- [Narrator] Have you ever had someone
attempt to define you?
This is the person who attempts to tell you who you are
without first getting to know you.
Many people try to do the same thing with God.
They use his name, but they do so
in a way that contradicts his nature.
This is equivalent to taking his name in vain.
That is why in a court of law, if you place your hand
on the Bible and swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth,
and then lie, you perjure yourself.
What you've done is contrary to God's character and name.
You have slandered God's name.
For an excellent biblical illustration
of using the name of God in vain,
examine the serpent in the garden of Eden.
He asked Eve, "has God said?"
Genesis 3:1.
Now the serpent was more crafty
than any of the wild animals the Lord had made.
He said to the woman, "Did God really say
"You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
The devil had no trouble mentioning God's name.
He knew he wouldn't get very far with Adam and Eve
if he left God out of the conversation entirely.
However, he used God's name in vain.
He lied about it.
God is referred to as the Lord God
from Genesis 2:4 to 3:1, Jehovah Elohim.
Genesis 2:4.
This is the account of of the heavens
and earth when they were created
and when the Lord God made the earth and heavens.
Elohim refers to God's creative powers,
while Jehovah refers to God's
relational authority over mankind.
Satan used the term God instead of the name
that referred to God's authority over humanity.
This is because he intended to use
God's name for his own purposes, rather than God's.
People do this all the time when they want
to exploit celebrities' fame for their own gain.
For example, most of us have heard the adage
be the change you want to see in the world,
and have quickly attributed it to Gandhi.
After all, Gandhi sought to transform society,
and frequently did so at great personal costs.
It stands to reason that he would say something
so simple and straightforward that it could easily
be printed on a bumper sticker or coffee mug.
Gandhi, on the other hand, made no such claim.
This is the closest he ever got.
If we could change ourselves,
the tendencies in the world would also change.
as a man changes his own nature,
so does the attitude of the world changed towards him.
We need not wait to see what others do.
Similarly, Nelson Mandela is often credited with saying
our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
As we are liberated from our own fear
our presence automatically liberates others.
This quote is attributed to self-help guru
Marianne Williamson, according to a little research.
Besides it's hard to believe that someone
who was just released from a 27 year prison sentence
would be so outspoken about the value
of being beautiful, talented, and fabulous.
When one considers the life of the humbly tenacious Mandela,
who accomplished so much through his resolve,
the quote simply does not make sense.
People frequently do the same thing with God and the Bible.
They will attribute scriptures to various sayings,
such as God helps those who help themselves,
or cleanliness is next to godliness.
Using God's name in vain is much more serious
than a sailor swearing or a teenager saying
oh my God every few moments.
To use God's name in vain is to use
revisionist history methods to define who God is.
It is to define God based on our own desires and wishes
rather than knowing him as he defines himself.
We want a God who is simple to understand,
who can be neatly displayed
on a bumper sticker or a coffee mug.
God, on the other hand,
will not be confined to our genie bottles.
His names reflect his power,
and accessing his power requires knowing who he truly is,
not affirming who we want him to be.
Knowing God's names is knowing his power,
but you only get his power when you know
the great I am who I am.
Today, many people use God's name in the same way
the devil did in the garden, in vain.
If we don't attach his name to his character,
we will only perpetuate the chaos that the devil
ushered in when he made his first attack humanity.
We, like Satan, will attempt
to define God by misusing his names.
Fearing God's name.
God longs to be more to you than a topic in a theology book.
He wants to be genuine with you right now.
To accomplish this, he sometimes allows you to be placed
in what appears to be a hopeless situation,
or even puts you in one.
God wants you to see with spiritual eyes,
not just physical eyes.
Many people in hopeless situations
rarely experience resurrections,
because they are too earthbound,
seeking to define God falsely by who they want him to be.
They are so fixated on physical definitions and expectations
of God's names that they miss out on the true
spiritual revelation of who he is.
Many people fail to overcome problems in their lives
because they are unaware of the power
of God's name in the midst of a crisis.
They may try to use God's name all the time,
but they don't know God's name
in the way that God defines himself.
I want you to know that no matter
what you're going through today, God is a God of hope.
And he will provide a way
for you to experience victory in your life.
However, the hope and victory you feel
must be grounded in the truth of who God is.
When you focus on God's character and believe
with all your heart that what he has said
about himself and what he has said about you will
come to pass, he can bring you out of even
the most terrible circumstances.
Unfortunately, far too few people experience
the fullness of his hope, simply because they do not know,
fear or revere God's name.
They fail to take him at his word,
"Teach me thy way, oh Lord, I will walk in thy truth.
"Unite my heart to fear thy name."
Psalm 86:11.
Fearing God's name gives us the ability
to walk in his way and in his truth.
Fearing his name is the key to living
the abundant life and fulfilling our destiny.
When we fear God's name and honor him with our lives,
we can ask for anything and it will be given to us.
And in that day you shall ask me nothing.
Verily, verily. I say unto you,
"Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,
"He will give it to you.
"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name.
"Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."
John 16:23 through 24.
God's name, and subsequently Jesus Christ's name
bring protection and provision.
But knowing his character and esteeming the person
behind the name is the key to gaining access
to that protection and provision.
For example, the better you know someone,
the more effectively you can use
their name in your daily life.
If you don't know the person well,
people will quickly figure out that you're just
name dropping when you mention him or her.
The same holds true for God.
If he acknowledges that you know little about his character,
and do not align your life's thoughts and choices
with his overarching rule, you can name drop all you want,
but you'll just be name dropping.
Fearing and reverencing God's name is the same
as fearing and reverencing God.
It's about taking him seriously.
A Psalm of David.
Give unto the Lord, oh ye mighty.
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.
Worship the Lord and the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 29, 1 through two.
The more you know about God's names,
the more you will want to worship him.
The more clearly you will see and experience
God's manifestations of his names in your life,
the more you will give him glory.
God appears in people's lives
in miraculous ways throughout scripture.
Ushering them to victories, defeating opponents,
tackling enemies, catching winning passes, and so on.
You will give it up to God if you pay close attention,
as God reveals various aspects of his character
through the manifestation of his names.
Because you will have witnessed the greatness
and power of the one true God,
you will fear, revere and worship him.
You will honor him if you pay attention.
You will give him honor.
Is it possible that God woke you up this morning?
Has he met all of your requirements?
Has he provided you with food,
kept you safe and healed your body?
Are you dressed, cloaked in your right mind?
Or even if you have experienced trials,
as Job and other biblical characters have,
has he given you the fullness of his presence and peace
when you have humbled yourself before him?
We are to honor and fear his great name
for all of these things and more.
When we honor know and experience his names,
we gain the ability to not only face
but also rise far above life circumstances
in the abundance of his mercies and grace.