Summary: How can God’s commands help us live lives free of unnecessary pain and suffering? We continue the series with Commandment 3 - Respecting the name of God. *HANDOUT INCLUDED*

For a CD of over 100 of sermons by Darrell Stetler II (most complete with handouts), please e-mail darrellstetler2@sbcglobal.net.

To keep this series in perspective:

I want to remind you about something: You don’t become a Christian by keeping rules. Many people believe that, but it isn’t TRUE! You become a Christian by repenting of your sin and putting your faith in Jesus Christ to forgive you.

But God expects everyone who is a follower of his to keep his commands. . . following Jesus is more than just depending on him to get you out of trouble. It’s a whole-life commitment to follow after him.

I’ve been including this verse in every sermon because it is crucial that you get this: God’s commands are not to keep you from fun, they are for your GOOD!

They’re for your good.

“...keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good.” Deuteronomy 10:13

They are not a burden.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” Exodus 20:7

The word “vain” means “meaningless or worthless.” So to take someone’s name in vain is to empty their name of meaning or worth.

So this sermon is not about “dirty words”. . . that’s another sermon.

“Let no corrupt speech come out of your mouth – only that which is good for building others up.”

But there is “cussing”. . . and then there is “taking God’s name in vain.” They both have to do with our speech, but they are two different issues. This morning, I am focusing on God’s command that says, “Don’t take my name in vain.

Why did God give this command?

1. His name deserves respect because it is holy.

“Let them praise Your great and awesome name- it is holy.” (Psalm 99:3)

God’s name is holy – the word holy means “separate.” God’s name is separate from all common or ordinary names and words.

2. His name deserves respect because of his position.

“All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name.” (Psalm 86:9)

He is the creator. When you speak the name of God, you are speaking about infinite power. His name deserves respect because of that.

3. His name deserves respect because of what he has done.

“Praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you.” (Joel 2:26)

OK, so God’s name deserves respect. But how can I do that? How can we respect God’s name?

The ancient Hebrews who copied the Old Testament by hand in the days before printing presses had great respect for the name of God. They would stop and perform a special ceremony, and wash themselves and use a special pen before writing the name of God.

Respecting God’s name is not about washing your pen, or using a special pen. It goes way deeper than that.

Let me tell you how to keep this command. Here are two practical ways to show your respect for God’s name:

1. Respect God’s name through your speech.

We’re going to play a little association game. I’m going to say a name, and you think about the first thing that comes into your mind.

Jeffery Dahmer - Longhorns -

Dell Computer - IRS -

Bill Clinton - Bob Stoops -

Names are more than just a way of finding someone in the phone book. Eventually, a person or an organization’s name comes to symbolize the kind of character that that person or organization possesses. How many of you when you were picking names for your children would not give a certain name to your child because every time that you heard that name, it reminded you of someone from your past who was not exactly what you wanted your child to be? I’ve never met a girl named “Jezebel” or a boy named “Judas”. I have a suspicion that the reason for that is because the actions of those persons so marred the name that they carried that no one today wants to use those names.

James Williams of Beaumont, TX, promised his wife Cosandra that she could choose the name for their baby girl. "Just before we got married, Cosandra told me that she wanted our child’s first name to contain parts of every family name ever used," said Williams. "I didn’t think it was too great an idea, but I agreed to compromise. We decided I would name the boys and she would name the girls." Early in September Cosandra had a baby girl. The baby is called Jameshauwnell, short for an unpronounceable, 1,019-letter conglomeration of names (as in The Calgary Herald, Sept. 19).

Some of us should be very glad about the family that we were born into and the family name that we inherited. One very unfortunate young man was born into the “Stink” family. When he grew into an adult, Charlie Stink was constantly being advised by his friends and co- workers that he should have his name changed. Finally he agreed, and went to court to have the process completed. The judge looked at him and said, “What is your name?” “Charlie Stink.” The judge smiled, “Ah, I can see why you’d want your name changed. What would you like to change it to?” “George Stink.”

Now, I’m going to do something very cruel this morning. I’m getting kind of thirsty up here with all this talking that I’m doing, so I snuck me a little drink underneath here before I started this morning, and I’m going to pull it out and drink it in front of you. (Don’t you just hate that when preachers do that!) It’s not water either. I have me a cold Dr. Pepper. [take a drink] As I look at this can and the name that is on it, there‘s something interesting about it. There’s a little TM after that name. Do you know what that stands for? It means “Trademark”. That means that the name of this soft drink is the sole property of the company. They own the name and all rights to its use. What would happen if I took a cup of water, added some caramel coloring to it and some sugar and then slapped a Dr. Pepper label on it and tried to sell it to the public? I would probably get sued. The reason that I would get sued is because I had put the same name on my product that was on their product. Well, what’s the problem with that? Why do companies care so much about their name?

