What is your Name?
We are looking at life changing Questions asked by God.
Where are you? Who said you were naked? Why are you mad at me? Why are you laughing?
Today we are looking at: What is your Name?
The importance of a name can easily be understood when we look back to the early 1980’s. A new revolutionary diet control candy hit the market.
The candy was gaining popularity nationwide and was growing in sales. Then suddenly without warning the revolutionary diet candy was no longer popular. Being shunned by people everywhere.
The name of the candy was AYDS and when the AIDS epidemic started gaining notice, the candy quickly lost its national appeal.
This reminds us of the importance of a name.
Proverbs 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
Because there is something about a name immediately Jacob went form being sorrow and pain to being associated with honor, power, and authority simply because of his name.
Text: Genesis 32: 24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26 And he said Let me go for the day breaketh And he said I will not let thee go except thou bless me.
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said Jacob.
28 And he said Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed
29 And Jacob asked him, and said Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved
31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh
Jacob started life in a struggle to steal another persons rights.
Genesis 25: 26 And after that came his brother out and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob
27:27-29 – Jacob stole his brothers birth right.
27:43-44 – Jacob has to run for his life.
Jacob’s MAD at God.
God didn’t do things HIS way … the way Jacob wanted. The birthright didn’t bring him instant success.
He had deceived Isaac his own father, with his mothers help.
He ended up running from his family to another country and there he was himself was deceived by his kinsman.
Jacob was on his way home and he was getting ready to see his brother Esau the next day
we find Jacob in the middle of a crisis.
His brother vowed to kill him, was on his way to meet him and that scared Jacob. Jacob was worried.
He was probably like some of us, pacing the floor by his self and worrying.
Wondering how he was going to get himself out of this situation.
The Bible tells us that he prayed and asked God to help him.
Sounds like you and I today.
We do something that gets us into trouble and then we beg God to get us out.
God help me, I know I am not worthy of your love and your mercy but please help me get through this situation.
Jacob is pacing wondering, praying, thinking, feeling sorry for his self, scared wrestling with his emotions and in the midst of all that emotional wrestling he began to wrestle with an Angel.
Out of nowhere there appeared an Angel, the Bible does not tell us how he got there it just tells us they started to wrestle with each other.
He wrestled with this Angel. He would not stop. He would not give up. He would not let go. He wrestled as if he were wrestling with his life. He was in distress. He was in need of something.
The Angel hit Jacob on his side, "Let me go for the day breakth." He said.
Jacob responded "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."
"Hey" Jacob was saying, "I am in need here. I need to something from you, I will not let you go until I get what I need from you."
Jacob was being persistent.
Jacob realizes that it’s really GOD that he’s wrestling. Jacob is now just holding on … he’s no longer wrestling. Jacob is learning an important LESSON.
You don’t get anywhere by resisting, and struggling, and wrestling with God. The only way you can get anywhere with God, is by yielding, surrendering, and holding on to God. When you get to this place, you’re ready to trust God.
IT’S LIKE … when a lifeguard tries to save a drowning man. If he tries to grab him, the drowning victim will pull the lifeguard under … try to climb on top of him … both will drown. The lifeguard waits until he’s tired out … about to go under. THEN, he grabs him when his strength is all gone.
Isn’t the wrestling of Jacob with God like our own. We are all wrestling with God over some things we’ve done in the past.........some decisions made ! We are all wrestling with God over some choices that we need to make this morning.........we are all fighting with God over the matter of control !
Jacob responded "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."
"I really need this I will not give up this time."
"Ive ran from my problems time and time again, I will not give up this time."
He said.
Now do you think that the Angel really needed to wait for Jacob to let go of him to leave? NO!!!!
He was making Jacob understand the value of Persistence.
Be persistent when you are praying for that Loved one.
Be persistent when you are praying for that New Job.
Be persistent when it seems everything is failing and you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Be persistent with your prayers, your praise, your sacrifice.
Be persistent with God.
Cause he is persistent with us.
