In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of bringing glory to God's name by honoring Him from our hearts in true worship. He points out that many people fail to honor God and show Him respect, which brings dishonor to His name. The preacher encourages believers to have a genuine love relationship with Jesus and to proclaim His name to the world, as this is what brings glory to God. He also highlights the negative impact that Christians can have in the workplace if they do not live according to God's standards, causing His name to be blasphemed.

Amen. That is a beautiful message that. I just thank God that we don't have to raise ourselves up or make ourselves to become anything, because I would be a sunk duck right now. It's all by the grace of God and it's him. It's the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead. That through faith in Christ comes into us and raises us from the dead and gives us new life and makes us what we could never become, takes us where we could never go, and that is good news. Praise his name. I want to ask you to turn to the book of Malachi this morning, Malachi in chapter one, and this is somewhat of a follow up message from last Sunday. Last Sunday, we talked about the prayer for every occasion, and that prayer was Father, glorify thy name, that no matter what circumstance in life we are in, that prayer applies. Father, glorify thy name. In other words, God, we want you to be glorified no matter what. And I want to continue with that subject this morning. The message is bringing glory to God's name, bringing glory to God's name. In Malachi chapter one, we'll begin reading in verse 11, the word of God says from for from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye have profaned it in that you say the table of the Lord is polluted and the fruit thereof, even his meat is contemptible. You said also, behold, what a weariness is it and you have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts, and you've brought that which was torn and the lame and the sick. Thus you brought an offering. Should I accept this of your hand, saith the Lord? But curse me, the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male and vowed and sacrifices unto the Lord a corrupt thing, for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen. And now, oh, you priest, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear and if you will not lay it to heart to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Yea, I have cursed them already because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feast, and one shall take you away with it. And you shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth and iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity and did turn many away from iniquity for the priest. Lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you're departed out of the way. You've caused many to stumble at the law. Ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore, have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as you have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. Now, Heavenly Father, we ask your blessing upon the preaching of your word, God, we ask that your word would go forth in power this morning. We ask, Father, that you would give us ears to hear what your spirit is saying to every one of us. And Father God, I just I offer myself to you, Lord, to be glorified in this place today. God, please cause me to speak forth your words and only your words. And please cause me to preach your word in the right spirit that is from your spirit, O God. And let us hear from your heart, O Lord. And I pray, Father, that you would give us an encounter with you today, that there would be a demonstration of your spirit and of your power so that the people's faith would not rest in the wisdom of any man, nor in the ability, nor in our own abilities or reasoning or intellects, but only in the power of God. It is to you that we look this morning, Lord Jesus, and we pray that you would awaken us out of slumber, that you would tear down walls of resistance and God, that you would help us to hear your words as they are the very oracles of God and not of man. Help us, Lord, to revere your name, to reverence your word and to take seriously what we're about to hear. Thank you, Father, in Jesus name. Amen. Now, you can probably notice from the passage that we just read that is it is a very harsh rebuke from God. These words are hard words and God is chastening and rebuking his people. But what I want you to see before we get into the reproof that the Lord gives here is the spirit in which they are given. If you go back to the very first verse, actually the first two verses of Malachi, God is speaking through the prophet Malachi, his messenger, that is. And it says in verse one, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. And this is God speaking in verse two. He says, I have loved you, saith the Lord. So, folks, get a hold of that with both hands before we go any further. God is about to reprove and he's about to rebuke his people, but it is because he loves his people. God says, I have loved you. I have loved you. Then we ask, then why such a harsh rebuke? Because God chastens those he loves, the scripture says. God disciplines those that he treats as his children. God loves us too much to allow us to continue to go astray. When we start going astray, he's going to chasten us and he's going to discipline us. And God is doing just that. Why is he chastening and rebuking his people here in Malachi? It's because God's name, God's name is to be reverence. God's name is to be held in high esteem. God's name is to be hallowed. You remember how Jesus taught us to pray and what we call the Lord's Prayer when he said, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. God is saying my name is holy. My name is to be set apart. My name is to be reverenced and feared. But you, O priest, and you, house of Israel, have despised my name. That's where the rebuke comes from. God is rebuking them because they have taken his holy name and drug it through the mud as it is. They have dishonored the name of God. They have disrespected God. They have despised the holy name of God. And that's why God is reproving them. Now, they ask the question in