Stop Playing With My Name I Robert Madu I Social Dallas

Before we jump into today's message, we wanted to take just a moment and personally thank you for being a part of our social global family. - Yes, we are standing in the future home of social Dallas. Demolition has officially started, and every day we're getting closer to making the space a place where thousands of people will encounter Jesus for years to come. - And if these messages have encouraged you, strengthen your faith, or helped you grow in any way, would you partner with us? Your generosity helps us continue sharing messages like the one you're about to watch and helps us build a permanent home where lives will be changed forever. - To support the Amos Home Campaign, visit socialdallas.com/give and select Amos Home in the Giving Options, or you can text the word "give" to 469-715-3755. - Whether it's a one-time gift or becoming a recurring partner, every gift makes impact, and every dollar moves dirt. - Thank you for believing in what God is doing through social Dallas. - Here's today's message. - Amen, are you glad to be in God's house today,

social fam? Come on, anybody thankful that we get to gather? Together, it feels good to be back. I don't know about you, I missed you last week. I missed you last week. I can worship anywhere. But come on, it feels better when you're surrounded by some other believers. Come on, it feels better when I say hallelujah. It feels better when I say, "Praise the Lord." Come on, somebody, what a privilege it is. To bless the name of the Lord together, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that's within me. Bless his wonderful name. Why don't you just look at somebody next to you and say, "I'm glad I'm worshiping next to you today." Yeah, yeah, yeah, tell 'em, tell 'em. That's your other neighbor saying, "You are on key today. You are on key today." Welcome to Social Dallas. I'm so glad that you're here today. I truly believe God's gonna do something awesome in this place. Can we welcome our social global family that's watching today, bro? Around the world? Come on, you can do better than that. What's up, social global? Let us know in the chat where you're watching from. I always like to say this, some of y'all are social local,

but you're acting global. (laughs) You need to get your face in the place. There's just something about being in the room, and then I wanna welcome everybody watching on the pando app. I'm thankful that we get to bring the word of God everywhere. Then last, but certainly not the least, come on, give me a wave of your first time or your first time in a long time. Can I see you? Come on, glad you're here. You picked a good day to come to church. A real good day to come to church. Good to see you. (dramatic music) It's gonna be good. You look good, you look like you have confident trust in the Lord. That is our word for this year. And even this week, personally just facing some things that I still have questions about, some things I don't understand. I have to remind myself that my trust is not in my understanding. My trust is in the Lord. And I pray that every single Sunday, we declare this verse of the year, that it is not just religious routine, but this word is getting cemented in your soul that God can be trusted.

And so today we're gonna read our verse of the years in Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 35 to 37. If you're new to social, we have read this verse every single Sunday of 2026. And how many of you got it memorized? Can I do a little check? You got to memorize, come on. How many are you still working on it? You got 13 weeks (laughs) The year is almost over. No condemnation, but hurry up. I just believe that a church that has the word of God in them is unstoppable. And so come on, we're gonna read it together with uplifted, caffeinated voices. And you don't go? 'Til I say so. Come on. So do not throw away. Just remember, patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised for in just a little while, the coming one will come and not delay. Anybody believe that? Anybody believe the coming one that's coming back? Come on, that's my hope. That's my confidence. This Earth is not my hope. That this Earth is getting too ghetto for me.

