Name Change - Part 3 - Sealed

2 Timothy 2:19

Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: 

“The Lord knows those who are His,” and, 

“Everyone who calls on The Name of The Lord

 must turn away from iniquity.”

Revelation 22:4

They will see His face, and His Name will be on their foreheads. 

Revelation 3:12

The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write The Name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My New Name.

    In 2 Timothy 2:19 we are sealed with a great seal, a seal bearing two inscriptions: The Lord Knows Who Belongs To Him and Everyone Who Calls On The Name of The Lord Must Turn Away From Iniquity. Two very important statements in being called a Christian. [Matthew 7:22, 23; John 10:14, 27]

    The first part of the great seal states that The Lord Knows Who Belongs To Him. Just because someone says they're a Christian doesn't mean they're a Christian. Their actions belie their words. Even actions done 'in Christ's Name' does not make a person a Christian. It is the second part of the seal that defines Christianity. 

    How does The Lord know who belongs to Him? God knows our hearts and our thoughts. Therefore, He can see our intents and our motives before ever we take action on them. [1 Samuel 16:7; Jeremiah 17:10]. Since we know this to be true, we must guard our hearts and fill our thoughts with those things that honor God. [Proverbs 4:23; Philippians 4:8]. 

THE LORD KNOWS WHO BELONGS TO HIM

    Many are the passages of Scripture that define workers of iniquity. The Book of Proverbs is filled with the wisdom and knowledge of who these workers are and how to avoid being one of them. Workers of iniquity are unrepentant sinners. They are comfortable in their sin and see no reason for changing their ways. [Psalm 5:5; 1 John 3:4; 1 John 2:4; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3; Matthew 25]. 

    Too many will have attended one church or another, becoming a member of the church denomination, giving their tithes and offerings, serving on the board or teaching in the classrooms. But never giving their hearts and lives to Christ Jesus. Never surrendering fully to God, nor giving Him the honor and glory due Him because He is God. Church attendance does not make us known to God. 

    The Lord is sifting the church, bringing judgment upon the sleepers, who will be chaff in the wind, kindle in the fire. Their 'faith' will dissolve and they will complain to God that they did this or did that in His Name, but He will inform them that He never knew them. Be wheat, not chaff. Be watchful, not sleeping. Know the times in which we live and be ever ready to give a testimony of the gospel and why you believe on The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation. [Matthew 3:12; Matthew 25:1-13; Romans 13:11; 2 Timothy 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15].

TURN AWAY FROM INIQUITY

    We guard our hearts when we disallow vain philosophies to enter in. We have set a watch over our hearts when we listen to God's Holy Spirit, Who leads us away from temptations and brings us closer to God, when we maintain a full study life in Christ. We read our Holy Bibles, praying over The Word that God would reveal to us in the passage(s) we are reading, not only Himself, but what He would have us to know. 

    Think: consider, regard, take into account. Now, if we are taking something or someone into account, we are putting some serious thought into what we will do with that something or someone. It is applying deliberate attention to every detail, even the most minute, or what appears to be an irrelevant or obscure detail, and fully laying it out before we make a decision regarding that something or someone. This is how we think on God's Word. 

    What is iniquity? Iniquity is sin. It is disobedience to God's Word and God's Will for us. It is lawlessness. It is evil and wickedness. Iniquity is immorality. It is wrongdoing, misconduct, dishonesty. Iniquity is trespassing. It is corruption. 

    Iniquity takes up residence in both the heart and the mind from birth, through the nature of sin that we are born with. When we reach the age of accountability--knowing what is right and what is wrong and why these things are right and wrong, recognizing truth as truth and lying as lying--then we become accountable to God for how we think and what we believe. 

    When we turn from iniquity, we must turn our hearts and our minds elsewhere. And just where is this 'elsewhere'? In Jesus Christ. He is the embodiment of God's Love to us. He is Truth. He is Righteousness. He is The Right Hand of God. He is Love. He is Light. He is Savior. He is Redeemer. He is The Glory of God and so much more. He is The Good Shepherd Who Knows His Sheep. 

    That's how we are known. That's how we are recognized. When Jesus Christ is our Savior, He becomes our Shepherd and we become His fellow workers of righteousness and His sheep. We are His own. We belong to Him now, for we have turned our backs on iniquity. No more are we workers of iniquity, no more are we living lives of sin and immoralities: we are His sheep: we are Christians because we are following our Shepherd now in this new Life He has given us in Himself, instead of following the main worker of iniquity, of lawlessness, Satan. 

