December 10, 2024 • 42 mins
Pastor of Formation & Mission Benjamin Kandt continues our Advent series, Seeing Everyone Enjoy the King, preaching from Genesis 4:26. Pastor Ben unravels the cultural mandate seen in Genesis 4:17-25, highlighting humanity's quest for security and civilization despite the fall. Cain’s city-building, alongside the cultural contributions of his descendants, paints a complex picture of human creativity shadowed by rebellion and sin. Yet, in this tapestry, we find a thread of hope through characters like Seth and Enosh, reminding us of the divine promise and our destiny.
In this context, he then explores the extraordinary power of prayer, drawing inspiration from the stories of Abraham and Moses. Their stories teach us about the intimacy and authority that comes through a deep connection with God. From calling upon the name of the Lord in times of trial to witnessing the fervent prayers that sparked the Hebrides revival, Pastor Ben offers a heartfelt invitation to embrace prayer as an active expression of faith. This Advent, as we long for spiritual awakening, we are invited to join together in seeking a transformative experience of God’s presence in our communities.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello everyone.
This is Pastor Damien.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City, orlando.
At New City, we believe all ofus need all of Jesus for all of
life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
At this point, I'm going toinvite you to join with me in a
prayer of illumination and areading of God's word.
(00:26):
We believe that God's worddefines reality for us, and we
believe that we need the HolySpirit to open our eyes, and so
let's ask him for that together.
Promise, savior, as we rememberyour first advent and wait for
your return, help us to see yourglory and love through the
reading and preaching of yourword.
(00:47):
Through Christ, our Savior, wepray Amen.
Our scripture reading is a longone from Genesis 4.26.
Please remain standing, if youare able.
At that time, people began tocall upon the name of the Lord.
This is God's word.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
You made it.
(01:07):
Well done, super proud of you.
So we are in the second week ofAdvent and our Advent series, as
you'll be able to see behind mehere, is Seeing Everyone Enjoy
the King.
That's an acronym for what SEEKstands for.
You heard Kenny at thebeginning talk about SEEK first.
(01:28):
This is the third year in a rowthat we have left one year and
entered into another year inextraordinary united
kingdom-focused prayer.
But this is the first year thatwe're ever doing something
called SEEK week, which is wherewe're consecrating the first
168 hours of 2025 to the Lordfor the purpose of gospel
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expansion in our city.
It's not a new city thing, it'sactually.
Seek is a network of churchesand pastors and Christians and
ministries across Orlando, agrowing network, who are all
agreed that the way God works inthe world, it's always preceded
by extraordinary unitedkingdom-focused prayer.
(02:11):
That's true in biblical history, that's true in church history.
Whenever a move of God, apouring out of his Holy Spirit
what some people call revivalwhenever that happens, it's
always preceded by the people ofGod gathering for extraordinary
united kingdom-focused prayer.
Why Towards what end?
(02:31):
To see everyone enjoy the King.
That's why Seek Orlando exists,that's why we're doing Seek
First, that's why we're doingSeek Week.
And then, to give you somerationale, we have an Advent
series called Seeing EveryoneEnjoy the King, and so I want to
look at that.
What does that actually mean?
What is the role of prayer inthe coming of God's kingdom?
And I want to look at Genesis 4, 26 in order to do that.
(02:53):
So if you have a Bible or adevice, go ahead and open up or
turn on to Genesis 4, verse 26.
We're going to look at morethan just that one verse, but
that verse really is shapingthis entire sermon.
So I have three points, and it'sessentially this one scripture.
Point one is at that time,point two is people began to
(03:16):
call, and point three is uponthe name of the Lord.
Okay, why?
What are we after here?
Well, let's look at at thattime.
This construction in Hebrewactually is a signal.
It's signaling something new,something climactic, something
shifting.
And so then the question wouldbe what time?
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What time is it?
What's really going on?
And the only way you canunderstand that and this is just
a principle for reading theBible is that context is king,
context is king.
So you've got to understandthat verse in the light of it's,
the chapter and the book thatit's in.
And so, if we just back up,even to yesterweek's sermon,
damian told us about how Godcreated man and woman in his
(04:01):
image, which means that yourdignity, your design and your
destiny is to be kings andqueens in this earth.
That's what it means to behuman.
And God designed us that wayand he gave us a mission, and
the mission was to share in hisreign and rule over all of
creation.
(04:22):
The way that God says it inGenesis 1, 26 and 28 is that we
were given this task to befruitful, multiply and fill the
earth, and then to have dominion, to rule, to subdue, to work
and to keep.
I'm going to summarize thosetwin themes that run from
Genesis to Revelation.
I'm going to summarize thosetwin themes under these two
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words womb and work.
Be fruitful, multiply, fill theearth the woman primarily leads
out through her womb and worktill the soil.
Bring fruit from the ground theman primarily leads out in his
work.
That's the way that Genesis 1,2, and 3 is going to kind of
(05:03):
develop those twin themes.
But something went wrong InGenesis 3,.
What happens is that theserpent comes in the snake in
the garden and basically tellsthem hey, you can get what you
want on your own terms, youdon't need God.
And so we who were made to bekings and queens, end up
grasping and clutching for whatwas already ours.
(05:26):
It's a good design, or a gooddefinition, rather, of sin.
And so in Genesis 3, the peoplego astray and towards the end
of Genesis 3, we see a judgmentpronounced by God, a curse as a
result of that rebellion.
And what is it?
On the woman's womb and theman's work?
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And we see the woman's wombthat there's going to be pain in
bringing forth children beingfruitful, multiply, filling the
earth.
The commission is still there.
It's just going to be painful.
Now we see the man actually inhis work as he's bringing forth
fruit from the ground, fruitfrom the womb, fruit from the
ground.
There's going to be pain andtoil, thorns and thistles.
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There's a curse of the man'swork in the woman's womb.
This is what Genesis 3 shapesup to look like.
But there's a hint of hopebecause it's not just the man
and the woman who experiencejudgment, it's also the serpent.
So if you have a Bible ordevice, you just flip back a
page to Genesis 3.15.
This is going to be a keypassage to understand what's
(06:33):
going on in our text today.
Genesis 3.15,.
This is the Lord saying to theserpent and he says this I will
put enmity between you and thewoman and between your offspring
.
That word is seed, between youroffspring or seed and her
offspring or seed, he shallbruise your head and you shall
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bruise his heel.
Scholars call this theproto-euangelion, the first
gospel.
This is a declaration of goodnews in the midst of judgment.
Bad news it's happening righthere.
This is a significant promisethat God is making to the first
humans that will carry onthroughout the rest of human
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history that the serpent's headwill be crushed.
It will happen.
Someone will come.
There will be a seed from whichyou will be crushed.
It will happen.
Someone will come.
There will be a seed from whichyou will be restored back to
paradise.
There is hope that this willnot always be this way.
You won't always live east ofEden.
And so the legitimate questionwhen we get to Genesis, chapter
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4, is who will this be?
Who's the coming seed?
Who's the coming offspring?
Who's the snake crusher?
And so when we get to the endof Genesis 3, verse 20, you can
see that I think Adam isbelieving the promise of God,
because he says this in verse 20, the man called his wife's name
Eve because she was the motherof all living.
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He's believing the promise.
He's saying the offspring ofthe woman will come.
My wife is the mother of allliving.
From her will come thisserpent-crushing seed.
Then you get to Genesis 4, verse1, and it says this Now Adam
knew Eve, his wife, and sheconceived and bore Cain, saying
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I've gotten a man, with the helpof the Lord.
And again she bore his brother,abel.
Now pause there for a moment.
At this point in the story, ifyou're Adam and Eve, you're
wondering which one is it?
Is it Cain?
Is it Abel?
Who's going to crush theserpent's head?
How are we getting back toparadise?
What's it going to take to getback into Eden?