I'm ready to go home. And the coming one will come. And now- to come to church, because today we're beginning a brand new series called Oh, you are paying attention. Name tags. We are going to be looking at the names of God over the next few weeks. And I'm telling you, this is not preacher hype. This is not hyperbole. I believe that this series has the power to change your life. Every single week, we're telling you to trust in God, and you cannot trust in a God you don't know. And you need to know His name. So I'm excited about the series name tags. This is the first message in the series. And we're just going to look at one verse of scripture to get us started today. Exodus chapter number 20, verse 7. Exodus 20, verse 7, one verse will do. When you're ready to read it, say, yeah, if you're still trying to find Exodus, say, hold up. I didn't hear one, hold up. Come on. Bless the Lord. Exodus chapter 20, just one verse. And it says, now those of you who are proud Sunday school alumnus, and you're super saved. You floated in here today. You already knew when we said Exodus 20, that we are looking at the 10 commandments that God gave to His people. And so we're about to read one of the 10. And it says, 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. In short, let's read it one more again. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, comma. That's the commandment. This commandment is different because attached to the commandment is a warning. This is one of the only commandments that has a warning attached to it. One commandment has a promise attached to it. Honor your mother and your father and your days will be long in the land that I'm giving you. This has a warning attached to it. It says, for the Lord will not hold Him guiltless who takes His name in vain. It's one thing to give a commandment. It's nothing when you attach a warning to that commandment. Come on, where my parents have it. It's one thing to say, hey, clean your room. It's nothing to say if that room is not clean by the time I get back from work today, there will be consequences and repercussions. That's a warning attached to a commandment. God is so serious about His name. He attaches a warning to this commandment. That's why I want to preach today using this as a title. Stop playing with my name. Stop playing with my name. Now you can't smile at your neighbor for this one. You got to look at them with attitude. Come on, get in their face, get in their personal space and just say neighbor. Come on, say what attitude,

say neighbor. Stop playing with my name. Come on, find another neighbor. Some of y'all still smiling. You just can't do it, mane. That's good. We're a friendly church. Come on, say other neighbor. I got a word for you. Stop playing with my name. If you believe God's going to speak and the cowboy's going to win today, give them some praise in this question. You want me to do it? Do it. Have your own way today. Amen. You made me see it in the present. Let's see how I tied that window. Stop playing with my name. I'm curious. Is there anybody in the room today who was born before 1935? Anybody in the room today born before 1935? I'm looking. I did not ask you to stand. Just give me a wave. Born before 1935, I'm looking. I don't see nobody. Lord, help us today. We've grown social youth. We got to grow social senior citizens, y'all. Nobody born before 1935. Well, if you weren't around before 1935, you would know that if you wanted to put a label on something, the only options you really had were to glue it or to paste. Because there was no such thing as peel and stick. That was until 1935, when a man by the name of Stan Avery had just an idea and a $100 loan from his ex-fiancé, he created something called the self-adhesive label. And for the first time in history, you could write something down, peel it, put it on something and it would stick. Then, in 1959, somebody took that idea and created, what I think is one of the most recognizable labels in the entire world. I'm sure you've seen anybody seeing this right here. Come on, hello, my name is, how many have ever filled one of these out before? You ever filled one out, ooh, isn't that an experience? Well, you're walking into a room, maybe where nobody knows you and you don't know anybody and you have to fill this thing out.

Anybody like me, you ever been tempted to just write down a name that's not yours? Come on, just for kicks and giggles, just to write down a name. I'm telling you name tags are powerful name tags. I would dare say are even prophetic because think about this, if nobody in the room knows you, they gotta say whatever you put on that name tag. It's interesting because I think name tags are powerful, not just because whatever you write on it, people have to say it. Name tags are powerful because they have a way of sticking. It's interesting how name tags have a way of sticking, not just the name on your birth certificate. I'm talking about even your nickname. Anybody in here got a nickname you didn't pick for yourself that you wish you could get rid of, but they're still calling you that nickname. Nicknames are interesting like that. That names have a way of sticking. I mean, come on, they're still calling you Piggy and you Pamela, that was 40 pounds ago. You do Pilates now and on peptides and they're still calling you Piggy. They were looking just like, oh, Piggy, you're skinny. It's funny how names name tags, they just have a way of just sticking, sticking. I was thinking about this when PT and I were engaged. We were engaged. I'll never forget going to El Dorado, Arkansas,

where she's from, 'cause I wanted to see where she's from. And I remember going through El Dorado, Arkansas, we are engaged. I think I'm getting married to what was then Taylor Mitchell, now Taylor Madu, and I'll never get in a hometown and running into her girlfriends and them saying to her, hey, bug, and I said, who is bug? I thought I was marrying Taylor, where did bug come from? Come to find out that they called her in high school, Taterbug, and she had a lime green Volkswagen bug that she drove and so they cut the Tater and just started calling her bug. Isn't it interesting how names have the propensity to stick on you and they generally have a story connected to the name. Look at your neighbor and say name, stick. Oh, yes they do. I dare say nothing sticks like a name. A name can get stuck to a reputation. A name can get stuck to a memory. A name can get stuck to a character. I find it fascinating that somebody's name can become so connected to what they did. You don't even have to explain what that name means anymore. You don't believe me, roll call. Any Judas is in the room? Anybody, name Judas? Oh, no, okay, nobody. Anybody got a sister named Jezebel? I bet you don't, I bet you don't.

