christians

maybe in the workplace

that are very vocal

about their faith.

They're always listening

to Christian music

at top volume

in the office place.

They've got their Bible

on the desk

on the one side

and on the corner

of the desk

they may have a book

that says God is my CEO.

There may be those people

that before a business meeting

they'll call their colleagues

and say let's really pray.

I think God wants

to give us this new client.

They're very vocal

about their faith

and what church they go to

and all their Christian activities

and yet in the pressure

moments of work

they can be very obnoxious,

maybe arrogant,

very uncaring

and unsympathetic

and actually

it's very evident to all

that the most important person

in their life

is really themselves.

They don't listen to others.

They're always talking

about themselves

in conversations.

They're the center

of their own world.

Friends,

these things ought not to be so.

It's not just a bad example.

It's lifting up God's name

and then rendering it meaningless,

insignificant

and worthless.

Here's another way

that we need to be careful

about the way

that we use God's word.

When we take up God's word

which is attest me

to his name

and then we twist it

to say what we want it to say

or even worse

we twist it to say something

that it doesn't say really.

We take the reverence

and the glory of God's name

and we use it

for our own agenda.

We take it in vain.

Now of course

all Christians

need to be aware of this

but those for whom

this is especially pertinent

is pastors and preachers.

Friends,

when people stand

before God's people

and they open up God's word

and say

this is what God says

and yet that's not

what God really says

is a deadly serious

thing to do.

God doesn't mince his words

what he has to say

about pastors and preachers

that twist God's word

for their own agenda

or to say what they want to say.

In the book of Jeremiah

we see this happening a lot.

The prophets are those

who are given God's word

and they're meant to call

God's people to repentance

to turn to God

and yet rather than doing that

they say what people

want to hear

rather than what God

has given them to say.

Listen to what God says.

He says,

The prophets

are prophesying lies

in my name.

They are saying

peace, peace

when there is no peace.

They are prophesying

to you a lying vision

worthless divination

the deceit

of their own minds.

Friends,

what this means

is that anybody

that stands up

to preach God's word

better do so

in the fear of God.

When you stand up

and say

this is what God says

listen up

you are calling people

not to yourself

but to God.

We better make sure

that we are honoring

his name.

But what that also means

is that Christians

ought to hold

their pastors

and their preachers

accountable

that what is being said

from the pulpit

is really coming

directly from God's word.

This is a deadly

serious thing

to do.

How we handle

God's word.

So all of that

is honor God's name

by not taking it up

in the service

of what is false.

But then we also

need to honor God's name

by not taking it up

in the service

of that which is

superficial

or frivolous.

Here's a couple of ways

that we can do that.

We ought to be

really careful

when we say things

like God has told me so

or God told me

to do this

or God has said

this to me.

Now of course

God does speak to us

even today

he speaks to us

from his word

and he can speak to us

by divine revelation.

And maybe it is true

that sometimes

God is leading

and guiding us

according to making

certain decisions

or doing things.

But we need to be

really careful

when we attach

God's name

to our own agenda

or our own ideas.

And for two reasons.

One,

it can be quite manipulative.

Who's going to disagree

with you

when you say

God told me this?

Right?

How can you argue

with God?

But secondly,

it's very easy

and sometimes

even unconsciously

to attach

divine authority

to our own ideas

or our own opinions

because we want

backing for them.

We need to be

really careful

about just throwing

out casually

God told me this.

Here's another way.

We need to be

really careful

with our prayers.

We honor God's name

when we're not casual

with our prayers.

I've been so challenged

by this recently.

A few weeks ago

I was reading a book

and Kevin DeYoung,

the great pastor,

was talking about

this concept

with regard

to the third commandment.

And listen to

what he said.

He said,

We ought to be

really thoughtful,

careful,

and intentional

with our prayers.

For example,

what about praying

with our kids

around the dinner table

or before bed?

In the midst

of all the chaos,

sometimes I'll quickly

pray to God

for the food

or for the day

and then be done.

The problem

is not the short prayer.

The problem

is that I'm

thoughtlessly

tossing out

the name of God

as just one more

hurdle to clear

before I can

finally eat

or finally get

some peace

and quiet

in the house.

No doubt,

God is more patient

with three-year-olds

who can't sit still

than he is

with parents

who can't slow down

to get their minds

and hearts right.

It would be better,

friends,

not to pray

of the meal

at all

if the alternative

is praying

God's name

falsely.