verse six of Malachi, chapter one. God says a son honors his father and a servant his master. If I be a father, where is my honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear? Sayeth the Lord of hosts unto you, O priest, that despise my name. And they ask this. They say, wherein have we despised thy name? They're saying, God, how have we despised your name? How have we profaned your name? And God says, you've profaned my name by offering me your leftover scraps for worship. That's how you've dishonored me. I want to speak to you this morning, brothers and sisters, about how you and I are called to bring glory to God's name. And how do we do that? And the first thing I would have you notice this morning is that we, we must bring, we bring glory to God's name. And we must bring glory to God's name by honoring God, by honoring God from our hearts in true worship. We, in order to bring God glory and bring his name glory, we must honor him from our hearts in true worship. Now, they weren't doing that. They were not honoring God. That's why he asked. He says in verse six, a son honors his father and a master, his servant. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my fear? Where is my respect? They were not giving him respect. They were not walking in the fear of the Lord. They were not honoring him in worship. So what were they doing? They were offering God polluted bread on the altar. They were bringing their leftover scraps to God. They were coming to God and giving him the diseased sacrifice, the lame goat, the blind sheep, that bullock that had something wrong with it. They were bringing all these scraps to God, something that no one else wanted, leftovers that they themselves didn't even want. They were laying that on the altar for God and calling it worship. And God said, unacceptable. This is unacceptable worship. You are dishonoring me. You are despising my name. You are insulting me. You're giving me something that you wouldn't even give your governor. That's what God says here in chapter one in verse eight. He says, if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts? He's saying, try offering those things, those sacrifices to someone you respect. You will not offer those to someone you respect because it's an insult to them. And what you won't give to your governor because you don't want to insult him, you're giving to me. It was unacceptable worship. And not only were they bringing him these terrible leftovers, but they were even murmuring about it. In verse 13 of chapter one, God says, you also said, behold, what a weariness it is. In other words, what a weariness it is to come to worship God. This calling that God has placed upon my life and this invitation to come and worship, it's what a burden it is. God said that's unacceptable worship. And God is so grieved by this. He says in verse 10, look in verse 10 of chapter one, I'm going to read it from the NIV. He says, oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors so that you would not light useless fires on my altar. I'm not pleased with you, says the Lord Almighty, and I will accept no offering from your hands. God is saying I would that you would just shut the doors. Don't even come and worship me at all if you're going to come in and offer me these leftover scraps. Just shut the doors and stay home. I would rather you shut the doors and stay home than come in and have this so-called worship, which is really despising my name and dragging it through the mud. Now, brothers and sisters, do we have ears to hear this this morning? Do we have ears to hear this this morning that you and I can be prone to the same thing when you come to worship on Sunday? You've heard me say this before. I say it again. When you come to worship on Sunday morning, on Sunday evening, are you coming to give God your best? Are you coming to give God your first fruits? Are you coming to give God all of your heart or are you bringing him your leftovers, your leftover scraps? Did you know none of us here, none of us here would ever think of of sleeping in the presence of someone we honor and respect. You wouldn't dare sleep in the presence of some celebrity that the world esteems or sleep in the presence of some sports figure that everybody honors. But many people think nothing about sleeping in the presence of God, sleeping before the great I am, sleeping in the presence of the one we have come to worship. And many of us are so liberal and generous when it comes to giving, spending money on ourselves, taking out money and buying that thing at the mall, buying this thing out of the catalog. We're so liberal, but we've become miserly when it comes to giving into the kingdom of God. A person spends money on themselves all week and then Sunday comes and they dig down in their pocket and they try to find that leftover change to take it out and give to the Lord or the change off my dresser to take out and give to the Lord. Is that acceptable before God? Is that acceptable before God when you give him your leftover change? Now, that's fine if you're giving him your leftover change, if at the same time throughout the week you've been feeding the poor and you've been taking care of the orphans and the widows and you've been supporting missionaries and you've been buying Bibles and gospel tracts and you're giving into the kingdom of God. So be it. I have nothing to say to that. But if you're doing none of that and you're only spending money on yourself and you think that God should somehow be pleased and acceptable with this leftover change. My friends, listen to this. God is dishonored. His name is despised when we offer him our leftovers, when we sing to him songs that come only from our lips and not from our hearts. You hypocrites, Jesus said, you honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me. And God's rebuking them. He's angry, but he's he's saying it out of love. You of all people, God says, you're my people, Israel. He's saying to the priest of all people, you priest, the very ones that are supposed to be pointing people to God and showing the world the way to God and showing the world, teaching the people how to fear God. You're the very ones who are despising my name, God says. And I believe the Lord would look at the church today and