Does God have a last Name? The Third Commitment: "Not mis-using God's Name"

At a casual glance, most would consider this command to mean that we are not to say "G_ _ D_ _ _ it" (You can fill in the blanks yourself). This should be obvious to all that cussing should not be a part of anyone's vocabulary. It is totally rude and unnecessary. Unfortunately, many Christians believe that simply because they do not cuss, they are not breaking the third commandment. However, we are not looking at the commandments that way, we are looking at them as commitments, as Jesus saw them. When Jesus expanded the command to not commit adultery to include looking at a woman and lusting after her as adultery, He was looking at a deeper commitment we must have toward a simple commandment. So likewise we will be looking beyond the command not to misuse God's name but to honor His name.

God revealed His name to Moses in Exodus when Moses asked: "Whom shall I say sent me?" God responded: "I AM that I AM". Now the name: "I AM" seems incomplete doesn't it? Why would God say that His name was "I AM?" Jesus explained in Matthew 22:32 that the "I AM" means that He is God of the living, not the dead and because of the present tense usage, implies that Abraham and Issac are still alive. So we are to take the "tense" of the Name seriously, but even more than this, we are to take His last name seriously as well. What is the last name of God? Jesus said that God revealed himself as "I AM the God of Abraham". So in a sense, His last name is "the God of Abraham". The last name of God refers to a more specific personal relationship that He has with those who believe in His name. If you were to list the "last names" of God in scripture you would find over five or six hundred of them. Here are just a few:

Almighty God
Alpha and Omega
An ensign for the nations
An ensign of the people
Ancient of days
Apostle and High Priest of our profession (Jesus)
Author and finisher of our faith (Jesus)
Author of eternal salvation (Jesus)
Author of peace
Beginning of the creation of God (Jesus)
Blessed and only Potentate
Bread of God (Jesus)
Bread of life (Jesus)
Bright and morning star
Buckler to all those that trust in him
Buckler to them that walk uprightly
Captain of their salvation (Jesus)
Christ Jesus
Christ Jesus our Lord
Christ in you, the hope of glory

... and the last names go on and on.

So if you were to use God's first name: "I AM" then then add His last name you would have:

I AM the Almighty God
I AM the Alpha and Omega
I AM An ensign for the nations
I AM An ensign of the people
I AM the Ancient of days

etc...

Now this what I believe being committed to God's name means for us today. If you have known the grace, presence and peace of God for many years, and you are in a real and loving relationship with Christ right now, you know Him as: "I AM the God who saved me", "I AM the God that healed me", "I AM the God that loves me." etc. In other words, when you pray, you are able to pray in His Name: "I AM" and then apply His last name to your current circumstance, situation and need. We are called to pray to the "I AM the God who answers prayer", "I AM the God who helped me get through college", "I AM the God who opened doors for me", "I AM the God who provided a job for me when I needed one really bad", "I AM the God who healed my loved one.." etc.

Understanding God's first and last name in this way brings excitement to our Bible study, depth in relationship with Him, excitement to our prayer life and hope for tomorrow.

Our commitment is not just to "not cuss", or "mis-use" His name, it is a commitment to "use" God's Name, invoking it prayer, because His name, first and last, are extremely powerful.

Stay committed!

Pastor Vince

The First Commitment "No Idols in my life".

So what's wrong with "American Idol"? The most successful show in American history? Absolutely nothing if you accept it for what it is: "entertainment." While the show contains the word "idol", it simply refers to our treatment of celebrities in the past. People like: "Elvis Presley", the Beatles and of course the King of Pop: "Michael Jackson". Growing up in the United States, you hear these voices and songs all over the place. In restaurants , at work, on the elevator etc. We easily attribute "God" like qualities to these people because they are everywhere and their songs make us touch our emotions in a special way. It is a harmless play on words, but American Idol is a fun way to make fun of ourselves and how much we love to be entertained by good talented singers. Few people would ever consider these people "God", unless they were pretty far out there mentally, no matter how much they enjoy music. We know that this is not idolatry in the biblical sense, but what is idolatry really?
Idolatry is a misrepresentation of who God really is, which is quite easy to do. Our thoughts of God are limited, our experience of God is limited, or expression of God in our worship always falls short. There is great opportunity to misrepresent him in our daily experience. Much of what we consider to be God, of God or from God might not really be the true God. In other words, our experience and emotion cannot contain Him.
The first commandment is a stern reminder that we are not to misrepresent God. Moses records God's words to him when he says to him in Exodus 20:1-5: "And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me

