The Principle of Humility

Welcome to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris.

Thank you so much for joining us. Today, Pastor Robert is continuing his series titled Relationship, where he shares how each of the Ten Commandments has a principle behind it that leads us into a deeper relationship with God and others. He has a great message for us today.

Well, I'm your host, Patrick, and I'm here with my co-host, Janae. Hello, everybody. Well, we are in the third part of this series, and today's message is going to be about the Third Commandment. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Well, I'll tell you what.

This one is a doozy, something we often hear people do. Yeah. And Pastor Robert titled this message, The Principle of Humility, which I found really fascinating. You know, he's going to explain how we might carry the Lord's name in a vain way instead of a humble way and how it affects our relationship with God. Pastor Robert is also going to be talking about the names of God in more detail and what we can learn from them.

So let's jump right in. We're talking about the Third Commandment, and I'm calling it the Principle of Humility. And here's just to remind you about this series. I believe that there's a principle behind each of the commandments that leads us to a deeper relationship with God and with others. If you notice, the commandments are in two sections. In essence, the first four have to do with our relationship with God. The last six have to do with our relationship with people. So we're talking about that God gave us principles that help us to have a deeper relationship. And the Third Commandment, I think, is the Principle of Humility, and it's about the name of God. So let's just talk a little bit about that.

You know what? Let's read the scripture first, and then we'll talk about it. Exodus 20, verse 7 says, I want you to think about this, because why would God be so insistent on not using His name in the wrong way? It's because His name is His character. It's who He is. You probably heard the old saying, that guy has a bad name in the community.

You ever heard that saying? That guy has a bad name in the community. Okay, you're not referring to the name on his birth certificate, right?

You're referring to his character. So all through scripture, the name of God is synonymous with God. I'm going to show you some scripture on that in a moment.

I want you to think about this. Even the Lord's Prayer starts with, hallowed be thy name. Hallowed means to refer to as holy.

Holy means separate. So what He's saying is, your name is separate from every other name on earth. A lot of people don't know about the name of God and which name it is, and there are many names throughout the Old Testament. But God's name that is in the Old Testament over 6,800 times, almost 7,000 times, is Yahweh.

And Yahweh means, in the causative form, He who caused existence. So that's why, the same way He said, when Moses said, what's your name? He said, I am that I am. I am that I am.

I was, I am, and I will be. I'm the one that's always existed. That's where the name Yahweh came from. Here's Ezekiel 36, verses 23, 23. This is when they went into exile. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned my holy name. They profaned my holy name. When they said of them, these are the people of the land, and yet they've gone out of His land.

Now watch what God says. But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned. Just to remind you, we get the word profanity from the word profane. The word profane means to treat as common. In other words, they treated my name as common.

And my name is not common because it represents me. Which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. Therefore, say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel.

This means bring them back to the land. But for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations which you have profaned in their midst. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you, or hallowed, set apart, referred to as holy, in you before their eyes. All right, this word, you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. The word take means lift up or carry. In other words, you shall not, you know, take that bag with you when you go.

You pick it up and you carry it with you. You shall not carry my name in a vain and empty or worthless or a prideful way. This is why I believe this is the principle of humility. I think to call ourselves believers and to be afraid that someone in the world is not going to accept us or make fun of us because we live a holy life is to use His name in a vain way. Vanity comes in.

We want to make sure we look right. All through Scripture, you have to know that the name of the Lord is interchangeable for the Lord. As a matter of fact, I'm going to show you some scriptures and I want you to think these scriptures, you would think it would say the Lord, but it says the name of the Lord. And many of these, you know, Proverbs 18, 10, the name of the Lord is a strong tower. You ever heard that scripture?

The righteous run into it and are safe. The name doesn't say the Lord is a strong tower, and He is, but the name is the same. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. Psalm 20, verse 7, some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. It doesn't say we trust in the Lord. It says we trust in the name. Now, we do trust in the Lord, but according to Scripture, the name is the same. In the prayer of Jesus, not the Lord's prayer, but the prayer of Jesus in John 17, when He's in the garden before He's crucified and He's praying for us, I want to show you three phrases that you probably have never seen, even though you've read John 17 probably many times.

Watch this. John 17, verse 6, I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me. It doesn't say I've manifested you, but it's the same thing.

I've manifested your name. Verse 11, Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me. And then verse 12, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I kept them in your personhood.

I kept them in your character. Romans 10, 13, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. It doesn't say whoever calls on the Lord. By the way, this is a quote from Amos. It doesn't say whoever calls on the Lord, but we know that we do call on the Lord, but I'm trying to show you it's the same.

You're listening to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. Pastor Robert is sharing about the third commandment and why we shouldn't say the Lord's name in a profane way. I'm not sure if when I was younger I fully understood the reasoning behind this commandment, but now that I understand it and have really experienced the power of the name of Jesus, any time someone uses it in frustration or anger, it really just makes me cringe.