Anybody got a homeboy named Hitler? There's a reason why. Character got stuck to those names. That's why names matter. Names are not just nomenclature. Names carry identity. Names carry character. Names carry reputations. Names carry history. And names carry destiny. Biblically, they would never just name their child some random name or Google it. There was a reason they were naming their child something. They had an expectation. They had a preferred future for that child. Often in Scripture, God would just change somebody's name. Let them know, I'm shifting the trajectory of your life. I gotta change your name. You don't have to reintroduce yourself to somebody because I'm changing your name. We do it today, even parents. And some of y'all are getting real creative with the names that you pick for your kid. You see what I got on my chest? It's messing somebody all up, Andy. That wasn't my accident. This was almost my name. Oh, yes, but God. And but my mom, my father, Robert Meduce Sr., when he first moved from Nigeria

to these United States of America, and his name was Andy. And Andy was so kind to my dad. He had character that when I was born, my dad was thinking to name me Andy. And my mom stepped in and said, "Nah, I don't think he's a Andy. "Let's do Robert Madoux." And now I got Robert Madoux the third, and I'm not knocking your name if it's Andy. I just think that, you know, P.R. is better than P.A. (audience laughing) But that was almost my name. Andy, names have a way of sticking. And social fam, if we care about our names, if names matter to us, how much more do you think names matter to God? Hear me. God does not play about his name. He cares about his name. He cares about his name tags. Let's just start the series off, right? We're just laying the foundation today. I think the first thing that I want you to get is, and you might not know this, everybody, might not have even thought about this, but God's name, God, is not his personal name. God is not God's personal name. Now you can call him God because he is. He opens up the Bible and says,

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." You can call him God, but that is not his personal name that he chose to reveal himself to humanity with. That word, God, in Genesis is a Hebrew word, Elohim. Elohim identifies him as God. However, that Hebrew word is also used more broadly for God's little G and for divine beings, depending on what context you use it in. So yes, he is God, but that is a title, that is not his personal name. Okay, I feel like I lost some of y'all. Let me make it real play. Let me see how I wanna do this. Let me see, let me see, let me see. My guy right here, my guy right here with RD on your hand. Yeah, would you come here real quick? Yeah. Are you new to social? Okay, good. I don't wanna embarrass a visitor. Give him a hand as he comes. That's my guy. That's my bro. What's up, man? Cool. Just stay right there. You see what I just did? You see what I just did? I said, oh, my guy right there.

I said, bro, come up here. Shoot this hand. Said, what's up? Man, I don't know here. I would be crazy to walk away and say, we got relationship. We don't have relationship because, bro, (indistinct) My guy, what's up, man? All of those are titles that I can deduce just by looking at him. I would be foolish to think I have close, personal relationship with him. We don't have relationship. I don't know him. And this is how some people have a relationship with God. No wonder you just call him the man upstairs because you haven't gotten deeper. I don't know them until I go over to you and say, what is your name? Matthias. Now we can begin relationship. Why? 'Cause he revealed his name. Help me thank God for Matthias. With the stellar beard, you can have a seat. That's my guy, Matthias. God is so good. He says, I don't want you to just know me as God as a title. I want you to know my name.

Why? Because his name reveals his character. His name reveals his nature. His name reveals his power and it's how he relates to his people. Depending on how you count them, don't miss this. There are more than 60 names and titles used for God throughout scripture. More than 60. Look at your neighbor say, that's a lot of names. That's a lot of that. More than 60 names used for God. Which means if I just took one name and preached it every single week, y'all we would be in this series till 2028 when we cut the ribbon at our new home at 10110 Technology Boulevard. That's how long we could be in this series on the names of God. Now don't get nervous, don't get nervous because maybe you're thinking, well, does that mean? Because he has so many names. Does that mean that I have to learn Hebrew and Aramaic and I gotta go to seminary? No, no, no, that doesn't mean that God is complicated but it does speak to the fact that God is inexhaustible. You cannot put everything there is to know about God into one word or one experience or one sermon or one series or one season. That's why I always laugh when people are like,

