Vindicating His Holiness: Glorified in You

Vindicating His Holiness: Glorified in You

Ezekiel 36: 16-27, 31-32

I. Introduction
-Never let the sacred become common.
-Your life is a reflection of who God is.
-Does it reflect the true nature of God.
-New Christians base their lives on the "Christian" lives they see modeled before them.
-Don't let God's holiness become watered down or common in your life.

II. Scripture

III. Profaning of God's Name
-The church has faltered in the proclamation of the truth.
1. She has replaced the power of the Holy Spirit with charisma, programs, & human talents.
2. Being a holy people just didn't seem very practical (or appealing).
-Sermons being preached all over the nation today are being used to justify/ excuse sin rather than solve the problem of sin.
1. Ppl have perverted the love of God to approve of their sins.
2. Ppl have disgraced the blood of Jesus/forgiveness b/c of their wickedness.
-Problem of self - love
-The greatest abomination in the church is the gross infatuation w/ self.
-Know why Christians won't forgive Christians? B/c pride won't allow it.
-Know why there is division in church? B/c...
1. I can't understand why you don't love me just as much as I love me!
2. I think my way is the best way!
3. We don't work that way... we're looking for God's way!
-We are all consumed w/ our needs, wants, schedules, etc... and if the church doesn't support that (meet me needs) then I'll leave!
-Point: You may have seen nasty church splits, scandalous church fights, self-centered & ego-driven agendas, hateful board members, two-faced hypocritical members, divisive/ gossiping/ back-biting/ slanderous church goers...
1. ...but don't accept that as the work of the Spirit.
2. ...that is the failing of the flesh!
-Billy Graham said: "The church has almost lost her moral authority to speak to the world."
-If you are lost/in sin then you are profaning His Holy name.
1. Why? B/c you are part of His creation.
2. He intends for his creation to be holy.
-v. 21 "But I had a concern for my holy name which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came."

IV. Ideal of the Lord
-When the disciples finally moved past self-love... then came Pentecost!
-Idea of not shaming Christ as Christian standard.
1. No, standard is glorifying Christ.
2. Not just abstain from sin, but do good!
-Paul said: "I die daily."
-"Crucified with Christ."
-Live beyond yourself.
1. Live with some inconvenience for the sake of others.
2. Be willing to put your comforts behind God's Will!
3. "The Cost of Discipleship"
-In the church we want God to be glorified/ make His name Holy!
1. You may have heard sermons saying otherwise (testimonies, ‘Bible' studies, lessons, etc.)
2. We preach the humanely impossible.
3. What is impossible w/ man is possible with God!
-Psalm 94:14 "For the Lord will not forsake his people; He will not abandon his heritage."

V. The Lord's Plan to Vindicate His Name
-vv. 22-23, 25-27
-The plan involves God working in your life!
-Every once in a while there is an individual who's very life brings glory to God.
1. Not a defect or error that the church produces (the defect is the shallow weak Christian we produce)
2. Seeking to glorify God (and actually doing it) in our lives is suppose to be the normal Christian experience!
3. Occasionally some seeking soul breaks through the form, programs, false/weak/shallow preaching, complacency , etc. and finds the Christ who formed the world!
4. Some push through the crowds of religious patrons, false doctrines, & sinful hypocrites to the cross of Jesus that has been tucked away in a corner!
-You must die on that cross!
1. You must die to self, to live for Him!
2. Live for His glory, not your earthly desires!
-v. 36b "I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it."

VI. Real Examples...
-Our singers (Mike & Tonia Ward)...
-Larry P. & family
-David H. & family
-Richard & Linda T.
-Sammy L. & family
-Ernest D. & family
-Regena J.
-Ill. Return to Maysville
1. Friday went to Camp meeting.
2. Saw grandparents.
3. Went into the tabernacle.
4. This is where I made a decision to glorify God with all my life!
-The world will know that God reigns b/c of what He is doing in His people!

VII. Conclusion
-Will you glorify God in all your life?
-Your decision to live for the Lord, is your own; but it is not made in a vacuum. It affects everyone around you!
-God wants to use you to show who He is to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, & church family.