Me too. I was at the grocery store the other day, and the woman in front of me was upset at one of the self-checkout counters. And she said the name of the Lord in vain, really loudly, in frustration. And I knew we were going to be talking about this commandment today. And I was really saddened to hear the Lord's name spoken like that, so casually and in frustration. You know, our God is nowhere near common. And yet, when we use His name without reverence or as a profanity, we are actually calling Him common. After all, I've seen God do.

Calling Him common is truly an insult. It's not only an insult, it's prideful, like you have authority to cast judgment on God. It reminds me of a point Pastor Robert made that really hit home.

One of the greatest ways you profane the name of God is to call yourself Christlike, and yet you don't live like Christ. Wow, yes. What a wake-up call. Seriously. It actually makes me think of those WWJD bracelets we used to wear that reminded us to stop and ask ourselves, what would Jesus do? Remember how big those were back in the day?

You know, I actually hear that they're making a pretty big comeback. Well, as much as my heart doesn't want to bring back any more 90's fashion, this is one thing I think might be okay to bring back. I feel like some of us could use a reminder to really act like Jesus daily. I think the biggest thing is that this commandment isn't just about the words we say. It's about the way we live our lives when we profess to love Christ and be Christlike, but we aren't. What a huge revelation.

Well, I'm excited to hear more, so let's dive back in. So God says, don't take, don't carry the name of the Lord in a vain way. So I just want to show you three ways that we might carry the name of the Lord in a vain way, but we can actually carry it in a humble way instead.

Number one is prayer. You remember they were entering a land that was filled with heathens and idolatry and false worship and witchcraft. And they had all these idols and the way they called on idols was to call the name of the idol.

So you have to take the Ten Commandments in context. What he was saying was when you go on this land, here's what he was saying, my name is not a magical incantation. You don't use my name like they use the names of their gods because my name is who I am.

You don't call on me that way. Even in the New Testament, people used his name incorrectly. Acts 19 verse 13, then some of the itinerate Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name, the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying we exorcise you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. Notice they use Jesus and Paul. Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, listen to this, Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you? Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

I'll teach you to use his name wrong. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks, dwelling in Ephesus and fear fell on them and the name, the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. So we use his name when we pray the wrong way. When we pray selfishly, we're using his name in a vain way, a prideful way. James 4 verse 3, you ask and you do not receive because you ask amiss, amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures. Now we think the word amiss means selfishly. It's actually phenomenal that the Holy Spirit would use this word here. You know what it actually means? It means sick and miserable, sick and miserable. You ask but you don't receive, listen to this, because what you're asking would make you sick and miserable if I gave it to you.

You don't even know what you're asking. See the way we pray the right way is we pray for his will. Then we know for sure we're praying right. We always pray for his will to be done and we do use his name when we pray. John 16, 24, one of the most amazing verses in the Bible, until now, wow I love that, until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full. See the way we pray is the way Jesus prayed.

Not my will but your will be done. One time Debbie and I were looking at this house to buy and we were, I was really praying, God please give us that house, please give us that house. I love that house, please give us that house. And this is when our kids were small, three small children, and I can remember having a prompting to pray if it's your will.

I remember this specifically but I didn't want to say that because it would give him an out. And I wanted that house. And I was traveling and out of town and Debbie called me and she said, there was a storm and I called her and you know, how's it going? She said, you're not going to believe this but we're having a flash flood and the house that we have the contract on is flooded and it's on the news. There's a helicopter showing the house we have the contract on and it's got three feet of water in it. And I remember a few weeks later we got out of the contract, obviously it's pretty easy on that deal but I remember saying, Lord, thank you, and I was thinking like a man financially, you know. Thank you, Lord, that you saved my finances. Here's what he said, I didn't save your finances, son, I saved your family. The water rose three feet in 20 minutes.

You tell me how my wife could have gotten three small children out in a flood three feet of water. So when you pray, use His name but for His will, not for a vain purpose. If you're just tuning in, you're listening to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. If you missed the start of this relationship series, be sure to check it out at pastorrobert.com or call 833-933-WORD to get a copy. Pastor Robert just explained how the Ten Commandments aren't just a list of dos and don'ts but a way for us to enhance our relationship with God and with other people. It's worth going back to the previous two messages if you missed them. You know, I really feel like I have so much to say about this message today but there's just so much information and insight but I think one of the big points Pastor Robert made was about how we can carry the Lord's name in vain in prayer.

That was a huge surprise and something I hadn't really ever considered. Yeah, definitely. It made me think of things I've prayed in the past. Perhaps for a relationship or a job or something else. But I asked without knowing the Word, His will, or His promises for me. I was asking but I was essentially asking in vain.

You know, it all comes back to relationship. We need to know the Word and listen to God's voice so we can know His will for us and how to carry His name properly. Well, let's continue with Pastor Robert as he shares other ways we might use the Lord's name in vain. Here's the second way we could use it in a vain way is prophecy. Jeremiah 23, 25, I've heard what the prophets have said who prophesied lies in my name.

