New Things part 3
Today I want to look at our new name. And I take this concept directly from Revelation 2:17, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." This is a big verse with a lot of big important stuff in it. The first thing is he with an ear. Now, listen, I think prayer is so vitally important to a successful life. My dad's favorite Bible verse is "Jesus wept." Partly because it's the shortest verse in the Bible. My favorite Bible verse is "Pray without ceasing." Partly because it tops his verse by one word. Mostly because I think having a lifestyle of prayer is awesome. I love praying. Once upon a time I was asleep, and woke up my ex-wife (my wife at the time) because I was praying in tongues. In my sleep. I'm into it. But what I want to say about it today is that listening to what God has to say is just as important as speaking to Him. Possibly more important. He that has an ear can hear what the Spirit is saying. He who isn't listening... won't. The next thing we see is the idea of overcoming. Which I think is completely misunderstood. We aren't overcomers because we have the chance to overcome, or because we try to overcome. In John 16:33 Jesus told His disciples to be of good cheer because HE had overcome the world. JESUS is the overomer. We are overcomers only because we are IN the overcomer. He overcame. That's how we overcame. It's not something we need to do. It's something Jesus did. For us. And in us. And through us. And as us. When we understand that it's all about Jesus we receive that white stone with our new name written in it. Written IN it. It's the heart. Our new name is written on our hearts. And our new name... our true name... is Jesus. That's the new name of the New Man. And that's important because name means nature. You are not what people call you, but you are what you answer to. You name--your nature--identifies you. And the reason that nobody knows it except him that receives it is because nobody else can experience your "Christian life" except you. There are a lot of things in this life--both "naturally' and Spiritually--that are universal. We all go through a lot of the same things. That's why sharing our experiences is so important. If I've been through something, and now you're going through it, I can help you get through it. Because I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I've been through it. I can help you through it. And I WANT to help you through it. Because my new name... my new nature... is Jesus. Love. God in the flesh. Love in body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. What we need to do is stop answering to any other name than the one that we receive IN the white stone. And there's a whole deal that I don't have the room to get into right now about what that white stone meant to the people of Israel. In ancient Greece a white stone given by a jury meant innocent. While a black stone meant guilty. So you can see why that's important. We have been washed clean in the blood of Christ and we are innocent. Our sin has not only been taken away, it has been forgiven. We are new creatures. All of that old stink is gone. We can walk in newness of life with our heads held high. We can BE who we are by knowing and believing that we are who God says we are. We are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. We are loved... and that means we are love!