That's the question thatthey're asking.
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But if you keep followingthrough, if you know the story
of Cain and Abel, it doesn't gowell.
We know Abel's not the seed,he's not the snake crusher,
because he gets killed by hisbrother.
But what about Cain?
Maybe God's still got a planfor Cain.
And so we get to verse 17 ofchapter four.
(09:06):
It says this Cain knew his wifeand she conceived and bore
Enoch.
When he built a city, he calledthe name of the city after the
name of his son, enoch.
Now here's somethingsignificant Cain was cursed for
killing Abel.
He was cursed to be a wanderer,and that was what God spoke
over him.
And what did he do immediatelyafter he stopped wandering, he
built a city.
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He urbanized in order to createsecurity for himself.
This is significant becausejust because of the fall in
Genesis 3 doesn't mean we lostour commitment to womb and work.
This still happens.
It's called the culturalmandate.
It's still playing out to thisday.
But look at the rest of thistext.
Here, in verse 19, it says thatone of Cain's descendants,
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lamech, took two wives.
That's the first time ofpolygamy in the Bible and
there's just this principleWhenever there's polygamy in the
Bible, it doesn't go well.
The Bible's not condoning it,it's condemning it through the
narrative.
It's showing you this is not agood idea.
So what happens when Lamechtakes two wives?
It says this the name of theone is Ada and the name of the
other is Zilhah.
Ada bore Jabal and he was thefather of those who dwell in
(10:12):
tents and have livestock.
Okay, this is significant.
I said a moment ago some versionof baby making and culture
making is how God plans to usework through people to bring his
kingdom here on earth.
So what's happening in the text?
There's baby making happeningand there's culture making
happening.
You see, immediately Cain'sdescendants start doing things
(10:36):
like building tents and caringfor livestock.
They're actually doing thethings necessary to sustain a
civilization, to live in thecity that Cain built.
Well, look at the next text here.
It says in verse 21,.
His brother's name was Jubal,so Jabal and Jubal, he was the
father of all those who play thelyre and pipe.
So really early on in the storyof God, people are already
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making music.
People are already enteringinto the arts.
People are already making music.
People are already enteringinto the arts, into
craftsmanship, into ways ofbringing beauty out of chaos.
This is good actually.
This is humans being humans.
This is culture making core toour calling as human beings.
Look at the next verse.
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It goes on Zillah also bore twoball cane.
He was the forger of allinstruments of bronze and iron.
You see, in the text here nowwe've got people taking material
like bronze and irons andshaping them into technologies
and tools and instruments, andso human beings cannot help
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ourselves.
We are, by default, culturemakers.
It's going to happen.
It's core to God's plan for usin the world.
But here's the problem the humanhand is always guided by the
human heart.
The human hand is always guidedby the human heart, and so Cain
and his line, his seed, hisoffspring, are in rebellion
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against God.
Which is why, in the very nextverses, look with me at verse
23,.
Lamech said to his wives,plural, ada and Zillah hear my
voice, you, wives of Lamech,listen to what I say.
I have killed a man forwounding me, a young man for
striking me.
If Cain's revenge is sevenfold,then Lamech's revenge is 77
(12:23):
fold.
Okay, do we see what'shappening here?
Metal working becomes weaponmaking.
Plows, scythes, tools fortilling the soil, bronze and
metal instruments are now usedto create swords and spears to
kill people.
To create swords and spears tokill people.
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What was baby making has turnedinto revenge taking the human
heart is always guiding thehuman hand, and so when we make
culture, which is core to who weare, it's guided by a heart
either in rebellion against Godor in willing submission to God.
And so I started this by sayingwhat time is it in our text
when it says at that time?
(13:09):
Look with me again at the text,verse 25.
And Adam knew his wife again,and she bore a son and called
his name Seth.
You see in the narrative what'shappened in your mind is you
see the story?
You see that if baby-making andculture-making is going to
bring the kingdom here and crushthe serpent.
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If it's going to happen, maybethis is how it's going to work.
Maybe it's through Cain's lineand their incredible
industriousness and the arts andtechnology and animal husbandry
and all these things thatthey're doing.
Maybe that's the way that thekingdom is going to come.
Maybe that's how we're going tocrush the serpent's head.
Andy Crouch has my favoritedefinition of culture.
He says culture is what we makeof the world, and he means that
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both what we make of the worldmaterially, of the world and he
means that both what we make ofthe world materially, as in what
we shape the world into, butalso what we make of the world
meaningfully, the stories wetell, the music we make.
And you see culture makinghappening in this text.
But when we get to the point ofour text, our sermon text today
, you can see that there's thishesitancy about whether or not
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womb and work are really goingto bring us back to Eden, like
we all long for.
That's what time it is.
So let's look at our text again.
In verse 25, it says this andAdam knew his wife again and she
bore a son and called his nameSeth, for she said God has
appointed for me anotheroffspring, or seed.
That's the word from Genesis3.15.
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I think this is more evidencethat they believe the promise.
God has appointed for meanother offspring instead of
Abel, for Cain killed him ToSeth also.
A son was born and he calledhis name Enosh.
Now I feel for Seth and Enosh,because you know the phrase like
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that's a face only a mothercould love.
Enosh's name means man, but italso kind of means mortality,
weakness, frailty.
Seth means appointed.
Enosh means mm, I don't thinkthis is theilty.
Seth means appointed.
Enosh means I don't think thisis the dude.
And so Eve is looking at herbaby, her grandbaby, enosh, and
(15:23):
going yeah, that's not the one,he's not the snake crusher.
I don't know what she saw, Itruly don't, but for some reason
she is losing confidence inthis as the source of the snake
crusher.
And we find ourselves at ourtext at this point.
It says in the end of verse 26,.
At that time, at that time,people began to call upon the
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name of the Lord.
That was a lot, but it wasgiving you context to see what
time is it it's time to stoptrusting in human means.
What time is it it's time tostop trusting in tech and
education and arts andcraftsmanship to bring us back
to the garden.
What time is it?
(16:11):
It's time to look outside ofourselves, because all we have
to offer is human weakness, andwe need our impotence to be
bound together with God'somnipotence.
And so what do people do?
They call upon the name of theLord.
They start to pray, and that'spoint two here.
People began to call.
People began to call.
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This is maybe about 250years-ish from the birth of Cain
to the birth of Enosh.
Okay, so there's a gap in there, and what's happening is, I
think, the people who arecalling in the name of the Lord
are beginning to realize thatthey're not getting back into
Eden anytime soon, that theylive east of Eden and this is
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where they are.
They're in exile from the placethey were designed to be, and
so they begin to be sensitive tothis, aware of this.
And it's always in waiting,right, 250 years of waiting.
God uses waiting in our livesin order to cultivate
desperation in our hearts.
(17:15):
Paul Miller has this greatpicture.
People come to him.
He wrote a great book on prayercalled A Praying Life.
People come to him often andsay Paul, how can I have a
better prayer life.
And he said I can tell you onething here it is If you were to
take that feeling of desperation, that pit in the stomach that
you get sometimes, and if youcould distill that into a liquid
and every time you wanted topray you just took a shot of
desperation you'd have anamazing prayer life.
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The people in our text that arecalling upon the name of the
Lord, at that time they'refeeling desperate, they're
feeling weak.
They don't think baby makingand culture making is gonna
bring the kingdom anymore.
So what do they do?
They call upon the name of theLord, they begin to pray, they
begin to ask God to do for themwhat they cannot do for
themselves.
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About 10 years ago I was inseminary and I wrote a paper on
this text, and my paper was inour class on ecclesiology, which
is the study of the church, andI argued this is when the
church began, this is the studyof the church.
And I argued this is when thechurch began.
This is the beginning of thechurch.
So you all, new City, who arethe church here in Orlando, the
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church of Orlando that'sgathering together on Seek First
and Seek Week, like we are thechurch.