Ezekiel 22, 28, her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar seeing false visions and divining lies for them saying, watch, thus says the Lord God when the Lord had not spoken. Now we have this in the church today. We have people sharing their opinions and saying, thus says the Lord. You're taking the name of the Lord in vain. You're using the name of the Lord in a vain way. And what you need to know is the second part of the commandment. Look at this, the second part of the commandment says, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Let me say it another way.

That the word guiltless means unpunished. The Lord will not let him go unpunished. I'm not trying to scare us, I'm really not. I'm trying to get us to, in our society we have so undervalued the name of God. I think we need to remember how holy and how reverent it is and that it's him we're talking about when we use his name.

We're calling into question his character. I was in a church speaking one time and the pastor told me about it. He said a few months ago, a guy got mad at me over something in the church and he came to church one weekend and he stood up and prophesied that God was going to kill me.

And that week he died. The man that prophesied it, not the pastor, the guy that prophesied it. Now I'm not saying God killed him and I'm not saying that he died because he spoke against the pastor. But he used the name of the Lord in a vain way. And I got a commandment that says the Lord will not let him go unpunished. For using the name of the Lord to try to propagate his agenda in the church.

I think we ought to be careful. And then the third way is proclamation. In other words, speaking the name of the Lord in the wrong way. We can pray it in the wrong way.

We can prophesy it in the wrong way. We can proclaim it the wrong way. Leviticus 19, 12, and you shall not swear by my name. You shall not swear by my name falsely. Nor shall you profane the name of the Lord your God. Remember, we get the word profanity from the word profane. Leviticus 21, 6, they shall be holy, set apart to the Lord their God and not profane the name of their God.

Now, I'm going to hit you with something kind of strong here. I just think our society has completely undervalued the name of God. One commentator I read said we use his name in vain when we express surprise with God's name. And I thought, what about the little saying that is so popular now, Oh my God. And we put OMG. And yet there's no reverence or no holiness in our mind. Where Jewish people won't even spell it out. And yet we put OMG like LOL.

Oh my God. I just think we need to think about this. And then obviously to be so arrogant that you would curse someone in God's name. Or curse something, that would be the GD word.

That's why I feel like this is the principle of humility. But we can use proclaim his name in a right way. Let me show you a few verses. Psalm 44 verse 8. In God we boast all day long and praise your name forever. Notice it doesn't say praise you. It says praise your name forever.

Very famous one. Psalm 100 verse 4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him and bless his name. You ever said that to the Lord? Bless your name. Bless your name God.

And then another famous one. Psalm 113 verse 3. From the rising of the sun to its going down, the Lord's name is to be praised. The best way to proclaim the name of the Lord is with praise and gratitude.

That's the best way. Now, let me go back to something. The Lord will not hold him guiltless or the Lord will not let him go unpunished. Okay, that's tough. When I started studying this, I thought, I'm in trouble. And you might have thought that too. I probably prayed your name the wrong way. I probably said some things that I felt like God was saying to me that you weren't saying to me. And I'm sure that I've proclaimed your name in the wrong way, even if it's that expression, oh my God.

I've considered your name common, Lord, so what does this mean? I'm not going to go unpunished. But you've got to remember, you've got to take the Bible as a whole. You've got to remember that Christ took our punishment. I'm grateful because I've broken more than just one commandment and Christ took our punishment. I want to bring you back to that the commandments were given by grace. This shocks so many people because they talk about the Mosaic Covenant. But before he ever made the Mosaic Covenant, he made the Abrahamic Covenant. He'd already made that, that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Righteousness was put in his account. God did not give the Ten Commandments to Israel while they were in Egypt. In other words, God didn't say, you straighten up and act right and then I'll deliver you from your enemies. God said, I'll deliver you from your enemies and I'll bury them in the Red Sea. And then after I save you by grace, I'll give you some principles to help you and I have a better relationship. That's the Ten Commandments, all by grace.

And it's by grace through faith because when they walked through the Red Sea, they had to believe that those walls weren't going to crash on them. I'm telling you, I'm not giving you these principles to tell you straighten up and live right. I'm telling you, Jesus took your punishment. And now, keeping these principles will give you a deeper relationship with God and with other people. This message really accentuated that our lack of reverence for God's name is shocking. That we can attach his name to our opinions and ideas without realizing how serious that is. Sometimes we focus so much on how God wants to be our friend, that we forget that he is mighty and powerful and we should revere him. The overwhelmingly encouraging piece of this message is that although we've all broken this commandment, God took on our punishment and his grace covers our shortcomings and blunders.

Yes, yes. Well, we just want you to take a moment and think about what Pastor Robert shared today and really listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. To get a copy of this message or any of the upcoming messages in this relationship series, visit pastorrobert.com or call 833-933-WORD. You can get the complete 10-part series, so be sure to visit pastorrobert.com or call 833-933-WORD. You can also follow Pastor Robert on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. We hope you enjoyed today's message. Next time, Pastor Robert will be sharing about how the fourth commandment is God's principle of rest. Thank you for listening and we hope you have a blessed day.