Man,

I was so challenged

by that.

As a family,

we pray before

every meal.

We ask God

to bless the food

and we thank him

for it.

But after 10 years

of doing that,

it's so easy

for that just

to become a pattern,

just something you do

before you can

finally get to eat.

Friends,

it's true that Jesus,

when he taught us

how to pray,

we pray to our

Father in heaven.

What a great thing

it is that God

is our Father.

But he also taught us

to pray,

hallowed be your name.

God,

honor your name.

Father in heaven,

glorify your name.

Friends,

when we pray,

we address this glorious,

majestic,

sovereign,

limitless,

unchanging,

unrivaled,

God with no limitations,

the great I am.

And yet,

praying half-hearted prayers

that we don't really mean,

lifting up God's name

and then rendering it

insignificant and meaningless

is something

that we should avoid.

Finally,

last practical thing

is this.

We need to be careful

about our worship.

And particularly,

I'm thinking of

when the songs

that we sing.

How many of us

have come to family worship

on Sunday morning?

Our minds are all

over the place,

our hearts are all

over the place,

and we sing the songs,

but our hearts

are not really in it.

Maybe our minds

are drifting

and we're not really

thinking about

what we're singing,

or maybe even worse,

we are aware

of what we're singing,

but we're not sure

if we really believe it.

Friends,

it's when we

mouth these words

and we sing His praises,

but we're not in awe,

we're not marveling,

we're not attentive

to the awesomeness

and the majesty

and the glory

of who our God is.

In the Old Testament,

the book of Samuel,

there's this priest

called Eli,

and he has these two sons,

and the Bible

actually describes them

as worthless men,

and the reason is

because the priests

were to look after

the worship of God's people,

and Eli's sons

were meant to help him

in the worship

of God's people.

And so God's people

would bring their worship,

their sacrifices,

maybe a bull

or a goat

or a lamb,

they would bring it

to the tabernacle

as an offering

of worship.

But Eli's sons,

these worthless men,

would often take

what God's people

were bringing as worship,

and they would use it

for their own advantage.

Instead of burning it

and offering it

to God,

they would eat it themselves,

they would line

their own pockets,

they took what was

a sacred endeavor,

a sacred action,

and used it

for their own advantage.

And so listen

to what Samuel says.

He says,

Thus,

the sin of the young men

was very great

in the sight of the Lord.

For the men treated

the offering,

the worship of the Lord,

with contempt,

with disdain.

It wasn't that they were

worshipping a false god,

they weren't telling the people

to stop worshipping Yahweh

and now worship Baal,

but the worship

that God's people

were bringing,

they were treating

with contempt,

as a light thing.

They were treating it

in vain.

Friends,

how many of us,

how many times

have treated

the offering

of the Lord

as a vain thing?

How many of us

have treated

Christ's offering?

When Jesus went

to the cross

and He offered

His blood

to cover us

from our sins,

to remove the guilt

of sin and shame

from us,

to remove from us

the penalty of death

that hung over us,

to welcome us

into our family,

into His family.

And yet,

how many of us

treat

the offering

of Christ

and His blood

as a vain

and an insignificant thing?

The Apostle Peter

reminds us

that in the Gospel

we are saved,

we are ransomed

from death,

we are brought

out of darkness

into light,

not with a perishable thing

such as gold or silver.

Jesus didn't buy us back

with a billion dollars.

He ransomed us

from eternal death

with the precious blood

on the cross.

Friends,

in the book of Romans,

the Apostle Paul,

he writes,

he says,

don't show contempt

for the riches

of God's kindness,

His patience,

His tolerance,

don't you realize

that God's patience

and His kindness

is meant to lead us

to repentance,

not to abusing

His offering

of His sacrifice.

Now,

as we come to a close,

look at how this

third commandment ends.

It's not just

an instruction

not to be false

and superficial.

It comes with a warning.

It says,

do not take the name,

the precious name

of God in vain,

for God will not

hold him guiltless

who takes His name

in vain.

Throughout history,

there have always been

men and women

that have stood up

in a court of law,

put their hand

on a Bible

and said,

I promise to tell

the truth,

the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth,

so help me God.

And then have proceeded

to be less than honest,

to commit perjury.

Why do people do that?

Well,

the reason is because

we think we can

get away with it.

We think that

no one's going

to find us out.

But look at what

God says here.

He says,

He will not allow

His name

to be taken up falsely

or rendered worthlessly

and do nothing about it.

