What's Your Name?

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright you have pulsating with in your own being the very heart of God. You have the Bible says the mind of Christ and therefore part of your inheritance is what is being restored to you is the capacity to see things for what they really are. Pastor Alan Wright welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life for no hold. I'm Daniel Britton excited for you to hear the teaching today.

In the series called Daniel is presented in an older church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program.

I will make sure you know how to get our special resource right now you can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministry as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright ready for some really good news other people, world culture, traumas and circumstances may have sought to label you and it may have hurt, but God has given you in Christ, a new name and God knows your name and you can hear him speak. When Daniel Daniel chapter 1 Daniel is timely.

I think for the season that we are in. Often I look around me and the culture is change so fast now and culture in America, where the majority don't go to church where other countries are sending missionaries to us and sometimes you can feel like a foreigner in your own land.

Well Daniel was amongst the early ones deported from Judah out of Jerusalem to Babylon when King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon overran Jerusalem sacked it destroyed the temple and their policy was to deport their captives back to Babylon and part of the policy was to try to indoctrinate in an.some of the very brightest and best and most handsome and skilled and clever and wise ones of Israel into the Babylonian ways and culture and that's what we read about in Daniel chapter 1 I pick up reading at verse three.

The king commanded Ashkenazi's chief eunuch to bring some of the people of Israel. Both of the royal family and of nobility youths without blemish of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning and competent to stand in the king's palace and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans, all of that in verse three and four is therefore an apt description of the kind of young man that Daniel was Daniel according to the Hebrew word for a young man is probably no more than 20 and more than likely younger than that he could've easily been an older teenager and he is described here as one who may have been of nobility of the royal families. So, some have conjectured that he was descended from King Hezekiah, but in any event, he's a good-looking, skillful, knowledgeable, intelligent, competent young man and was recognizing he was selected to go into this three-year initiation program into the literature and language and customs of the Babylonian empire verse five the king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate and of the wind that he drank they were to be educated for three years and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.

Among these were Daniel Hannah Anaya Misael and Azariah, of the tribe of Judah and the chief of the UNIX gave them names Daniel. He called Delta shadows are Hannah Anaya, he called Shadrach Misael. He called me shack and Azariah, he called Abednego and there is our focus for the day. In verse seven, the chief of the UNIX. The official gave them along with their instruction in the Babylonian ways. He gave them Babylonian names. There's an old joke about former Pres. Reagan that when he was older year second term of presidency that he went to visit dear friend that skilled nursing care facility and and as he was trying to get some directions from the woman in the lobby. He was a little frustrated.

It wasn't getting his usual attention and so Pres. said, ma'am. Do you know who I am and she said no sir, I don't. But if you go down this hallway. There's a lady down there that desk and she can help you know who you are is pretty important that we know who we are. Knowing who you are is something that you don't discover from within. It is something that someone tells you someone gave you your name someone called you what you are and there is a battle of empires going on in the story of Daniel and there's a battle of empires going on right now and it's a battle over who it is that has the right to name it to get your name right. The one who names you must know who you really are. When Daniel and his three friends are deported to Babylon during this great exile. They are sure they are having to learn this new Akkadian language very difficult cuneiform. They are they are trying to learn all these religious customs that the Babylon Babylonians were so associated with the ways of the Chaldeans in the ways the Chaldeans in general were known to be affiliated with sorcery, magic, and the occult, and so even just to say the ways of the Chaldeans was a manner of speaking, to say the ways of their cultic and astrological wisdom so to speak, so they were to be exposed to all of that and given every thing in Babylon to make them become like Babylonians and as a final straw is the is the is the focal point there verse seven there given these new names in Daniel's name is a beautiful name in Hebrew when you hear the word that the little fragment of the word L this is short for Elohim, which is the name from God who is the creator of all things, the one true God, and done it.EL Daniel means the God God is my judge, it is is a beautiful a beautiful name and the official and Babylon ascribed to him a a name. Delta shadows are which means probably a reference to a lady God lady husband in the gods of the God else was like a goddess name that's assigned to to Daniel that it's like lady wife of a God belt protect the king is what it literally literally means so this enemy empire names him. Delta shadows are but if you go through the book of Daniel. It's it's really interesting as I went through every reference to see and the narrator of the Scriptures. The Bible never calls Daniel anything other than Daniel but empire calls and Delta shadows are but our Bible always refers to them as Daniel and sometimes it will refer to them as Daniel, who was called Delta shadows are but it's almost like the message that builds up until finally the new king Belshazzar calls him directly. Daniel and so the name Daniel prevails.

