God’s Name (Exodus 20:7)
Just a little over 10 years ago (1997), a 14-year-old student, Nathan Zohner, circulated a petition to ban the use of dihydrogen monoxide. According to Zohner, dihydrogen monoxide “may cause severe burns, accelerates the corrosion and rusting of many metals, and has been found in the excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.” In addition to these risks, Zohner noted that this nefarious chemical is often used “as an industrial solvent and coolant, in the production of Styrofoam, and as a fire retardant.”
As it turned out, the petition was a hoax perpetrated as part of a high school science fair. You see, dihydrogen monoxide is the technical name for H2O, also known as water. (Sam O’Neal, “What the Bible Says About God,” Building Small Groups newsletter)
It’s amazing how someone can take a perfectly good name and make it sound so bad. & If we’re not careful, we can do the same thing with God’s name. By the things we say or do, as God’s people, we can…
give God a “bad” name, or give people the wrong idea about God. & That would be very tragic, especially if some of them reject our Lord, simply because we misrepresented Him.
Instead, as people who love the Lord, we want others to think about how wonderful He is when they hear His name. We want people to think of His loving nature, His power, His holiness, His righteousness, and His willingness to forgive. We want people to be drawn to our Lord when they hear His name.
The question is: How? How can we bring honor to God’s name? How can we cause people to think good things about God when they hear His name?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to
Exodus 20, Exodus 20, where the third commandment shows us how. Exodus 20, and verse 7 (read)
Literally, you shall not take up the name of the Lord Your God in a worthless (or false) way, for God will not leave unpunished anyone who takes up his name in a worthless (or false) way.
This is serious stuff with the LORD. He does not want any one of us misrepresenting His good name. No! If we’re going to take up His Name, we better represent it well.
Several years ago, the Holiday Inn hotel chain threatened our local Holiday Inn with a lawsuit. They thought that our local Holiday Inn had stolen the name from them, and they didn’t want any local establishment misrepresenting their good name.
You see, the name, Holiday Inn, represents a certain level of quality, and if another hotel uses that name without maintaining their standards, it could make people think all Holiday Inn’s are substandard.
What the Holiday Inn people didn’t know was that our local Holiday Inn had the name first, and its standards are superior to many of the Holiday Inns across the country. Needless to say, the lawsuit didn’t go anywhere.
But it does illustrate the point about how serious it is for a company or an individual to maintain a good name.
God takes His name seriously, and if we’re going to take up His name,
we better take it seriously, as well.
How? Well, first of all, we HONOR GOD’S NAME BY WHAT WE SAY. WE HONOR (or dishonor) GOD’S NAME BY OUR WORDS. We certainly don’t want to say anything that disparages God’s Name.
Turn with me to the next book in your Bibles, Leviticus 24, Leviticus 24, starting at vs.10 (read to vs.15)
Two men get into a fight, and one of them blasphemes the Name of God. That means he slanders God’s name. He cursed and swore, using God’s name in the process, and God said, “Stone him.”
Now, aren’t you glad we live in a different day and age – an age of grace? Otherwise, we’d have stonings on this island every day. Even so, this story shows us how seriously God takes His own name. Profanity has no place in the speech of those who have taken up God’s name. My friends, if you take up God’s name in your speech, then make sure you use it appropriately and reverently.
A little boy was sitting sadly on the curb beside his lawn mower, when a preacher came along riding a bicycle. The preacher noticed that the boy appeared discouraged, so he thought he would try to help.
“Hello there!” said the preacher. “How would you like to trade your lawn mower for this bicycle?”
“Sure, mister,” the boy responded, and went on his merry way.
A few days later, the boy and the preacher crossed paths again. The preacher said, “I think you cheated me on our trade. I keep crankin’ that old lawn mower, but it won’t start.”
“You gotta cuss it,” said the little boy.
“Well I can’t do that,” said the minister. “I’m a preacher. I forgot about cussin’ a long time ago.”
The little boy answered, “Just keep on crankin’, preacher; it’ll come back to ya.” (Van Morris, Mount Washington, Kentucky)
We laugh, because it’s so true. But why? We who love the Lord certainly don’t want to give people a bad impression about who He is.
Zig Ziglar tells the story about a hot, humid day in the middle of Kansas City. The eight-hour shift seemed especially long for a veteran bus driver. Suddenly, a young woman on the bus, apparently upset about something, let loose with a string of unforgettable, not to mention unrepeatable, words. The bus driver, looking in his overhead mirror, could sense everyone around her was embarrassed by the string of profanity.
Still mumbling, the angry passenger began to disembark a few blocks later. As she stepped down, the bus driver calmly said, “Madam, I believe you’re leaving something behind.”
She quickly turned and snapped, “Oh? And what is that?”
“A very bad impression,” the bus driver responded. (Zig Ziglar, Something Else to Smile About, Thomas Nelson, 1999)
When we profane the name of our God, we not only leave behind a bad impression about ourselves – that would be bad enough. But we also leave behind a bad impression of our Lord. Please, don’t let God’s name become a curse word in your vocabulary.
Instead, let God’s name be a blessing in your speech. Instead of saying, “God damn something,” why not say, “God bless it!”
