TEXT: GENESIS 32:27
THEME: WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
INTRODUCTION:
The content of something is identified by the label or name given to that thing. Irrespective of the sweetness of COCA COLA, the negative label which is given to it by someone inevitably will deter one from enjoying its sweet and adoring content. A bottle or container labeled “POISON” or GRENADE is more authentic and glaring than the content itself.
ILLUSTRATION:
I am a native, born and bred in the Southern part of
WHAT IS YOUR NAME? WHO ARE YOU AND WHO IS YOUR FATHER?
“And Nabal answered David's servants, and said who is David? And who is the son of Jesse?” (1 Sam. 25:10a).
The name of a thing is powerful than the real thing.
Names are labels and labels are names. Labels give credence to names and names on the other hand magnify personalities. The virtue of an entity is somewhat substantiated by the name given to it. A name identifies a thing. People are identified by their names and not by their works. Names give power to works. A great person without a name doesn’t exist.
Names are very important because it reflects the inner disposition of someone. God acknowledges the power and effect of a person’s life. Jesus was born with a name and that name had a strong effect on His whole life on earth and even after His work on the earth, God again exalted Him by given Him voice and superior influence via a NAME -Philippians 2:5ff. Jesus’ name still work powerful even until now and it will exist till the end of this age.
In Exo. 3:13, it reads like this, And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?
ILLUSTRATION:
One may ask, what's in a name? There are many who feel that there is nothing in a name. I disagree, based on the above text and Acts 4:12. There is a name that is above all others, and that name is Christ. No other name has the power or authority than the name of Jesus Christ. If God saw fit to understand the plea and the sense in Moses’ query and also give Jesus a name, who are we to down play the efficacy annexing names?
The story is told of a man arrested for making whiskey. He came before the judge, who was a church going man. He decided to have some fun with the accused. The judge asked him, "What is your name?" The man replied, "My name is Joshua." "Are you the Joshua who made the sun stand still?” the judge asked. "No sir," the man replied. "I am the Joshua that made the moonshine."
The story is simple. There is something in a name. It immediately draws attention to something odd or unique. A name can be great ONLY IF it is a good name...
In order for us to understand the veracity of names, we have to know that there are two kinds of names which enforce the quality of a thing…..
- BAD NAME
- GOOD NAME
BAD NAMES:
Isaiah 62:1-4
In Isaiah 62:2 &4, we read that
“And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.”
Bad names have unprecedented effects on our lives re our future. Spiritually, a name has a sporadic effect on the personality and character of a person. In biblical times, God specifically walked and dealt with the patriarch’s by reason of the names they had. They gave names to their progeny by God’s instructions and commands. A name is an epithet of what is to come or happen in the life of the person. A good name predicts a god fate and a bad name automatically predicts an odd fate UNLESS there is an intervention by God.
The name given to the son of Enoch in Gen. 5:22 caused Enoch to initiate his journey of faith in God. The name was Methuselah, which means, “When he is dead, it shall be sent”.
His name prophesied about what was to come, the deluge. Names are spirit and the greatness of a person is expressed in the name of that person.
JACOB was embellished with devastation and mayhem through his entire life by reason of the power that ruled his life – HIS NAME. JACOB means, a supplanter – which means, one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another. His fate was to unduly vilify and denigrate people to acquire their blessings sometimes with coercion.
An angel met him on his way back from exile at Laban’s house preparing to meet his brother Esau. He wrestled with this angel until the breaking of the day. He fought with this man-angel for a blessing. He never knew the cause of his devastations and fiasco until the angel asked him… WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Gen. 32:27
He never experienced peace and favor until he had a CHANGED NAME –
He obtained favor in the eyes of his brother, Esau the very next day.
Brethren, our names have superior influence on our lives whether we like it or not. It explains the veracity of our true selves and it certainly predicts where we will be from now.
“And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, because I bore him with sorrow 1Chron. 4:9”.
The bad name of Jabez made him swim in the pool of despondency and despair in his life time till he sought the face of Jehovah. The bible attested to the cause of his ruins because of THE MEANING OF HIS NAME, GIVEN BY HIS MOTHER. JABEZ means, PAINS AND MISERY. This was the order of his day from birth – pains and misery in al his endeavors.
There is this callous and eccentric man in the bible called NABAL. Luckily he was attached to a virtuous woman who added credence to his very nature. The bible talks about the love of David in protecting the servants and sheep of the man when David was in the wilderness. And as the law demands and stipulates, the man must freely feed and pay David and his servants for their selflessness. He refused to honor and bless David and his man but he straightway, treated David and his men with contempt. This man was labeled as A CHURLISH MAN AND EVIL because of HIS NAME. NABAL means A FOOL. LIKE MAN LIKE NAME. His name ruled his motives and character. His name controlled his senses and heart.
1Sa 25:3 - Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
His wife even accepted the fact that his evil nature and odd character was the results of his NAME AND IDENTITY.
“And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send… (1Sa 25:23-25)
Time will not permit me to talk about
In the Old Testament, names were changed from worse or odd in the eyes of God to great and glorious in the eyes of God, but in the New Testament, names were changed from great and glorious in the eyes of men to glorious and great in the eyes God.
GOOD NAMES:
A good name is better than precious ointment (Eccl. 7:1).
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches (Pro 22:1a)
A name is only considered as GOOD if it’s connected with God’s will and purpose. Greatness is ONLY in the eyes of God not men.