say, church, church, you're bringing your leftovers. We bring him our leftovers when we don't bring him all of our heart and our best. That's unacceptable worship. So the question is, what is acceptable worship? What is worship that is acceptable before God? It's the kind of worship that is just the opposite of what we read. It's the kind of worship that brings God our first fruits, that brings God all that we are, that brings God our very best. It's the kind of worship that we read about in Luke chapter seven. Turn to Luke chapter seven, if you would. In Luke chapter seven, we read about a woman who was known in the city as a very sinful woman. Most every commentator and Bible scholar believes that this woman was a prostitute before she met Jesus. She was a prostitute. She'd made a lot of money. She is known as a sinful woman. But this lady met Christ and she experienced the forgiveness of sins. And it says in verse thirty six of Luke chapter seven that one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to meet. And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner when she knew that Jesus sat at meet in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment and stood at his feet behind him, weeping and began to wash his feet with tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now, when the Pharisee saw she had bitten him, saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him, for she is a sinner. There's two people in the house here, a woman who had eyes to see Jesus. And a Pharisee who didn't have a clue who was really in the house, one of them came with a heart devoted to worship Christ, the other one is despising true worship. I want you to see this acceptable worship of the sinful woman. Here is a woman known as a sinner who brings all that she has, this alabaster box full of ointment. It was very valuable. It was all that she had. It was her very best. And when she found out Jesus was in this house, she came with all that she had. She came to give. Get this, brothers and sisters. This is the difference between worship that is acceptable to God, true worship that honors God and worship that is unacceptable to him. The difference is this. Worship that is acceptable to God is worship that comes to give. Worship that is unacceptable to God is worship that comes only to get. That is unacceptable. That is not true worship. True worship comes to give to God. That's what worship is all about. And that's the way this woman came. And when she came to Jesus, she came around behind Him, and she began to weep. And she fell down at His feet, and she broke the alabaster box, poured it out upon His feet, and she began to weep, and she began to wash Jesus' feet with her tears, and wipe them with her hair. This woman is giving all that she had. Why? Because she loved Christ. She loved Jesus. That's what motivated her to do this. She was not giving all that she had so that somehow He would accept her. Jesus had already accepted her. She was not trying to impress Him in some way so that He would forgive her. He had already forgiven her. She was bringing all that she had to Christ in worship of Him out of gratitude for what He had done. She came to give Him all that she had. Now, Jesus rebukes this Pharisee who is despising what the woman is doing. And Jesus says in verse 43, Simon, or actually in verse 44, He was talking to Simon. He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "'Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house. Thou gavest me no water for my feet.'" Remember what we said true worship was? It gives. Jesus said, "'I came into your house, Simon. You gave me nothing. You gave me no water for my feet. But she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.'" He said, she not only gave me, she didn't just give me water, she gave me her tears. She wiped my feet with her hair. "'Thou gavest me no kiss,' verse 45, "'but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.'" You know what moves a person to worship God and honor Him with true acceptable worship? It's love for God. It's gratitude for how much you've been forgiven. That's why this woman worshiped this way. She came to give, not to get. And her worship was Christ-centered, not self-centered. We're so prone to this as a church. We're prone to come to a worship service and think it's all about me. Well, I like that music. I like that song. I don't really like that. Well, and we leave saying, well, you know, I enjoyed that. I, I, I, I. Folks, that's all fine, I guess, but that has nothing to do with worship. Worship is not about you. Worship is not about me. Worship is about God. It is not self-centered. It is God-centered. So when you and I come on Sunday to worship God, our heart, our eyes, our gaze, everything should be fixed upon Jesus. And we are to come, not to just get, primarily to give. What can I give you, God? What can I give you? When's the last time you gave to the Lord in worship? When's the last time you gave Him your tears? When's the last time you gave Him your heart? I love the story about Matt Redman, who wrote the song that we sing sometimes. The song, what is it? I'm the heart of worship. How's it go, Stan? I'm coming back to the heart of worship. I love that song. That song was written by Matt Redman during a period of time when his pastor was burdened that the church was not really worshiping God in spirit and in truth. They were wrapped up in all the talent and all the music and, and all the abilities of the preacher and everything else. And they were being self-focused, self-centered. So the pastor said, for the next X amount of days, weeks, we're not going to play any more instruments. We're not going to have anything flamboyant, fancy, nothing to glory in. We're just going to come and seek to worship God from our hearts. And it made Matt Redman a little bit angry at first. But it was during that time that he penned this song. The song that says, I bring you more than a song because a song in itself is not what you've required. You look much deeper than the way things appear. You're looking into my heart. I'm coming back to the heart of worship because it's all about you, Jesus. It's all about you. When you and I come to worship God, we must honor Him. And how do we honor Him? We come to give Him our very