Earlier this week,

I was just thinking

what I would do,

how I would respond

if someone were

to slander

or joke about

or malign

my wife.

If someone were

to take my wife

and then malign

her behind her back,

slander her

and shred

her reputation.

Well,

I'm not sure

what I would do,

but I can promise you

it wouldn't be pretty.

And the reason is

because my wife

is the most precious

thing in all the world

to me.

There's nothing more

precious to me

on this earth.

Nobody gets to

slander my wife

and get away with it.

Nobody gets to

mess with her

or mess with her

reputation

and just get away

with it.

Friends,

God here says

that the sovereign,

majestic,

supreme God,

the great I am

is jealous

for his name.

Nobody gets

to deride him,

to slander him,

to blaspheme

the precious name

of Christ

and to get away

with it.

Friends,

playing loose

and casual

with God's name,

whether it's in our prayers

or in our worship

or in our conduct

or in any other way

is a deadly serious

thing to do.

In the book of Acts

in chapter 5,

there is a couple

who use God's name

to advance

their own agenda.

They're pretending

to be godly

and God-honoring

and to love

and worship God

but actually

in their hearts

they want to honor

their own name.

Friends,

they both end up dead.

First Ananias

and then his wife

Sapphira

both on the same day.

Friends,

taking God's name

casually,

flippantly,

in a vain manner

is a deadly serious

thing to do.

And so,

is there any hope

for sinners

like you and me?

Friends,

is there any hope

for me?

I,

who this week

have blasphemed

God's name,

not with my words

but with my conduct,

with my lifestyle,

as I've lived

for my own glory

rather than

the glory of his name.

2,000 years ago,

Jesus is walking

into the street,

not walking,

he's riding a donkey

into the streets

of Jerusalem

and there are all sorts

of people

that are calling out

his name.

They're describing

him as the king.

Hosanna,

Hosanna,

blessed is he

who comes in the name

of the Lord.

And just a few days later,

they're standing

in the public square

before Pontius Pilate

and they're saying,

we have no king

but Caesar.

Crucify him,

crucify him.

Friends,

and shockingly,

Jesus at his trial

is accused

of blaspheming

the name of God

because he's accused

of equating himself

with God.

The irony is

the only person

who ever walked

on earth

who could legitimately

claim the name

of God

is mocked,

slandered,

spat upon,

abused,

condemned,

and ultimately

condemned to death

for taking up

the name of God.

But remember

that just a few days,

a few hours

before Jesus dies,

he's praying

to his father

and he says,

Father,

the hour has come.

Glorify your name.

What's he talking about?

The hour has come.

What's the hour?

It's the hour

of his death,

the hour of his crucifixion,

the hour when he's

going to be nailed

to the cross.

And even in the moments

before he's put on trial,

the days before

his crucifixion,

the cry of his heart

is not to me,

God,

not to me,

but to your name

give the glory.

Father,

glorify your name.

Father,

lift up your holy name.

Jesus,

the only man

who ever perfectly

obeyed the third commandment,

the only man

that never ever

slandered

or took God's name

in vain,

the one who bore

God's name

and perfectly honored it,

Jesus is condemned

to die as a criminal.

Jesus has his name

and his glory

dragged through the mud

as he's slandered

and abused

as he's nailed

to the cross.

And while he's there

on the cross

and he's struggling

to breathe

because of the weight

of his body

is hanging against

his lungs,

he's struggling

to breathe

and even still

the people

on the ground

around him

are mocking him.

They're saying,

you call yourself God?

If you're God,

save yourself.

Come down

from the cross.

And Jesus

doesn't do it.

Why?

Because he's not there

to save himself.

Friends,

he's there

to save others.

He's there

to save

the very people

who just a few hours

earlier were crying out

to crucify him,

crucify him.

Friends,

he's there

to save

the very people

who down

on the ground

are mocking him,

reviling him,

spitting upon him,

condemning him.

Friends,

Jesus is there

to save those

who will turn to him

in faith and repentance.

As we think

about our lives,

as I think

about my own life,

friends,

how many of us

have used God's name

for our own purposes?

Maybe for some of us

we've attached

the name of Jesus

to our lives

as a cheap

and easy form of grace,

as a get out of jail card

to save us

from eternal hell,

but we actually

have no intention

of living

for the glory

of his name.

Friends,

Jesus came

to die on the cross

for sinners

like you and I,

to save us

if you'll turn to him

in faith and repentance.