This is our story.
This is where we began, righthere, genesis 4.26.
The church began when itstopped being individuals, but a
people calling upon the name ofthe Lord.
So I'm saying it wasn'tPentecost in Acts 2.
That's not when the churchbegan.
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The church began way back here,when people started taking up
the promises of God and callingupon the name of God.
You could find a betterdefinition of the church than
this?
But this is a really simple androbust one.
What is the church?
The people who call upon thedefinition of the church than
this, but this is a reallysimple and robust one.
What is the church?
The people who call upon thename of the Lord.
That's what the church is.
That's the people of God.
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Throughout history.
It's the definingcharacteristic of who we are.
As the people of God, we callupon the name of the Lord.
We ask God to do what he'spromised to do.
That's significant becausethere's a book on this verse
called Calling Upon the Name ofthe Lord by Gary Miller.
It's a great book.
If you want a book on prayerbiblical understanding of prayer
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, this one's excellent, and inthere he says it like this when
this phrase is used in the OldTestament, because it starts
here, calling upon the name ofthe Lord, and it's picked up and
reused a lot throughout the OldTestament.
And when it's used, he arguesit is asking God specifically to
do one thing to come through onhis promises, to come through
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on what he said he would do.
That's what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
God, you said now do what youpromised to do, do what you
promised us.
And so, in this way, all prayeris what Eugene Peterson calls
answering God.
God goes first he speaks andthen we simply answer him.
We simply receive what he saidand then respond in prayer.
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We receive the promises, werespond in prayer.
This is how the Christian lifeworks the promises we respond in
prayer.
This is how the Christian lifeworks.
My first discipler, my sisterShannon, told me that faith is
giving all that I know of myselfto all that I know of Jesus.
I love that definition.
I think it's so helpful.
So then the question would bewhat did they know of themselves
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and what did they know of Godin Genesis 4.26?
Well, what they knew ofthemselves is we can't.
What they knew of God is youcan, and it caused them to pray.
What they knew of God, reallywhat they had to base their
faith, their calling upon thename of the Lord on, was Genesis
3.15.
You promised that there wouldcome a snake crusher, somebody
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who would destroy evil in yourworld and renew your creation.
You promised God.
Now do it, do what you said youwould do.
You see, the kingdom comesthrough prayer.
This is where it starts, righthere, in Genesis 4.26.
We call upon God's name.
We say you promised, now comethrough on what you promised.
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That's a very biblical andChristian definition of prayer.
Now, as the story of Scripturedevelops, something really
remarkable happens.
Authority and intimacy areinextricably linked.
Let me just trace this out alittle bit.
Abraham is known throughout thestory of Scripture as the
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friend of God.
I don't know of a more intimateword to describe between
Abraham and Yahweh, the Lord,than he's his friend.
And what does that mean?
How does that play out?
Well, as the Lord is about togo, destroy Sodom and Gomorrah,
what does he do?
He goes.
Should we tell Abraham whatwe're about to do?
You know our buddy, our pal,our friend.
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This is Genesis 18, 19, thisarea.
And the answer is yes, wetotally should.
And what does God permit Abrahamto do, try to talk him out of
it.
What is going on?
The sovereign God of theuniverse is inviting Abraham to
come and to speak to him abouthis decisions that he's making.
Yes, why?
Because authority flows fromintimacy.
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Abraham's been invited into thecounsel of God, and so
Abraham's legitimately arguingwith God, saying, hey, don't do
this, it's not a good idea.
And he's the Lord's telling him.
Well, listen, this is thesituation he's like.
Okay, I understand that, andthey kind of have this back and
forth and throughout the storyof Scripture.
Then you get Moses, who isdescribed as the man who speaks
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with God face to face, as a manspeaks with his friend.
Few people had more authorityin the story of Scripture than
Moses.
Why?
Because authority flows fromintimacy.
I'm hop, skipping and jumpinghere.
You could go through theprophets, you could go through
King David, you could go throughon and on and on.
But let me just jump to the NewTestament.
Jesus in John 15 looks at hisdisciples.
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He says no longer do I call youservants, now I call you
friends.
Why, jesus?
Well, he goes on.
He says because I have revealedto you, I have disclosed to you
all of the things that I'mabout to do.
What does that mean?
God invites you in toparticipate, to partake in his
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work in the world.
If you have intimacy with God,he gives you authority to work
out in the world.
Why?
Because God's design making youkings and queens is for you to
become the kind of people hecould entrust with his power.
And how do you become thosekind of people?
Intimacy, familiarity,friendship with God.
Just like you, you invite yourfriends, hopefully, to speak
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into the life decisions that youmake.
God invites us, as his friends,to speak in the decisions that
he makes when he rules the world.
We've got a term for that prayer.
This is the incredibleprivilege of what it means to be
kings and queens ruling in thisworld under God's authority as
the king, the sovereign over theuniverse.
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This is the role prayer playsin this.
So what does this look like inpractice for you?
What does this actually looklike?
Let's just say you're cominginto the end of this year
feeling exhausted, worn out,burnt out.
It means taking the promise inMatthew 11, 28.
Jesus, you said come to me andthat you would restore my soul,
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you'd give me rest, you'd giveme your yoke, you'd slow me down
to the pace of grace.
Will you do that for me?
Do you see what's happening?
You're calling on the name ofthe Lord, you're taking his
promises in Matthew 11, 28, andyou're holding him to it.
You said Lord, it says that thepeople of God talk to God
throughout the story ofScripture.
Let's just say you've got somepeople in your life that don't
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know Jesus and it burdens you,or maybe that are going wayward,
or maybe making they're just,they're far from God, alienated
from God.
You go to him, maybe with someother people, and you take up 2
Peter, 3, 9, and you say Lord,it says here that you don't want
anyone to perish.
You're patient, you're slow.
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Why?
Because you're longing forpeople not to perish, to grant
them repentance so that they cancome home.
If that's true and I believe itis because you said it do what
you said.
This is what it looks like tocall upon the name of the Lord.
Some of you in here feeloverwhelmed with decisions you
have to make.
Maybe it's parenting.
You're like I don't know whatto do in this new age and stage
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Like this is crazy.
We need, like, an iOS update.
This isn't working for us.
You go to God and you call uponthe name of the Lord, using
James 1.5.
It says that he will givewisdom to those who ask and he
gives it generously, with zerocondemnation.
He's not like you, idiot.
Why are you asking me again?
He goes yes, wisdom, you needit, I've got it, have at it.
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You take up James 1.5, and youcome before the Lord with that
promise and you say I'm callingon you, lord.
You said, come through on whatyou said.
Some of you in here feel a senseof injustice.
You look around Maybe it's inyour own life, maybe it's in the
city around us, maybe it's inyour workplace and you take up
Psalm 37, the city around us,maybe it's in your workplace.
And you take up Psalm 37, verse28, where it says the Lord
loves justice.
(26:19):
So simple, lord.
This is true.
You love justice.
Why do you tolerate injustice?
You can hear where lament comesin here now, and so you say,
lord, bring justice to thissituation.
It's not fair.
Bring justice, you love it,make it happen.
Calling on your name right now,some of you in here might feel
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a sense of disappointment.
Or let's just say you're in acircle with somebody who's
feeling disappointment unmetdesires.
Elizabeth Elliot says sufferingis when you have what you don't
want or when you want what youdon't have.
You have somebody in your lifewho's suffering in that way,
with disappointment, and you goto them and you open up Psalm 27
, verse 13, which says I believethat I will look upon the
(27:04):
goodness of the Lord in the landof the living.
And you take that prayer andyou bring that promise with them
and you bring them into thepresence of God with you and you
say listen, I believe this God,I with them, and you bring them
into the presence of God withyou and you say listen, I
believe this God, I believe thatwe will look upon the goodness
of the Lord in the land of theliving, not just there and then
in the new heavens and earth,but here and now.