best, which is our heart. That's what He wants. All of our heart. All of our heart. We come to give and we come to focus upon Him. So we glorify God's name and we bring glory to God's name by honoring Him from our hearts in true worship. But here's another way we must glorify God's name. We must bring glory to God's name by glorifying God through our lives in the workplace. It's not only in church that we worship and honor God. It's also in the workplace that we are called to glorify God through our lives. Now look again with me in Malachi in chapter 2. You'll notice in verse 1 that God is speaking to the priest here. Now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. And He just got through telling them how they were despising His name and dishonoring His name. And that how He was not pleased. He was not pleased with their worship. But God is about to do something. He's confronting these priests about their unacceptable worship and how they're not glorifying Him with the calling that He has placed upon their lives. God had called the priest to perform their priestly job, their function, their duties. And so we could say, in essence, these priests were not glorifying God on the job. They were not glorifying God in what God had called them to do. So God points them to another priest, the first priest that He had called and made the covenant with. And that priest's name was Levi. He takes these priests and He says, in essence, He says, now look at Levi. He's another kind of priest. And He says in verse 4, Ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity and did turn many away from iniquity. And so God is saying, this is what glorifies me. What you're doing, priest, is dishonoring me. But this priest, Levi, he glorified me on the job. How did he glorify me on the job? He feared me, verse 5 says. He stood in awe of my name. He walked with me in peace and equity and justice, and he turned many away from iniquity. Listen, here is a proven principle from Scripture. As the people of God go, so goes the world. As the church goes, so goes the world. In other words, when the people of God are dishonoring God's name, the world is sure going to dishonor God's name. When the people of God, like Levi, are walking in the fear of the Lord and they are glorifying God on the job and off the job, the testimony of their life brings conviction to the unbeliever. It brings conviction to the unbeliever. And that's what happened with Levi. He turned many away from iniquity. How? It was the testimony of his life. This man glorified God on the job and off the job. He brought glory to God's name. The other priests were despising God's name. And what was the result of that? Look at verse 8 of chapter 2. God says, but you are departed out of the way. You have caused many to stumble at the law. You see the difference? Levi turned many away from iniquity, but you, in verse 8, you caused many to stumble at the law. And you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Verse 9 says, therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people. And so what God is saying is, you dishonored me. Now I'm going to dishonor you. I'm going to make you contemptible and base before all the people. And all of us know this. All of us know this, that even the heathen has no respect for the hypocrite. Even the unbeliever has no respect for the hypocritical liar. What are you talking about, Brother Brian? Simply this, on your workplace, if you profess to be a Christian, and in your workplace, among your co-workers, or in your school, or on your team, if you profess the name of Christ, and the unbeliever sees nothing different in your life than their life, and you laugh at the same dirty jokes that they laugh at, and you cheat the boss of time just like they cheat the boss of time, and you take home supplies that don't belong to you just like they take home supplies that don't belong to them, and perhaps you're just as lazy or more lazy than them, my friend, God's name is blasphemed because of you. They know that a Christian, they know in their heart what a Christian is to stand for. And Paul says in Romans chapter 2, he says, look at this with me, Romans chapter 2. I want you to see how if we are not glorifying God in the workplace, how it brings dishonor to God's name. Romans chapter 2, in verse 21, Paul says, Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest, a man should not steal. Does thou steal? Thou that sayest, a man should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, does thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law through breaking the law, dishonorest thou God? Now watch verse 24. Look at verse 24. For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, because of you. There was a president of India, one of the early presidents, and he was a Hindu. But he was a very observant man, and he spent years observing Christianity. He knew what Jesus taught, and he observed the lives of Christians. And one day he made this statement. He said, You Christians make such extraordinary claims. You make such extraordinary claims, but you live such ordinary lives. That was a rebuke from a heathen man. What I'm saying to you is, if your life looks no different than the unbeliever, the unbeliever will mock your God. The unbeliever will blaspheme your God. If your children see nothing different in you at home, if they don't see that what you preach matches up with your life, they'll learn to hate your God. They'll learn to blaspheme your God. It is so important. God is saying here, The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you. And we must take it seriously. My friends, if you're on the workplace and you're a Christian, you ought to be the hardest worker on your job. The people ought to be able to look at you and say, That's the hardest worker on the job. That's the one with the most integrity. That's the one who is totally honest. That's the one that never laughs at our dirty jokes. That's the one that will stand alone when everyone else is cheating the boss of time. He will not do it. She will not do it. That's the lady that never enters into our gossip. And the people, the heathen, will see you glorifying God and it will bring conviction upon their life. But if they see hypocritical liars, if they see hypocrisy