PASSING ON THE FAMILY NAME
As I get older, I’m very aware of how precious it is to have my dad in my life. He’s the patriarch of the Brewer clan. There’s going to be a day when my dad hands that baton over to me. As the patriarch, there’s something I have to pass over to my family and one of those things is the genealogy or history of our family.
It’s been the same throughout the ages.
When God Almighty spoke to Abram, I want to tell you, Abram lost everything for his love for God. He left his house. He left his family. He left his inheritance, his country; and he wandered a wilderness chasing after a God he didn’t know, but couldn’t ignore.
All Abram knew was he was in love with the heart that was behind the voice. When God Almighty showed up to Him in Genesis 17, one of the first things He said to him was that He was going to give him a name.
That God did when he changed Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude). Mind you, he did this decades before Abraham had even one child!
“I make this covenant with you: I promise that you will be the ancestor of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, because I am making you the ancestor of many nations.” – Genesis 17: 4-6
Still to this day, when we say the name Abraham, we automatically put the title “father” in front of it. Admit it, you do! That name “Father of a multitude” defined him. Still does today.
When God gives you a name, it defines you. It becomes your identity. Have you taken the name above all names, Jesus, as your identity? By the way, “Jesus” or “Yeshua” means “to rescue or deliver.” That’s your heritage, your identity. Are you passing on the family name?
FROM MY SERMON SERIES NEXT OF KIN
TODAY’S PROPHETIC THOUGHT
There is always room for one more at My table. I love you and I prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies. I call you family in front of a world that wants to devour you. Don’t eat alone. Invite others to our family dinner.