said. Amen. Listen, folks, next weekend is Charlie Campbell. That's why I didn't start right back with Romans. We had our summer series on the spiritual disciplines. Again, if you've missed any, then please consider going back and catching those online. But Lord willing, the week after next, so after Charlie Campbell, we'll jump right back in where we left off with the book of Romans. Over time, certain aspects of our culture tend to creep into our daily lives, largely unobserved. So as believers, it's a must that we continually reevaluate our thoughts, our words, and our deeds, amen? And if we've adopted any unbiblical values or practices, then we need to make changes. The topic of our study this morning is one such insidious practice, and that is taking our great God's name in vain. So please turn your Bibles with me to Exodus chapter 20 where the 10 commandments were spoken aloud by God himself for all the people of Israel to hear. And let's stand together as we read God's phenomenal word. So it's Exodus chapter 20. We're gonna be reading beginning in verse one. Everything's falling out of my Bible as I pick it up here. All right, Exodus 20, beginning in verse one. Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You should not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You should not worship them or serve them for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. "'visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, "'on the third and fourth generations "'of those who hate me.'" Verse six. But showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. And now here's the third commandment. Verse seven. "'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, "'for the Lord will not leave him unpunished, who takes his name in vain. I also like the way that the New Revised Standard Version translates this verse. Listen to verse seven in the NRSV. You should not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Wow, amen, you may be seated, you may be seated. Folks, this is, without a doubt, one of the most often broken of the Ten Commandments. You can't go anywhere from the playground to the nursing home without hearing the name of our great God and King being dragged through the mud and trampled underfoot. And yet, God attaches some really terrifying words to this commandment. Look at the end of verse seven again with me. It says this. For the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. And we'll look a little bit more closely at that in a little bit, but for now we need to consider is, the question we need to consider, excuse me, is why does God take this sin so seriously anyway? And no doubt there are a whole host of reasons, but first we must realize that God's name is much, much more than just a word. Listen to what one theologian said. He says, God's name is that by which he is called, that by which he is made known to us, and that by which his nature and his perfections are revealed to us. The reformer John Calvin said the following. God would that the majesty of his name be held by us in untouchable holiness. Whatever we might say or think about him should taste of his splendor. It should correspond to the holy grandeur of his name and it should contribute to the praise of his glory. Amen. Another author said this, to understand the severity of taking the Lord's name in vain, we must first see the Lord's name from his perspective as outlined in scripture. God's nature and attributes, the totality of his being and especially his glory are reflected in his name. Psalm 8 verse 1. And finally, listen to what Spurgeon wrote. I had an opportunity over our vacation to watch a number of the Puritans and to watch some biographies about them and they're just wonderful. I love Spurgeon. He said this, the third commandment requires the holy and reverent use of God's names. Notice plural. Titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works. It's all of it, all of it combined. The book of Exodus, we find a fascinating conversation between Moses and God about God's name. You'll remember, that God was sending Moses back to Egypt to demand the freedoms of the Israelites. And Moses asks this question in Exodus 3, verses 13 and 14. He says this, then Moses said to God, behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. Now they may say to me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? Verse 14, God said to Moses, "'I am who I am.' And he said, "'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "'I am has sent me to you.'" Three chapters later, God makes this somewhat puzzling statement to Moses. Chapter six, verses two and three, God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "'I am Yahweh. And I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, that's his name El Shaddai. But by my name, Yahweh, I was not known to them. Now God could not have meant that the patriarchs didn't know his name, Yahweh, because we find that name scattered throughout the book of Genesis. So then what did he mean? Well, in light of the fact that God's name reflects his character, it seems that he was referring to increased revelation about his character that surpassed what the three patriarchs had known about him that we find in the book of Genesis. One commentator said it like this. Since the name Yahweh was spoken before the flood, Genesis 4, right, and later by the patriarchs in Genesis 9, 12, 22, and 24, The special significance of Yahweh unknown to them, but to be known by their descendants, must arise from what God would reveal of