    We are sealed with this great seal, a dual seal of Being Known By God and Belonging To Jesus Christ. We are Christians, Light-Bearers in an ever darkening world, and we are here to tell you about the saving grace of God through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. "For there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." [Acts 4:12]. 

    Where the blood of God's Lamb Who Takes Away The Sins of The World has been applied, and where the fire of God's Holy Spirit is evident, the seal has been branded on that person. Are you sealed? 

     

    

Name Change-Part 2

 

Daniel 1:6

Now among these were of the children of Judah: 

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

    The Book of Daniel begins with a war and a kidnapping. Not a very auspicious beginning, is it? But we miss a very important point here: The Lord allowed it to happen (verse 2). Sometimes when bad things happen to us, we wonder where God is and why this is happening to us. When instead we should keep our hearts and our eyes on God and respect His will for us, even when our world has been turned upside-down.

    Of all the children of Israel, only four were found to meet the king's requirements for them to be in his court, in his service. Verse 4: unblemished, goodly to look upon, wise, knowledgeable, understanding in science; young men who they would be able to teach their ways and their language to. 

    Young men who would be fed meat and wine for three years, that they might be presentable to the king: Verse 5. And their names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel: God is My Judge. Hananiah: The Lord is Gracious. Mishael: Who Is Like God? Azariah: God Has Helped. 

    They were the children of Judah, the people of 'praise to our God'. Though The Spirit may have held their tongues when captured, their hearts continued to glorify God. How could they not? God blesses His people with goodness and adversity. He it is Who makes us ready to walk through the trials and come out on the other side. It is God we praise. 

    And yet, in their captivity, the king tried to change even their identity in God. He gave them new names that represented his god. Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar, which means 'Bel Protects'. Bel is a form of Ba'al which means 'lord, master, owner' and was their god of the storms and god of fertility. Though Daniel had to answer to this name while in captivity, he remained faithful to God throughout. 

    Hananiah was given the name Shadrach, meaning 'Command of Aku'. In the Babylonian culture renaming was common, so as to assimilate strangers and prisoners into their way of life. Yet, Hananiah, too, remained faithful to God. 

    Mishael was given the name Meschach, meaning, 'Who Is Like Aku'. A mocking name meant to insult the name Mishael had been given at birth. A name that changed by one word: from God to god. I believe Mishael was aware of the mockery, yet that only enforced his desire to remain faithful to his God. And he stood strong in his faith. 

    Azariah became Abednego, meaning 'Servant of Nebo', the god of writing and wisdom, prophesy and announcing. Azariah's name change meant nothing to him, yet he, also, had to learn his new name and respond to it. 

    In their faithfulness to their God, they were able to learn not only the language and customs of Babylon, but God put them in a place where they would thrive because of their faith in Him. What the enemy means for our downfall, God will use to raise us up. And raise them up He did. 

    Regardless of the names we are called in the territory of the enemies of God, we choose to remain faithful to our God. We will be called liars for proclaiming The Truth of The Word of God. We will be named Intolerant and Hater. We will be called Divisionist, for division will be evident in our relationships, which will be broken because we will not back down from The Truth. 

    Yet, in the face of all the backlash from those who do know God, nor do some want to know God, we will stand on The Word of God and hold our place in the line of battle. For this type of warfare goes beyond being spoken of vilely, or being attacked physically, even beyond being killed for His Name's sake. This is spiritual warfare and we need to be as prepared as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were. 

    Now is the time to prepare our hearts and our minds to focus on God and God's Word through God's Holy Spirit. Today is the day we strengthen ourselves with The Word of God. We are armed and dangerous underneath this calm exterior. We are not afraid, nor are we alone. Our God is With Us. And our name is Christian. 

Name Change

    

    The names we are known by when we live in sin are given us by the company we keep, essentially by the sins we commit. And while we live there, we see nothing wrong with the people we hang around with, nor do we feel shame for the life we are living. 

    It is only when we come to Jesus and believe that He is truly The Son of God that we are given our first new name - Christian-Christ-follower [Acts 11:26]. But this following Christ thing is not easy. We have to learn how to follow Him the way He wants to be followed. That requires being taught by other Christians who have known Him and followed Him longer than we have. 

    When we repent, we are turning our backs on the sins we once committed, and turning to Jesus where we have been forgiven of all those sins we committed, when we trespassed against His Father, God. We don't talk like we used to talk. We don't dress like we used to dress. We don't live like we used to live. We don't hang out like we used to hang out. We are changed by the blood of Christ Who died on the cross to save us from the eternal punishment for sinning against God. 

