Caught Up in a Name Pastor Alli Munsey

12:00 PM

INTRODUCTION

1. God names us before we are born. 2. Jesus is the name above every name. 3. We are given new names in Christ.

CONCLUSION Main Scripture Proverbs 22:1 ­ “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” [NIV] INTRODUCTION Are you caught up in your own name, your company’s name, or your partner’s name? Our reputations change throughout the different seasons of our lives. We carry our reputations internally­­sometimes we submit to them by defaulting our behavior to fit the expectations of others; other times we spend our lives trying to prove somebody wrong. When we feel uninvited and unwelcome, it changes our behavior. Carrying shame makes you act unlike yourself, moving backwards instead of forwards. When we know that we are loved and welcomed by our Father, it changes and empowers the way we behave. 1. God names us before we are born.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.” ­ Psalm 139:13 God named us, anointed us, and knew us in our mothers’ wombs. He called each of us for a specific purpose. “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” ­ Abraham Lincoln. Our name is our identity; the reputation is just the shadow. The reputation shifts with the position of the SON. We don’t need to place our identity in the shifting shadows of our reputations and circumstances­­Jesus loved us before we behaved. When we let go of our pasts, we can understand who we are called to be in Christ.

2. Jesus is the name above every name.

“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 acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” ­ Philippians 2:9­11 “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” ­ John 14:14 There is power in the name of Jesus. We are empowered in His name and fed by His Word. If you only feed yourself once a week, you will be “HANGRY” (Hungry/Angry)! Spiritual hunger breeds bad behavior. Resource yourself every day; Sunday is just the icing on the cake. Without identity in Christ, your identity becomes wrapped up in circumstance, which is constantly changing (your job, your relationship, etc.). Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever­­and our identity can rest secure in Him.

3. We are given new names in Christ.

“And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” ­ Matthew 4:19 [ESV] Jesus didn’t call qualified people to be his disciples; he qualified those he called. When we stop trying to fix ourselves and just ask Jesus to come in and change us, all the other stuff will fall into place­­he transforms hearts. Christ renames us. When we agree to follow him, we come under the umbrella of His name. Even though we repeatedly fall away, we slowly grow into the person God has called us to be through his healing and transforming of our hearts. “Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." ­ Genesis 32:28 Jacob wrestled with the angel to get his blessing, and then God gave him a new name, Israel. Even though he walked with a limp from his struggles, he followed God in his new name. God transformed Saul from a murderer to the apostle Paul, a completely different person with a new name and a specific calling. God has a specific purpose and calling for us, even in our pain and bad behavior. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter when he called him, but somewhere along his journey, that new identity got lost. Jesus kept calling him, loving him and going after him. (John 21:15­17) What does Jesus call us today? Chosen, Beloved, Children, Friends, His Workmanship, His Treasured possessions, His Sons and daughters, Heirs, Holy and blameless, The Apple of his eye, Blessed, Redeemed.

CONCLUSION Your circumstances, reputation and past do not define you. They are but shadows. Christ promises us that we don’t have to strive because he will transform our hearts.

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” ­ Philippians 3:8 [ESV] In Philippians, Paul says everything he used to care about is rubbish compared to his identity in Christ. What are you caught up in? Jesus has got you. He never left you. Get caught up in his name. There is no name more powerful than His. Additional Scriptures According to scripture we are named: Colossians 3:12 ­ “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” [NIV] Deuteronomy 33:12 ­ “About Benjamin he said: "Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." [NIV] 1 John 3:1 ­ “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” [NIV] John 15:15 ­ “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” [NIV] Ephesians 2:10 ­ “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” [ESV] Deuteronomy 7:6 ­ “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” [NIV] 2 Corinthians 6:18 ­ “And, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." [NIV] Romans 8:17 ­ “Now if we are children, then we are heirs­­heirs of God and co­heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” [NIV] Ephesians 1:4 ­ “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” [NIV] Psalm 17:8 ­ “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” [NIV] Psalm 65:4 ­ “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” [ESV] Ephesians 1:7 ­ “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.” [NIV]