"I know God." Oh yeah, you know him, but don't ever confuse knowing him with having exhausted him. You can know God and still be getting to know God. You can walk with him for decades and still discover another dimension of his character because your God is inexhaustible. Ooh, that's why one person said, as he angels and camp around the throne for eternity, crying, "Holy, holy, holy," is the Lord God Almighty and they don't get tired and they don't want to sit down. Some people think it's because every time they look at him, they get another facet of his glory and every time they see him, they say, "Holy, I didn't see that before." That's who your God is. That's why when John concludes his gospel, he's got the most gangster clothes to his gospel. He says, "By the way, these are just some of the things that Jesus did because if everything he did was written down, there wouldn't be enough books. The world could not contain the books." This is your God. He is inexhaustible and he wants you to know his names. Some of you are still catching on to it, but let me see if I can do it like this. I am not a deity, just a brother born. Mount Pleasant, Texas.

I'm not a deity, but I respond to many different names. I respond to, not 60, but I have respond to many different names. I was thinking about this while I was writing this message. I respond to a couple of different names. Here's one, obviously the easy one is Robert, but if you went to high school with me or you went to college with me, you probably call me Madhu. That's what people do. They call me Madhu. That's one name I respond to. Here's another name. I taught at Trinity Christian School. I taught drama and I taught speech. Yes, your boy taught. And I still see some of my students, bless their hearts, from that season of my life. And they call me Mr. Madhu. That's a name I respond to. What else, what else? If you go to social Dallas, you probably call me PR. I prefer Bishop, but I'm not on that level yet, you know? No, it's cool, it's cool, it's cool, it keeps me humble. Maybe one day I graduate to Bishop or apostle, but I'm good, PR, you call me PR. What's another name? Oh, I have three little humans. I have three little humans and they call me Dad. Ooh, I love being called Dad.

What else, what else? I'm up in the, oh, my mother is here past her honey. And I'm her first born and her favorite. And when I was born, she called me Tweety Bird. A little Tweety Bird, true, true, she called me Tweety Bird. And who else, oh, PT is here. (laughing) (audience laughing) And she calls me, she calls me, she calls me babe. She calls me babe, she calls me babe, okay? That's what PT calls me, she calls me babe. So these are, these are all, oh, one more. Y'all want one more? Here's another one. My family, somebody, I don't know this, my immediate family, my immediate family, they call me, still to this day, Bob. We had to distinguish between my father and I, we're both robbers, they call me Bob. So look at all these, these are all names that I respond to and that I disclose to you. Now watch this, just because I've revealed this to you, I wish you would. (audience laughing) Let's be clear, just because you got a revelation. Don't mean you can see me in the hallway talking about, hey babe, don't do it, don't do it. You can't say to me, dad, you can't call me Bob. You don't know me like that. I am one person that responds connected to the revelation

that they have about me. But some of these you can't call me. Here's what I love about God. God says, I have so many names that reveal my character and who I am and guess what? I want you to call me those names. I want you to get a revelation of who I am because I want you to know me. Is there anybody thankful today that you serve a God that desires to be known and he's not several gods? He is one God with a whole bunch of names. Look at your name and say he's preaching good today. He's preaching good today. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he has different names. That's why sometimes it's not till you go through a test that he reveals the name tag That's why you're the praise God when you're going through what you're going through cuz sometimes the test is just an opportunity for him to reveal Hello, here's a new name tag y'all not gonna help me preach today Sometimes it's not until your money is funny and you'll change and strange and you got more bills than you got income All of a sudden he shows up and says hello. I am Jehovah Jireh your provider. I dress the lilies I'm gonna take care of you Sometimes it's not until you get that bad doctor's report and there's sickness in your body that he will show up and reveal Hello, I am Jehovah Rafa the God that heals you Sometimes it's not until you've gotten to the end of your robe and you feel like you got no more straight left That he will show up and say hello. I am Jehovah El Shaddai. I am the one that will show you how mighty I am It's a name tag for the test that you're in Sometimes it's not until you feel that nobody sees you and nobody knows what you're going through and nobody cares About what you're going through that he will show up and say hello. I am Elroy the God who sees Sometimes it's not until you've had so many situations that have made you panic and made you worry And you realize it is not productive