I say all this to point the fact that this story, the narrative of Daniel in one way of seeing it is a battle between empires over who gets to name the man of God, and I'll let you in on the ending God wins what getting the name of something is right getting the name something right is pretty important because your identifying what something actually is, and poor Cooper guys who been sick a couple of times this this past season and so use them in the doctor's office eat and his parents and and the doctor says to the parents a little Cooper hears it and says I'm sorry he's got pneumonia and and and Cooper got right upset with this, and he just cried out. He said I don't want pneumonia I want the same pneumonia I had before bona fide sizes kids the things that we hear or you know what it what it actually is. Some names just sound funny if you're an expectant parent. I need to alert you.

There is a website that will tell you what first names you should avoid.

If you have a certain last name tell you only the Cleveland so these relatively clean.

If your last name is Hogg. They say you don't want to name your daughter.

I am a if your last name is Stein. You don't want to name your son Frank with the middle initial in and just give you one more and spare you, but if your last name is Dover.

The site recommends not naming your son been telling right will have more teaching moment from today's important series. It's shocking how quickly American values of changed suddenly most people don't go to church or have a biblical worldview. Everything has changed so much that maybe you feel like a foreigner in your own culture was a Christian supposed to live in a post-Christian world we fight against it.

We decide our light in the midst of it. We pull away from it. These are the same questions that faced a young exile named Daniel in Babylon 600 years before Christ.

Though he was an alien God showed the young man favor when you make your gift to Alan Wright ministry today will send you Pastor Alan's eight messages on Daniel of favorite foreigner in an attractive CD album on a USB thumb drive for through digital download is our way of saying thanks for your partnership. You may feel like a stranger in this world is God should favor to gain his farmland God's grace is upon you today. Your gift today would only help you walk in the grace of God during these troubling times will also help someone else. This ministry is only possible and prayerful support listeners like you when you give today will send you today's special offer call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 or come visit Pastor Alan.org today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan Wright the names that we like have changed over the years.

In 1962 and America the popular girls names included Lisa Mary Susan Karen, Linda, Patricia and Donna in such a favorite for boys in 1962, Michael, David, John, James, Robert, Mark, William, and such like that in 2012.

Here, the most popular girls they really some of the top 10 Sophia Emma, Olivia, Isabella, Ava and Mia and the boys names.

Some of those ranking the top 10. The end.

Last year Aiden Jackson, Ethan Mason, Jaden and Logan and so that you have the taste change in names over there. Interestingly enough, the popular girls names last year. Many of them ended with an essay with an sound Olivia Emma Isabella and the boys names, many of them ended with the end in Jackson, Ethan Mason with and in so I like for the record for to be noted, my name ends with an in so I guess that makes me part of the in crowd moving on both moving on is my birthday in rare form. I just one more funny. So here couple of them actually celebrities. I get a kick out of the fact the celebrities they like to often name their kids in unusual ways. Jermaine Jackson had Jeremy Jordan Jaffar but the fourth was your Majesty, Nicholas is true Nicholas Cage name to son call L which is Superman's kryptonian name and I think most memorable. The old rocker Frank Zappa who had the well-known child moon unit but then named his youngest daughter diva thin muffin pigeon yeah. Another reason that some parents give unusual names to their kids. The reason they do this is because they can ever thought about that. There's nobody in the emergency room. This telnet parent after that baby is born and they like it was his baby's name diva thin muffin pigeon and nobody said they're going no new sirree.

Mr. Zappa, you cannot tell this girl muffin pigeon no I was doing that is the site you say was the name is right right here diva thin muffin pigeon Zappa no writing nobody down of the registered deeds that you know we not to issue a birth certificate on this now that you can't name a child after Superman's kryptonian name, you can't do that and I said that life because the parent has the right to name, I didn't. The big big thing. Maybe there might be a small number of people here you've changed your name, but normally no name you were given your given name the one you've taken on someone names you, you don't name yourself.

