Let's open our Bibles, if you would please, to Proverbs 22. And I have a little sinus in my head today, so I sound like I'm in a drum to myself. But look, if you would, Proverbs 22 and verse 1. The title of the message is what is your name worth? What is your name worth? So God says a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving kindness rather than silver and gold. So we must begin by asking a question, what is a good name? Many individuals desire a good name for their children. Did you know that the most popular name in England right now is Mohammed. Because obviously, the Islamists have taken over England. And that would be a good name if you were an Islamist. But most people name their children after relatives, sometimes deceased relatives. And some even search the internet for what we would call popular names for children. So many Christians then endeavor to name their children after biblical characters. because of the integrity and the character of those individuals. I've often wondered why someone has not yet named their daughters, Shipra and Puah. You smile when you hear those names, but let me read to you from Exodus 1 in verse 15. And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of one was Shipra and the name of the other Puah. These two ladies were certainly women of character. They defied a tyrant, they obeyed God, and they refused to participate in state-sanctioned murder. And moreover, God blessed them immensely for that. So clearly, Shipraw and Pua would be good biblical names. How about this? Have you ever thought about the daughters of Zelophehad? Now, you will find these girls mentioned several times in the Bible, but in Numbers chapter 26 and verse 33, the Bible said, In Zelophehad the son of Hepper had no sons but daughters. And the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Malah, Noah, Haglah, Micah, or Milcah, and Terzah. So how about naming your daughter Hoglund? And yet, believe it or not, these girls are named four times in the Bible. And these young ladies were ladies who stood up for their father and for their father's inheritance. Now, names in the Bible usually were given for a definite reason. They usually depicted the character of the child, or sometimes they reflected the calling and the vocation of the child. I hope you've noticed that God sovereignly named some children, and some He named them even before their birth. If you remember that God also named Samson, his name shall be called Samson. He also named Solomon. Now the name Solomon was given by David in Bathsheba, but God sent Nathan the prophet and said, Thou shalt call his name Jedidiah, which means beloved of the Lord. So God actually named Solomon, but He named him Jedidiah. Then He named John the Baptist, and of course Jesus Christ as well. Likewise, God also sovereignly calls some of these to their ministry and to their work before they were ever born. For instance, Jeremiah, here you have it in Jeremiah 1, verses 4 and 5, Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. So God saved, God called, and God sanctified Jeremiah from the womb. and sent Him as a prophet to the nations. If you would turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Luke chapter 1, and let's begin reading there verse 13, you'll see also how God not only named John the Baptist, but He also set forth His ministry. Notice if you would, Luke chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 13. Luke 1 and verse 13, But the angel said unto him, that is to Zacharias, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and the power of Elias or Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." So God didn't only sovereignly named John. He also called him and gave him his ministry as a forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when the Bible says in Proverbs 22 and verse 1, a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, obviously the good name here does not refer to what you and I would call a popular name, or even a name that would represent our calling. A good name in this verse refers to someone that has character, integrity, and someone who has a good testimony. God places a good name far above great riches. Now, I want you to note again, He said, a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving kindness rather than silver and gold. There's another passage that refers to a good name in Ecclesiastes 7 and verse 1. I want you to listen to this one. A good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death than the day of one's birth. But he said a good name is better than precious ointment. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of John 12. John 12. And let's begin reading there with verse 3, John 12 and verse 3. Since he said a good name is rather to be chosen than precious ointment, let me just try to show you the preciousness of ointment. So in John 12, beginning there with verse 3, Look what the Bible says, John 12, verse 3, Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, note these next two words, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then said one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who should betray him, Why must not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? Now look at verse 6, This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. But I want you to note the question. Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence, and given to the poor? If you were to go, you don't have to turn there, but if you were to turn to Matthew chapter 20 and verse 2, you would see that the average pay was a penny a day. So 300 pence or 300 pennies would be nearly a year's wages. So here this ointment was worth 300 pence. So amazingly, it was very, very expensive, that is for sure. Now, when the Bible says a good name is more to be desired than great riches. The word name happens to be the word shem. And the word shem literally means a name, a reputation, a glory, a memorial, and a monument. So let me just put it to you very plainly. Here's what the Bible is telling us, that your name is your monument. Your name is your memorial. Your name is your reputation and your testimony. Now, some try to distinguish between reputation and character, and they say something like this. Reputation is what people think you are, but character is what you really are. But in this sense of the word, having a good name is also including having a good reputation or a good testimony. So here's my question. Do you value your name? What is your name worth? What estimate do you place upon your name? What estimate do others place upon your name? It is said concerning Jesus Christ in Mark 6 and verse 14, And King Herod heard of him, for his name was spread abroad. and King Herod said, It is John the Baptist whom I have beheaded, he is risen from the dead, and therefore great works show forth themselves in him." But notice the Bible says that the name of Jesus was spread abroad. Now in the Greek, the Greek word for name happens to be onema. I want to just read to you what Strong's lexicon says in relationship to the Greek word anima, which is name. Here's what he said. The name is used for everything which the name covers. Everything, the thought, feeling, or which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering the name. It also refers to one's rank, authority, interests, pleasures, command, excellence, deeds, and the cause or reason named on this account." So he says your name basically stands for anything and everything. So when you stop and think of Goliath, You know what feelings and thoughts arise in your mind when you hear that name. And you know what thoughts or feelings arise when you hear the name David or the name Jesus. Now, interestingly enough, there have been godly people that greatly valued their name. One of those individuals was General Robert E. Lee. After the war, General Lee, in 1865, went to take the presidency of Washington College. Now, at Washington College, they were going to offer him, and they did offer him, 1,500 bucks a year as his salary. Now you've got to remember everything had been devastated. No one had anything. The college at that time was floundering and the college really did not have very much money. And so while Lee was there, there was an insurance executive came and offered him $10,000 to become president of his insurance company. He told, General Lee told the agent that he was compelled by the Lord to accept the position at Washington College. And he believed that if he were to undertake the presidency of the insurance company, that it would minimize his efforts at the college, and therefore he would have to turn him down. The insurance executive said, but General, we do not want you to discharge any duties. We simply want to use your name, and that will abundantly compensate us. Lee replied, excuse me, sir. I cannot consent to receive pay for services that I do not render. My good name is about all that I've saved from the wreck of this war, and that is not for sale." Now, I want you to pause with me and think about this. Although Lee accepted his position at Washington College at $1,500 per year, which, by the way, the college actually became Washington and Lee University afterwards, the college was impoverished. Lee's workload was immense, but Lee chose Washington College because he believed the Lord had led him there particularly. Now remember, the college was supposed to pay him $1,500 a year. Robert E. Lee's starting salary as president of Washington College in 1865 is documented in a cash book kept by Lee himself. According to this book, Lee's salary as President of Washington College was recorded as $169 on October 14, 1865. Below in this snippet, this receipt is for the salary of Robert E. Lee for his services at Washington College for $169. It was created by Washington College Treasurer James K. Edmondson. Additionally, Another receipt dated January the 25th, 1866 shows Lee's salary at $256. Do you realize when Lee turned down $10,000, and that would have been an awful lot of money back then, he turned down approximately seven times. what he was getting at Washington College. In other words, his good name meant more to him than money. Do you understand that many people are willing to sell their names? And unhappily, most people are willing to sell their names very cheaply. They will sell their names for the satisfaction of their flesh, for pride, for control, for impatience or temper, or any other thing. You know the fifth commandment occurs twice in the Old Testament. The first time in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 12, honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. And