in your life, and they see you in the bars just with them, they see you at the casino along with them, it's bringing dishonor to the name of God. Blasphemy to the name of God. The name of God is blasphemed through you. Look in 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 1. Paul says, Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and His doctrine be not blasphemed. You know what he's saying? Respect your boss. Respect the one you work for. Honor him. And you honor him by giving him your very best. You work with all of your heart, not as you're working for men, but working for God. The Bible says to do everything, whether you eat or drink or whatever you're doing, to do it unto the glory of God. To do it in the name of Jesus. If you're in the office, glorify God in the office. If you're in the shop, glorify God in the shop. If you're on the truck, drive the truck for Jesus. If you're on the football field, play football for Jesus. If you're playing basketball, play it for Jesus. Glorify Him. And when you win, praise Him. And when you lose, praise Him. Glorify Him both ways. Because there's something more important than just what you see. There's something more important than your typical job, than your typical sport. There's a greater race that's happening. There's a greater calling. I used to think when I was rodeoing that I couldn't glorify God if I was losing. I was ashamed and embarrassed. And I wore two crosses on my hat and one cross on the back of my chaps because I knew I was a Christian. I wanted to point others to Jesus and I wanted to be an example. I wanted to lead people to Christ. But I thought the only way to do that, the only way to glorify Him was to win. And so when I'd get throwed off and when I'd go through a slump and lose and lose and lose, I would be so ashamed, so embarrassed. But then one day God opened my eyes. I'll never forget it. I was at a pro rodeo in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And there's a large crowd of people and the bleachers went back behind the chutes. So the people that are sitting back here can watch all the contestants getting ready and warming up and getting ready to compete. And I was getting ready and it came time for the bull riding. And I got on this bull and it was so embarrassing. I hit the dirt probably after the second jump. Didn't even make it past the second or third jump. Hit the ground, ashamed, embarrassed. And this voice inside of me said, will you still praise me? Will you still glorify my name? And I said, yes, Lord, I will glorify your name. And I praised the Lord. I went behind the chutes and got on my knees and I said, Lord, thank you for who you are. Thank you for giving me health to do this. I just started thanking God. You see that a lot on TV now in the PBRs where they praise God. You didn't used to see that. And I'll never forget this. The peace came over my heart. I was saddened that I didn't win anything, but I had peace in my heart. And this old man came walking down behind the chutes from the bleachers. He came up to me and he said, sir, you don't know this and you don't know me. And he had his grandson with him. He said, but I've been watching you ever since you got here. You have? Yes, he said. I've been watching you. I said, well, I hope you didn't watch too closely at what happened out in the arena. He said, that doesn't matter. He said, I saw you get thrown off. He said, this is what has really I can't remember in his own words. This is what has touched me. He said, you have those crosses on your hat. You have that cross on your chaps. And he said, I want you to know what I've seen in you is real. And it touched my heart. And the little boy said, sir, would you sign my hat? I just got thrown off. I just hit the dirt. I said, you bet I will. And I left praising the Lord. You know what? There was something more important going on than that Brian Long win first place. Something more important. And it was glorifying God in whatever he's called you to do and whatever you're doing. Glorify God in the workplace. Be for real. Folks, hypocrisy is not making a mistake and not it's not. I'm not talking about stumbling and falling once in a while. Then you're a hypocrite. A hypocrite is someone who's always talking and pretending that there's something they're not. If you do fall, you do slip up on the workplace. The best thing you can do is say, guys, I'm sorry. That's not a way a Christian should act. I blew it. Please forgive me. Then you go on. But be for real. Be for real in the workplace and bring glory and honor to God's name on the workplace. Glorify him through your life. Otherwise, the name of Christ is blasphemed among the heathen. Blasphemed, as Paul said, because of your life. Listen to what Jesus said. He said, you are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted again? He said, it's thenceforth good for nothing but to be thrown out and be trodden underfoot of men. And that's exactly what happens to the Christian's life who has no testimony but hypocrisy. People will stomp all over that Christian. And they stomp all over the name of God. They disgrace the name of Christ. But Jesus said, you are the light of the world. You are the light of the world. A city that is set upon a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel. No, they put it on a candlestick so that it gives light unto all them that are in the house. He says, therefore, let your light so shine that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father which is in heaven. When you not just talk the talk, but walk the walk. And they see that this love for you is genuine. It's real. There's something real inside. Conviction comes upon them. And they know that your God is God. What your testimony and my testimony ought to be proclaiming to the whole world in our workplace, in the world at home, is that our Savior that we profess is alive and well. And He lives in us. And He is changing us. And He has transformed us. And He has forgiven us. And He speaks to us. He is not a dead God who cannot hear. He is a living God, a living Savior who lives in us. And when your testimony proclaims that, people get under conviction. I know a young man who was working in a warehouse for a company. And on top of this company, there was a