    And we don't want to go back to the way we used to be. We like the change that is happening in our hearts, in our new way of loving like Christ loves; in our new way of thinking, in our new way of figuring out how this new life works. 

    We are no longer known as Liars. We do not fib. We do not white lie. We do not deceive or con our way into someone's life. We are Truth tellers, even when The Truth hurts. We recognize a lie when we hear one, for we are able to discern what is fact and what is fiction, fabrication, made-up. We can do this because we have Truth living in u in The Person of God The Son: Jesus Christ. 

    We are no longer known as A Real Piece of Work. We are not mean-spirited, nor are we belligerent towards others. We are not bullies, nor are we rioters, punks and thugs. We are gentle and meek. We are Kindhearted, beyond mere politeness and niceness. 

    We are no longer known as Murderers and Backstabbers. We do not think mean thoughts towards those we  are jealous of. We do not hold grudges, nor do we carry the heavy load of bitterness and pride any more. We encourage lovely thoughts, pure thoughts. We are Forgivers of every wrong. Knowing that Christ Jesus could forgive the men who caused His death while He hung on the cross dying, we know that we can surely forgive anything that is done to us and said to us: even the things done and said in our pasts. We are Merciful and Compassionate.

    We are no longer Adulterers, Harlots, and Whores. We are not Fornicators: we do not sleep around. We do not live together without the benefit of marriage. We are not Adulterers: we do not cheat on our spouses. We do not invite strangers into our beds. We are Faithful. We are Faithful husbands and wives to our spouses. We are Faithful to our loving God. 

    We are no longer Idolaters. We do not follow every whim of life, seeking happiness and wholeness in other religious doctrines. We do not bow down to empty statues, nor do we offer them offerings and sacrifices. We do not celebrate dead saints with special festivals, nor do we pray to such as these. We are God-worshipers. To Him we give the offering of ourselves, our daily lives. We are Christ-followers. To Him we have given our souls and our hearts and our minds. 

    We are no longer Dishonorable Children. We do not talk back to our parents or the adults whose care we have been placed in. We do not talk bad about our parents, living or deceased. We do not condemn the way they raised us, nor do we extol the way we were raised unless that extoling glorifies God. We  are Honorable to our parents and caregivers. We thank our Moms and Dads for bringing us up with a knowledge of The Lord and taking us to church with them. Our name is Christian and we train are training our children up in the knowledge of The Word and The Love of God. 

    We are no longer known by the Foul Language we once spoke. No longer do we swear using God's Name. No longer does vulgar speech roll off our tongues and into the hearing of the people we used to hang out with. We speak Love and we hang out with other people who speak The Name of Jesus with respect and reverence. The Lord has changed us and we are learning to speak like Jesus speaks. 

    We are no longer Thieves. We do not steal from anyone. We do not taste the grapes in the grocery store to see if they're fresh enough. We do not cheat on our taxes. We do not covet what is not ours to own, nor do we take it away from the person who it belongs to, whatever the 'it' may be. We are Givers. We give of ourselves and of the grace which God gives us. We give back to our communities, beginning our homes and our families, then to our neighborhoods and countries. 

    We are no longer known as Church-Skippers. We do not do the 'instead of' routines any more. Instead of church let's go to the baseball/football/soccer/tennis/golf/etc. Instead of church let's go anywhere but church. We are Joyful church attendees. We are the congregation of The Lord. 

    We love to be in church. We prepare our hearts to be in God's house before we even get to church. We listen to or sing along with or even break out in songs that haven't been written yet that glorify God, that help us prepare to worship Him with the others who attend our churches. We ask forgiveness for any sins we might have committed that would separate us from God's presence in God's house. We read a Bible verse or passage that prepares our hearts. We are Church-Goers because we are Christians: Christ-followers, Christ-listeners, Christ-hearers. 

    We are no longer known as Lazy or Indolent. We do not cheat the government into giving us money and food just because we don't want to do the work that is available. We are not barflies, nor are we dealers of poison. We work where God sends us to work. Every job a Christian has is a field which God has prepared for His servants to work in. We are Workers and we enjoy working for our Lord. 

    Someday we will get an even better name than Christian. Someday we will all be together in heaven and the past we used to live in will be wiped off the face of the earth, as well as the places where we used to live. Someday is coming soon. And I hope you are ready to be there with us. We hope you desire your name to be changed, as well.