then in Deuteronomy 5, verse 16, Honor thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God commanded thee, that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Interestingly enough, the fifth commandment is repeated at least eight times in the New Testament. Now, I want you to think with me. Honor thy father and thy mother. Hmm. I took the time to look up the very first time the word honor is used in the Bible, and it's very surprising. You remember that Jacob was supposed to be back where his father Isaac had land, but he stopped in Shechem and he bought some land. It was while he was in Shechem then that his daughter Dinah was raped by the prince and of course the father Hamar. was there. And so the young prince was really taken with Dinah, and he goes and talks to Jacob and all the boys, and he says, I'll give you any dowry you want, just let me have this woman for a wife. And of course, what the brothers did was just kind of deceive them. They said, far be it from us, we cannot give our daughter to one who is uncircumcised. But if you circumcise all the men, we will trade with you and we'll give you our daughters and we'll take your daughters and this kind of stuff. Well, they only had one daughter. And so the men agreed to be circumcised. And then on the third day, when all the men were too sore to move, Simeon and Levi went in and slew Shechem and his father Hamar and all the men and stole all the cattle and all the goods and left. In light of that in Genesis 49 and verse 6, here's what Jacob said, listen, "'O my soul, come not thou into their secret, unto their assembly. Mine honor be not thou united. For in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they dig down a wall.'" Notice what he said, "'Thy will do not want my honor, to be united with their name. I deny those actions. I deny what they did. Jacob just simply did not wish that his name be connected with what the sons did. Do you realize that we dishonor our family when we sin, and when we rebel, and when we're wicked, and when we're wrong? Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been ashamed of the conduct of your children? Have your parents ever been ashamed of your conduct? Are you now, even as an adult, concerned with a good name? So here's the question, do you have a good name when it comes to morality? Are you pure? Have you kept yourself or your husband and or your wife? You have to understand that we are now living in a age of sexual impurity, where holiness and faithfulness are not only laughed at, but they're actually despised, and yet God has commanded us to be holy and to be pure. I always recommend that Every young man, every middle-aged man, and every old man read constantly Proverbs 5, 6, and 7. But I want you to turn to Proverbs 5, if you would, or Proverbs 7. Let's go to 7. I want to show you We'll go to Proverbs 5. We'll go there. I'll leave the other. But look in Proverbs 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 7. Look what God says. I want you to note this. Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Proverbs 5, verse 7, Pro or the loose woman, and come not nigh the door of her house. Why? Look at this. Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel, lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy labours be in the house of a stranger, And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, Have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof, and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me? What did He say? Lest thou give thine honour unto others. There have been many men, yea, preachers, pastors, evangelists, missionaries, who have fallen into the trap of lust and desire. They've lost their honour, and they've sold their good name for a few moments of pleasure. Now, if you will turn back in your Bibles very quickly to Psalm 7, I want you to note this prayer of David. He's praying, and look what he says in verses 4 and 5. Psalm 7, verses 4 and 5. He says, If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me, that is, if I have sinned, yea, yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy. In other words, I've done something wicked and wrong. Let the enemy persecute my soul and take it. Yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth and lay my honor in the dust. So here's what David is saying. If I do wrong, I am laying my honor in the dust. I deserve to have my honor laid in the dust. So here's the thing. It's one thing for your enemy to lay your honor in the dust because He's stronger than you, more powerful than you, but it's quite another thing for you to be so stupid and so wicked that you willingly lay your honor and your good name down in the dust. That's what He's saying. So we have to return Everybody asks, what in the world is wrong with this society today? Do you realize honor, integrity, and a good name was what held societies together in times past? When you have no honor, when you have no integrity, when you have no good name, then clearly, obviously, society is going to fall apart. The Bible says in Proverbs 11 and verse 16, a gracious woman retaineth honor, and strong men retain riches. A gracious woman retaineth honor. And then God also says in Proverbs 31 and verse 25, that a gracious woman is clothed with strength and honor. He says, strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come. Now, since you're in the Psalms, I want you to turn over to Psalm 49. Look at verse 12. Look at what God says about men who do not hold to honor. Psalm 49 and verse 12. He says this, "'Nevertheless, man, being in honor, and abideth not,' that is, he leaves it, he slips from it, he is like beasts that perish." He said, when you throw away your honor, you're dumber than a beast. No, no, he says, you do not throw away your honor. So the loss of honor is catastrophic. You may desire, listen, Write this down. Make sure you understand this. You may destroy a good name overnight, but you cannot get a good name back overnight. You may destroy a testimony overnight, but you cannot regain a good testimony overnight. And sadly, when many destroy their good names at the same time, they're destroying the good names of other people as well. Wow. God said in Ecclesiastes chapter 10 and verse 1, dead flies cause the ointment in the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor. Listen now. And so doth a little folly to him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor. So if a man has wisdom and a man has honor, he's not to be given to folly. He's not to be given to that which is absolutely stupid. So many times we've destroyed our good name through immorality, through being fleshly and desire-oriented. Here's another good way and an easy way to destroy our good names, and that's in relationship to economics and particularly to money. So I could ask you this question, do you pay your debts? Do you pay your debts on time? I could also ask another question, why are you even in debt? Romans chapter 13 in verse 8, the Bible says, oh no man anything but to love one another, he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Oh no man anything. Many profession Christians find themselves in debt up to their eyeballs. We are a debt-oriented society. We've lost our self-discipline. We've lost our self-control. We've lost our self-respect. And everywhere you go, you see signs. I see them on the furniture stores. Charge it now, pay later. Wow. You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 22 and verse 7? Need to write this one down. You need to memorize this one. The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. The word servant is the Hebrew word ebed, which is also translated as slave. The borrower is slave to the lender. So the man in debt is not free. The man in debt is a slave. So if I went up to Clay and I said, Clay, I need to borrow you a thousand bucks. Clay said, all right, I'll let you have a thousand bucks, but I need it back within 30 days. Guess what? I'm now his slave. Whatever I work for, I'm working to pay him back. I'm not working for myself. And this is where interests come in. When people begin to charge interest, ah, you're paying money on that which is not money. There's not enough paper in the world to pay off supposedly the national debt. Do you understand the borrower is servant or slave to the lender? And the sad thing is, Most people, and let me just deal with preachers and pastors. Most preachers and pastors are not only in debt themselves, but they bring their church into debt as well. Because what every preacher wants is a huge edifice and all the trinkets that go with that edifice. Wow. Well, guess what? Usually they start out something like this. I have a vision, but it's not a biblical vision, but my vision requires faith. That's true, but it's not a biblical faith. What it requires is a faith based upon their vision. I had one man tell me who's a preacher and a dear friend of mine that he envisioned 300 more people being converted in this little town that he was pastoring in the coming year. I just laughed. I said, I don't care what you envision. I said, you're not going to reach any more than God can save. And number one, there's not enough people in this town to give you 300. You understand what I'm saying? So what we do, we build a big building and we go in debt and we have this mortgage that has to be paid off. Now, if you do a little bit of studying on the word mortgage, you will find it's related to the word mortician. Because the first use of that word was actually brought around in 1350 to 1400, and it comes from two words, mort, which means dead, and gage, which means pledge. So your mortgage is a dead pledge. In other words, you pay it till you die. You've pledged yourself to death is what it amounts to. That's what the word actually means. So here's a good principle for you and I to go by. If God ordains it, God will pay for it. If God orders it, God will pay for it. If God does not order it, if God does not ordain it, then clearly it's going to fail and it's going to lead to destruction. Sometime back I was asked to pastor a church here in Florida. I told them, I said, I'll be happy to preach for you, but I'm sure I'm not interested in pastoring the church. Well, we want you to come. And I went. And I preached that morning and I preached that night. You talking about a building? Lord have mercy. They only had a huge edifice. They had a gymnasium. They had a Christian school. They had all kinds of things. So, after service, they wanted to talk to me, and they wanted me to consider coming as their pastor. I said, Well, let me ask you a couple of questions. Number one, are you in debt into this property? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Well, how much are you in debt? Well, I forget the exact figure, but it was a couple million. And I said, well, I don't even think a church needs to be in debt or supposed to be in debt. And I said, I can't come as your pastor, and I will tell you why. I said, because when I start preaching, folks are going to get mad. And they're going to either leave, or they're going to quit giving. And then you can't meet your sinking fund payments, and then you're going to get upset with me, and then you're going to run me off. I said, so really and truly what you need to do is find someone who can go along with your philosophy of debt because I don't go. And the sad thing is I knew personally there were a number of multi-millionaires in that church that could easily have paid off that mortgage and had plenty left over. I'm just simply pointing out the fact, usually when people And preachers especially do this. They drag themselves down and they drag others down with them. So a good name is necessary in the ministry. One may not have many talents. One may not be a great orator. One may not be a great expositor, but if he has a good name, If he has a good testimony and a good reputation, some of those other things can be easily overlooked. So let me tell you something. I want you to remember this. It's impossible to have a ministry without a good name. If I cannot trust you, I cannot believe you. And if I cannot believe you, I'm not going to listen to you. You follow me? And that's exactly what a lot of preachers want people to do. They want people to trust them and believe them and listen to them when their name is mud. Their name shows totally different from what they're asking and what they're desiring. So what we've done today in Christendom As we fail to instruct, we fail to rebuke, we fail to reprove. So here's what's happening. I want you to watch this. I'm going to give you a good illustration. So let's suppose Ron does something very stupid. You know what the average Christians do when Ron is messed up? Laugh at him, make fun of him. How many go to him and say, Ron, let me show you from the Bible what you've done and how to correct it. Let me pray with you. Let me help you. Let me guide you. Let me do whatever I can to bring you out of this mess. No, we don't do that. We're kind of like chickens who start pecking another chicken and they keep pecking until they draw blood. And then once they get the taste of blood, they keep pecking until they kill the poor chicken. Christians are about the only ones who slay their walking wounded. We don't go to them and try to recover them. We don't go to them and try to bring them back. We just simply ignore them and go on our main way. Now, look, if you would, at all the strife, all the contention that you're seeing, not just in Christendom in general, but in every church. Let me ask you a question. Why is it so difficult to just do what God commands? Why is it so difficult just to be biblical and to do that which is right? It seems today, especially true of preachers, but Christians as well, that we cannot stand anyone who disagrees with us. If anyone does not see our point of view and does not agree with our point of view, we're ready and willing and eager to cast them into the ditch. Wow, you know why? We don't understand the biblical doctrine of illumination. God does not give the same truth or the same amount of truth at the same time to everyone. And I could preach to you until I die. But if God does not open your eyes, you're never ever going to see the truth. Paul told Timothy, consider what I say, and the Lord give the understanding of all things. Now, understanding is God's gift, but notice he said, consider what I say. That's personal responsibility. So let me just show you another thing. If I study my Bible five hours a day, And Steve studies his Bible 10 minutes a day. Who's going to have the most knowledge? You see what I'm saying? God uses means. Consider what I say in the Lord to get the understanding in all things. So the man that does more consideration, more meditation, more research, he's going to understand far more than the man who just reads a chapter and goes on about his way. So, why should I get mad and upset if Clay doesn't agree with me? When if God doesn't open his eyes, he's never going to see the truth anyhow. If God doesn't open my eyes, if he's right, I will never see the truth. You see what I'm saying? So, I want you to notice all the strife. But here's what we do. We just start calling each other names. We use sarcasm, we use slurs, we use innuendos. We have forgotten that Moses and Aaron got into trouble with God just for calling God's people rebels. Do you remember when Moses first had to draw water out of that rock? God told him to strike the rock. And he smote the rock and the water came out. You remember that rock was Christ, according to 1 Corinthians 10. The second time, God told Moses to speak to the rock. Didn't have to spite it, just speak to it. But Moses, in anger and indignation, smoked the rock again. Listen to what he said, Numbers 20 and verse 10. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock and said unto them, here now you rebels, must I fetch water out of this rock for you? And he smoked the rock. That's why Moses never got in the promised land, nor Aaron. Now, the point I'm trying to make is, usually we disagree on eschatology. That's the doctrine of last things. When you look at eschatology, there are four main positions. And of course, I understand there are variations in these four positions. I understand that. But there's a historic premillennialism. There's a dispensational premillennialism. There's amillennialism, and there's postmillennialism. Okay? The interesting thing, all four of these positions believe that Jesus Christ is coming back literally, visibly, and bodily. They just disagree on when and how. Now, if I believe that Jesus Christ is coming back literally, visibly, and bodily, and I just disagree with you about the time and the ways coming back, What difference does that make? Now, I realize your eschatology determines your lifestyle and your world view. I understand that. Eschatology is important. But the point I'm trying to make right now, we overlook the main thing that we each believe that Jesus Christ is coming back literally, visibly, and bodily. And we say, if you don't agree with me, you're wrong. I don't even want to see you anymore. And we just run everybody off. Wow. Here's a good one, and I got this from Gary DeMar. Harold Lindsay, of course, is a dispensational premillennialist, and he wrote a book, and he said that everyone who did not agree with him were unconsciously anti-Semitic. Now, listen. I'm quoting, Hal Lindsey labeled anyone who did not agree with him on the issue of eschatology as unconsciously anti-Semitic. Lies and slander will accomplish nothing. We pursued all the means at our disposal to meet with Hal Lindsey over the anti-Semitism charges he made in his poorly researched book, The Road to Holocaust, and directs against all millennialists, historic premillennialists, postmillennialists, and especially Christian Reconstructionists. He would not meet with us. We were told that Lindsey is not interested in talking about it. His basic word is, write a book in response if you don't like it. Wow. Wow. Do you realize if you want to upset people and have them against you, all you have to do is call someone a racist, call someone an anti-Semite. And I will tell you right now, the greatest anti-Semites are those who reject Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ is the true Shem. Remember the word name? The word Shem means name. He's the one that's been named by God particularly. So anyone who's against Jesus Christ is anti-Semitic. Not someone against Zionism. In fact, there are Jews that are against Zionists. I'm just simply saying it's astounding how we can label anyone and everyone a derogatory term just simply because they disagree with us. Right now, there is an ongoing spat, fight, division, name calling, strife, and contention between Bible-believing Presbyterians They're attacking each other. Pastors are attacking pastors. I know some of them. Some of them are my friends. But the Baptists do exactly the same thing. You know what the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 3? It's an honor for a man to cease from strife, but every fool will be meddling. It's an honor for a man to cease from strife. The word strife. Hebrew word rib, which refers to a quarrel, a dispute, or a controversy. God said it's an honor for a man not to fuss, and not to fight, and not engage in controversies needlessly. Now, closely connected with strife is the word contention, and the Hebrew word is matzah, and it is translated in our Bibles as strife, contentions. Let me give you some quotes. Proverbs 13 and verse 10, Only by pride cometh contention, but with the well-advised there is wisdom. Only by pride cometh contention. So, what does the pride of heart do? Well, Brother Clay, if you don't agree with me, if you don't see what I see, I just, I'm not going to have anything to do with you. That's pride. That's pride. Proverbs 17, verse 14. I love this one. The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water, therefore leave off contention before it be meddled with. The beginning of strife is when one letteth out water. Now, in our bathroom, Alice and I have one of those old clawfoot tubs. And I love that old tub. I don't mind a hot shower. We have a shower, too. But there's nothing like soaking, laying back in that old clawfoot tub. But you know what? When you get ready to let the water out, and you pull the plug, the water starts swirling. And pretty soon, it gets going faster and faster, and the next thing you hear is something like this. God said, now, if you don't hear that, put the plug back in it. Listen to what he said. The beginning of strifism wouldn't let that water, therefore leave off contention, quit fighting about it, and it'll go away. Wow. Proverbs 18, verse six, a fool's lips enter into contention and his mouth call it for strokes. And then Proverbs 22 and verse 10, cast out the scorner and contention shall go out, yea, strife and reproach shall cease as well. If believers and pastors would quit fighting each other and direct all of our energies toward our common enemy, it would not be long before we were victorious. But the truth of the matter, as long as we're divided and as long as we're fighting each other, we are easy prey and we're easily defeated. Moreover, if we've lost our good name in it, no one's going to listen to us anyhow. I know of preachers who built great works but they lost their good name, and the works crumbled. I understand another truth. I understand that not everyone is pleasant, not everyone is agreeable. I have known some people, Christians as well as preachers, who just were not happy unless they were fighting. They live for a fight. They live for a fuss. If they weren't in one, they were very, very unhappy. I realize there are some people that are not willing to forgive. There are some people that are not willing to reconcile. There are some people that are not willing to do what is right and biblical and honorable. Let me show you what God says. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 12, and I want you to look at verse 18. Romans 12, verse 18. Look what he said. In Romans 12, verse 18, if it be possible, If it be possible, as much as life in you live peaceably with all men." God even recognizes there's some men that you cannot live peaceably with. But He said, as much as in you is. Once you've done everything you can do, there's nothing else you can do. But as much as in you is, live peaceably with all men. Now, I will tell you something that will probably shock you and you will say, oh no, no pastor, that's not true. Yeah, it is true. I have Christians that won't even speak to me. Have I sinned against them? No. Have I stolen from them? No. Well, why is it they will not speak to you? Because they disagree with some of my stances. based upon the word of God. Now, you're talking about being small. I have pastors. I know pastors that won't speak to me. In fact, they'll avoid me and treat me like a plague. Have I hurt them? No. Have I said anything about them? No. Well, why do they treat me like that? because they disagree with me. That is the mentality in Christendom. If you don't agree with me and I don't agree with you, we'll just go our different ways. We won't even recognize each other as Christians. We won't even recognize each other as being in the ministry, which is absolutely insane. So I'm going to give you a principle that I have lived with for years. I still live with this principle. Here it is. If you and I separate, if you and I have a falling out, if it ever comes to the point that we cannot fellowship together, it's gonna be on your part and not mine. because I'm willing to do what's right. I'm willing to forgive. I'm willing to reconcile. I'm willing to make right what is wrong. So if I lose friends, it's going to be on their part, not on my part. Here is the sad thing. You just cannot make someone do that which is right. It's impossible. You can't even make your own spouse do what is right. You can't make your own children do what is right. You may tell them, you may teach them, but you can't make them do what is right. Wow. If we lost our good name, if our name and our honor has been drug through the mud, if we've dishonored this name, how do we get it back? The answer is very simple, through repentance and obedience. We must not only turn from that which is wicked and wrong, but we must reach out to those individuals whom we have hurt, disappointed, and offended in a Biblical sense. We must learn to apologize, ask forgiveness, make restitution, and seek reconciliation by Biblical means. If we don't, we'll never recover our good name. Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to two passages. Look in Matthew chapter five to begin with. Then we're going to go to Matthew 18. But look at Matthew chapter five, and notice verses 23 and 24. Matthew five, verse 23. God says, therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remembereth that thy brother hath ought against thee. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, then come again and offer the gift." So, watch this. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remembereth that thy brother hath ought against thee. Now, I don't have anything against Ron, But Ron has something against me. I might have thought he was silly and holding it, but he has something against me. So God says, if I go to worship him, And I remember that Ron has something against me. What am I to do? Leave my gift and go and be reconciled to him and then come back and offer. In other words, even though I have nothing against Ron, I know that Ron has something against me. It's still my responsibility to make it right. So if you'll look in Matthew chapter 18, Look at this, Matthew 18 and verse 15. Matthew 18, verse 15. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. Now, wait a minute. This time, Ron doesn't have anything against me. I've got something against him. No, what does God say? God says, I am to go to him privately and work it out. And if he'll hear me, I've gained my brother. Now there's no, not any limits set on this. It may take me two or three times before he'd be willing to reconcile. And if he's not, then I have the option of taking witnesses. And if He won't hear the witnesses, I have the option of taking Him before the church. But here's the point I'm trying to make. Regardless of who is at fault, it's your responsibility to resolve it. So if Ron and I really have a problem, whether or not I have something against him, or he has something against me, what really should happen is we should