businessman, very educated, successful businessman. And this businessman every morning would come in. And he had to go through the warehouse and up the stairs to his office. And he would come into this warehouse. And he would see this young man sweeping the floor, praising God. Not just flippantly speaking the name of Jesus, but genuinely in love with Jesus. Sweeping the floor for Jesus. Doing his job for the glory of God. He never said a word to this man. He just would say hi and be pleasant to him. And it would irritate this man. And one morning, this businessman said, look, why are you always so happy? And the young man said, because Jesus Christ saved me. And He's transformed my life. And the businessman shook his head and stomped up the stairs. This went on and on. And then one day, the businessman stopped one morning. And he said to this young man, what is it really? He said, I thought you just had a positive attitude. And if it was a positive attitude, it wouldn't last. But it's something different. And this young man led the businessman to Christ. This businessman who claimed to be an agnostic. And now that businessman is singing in the choir in his church. He's glorifying God. Sometimes you don't even have to say anything. There is a time to speak. And I'm coming to that. But sometimes it's just you being for real. It's just you having a heart to do everything, whatever you're doing, to do it for the glory of God. Now, how do we bring glory to God's name? Honoring God from our hearts in worship. How do we bring glory to God's name? Glorifying God through our lives in the workplace, at school, on the field. How do we glorify God's name? By proclaiming his name with our mouth to the world. By proclaiming his name with our mouth to the world. Look in Malachi chapter 2. Again, he's speaking about Levi. This Levi, he was the real deal. And he says in verse 6, God says, this is God's testimony of Levi. He says in verse 6, the law of truth was in his mouth. And iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the law at his mouth. For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. He is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Levi had a mouth that proclaimed glory to God. It proclaimed praises to his God. You say, well, he was a messenger. He was a priest. He was a messenger. But folks, watch this. That's the Old Testament where only a select few were called to be priests. We live in the New Testament. This side of the cross where the Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, you are all called to priesthood. If you are in Christ, you are called priest. You are called a royal priesthood. Therefore, you are messengers of Christ. Therefore, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 20, you are ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ. What is an ambassador? An ambassador is a representative, a special representative with a special mission. If you are a Christian, you are a special representative of Christ with a special mission. And as a representative, there comes a time you must speak his name. You must speak Jesus to others. You must proclaim him to others. You must glorify God with your mouth to the world, at home, in the workplace, out in the world. The truth must be on our lips, in our mouth, and we must proclaim his name. Why don't we do that? Why do we hold back? Why do we hesitate to speak about Jesus? Can I say why? It's a lack of love for Jesus. The reason I know that is if you find a man who loves fishing, he cannot help but talk about fishing. He will speak about it all the time because he loves it. You find a man that loves to hunt, and he's going to talk about hunting because he loves hunting. You find a man who loves football, and he's going to talk about football, I guarantee you, because he loves football. You find a woman who loves her children, and I assure you she's going to speak about her children because she loves her children. You find a woman who loves to shop, and she's going to talk about shopping because she loves to shop. You find someone somewhere who is so in love with Jesus, and they will speak about Jesus. They will proclaim his name. They cannot help but do so because they love the Son of God. They love their Savior, and because of it they will proclaim his name. If you're not proclaiming the name of Jesus, ask yourself the question, Why? Is it because my love has grown cold? Lord, is it because I'm a coward? What is it? Begin to meditate upon the cross. Begin to think about what Jesus did at the cross. Begin to focus on who he is. Begin to talk to him. Enter into a relationship with him, a love relationship with him, and you cannot help but speak of him. This is what brings glory to God. Proclaiming the name of Jesus. When is the last time the name of Jesus rolled off of your tongue in a godly way that spoke to the unbeliever that's proclaimed his name to the world? When's the last time someone heard you speak about your Savior, Jesus Christ? When last did they hear it? Many people will talk about God. Many people will speak about the Creator. Many people, even more, will irreverently say the man upstairs. Others will say the Creator. But you show me someone who will speak Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. There's something about that name. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Master, Savior, Jesus. Like a fragrance after the rain, the song says. Let all heaven proclaim. Kings and kingdoms will pass away, but Jesus. There's something about that name. What is it? What is it about the name of Jesus? Turn to Acts chapter 2 and we'll come to a close directly. Acts chapter 2. I want you to see what was different about this early church. These apostles, they had one thing in common. They proclaimed this name. I want you to hear me specifically. I'm not talking just about telling people about God. I'm not talking about bringing up God in your conversation. You say God and that could mean a lot of things to a lot of people. I'm talking about you speaking the name Jesus. Proclaiming the name of Jesus. Look at the difference here in Acts chapter 2 verse 36. Peter is preaching and he says in verse 36, Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. He preached Jesus. He spoke about Jesus. And it was the name of Jesus that brought conviction upon these people. Such conviction that they said, Men and brethren, what do we do? And he said, Repent, believe, be baptized. Now look in Acts chapter 4 verse 10. Acts chapter 4 verse 10. Again, he's proclaiming, preaching. He says, Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Talking about someone who was just healed in the name of Jesus. Verse 11. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. What is the name? It is the name that is above every other name, the name of Jesus Christ. And you, if you're going to bring glory to God's name, must proclaim it. Proclaim his name with your mouth. Now, the devil gets stirred up when that happens. He doesn't mind you talking about the man upstairs. He doesn't mind you talking about all that nonsense. Talk about Jesus. Talk about Jesus in your workplace. Talk about Jesus to your friends, your co-workers. And what happens? The enemies threaten. Verse 16 of chapter four. They're saying, what shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem. And we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people. Let us straightly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. That's what they were threatened by. Peter, James and John, we don't care if you preach, just don't preach that name. Just don't proclaim that name. And they, verse 18, they called them and commanded them not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, I love this. Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Whether it's better for us to listen to you than God, judge for yourself. But we cannot help but speak about Jesus. You bring glory to God's name when you proclaim the name of Jesus. The name that is above every other name. Turn to Romans chapter 10. Why is it many will not proclaim his name? Is it because they are ashamed? Ashamed of the one who bled and died for them? The Bible says in verse 11 of Romans chapter 10. The scripture says, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. I've met people when they tell me their last name and I know their dad. Their dad's a wonderful man. I say, I know your dad. And they light up. I myself was like that. When someone met me and they say, what's your last name? Long. You're Roger Long's boy? Yes. Why am I proclaiming it? Because I am not ashamed. I am grateful to be his son. I know other children that are ashamed of their dad. Their dad is not a good man. Their dad has abused them in some way. And you ask them, now, what's your last name? And they tell you, oh, I know your dad. And they're ashamed. As a Christian, you bear that name. Christ in Christian. Are you ashamed of the one who bled and died for you? If you're not ashamed, proclaim. Proclaim his name with your mouth. Tell others. You say, I don't know how to preach. You don't have to know how to preach. Do you know how to say, I was lost and he saved me? I was dead in sin and he raised me up? I don't know all the answers to your questions. But this I know. I love Jesus and I know Jesus. And you can know Jesus. The Bible says, and I'll close with this. The Bible says that God has given him the name that is above every other name. And that at his name, the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. I want to ask you this morning. Have you ever bowed, bent, bowed your knee in humility to Jesus Christ, the King of Kings? When is the last time you bowed your knee at an altar? In humility, under submission to Jesus Christ. You will bow your knee. If you've never bowed your knee before Christ as Savior, on Judgment Day, you will bow your knee before him as judge. And confess with their mouth that he is Lord. When is the last time, if ever, that you confessed, Jesus, you are Lord? Has that come out of your mouth? Listen, my dear friends. Forget everything that you may, your ideas, your personal ideas. Listen to what the Bible says. The Bible says in Romans chapter 10, verse 9, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth under righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I want to ask you, have you ever done that? Have you ever believed in your heart on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins? That he died on the cross for your sins. He was buried and that he arose from the dead. Have you ever confessed with your mouth, Jesus, I confess you. I want you to be my Lord and Savior. I confess that you are Lord. Someone says, well, I believe in that quiet salvation. I don't like to tell anybody what I've done. That's not what the Bible says. True, genuine conversion means you are unashamed. And I'm going to ask you today, Stan, if you'll come. I'm going to ask you today, not with heads bowed and eyes closed, with heads up and every eye open. If you are not born again, if you have never bowed your knee to Christ as Savior and Lord, and you've never confessed him with your mouth, Jesus Christ is Lord. And today, this day, you say, I want to do that. I'm convicted of my sins and I want Jesus to save me and forgive me for my sins. And I want to confess him as Lord. If that's you, I'm going to ask today that you come forward to this altar and you give your heart to Christ. Unashamedly, you give your heart to Christ. And I'm also going to ask you, invite you, church, that if the Holy Spirit has spoken something to your heart, ways that maybe you're dishonoring God's name, ways that maybe you haven't had the boldness to proclaim Jesus in the workplace, and you say, Lord, the best thing you and I can do is be honest with God. When I used to go to the streets and to the truck stops, there were times I would have to say, Lord, I'm a coward. I'm an absolute coward. I'm afraid to go out there by myself. But, Lord, if you fill me with your Spirit and you give me boldness to proclaim your Word, boldness to go out on the streets in Raton at night, boldness to proclaim you Jesus, if you give me boldness and grace, I will go. If you're afraid to proclaim his name on the workplace, and you say, Lord, I need boldness, can I ask you to humble yourself today and come to the altar? Bow your knee before Christ and call upon him. He will begin to give you that boldness. Do you want to glorify God's name? Let's stand together. Father, I pray that somehow, Lord, you would use these words to bring glory to your name. So