And all of a sudden he reveals himself to you and says I am Shalom I Am your peace. I am every single thing that you will ever need and sometimes it's not until you have the need That you get the name Yeah, I need to know his name. So watch this. That's not even the shouting part Here's the shouting part. The test did not make God become that The test put you in a position to discover what God had always been It put you in the place to get a revelation of his name So watch this. Here is we're gonna go on a journey over the next few weeks But here is the series in a sentence in case you don't want to come back, but you should Here's the series in a sentence every name is an invitation to know him Every name of God is an invitation to know him Hear me social family. Your God wants you to know him Not from a distance Not merely as information He wants you to know his character his nature his heart He wants you to know him and when you know him you can trust him over the next few weeks We're gonna take a different name tag We're just gonna discover the dimensions of who God has revealed himself to be but before we study different names How many know first things first? Somebody say first things first Yeah, but before we start getting into all the different names of God first things first We first need to understand the weight God puts on his name If you don't understand the weight that God puts on his name It makes no sense to start going through all these names We need to understand the weight he puts on his name Because once you start paying attention to it you realize that long before Birdman went to breakfast club And said put some respect

With the K on my name Your God Makes it abundantly clear that we should put some respect and reverence on his Name your God does not play about his name. It's almost as if the Bible keeps Stopping to remind us. Hey His name matters Hey His name is to be taken seriously Hey His name is holy the Bible is replete with Scripture after Scripture talking about his name and first Kings eight verse 17 It says this it says now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel a house for what a house for his name It says in Psalms 8 verse 1. Here's what it says. Oh Lord our Lord how majestic is your Name in all the earth in Proverbs 18 It says that the name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run in and are safe in song 20 verse 7 It says some trust in chariots and some in horses But we trust in the what name of the Lord our God that one day when David went down to the Valley of Eli and got ready to fight a big old giant. Notice what David said to him. He said, "You come to me with sword and with spear "and with a javelin, but I come to you "in the name of the Lord of Host." That makes me shout right there. David did not defeat Goliath with a slingshot. Otherwise, he would have said, "I'll come at you with slingshot." He knows my slingshot ain't the only shot that I got. The shot that I got is his name. That's what he threw at that giant.

I'm telling you, some of you got some giants right now and you better know what name you need to force that giant and watch how that giant comes down 'cause God doesn't play about his name. Matthew 28, 19, Jesus gives us the Great Commission, going through all the world, preaching the gospel to every living creature. And then he tells them to what baptized them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He's serious about his name. Philippians chapter two, verse nine, the Apostle Paul writes to the church at Philippi and look at what he tells them. Therefore, God has highly exalted him who Jesus and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. In Acts chapter four, verse 12, it says, "There is no other name under heaven, "given among men which we must be saved. "Over and over again, God keeps talking about his name, "his name, his name matters. "Don't treat it casually. "Don't play with his name." If those scriptures weren't enough, then you get to the 10 commandments. And in the 10 commandments, he puts in the top 10, y'all. Don't take his name in vain. Really, God? Does that belong in the top 10? Would that shall not lie and that shall not murder? You're really that serious about your name?

It's number three on the list. Now, when you think about the 10 commandments, I've talked to people who think the 10 commandments are so indicative of a God who only wants to restrict you. And they see God as some cosmic killjoy who got all these thou shall nots. And they can't do anything. You ever met that person's like, man, I wanna come to the Lord, but I gotta, I got some stuff I gotta do first. I don't wanna be restricted. Not realizing that God's boundaries and his rules are freedom. He is a God that cares so much about you and created you and created the world that you live in, that he gives you boundaries and restrictions so you can know his character and so you can flourish in the world that he created. It's not a limitation, it's actually freedom. Boundary gives me freedoms, preach, Robert Madu. It lets me know, imagine a football game today with no out of bounds. - Come on. - You are sad, no I'm not. How can we play a game if there is no restriction, if there is no boundary? So that's why they love the word of God. They love these commandments because it lets his people know, I care about you to give you boundaries so that you can flourish. I wish I had time.

