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