ILLUSTRATION:
In order to be effective in our ministries and callings, we need to “walk-talk our name and name our talk-walk”. Our names reflect our walk and relationship with God. We know that this is true when it comes to everyday things like the naming of our children. Have you ever heard of a mother naming her daughter, Jezebel; or her son, Judas? No parent would permanently scar a child with a name that is noted for doing wicked or evil. There is something in a name.
Marshall Keeble, a well known black evangelist, commenting on the importance of a name, stated that “a check is no good without a name”. He told of a preacher who was conducting a meeting in a certain city. There was one lady who attended every night and heard him assert that there was nothing in a name. He said that they were to work out their salvation, and the name had nothing to do with it. He made this point over and over. One night this lady told him that she would like to make a contribution to his ministry. The next day he went by her house to pick up the money. She gave him a check and he went directly to the bank to cash it. The cashier returned the check to him saying that there was no name signed to it. "She must have forgotten to sign it," the preacher said, so he returned to the lady's house to get her to sign the check. To his surprise, she informed him that she had not forgotten to sign it but was only doing as he had preached and did not put her name on the check. The lady made her point, and taught him never to preach that again.
SIMON CHANGED TO PETER:
Simon means hearkening or listening. He is heard and listened by all and sundry regardless of what he is saying. He had a voice and the superior influence among his peers. That impelled him to be loquacious and a talkative. Because of his name, he was SLOW TO HEAR AND QUICK TO SPEAK. After declaring Jesus to be the CHRIST the Son of the Living God, Jesus changed his name to PETER, from the Greek word
SAUL CHANGED TO PAUL
Saul means asked for or called for…..a name which attracts pride and self righteousness. His name attracted the attention of others. Loved and accepted by men. Saul in the Old Testament was rejected by God because He prided himself in his own wisdom and wittiness. His name affected his personality and character. His name depicted the man-pleasing spirit. Saul lived his life to please people because he was chosen by people-the children of
Saul in the New Testament on the other sphere was attached with the same fate….he did what seemed right in his own eyes without verifying to know what was really right in the eyes of the Lord. He lived his life also to fulfill the wishes of the Sanhedrin by vanquishing the Christians. They ASKED FOR HIM AND CALLED FOR HIM TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT THEY PLEASED. The bible says, he goes to the high priests for a warrant to kill the Christians just to please them and make them happy.
PAUL: meaning, little…God proved to him that though he is respected and approved by people but before Him, he is just little and insignificant. God proved to him that in order for him to be used by Him (God), he has to strip him off his pedestrian and superfluous image he is packaged with and has also built for himself because of his name SAUL.
My trillion dollar question here is that…
MUST WE HAVE A CHANGE OF NAME IN ORDER TO HAVE A UNIQUE IDENTITY, EXPEDITE A WONDERFUL CHARACTER, OBTAIN AN ENORMOUS FAVOR AND EXPERIENCE SUPERNATURAL POWER?
ANSWER = YES
As in Isaiah 62:1-4, we NEED AND MUST be “called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name and we shall me a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of the Lord”.
This special new name is … A CHRISTIAN from the Greek name, CHRIST meaning the anointed one. We are the anointed children of God and we CAN exercise our full authority as SONS OF GOD through the effectiveness of the NAME…CHRISTIAN
THE NAME CHRISTIAN GIVES US:
We are now been enveloped with the levels which will lead us to our destination in the
1. IDENTITY: The name identifies us with Christ. His character and nature (image and likeness) is revealed in us. Abram’s name ABRAHAM identified him with the unique multitudes which will proceed from him. Jacob’s name ISRAEL identified him with the strength and power of
Identity gives us the power to move unto the next level of expedition which is ….
2. CHARACTER: A person’s Identity affects his or her character. Attitude is the product of identity. The name of a person or family influences the character and behavior of the family or individual. Our identity affects our thought patterns. The power in the name of a family inculcates in the people the boldness and power to live without fear. Jacob’s changed name affected his generation; he and his descent became known as a prevailing prince. He was respected and adored by his children and generation and even until the time of Jesus (John 4:12).
Jabez’s identity after praying to God affected his character and nature; he became more honorable than his brethren.
Peter and Paul’s new identity affected their character and attitude in relation to how they carried themselves re the will and purpose of God. Their identities made them sober and humble to be slow to speak and quick to hear and to humble themselves and wish for God’s will to prevail in their lives. The character of her person elevates and catapults him unto a unique level to obtain…
3. FAVOR: our character either makes or breaks our destiny. It either closes or opens doors for us. Favor is the product of a good character. Good name invariably produces a unique identity which in turn gives one the strength to exercise an acceptable character and thereby opening the door to greater blessings and favors. Our name as CHRISTIANS identifies us with God’s unprecedented blessings. The door of favor enlarges our territories for us to enjoy….
4. SUPERNATURAL AUTHORITY AND POWER: Abraham’s name gave him identity, had a changed attitude and character, obtained favors from diverse kinds of people and kings and finally, he obtained the power and authority to be the FATHER OF MANY NATIONS by giving birth.
As Christians, we are now imparted with the power to create and live as gods on the earth. David said “behold, you are gods”.
We are representatives and ambassadors of Christ. We stand in the stead of Christ on the earth.
CONCLUSION:
We must not loose fact or underplay the efficacy of names because our futures are tied to them. Our identities, character, favors and power are the consequences of our good and bad names. Let’s live life as the real follows of CHRIST so that His very nature would be seen and identified in us. We are to live as CHRIST LIVED - HEIRS OF THE FATHER AND JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST.