A couple of key points immediately emerge from the text: 1) Idolatry always leads to slavery. 2) Putting anything between God and us is idolatry. 3) Idolatry has generational consequences.
Because we have the gift of the New Testament, we have insight from Jesus, who is God Himself about worship: In John 4:24, Jesus said "...God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” If spirit by definition means "without human body or form, eternal not material", then it would be impossible to express God in those terms. Any type of expression in statues, photos, videos or anything else would destroy our understanding of who God really is. Putting God in material terms and worshiping something material would destroy us. It always leads to slavery.
Consider the woman at the well in John chapter 4. She was a slave to the well because she needed physical water. She was a slave religiously because she looked for spiritual strength there because it just happened to be "Jacob well." She believed that every day her trip to the well would bring her a "touch of God" somehow. Just something to get her by for the day. It was just enough "God" for her to get her through the day. She was not exactly for for much more. It was not until she made a trip to well to meet Jesus that her idolatry was exposed, and she found true freedom in Christ. She immediately went and told the whole town about Jesus, becoming the first recorded evangelist next to John the baptist after her conversion. Idolatry has a way of chaining us to people, places and things. This is what God hates. That is why Jesus said to the woman: "
Another thing about idolatry is that it separates us from God. Because it misrepresents Him, it controls and destroys our spiritual compass. Instead of leading us to God, it pushes us further from Him. This past year I had the opportunity to visit Jerusalem in the land of Israel. It was amazing to see people from every nation tribe and tongue travel to that special place hoping to be touched by God in a special way. While it was a neat experience to "walk where Jesus walked", the idolatry was rampant. People were buying crosses, crucifixes, pictures photos, dirt, water, t-shirts, banners etc., like crazy. I saw people kissing stones, rubbing rocks, touching places made of human hands and walking away smiling like something tremendously spiritual just happened. But I know they returned to their homes the same way they left, spiritually hungry for God. I felt saddened to know that these people would be greatly disappointed when they return home, seeking to see, taste or touch God, only to find out that they had missed him. Some pilgrims might even decide to become atheist after a let down like that, I pray not, but I could see how it could happen. It one wants to see God in material terms, they will always become enslaved to whatever they equate to it. If I can only feel close to God in Israel, and no other place I would become enslaved to that place, having to return for my spiritual fix. Thank God that He is Spirit, and we can worship Him anywhere, for who He is and only for how we experience Him. The woman at the well became confused. Her idolatry of persons and places was evident in her response to Jesus in John 4:19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus clarified the have truth of worship, it is not where you worship but "whom" you worship in verse 21: "'Woman,' Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews."
The last thing we see about idolatry is that it has spiritual, generational consequences. If our spiritual compass is wrong, and we head down that path, we lead our children and the next generation into the wrong path. Have you ever contemplated how much about God we learn from our parents? That is because truth is more "caught" then "taught." We learn from others habits, experiences and expressions and the teachers who impact us the most are the ones we live with. For me, it was my parents that took me to church and corrected me when I was wrong. it wasn't my school teachers or even the Pastors that did that, it was my parents. They set me on a course and when I left home it was time for me to pick up from there and go further on my own. Parents set their children on a course to find God, but they themselves are not God, or even the best source to find God, we must learn to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
God said that He was a jealous God. Have you ever had someone else take the praise for your hard work? That is a terrible feeling. So too with God. He hates for us to misrepresent who He really is to anybody. But that is what lies at the heart of our idolatry.
So what would real worship look like? Are we committed to real worship, or false representations of who He is. Real worship must first of all be spiritual. Second of all it should be based on truth. There is absolutely no way we can know what is out there in the spiritual realm where God is, unles God would tell us. That is why the Bible should be central to our worship. We do not worship the Bible, but we worship the God who reveals himself to us through it.
A commitment to saying no to idols means a new commitment to think about God in a fresh new way. A way that does not seek to compare Him to anything in this world but rather to focus in on Him as one with whom we can have a personal relationship. Anything which focuses on the creation rather than the Creator is idolatry. Trying to put God in a small practical box should be despised. That is the root of idolatry.

Until next time,
Pastor Vince

The Ten Commitments

Long gone are days of Charlton Heston and the epic classic: "The Ten Commandments". I remember watching that movie as a kid with my parents at the Aztec Theater in San Antonio. The parting of the Red Sea was awesome and the special effects were way before it's time. The immense drama which enfolded on the big screen seemed real and yet surreal. Now that we are all grown up our perspective on the Ten Commandments may have changed somewhat. As we read today's headlines it is obvious that we need the Ten commandments more than ever. In fact, if it wasn't for God telling us what is right and wrong and instilling that in our brain, Television shows like "Judge Judy", COPS, and others would be out of business. But because we clearly know what sin is, what is right and wrong, sin is still big business all across the world.
Recently Steven Hawking, a physicist from a major university announced that there is no personal God but only scientific law. Simply put: "God is not there". If He is not there, He certainly has left a huge footprint on society, because everybody knows what sin is and what it does. They know it because they don't like it when it is done to them. Sin in any language is still sin. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2:1-3 " 1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"
The Ten Commandments are God's revelation and explanation of this war within us that tears our lives apart. He is good. He is just and merciful. The Ten Commandments are a beginning, not an end to the full picture. Sin destroyed us and condemned us before a Holy God, Jesus Christ destroyed the penalty of sin (which is death) on the cross and by faith we are justified before God. Romans 8:1-4 says: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
As Christians we are fully justified before God. We have life, we have freedom, we have relationship with Him. So what about the Ten Commandments? Are they irrelevant? Just a nice story? A good DVD to watch around Easter time? No, they are much more than that for us. In order to fully enjoy and embrace the life God has designed for us to have and enjoy, they must become "commitments".
Now when I speak of commitments, some might think of "legalism". That is, a returning to the Ten Commandments so that we live back in the days of antiquity. Where we deny ourselves and live in poverty. No, that is not what God wants. God says that it is impossible for us to complete the Ten Commandments to fulfill them, for we are all sinners. However, God has given us a secret weapon, it is the "Holy Spirit of God" which dwells in the hearts of believers. Romans 7:12-13 says: "Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." This is the commitment I am talking about. Not the moral obligation which leads to slavery to the law, but a new empowering relationship with the Spirit of the Living God in our lives. Once you understand the power of the Holy Spirit who wants to work in our lives, then we can become unleashed to fulfill the letter of the Law. "For man, all things are impossible, but for God, nothing is impossible." Jesus said (Matthew 19:26).
I want to challenge you to work through this mindset and lifestyle with me. As I begin to preach through this series on Sunday Morning, concerning "The Ten Commitments".