God Knows Orangejello, Nosmo, And Maynard

Now, it is not enough simply for the Lord to know our name. It is not enough for the Lord to know who we are. We need to know the Lord.

Think about this on a human level for a moment.

Everyone in this room knows who I am. I’ve introduced myself to you. A few weeks ago the Pastor Nominating Committee introduced me to you. Some of you may have visited my personal web pages on the Internet and read some of my sermons and other writings.

And to top it all off, in the 11:00 worship service this morning, I carefully taught the children how to pronounce my name – and I know that Pittendreigh is not the easiest name to pronounce.

Now imagine how you would feel if I did not try to remember your names. I know some of you, and with a few hundred members in the church, it is going to take me a while to remember everyone’s names. I know you will be patient with me while I get to know you, and I know you won’t mind when I have to ask you to repeat your name once or twice.

But imagine how you would feel if I did not even try to remember your name.

Our Lord knows our name.

He wants us to know His name.

And in the Scriptures, knowing the name of Christ is more than simply remembering with our mind a word that represents someone.

To know the name of someone is to be part of that person, and to have that person part of you.

In the Old Testament of Genesis, Jacob wrestles with a man all night long. But it is not a man. It is God Himself. And as the sun is rising, the Lord suddenly and easily wins the fight – and Jacob suddenly realizes it was never a real fight at all – for God could have overpowered him at any time.

Then there is an interesting exchange between the two.

The Lord asks Jacob for his name, and when Jacob answers, God gives him a new name, “Israel.”

And then Jacob, or Israel, asks God for His name. He asks for God’s name because in that culture, to know the name of a person was to know the character of that person. To know the name of a person was to have a relationship with that person.

A relationship!

The Lord wants us to know His name. The Lord wants us to have a relationship with Him.

In our New Testament lesson, Paul has this to say in chapter 2, beginning with verse 9. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

That is the way our name gets into the Book of Life – by knowing the name of Jesus, and at His name, confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord.

I want you to know me. I want you to know my name.

I want very much to know YOUR names.

But the most important name for all of us to know, is the name that is above all names – Jesus Christ.

Copyright by Pittendreigh

For more sermons and worship materials, visit www.pittendreigh.com