He would not let him go so the Angel hit him on his thigh and knocked it out of Joint.
Maybe there is something we are going through and we want to hear from God, we want to follow God’s will and we want to understand God’s will.
God, we cry with a loud voice, I need something from you. I need to know what this is about. Am I on the right road? Did I hear from you? Did I truly hear from you?
If we will listen to God and I mean really listen to God, then we will truly hear what God is saying to us.
We must let God with all of his wisdom give us the answer in the way that He deems necessary.
Sometimes that answer is not the one that we feel is the best but if it came from God then you can bank on it. But it may be that we have to change our name.
II. Changing names
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said Jacob.
28 And he said Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed
Jacob gets a new NAME.
Jacob’s name meant “trickster.” It would be like naming your child “Cheater.”
ISRAEL means POWER WITH GOD
The change in name indicates a change in character.
Jacob was forced to look into his character when God asked his name.
It’s not like God didn’t know Jacob’s name. God wanted him to take a long hard look at who he was. An encounter with God will force us to take a long hard look at who we are.
If a name could describe your life up to this point what would it be? Cheater? Liar?
The truth is until we encounter God and his grace and mercy it is “Sinner”? We have all sinned. We need a new name, that of Christ.
o Jacob gets a new WALK.
31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh
Jacob’s walk changed both physically and spiritually.
He limped the rest of his life.
It was a constant reminder of the night near the river where his life was changed forever.
It’s helpful to have a limp from God.
Jacob was a deceiver prior to this, but after this he was different.
He dealt honestly with people.
A meeting with God can change our character.
It is when we experience the power of God in our lives that things change.
When a man marries a woman the woman will take the mans name.
Now I realize that is not how it works all the time anymore, but it is the way works most of the time.
When I married my wife she became Joy Cockroft she was no longer Joy Green. She took my name to show a sign of our relationship.
Her name was changed.
*Paul was stopped and Jesus changed his life from bad to good, he also changed his name from Saul to Paul.
Why? Because his name carried with it a reputation of bad news.
If you lived in that time the last thing you wanted to hear about was that Saul of Tarsus was on his way to your house or community.
He was bad, bad, bad.
He tortured folks, he killed Christians he done everything he could do to stop
Christianity in its tracks.
When we get saved we are given a new name.
We are given the name of Child of God.
Why? Cause we were bad, bad, bad.
We did everything we could do to stop Christianity in its tracks.
How you ask?
By not living the way we should be living.
YOU DID NOT ACCEPT THE NAME OF JESUS.
Names say something about who were are.
What does our name say about our relationship with God?
Does it testify of him or shame him?
The Angel asked Jacob "What is thy name?"
The angel did not need Jacob to tell him his name. He knew his name.
He wanted Jacob to say it.
He wanted Jacob to hear his name spoken out loud, to understand that he was a deceiver and he was the one who had gotten himself into this predicament.
The Angel asked Jacob "What is thy name?"
Jacob knew what his name was and he knew what it meant.
JACOB He called out.
Jacob is my name.
Yes I know that I am a deceiver and I know it is my fault I know that I am the cause of my troubles. I know who I am and where I stand with God.
Jacob is my name.
The Angel told Jacob "Thy name shall be called not more Jacob but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and has prevailed."
His name was changed from something bad to something good.
He no longer had to worry about what people thought of him now. He was a prince with God.
Conclusion:
Names are important to us, to those around us and to God.
Our names tell something about our character, it has a testimony all in itself.
What is your name saying about you?
Does it tell of a person who lives a lie?
Does it tell of a person who once had a life with God but has not slacked off and fallen away a little?
What’s your name today?
Is it Anger? It can be peace
Is it hate? It can be love.
Is it pain? It can be delight.
Is it Disobedience? It can be Happy to serve.
Is it Ought against my neighbor? It can be Love for one another?
Is it Deceiver? It can be Prince with God.
Whatever you name is it can be changed to Child of God.
Names are important.
What’s your name?
