#Blessed - Week 3 - St. Peter - Pastor Jim Fleming
#Blessed
Week 3 - St Peter
Pastor Jim Fleming
11:14 AM
Well, good morning to you once again and for also those who are joining us online as we wrap up our series, #Blessed.
William Shakespeare, coined a phrase, what's in a name?
And by using that little phrase and his play Romeo and Juliet, what he was saying is that the names are significant and that names, say something about a person or a thing in some way. For example, I wondered about the last name that I have FLEMING. And it may be wonder, was there some Irishmen standing by the sea on one morning? Any kind of went like this (cough)? And it's stuck.
Right? But I was way off that, that was not the case with the name, Fleming. The name Fleming actually means from Flanders It's actually a very old Anglo Norse name that goes back to the Vikings. There's FLEEMING, there was flaming FLY M ING in that name. And so the tree from Flanders this, this man migrated from modern day Belgium over to Ireland and he kept that name. So he had kids with Flemings and there were more Fleming's and now there are thousands of people across the world with the name Fleming from Flanders. So that name would signify or mean that I am of European ancestry, right? There are many different last names. What's in the name? Will it identifies it says something about a person. We are going to take a deep, deep dive this morning into, what's called the Aaronic blessing or take a deep deep deep. Deep dive into the name, the Lord l o r d to see what that name means. When we hear it in the blessing, at the close of our service, and as well, because of that God gives us some names as well, that we're going to think about. Now, if you listen to Pastor Mike down at the core of his first sermon, he pointed out some really interesting things about the structure of the blessing. In Hebrew, the first phrase has three words. The second one has five, and then the final phrase at the end, it has seven words. And although when Moses uses this blessing and says you bless my people plural, when it's to you, God bless you. God give you his favor, you singular. So God is telling his people each and every single one of you are important and have value. And I am going to bless you. And finally that that last phrase, seven words, if you know Israelite thought Hebrew thought seven is the number of completeness seven words, God is going to completely bless you. There is nothing that he is going to withhold from you in Christ. It is like in a sense, a megaphone, three, five, seven, louder loud, louder, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, And so let's take a peek and let's take that dive into that final phrase this morning.
The Lord turned his face toward you.
How that name says something? Maybe you're familiar that in many cultures and the history of the world names have meaning. For example, when my wife and I went to the Rosebud reservation, we had to pick a Lakota name. Maybe, you know the name, Shugmani Tutanka Owachi Dances with Wolves, I see one person should monitor Ohachi, right dances with wolves. The Kevin Costner movie, why'd the pickle look hota name and I picked the codename tuck, chai running deer. And I can tell you, when I go to the YMCA now and I get on the treadmill, I do not feel like a running deer anymore. It's more like a loping deer, you know like, oh, got to do this again, right. My dear wife, pick the name, we're Wa Nah Cha Scally. The white flower woman and she is every bit of that still to me today. I love her, I don't call her that very often, but maybe I should more Wa Nah Cha Scally. So my point of sharing this, when we talk about names, they say something about person, many cultures names, say something about a person and that was true in Israel, like culture, many times names, meant something about the person and many times they were connected to God. So, for example, the day like Elijah, my god is, yeah, Yahweh, that is my God or a name, like, Micah and Hebrew Mika, who is like the Lord. Or maybe if you have the name, Isaac, the name that, that Sarah gave to her son. When he was born, it means laughter Iskah to kind of sounds like Popeye. Right means laughter. So, in Israel, like culture names, meant something, my God is Yahweh. Who is like the Lord? Last, we don't do that so much in English, but this is important for us to understand as we talk about the name, the LORD Four capital letters, you ever? Wonder why that is like, why? Why in the Bible when we come to that? As for cyclic, that a misprint or, something? What is that?
In Israelite culture, there was such reverence for God's name that they didn't even want to say it. Now God didn't say that to them. God said you could use my name as the name Yahweh, you can use that, but there's so much respect for. They didn't even want to say it. So they took another word, Adonai, and they use that word. And then later on, they put the vowels called the pointing underneath it and they would come to that word and say Adonai instead of saying Yahweh and now translators, when they translate the Bible, they put those four capital letters there. LORD to signify, this is the LORD Now God uses many names for himself in the Bible, many names A couple of years ago. One of the teachers in our school said “Pastor Jim can you write down all the names for God for my class?” Because if you go and check out websites, there's one website, 800 names used by God, another website, I went to 952. Now, I would love to talk about all those names with you this morning, but I'm not going to do that because we be here for a month. Maybe fascinating and deep, but I'm not going to do that to you. What? Some names in the Bible that are more common. If we go to the first verse of Genesis God uses his name already there and Genesis right in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
God uses the name Elohim for himself I am creator God. I am the God who creates out of nothing, see my ability and what I can do Elohim in the Bible. Another word that God uses for himself El Shaddai. I am God Almighty. I am the one who delivers. Another name that's common for God in the Bible is I don't know. The Lord of hosts, the picture of a general, leading his troops into battle in returning victorious, the Lord of hosts. But it is interesting when we come to the blessing, God does not use any of those names for himself. Here's a completely different name. He uses the name Yahweh. And this is what we are told about that name.