Companies care about their name because:

a) your entire ________________ is wrapped up in that name.

Did you know that companies have “quality control managers?” They want to do everything that they can to maintain a quality product with every customer that they deal with so that they can keep a good name – a good reputation.

b) your success or failure is built on _________________ reputation.

I learned while I was working at a fast-food restaurant that a customer who is satisfied with their meal will probably recommend that restaurant to one other person. But a customer who is NOT satisfied with their meal will warn SEVEN other people to stay away from the restaurant. A good reputation – a good name – is vital to the growth of a business. Companies are very jealous of their reputations. By that, I mean that they work hard to keep their reputation strong. If their reputation goes down, so does their business. For that reason, they get very upset when people use their name without their consent or on an inferior product like my version of Dr. Pepper.

Having a good name is crucial in business. Having a name that is respected and remembered is worth BILLIONS of dollars each year to American companies. Anyone know how much was spent on a single 30-second ad during the Super Bowl last year? 2.4 MILLION DOLLARS was the average price.

Apparently, it’s worth that much to them to help you have a positive image of their name.

Scripture even says it’s worth a lot to you and I to have a good name.

“It is better to have a good name than great riches.” Proverbs 22:1

God’s name is “_______________________” for the same reasons.

Now, if a company feels that strongly about their name and their reputation, how do you think God feels when we use His name in an improper way?

I think that it makes Him very angry. The latter part of Exodus 20:7 says that He will not hold guiltless anyone who misuses or takes in vain His name. To put it in legal terms, he will not drop His lawsuit against those who use His name in an improper way or without His permission. He will prosecute. I told you at the beginning of this series that my goal is to spare you from pain, like keeping you from playing in the street or jumping off a building. Here’s God, saying “This is one law of my universe you do NOT want to violate!” It’s my job to pass that on to you, so you can stay out of that danger zone.

So when something amazing or shocking happens, rather than saying, “Wow!”, we might say “O my God!” without even thinking about the fact that we just spoke God’s name. It’s as if has become just another word in the dictionary. I know a person who constantly says that phrase – “O my God!” In fact, she would say it several times in a row when shocked by something or when scared. When that person was confronted with the fact that she was using God’s name this way, she said that she didn’t even realize that she was saying it. It flowed from her tongue without her ever thinking about the awesomeness of the God to whom she was referring. Just as a company’s whole reputation and character is summed up in its name, so God’s name and the use of it should point to how awesome and wonderful He really is.

Now, I’m getting ready to open a very big can of worms. Some companies are so desirous to piggy-back on the reputation of a well-known company that they will take the well-known company’s name and altar it just enough so that they don’t get in trouble but not altar it so much that consumers don’t recognize the product. Have you seen “Dr. Perfect” or “Dr. Thunder” instead of Dr. Pepper? This is exactly what we do with God’s name. We don’t want to get in trouble for using God’s name in vain, so we add a few letters or remove a few to make it sound not so bad. I’m talking about words like “gosh”, “golly” and “gee”. These words are derived from God’s name – look them up in the dictionary.

God’s name when used in these ways has lost its significance and glory. It no longer points to Him. It has simply become a point of punctuation and exclamation like a period or exclamation point. God says that He will punish – his words are “not hold guiltless” – anyone who uses His name in this way.

Think about how to apply this to your life. Think about the following 3 questions:

1. Can I be a positive witness if I’m taking God’s name in vain?

2. Should I confront someone else who is misusing God’s name?

Would you say something to a man who was misusing the name of your wife, girlfriend, or daughter?

3. Should I listen to music, watch movies or TV, or read books where God’s name is repeatedly taken in vain?

How many times is too many? Does it have any effect on our spiritual lives if we choose to read these books and view these shows?

2. Respect God’s name through your lifestyle.

I recently had a cell phone account with a company that has pretty good customer service. My wife called to change our plan and get more minutes. The person agreed to do it, and she hung up. The next month, I had 35 dollars in over charges, because the change was never made. I called, and the customer service rep told me that there was no record that anyone had ever called about that. The last guy had not made the changes. . . hadn’t kept his end of the bargain, and now I was going to have to pay for it.

