What’s in a name?
Naming ministry started from Adam. Adam named everything created by God. The Bible says whatever Adam called anything that was the name thereof. So be very careful what people call you because what they call you may become a permanent identity. That is why we name our children; we name even houses. Adam had a lot of inspiration before his fall but I don’t know how much inspiration he had after his fall.
Are you still wondering what’s in a name? Don’t you know a name is a mission statement? Your name is a summary of your destiny. Your name is a description of what you are likely to be or what you or your parents want you to be. That is why God is interested in the issue of names. If they call you a stone, change it because you may become so dense. Do you know someone who was named Goodluck who ended up ruling his nation? Be careful what you call your children.
Get back to the manufacturer
Every time man names you, he misses it because it is only the manufacturer that can best name or describe his product. Man didn’t make you; man cannot tell who you are. They cannot know what you can do; they cannot know what you cannot do because it’s only the manufacturer that knows what he has made, how best it can be used. That was why God showed up in the life of Jacob because He made man; He understands man and He introduced him to himself.
One of the greatest discoveries you will ever make outside of knowing Christ is to discover who you really are and what you are here for on earth. Every time man names you he always cuts you shorter than you ought to be. They package you smaller (they will never package you full). They named Abraham, Abram and left the ‘ham’. Abram means ‘exalted father’ (could this mean ceremonial father?) while Abraham means ‘father of many nations.’ That is why when you need any information about yourself go to your manufacturer; He has the details. Your manual is with Him. He knows you inside out.
Parents generally name their children according to their experiences. The names of their children are either pages in their history or pages in their destiny. Parents name their children based on where they were when the children were born or the circumstances they want to capture in their history. When Joseph wanted to name his children, the firstborn was a page in his history. He called him Manasseh-for God had made me forget all my toil and my father’s house. Did that name have anything to do with the boy himself? No! But it had everything to do with the parent! What had the boy to do with the history of his father? And when he delivered the second son, he called him Ephraim-I am fruitful-his future. Manasseh was a page in his history while Ephraim was a page in his future. Parents always want their children to live the life they could not live. They want you to marry the person they couldn’t marry; they want you to become the doctor they couldn’t become; they want you to become the lawyer, engineer they couldn’t become. This is why parents tell their children the kind of people they want them to be. They don’t care what God wants them to be. As far as they are concerned, you are the extension of their lives. And as such they want to name you according to their own desires.
God named His son
That was why God did not leave the naming of Jesus His Son in the hands of men. He (God) called Him Jesus meaning He shall save His people. I told you before that your name is a mission statement. That is why when your people name you, they give you the name that has no bearing with you at all but unfortunately you end up becoming what they call you. Jabez was a man named sorrow and his life was a failure before he came to God and God delivered him. Also when John the Baptist was born, they wanted to name him Zechariah. In other words, Zechariah Junior, since he is an extension of his father. If his father was cancerous, he would be cancerous junior because it is just a transmission from father to son. When he was finally named John, they protested to show that they wanted to name him to perpetrate his ancestral destiny. They will want to name you to perpetrate your ancestral destiny. The only ancestral destiny that I want to perpetrate is the one that connects me to the seed of Abraham, that connects me to David, that connects me to the Eternal Rock of Ages; that connects me to El-Shaddai. They said nobody in your family goes by that name! Wasn’t that good? Nobody in your family has answered that name! Do you know the implications of that? It means nobody in your family had answered millionaire before, nobody in your family had been an internationally acclaimed businessman before, etc. When you allow God to show you who you really are, He will show you what nobody in your family had ever been before!
Men don’t stop giving you names after you are born. Have they called you names before? Do you know one interesting thing? Somebody who was singing your praise yesterday can be giving you names today. They only name you depending on the prevailing circumstances and how they feel about you at the time. The day they like you, they give you pet names. The day they hate you, they give you horrible names. But what bothers me is that you begin to behave the name they call you. Even Jesus as anointed as He was, was given names. They refused to call Him the name God gave Him and called Him the one they felt appropriate for Him. What names have they given to you? Close your ears to them!
You are a prince; you are a winner; you are blessed! You are a champion, a giant killer, a royal priesthood. You are not a grasshopper. You are a precious gem in the hands of God. Your story is just unfolding. Things change and things will change for you in Jesus name. If you feel like changing your name, go ahead and do it. Your greatness is just about to unfold! Have a blessed week and a blessed life.
Bishop Dr. Charles Olowojoba is the General Overseer of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l. Website: www.dayspringcmi.org e-mail: [email protected] Help line: 08035150515
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