himself in keeping the covenant and in redeeming Israel. You see, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob hadn't seen, or excuse me, had seen God's hand at work in their lives, accomplishing great things for them. That's what they had seen. They saw El Shaddai, that is God Almighty, bringing fruitfulness from bareness in all three generations. And they also received from God the promises of the Abrahamic covenants. You remember what that comprised? It comprised a land, a nation, and a worldwide blessing. That's Genesis 12, one through three. But they still died without a land and without having seen that worldwide blessing, though the beginnings of the nation were starting to take place, right? Abraham had been a childless old man when God made his covenant with him, and three generations later, his line numbered 70 people. But 400 years later, When God told Moses to go free his people, things looked bleak indeed. The patriarchs had been wanderers, even fugitives, but now the entire nation of them were slaves. Where were the promises of God now? And precisely at this point in history, God tells Moses, tell them I am sent you. Moses' generation of the children of Israel experienced much more revelation of the multifaceted character of Yahweh, the self-existent one, the keeper of covenants. Moses' generation received the law, which is a reflection of the character of Yahweh himself, as you all know. And Moses' generation learned that God remains faithful to his own word, no matter what they did, because in and of himself, God does not change. That is the doctrine that we studied this summer. God is immutable, right? In other words, he is, I am who I am. And so the children of Israel learned to take God's name very, very seriously. Perhaps you've heard this before, the Jewish scribes who copied scripture by hand took great pains when writing, not only the scriptures, but specifically the names of God. Whenever they came across the secondary name of God, like El, or El Shaddai, or Elohim, they would stop, put down their pens, take up a new pen, and carefully write that name. But whenever they came to the principal name of God, the name Yahweh, they would get up from their seats, they would go into their personal quarters, they would bathe, they would dress again in new clothes or clean clothes and return to their workplace. And then they would kneel down, confess their sins, take up a brand new pen, dunk it once into the ink well, and finally write out those four letters that comprise the name of Yahweh. Y-H-W-H. Now, compare that with how flippantly so many people use God's name today. and even people in the church. However, the Jews misunderstood and misapplied this third commandment, which they did really with all the 10 commandments. In an attempt to avoid ever misusing God's name, they made an extra biblical law that it was never to be spoken audibly at all. But that was never God, or that's never what God had intended. And that brings us right to our next point. This is number two B in your outline. It is not to be avoided. The third commandment has nothing to do with avoiding the audible usage of God's name. The Jews completely missed the entire point of this commandment. They focused on an outward, wooden obedience to this command, and in so doing, ignored the heart intention. God did intend for his name to be used. He intended it to be used for at least two reasons. First, to praise, glorify, and honor him. Right? You remember what Jesus, or how Jesus taught the disciples to pray? Matthew six, verse nine, he says, pray then in this way, our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. We are to open our prayers rejoicing that God is our heavenly Father, but also pausing to pay tribute to the greatness and holiness of his name. hallowed be your name, holy be your name. And second, we're to use his name to teach others about him. Listen to Psalm 22 verse 22. I will surely recount your name to my brothers. In the midst of the assembly, I will praise you. So here it is. So the third commandment was not forbidding the use of his name, but rather the misuse of his name. And that's our third point here. God's name is not to be misused. The key to understanding this commandment lies in the proper interpretation of the phrase in vain. This Hebrew expression means to use God's name in a light, loose, or casual way. You can write that down. That's what it means. In vain means to use his name in a light, loose, or casual way. Excuse me, one preacher said this, to take his name in vain means to use his name in an inappropriate, hollow, empty, or meaningless way. Well said. Another author said this, the use of God's name in a degrading or in any way disrespectful manner expresses an attitude of disdaining the relationship we are supposed to have with Him. Having a relationship with God demands that we represent Him accurately, sincerely, excuse me, and respectfully. And finally, a Scottish teacher said this, what God is forbidding here is using his name lightly or thoughtlessly, as though neither God nor his name were of any importance to us. What marks out the true believer is, as the fifth Psalm puts it, that he or she loves the Lord's name and exalts in him. Folks, do you love the Lord's name? Do you love it? Do you misuse it? Now having looked at what the third commandment means, let's look at the most common ways in which we break it. You guys ready for this? How do we break it? Listen, you guys can respond to me again, remember? Most people have no idea how many