Lord, bring this promise toreality.
That's what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
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Some of you in here experiencetemptation to compromise or
maybe you already have andyou're wondering what you do.
The pressure to give in totemptation is so strong and
maybe you confess that to peoplearound you, the people who show
up for you.
And you take up Psalm 121,where it says he will not let
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your foot be moved.
You say, god, don't let my footbe moved.
I'm walking, but I feel likethe path I'm walking is
treacherous right now.
Hold me up, don't let me slip,lord.
Finally, some of you in here,you experience loneliness, and
I'm aware that this seasonheightens loneliness for many of
us.
There was a song that I likedwhen I was in my teenage years
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that says of us.
There was a song that I likedwhen I was in my teenage years
that says have you ever beenalone in a crowded room?
Some of you feel that in theholiday season, you feel alone
in a crowded room, or you're noteven in the crowded room, and
you're just alone, period.
And what do you do?
What do you do with thatloneliness?
Well, first I would say, bringit into community, tell somebody
, invite them into it.
But Hebrews 13 says I will neverleave you nor forsake you.
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God, is that true?
Have you never left me norforsaken me?
It doesn't feel true right now,but I know that my feelings are
not the barometer of what istrue, and so I'm going to hope
that, just like the sun can behidden by some cloud cover, in
the same way your presence isout of my awareness right now,
and I'm trusting that.
Be above the clouds, beyond theclouds, you really have never
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left me, nor forsaken me.
This is what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
God, you said, this is who youare.
God, you said, this is what youwould do, and you take those
things before him and you askhim.
You ask him to be who he sayshe is, which is super honoring
to God.
It's super honoring to God.
God, you said.
And he goes you're right, takeme at my word.
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And so, when we find ourselvescalling upon the name of the
Lord, we're taking seriously whohe is and what he's promised to
do.
And that brings us to our thirdpoint.
What does it mean to call uponthe name of the Lord?
Let me ask you what's in a name?
Why do humans name everything?
We name each other, we name ourboats, we name our cities, we
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name God.
Why is it that first-timeparents, especially, are in so
much agony over the name oftheir first child, usually?
Why is this?
Why is it that names are sosignificant to us?
What makes it such that, when wethink about, or if you reflect
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back on, even the Holocaust.
One of the things that they didwas so heinous was they
stripped people of their namesand they gave them numbers
instead.
So heinous was they strippedpeople of their names and they
gave them numbers instead.
What happened in that moment?
Why would they do that?
Well, because we know that coreto what a name is is your
identity, it's who you are.
But it's not just this internalsense of identity, it's
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actually this external, it'sreputation, it's who you're
recognized, as People know youby your name, if they know you.
This is what's in a name.
It's reputation, it's honor,it's all these things are kind
of wrapped up together.
And so what's in a name?
When we call upon the name ofthe Lord, we're receiving God's
character, we're saying this iswho you said you are, and we're
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responding in prayer, holdinghim to be that person, to be who
he said he is.
And so many of us live and grewup in a context which people now
are calling culturalChristianity, which means that
Christianity has just seepedinto American or Western culture
so much that it's hard for usto get outside of a Christian
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framework, even if we're notChristians.
So let me just give you thesmelling salt of what other
people relate to their God, likethere's a prayer from around
the time of Moses, and it's aprayer to every God.
I've read another one before.
This is actually a differentone.
You're welcome.
New Akkadian prayer today.
This is the prayer to every God.
Now contrast this with whatI've been saying this whole time
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.
Quote the God whom I know or donot know, has placed suffering
upon me.
Although I am lookingconstantly for help, no one
takes me by the hand when I weep.
They do not come to my side.
I utter laments but none hearsme.
If you don't have this book,that's your life.
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If you don't have what the Bible, what we call revelation, god's
self-disclosure, if you don'thave that, you're aimless.
You're wandering in the dark.
You cry out to a God, prayer toany God, every God, whichever
God, but you have no confidenceof who that God is or how that
God's going to act towards you.
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Which is why, if you ever takeChristian prayer, it's always
responsive, it's alwaysanswering God, because God has
gone first.
If you ever come to a prayermeeting with me, I can promise
you there's going to be an openBible, most likely.
Why?
Well, because we take what Godsays about who he is and what
he's going to do, and we bringthose words back to God so that
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we're not just wandering in thedarkness.
I can't pray for more than like10 minutes without the Bible
open in front of me.
Some of you are like.
I hope you feel relief in that,because this is the way it was
meant to go.
It's a dialogue between God.
He speaks and we respond.
This is what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
God goes first, even in ourtext, if you go back to Genesis
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3.
In Genesis 3, 9, it says thisthis is after Adam and Eve rebel
, but the Lord God listen tothis language called to man and
said where are you?
You see, we believe that Godcalls upon us far earlier than
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we ever call upon him.
We believe that it takes God toknow God.
We believe that unless Godgraciously discloses himself to
us, we would never know how todraw near to him.
So if you have ever called uponthe name of the Lord, or if
you're in any way inclined tocall upon the name of the Lord,
it's because God called yourname out first.
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That's what's happening in thetext here, and so God reveals
his name and his people respondin praying to that name, to that
God, to be who that God saysthat God is.
So let's go back to our promisein Genesis 3.15, this seed of
the woman that would crush thehead of the serpent but whose
heel would be bruised.
That promise really isn'tfulfilled for anywhere, at
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minimum 4,000 years.
It's a long time to be callingupon the name of the Lord, but
when we get to our Christmaspassages, you read Matthew 1,
let's just say you skip past thegenealogy because it's boring,
but don't skip past thegenealogy.
It is boring, I'm sure, butit's actually full of richness
and brilliance if you payattention.
Why?
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Because Jesus is the seed.
Going back, going back, goingback, luke 3 says Jesus is the
seed all the way back to Adam.
That's why the genealogies arein there throughout the whole
story of Scripture is becausewe're seeing whose offspring is
going to come and crush the headof the serpent.
And so we get to Matthew 1 andwe read through this genealogy
linking Jesus back, back, back,back back, and then we get to
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this point where he's going tobe named Jesus back, back, back,
back, back, and then we get tothis point where he's going to
be named Angel comes to Josephand tells Joseph what he's
supposed to name this boy that'sgoing to be born of a virgin.
What does he say?
If you want to flip there, youcan.
In Matthew 1.
Famous Christmas passage.
It says this in verse 21, shewill bear a son, and you shall
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call his name Jesus, for he willsave his people from their sins
.
All this took place to fulfillwhat the Lord had spoken by the
prophet.
Behold, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son, and
they shall call his nameEmmanuel, which means God with
us.
So which is it, jesus orEmmanuel?
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Yes, jesus is his mission.
His mission is for the Lord tosave.
That's what it means.
Jesus means Yahweh saves Yeshua, but he's also Emmanuel.
That's his identity.
He's God with us.
The fulfillment of Genesis 3.15is in Jesus, the one who saves,
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and Emmanuel, god with us.
God will come and actuallybring his people back back into
restored paradise.
That's why, when Jesus ishanging on the cross, he looks
to the thief next to him andsays today you will be with me
in paradise.
That's the word for Eden.
And so Jesus is this coming,one who comes in an unexpected
way.
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Why?
Because Jesus is born from thewomb of a teenage virgin and
then Jesus dies through the workof Roman execution.
Nobody would have ever expectedwomb and work would shape up
like that, and so this is whyjohn calvin says it like this
Through the gospel, our heartsare trained to call on god's
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name Because we have a namejesus, yeshua, emmanuel, god
with us, the one who saves.
We have a name to call upon.
This is why, in acts 2, quotingJoel 2, it says everyone, very
inclusive, everyone who calls inthe name of the Lord shall be
saved.
A couple chapters later, inActs 4, it says this there is
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salvation in no one else, veryexclusive, only Jesus.