Not only that, you should study when he gave them these commandments. He did not make the commandments a prerequisite for freedom. Reading when you get to the crib. It's not like he came to them when they were stuck in Egypt and before he split the Red Sea, he said, "Okay, I ain't splitting this Red Sea." To all y'all, lift up your hand and solemnly swear that you keep all these commandments I'm giving you. It does not happen. What happens? God sets them free first. He splits the Red Sea, takes them out of bondage, takes them out of slavery into freedom, provides for them every single thing that they need. He provides, and then he says, "Oh, by the way, here's some restrictions, here's some commandments that reveal my character and also allow you to flourish in the world I created." And one of those were his name. Let's look at it. Exodus 20 verse seven, I'm almost done. It says, "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." Okay, quick survey. How many you raised in church? Raising church, let me see your hand. Oh, Lord, that's everybody.

Okay. If you raised in church, you're probably like me. And you have an assumption of what that commandment means. For many of us, we think that commandment is simply, don't say God, follow with a four letter word that starts with D. Some of y'all been thinking, you've been passing this commandment with flying colors 'cause like, well, I don't say that. I never said that. And I know people who are fluent cousins, but the GD, they don't play with that. It's like, I don't do that one. That's what we reduce this commandment to. But here's what I want to ask, is that really what this commandment is about? Watch your mouth. Now certainly, we should never speak. about what you say, but I think this commandment is much bigger than what comes out of your mouth. In fact, I think we've reduced this to something that God meant to be way more weighty than it actually is. And hear me, the blues clues are in three words in the text. I'm gonna give 'em to you quickly. It's take, it's name and vein. Let your church say take, name, vein. Those three words give us insight on how we are to bear his name. Let's look at 'em quickly.

Take, typically when we hear that word take, we transliterate that in our mind to what? Speak, so don't take. Be careful how you speak his name. Don't speak his name in vain. And again, speech is a part of it, but it's not the fullness of it. That word take is a Hebrew word called nassah, nassah. You're gonna flex tomorrow at work and give your co-workers some good Hebrew. Don't play yet. 'Cause you do, I'm giving 'em the Hebrew. And you start playing that with the Hebrew. They fall asleep, okay. (congregation laughing) And I'm a point and then we'll be ready. I'm glad you're ready. Take. (congregation laughing) Take is nassah, nassah. Now, this is what, this is gonna really bless you. Nassah, what else that look like? Nassah, what else did it read? Nassah, nassah, which helps, because that Hebrew word watched this, it means to lift to bear or to carry. So God says, don't lift, don't bear, don't carry my name in vain. When God says don't take my name in vain, he's saying something bigger than watch how you say my name.

He's saying watch how you carry my name. Watch how you bear my name. Every single person, when they heard that, they would have had the imagery of the high priest. And the high priest would go into the holy of holies. And he would literally bear the name of the tribes of Israel on his body. He would bear their name. And then on his forehead would be a gold plate. And it would be this phrase right here on the priest's forehead that would say, holy to the Lord. So you want the image of taking the Lord's name in vain? Is this right here? It's not just what you're saying. It's walking around every single day with the awareness, I am holy to the Lord. I am not my own. I am set apart to him. This is what it means to not take his name in vain. I wish it was just what you say. God says it's deeper than that. It is everywhere you go. It is every place you step your foot in. I want you to know that you are marked by me and you carry my name. This is the image they would have had. Bear his name. In Numbers chapter six, verse 27, they give the priestly blessing. The priest gives the blessing on the people.

Look at what he says. So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel and I will bless them. So the priest that had holy to the Lord would then put the name of the Lord on his people. What reminding you that everywhere you go, you carry his name. I know some of y'all thinking, well, PR, that's Old Testament. I'm in a new covenant. I'm in a new dispensation. I ain't no priest. Hola. First Peter chapter two, Peter says, but you, because your neighbor said you are a chosen race, a royal preacher, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous life. You are not your own everywhere you go. You are bearing his name. It's deeper than what you think. The question is not, did I say God's name wrong? The question is, how am I carrying the name that is on my life? What does my attitude say about his name? What does my integrity say about his name? What do the DMs I send say about? Have I hit yours yet? Name. What does the way I conduct my business say about his name?

