Identity // What’s In A Name                                                                                                                       

Genesis 2:19-20 NIV

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

1. We have the power to name.

Genesis 2:18 NIV

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

EZER - someone who comes when you cry for help. Deliverer.

2. There is power in whose names we accept.

Genesis 2:18-22 NIV

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Genesis 3:20 NIV

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

3. There is Power in His Name.

John 1:11-13 NIV

11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John 14:12-14 NIV

12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Exodus 3:4-6a NIV

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6a Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”

1. We have the power to name.

2. There is power in whose names we accept.

3. There is power in His Name.

Questions

1. Is there something in your life (past or present) that you need to reframe and rename? What is your plan for doing that?

2. What are names that have been given to you? Whose names are you needing to reject and whose names for you do you want to embrace?

3. What does “in the name of Jesus” really mean and how should we be living this out?