be meeting each other, saying, let's get this thing settled. Let's make this thing right. That's how it really should work out. Now, if someone refuses after all of this to make things right and to reconcile, then the only thing you can do is say, Lord, I've obeyed. I've done what you've told me to do. I've tried, I've endeavored. I'm just now leaving this into your hand. And you have to work in that person's heart. That's all you can do. You've done your duty, your obligation, your responsibility before God. Now just leave it in His hands. Now, let me make some applications because we want a good name. We may easily destroy our lives, our families, and our churches, and our ministries by tarnishing our testimony. by losing our good name, and by refusing to forgive and to reconcile. I personally know men that supposedly have been called to preach and proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in their wake, all they have left is a trail of desolation and destruction. You must remember what I said earlier. If I cannot trust you, I cannot believe you. And if I cannot believe you, I cannot listen to you. One may easily destroy years of ministry by foolish and stupid and wicked acts. When we fail to maintain our honor, when we fail to maintain a good name, we're destroying our own ministry. Psalm 49 verse 20, man that is honor and understandeth not is like the beast that perish. You're an honor, you've got a good name, but you really don't understand. God says you're dumber than a beast if you throw away your good name. Proverbs 21 and verse 21 the Bible says, He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor. God is only going to honor those that honor Him. If you were to read I Samuel 2 and verse 30 where God was turning Eli out to pasture so to speak, God ended up telling Eli, I will honor them that honor Me. and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So God is not going to honor someone who refuses to recover his name, who refuses to live a life of honor. God's going to honor those that honor him. Now, here we go. You may destroy a good name overnight. but you cannot reclaim a good name overnight. My position has always been I want to be like Samuel. And I want to read it to you from 1 Samuel 12, verses 2 through 5. Samuel says, And now, behold, the king walketh before you, and I am old and gray-headed. And behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am, witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whom hands have I received a bribe to blind the eyes therewith? Tell me and I will restore you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken out of any man's hand. And he said, The Lord is witness against you this day." What did he say? If I've done wrong, tell me. I'll make it right. I'll restore what I need to restore. I'll reconcile what needs reconciling. This is why God said a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. This is why God said a good name is better than precious ointment. Now, I want you to think about a good name. I told you what the word shem meant, a monument, a memorial, a name, whatever's wrapped up in the name. I want to give you a quote in closing by Charles Adams Spurgeon. And he's talking about the name Jesus. He said, C.H. Spurgeon explained that since the father knew his son perfectly, when he required him to be named Jesus, this was the most divinely appropriate name. Rest assured, therefore, that this is the best name that he could bear. God would not have given him a name of secondary value, or about which there would be a trace of dishonor. The name is the highest, brightest, and noblest of names. It is the glory of our Lord to be a Savior, Jesus. That's what the word Jesus means. Jesus is the most appropriate name that our Lord could receive. Of this we are quite certain. For the Father knew all about him, and could name him well. He knows much more about the Lord Christ than all the saints and angels put together, for no man knoweth the Son but the Father. Since infinite wisdom has selected it, we may be sure that it is a name which must be true and must be verified by facts of no mean order. When we plead the name of Jesus before God, we bring him back to his own word and appeal to him by his own act and deed. It's not the name of Jesus to be viewed with reverential delight by each one of us when we recollect whence the name came." So you just remember, when we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. We're praying in the name that God the Father gave Jesus Christ. It is the name which is above every name, that at His name every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And just like Jesus Christ maintained His good name, we need to maintain our good name. because our name is our monument. Our enemies may spit upon our name, they may curse our name, but what we want is the Father and His people to say, there's a man with a good name, an honorable name. We don't expect our enemies to honor our names. But we do expect those who believe to honor our names if we are honorable individuals. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And we ask, Lord, that you would indeed help us. We do pray, Father, for those that have been mentioned earlier, and ask Your perfect will to be done there. Give us Your grace, we pray in Christ's name, Amen.