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him. This is Moses and proclaimed, his name the Lord and he passed in front of Moses. Proclaiming the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious. God, slowed to anger abounding in love and faithfulness and maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.
This is the name that God uses for himself in the blessing. And it is like a megaphone. The emphasis, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord that breed that beats louder with every breath to say, I'm the God of compassion, I am the God of the covenant. I'm the God, who is faithful? And it is this name that God uses for himself to emphasize his grace, his love and his compassion. It is interesting. The first time in the Bible, we see this word the Lord used. It's also in Genesis When Adam and Eve it fell into sin and rebelled against God. God did not say I have done with you, Adam and Eve. But we are told the Lord God called out, where are you?
God revealed himself to Adam and Eve as a compassionate and caring God, who went after them to save, not only down but the human race and announcing a Savior to them. The Lord God went after Adam and even so, our first takeaway is this three times, the name of the Lord is used. God is saying I really, really, really love you. I really really love you. We have that thought in mind when we hear that blessing spoken at the end of the service but there is more to us that God reveals to us in this name, the Lord Jehovah. In fact, we're going to go to a conversation that God had with Moses.
Moses said to God, suppose I go to the Israelites and I say to them the God of your fathers has sent me to you and they ask me, what is his name then? What shall I tell them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. I am has sent me to you.
Same Hebrew word. Yahweh. It's a verb. I am. That is beyond comprehension.
God has there ever been a time when you were not? God says, I am. God are you here with me right now? God says, I am. God, are you are you gonna be here forever?
God says, I am.
God is absolutely constant. God is absolutely independent. He does not depend on anyone for anything and the name that he uses for himself when he reveals himself to Moses is, I am.
Now, that is striking.
Is there someone in your life who's moody?
There's a person I knew in my life and I always wondered. Who am I gonna meet today? One day? I'd meet this person. Hey, Jim, how's it going? Great day. Hey, you look great. You know, it's gonna be a great day. We're gonna do this or that, you know, I'm gonna I feel great too. It's like okay, it's gonna be a good day. Another day. I'd see this person. Doesn't even acknowledge me. Walks by frown on the person's face. Closes the door, it's like, whoa. Okay, I guess today's not gonna be a good day and I'm not talking about my wife when I share this with you. There's another person, right? But maybe, you know, someone like that in your life. You just like what, who am I gonna meet today, right? Understand this is not our God. He is the I am He is the same yesterday and today and forever. He does not change. I don't have to wonder what God thinks of me. There's so much in our world today, that changes brothers and sisters. And, you know this, I mean, our bodies change technology changes are kids grow up, the weather changes outside some days. It's nice some days, it's awful. We live in a world of change, And God comes to us in this blessing and says, I am the Lord, I am. And he says it is the I am who is blessing you and I do not change. And so our second takeaway is this, a simple truth. I am loved for you will not change. God's love for you does not change.
Is that something?
The God just gives us every single blessing that he has to give… that's something. There's a man named David who reflected upon that. King David, if you're familiar with him, talented guy, me well-rounded, he is athletic. He's good looking, he's musical. He's a warrior God grants him success. He becomes king, he's the most powerful man in the Middle East. I mean, look at David go. What, what did it God? Give to David me. God blessed him. So the Lord was gracious to him today, David, but David said this:
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord. And he said, who am I? Sovereign Lord and what is my family that you have brought me this far?
Who am I? If you know, David's life, even though God blessed him in so many ways, David fell, pretty hard and pretty far at times in his life.
He had a fair with a woman named Bathsheba. After that, he murdered, he lied. He manipulated controlled, he used people, he was publicly offensive.
Another time in David's life, pride welled up within him, he took a census of his army because he wanted to reflect on his power and got allowed a plague to come on to Israelite people. And David now says, who am I? He recognized and saw his son, he recognized understood. I don't deserve anything from you. God. And we reflect in the same way to say, God Lord, you are our good and gracious. But who am I?