What does the way I leave my family say about his name? Because whether you realize it or not, when you identify yourself with Christ, people begin making conclusions about Christ by watching how you carry his name. Number two, name. Name comes from a Hebrew word, shim. The name was never just merely a collection of letters, a name represented identity. So when God says don't take my name and vein, he's not merely protecting the pronunciation of a word. He's protecting what his name represents. I wish I had time, but it's interesting how the Jewish people reverent his name. So much so that whenever they would write his name, some scribes, whenever they got ready to write the name Yahweh, they would change their clothes, wash themselves, get a new pen, and then write Yahweh. They considered his name too holy to even say or speak. So often they would say add an eye because they knew his name carried weight. On the day of atonement, when the high priests were going to the holy of holies, when he could say the name that people would bow in a reverence to his name, they knew it meant something, the name carried weight. Somewhere along the way, we swung the pendulum to the opposite direction. The name they were afraid to utter, "How many of you know we turned it into punctuation?" Let's be honest, you drop something, "Oh, Jesus!" In the crazy, how flippantly we get with it, in the crazy, that's the name. I've never heard somebody say, "Oh, my Buddha."

You ain't never stopped your atonement, "Ah, Confucius!" Why isn't only his name? Could it be that the enemy wants you to treat that name casually because he knows when you are stopped and you really need to call on the only name that has power, you'll be so used to treating it casual, you'll forget that it's holy. We get surprised, we get frustrated. We just flippantly say the name, and hear me. I'm not trying to turn this message into some legalistic list of words and tell you today, "You go in hell if you said OMG, hear my heart." I'm actually asking something much deeper today. When did what was holy become so casual? When did what was holy become so casual? My dad will often pray this prayer, "Now you can play." Almost every Sunday, when he prays with me in the back, he'll say, "I have to do it in his accent." He'll say, "Father, remind him that he is handling holy things." Remind him, he's handling holy things. Why would he pray that prayer? As he knows, I've been preaching since I was 16. I can do this, but if I'm not careful, I will treat this casual. Now realizing this is holy, how you handle his name matters. I love that we can approach God. Thank God that we're not in the Old Covenant, that Jesus made a way for us to have intimacy with God. One of the names we'll look at in the series is Abba. We can call him Father, that's intimacy. But hear me, intimacy should never produce irreverence. Intimacy should never produce irreverence

just because I have intimate relationship with him. Doesn't mean I get a pass to treat it casually. The fact that I call him Father doesn't make him less holy. The closer I get, the more I should recognize the privilege of being close. That's why the last word matters. Vain, take name, Vain. Vain simply means this, I must be careful what I attach his name to. Vain is a Hebrew word, shav. It carries the idea of something empty, something worthless, something false or deceptive. So God is saying, don't carry my name like it's empty. Don't use my name falsely. Here it is. Don't attach my name to something that has nothing to do with me. This commandment is God saying, stop tagging me in stuff that has nothing to do with me. Why are we tagging God in that? See many of us think we've never taken God's name in vain because words we've never uttered. But have you ever said this? Have you ever attached? You ever attached God told me to something? God told me to tell you. Really, He didn't tell me first. You ever attached God wants to something? Oh, God really wants this. Does He? Isn't it funny? That's the thing about these little stickies is you can stick it on whatever you want to stick it on. And many of us have tagged God to stuff that He never said, to stuff that He never told you. And we flippily would just say, "Hey, God said it."

God told me, "Did He really say it?" Or, "Have you just attached His authority to something that He never authorized in your life?" Because you wanted to do it. God says, "Don't treat my name casually. You take my name in vain when you flippily say, "Oh, God told me to tell you, you my husband. Oh, God told me, you my wife. And we'll attach it to our preferences. We'll attach God's name to our ambition. We'll attach Him to our political party. We'll attach His name to whatever we feel like we can tag it on." I wish God would act like Instagram sometimes. Yeah. You know, Instagram is going to bless you. You know, Instagram has a setting that you can restrict who tags you in one. Ask me how I know. I got sick of people tagging me to preaching clips. That weren't me. I put in a restriction to make sure you're not tagging me on something that wasn't me. You know, some people think, "That ain't me. That's somebody else. What if God started putting restrictions on the stuff you tagged?" I wish He would do a miss in it. God said, "And your voice just go out." Maybe we'll stop treating His holy name casual. God says, "Don't take my name in vain. We've got to be honest. Sometimes it wasn't God. It was you. Sometimes God didn't say it. It was what you wanted.