Friends,

Jesus had not only

his body

but also his name

nailed to the cross

as he was executed

as a criminal

and a troublemaker.

But he gave

his name up.

He sacrificed himself

and his honor

and his name.

He gave up his name

that he might give us

a name.

That we might be called

his beloved.

That we might be called

sons and daughters

of God.

That we might be called

his righteous ones.

That we might no longer

live for ourselves

but for the glory

of his name.

Let's pray.

Oh Jesus,

we come before you

this morning

and God,

your word

challenges us.

Father,

we are so sorry

for the many times

we've taken your name

in vain.

God,

won't you forgive us

but not only that,

won't you also change us?

Come and help us,

Lord,

to not only bear your name

in our lips

but to have your name

written on our hearts.

God,

may our conduct

be in align

with the words

of our mouth.

God,

come and help us,

we pray.

In your wonderful name.

Amen.

Chris is going to come

and lead us

in a moment

of responding to that

and just repentance.

And so let's take

a few moments.

Let's not rush off

too quickly.

Let's listen

and really respond

to God

as Chris leads us

in this time.

Let's do that.

I believe God

is actually really

speaking to us

right now

so we don't want

to just rush

this moment.

When God speaks,

he wants us

to hear

and to respond

in repentance

and in faith

and in turning to him.

And so I want

to just

read from

the last part

of Psalm 139

which says this,

Search me,

O God,

and know my heart.

Try me

and know my thoughts.

See if there is

any grievous way

in me

and lead me

in the way

everlasting.

I want us

to actually spend

just a minute

really reflecting

and asking God

and praying

that prayer.

God,

search my heart.

Search me

where I have

cheapened your name.

where I have

treated it

so lightly.

I have treated

it so casually.

I have thought

that your cross

was just a

get out of jail

free card

but I have not

realized

who you really

are.

Some of us

we need to repent

for the way

we have used

God's name.

The way that

we have used

it in prayer

like a genie

just to get

what we want

but not seeing

who he truly is.

some of us

need to repent

because

he's called us

and given us

a privilege

to be his ambassadors

and yet our lives

have not lived

in the light

of that calling.

So I want you

to take a minute

now

and pray that

prayer

search me

oh God

search me

oh God

know my heart

try me

try my thoughts

see if there's

any grievous

way

any way

that hurts

and dishonors

you

let's just

take a minute

to do that

whatever

God

or

us

see if there's

even here

and they're

in love

and they're

in love

里

and they're

far

in

whereas

you

see if there's

something to know

as the

forgiveness

and you

have just

heard

and let's look

at the

other

way

in YOUR

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I believe there are some people who you've called yourself a Christian for a long time.

But as you've been listening and hearing what it really means to bear the name,

you realize your life has no correlation to that at all.

And God is calling you today.

He's calling you not to run away from Him, but to run to Him.

In true repentance this morning.

Father, we just come before you who are the great, the holy, the glorious,

the one who just rules over all of creation.

And yet you would come and die for us.

You would do everything that we might bear your name.

And it's a beautiful name, Lord.

But forgive us where we have diminished your name and just treated it so lightly, Lord, in our lives.

Please have mercy on us.

Lord, we've spoken in ways where we've spoken your name, but we've just used it for our own agendas.

Lord, we've been ashamed of your name.

Lord, we've been ashamed of your name.

Lord, we've been ashamed of your name.

And we've been to the church service on a Sunday.

Or we've just read our Bibles.

And afterwards, the way that we respond bears no relation at all to the people you've called us to be.

Father, forgive us.

Change us.

Lord, we've been ashamed of your name.

You've called us your children.

You've called us ambassadors of you.

You've called us chosen and dearly loved.

And yet, in the light of everyone else around us, we have tried to hide the fact that we are followers of you.

And for some of us, we feel like that sense of detachment from, we feel the hypocrisy in our lives.

We see that our walk and our talk are so different.

And so we've shied away from even sharing the gospel.

We've not run to you in desperate wanting you to change.

But we've used that as an excuse not to even speak your name to others.

Father, have mercy on us.

Call us back to yourself.

Show us your unfailing love.

Show us your mercy.

Show us that as sons and daughters of the King, that is an incredible privilege.

Please, would you open our eyes to see you today.

To see your glory.

To not treat you lightly.

But to walk humbly before you.

And to rejoice in your salvation.

That you forgive us.

And you show us your grace.

Thank you, Lord.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.