Indeed, there are lots of ways we can use God’s name in our speech that will certainly be a blessing. In fact, the Bible gives us lots of ways to honor God’s name by what we say. We can “call on the name of the Lord” (Genesis 12:8). We can “bless in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 129:8). We can “tell the truth in the name of the Lord” (1 Kings 22:16). We can “exalt the name of the Lord” (Isaiah 24:15). We can “speak in the name of the Lord” (Jeremiah 26:16). We can “praise the name of the Lord” (Psalm 7:17). & We can “declare the name of the Lord” (Psalm 102:1). There are a lot of ways we can use God’s name in our speech that bring Him honor.
Alvie Chavaria is the captain of Long Beach California Fire Station #1, where he oversees a crew of 15 firemen who can get pretty rowdy. As a Christian, he struggles to find ways to have a positive impact on the station. But he is bothered by the men who swear up a storm, even when he’s around.
So Alvie decided to inform the crew that anytime they say God d— it, he will respond with an enthusiastic “God bless it!” Now, Alvie’s blessing always follows cursing at Station #1. Not only have some of the men stopped their cursing, but one has even started giving a blessing like Alvie.
One day, the battalion chief came for a visit to the station. He was notorious for his loud profanity. So Alvie, not wanting to be disrespectful, pulled the battalion chief aside and told him about his practice of blessing. At first, the chief was mildly amused, but his amusement turned to a healthy respect when, in a room full of his peers, Alvie didn’t pause a second to call down a blessing following his chief’s curse. (Bill White, Paramount, California)
My friends, we can do the same.
We can make sure God’s name is associated with a blessing rather than damnation. Please, let’s honor God’s name by what we say.
Then secondly, let’s HONOR GOD’S NAME BY WHAT WE DO. LET’S MAKE SURE PEOPLE THINK WELL OF OUR GOD BY THE WAY WE LIVE OUR LIVES.
You see, we who are followers of Christ bear His name. We have taken up His name – we call ourselves “Christ-ians.” But when our lives don’t accurately represent His name, then we have taken it up in a worthless (or false) way. The third commandment is more than a prohibition against cussing. It is a call for authenticity in our relationship with the Lord.
Colossians 3:17 says, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
When our actions don’t reflect well on the name of Christ, then we disparage that name. We bring dishonor to His reputation.
C.R. Smith, one of the founders of American Airlines, made a stopover in Nashville, Tennessee, years ago. There, he found two desks in the American Airlines corridor of the airport. On one, a phone was ringing away. Sitting at the other, with his feet propped up, was a man reading the newspaper.
Smith walked up to him and said, “Your phone is ringing.”
“That’s reservations. I’m maintenance,” the man replied.
Furious, Smith walked over to the desk, picked up the phone, and began talking to a man who urgently needed to get to California. Smith rattled off the schedule from memory to the man and hung up. The man from maintenance couldn’t believe it!
“Say, that was pretty good!” he said. “Do you work for American?”
“Yes, I do,” Smith answered. “And you used to.” (Darren McCormick, pastor at Central Christian Church)
You see, that maintenance man’s laziness and lack of concern for the customers of American Airlines gave the airline a bad name. He didn’t actually say anything bad about the airline. But His actions spoke louder than any words he might have said. In fact, his lack of action had the potential of making people think American Airlines does not care about its customers.
What do our actions (or lack thereof) say about the one who’s name we bear? Do people really know that Jesus loves them by things we say and do?
Former president of the Moody Bible Institute, Joseph Stowell, talks about a time he was walking to work on a bitterly cold January morning. He had stopped by Starbucks for a cup of coffee and was on his way to the Institute when he passed a StreetWise vendor. StreetWise is a Chicago-based newspaper, sold by homeless people, who collect a portion of the proceeds. Feeling noble, Stowell struggled to find his wallet, reached in, and took out a dollar.
The homeless woman asked him, “Do you really want the paper, or can I keep it to sell to someone else?”
“Keep the paper,” Stowell replied. Then he dded, “How are you today?”
“I’m so cold,” she said.
Stowell replied, “I hope the sun comes out, it warms up, and you have a good day,” and he turned to go.
About half a block later, with the cup of coffee warming his hand, the conversation finally registered. Stowell wrestled for a moment with what he should do, but it was late, so he kept walking. But he says, “Ever since, I’ve regretted not giving her a cup of hot coffee in Christ’s name.” (Joseph Stowell, A Heart for the City, Moody, 1999)
When we who have taken up the name of Christ show the compassion of Christ, then He gets a good reputation. His name is honored. But when we are indifferent, or worse, when we are unforgiving and bitter and angry, then we have misused His name and taken it up in a worthless (or false) way.
Let’s make sure people know how wonderful our Lord is by the things we say and do.
More than 27 years ago, Sandy and I stood before Pastor Leslie in a little white chapel by the Chesapeake Bay and pledged to “love, honor and cherish each other until God by death should separate us.” It was a special day, because it was our wedding day. It was the day I gave Sandy my last name. Wow! It still blows me away that she wanted to have it. It still amazes me that she wanted to take up my name as her own.
Do you know, God loves you so much that He wants to give you His name. The question is: Do you want to have it? Do you want to take it up as your own?
You can, simply through faith in Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again, so we could have an eternal relationship with the Living God of the Universe! It’s a relationship the Bible describes as a marriage in Ephesians 5.
All we need to do is trust Christ as our Savior. “Call on the NAME of the Lord,” the Bible says, “and you will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Do it today, if you haven’t done it already. Take up the name of the Lord. Then bear that name proudly. Let’s honor that name by what we SAY and DO.
Note: Most of the illustrations in this message come from www.sermoncentral.com and www.PreachingToday.com, both excellent resources for the busy pastor.