Sometimes it wasn't revelation. It was your preference. What are we supposed to do? I'm so glad you asked. I'm telling you, I was convicted while I'm preaching. I'm convicted while I'm writing this message. Had to respond to my own altar call while I wrote the message. You know how embarrassing that is? Because I've learned in moments, it's so easy to treat it casually. And I realize everywhere I go, I carry that name everywhere. This isn't just like a courtroom where you say I solemnly swear for this period of time. You're on old 24/7. You carry His name. I wish we knew that more. The fact that we don't speaks to how Gandhi said this, "I like your Christ. I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." What is he speaking to? People who carry the name casually. Almost every person you talk to that doesn't want anything to do with God really has a theological argument. Talk to them. Talk to them, it's connected to somebody that hurt them that carried the name casually. Before we get into all the different names, this is a call to do what Jesus told us to do. Watch this when He gave us the model for prayer. Here it is. Our Father. What a beautiful thing that I have access. I can call Him Father. Our Father in heaven, hallowed, that means be kept. Holy is your name, the first petition before my daily bread.

His Father, remind me, your name is not empty. Your name should be hallowed. It should be kept holy. His name is to be hallowed. What is he saying? Don't make hallow what Jesus taught us to hallow. Don't make hallow what He taught us to hallow. Let everything that we do bring honor to His name. Would you stand to your feet all over this place? I'm going to ask every head bebound and I'll be closed. Could you honor this moment? There's nobody leaving. [BLANK_AUDIO] my marriage should hallow His name, my relationship should hallow His name, this church should hallow His name. Maybe the question we need to leave with today is not how many names of God do I know? Maybe the question is how am I carrying that name? I'm praying today is the beginning. First of all, for some of you to surrender your life to this Savior, there is no other name by which we can be saved, but also it's a call. For those of us who say we bear His name, to repent and say, "Father, forgive us for treating something that was holy so casually, I don't want to make hallow what you call me to hallow, would you buy your heads with me all over this place today?" In here today and you'd be so honest to say, "You know what, if I look at my life, I've not been carrying that name the way He's called me to carry it." And hear me, you cannot do this in your own strength. Even if you put your faith in Jesus every day, your prayer should be, "Father, help me to carry your name with integrity and with honor." People are watching how you carry that name. It doesn't mean you'll be perfect, absolutely not, but there is a desire to get closer to

Him and to allow His Spirit to live in me, and even when I get a wrong to repent and say, "Father, help me carry that name. I'm holy. I'm different. I'm set apart." If you're here today and you put your faith in Jesus, but you say, "You know what, I can look at areas of my life. I'm not carrying the name the way He's called me to carry his name," or maybe it's just gotten casual. Then she would just lift up your hand as a sign to say, "Hey, God, help me to carry that name with integrity." I got my hands up. I don't want to treat casual what's holy. Put it right back down. Heads are still bowed, eyes are still closed if you're here today, and you've never taken that first step, which is to say, "Jesus, my life is yours. Hear me. Your record, your church attendance that saves you, it is not your behavior. It's have you surrendered your life to this name, this person, his name is Jesus, who did not wait for you to get yourself together to die for you, but while you were a sinner, took your place. If you're here today, I don't care if it's just one person, I promise you're worth it. Say, "Today's the day I need to surrender my life to this name." If that's you, would you just lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I can see it? Say, "Today's the day I'm giving Jesus my life. Thank you, God. I see that hand. I see that hand. Anybody else?

I see that hand. Thank you, Jesus. Anybody else? Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. Can we pray this prayer just before Pastor Josh comes to just give us some direction? I want us all to say it as one big family, but especially those of you who responded that second time, would you say this say, "Jesus"? Come on, declare it say, "Jesus." Thank you. But you made a way for me to call on your name. I'm calling your name today because I can't save myself. I need you. Jesus, thank you for living the life that I was supposed to live and for dying to death. I was supposed to die. It took my place. It's my response today. It's to surrender. I give you everything. I am not my own. I was bought with the price. I am yours. Holy chosen. In Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen. Come on, can we give God some praise today? Come on, let's give His great name, great praise today. Come on, Pastor God, give us a number.