It means that the person who named you had in authority over you so as I continue this message is taught this point away a lot builds on this.

If you have the authority to name it gives you a lot of authority over what you've named thus the Empire wanted to name Daniel Delta shifts are. I'm saying beloved is be aware there is an empire that clashes with the kingdom of God and whose rulers and principalities do not know the Lord.

Do not follow the Lord and yet will try to name you as a place for spiritual battle. When you are naming someone or something. It suggest an intimate alliance connectivity and even authority. So my daughter Abigail.

She did it. She did a very sacrificial thing and and it was all an attempt to claim more space in her room. She went her closet and she made the decision to give away most of her build a bear is a big decision by my count, she gave away $1000 with the build bears yes yes I have had a weakness for builder bears myself because they're just so cute and fun but if you're not familiar with builder bears its not technically true that she gave away $1000 for the build bears because the builder bears are not worth as much now.

Not because they're old and dirty but because they'd already been created and named see that's the fun of the build a bear if you not familiar with builder bear, then well in the first place. You're missing something really cute builder bear is taken off the lady that envision this. It was a brilliant idea as well as ideas you just me. I wish I had that idea you know that kind of thing and I've been down the builder bear the beach at times with a station somebody at the door just to tell you when you had the privilege of going in the store because her to meet people in the store and the sales are still robust on builder flock because what you do is you go in and you pick out the empty animal a bear or tiger or elephant or whatever is your pleasing that you're drawn to and then you take that that that that furry animal that has no fluff whatsoever and use like to hearten you put the heart in and then you go over and the.

The child gets to put his or her foot on on the machine that puts the stuffing in a new use stuff your own bear and then the most important part after the Bears also together you go over to the computer where you get to name your bear. That's the point of fact, you get to name your bear a pretty powerful thing for a kid because at that point yet had very many real authoritative decisions in your life but you get in name that bear you did name yourself, but you do get to name that bear and then the computer prints you out a birth certificate and you walk off with your own bear that you've named the fact that you named. That bear makes it much more valuable to you, and much more. Yours, so could you see why there be a spiritual battle to try to name you because if your enemy could name you and get you to accept that name it be like you were own just a word, just a word to the many who have received a lot of verbal abuse part of all that name calling is an attempt not just to demean and lower you.

But if I could name you I could control you. Don't let anybody name you don't know who you really are is important because in the beginning, Adam was given the authority he was entrusted by God to name the animals. He put the names on the animals and a lot of secular commentators would look at business I will.

That's just a a part of the creation myth of subcu part of the story, but actually for us who believe the Scriptures we see a deep theological intent in what God was doing right and hitting teaching. What's your name rejecting. Labels over your life. It's shocking how quickly American values of change suddenly. Most people don't go to church or have a biblical worldview.

Everything has changed so much that maybe you feel like a foreigner in your own culture.

I was a Christian supposed to live in a post-Christian world we fight against it.

We decide our light in the midst of it. We pull away from it.

These are the same questions that faced a young exile named Daniel in Babylon 600 years before Christ.

Though he was an alien God showed the young man favor when you make your gift to Alan Wright ministry today will send you Pastor Alan's eight messages on Daniel of favorite foreigner in an attractive CD album on a USB thumb drive or through digital download is our way of saying thanks for your partnership. You may feel like a stranger in this world is God should favor to gain his farmland God's grace is upon you today.

Your gift today would only help you walk in the grace of God during these troubling times. It will also help someone else. This ministry is only possible and prayerful support listeners like you when you give today will send you today's special offer call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 or come visit Pastor Alan.org so the bumper sticker is wrong. God loves you, don't let it go to your head. No, no, no, let it go to your head if we truly understand our identity get that then we can reject the world's labels over his right. The world's go to try to label you rename you just the way that the the establishment and Babylon wanted to give Daniel and his friends new names whoever names you has a sense of control of. So we must let art no matter what no matter what happens in our culture, our identity get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources@pastorallen.org that's Pastor Alan.org.

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