ways this commandment touches our everyday lives. The first and most obvious way that someone can break the third commandment is through profanity. That is using God's name or that of his son or that of the Holy Spirit in an abusive, vulgar, or irreverent way. And when you ever add the word holy to something, that's using one of his attributes in an irreverent way. And I would say strike that from your vocabulary. Now here I'm talking or thinking primarily of two kinds of people, okay? The first person uses God's name in a defiant manner. He advertises his rebellion against God by deliberately misusing God's holy name. The second type of person use God's name flippantly, Carelessly and thoughtlessly, not intending it as a curse word, but using it as a common filler phrase. People dishonor God's holy name in every emotional state known to man. You ever thought about this? Think about it. They misuse it when they're mad. They hit their thumb with a hammer. When they're happy. When they're scared. when they're disgusted, when they're hurt, when they're surprised, or for meaningless punctuation, and all of that without any real thought of God. And folks, this is where I think many American Christians also find themselves guilty. Those who go to church on a regular basis. This modern generation has even started using the initials, and forgive me if I go too far, O-M-G, for saying God's name in a thoughtless, disrespectful manner. They text it all the time, and I hate it. Believe it or not, as God's children, we should never do this. And young people, we should never text this. Why not? Because we're treating the name of the God of the universe in a loose, casual, and irreverent way rather than with the holy reverence that we should have. Whether thought or word. Or deed by texting it? Furthermore, if we often read or hear such profanity before long, there's just a small step to actually saying it ourselves, maybe by repeating it when we tell a story and quote someone who said that when we heard it in that story, right? Young people do not be deceived using the Lord's name in initials or in quotes, right, from other people still taking his beautiful name in vain. Likewise, watching media or listening to music that profanes God's holy name shouldn't even be an option for those who say that they love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. When a believer confronts another believer about breaking the third commandment, I've often seen and heard this myself, the most likely response will be something like this, oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't even aware that I was doing that. Or, I didn't mean any disrespect. But does either excuse absolve him of his responsibility? The answer is no. Careless, thoughtless, flippant use of God's name is hugely insulting to the Almighty. It really is. Now again, I said there's two kinds of people that do it like this, right? Those who wear their rebellion on their sleeve, so to speak. And then there's others who just, they're used to the way that our society speaks, and so we've adopted that. And that's more of what I'm speaking to this person over here, and as believers. We should know better. Now why is this hugely insulting to the Almighty? Because it means that the person thinks so lightly of God that he or she can use his name without even being aware that they're using it like this. Dear brothers and sisters, that is sin, plain and simple. And let me just tell you, God is immutable and he hates it. He hates it. So I wanna challenge all of you, both old and young, grandparents and young people alike, to really consider how you use God's holy name. Consider what you say. Consider what you watch. There's not much you can watch out there. Consider what you listen to. Consider what you text. You get the idea. Why am I even saying this to a group of believers? Again, because this sin has crept into our church family. My wife has heard it. I've heard it. And if we've heard it, then you have too. Most likely. But my dear, dear brothers and sisters, God hates all profanity, and there's never a good reason for using it. And that's why Jesus said what he did in Matthew chapter 12. Listen to what he said. In Matthew 12, verses 34 through 36, he said this. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of, what? That which fills the heart. Verse 35, the good man brings out of his good treasure what is good, and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil, but I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. Can you say yikes? I just heard you, good job. Did you catch the inescapable terminology in that last verse? Every careless word. Apostle Paul was just as clear in his letter to the Ephesians, he said this in Ephesians 4, 29, let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment so that it will give grace to those who hear. Folks, no unwholesome word, but only such a word as is what? Good. My dear brothers and sisters and young people alike, we will all have to give an account of our words, each and every one of them, before God Almighty. And do we want to stand before Him filled with odd as indescribable glory and have to confess that we've dragged His name through the muck of human emotions and through unguarded speech? A second way that this commandment can be broken is when we swear. That is using God's name to back up our promises. I used to do this all the time as a child. You probably did too. Adults do this in courts of law all the time. However, Jesus' instructions are very clear in