₦Sermon 15
TAKE NOT THE NAME OF THE LORD IN VAIN
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in Vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain —— (Exodus 20:7).
Texts: Exodus 20:1-7, Psalm 137:1-10
There was once a notorious woman in one community. When this woman did come to her neighbour’s house, one item or the other must be found missing until the family began to suspect her. One day she came to buy garden eggs from her neighbour. Her neighbour ordered her little girl of 15 years old to be watchful over her (the customer) while she would give her less attention as to enable her again to steal if actually she was the one that always stole their items. Behold, this woman ventured to steal an egg instead of the garden egg she came for. She wrapped it quickly in her wrapper as the owner of the house had at last left her alone with her items. The little girl caught her through some holes at the door where she was hiding. She gave her mother a sign that the woman has stolen an egg. When this woman was asked amicably to provide the egg which she has stolen, she swore with the name of God that if really she stole the missing egg let God cause her to die in her pregnancy. Unfortunately, as she made a crawl to leave, the egg fell down from her wrapper and she ran from one corner of the house to another pleading.
Today, I would like to speak on this topic by the direction of the Holy Spirit to remind us about the potential holiness of the name of God and its significant need to honour it in our lives. When some people, just like the notorious woman above speak, they use the name of the Lord in their ungodly conversation as if they are mates of God. If they will not take to heart that the name of God is Holy and which everyone ought to keep holy in their dealings with one another, they shall not go unpunished.
The Israelites who were taken captive to Babylon were kept beside the rivers where they sat down and wept as they remembered Zion. By keeping them by the rivers of Babylon for them to mingle their tears and sorrows with their exilic experience, it shows a total dehumanization and isolation from the Babylonians which also depicts their state of solitude and sufferings. As their captors saw them with their harps, their instruments for the worship of their God hanging on a tree droopingly, they demanded a song from them. Thus, the Babylonians showed a total contempt to the name of the Living God whom every praise and worship is meant to be given. They wanted to mock the Israelites and their living God by requesting them to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land that did not know God. It was not as if, to sing the Lord’s song is very bad in a strange land but the Babylonians demanded the song in an ungodly way; a manner which seemed to mock the Living God and His worshippers. Thus, the Babylonians were guilty of this third commandment and they did not go free (unpunished): “O Babylon, you will be destroyed”— Psalm 137:8. “Happy is the one who takes your babes and smashes them against the rocks”—Psalm 137:9. “And Babylon, the glory of Kingdoms, the beauty of Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah”—Isaiah 13:19. Then another Angel followed him through the sky, shouting, Babylon is fallen; that great city is fallen because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality. (Rev. 14:8).
However, Babylon here also depicts any nation that is characterized with immorality. We’ve seen that because of the aberrant nature of Babylonians compounded by their lack of total regard to the name of God, they did not go unpunished.
There are other ways we misuse the name of the living God. They are:
Professing to be God’s sons but we are not (hypocrites):
So many people today love going to church but they are not doing what God requires of them. Their actions are not matching the desirable requirement of God. We preach that God says we should not kill, but we hire assassins to kill our brothers, we preach that God says we should not steal but we steal from him by not giving him our tithes. Even the day of Sabbath we abandon or neglect it for our own activities. The question is, what you believe in, do you really keep to it? If not, you are misusing the name of God and you will never go unpunished. Christ Jesus says to religious hypocrites that Isaiah was right when he prophesied about them (religious hypocrites) that: These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me — Matt 15:8. A mouth that praises God and does contrary to the will of God has breached the fiat of God. Such a fellow is called a Christian sycophant and deceives himself because God is not mocked for whatever a man soweth, that shall he reap, (see Galatia 6:7). We should keep to what we have heard and do it. Ignoring what we hear and what we do makes us to be partakers of religious hypocrites. Christ Jesus does not like religious hypocrites because they lead people astray from God’s commandments. That is why he warns us not to call him. Lord, Lord when we don’t do what he tells us to do-- Luke 6:46.
Swearing falsely with the name of God (Deut. 10:20; Matt. 5:33-37):
We have been given the commandment to swear with only the name of God (Deut. 10:20) which implies that the oath taken is true and nothing more. That is why David took an oath in the name of God to kill Nabal. He says: “May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning” (1 Samuel 25:22) but during Christ’s earthly ministry, he cantered the law of taking God’s name to swear because people do swear falsely with it and therefore, he taught us to swear not any longer with God’s name because such a Holy name should be extremely revered with great veneration. He says: But let your communication be, yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil, Matthew 5:37. It has been discovered that many business men and women use the name of God to sell imitations in the name of original, and for this singular fact, you will never go unpunished because you are playing with a Holy name of Yahweh for He has said it in the book of Leviticus 19:12 that: “Ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of the God: I am the LORD”. We have embezzled church money by swearing falsely with the name of God. We have discussed and falsely accused so many people with God’s name but I want to tell you that you will never go unpunished either here or there in eternity.
Prophesying falsely in the name of God (Jer. 29:9).
Prophets today when they have dreams they come to people that God says this when God did not. They put their dreams in prophecy using God’s name (Jer. 23:25-28) God is in opposition with false prophets (Eze 13:7-9).
Brethren let us stop using the name of Jehovah our Lord in vain. Say the simple truth and the truth shall set you free. ———————Meditation Point————————————
Lord may you grant me forgiveness for having used your name in vain and from today hence forth, I solemnly declare in my life not to use your name again in vain in Jesus name, amen!
