May 25, 2013

The Lord Put His Name on You!

1st Sunday after Pentecost, Confirmation, 5/26/13
Numbers 6:27



The Lord Put His Name on You!
I. He is the Lord.
II. He will bless you.



Naming rights have become vitally important, especially in the world of sports. Long ago NASCAR became the king of naming rights. Its racecars are little more than billboards at the speed of 200 miles an hour.

It’s almost as bad in other pro sports. Fewer and fewer stadiums or arenas carry the names of past great athletes. Instead they carry the names of cellular telephone companies or national brewers or credit companies.
It’s come all the way down to the high school level. In our area there are local high school athletic fields and arenas named for local hospital conglomerates. I’m not sure how effective it is. I’m sure the next time I need a hospital, I won’t consider the athletic field or building that bears its name. But that’s just me. Those naming rights don’t mean much.

But it means everything when it comes to the naming rights of our God. As Louis mentioned a few minutes ago, he became a child of God like so many of us, at our baptisms. There our God called us by his name. For just a few minutes this morning, I’d like you to consider how important that is on the basis of the final words of today’s first lesson, Numbers 6:27, in which God says, “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” The Lord put his name on you. How critical that is! Let’s see why.

Part I.

I’m sure you’re aware that names have meaning. My name means “The Lord is God.” What does your name mean? There are times when the name that parents choose for their child fits them to a tee; other times, not so much.

Even though a minute ago I only read the final verse of our first lesson, please don’t forget what came before that verse. For many of us those words are familiar. We hear them at the end of almost every Sunday service. “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” It’s likely that the first thing that jumps out at you is that the name “Lord” is repeated 3 times. On this Trinity Sunday you should know that this three-fold repetition was no accident. When we came to faith in Jesus, God put his name—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—on us.

That name “Lord” is significant. Just as your name has a meaning, so does this one. Literally God is calling himself the great “I AM.” I AM. That means he is eternal. He’s not I WAS or I WILL BE. He is always I AM. What’s more, since he is I AM he is dependent on no one and nothing for his existence. He could exist with absolutely nothing as he did prior to the creation of the world and he would be just fine. He is the Lord.
That name also means that our God is faithful. He never tells us something that is false. He always speaks the truth. And when he makes a promise, he always keeps it to the letter. We can count on everything he has said.

And finally, the name Lord means he is gracious. Our God isn’t looking to get a pound of flesh out of us for all our sins and failures. No, he’s looking to forgive us. He’s looking to give us his love which we don’t deserve. He’s looking to have an eternal relationship with us. He is the Lord. That’s who he is.

And the Lord put his name on you.

If you’ve been following along with me, you probably noticed that the name God put on you is all about him and not about you. And that’s not a self-centered thing; it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing, because if my relationship with the holy God were anything about me, I’d have no hope. Neither would you. We’d be lost forever. As Louis and I discussed earlier, we’ve wronged God in countless ways. We show our God and everyone else daily that it’s all about us, about what we want and about what we think. But that’s why God sent Jesus. Because our God is gracious, Jesus, God’s Son, came to redeem us, to buy us back with his life and his death. Instead of being banished from him forever, we belong to him forever. It’s all about him and, thankfully, he placed his name on us.


Part II.

It’s unfortunate that so many people view Christianity as what it takes from us. They think of all the things they love to do which they’d have to give up if they decided to follow Jesus.

But they’re wrong. Dead wrong. The Lord didn’t put his name on us to keep something good from us; he put his name on us to bless us. He stated, “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

So, what’s this blessing that the Lord is talking about? Well, it’s not lasting happiness in this life. It’s not riches and fame in the here and now. It’s not the absence of pain and sorrow. All those things are part of the Christian’s life along with suffering hardship and ridicule and heartache because of your connection to Jesus.
So what are the blessings? They’re spiritual, and they come to us in abundance daily. The person who has the name of the Lord on them lives in the daily forgiveness of sins given freely by God. Guilt is gone. All sins are paid for by Jesus himself. We’re blessed with the assurance of God’s love and guidance in every situation of life, even the tragedies. We have the power of his love to motivate us in every relationship and opportunity of life. We live each day knowing that this isn’t the life that God has in mind for us; heaven is.

The person who bears the name of the Lord lives with that eternal blessing, knowing that eternal life awaits them. Death will come, but then real life—life with God—begins. And Louis—and everyone else here today—that’s what this life is all about. It’s preparing for the life to come by faith in Jesus. I don’t know exactly what the Lord has in store for your life, Louis. You might become rich; you might not. You might become famous; you might not. You might get married and have children; you might not. But in the end, only this one thing matters—that you remained faithful to the Lord who has put his name on you. You remained in the Christian faith until he called you home to heaven. That’s why the Lord put his name on you and everyone else here. May we always remain faithful to him! Amen.