Matthew chapter five, verses 33 through 37. He says this, again, you have heard that the ancients were told you should not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord. Verse 34, but I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by earth, excuse me, the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black, but let your statement be, here it is, yes, yes, or no, no, anything beyond these is of evil. Brothers and sisters, Your very yes, yes, and no, no. Your very word should be enough for sterling honesty should be a part of every believer's character. James wrote this in James 5, 12, but above all, my brethren, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but your yes is to be yes and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. You guys ready for the third way? That his name is often taken in a vain way, and that is through our humor. That is through humor. Joking. I really believe that most jokes about God fall under this category. Now listen, if someone makes a joke about Moses or Peter, I typically don't have a problem with that, okay? As long as it's done in good taste. God created us with a sense of humor, and I love to laugh, and I know you do too. But having said that, our great and glorious God should never be the subject of our jokes. Even caricatures of God. I don't think should be a part of our laughter. Many so-called funny Christian t-shirts, bumper stickers, and slogans, in my opinion, are borderline at best. Parents, take time to really consider if they portray God with a biblical, proper, reverence that should be there. Neither God nor his name should ever be taken as a big joke, amen? Fourth, very common way in which the third commandment is often broken in our society, in our day and age, is the use of God's name in worship, but in a careless, thoughtless manner. Now so far, you might have done good so far in those first three categories, but listen to this one. Even in our religious activities, we can be breaking this commandment and dishonoring God if we are not consciously and reverently using his name. When we sing songs of worship, but our minds are a million miles elsewhere, not actively engaged in the words that we're singing, and the God to whom we should be singing them, we're not treating his name in a reverent manner. When we pray using God's holy name repeatedly throughout our prayer, but not really thinking about him, with each usage, that's also irreverent. punctuating our prayers with God's name as often as we would insert commas have no worthwhile purpose and it certainly does not honor the living God. It's taking the Lord's name in vain. Most of you already know the Lord saved me while I was studying up at Western Washington University in Bellingham. And I got involved in a number of men's Bible studies and in one of them, It was all young men. When the men prayed, they tried to speak as loudly and rapidly as they could. And they would use the Lord's name multiple times in almost every single sentence. And that bothered me even back then as a very, very young believer. But back then, I would not have been able to tell you which scriptures address this issue. But I can now. Listen to the words of our Lord in Matthew chapter six, excuse me, verses seven and eight. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. And he says this in verse eight, so do not be what? Don't be like them. Or what about Ecclesiastes five, one and two? God says this, guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of what? fools, for they do not know they are doing evil. Okay, so what do you mean exactly by that? Well, verse two tells us more. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth, therefore let your words be few. Does God want us to pray at all times? Yes, we see that in 1 Thessalonians chapter four, or five. But he also tells us, hey, here's another principle that we need to keep in mind. Ecclesiastes 5, 1, and 2. So keep these in proper balance. Brothers and sisters, God's name is too holy, too precious, too glorious, too reverent to be used in any type of shallow, haphazard manner, and even when used in our songs and prayers, our times of worship. Now fifth way in which a person can misuse the name of the Lord is to claim to be a Christian, but then to live in contradiction to that claim. This is 5B, this is hypocrisy. Now we usually don't think of this as breaking the third commandment, but stick with me and think through this with me. When you claim to be a Christian, right, you are taking upon yourself the name of whom? Christ. I am a small Christ. That's what the name Christian means. And there's nothing wrong with taking that name upon yourself. In fact, it's biblical, right? Acts 11, 26. It was used three times in the New Testament. And Acts 11 was the first time. But if we wear his name, then we must wear it with the proper respect for him For we are representing Him. If, however, we don't live in a way in which He lived, and we call ourselves by His name, then we are, in a very real sense, misusing His name. Now maybe you think, Pastor, that seems like a bit of a stretch, right? You're a little far out on the limb here. Now I might have thought so too at one time, but listen to some passages from God's word. How about Isaiah 48, one. Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel and who came forth from the loins of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel, but not in truth nor in righteousness. Israel, they were to be a light unto the nations, right? They were to carry really the good news to the rest of the world. But time and time again, God chastised them for how they lived their lives. Israel used the name of God, but they did not obey God's word, and by their disobedience, they violated the third commandment. I got several examples for you. Another example is King David when he committed adultery and murder. Remember that story? And God sent the prophet Nathan to him to let him know that the child that Bathsheba was carrying would die. And the reason he gave to David was this one. In 2 Samuel 12, verse 14, it says this. God said, you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. You, David. David was so closely identified with the God of Israel that he was even called a man after God's own what? Heart, exactly, in both the Old and New Testament. Go check it out, 1 Samuel 3.14, or 13.14, excuse me, and Acts 13.22. But when he sinned and he tried to cover it up, remember that? He was acting just like the heathen neighbors all around him. And because of David's hypocrisy, God's name was being maligned. And just as Israel represented God to the Gentile world, now the church represents God to all unbelievers. That's your and my role in this world. And as such, we must represent him accurately. Jesus said this in Luke 6. He said this in verse 46. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, means master, master, right? And what? And do not do what I say. Why do you call me master and you don't obey me? In other words, those who profess Christ and live under his name, yet who refuse to obey him are clearly breaking this commandment. How about another one from the Apostle Paul this time? Romans 2, 23 and 24. You who boast in the law, through your breaking the law, do you dishonor God? For the name of God is what? Help me. it's a big word, it's early, is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of who? You! Just as it is written. Beloved, people who claim to be believers, people who claim to be Christians, who claim to be little Christ, Christ followers, but who do not obey him, that is they break his law, actually, God says blaspheme his name. And I met people like this all the time, and especially in this culture. Germany, it was less seldom because almost no one claimed to be Christians. But here, still a good percentage of people claim to be Christians. And these people, they swear, they lie, they steal, they live in sexual sin, and all the while, they claim to be Christians. Brothers, sisters, such people are a dishonor to Christ. Let's put it as plainly and simply as I can. Paul addressed this issue again when he wrote to Titus in Titus 1.16. He said this, they profess to know God, look at this, but by their deeds they what? deny him being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deeds. Again, this is one of those yikes statements. And the apostle John adds this in 1 John 2.4, the one who says I have come to know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. So again and again we see that those who call themselves Christians and yet live in ongoing unrepentant disobedience to the commandments of God actually dishonor His name. Brothers and sisters, do you take Christ's name upon yourself and claim to be a Christian? Again, I've told you this story many times before. I used to be a drug dealer in high school and I called myself a Christian. But you don't have to be a drug dealer. But listen to this next thing I'm gonna say. But do you unsay with your life what you say with your lips? That's a question you need to answer. And if so, you need to either change your life or change your name. It's that simple. It's really that simple. Change your life or change your name. Now God warns us. Why should I do that, pastor? because of God's serious, serious warnings attached to this commandment. There are serious consequences for committing this sin. Let's look at our text once again. We haven't really gone too far off of Exodus 20, verse seven. By the way, this is number 3A in your outline. What are the consequences? Well, let's read the third commandment once again together. It says, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for, "'The Lord will not leave him unpunished "'who takes his name in vain.'" Friend, this is no idle threat. It's simply a statement of fact. You will be punished. It's somewhat like the law of gravity, which says that if you step off the roof of a 30-story building, you will die. That's not a threat, because a threat has the potential to happen or not happen. It is a fact, and God says this in Exodus 20 verse seven, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. I love that, that's the New King James version. Take God's name lightly, and he will see you in court, and you will be punished. Are you surprised? Don't be. Celebrities in our own day and age pay millions to protect their names, do they not? And then companies like Apple, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Boeing, all of them hire round the clock lawyers to ensure that their corporate name is not being mishandled, misused, or abused. Listen to what one Bible scholar said. He said this, a name is not a title, it's a total. It's the whole person, or you could say the whole company. We understand that the prophets of old said, I come in the name of the Lord. Preachers today come in the name of the Lord. Ambassadors that go to a foreign country come in the name of the government, the name of the ruler, the name of the leader of their land. When you go out to sell a product, you come in the name of