# 2 CLAIMING THE NAME
There are unseen, evil forces that are constantly around us. And while they are unseen they are certainly not unreal. The devil, our own flesh and the world, are constantly trying to steal away any contentment there is. There's an orchestrated, a 6000 year-old conspiracy by Satan to thwart God’s people from being victorious. He is all out to make the Christian fearful, negative, unhappy and worried. But God's plan is absolutely the opposite! He desires for us to have freedom! For 40 years I have practiced 3 principles that have, whenever I have applied them, worked powerfully.
In this message we will discuss the importance of “claiming the name of Jesus!” What is claiming the name? It is an intentional affirmation…it is declaring whose side you're on…it is exercising power over confusion. So many of us live confused lives. In so many decisions we can't quite figure out what side of the fence we’re on – the world or God’s. If I were to give a one-word verb describing what I'm talking about it would be standing. In speaking the word we are taking (authority). In our next chapter we will understand how to plead the blood. If I were to give a one-word definition of pleading the blood it would be resting. That is, resting in the shed blood of Christ for our salvation. So then we are taking authority, we are standing for Christ and then we are resting in the fact that our sins are forgiven.
Are you paying attention? A priest and a pastor were standing by the road holding up a sign that read “the end is near. Turnaround now before it's too late.” A driver passing by and seeing the pastor and priest yells out of his car window, “bunch of religious nuts!” And promptly speeds around the curve. They hear the screeching of tires and then a big splash. The priest turns to the pastor turns and says, “do you think we should have just put up a sign that said bridge out instead?” Let’s purpose to stay focused.
Claiming the name is not about trying to trick God. No human has ever manipulated God. He will not be put in anybody's box. No, it is the principle behind claiming the name that woks. Now, having said that God does promise victory and He promises it always, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14 Thank God, victory is in Christ!
How can I claim victory? I can claim victory when it is in Christ, as 2 Corinthians 2 states. Every victory, whether it is over sin or a victory at work or victory in our home or ministry, whatever…is because we are in Christ and God is the one who causes it to happen. Anytime you and I gain victory, we should say, “God, you caused it!” Any time I get blessed, “God, you caused it.” Yes, you and I may have worked hard and may have spent time on our knees, and been obedient but its still God who made it happen…He caused it. Now let me give you a needful context about this verse. I don’t want anybody claiming that God always promises to make us rich and famous. That's not what God as saying here. The context of this verse is that Paul is in the Gospel preaching ministry. He is doing what he can to extend the kingdom of God. And so, here's what he knew – as long as he was doing what he could do to stay in the ministry, and as long as he was being faithful to the Gospel…then God always caused him to eventually have victory.
Now, the second thing that we should understand about the context of 2 Corinthians 2:14 is this: God’s view of success and my view may be a little bit different. God’s victory for Paul was that he going to be in prison. Wow, after all that he had to go through he had to go to prison? Yes…but it was while he was in prison that he wrote the Epistles in the New Testament. God brought victory through an unusual way (a back door victory), but it was absolutely a victory.
Now what do we mean when we say we are claiming the name? What we’re talking about is an intentional affirmation. That is, we are purposely going to affirm whose side we are on. There is no wavering as we clearly affirm, “I am on the side of Lord Jesus Christ!” When we do that, we're able to exercise bold power over confusion in the direction of our lives, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Proverbs 28:1 Now, this does not mean we can be arrogant…certainly not spiteful, just making it clear whose side we are on. We ought to be bold about what we believe. God calls His children to make an intentional affirmation.
The fact is, life is confusing. And it's so confusing, that trying to play both sides of the field is going to be a disaster. Trying to sit on the fence and put 1 foot in the world and 1 foot into Christ, is complicated. It's like trying to remember a lie you’ve told…it steals away your confidence. It takes away the joy out of your spirit. The same thing happens when you're hobnobbing with worldly crowd. You can’t be getting drunk with your buds on Friday and then be singing with God's people on Sunday and expect to live victoriously. You will need to make a choice.