TAKE NOT THE NAME OF THE LORD IN VAIN
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in Vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain —— (Exodus 20:7).
Texts: Exodus 20:1-7, Psalm 137:1-10
There was once a notorious woman in one community. When this woman did come to her neighbour’s house, one item or the other must be found missing until the family began to suspect her. One day she came to buy garden eggs from her neighbour. Her neighbour ordered her little girl of 15 years old to be watchful over her (the customer) while she would give her less attention as to enable her again to steal if actually she was the one that always stole their items. Behold, this woman ventured to steal an egg instead of the garden egg she came for. She wrapped it quickly in her wrapper as the owner of the house had at last left her alone with her items. The little girl caught her through some holes at the door where she was hiding. She gave her mother a sign that the woman has stolen an egg. When this woman was asked amicably to provide the egg which she has stolen, she swore with the name of God that if really she stole the missing egg let God cause her to die in her pregnancy. Unfortunately, as she made a crawl to leave, the egg fell down from her wrapper and she ran from one corner of the house to another pleading.
Today, I would like to speak on this topic by the direction of the Holy Spirit to remind us about the potential holiness of the name of God and its significant need to honour it in our lives. When some people, just like the notorious woman above speak, they use the name of the Lord in their ungodly conversation as if they are mates of God. If they will not take to heart that the name of God is Holy and which everyone ought to keep holy in their dealings with one another, they shall not go unpunished.
The Israelites who were taken captive to Babylon were kept beside the rivers where they sat down and wept as they remembered Zion. By keeping them by the rivers of Babylon for them to mingle their tears and sorrows with their exilic experience, it shows a total dehumanization and isolation from the Babylonians which also depicts their state of solitude and sufferings. As their captors saw them with their harps, their instruments for the worship of their God hanging on a tree droopingly, they demanded a song from them. Thus, the Babylonians showed a total contempt to the name of the Living God whom every praise and worship is meant to be given. They wanted to mock the Israelites and their living God by requesting them to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land that did not know God. It was not as if, to sing the Lord’s song is very bad in a strange land but the Babylonians demanded the song in an ungodly way; a manner which seemed to mock the Living God and His worshippers. Thus, the Babylonians were guilty of this third commandment and they did not go free (unpunished): “O Babylon, you will be destroyed”— Psalm 137:8. “Happy is the one who takes your babes and smashes them against the rocks”—Psalm 137:9. “And Babylon, the glory of Kingdoms, the beauty of Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah”—Isaiah 13:19. Then another Angel followed him through the sky, shouting, Babylon is fallen; that great city is fallen because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality. (Rev. 14:8).
However, Babylon here also depicts any nation that is characterized with immorality. We’ve seen that because of the aberrant nature of Babylonians compounded by their lack of total regard to the name of God, they did not go unpunished.
There are other ways we misuse the name of the living God. They are:
Professing to be God’s sons but we are not (hypocrites):
So many people today love going to church but they are not doing what God requires of them. Their actions are not matching the desirable requirement of God. We preach that God says we should not kill, but we hire assassins to kill our brothers, we preach that God says we should not steal but we steal from him by not giving him our tithes. Even the day of Sabbath we abandon or neglect it for our own activities. The question is, what you believe in, do you really keep to it? If not, you are misusing the name of God and you will never go unpunished. Christ Jesus says to religious hypocrites that Isaiah was right when he prophesied about them (religious hypocrites) that: These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me — Matt 15:8. A mouth that praises God and does contrary to the will of God has breached the fiat of God. Such a fellow is called a Christian sycophant and deceives himself because God is not mocked for whatever a man soweth, that shall he reap, (see Galatia 6:7). We should keep to what we have heard and do it. Ignoring what we hear and what we do makes us to be partakers of religious hypocrites. Christ Jesus does not like religious hypocrites because they lead people astray from God’s commandments. That is why he warns us not to call him. Lord, Lord when we don’t do what he tells us to do-- Luke 6:46.
Swearing falsely with the name of God (Deut. 10:20; Matt. 5:33-37):
We have been given the commandment to swear with only the name of God (Deut. 10:20) which implies that the oath taken is true and nothing more. That is why David took an oath in the name of God to kill Nabal. He says: “May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning” (1 Samuel 25:22) but during Christ’s earthly ministry, he cantered the law of taking God’s name to swear because people do swear falsely with it and therefore, he taught us to swear not any longer with God’s name because such a Holy name should be extremely revered with great veneration. He says: But let your communication be, yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil, Matthew 5:37. It has been discovered that many business men and women use the name of God to sell imitations in the name of original, and for this singular fact, you will never go unpunished because you are playing with a Holy name of Yahweh for He has said it in the book of Leviticus 19:12 that: “Ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of the God: I am the LORD”. We have embezzled church money by swearing falsely with the name of God. We have discussed and falsely accused so many people with God’s name but I want to tell you that you will never go unpunished either here or there in eternity.
Prophesying falsely in the name of God (Jer. 29:9).
Prophets today when they have dreams they come to people that God says this when God did not. They put their dreams in prophecy using God’s name (Jer. 23:25-28) God is in opposition with false prophets (Eze 13:7-9).
Brethren let us stop using the name of Jehovah our Lord in vain. Say the simple truth and the truth shall set you free. ———————Meditation Point————————————
Lord may you grant me forgiveness for having used your name in vain and from today hence forth, I solemnly declare in my life not to use your name again in vain in Jesus name, amen!
Comments
Post a Comment