your company. When you go to court to defend someone, you come in the name of your client. It doesn't just mean the name itself, it means the person behind the name. We all understand that. Moses, at the end of his life, recapped for the younger generation the law which had originally been given to their parents in Deuteronomy 28. Listen to what he said. He said, if you are not careful to observe all the words of this law, which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, now verse 59, then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues and miserable and chronic, what? Sicknesses. Moses told the people of Israel that they could expect physical ramifications for breaking this particular commandment. Now this passage obviously was aimed at Old Testament Israel, but I do believe that God still might use sickness even today in his punishment of sin. Certainly our society is plagued with miserable and chronic sicknesses, is it not? Folks, we spend by far more than any other country on our health, and yet we are one of the most sick nations, and I mean physically sick, spiritually, mentally, that too, but I'm thinking only of the physical kind, in the world. We really are. And could it not be partly the result of taking his name so lightly? And again, I just pose that as a possibility. Now, please turn your Bibles with me to Leviticus. And look at a very sobering story. One book over, Leviticus chapter 24. Leviticus 24. I wanna show you how serious this sin was and still is. Start in verse 10. Now the son of an Israelite woman whose father was an Egyptian went out among the sons of Israel and the Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel struggled with each other in the camp. The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses, now his mother's name was Shilamith, the daughter of Debre, of the tribe of Dan. Verse 12, they put him in custody so that the command of the Lord might be made clear to them. Verse 13, then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Bring the one who is cursed outside the camp and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head. Then let all the congregation, what? Stone him. You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, if anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin. Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregations shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the name, shall be put to death. Do you think God hates that sin? You better believe he hates that sin. Now skip down to verse 22, where we see it actually being carried out. There shall be one standard for you. It shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God. Verse 23, then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. Thus the sons of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses. Folks, this Old Testament example shows us, right, in vivid color just how much God hates this sin. But maybe you're thinking to yourself right now, well, Pastor Kerry, that was then and this is now. Pastor Kerry, don't you know that you turn to the Old Testament? We're New Testament believers. Right? Surely God knows how we speak today in our society, and that's just how we speak. Certainly God has mellowed over the centuries. Beloved, God is immutable. And that means that his character The things that he loves never changes. The thing that he hates never changes. The 10 commandments are very clearly a part of God's moral law, and God's moral laws never change. His name is very, very important to him, and it should be very, very important to us. Misuse it. and he will see you in court, and it won't be pretty. So what's the cure then for breaking this commandment? This is 4a in your outline. Jesus says that the real problem lies not in the mouth, but where? In the heart. Matthew 12, 34, for the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. So in order to clean up our mouths, We don't need to get a jar, you know what I'm saying, that we cut a hole in or whatever, and every time you swear you put some money into it. That's probably a really funny way of saving money, right? But we need to first start in our hearts, start cleaning up with what's going on in our hearts. And this is true for each of the ways in which God's people break this commandment. Now we already talked about all the different ways that God broke, or that we can break this commandment at the beginning of our message. So let's start going through them once again. Profanity comes out of a dirty heart, okay? So if you easily take the Lord's name in vain, you need to ask yourself if you're even saved. If it rolls off your tongue without a second thought, You need to question where you're at with the Lord. And if you're not saved, then your problem is much, much bigger than just a dirty mouth. You need to get saved today, right? Repent from your sins, believe in the person who Jesus is and what he came to do and what he did on the cross. The Bible says you will be saved, Mark 115. If, however, you are a believer, All right? Then fall on your face before him and ask him for his forgiveness for misusing his name. 1 John 1.9 says this, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So the cure for a dirty mouth is a clean heart. So that's the first one. Second is swearing. Swearing an order, that means to be believed. And that comes from a deceitful heart. Only a liar has to say extra things to back up his word, right? Ask forgiveness for your lies and pursue telling the truth as carefully and in every, each and every