Victorious Christians have a clear vision, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8 Sometimes you'll see on the top of houses a weather vane. It might be a rooster and it'll have an arrow that points the direction of the wind. Whichever way the wind blows, the vane moves. Many Christians unfortunately are like that, whichever way the wind of circumstances and doctrine blows, that's the way they go. That might be a good plan for the weather vane, but it is a terrible concept for successful living. A wavering faith has a chilling influence upon our lifestyle.
James proclaims that duplicity affects all our ways. When I'm of a double mind…when I can't figure out if I'm serving Jesus or the devil…when I can't figure out if I want to live in the Spirit or if I want to please the flesh…when I can't figure out if I want to be in the world or with God's people – I will live a disturbed life. All ways means that an undeclared life affects my health, my emotions, my marital health, my personal happiness –everything. We need to decide somewhere along the line whose team and whose side we’re on. When we’re undecided about the Bible we will suffer. Is it the Word of God or not? Is every word inspired or not? Am I supposed to live by the Bible or not? We just need to say, “I make my decision, here I stand…the Bible is the word of God.” When we do that…when we say, “I believe in God, I want to live a righteous life,” it will add such a steadiness to life. People who are steady, decide whose team they’re on and stick with it! In the good path there’s going to be some ups and downs, yes. There are going to be difficult seasons, but through it all we keep our eye on the cross and focused on Jesus. We get out there and keep going!
Nobody likes a flip-flopper. And yet, sometimes flip-floppers get elected. Being a flip-flopper in the political world is one thing but I will tell you this, it is certain that flip-flopping with God will never please Him! When we blow hot one day and blow cold the other day, we will at the least be insecure. The book of Revelation says that a wishy washy life is sickening…God just vomits them out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16).
God records in scripture some dynamic people who made the choice to stand. One of those was David. Let’s see how David approached Goliath, “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” 1 Samuel 17:45 Have you ever noticed before that David came in the name of the Lord? He even declared it out loud when he said, “I come to you in the name of God, who is Lord of every earthly and even every heavenly host.” David claimed God name. He didn’t come to Goliath saying, “I've been practicing my slingshot and been waiting for an opportunity to bring down a big brute like you.” This wasn’t some UFC cage-fighting trash talking. He certainly had honed some skills as a shepherd. And I'm sure he had bonked a few wolves on the backside in his day, but the fact was he was claiming God’s power for his victory, not any skills he had acquired.
To live in victory God’s name has to be held high, “I do this for God and I do it in the name of God.” Whenever we give something to somebody as an act of charity, we should say, “I do this in the name of Jesus.” What was David proclaiming? David was clearly affirming that I am on the right side in this battle. There is a right and wrong side and I want to be on God’s side. Can you and I say, “In this thing I'm doing right now, I have the full support of God.” Or are we saying, “I don’t think God would be happy, but I'm going to do it anyway.” When my decisions are godly then I know God has my back…God's got this covered in my life. For me personally, I have come to know after these decades that I'm weak and I can't do what I need to do, my power has to come from God!
When you claim the name of God, you are purposing to do the right thing. You are purposing to do the will of God. You are deciding to act in accordance with the nature and attributes of God, as revealed in His word. The Bible reminds us how that even the animal kingdom understands the power of claiming something stronger than they are, “The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in rocks;” Proverbs 30:26 If you were to read a newer translation “Conies” would be called a rock badger; some strange little Middle Eastern squirrel looking thing. These little rock badgers know they really don’t have a lot of defenses against all the predators. They’re fast but not as fast as a fox or wolf! They know that they only have one guaranteed defense – run to the rock as fast as you can and stay there! These little critters understand that their power comes from God. When I claim the name of Jesus I am saying, “Jesus, I get all my strength from you…I get all my power from you.” I see little squirrels out by my house scratching for food and as soon as we come up to the window and they perceive us watching they dive under the concrete patio!
Occasionally they’ll peak their head out to see if their enemy is gone…they are smart. They know I will make fried squirrel if I catch them. So they run to the rock.