There is salvation in no oneelse, for there is no other name
under heaven given among men bywhich we must be saved.
Why Philippians 2 puts it likethis?
Because he became a servant tothe point of death.
Therefore, god has highlyexalted him and given Jesus the
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name that is above every name,so that the name of Jesus, every
knee will bow and every tongueconfess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God, theFather.
This is what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
But then something really weirdhappens to this promise in
Genesis 3.15.
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In Romans 16.20,.
Paul quotes it and he says thisto the Romans.
He says this the God of peacewill soon crush Satan under your
feet.
What I thought Jesus was thesnake crusher.
Why would the God of peacewhich I think is a funny irony
the God of peace will crushSatan under your feet.
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How does that work, new City?
What does that mean for you andme?
Well, if you belong to Jesus,then he is the head and you are
his body.
You are the feet under whichthe serpent's head will be
crushed.
The fulfillment of the promiseis not yet the evil.
One's still doing work in ourworld.
He's been crushed, and yet notcrushed.
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And so how do we share in that?
What does it look like for usto join in our big brother's
mission of serpent crushing?
First and foremost, callingupon the name of the Lord.
Calling upon the name of theLord Jesus in extraordinary
united kingdom-focused prayer ishow the kingdom comes.
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Let me close with a story.
Duncan Campbell was aPresbyterian evangelist in
Scotland and he tells the storyabout a revival that broke out
in some islands off of Scotlandcalled the Hebrides, and as
these people were gatheringtogether during the evening,
gathering around fire pits topray, to seek God.
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They were taking up a promiseof God, isaiah 44, which says
this I will pour water upon himthat is thirsty and floods upon
the dry ground.
They were taking God at hisword, calling on his name.
Night after night they weredoing this and as they did it
they were saying God, this is apromise that was made by a
covenant-keeping God.
Now come through on it, fulfillthe promise, pour out on
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thirsty ground.
And so Duncan Campbell.
After months of them prayinglike this, we're just doing Sikh
week.
Y'all we're junior varsity.
They were going for months,okay, night and day, praying.
Duncan Campbell joins one oftheir meetings and while he's in
the room, about 1 am soundslike Sikh first in some ways,
right At 1 am, he tells thisyoung boy to get up.
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I love this.
God always works in powerfulways through young people.
He tells this young man to stepup and he says I want you to
pray now, and this is the youngman's prayer.
I love this.
This is calling upon the nameof the Lord par excellence.
Listen, quote Lord, you made apromise.
Are you going to fulfill it?
We believe that you are acovenant-keeping God.
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Will you be true to yourcovenant.
You have said that you wouldpour water on the thirsty and
floods upon the dry ground.
I do not know how others standin your presence, but I know my
own heart, I know where I standand I am telling you now that I
am thirsty.
Oh, I am thirsty for amanifestation of your right hand
.
Lord, before I sit down, I wantto tell you that your honor is
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at stake.
That's how you pray.
Young man sits down and thehouse begins to shake.
Campbell says you could hearthe dishes in the kitchen
rattling in the cupboards.
One of the elders that wasthere looks at Duncan Campbell
and says I think it's anearthquake.
And he smiles and says I thinkso too.
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Pronounces the benedictionnumber six that you're going to
get at the end of this and walksout.
And this is what he says quotethe town was alive with an
awareness of the presence of God.
You can look up the Hebridesrevival.
Things that flow out from thatrevival is remarkable.
Oh, what would happen if NewCity and the Church of Orlando
calls upon the name of the Lordand says we're thirsty, lord,
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send water, send your spirit ondry ground?
And we begin to shake in thishouse and we begin to see a city
that's alive with an awarenessof the presence of God.
Let's pray, father, we love you.
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We love that you are acovenant-keeping God.
We love that prayer is nottwisting the arm of a reluctant
God, but laying hold in theheart of a willing God.
We praise you for that.
And so here we are, your peoplecalling upon your name, asking
you to fulfill your promises.
It's in Jesus' name, and forhis sake, we pray Amen.
Hello everyone.
This is Pastor Damien.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City, orlando.
At New City, we believe all ofus need all of Jesus for all of
life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
At this point, I'm going toinvite you to join with me in a
prayer of illumination and areading of God's word.
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We believe that God's worddefines reality for us, and we
believe that we need the HolySpirit to open our eyes, and so
let's ask him for that together.
Promise, savior, as we rememberyour first advent and wait for
your return, help us to see yourglory and love through the
reading and preaching of yourword.
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Through Christ, our Savior, wepray Amen.
Our scripture reading is a longone from Genesis 4.26.
Please remain standing, if youare able.
At that time, people began tocall upon the name of the Lord.
This is God's word.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
You made it.
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Well done, super proud of you.
So we are in the second week ofAdvent and our Advent series, as
you'll be able to see behind mehere, is Seeing Everyone Enjoy
the King.
That's an acronym for what SEEKstands for.
You heard Kenny at thebeginning talk about SEEK first.
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This is the third year in a rowthat we have left one year and
entered into another year inextraordinary united
kingdom-focused prayer.
But this is the first year thatwe're ever doing something
called SEEK week, which is wherewe're consecrating the first
168 hours of 2025 to the Lordfor the purpose of gospel
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expansion in our city.
It's not a new city thing, it'sactually.
Seek is a network of churchesand pastors and Christians and
ministries across Orlando, agrowing network, who are all
agreed that the way God works inthe world, it's always preceded
by extraordinary unitedkingdom-focused prayer.
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That's true in biblical history, that's true in church history.
Whenever a move of God, apouring out of his Holy Spirit
what some people call revivalwhenever that happens, it's
always preceded by the people ofGod gathering for extraordinary
united kingdom-focused prayer.
Why Towards what end?
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To see everyone enjoy the King.
That's why Seek Orlando exists,that's why we're doing Seek
First, that's why we're doingSeek Week.
And then, to give you somerationale, we have an Advent
series called Seeing EveryoneEnjoy the King, and so I want to
look at that.
What does that actually mean?
What is the role of prayer inthe coming of God's kingdom?
And I want to look at Genesis 4, 26 in order to do that.
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So if you have a Bible or adevice, go ahead and open up or
turn on to Genesis 4, verse 26.
We're going to look at morethan just that one verse, but
that verse really is shapingthis entire sermon.
So I have three points, and it'sessentially this one scripture.
Point one is at that time,point two is people began to
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call, and point three is uponthe name of the Lord.
Okay, why?
What are we after here?
Well, let's look at at thattime.
This construction in Hebrewactually is a signal.
It's signaling something new,something climactic, something
shifting.
And so then the question wouldbe what time?
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What time is it?
What's really going on?
And the only way you canunderstand that and this is just
a principle for reading theBible is that context is king,
context is king.
So you've got to understandthat verse in the light of it's,
the chapter and the book thatit's in.
And so, if we just back up,even to yesterweek's sermon,
damian told us about how Godcreated man and woman in his
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image, which means that yourdignity, your design and your
destiny is to be kings andqueens in this earth.
That's what it means to behuman.
And God designed us that wayand he gave us a mission, and
the mission was to share in hisreign and rule over all of
creation.
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The way that God says it inGenesis 1, 26 and 28 is that we
were given this task to befruitful, multiply and fill the
earth, and then to have dominion, to rule, to subdue, to work
and to keep.
I'm going to summarize thosetwin themes that run from
Genesis to Revelation.
I'm going to summarize thosetwin themes under these two
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words womb and work.
Be fruitful, multiply, fill theearth the woman primarily leads
out through her womb and worktill the soil.
Bring fruit from the ground theman primarily leads out in his
work.
That's the way that Genesis 1,2, and 3 is going to kind of
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develop those twin themes.
But something went wrong InGenesis 3,.
What happens is that theserpent comes in the snake in
the garden and basically tellsthem hey, you can get what you
want on your own terms, youdon't need God.
