On The Damascus Road/Sermon Page

You Are

On The Damascus Road
Sermonette

His Holy Name
Rev. Kenn Francart
Ezek 36:20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. 21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will also save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
Ezek 36:33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. 36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.
Ezek 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
     When the people of Israel dwelt in their own land they did what they saw fit. It was a land that God had given them and they defiled the name of God by ignoring Him in what they were doing. The heathen round about took notice of how these people of God behaved and it brought shame upon the Holy Name of God. God also took notice of the devastation His people had done to His Holy Name and scattered these people to live among the heathen in distant countries. It wasn't because they acted like the heathen but that they acted like the heathen in the Holy Name of God.
     Yet God had a heart for His people and gave them ten promises. First, he would cleanse His name that they had profaned while in the presence of the heathen. Nothing is more important to God than to have a name above all others, a name that one can call on and know that God will hear and answer. Second, He would remove them from the heathen and put them back in their own land. The easiest way to fall into the same old routine is to stay in the midst of where that influence is prevalent. God wants us to be near Him and loving Him where the evil influences have no hold. The next three promises are pretty much tied together but best divided to put everything in perspective. Third, He would cleanse them with clean water from all their filthy perversions and idols. Fourth, He promised a new heart. Not one surgically, altered after the stones have filled it's veins and clogged the pure flow, but a new heart. Fifth, He promised to put His spirit in His people. Now the Holy Spirit will flow through their veins constantly cleansing and leading them to do God's judgments. Those three promises tell it like it is, it takes clean water to wash away the filth of perversions and idolatry. And unless the heart is a new heart and the cleansing complete, the Spirit will have a difficult time trying to woo you into a new person where God is foremost in your life. It takes all three: cleansed spirit, cleansed heart and cleansed attitude to stay close to God and away from the influence of oppression. Sixth, He promised to be their God. Remember 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. What a wonderful and glorious promise God has given us, "I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins and I will be their God." There isn't anything that we could ask for that would improve upon that promise. Seventh, He would not allow famine to overtake them and would give increase to their grain. God constantly cares about the welfare of His people. He will see to it that we will not starve nor go hungry. "Give us this day our daily bread." Eight, He would increase the fruit of the orchards and all this in the view of the heathen. The heathen need to know that God is giving the increase. They have to know that the glory we give is to the Holy Name of God. There is no other way by which we can show forth God than to share Him in all that we do. Ninth, He would change the desolate land into a garden not unlike Eden. Tenth, His Holy Name would definitely be known by the heathen and they would know that He is God and that all this had been done by Him.
     God's promises were consistently aiming toward His Holy Name being restored and that all the nations would know of Him and bow down to Him in adoration. Then, because man is influenced or swayed so easily by our association with others under the influence of the heathen, He still had one more promise to keep. From the foundation of the world God knew that He would have to lay down the life of His son for this rebellious people. He fulfilled that promise when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He finished that promise when He raised Himself and ascended back into heaven. He lives today and because He lives, by His Grace we live, for without Him nothing would exist. He is God and His Holy Name lives.
     Now that we know God lives, that He is the only God, that Jesus is His Son and that His Name is Holy, the obligation falls upon our hearts to see that the world observes the Lord Jesus Christ living in us and through us. We must be sure that what they see is more than we could be on our own. We must be sure that we do not sully His wonderful name so others around us will be drawn to Him and praise His Holy Name.
Afterthought
     Have you ever considered the load that God put upon Himself when He laid the foundations of this world? Consider the way our Awesome, Almighty God boxed Himself in for our sake. He knew that when He created this world and put us in it, He would be laying the groundwork for sacrificing His own Son to redeem us from the devil's snares. Then, there are the boxes He has placed Himself in again for our security with Him. He placed a rainbow in the sky to remind us that He will never again flood the world. An example of a conditional box is: He said as in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (above) If you do this I'll do that. Sometimes the boxes did not need a condition as in 1 Chronicles 16:34 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. He does not need a reason to love whom He has created. He gives mercy and love freely (another box). It is impossible to count all the boxes the Lord has freely placed Himself in. All the boxes are not for His sake but for ours. God is so omnipotent that there isn't a box that can contain Him unless He freely elects to do so.
     Imagine, if you will, the Lord God declaring, "This is all a mistake." and chucking it all. First, God does not make a mistake. And second He knew from the beginning that He would endure all of man's ignorance, sin and arrogance. He knew that there would be the very few that would come to Him and love Him just for who and what He is to each and everyone of His faithful followers of His Son, Jesus.
     We are His by design and we will be His throughout eternity, also by His design. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
All Scripture is from the King James Version (KJV).

Amen

    Jesus is standing at the door to your heart all the time. He is knocking to come in and love you and guide you. He is offering you the gift of everlasting life, but you must hear Him and open the door to Him as He will not kick it in. (Rev. 3:20) A gift is just outside your heart's door at this time. Will you receive this gift? Will you open the door to Jesus and let him flood your soul with His love? If so, read the following paragraph as your prayer.

    Father, I know that I have sinned and I turn from those ways and ask you to come into my heart and cleanse me. I know that I cannot do this on my own and I need your help. Fill my soul, Lord, and make me whole. I want your will for my life to be preeminent. Help me to grow in your way. I pray this in the precious name of Jesus.
    Amen

Plain Papers on the Holy Spirit
Written by C.I. Scofield

A Masterful Work With Deep Understanding of the Holy Spirit.

May I suggest an excellent site to visit.
If you do not have a Bible click here to receive one.

Webmeiser E-Mail: Kenn Francart