SPEAKER_00: Good morning, First Baptist Wimberly.
SPEAKER_00: This is Mike Gibbons.
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Friday.
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Aaron has mentioned multiple times going through Nehemiah about the importance of names.
SPEAKER_00: And that is never more clear than in chapter 11 that we'll be looking at this Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to take a look at it before Sunday and linger on some of the names and ask yourself, why are these names here?
SPEAKER_00: What makes it so important to list them out?
SPEAKER_00: Nehemiah 11 is a reminder of the importance of every single person in the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: A name speaks to identity, who you are.
SPEAKER_00: They are significant.
SPEAKER_00: Names are so important that God gave Adam the job of naming the creatures.
SPEAKER_00: And in the Old Testament, to know the name of a person was to know that person's character and nature.
SPEAKER_00: Names occupy a central place in Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Think about a few scriptures.
SPEAKER_00: Joel reminds us that all who call on the name of the Lord will be delivered.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs tells us the name of the Lord is a strong tower.
SPEAKER_00: The righteous run into it and are safe.
SPEAKER_00: Acts tells us there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
SPEAKER_00: Ecclesiastes says a good name is better than precious ointment.
SPEAKER_00: Philippians says that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow.
SPEAKER_00: God even promises to give us all a new name, known only to us in Him.
SPEAKER_00: That's something to be excited about.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to Revelation 2, 17.
SPEAKER_00: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
SPEAKER_00: To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna.
SPEAKER_00: And I will give him a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.
SPEAKER_00: If your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, you are a part of a long list of names, and your name counts.
SPEAKER_00: Your name matters to God, and He has given you a part to play in His kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: May we never lose sight of the significance that each of us play in that kingdom as represented by the importance of our name.
SPEAKER_00: And may all glory be to his name and his name only.
SPEAKER_00: This is Mike Gibbons, and I love being your pastor.