And so we who were made to bekings and queens, end up
grasping and clutching for whatwas already ours.
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It's a good design, or a gooddefinition, rather, of sin.
And so in Genesis 3, the peoplego astray and towards the end
of Genesis 3, we see a judgmentpronounced by God, a curse as a
result of that rebellion.
And what is it?
On the woman's womb and theman's work?
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And we see the woman's wombthat there's going to be pain in
bringing forth children beingfruitful, multiply, filling the
earth.
The commission is still there.
It's just going to be painful.
Now we see the man actually inhis work as he's bringing forth
fruit from the ground, fruitfrom the womb, fruit from the
ground.
There's going to be pain andtoil, thorns and thistles.
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There's a curse of the man'swork in the woman's womb.
This is what Genesis 3 shapesup to look like.
But there's a hint of hopebecause it's not just the man
and the woman who experiencejudgment, it's also the serpent.
So if you have a Bible ordevice, you just flip back a
page to Genesis 3.15.
This is going to be a keypassage to understand what's
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going on in our text today.
Genesis 3.15,.
This is the Lord saying to theserpent and he says this I will
put enmity between you and thewoman and between your offspring
.
That word is seed, between youroffspring or seed and her
offspring or seed, he shallbruise your head and you shall
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bruise his heel.
Scholars call this theproto-euangelion, the first
gospel.
This is a declaration of goodnews in the midst of judgment.
Bad news it's happening righthere.
This is a significant promisethat God is making to the first
humans that will carry onthroughout the rest of human
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history that the serpent's headwill be crushed.
It will happen.
Someone will come.
There will be a seed from whichyou will be crushed.
It will happen.
Someone will come.
There will be a seed from whichyou will be restored back to
paradise.
There is hope that this willnot always be this way.
You won't always live east ofEden.
And so the legitimate questionwhen we get to Genesis, chapter
(07:39):
4, is who will this be?
Who's the coming seed?
Who's the coming offspring?
Who's the snake crusher?
And so when we get to the endof Genesis 3, verse 20, you can
see that I think Adam isbelieving the promise of God,
because he says this in verse 20, the man called his wife's name
Eve because she was the motherof all living.
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He's believing the promise.
He's saying the offspring ofthe woman will come.
My wife is the mother of allliving.
From her will come thisserpent-crushing seed.
Then you get to Genesis 4, verse1, and it says this Now Adam
knew Eve, his wife, and sheconceived and bore Cain, saying
(08:23):
I've gotten a man, with the helpof the Lord.
And again she bore his brother,abel.
Now pause there for a moment.
At this point in the story, ifyou're Adam and Eve, you're
wondering which one is it?
Is it Cain?
Is it Abel?
Who's going to crush theserpent's head?
How are we getting back toparadise?
What's it going to take to getback into Eden?
That's the question thatthey're asking.
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But if you keep followingthrough, if you know the story
of Cain and Abel, it doesn't gowell.
We know Abel's not the seed,he's not the snake crusher,
because he gets killed by hisbrother.
But what about Cain?
Maybe God's still got a planfor Cain.
And so we get to verse 17 ofchapter four.
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It says this Cain knew his wifeand she conceived and bore
Enoch.
When he built a city, he calledthe name of the city after the
name of his son, enoch.
Now here's somethingsignificant Cain was cursed for
killing Abel.
He was cursed to be a wanderer,and that was what God spoke
over him.
And what did he do immediatelyafter he stopped wandering, he
built a city.
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He urbanized in order to createsecurity for himself.
This is significant becausejust because of the fall in
Genesis 3 doesn't mean we lostour commitment to womb and work.
This still happens.
It's called the culturalmandate.
It's still playing out to thisday.
But look at the rest of thistext.
Here, in verse 19, it says thatone of Cain's descendants,
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lamech, took two wives.
That's the first time ofpolygamy in the Bible and
there's just this principleWhenever there's polygamy in the
Bible, it doesn't go well.
The Bible's not condoning it,it's condemning it through the
narrative.
It's showing you this is not agood idea.
So what happens when Lamechtakes two wives?
It says this the name of theone is Ada and the name of the
other is Zilhah.
Ada bore Jabal and he was thefather of those who dwell in
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tents and have livestock.
Okay, this is significant.
I said a moment ago some versionof baby making and culture
making is how God plans to usework through people to bring his
kingdom here on earth.
So what's happening in the text?
There's baby making happeningand there's culture making
happening.
You see, immediately Cain'sdescendants start doing things
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like building tents and caringfor livestock.
They're actually doing thethings necessary to sustain a
civilization, to live in thecity that Cain built.
Well, look at the next text here.
It says in verse 21,.
His brother's name was Jubal,so Jabal and Jubal, he was the
father of all those who play thelyre and pipe.
So really early on in the storyof God, people are already
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making music.
People are already enteringinto the arts.
People are already making music.
People are already enteringinto the arts, into
craftsmanship, into ways ofbringing beauty out of chaos.
This is good actually.
This is humans being humans.
This is culture making core toour calling as human beings.
Look at the next verse.
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It goes on Zillah also bore twoball cane.
He was the forger of allinstruments of bronze and iron.
You see, in the text here nowwe've got people taking material
like bronze and irons andshaping them into technologies
and tools and instruments, andso human beings cannot help
(11:41):
ourselves.
We are, by default, culturemakers.
It's going to happen.
It's core to God's plan for usin the world.
But here's the problem the humanhand is always guided by the
human heart.
The human hand is always guidedby the human heart, and so Cain
and his line, his seed, hisoffspring, are in rebellion
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against God.
Which is why, in the very nextverses, look with me at verse
23,.
Lamech said to his wives,plural, ada and Zillah hear my
voice, you, wives of Lamech,listen to what I say.
I have killed a man forwounding me, a young man for
striking me.
If Cain's revenge is sevenfold,then Lamech's revenge is 77
(12:23):
fold.
Okay, do we see what'shappening here?
Metal working becomes weaponmaking.
Plows, scythes, tools fortilling the soil, bronze and
metal instruments are now usedto create swords and spears to
kill people.
To create swords and spears tokill people.
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What was baby making has turnedinto revenge taking the human
heart is always guiding thehuman hand, and so when we make
culture, which is core to who weare, it's guided by a heart
either in rebellion against Godor in willing submission to God.
And so I started this by sayingwhat time is it in our text
when it says at that time?
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Look with me again at the text,verse 25.
And Adam knew his wife again,and she bore a son and called
his name Seth.
You see in the narrative what'shappened in your mind is you
see the story?
You see that if baby-making andculture-making is going to
bring the kingdom here and crushthe serpent.
(13:29):
If it's going to happen, maybethis is how it's going to work.
Maybe it's through Cain's lineand their incredible
industriousness and the arts andtechnology and animal husbandry
and all these things thatthey're doing.
Maybe that's the way that thekingdom is going to come.
Maybe that's how we're going tocrush the serpent's head.
Andy Crouch has my favoritedefinition of culture.
He says culture is what we makeof the world, and he means that
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both what we make of the worldmaterially, of the world and he
means that both what we make ofthe world materially, as in what
we shape the world into, butalso what we make of the world
meaningfully, the stories wetell, the music we make.
And you see culture makinghappening in this text.
But when we get to the point ofour text, our sermon text today
, you can see that there's thishesitancy about whether or not
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womb and work are really goingto bring us back to Eden, like
we all long for.
That's what time it is.
So let's look at our text again.
In verse 25, it says this andAdam knew his wife again and she
bore a son and called his nameSeth, for she said God has
appointed for me anotheroffspring, or seed.
That's the word from Genesis3.15.
(14:39):
I think this is more evidencethat they believe the promise.
God has appointed for meanother offspring instead of
Abel, for Cain killed him ToSeth also.