A sense of our own weakness should drive us to Him who is the true rock, in fact, He even is called by that name. He’s the Rock of our salvation…a tower of strength for us. And that’s what God reminds us of, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10 God makes known His nature and attributes through His name. For example, if you were to look over at me and say, “That’s Tim”, that may mean something to you but nothing to someone else. You may know me as “Tim, the guy in the blue old Bug” or “Tim, the old bald white guy” or “Tim, the guy with all the kids” or “Pastor Tim.” When you add a descriptive title to that name it means so much more, it is full of energy then. When one of my children says, “this is my dad.” Now then that means something! Those are descriptive terms. So then why did God give us in the bible so many names of Himself (over 300)? Because He couldn’t just say I'm “it”, because that would not describe Him. He states, “I am the beginning, I am the end, I am the almighty one, I am the covenant keeper, I am Jehovah, I am everything you’ll ever need, I am all of these things and more!” Every name of God listed in scripture is an attribute and a promise! For example: When my children say the word “dad”, there a special covenant is implied. The name suggests that until they are out on their own, there is a pledge that Dad will make sure that they have a roof over their head and that they have food in their tummy’s. When God says, “I am God but I'm more than God…I am the Messiah, I am the King of kings and Lord of lords,” He is giving us His attributes. When David proclaimed God as “the Lord of Hosts”, he was asking God to bring down every evil host.
I want you to notice 2 important prerequisites to “claiming the name” as found in Proverbs 18, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Verse 10. – First of all we’ve got to be righteous. That is we have to know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. When we accept Jesus we are made righteous by the blood of Christ the instant we accept Him! But this verse means more than just eternally righteous; it is also meaning a person who is temporally righteous. That is a person committed to doing the right thing according to scripture. These are those that not only having the righteousness of Christ living in them, but they are also living out the righteousness of Christ in their daily life. In other words we can't be a carnal Christian, throwing off the restraints of God's Word, and expect to have victory.
Secondly, you have to be willing to run. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Scripture doesn’t say walk to the name, it says run! Now, I cannot read this without getting an illustration from the Old Testament in my mind. When God brought Israel into its new land, Canaan Land, He established several cities called, “cities of refuge.” Cities of refuge were a place where a person who had unintentionally committed some crime could run for temporary safety. For example: let’s say someone was chopping with an axe and the head flew off and injured or killed somebody. They then could go to that city of refuge for asylum and await trial. But if they were to linger in their pride, they were open to an avenger. Now that is exactly what God is saying to us – when you're in trouble run to the refuge! Run to the Word of God and get ahold of a promise and claim the name of God. And when we do that you will be safe!
That’s what the Apostle Paul did in the New Testament. He unashamedly said that he owned the name of Christ without any qualms. He was not ashamed of the Gospel and because of that he would gladly be Christ’s ambassador, “For which I am an ambassador I bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:20 He unashamedly proclaimed, “I am an ambassador…I represent God.” What he said was in effect, “my name is Paul, but I represent Jesus Christ.” If I were an ambassador to another country I would say, “my name is Tim, but I am an ambassador for the United States of America.” The point is that it is not my name that is critical, but who I represent. When Paul stated that he was representing God he was saying, “I have been sent by God…I have been qualified by God…I have all the backing of God…He has promised to be my resources…I have divine diplomatic immunity so be careful what you say or do to me.” That’s why we have passports today. It’s not my name on the document that sends a message – it is America’s!
It seems as though in this modern world that we live in, that there are more undecided Christians than ever. They are hesitant about the true Gospel and godly living. They have a difficult time deciding what they are following. I submit to each one of us today…it is Jesus and Him alone that is God. Mohammed may have been a prophet, I don’t know…but I am sure that he is not God! Stand tall in the name of God.
When you “claim the name” you're basically saying, “I am intentionally affirming that I own the cause of God. I'm unashamed of Jesus Christ. I stand on all the doctrines of the Word of God.” Claiming the name therefore, is essentially appropriating God’s power and energy because we have His backing and support. Abraham Lincoln stated, “"My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side.” And when we do that, we’re not confused. We’re no longer straddling the fence, we’ve made our decision…and we’ve got Him on our side.