circumstance you can. And then people will start knowing you as a man or woman of truth, that you never lie. So the cure for a swearing mouth is a truthful heart. What about unholy joking? And that comes from an irreverent heart. Confess your sin of not treating God as holy, holy, holy. And get to know him in the pages of scripture and tell you are so awed by him that you could never take him or his holy name lightly ever, ever again. So the cure for ungodly joking is a reverent heart. The next one is thoughtless worship, and that comes from a superficial heart. And I would say this, if there's one word to describe our culture, even our Christian culture, it's superficiality, right? Just being superficial. We're an inch deep and a mile wide. So confess your lazy superficiality. Strive to be so in love with God that your heart and mind are naturally engaged in your worship of him. And the cure for mindless worship is a focused heart. And ask God, before you get out of your car, Lord, forgive me for my sins. Help me to worship you right now in spirit and truth. In Jesus' name, amen. And finally, ungodly living. This is number five B, hypocrisy. Ungodly living under the name of Christian comes from a hypocritical heart. Christ saved his harshest words, listen to me very carefully, not for the prostitutes, not for the demon possessed, not for the dishonest tax collectors, but rather he saved his most harshest words for the religious hypocrites "'Of his day, that is those who claim to know him, "'but who by their lives denied him, "'dishonored him, disobeyed him.'" So the cure for hypocrisy is an obedient heart. Brothers and sisters, if God has shown you today that you have been breaking this third commandment, then come to Him, come to Him this morning in contrite repentance. Ask Him to forgive you for taking His precious name so lightly, and then begin filling your heart, your mind, daily with His word. Why? because through his word he will renew your heart and mind and thus cleanse your tongue. If you fill your mind with high and holy thoughts of our high and holy God, you will not use his name so lightly or casually. Instead, you will learn to speak reverent words about our holy God, wholesome words that edify, help, and encourage those who hear them. Instead of being poor excuses for followers of Jesus Christ who carry his name, let us be passionate disciples of his, speaking of and to him with the greatest respect Love and joy, amen? Folks, listen, as we were on vacation, I knew that I was gonna be speaking or preaching on this commandment. And I had the opportunity to, every vacation I try to study something that I just don't have the time to study here. And so I went through the Minor Prophets. The Minor Prophets have a whole lot to say about our Lord's holy name. You know, Hosea through Malachi. Probably the clean pages in your Bible, right? So as I was going through the book of Malachi, and I'd like you to turn there. It's the last one before Matthew. Very last book in your Bible, in the Old Testament, excuse me. As I was going through Malachi, I noticed a number of verses that mentioned God's holy name. Listen to this, and I thought, you know what, I just thought, you know what, I'm just gonna read them. Look at Malachi 1, verse 14. The second part of verse 14. Malachi 1, 14, the second part says, I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations. Now skip to chapter three, verse 16. than those who feared the Lord, spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before him. For who? For those who fear the Lord and who, what? "'Esteem his name.'" Ha ha, that's who that glorious book is for. And he noticed how he just, he picks that out. And then one more, let's go to chapter four, verses one, two, and three. He says this, "'For behold, the day is coming, "'burning like a furnace.'" Now think of this, this is the last chapter before 400 silent years came and then Jesus was gonna pop onto the scene, right? Here it is, for behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant, every evildoer will be chaffed. This is talking about the tribulation. And the day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. Here it is, verse two. But for you who, what? Fear my name. The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing, says the Lord of hosts. The one way he describes them is by those who fear his holy name. Is that not awesome? Folks, listen. We're gonna celebrate communion in just a moment here. There it is. This poem was written in recent years, quoted by a well-known preacher, Steve Lawson. But originally, it was said to have been found in the papers of a young African pastor in Zimbabwe who died for his faith. And I'm just gonna read it for you right now. The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, love by patience, live by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popular popularity, excuse me, nor meander in the maze of mediocrity. I will not give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I have prayed up, preached up, stored up, and stayed up the cause of Jesus Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I will go until he returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until he comes, and when he comes to get his own. I love this. He will have no trouble recognizing me. My colors are flying high and they are clear for all to see. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. My question for you is, for you this morning is, are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?