A son was born and he calledhis name Enosh.
Now I feel for Seth and Enosh,because you know the phrase like
(14:59):
that's a face only a mothercould love.
Enosh's name means man, but italso kind of means mortality,
weakness, frailty.
Seth means appointed.
Enosh means mm, I don't thinkthis is theilty.
Seth means appointed.
Enosh means I don't think thisis the dude.
And so Eve is looking at herbaby, her grandbaby, enosh, and
(15:23):
going yeah, that's not the one,he's not the snake crusher.
I don't know what she saw, Itruly don't, but for some reason
she is losing confidence inthis as the source of the snake
crusher.
And we find ourselves at ourtext at this point.
It says in the end of verse 26,.
At that time, at that time,people began to call upon the
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name of the Lord.
That was a lot, but it wasgiving you context to see what
time is it it's time to stoptrusting in human means.
What time is it it's time tostop trusting in tech and
education and arts andcraftsmanship to bring us back
to the garden.
What time is it?
(16:11):
It's time to look outside ofourselves, because all we have
to offer is human weakness, andwe need our impotence to be
bound together with God'somnipotence.
And so what do people do?
They call upon the name of theLord.
They start to pray, and that'spoint two here.
People began to call.
People began to call.
(16:33):
This is maybe about 250years-ish from the birth of Cain
to the birth of Enosh.
Okay, so there's a gap in there, and what's happening is, I
think, the people who arecalling in the name of the Lord
are beginning to realize thatthey're not getting back into
Eden anytime soon, that theylive east of Eden and this is
(16:54):
where they are.
They're in exile from the placethey were designed to be, and
so they begin to be sensitive tothis, aware of this.
And it's always in waiting,right, 250 years of waiting.
God uses waiting in our livesin order to cultivate
desperation in our hearts.
(17:15):
Paul Miller has this greatpicture.
People come to him.
He wrote a great book on prayercalled A Praying Life.
People come to him often andsay Paul, how can I have a
better prayer life.
And he said I can tell you onething here it is If you were to
take that feeling of desperation, that pit in the stomach that
you get sometimes, and if youcould distill that into a liquid
and every time you wanted topray you just took a shot of
desperation you'd have anamazing prayer life.
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The people in our text that arecalling upon the name of the
Lord, at that time they'refeeling desperate, they're
feeling weak.
They don't think baby makingand culture making is gonna
bring the kingdom anymore.
So what do they do?
They call upon the name of theLord, they begin to pray, they
begin to ask God to do for themwhat they cannot do for
themselves.
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About 10 years ago I was inseminary and I wrote a paper on
this text, and my paper was inour class on ecclesiology, which
is the study of the church, andI argued this is when the
church began, this is the studyof the church.
And I argued this is when thechurch began.
This is the beginning of thechurch.
So you all, new City, who arethe church here in Orlando, the
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church of Orlando that'sgathering together on Seek First
and Seek Week, like we are thechurch.
This is our story.
This is where we began, righthere, genesis 4.26.
The church began when itstopped being individuals, but a
people calling upon the name ofthe Lord.
So I'm saying it wasn'tPentecost in Acts 2.
That's not when the churchbegan.
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The church began way back here,when people started taking up
the promises of God and callingupon the name of God.
You could find a betterdefinition of the church than
this?
But this is a really simple androbust one.
What is the church?
The people who call upon thedefinition of the church than
this, but this is a reallysimple and robust one.
What is the church?
The people who call upon thename of the Lord.
That's what the church is.
That's the people of God.
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Throughout history.
It's the definingcharacteristic of who we are.
As the people of God, we callupon the name of the Lord.
We ask God to do what he'spromised to do.
That's significant becausethere's a book on this verse
called Calling Upon the Name ofthe Lord by Gary Miller.
It's a great book.
If you want a book on prayerbiblical understanding of prayer
(19:24):
, this one's excellent, and inthere he says it like this when
this phrase is used in the OldTestament, because it starts
here, calling upon the name ofthe Lord, and it's picked up and
reused a lot throughout the OldTestament.
And when it's used, he arguesit is asking God specifically to
do one thing to come through onhis promises, to come through
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on what he said he would do.
That's what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
God, you said now do what youpromised to do, do what you
promised us.
And so, in this way, all prayeris what Eugene Peterson calls
answering God.
God goes first he speaks andthen we simply answer him.
We simply receive what he saidand then respond in prayer.
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We receive the promises, werespond in prayer.
This is how the Christian lifeworks the promises we respond in
prayer.
This is how the Christian lifeworks.
My first discipler, my sisterShannon, told me that faith is
giving all that I know of myselfto all that I know of Jesus.
I love that definition.
I think it's so helpful.
So then the question would bewhat did they know of themselves
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and what did they know of Godin Genesis 4.26?
Well, what they knew ofthemselves is we can't.
What they knew of God is youcan, and it caused them to pray.
What they knew of God, reallywhat they had to base their
faith, their calling upon thename of the Lord on, was Genesis
3.15.
You promised that there wouldcome a snake crusher, somebody
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who would destroy evil in yourworld and renew your creation.
You promised God.
Now do it, do what you said youwould do.
You see, the kingdom comesthrough prayer.
This is where it starts, righthere, in Genesis 4.26.
We call upon God's name.
We say you promised, now comethrough on what you promised.
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That's a very biblical andChristian definition of prayer.
Now, as the story of Scripturedevelops, something really
remarkable happens.
Authority and intimacy areinextricably linked.
Let me just trace this out alittle bit.
Abraham is known throughout thestory of Scripture as the
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friend of God.
I don't know of a more intimateword to describe between
Abraham and Yahweh, the Lord,than he's his friend.
And what does that mean?
How does that play out?
Well, as the Lord is about togo, destroy Sodom and Gomorrah,
what does he do?
He goes.
Should we tell Abraham whatwe're about to do?
You know our buddy, our pal,our friend.
(21:56):
This is Genesis 18, 19, thisarea.
And the answer is yes, wetotally should.
And what does God permit Abrahamto do, try to talk him out of
it.
What is going on?
The sovereign God of theuniverse is inviting Abraham to
come and to speak to him abouthis decisions that he's making.
Yes, why?
Because authority flows fromintimacy.
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Abraham's been invited into thecounsel of God, and so
Abraham's legitimately arguingwith God, saying, hey, don't do
this, it's not a good idea.
And he's the Lord's telling him.
Well, listen, this is thesituation he's like.
Okay, I understand that, andthey kind of have this back and
forth and throughout the storyof Scripture.
Then you get Moses, who isdescribed as the man who speaks
(22:40):
with God face to face, as a manspeaks with his friend.
Few people had more authorityin the story of Scripture than
Moses.
Why?
Because authority flows fromintimacy.
I'm hop, skipping and jumpinghere.
You could go through theprophets, you could go through
King David, you could go throughon and on and on.
But let me just jump to the NewTestament.
Jesus in John 15 looks at hisdisciples.
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He says no longer do I call youservants, now I call you
friends.
Why, jesus?
Well, he goes on.
He says because I have revealedto you, I have disclosed to you
all of the things that I'mabout to do.
What does that mean?
God invites you in toparticipate, to partake in his
(23:23):
work in the world.
If you have intimacy with God,he gives you authority to work
out in the world.
Why?
Because God's design making youkings and queens is for you to
become the kind of people hecould entrust with his power.
And how do you become thosekind of people?
Intimacy, familiarity,friendship with God.
Just like you, you invite yourfriends, hopefully, to speak
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into the life decisions that youmake.
God invites us, as his friends,to speak in the decisions that
he makes when he rules the world.
We've got a term for that prayer.
This is the incredibleprivilege of what it means to be
kings and queens ruling in thisworld under God's authority as
the king, the sovereign over theuniverse.
(24:07):
This is the role prayer playsin this.
So what does this look like inpractice for you?