When that moment happens God sends an amazing reward, “…I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.” Psalm 91:14 God promises to “set us on high” when you really have known the name of God. We know the name of God when we know His attributes and character. That gives you a power over confusion in your life. God wants us to make a stand in our lives. He promises that if we’ll make that stand, He will bless us with strength and energy in life’s ups and downs. What an amazing thing to know that if I have a problem in my life there is a scripture that applies. Every problem has an answer…it may not be the answer I want, but it has an answer!
Paul didn’t say, “I am a perfect person therefore I can be an ambassador.” He said very honestly, “I am what I am…” (1 Cor. 15:10) I'm just who I am, but I represent God…God is who it's all about. David didn’t say, “I come to you in my name.” He said, “I come to you in the name of God, the Lord of hosts.” A righteous person runs to the name of God. They don’t claim their own name, but the name of God.
Those that enlist in the military have to pass different physical and mental tests. And then the day finally the time comes officially join the ranks. What happens then? Is there a handshake, a pat on the back and a hurrah? No! Before they can be inducted they have to stand up and solemnly swear to defend the constitution and follow the orders of the commander in chief of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Before they can wear the uniform they have to claim it, they have to affirm it. I think a lot of us Christians are not quite sure whose team we’re on. That’s one reason why you get baptized…you get baptized to say I'm on the team of Jesus Christ. You can get baptized in this generation and people may not know about it. But 500 years ago being baptized by immersion might mean you would lose your life! In a nutshell that’s how “Baptist” churches got that name. It wasn’t the name they picked…it was a name that the state church gave them because they just insisted on baptizing believers only. Everybody else was baptizing babies, but the Bible-following people said, “No, you don’t baptize someone that doesn’t know what they're doing.” That’s one reason why I wear my wedding ring openly, because I'm unashamed of the fact of my marriage. I'm unashamed of that and I'm grateful…it is a privilege for me.
500 centuries ago and about 4,000 miles from here a German Priest began to question some of the teaching and practices of the Roman Church. They taught that you could get freedom from God's judgment on sin if you would pay the church a certain amount of money. These “indulgences” as they were called incensed him. After reading scripture he realized that salvation is by the grace of God through faith, not some work. Martin Luther stated one of the most powerful quotes of modern history, and perhaps the rallying cry of the reformation, when he proclaimed, “I cannot and will not recant anything. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other – so help me God, amen.”
When we “claim the name” we are affirming personally some facts we believe to be true about God and the Word. There are many things that we can say about God. But these 8 basic affirmations of the Christian faith pretty much capture what it means to “claim the name of God.”
1. I affirm that there is only one true and living God and that He alone is worthy of glory.
2. I recognize Jesus Christ as Messiah and Savior and that He is God who became flesh and dwelt among us.
3. I believe that God has proven His love for me because when I was still a sinner Christ died for me.
4. I know that I am eternally saved by God's grace through faith and this was a gift and not the result of my own merits.
5. I affirm that every word of the Bible is inspired without any errors and totally sufficient as the rule for my life. I believe that it is only Bible truth that sets people truly free and that walking in obedience is the only path of fellowship.
6. I choose to be strong in the Lord’s strength, I will put no confidence in the flesh.
7. I renounce all selfish goals and choose to present my body as an instrument of righteousness.
8. I believe that Satan and his demons are subject to the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore I announce to the entire universe of men and of angels and of all creatures great and small that Jesus Christ is my Lord.
The late Christian songwriter, Ray Boltz penned these powerful lyrics that sum up how to claim the name of God:
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
I have heard how Christians long ago
Were brought before a tyrants throne
They were told that he would spare their lives
If they would renounce the name of Christ
But one by one, they chose to die
The Son of God, they would not deny
Like a great angelic choir sings
I can almost hear their voices ring
Now, the years have come and the years have gone
And the 'cause of Jesus still goes on
Now, our time has come to count the cost
To reject this world, to embrace the Cross
And one by one let us live our lives
For the One who died to give us life
Till the trumpet sounds on the final day
Let us gladly stand and boldly say
To the Lamb of God who bore my pain
Who took my place, who wore my shame
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
