Message summary for sermon of June 15, 2014 from Pastor Gus Brown:
How do you value your name? What’s in your name? What is its history? Does it mean more to you or to anyone else than just a signature on a check?
In today’s world, men will form their manhood or fatherhood according to how society has formed it, or you will view it from a biblical perspective, and you can be assured that your children will recognize it. What legacy will you leave with your children?
Your name should be considered valuable and something that can be passed on to your children. Does the honor of your name proclaim who you are in Jesus Christ? Is it valuable to the persons you are giving it to? Can they see the value?
In America, there is such a strong push for individuality and there is less of a respect for those that came before us.
Your name speaks of who you are. A name should mean more to you than just earning a paycheck. It has a value to it that begins with giving recognition to God’s name for what it is. He is the one to be honored. While you may not think much of your own name, God’s name is indeed special and He is to be glorified.
Ezekiel 36:22-23
22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight.
In the same way that God is our glory in that He created us, the fathers today are the children’s glory. The child honors the father because of how proud he or she is of him for his example.
God will (and has) shown Himself as all-powerful for His own namesake.
Psalm 138:2
I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your constant love and truth.
You have exalted Your name
and Your promise above everything else.
God’s Word is as good as His Name. His Name is as good as His Word.
Your word is as valuable as your name. Your word is no good if your name is no good before others.
God reflects his value of upholding the name of a man.
Numbers 27:1-7
1 The daughters of Zelophehad approached; Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah’s followers, who gathered together against the Lord. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father’s brothers.”
5 Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6 and the Lord answered him, 7 “What Zelophehad’s daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them.
Are you willing to stand up for your father’s name to honor Him?
Proverbs 3:1-4
1 My son, don’t forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commands;
2 for they will bring you
many days, a full life, and well-being.
3 Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.
Tie them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will find favor and high regard
in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold.
Ecclesiastes 7:1
A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.
Your name, as a righteous name, permeates the air when it is proclaimed. It is a welcome sound like a welcome scent in the air.
Fathers need to be the example that their children will see in how one brings honor to your name.
Deuteronomy 22:13-21
13 “If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her, 14 and accuses her of shameful conduct, and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,’ 15 the young woman’s father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the city elders at the gate. 16 The young woman’s father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her. 17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying: “I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity,” but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ They will spread out the cloth before the city elders. 18 Then the elders of that city will take the man and punish him. 19 They will also fine him 100 silver shekels and give them to the young woman’s father, because that man gave an Israelite virgin a bad name. She will remain his wife; he cannot divorce her as long as he lives. 20 But if this accusation is true and no evidence of the young woman’s virginity is found, 21 they will bring the woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from you.
In this passage, the father’s name is being discredited. There is a value of a person’s name within Scripture when you look at the principles of life as presented. Here, it was the father’s responsibility to take care of the daughter, but his values are being attacked here. Today, the values of whether a woman is a virgin don’t mean as much, but it is relevant to see the level of importance in honor of proving that the standards were upheld, and it was all about the honor of his name.
1 Timothy 5:8
But if anyone does not provide for his own, that is his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
When you live in such a way where your children are ashamed of you, it will only cause a myriad of problems for them.
A lot of self-esteem problems have been based upon their name and where it comes from (the father). The name must have an example where we are worthy of respect. When we call ourselves “Christian” there should be a respect and honor of Jesus that comes with it.
The name of the family must be treasured, and fathers have the opportunity to honor their name by standing and living in integrity.
Proverbs 17:6
Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,
and the pride of sons is their fathers.
Fathers, remember the importance of how you raide your children and set the example that your children can emulate in their own walk of fauth in Jesus Christ. They will honor you when they remain consistent in Christ as they bring ongoing honor to your name in how they live.
Akron Alliance Fellowship 