many times I feel so... It doesn't matter, Lord, what I feel. You are Lord. And if you're speaking to somebody's heart today, dear God, who's never been saved, and they've been convinced in their heart, they've been convicted that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and there is no other name whereby we must be saved. And today, they want to trust you as Lord and Savior. I want to ask you, God, to give them grace to come to this altar unashamedly and profess, confess Jesus as Lord. And Father, for the rest of us, if we've dishonored you in worship, if we've drug your name through the mud in a workplace, or because we've somehow dishonored your name in our testimony, dear God, or maybe we need boldness to proclaim your name. I pray, dear God, whatever the need is that you would meet with us now, help us to forget about lunch. Help us to forget about getting out of here, oh God. How it must grieve your heart when all we can think about is getting out of here. I'm going to ask you, friend, if you need to go, you just go. But if you need to seek God and you want to meet with God and do business with God, we're going to take time to do that. We're going to take time to honor God and to call upon His name. Father, guide us by the power of your Holy Spirit, I pray in Jesus' name, amen. You come as we sing, my friend. You come, if that's you. I come to the cross, seeking mercy and grace. I come to the cross where you died in my place. Out of my weakness and into your strength, humbly I come to the cross. Your arms are open, you call me by name, you welcome this child that was lost. You paid the price for my guilt and my shame. Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come to the cross. As we're just before the Lord and people are singing him at the altar, I want to ask you a question also. If you've been born again, but you've never been baptized in water, that's part of our public profession of faith. When we're baptized in water, we're saying, I'm not ashamed to follow Jesus. If you've been saved, but you've never been baptized, why not? Will you make today the day you say, Lord, I'm ready to follow you as the Lord of my life. I'm ready to confess you. I'm ready to go all the way. Today, you want to make that decision to step forward and say, I'm ready. I'm ready to be baptized in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. I'm ready to follow him. If that's you, you come. You come. Don't put it off any longer if you want to follow Jesus. Come, let's sing another one. I come to the cross seeking mercy and grace. I come to the cross where you died in my place. Out of my weakness and into your strength, humbly I come to the cross. Out of my weakness and into your strength, humbly I come to the cross. Your arms are open. You call me by name. You welcome this child that was lost. You paid the price for my guilt and my shame. Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come to the cross. As we pray together, I want to ask you, brothers and sisters, to join me in calling upon the Lord. Father God, we thank you so much for your incredible love for us, O God. For your amazing love, Lord. We thank you for speaking to us from your word. And God, our desire today, I know there are some here that deep down, the passionate desire is to bring glory to your name. God, there are some here who are finished with living for me, myself, and I, and who truly want to make the rest of our days count for the glory of God. We want to have this consuming passion, Lord, all-consuming passion to bring glory to your name. And God, I pray that you would begin in us, in the place of worship, O God, that we would bring to you, Lord, we would bring something to give to you in worship, namely our heart, in all of our heart, O God. And I pray, Father, that you would help us to lift our eyes from ourselves and to focus entirely upon you. God, would you show us your beauty? Would you show us your glory, O God? Would you captivate our hearts, Lord Jesus Christ, and cause us to go deeper and deeper in love with you? And God, I pray that you would enable us, by the power of your Holy Spirit, to be for real on the workplace, O God, and out into the world, O Lord. Give us grace and power to live what we profess. Jesus, be Jesus in us. Fill us with your Spirit, O God. Let the people see that the risen, resurrected Christ is alive in his church, in his body. O God, I pray that this week, each one of us, Lord, as we go to the workplace or wherever we go, in our homes and out in the world, Lord, fill us with your life. I pray that your love would so shine through us, O God. That it convicts those who are without Christ and begins to draw them to you. We don't want to draw people to ourselves, God. But we want to point people to you. But we need your grace to do this. Make us for real through and through. Rid us of all hypocrisy. God, lay the ax to the root of hypocrisy in our lives. And let only you live in and through us. And I pray, Father, for boldness. Boldness to proclaim your name. Jesus, in our conversations, help us not to hold back, but to speak your name. Lord, to speak it reverently. But to speak it. To proclaim the name that is above every other name. To our peers, to our friends, to our relatives, to our co-workers. God, make us sensitive to every opportunity. Every time you crack the door open, O God. To speak the name of Jesus. To point that person to Jesus. Father, in and of ourselves, we are cowards. But you will give us grace if we ask you and trust you. I know that with all my heart. You will give us boldness to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will give us boldness to hand out a track. You will give us boldness to proclaim your name and thereby glorify your name. So, Father, for those that are joining with me, I pray you empty us of ourselves. Fill us with your spirit for the glory of your name. We love you, Jesus. We love you so much. We exalt you, our King and our God. We need you with all of our hearts. Blessed be your name. And it's in your name that we pray. Amen. Amen. God bless you, brothers and sisters. There are gospel tracks out there on the table. And not a single one of us can't. There's not a single one that can't pick one of those up and give it to an unbeliever. Please do that.