Do You Know The Name Series

Do You Know The Name

Scripture: Philippians 2:9-11, Colossians 2:15, Revelation 2:17, 14-16, 1 John 5:1-5

This message concludes my series focusing on fathers for the month of June. As I shared with you in previous messages, although I am speaking to men this message also applies to the women. The title of my message this morning is “Do You Know The Name?”

Years ago when I was in school you always had people who “messed” with you. Sometimes that would bait you into a fight while other times they would just talk about you. They would talk about how you were dressed, where you lived or how you looked. Many times they would resort to name calling and I admit I participated in this activity on many occasions. When we resorted to calling names, there was a response that everyone knew and could quote without even thinking about it. I will tell you the first two words and I promise many of you will finish the sentence for me. Here are the first two words of the response when someone calls you a name: “Sticks and….” You finished it, didn’t you? The saying is this: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!” When we made this statement it was a lie because we all know that words do hurt us – especially when someone calls us a name that attacks our looks, character, or lifestyle. The lie, that the only things that hurt you are physical, is a lie that Satan has gotten the world, and in the Body of Christ to believe. However, if that belief was true then Proverbs 18:21 would be a lie. It says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” The Word of God says that words can kill, so yes, name calling and personal attacks can hurt.

Now I want you to listen closely to what I am about to tell you about this lie that the devil has so smoothly sown into the Church. While this specific lie about words having no power directly impacts if and how we confess God’s Word over our lives – it goes much deeper than that. If we believe that words lack power, Satan understands that with this belief the Church loses its power and authority over his kingdom. Why? Because the Church will not know, understand and/or unleash the power and authority we have in the name of Jesus. Now, do you know that Name? We’re going to talk about that name a little bit this morning. Also we’re also going to talk about our new name; you know the one we will receive as sons and daughters of God. It’s that name that we receive because we have overcome the things of this world.

But let’s begin by how most Christians identify themselves. We generally identify ourselves either by our church’s denomination or by the ministry position we hold in our individual churches. For example, in terms of denominations, we are Baptist, or Methodist, or Presbyterian, or Pentecostal, or Full Gospel. Some Christians view themselves as Non-Denominational or “Spiritual.” And for those of us who are in ministry, we often address ourselves as “Pastor so and so,” “Elder so and so,” “Bishop so and so,” “Evangelist so and so,” or “Apostle so and so.” I believe you get the picture I’m trying to paint. These are titles and affiliations that our denominations give us, or that we give to ourselves. We see them as a way of saying to people, “This is who I am in the Christian community.” And for many in leadership positions, these titles give them status and influence. New Light, a person’s title may give him or her status or influence in the Church community, but it gives them no status or influence when Satan unleashes his attacks against the Church and the world. One of the things that hurts me the most is seeing the Church drift away from knowing and truly understanding the truth about who Jesus is and who we are because of what He did for us on the cross.

But let me take this out of the Church and speak in general terms to my brothers. There are many men whose identity is the job they hold. Even after they retire, when people ask who they are they identify as being retired from such and such company. Then there are those who have letters behind their names designating how many degrees or certificates they have earned. Again, this is to identify someone’s credentials as their name does not mean anything unless they come from a famous family. If they are a “normal” person from a normal family then their name alone means nothing. However, when you add letters behind their name people immediately size them up based on those additional letters. Those letters represents a name. Rodney Johnson, M.D. – medical doctor. Rodney Johnson, MBA – Masters of Business Administration. Does that mean I am a master of business administration? No, it means I completed the degree program. However, those letters will open doors for me that would be closed to me without them. My point is this, there are two names that we should be most interested in and the ones I have listed are not them.