Like David, I lust a times, I hate at times. I have murdered people. If my thoughts of hatred were bullets it's like how many of my family members would be alive yet, right? If my hatred thoughts were bullets, right? I manipulate. I control. I use sometimes I sin publicly in different ways who am I, Lord that you should show your compassion and your grace to me. But our Lord and Savior does through Jesus. That announcement that the Lord God me to Adam and Eve to send the serpent crushers. The Lord has fulfilled that the cross with our Savior Jesus Christ who spilled his blood for each and every sin that we commit. Lord, who am I?
A God says this to us. This is our next takeaway.
That you have immeasurable worth to God. You have immeasurable worth to God.
So those are that's God's name. The Lord capital LORD but because God uses that name for himself three times just to emphasize who he is because of that we have some new names to that God gives to us as well. That stress several things. So, they will put my name on the Israelites and I will bless them.
I'm gonna go back to my last name for a moment here. So endure with me. I'm gonna go back to the Fleming name. Fleming not only says a little bit about my European history but that name in the words of Shakespeare, what's name would also identify relationship. So my family is sitting over here, there's my wife Rebecca, my daughter, Grace, Lincoln, Harrison, they all took the last name. So when we are together, you can assume, okay, there's a relationship there children and wife. Right. Relation to me, and the constant further that when we talk about relationship, because I had a father named Roger, there's my grandfather Elmer and my great-grandfather Stephen Fleming. All had the same name, and so, if you were looking at our family tree, you could assume you have relationship between them. So that's what that names means. Now, God also uses names for us to emphasize relationship. God says, you are elect. You are called, you are holy ones, you are righteous. You are the redeemed, which we're going to talk about more. You are states. You are holy ones. God says you are children of God. That's what John tells us in his first letter. He says, “See what what great love father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God”, and that is what we are. Just like God has many names, God has many awesome and great names to men to emphasize and to know when we hear the name, Lord, relationship. We belong to the family of God that we hear his blessing. Secondly, besides owner besides relationship, ownership. Now, this is a loaded question, so bear with me. But how many of you like to go to the DMV?
No one. But why is that? Because that's an important place to go. When you better have your ducks in order, if you're going to go to the DMV, right? So if I'm going to transfer a card title over first, this is always kind of the anxiety part. I got to make sure that that title is signed correctly by both owners. Right, who own a previously. They got a sign. If I don't get one of those signatures and I go in there. Not your property. Sorry. Then after I get that title signed correctly, right? Then, I got to decide not who's title. Who's name is going to go on that title? Is it going to be just me Jim Fleming or is it going to be joint ownership, right? Of that item, when I go there and this is very important, right? Is it going to be a and Or an ore. Because if it's an ore on that title between me and my wife, and my wife gets mad at me and she wants to sell my car. She can go out and do that because she has ownership of it, the or right? So, that's very important as well. Third, you need ID to show who you are. Like, are you really JIM FLEMING? Yep, here's my driver's license. Here's my passport, I really am. And finally, you got to have money to pay for it. The government says, if you're gonna make this transfer of title, so that's you own that Right. Fork it over, right? So you can show right? That's what happens at the DMV, and none of us really like going through that process. But it is so important, right? So that we have ownership of that car, It kind of is a side note. It's interesting that 30% of Americans keep their title in their car. I don't know why. Right. Not very wise because someone can steal that title and steal a car sign and say this is now my property, right? So property is very important to us. When we come to the blessing and we look at the names that God gives to us. God says you are mine. This is what he says in Isaiah.
Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name. God says, I redeemed you I have bought you back. I have paid off your debts and you belong to me and I give you these new names.
Brothers and sisters typically, when we we make that last car payment, when we make that last mortgage payment. Oh, that is a great day, right? Liberation, I am free. We rejoice. We are exhilarating. Hey, let's have a party no more payments. And God comes to us and says, you are redeemed. You belong to me, and I can say is, thank you, Lord. Because who am I God? Says you are my property. That title signed with the blood of Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters. You are his forever. And so this is the dive today. We look at the name, the Lord, when we hear it in the blessing in all that, it means to us, the Lord, the Lord, the gracious and compassionate God, and we see our names that God gives to us. You are the redeemed. You are my property and you are important. Brothers and sisters. This is the end of our series #Blessed. But Lord willing, you understand, appreciate give thanks for these awesome words that God gives to us in the blessing.