Needless to say, I wasn’t very pleased. There was one person in that company who had just cancelled out all the positive things that company stood for – just by one action!

Taking God’s name in vain is more than just how we talk – it needs to be how we live as well.

How can I respect God’s name through my lifestyle?

A. By giving God the best of my life.

Malachi 1:6-14

“shut the temple doors . . . useless fires . . . not pleased with you” (vs. 10) – something is going on that is upsetting the Lord, so much so that the Lord wants the doors of the church to be shut up tight

“accept no offerings” (vs. 10) – wasn’t even willing to accept the offerings that they gave!

“You have despised my name!. . . When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!" says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 1:6, 8)

The Israelites were supposed to bring their best animal as a sacrifice. Specifically, the sacrifice was to be a one-year old male lamb that had no blemish or spot, no broken legs, and no disease. Instead, they were bringing the leftovers – the ones that they and no one else wanted.

They were supposed to be the “carriers of God’s name.” But they didn’t carry it well! They weren’t giving God their best.

B. By living consistently with the name I carry – “Christian.”

“It was there at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.”

Acts 11:26 (NLT)

God has a new people who bear His name now. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. The term “Christian” means “Christ-ones” or “little Christs”. As Christians, we carry around the name of Christ wherever we go.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

How do we treat the title “Christian”? Do we act like that all it means is that we will go to heaven when we die, but it has nothing to do with how we live? Did you know that about 75% of U.S. citizens claim to be a Christian? But how many of them ACT like a Christian? To them, to be a Christian – to bear the name of Christ – means no more than being a member of the Boy Scouts, the Kiwanis Club, or the frequent shopper club at Albertson’s!

Being a Christian is not about keeping rules. . .it’s about being a part of God’s family. But when you’re a part of a family, there are certain responsibilities.

My dad. . . “You were born in the wrong family to do that.”

Let me warn you: If you keep this one, you’ll be the exception rather than the rule. And when you are exceptional, people will try to drag you down.

Some of you up to this point may have never thought about some of the words that you use or that you allow into your home through TV and other media.

Before today, it’s possible that you never thought anything about using God’s name in a casual and careless way. But this morning, I am asking you to change your mind about that! If you do take God’s name in vain, that means that a portion of your normal conversation is an offense to God.

Some of you up to this point thought that being a Christian was about “going to church once a week” and “praying pretty often” and even “listening to Gospel music” sometimes. You never really thought about your family responsibility to make your actions line up with the name “CHRISTIAN” that you carry.

I’m here to tell you Christians today – bring your lives up to the place where they honor the name you carry. Don’t take on his name in vain.

The Holy Spirit is here today. The Bible says He is the one who “guides us into all truth.” I want you to listen to his voice right now. I want you to write down 2-3 things in your life that need to change THIS WEEK based on this truth from God’s Word. When you write these down, you’re making a deal with God that you want to carry his name effectively. You don’t want to take it and empty it of meaning.

I want to close by praying for you that you’ll have the guts to keep your deal with God, and truly see life-change this week!

___________________________

HANDOUT

___________________________

Respecting God’s Name

Two things to remember about God’s commands:

They’re for your ________________.

“...keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good.” Deuteronomy 10:13

They are not a ________________.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3

Commandment #3:

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

Exodus 20:7

Why did God give this command?

1. His name deserves respect because it is ______________.

“Let them praise Your great and awesome name- it is holy.”

Psalm 99:3

The word holy means “___________________.” God’s name is separate from all common or ordinary names and words.

2. His name deserves respect because of His _______________.

“All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name.” Psalm 86:9

3. His name deserves respect because of what he has ________.

“Praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you.” Joel 2:26

Practical ways to show respect for God’s name:

1. Respect God’s name through your ______________.

Companies care about their name because:

a) your entire ________________ is wrapped up in that name.

b) your success or failure is built on _________________ reputation.

God’s name is “_______________________” for the same reasons.

Think about the following 3 questions:

1. Can I be a positive witness if I’m taking God’s name in vain?

2. Should I confront someone else who is misusing God’s name?

3. Should I listen to music, watch movies or TV, or read books where God’s name is repeatedly taken in vain?

2. Respect God’s name through your _________________.

How can I respect God’s name through my lifestyle?

A. By giving God the _______________________________.

“You have despised my name!. . . When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!" says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 1:6, 8

They were bringing God what _______ _______ ________ wanted.

B. By living consistently with the name I carry

– “__________________.”

“It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.”

Acts 11:26 (NLT)

The term “Christian” means “little ________________.”

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)