Response: Lord, Be Glorified

Called By a New Name: In Need of a Name Change

Called by a New Name: In Need of a Name-Change

Isaiah 62:2-12

I. Introduction
-Names are fascinating.
-The Variety of names.
1. Especially across cultures.
2. All over the world.
-They help us distinguish among one another.
-Ill. Jared K. Henry
1. Klayton vs. Kyle
2. Psychology together.
3. Receiving his e-mails from his girlfriend.
4. I was worried he would be receiving mine!
-When you first meet another person you exchange names
1. Sometimes before you meet you inquire about one's name.
2. Names hold significance.
-You can sometimes know something about someone by their name.
1. Like their background
2. Gonzalez- Hispanic
3. O'Malley- Irish
4. Rolff- Germany
5. Turcotte- French
6. Use to tell your vocation (carpenters= wood workers; brewers= brewery; etc.)
-Your name may have meaning attached to it.
1. Jr, II, III, etc.
2. Named after a grandparent, aunt/uncle, etc.
-Ill. Sean John Combs
1. Puff Daddy
2. Then- P. Diddy
3. Now just Diddy
4. Going to be a father? Then Diddy Daddy!?
-I've been thinking about names.
-Ill. Pastor's family in IN w/ four boys.
1. Matthew, Mark, Luke, & Roy
2. I don't know.
-Ever ‘google' your name?
1. I did.
2. It's scary what you can find on the Internet!
-If you could change your name what would you change it to?
1. Someone who changed their name... what do you call them?
2. Ladies transition to new last name.

II. Scripture

III. Biblical Names
-Naming a child was significant
1. It was more than sentimental or family meaning.
2. The name described who you were or something you had done.
3. Even places had names that were significant.
-For example...
1. Genesis 28:19 "He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first." (Bethel = house of God)
2. Joshua 5:9 "And the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day."
(Gilgal = to roll)
3. Matthew 27:33 "And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull)."
-The names of people...
1. Genesis 17:5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations."
a. Abram- exalted Father
b. Abraham- Father of a multitude
2. Genesis 17:15 "And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name." (Both = princess)
3. Genesis 32:28 "Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.""
a. Jacob= deceiver/
heel grasper
b. Israel= he strives w/ God
-Point: There's something about an encounter w/ God that changes names.
1. When God moves or works in a place... the name changes.
2. When God comes into relationship with a human being... their name changes

IV. Has Your Name Been Changed?
-Query: Have you received a new name from the Lord?
-How to...
1. Acknowledge a need for something more that you cannot attain alone.
2. Acknowledge you do not presently have it.
3. Acknowledge you must reject lifestyle & values up to that point and adopt new ones!
4. Believe in your adoption into a new family!
-A new name is not something you claim it is something that you are given.
-v. 2 "and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give."
-Wouldn't you like that kind of name?

V. Your Name
-Your reputation is attached to your name.
1. If you are not well liked your name can bring an unpleasant response.
2. If you are well like it can bring a pleasant response.
-There's something of who you are attached to your name.
-I wonder what people will say about you at your funeral as they remember your name?
1. "What name did you make for yourself?"
2. A great preacher?
3. Made a lot of money?
4. An intelligent person?
5. Wise? Foolish? Religious?
6. Church attender? Church worker? (There is a difference.)
7. Loving? Judgmental? Hateful? Kind?
-Your name is not created by what you wish you were, but what you truly are!
1. Everyone wishes they had a good name in the community.
2. But that doesn't decide how everyone views you.
3. Who are you really?
-Query: What would make you the Christian you wish you were?
-Note: What you desperately need spiritually will not come w/out cost (resources, time, focus, energy, etc).
1. An investment in spiritual things is always well worth it!
2. It's what you really want... are you willing to pay the price for it?

VI. A New Name
-Some of you have had the kind of encounter w/ God I am referring to.
1. A name changing encounter.
2. A Born-Again experience.
-But you've denied your birthright.
-You've shamed your new name.
-Discouragement & defeat and chained you again to your past.
-Point: Remember the new name you are called by!
1. Remember who you are in Christ Jesus.
2. Remember the freedom that Jesus paid for!
3. That's not who you are any more!
-Ill. Israelite Forgetfulness
1. Shame the Name
2. Took the name of forsaken & desolate.
-v. 4 "You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called ‘My Delight Is in Her,' [Hephzibah] and your land Married; [Beulah] for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married."
-O the joy of a life lived that God delights in!
1. Sin = shame!
2. Hephzibah = joy & freedom
-Face temptation w/ new name!
1. That's now who I am!
2. I cannot shame the name of Christ!
3. I'm apart of the family of God now!

VII. Conclusion
-1 Corinthians 9-11 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10]nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. [11] [GOOD NEWS] And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified [made holy], you were justified [made right] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
1. I was a liar, thief, gossip, self-centered, sexually immoral, drunk, hateful, boastful, prideful, arrogant, impatient, adulterer, etc.
2. My name was forsaken & desolate.
-But then I came to Jesus.
1. My name was changed from Jacob [deceiver] to Israel [he strives w/ God].
2. From Forsaken to Hephzibah.
3. From Desolate to Beulah!
4. From sinner to Christian!
5. Lost to Found!
6. From Darkness to Light!
7. From Slave to Son!
-I've received a new name from the mouth of God.
-v. 12 "And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken."

Response