What does this actually looklike?
Let's just say you're cominginto the end of this year
feeling exhausted, worn out,burnt out.
It means taking the promise inMatthew 11, 28.
Jesus, you said come to me andthat you would restore my soul,
(24:28):
you'd give me rest, you'd giveme your yoke, you'd slow me down
to the pace of grace.
Will you do that for me?
Do you see what's happening?
You're calling on the name ofthe Lord, you're taking his
promises in Matthew 11, 28, andyou're holding him to it.
You said Lord, it says that thepeople of God talk to God
throughout the story ofScripture.
Let's just say you've got somepeople in your life that don't
(24:50):
know Jesus and it burdens you,or maybe that are going wayward,
or maybe making they're just,they're far from God, alienated
from God.
You go to him, maybe with someother people, and you take up 2
Peter, 3, 9, and you say Lord,it says here that you don't want
anyone to perish.
You're patient, you're slow.
(25:11):
Why?
Because you're longing forpeople not to perish, to grant
them repentance so that they cancome home.
If that's true and I believe itis because you said it do what
you said.
This is what it looks like tocall upon the name of the Lord.
Some of you in here feeloverwhelmed with decisions you
have to make.
Maybe it's parenting.
You're like I don't know whatto do in this new age and stage
(25:33):
Like this is crazy.
We need, like, an iOS update.
This isn't working for us.
You go to God and you call uponthe name of the Lord, using
James 1.5.
It says that he will givewisdom to those who ask and he
gives it generously, with zerocondemnation.
He's not like you, idiot.
Why are you asking me again?
He goes yes, wisdom, you needit, I've got it, have at it.
(25:59):
You take up James 1.5, and youcome before the Lord with that
promise and you say I'm callingon you, lord.
You said, come through on whatyou said.
Some of you in here feel a senseof injustice.
You look around Maybe it's inyour own life, maybe it's in the
city around us, maybe it's inyour workplace and you take up
Psalm 37, the city around us,maybe it's in your workplace.
And you take up Psalm 37, verse28, where it says the Lord
loves justice.
(26:19):
So simple, lord.
This is true.
You love justice.
Why do you tolerate injustice?
You can hear where lament comesin here now, and so you say,
lord, bring justice to thissituation.
It's not fair.
Bring justice, you love it,make it happen.
Calling on your name right now,some of you in here might feel
(26:42):
a sense of disappointment.
Or let's just say you're in acircle with somebody who's
feeling disappointment unmetdesires.
Elizabeth Elliot says sufferingis when you have what you don't
want or when you want what youdon't have.
You have somebody in your lifewho's suffering in that way,
with disappointment, and you goto them and you open up Psalm 27
, verse 13, which says I believethat I will look upon the
(27:04):
goodness of the Lord in the landof the living.
And you take that prayer andyou bring that promise with them
and you bring them into thepresence of God with you and you
say listen, I believe this God,I with them, and you bring them
into the presence of God withyou and you say listen, I
believe this God, I believe thatwe will look upon the goodness
of the Lord in the land of theliving, not just there and then
in the new heavens and earth,but here and now.
Lord, bring this promise toreality.
That's what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
(27:27):
Some of you in here experiencetemptation to compromise or
maybe you already have andyou're wondering what you do.
The pressure to give in totemptation is so strong and
maybe you confess that to peoplearound you, the people who show
up for you.
And you take up Psalm 121,where it says he will not let
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your foot be moved.
You say, god, don't let my footbe moved.
I'm walking, but I feel likethe path I'm walking is
treacherous right now.
Hold me up, don't let me slip,lord.
Finally, some of you in here,you experience loneliness, and
I'm aware that this seasonheightens loneliness for many of
us.
There was a song that I likedwhen I was in my teenage years
(28:13):
that says of us.
There was a song that I likedwhen I was in my teenage years
that says have you ever beenalone in a crowded room?
Some of you feel that in theholiday season, you feel alone
in a crowded room, or you're noteven in the crowded room, and
you're just alone, period.
And what do you do?
What do you do with thatloneliness?
Well, first I would say, bringit into community, tell somebody
, invite them into it.
But Hebrews 13 says I will neverleave you nor forsake you.
(28:37):
God, is that true?
Have you never left me norforsaken me?
It doesn't feel true right now,but I know that my feelings are
not the barometer of what istrue, and so I'm going to hope
that, just like the sun can behidden by some cloud cover, in
the same way your presence isout of my awareness right now,
and I'm trusting that.
Be above the clouds, beyond theclouds, you really have never
(29:00):
left me, nor forsaken me.
This is what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
God, you said, this is who youare.
God, you said, this is what youwould do, and you take those
things before him and you askhim.
You ask him to be who he sayshe is, which is super honoring
to God.
It's super honoring to God.
God, you said.
And he goes you're right, takeme at my word.
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And so, when we find ourselvescalling upon the name of the
Lord, we're taking seriously whohe is and what he's promised to
do.
And that brings us to our thirdpoint.
What does it mean to call uponthe name of the Lord?
Let me ask you what's in a name?
Why do humans name everything?
We name each other, we name ourboats, we name our cities, we
(29:45):
name God.
Why is it that first-timeparents, especially, are in so
much agony over the name oftheir first child, usually?
Why is this?
Why is it that names are sosignificant to us?
What makes it such that, when wethink about, or if you reflect
(30:06):
back on, even the Holocaust.
One of the things that they didwas so heinous was they
stripped people of their namesand they gave them numbers
instead.
So heinous was they strippedpeople of their names and they
gave them numbers instead.
What happened in that moment?
Why would they do that?
Well, because we know that coreto what a name is is your
identity, it's who you are.
But it's not just this internalsense of identity, it's
(30:26):
actually this external, it'sreputation, it's who you're
recognized, as People know youby your name, if they know you.
This is what's in a name.
It's reputation, it's honor,it's all these things are kind
of wrapped up together.
And so what's in a name?
When we call upon the name ofthe Lord, we're receiving God's
character, we're saying this iswho you said you are, and we're
(30:46):
responding in prayer, holdinghim to be that person, to be who
he said he is.
And so many of us live and grewup in a context which people now
are calling culturalChristianity, which means that
Christianity has just seepedinto American or Western culture
so much that it's hard for usto get outside of a Christian
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framework, even if we're notChristians.
So let me just give you thesmelling salt of what other
people relate to their God, likethere's a prayer from around
the time of Moses, and it's aprayer to every God.
I've read another one before.
This is actually a differentone.
You're welcome.
New Akkadian prayer today.
This is the prayer to every God.
Now contrast this with whatI've been saying this whole time
(31:28):
.
Quote the God whom I know or donot know, has placed suffering
upon me.
Although I am lookingconstantly for help, no one
takes me by the hand when I weep.
They do not come to my side.
I utter laments but none hearsme.
If you don't have this book,that's your life.
(31:51):
If you don't have what the Bible, what we call revelation, god's
self-disclosure, if you don'thave that, you're aimless.
You're wandering in the dark.
You cry out to a God, prayer toany God, every God, whichever
God, but you have no confidenceof who that God is or how that
God's going to act towards you.
(32:12):
Which is why, if you ever takeChristian prayer, it's always
responsive, it's alwaysanswering God, because God has
gone first.
If you ever come to a prayermeeting with me, I can promise
you there's going to be an openBible, most likely.
Why?
Well, because we take what Godsays about who he is and what
he's going to do, and we bringthose words back to God so that
(32:35):
we're not just wandering in thedarkness.
I can't pray for more than like10 minutes without the Bible
open in front of me.
Some of you are like.
I hope you feel relief in that,because this is the way it was
meant to go.
It's a dialogue between God.
He speaks and we respond.
This is what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
God goes first, even in ourtext, if you go back to Genesis
(33:01):
3.
In Genesis 3, 9, it says thisthis is after Adam and Eve rebel
, but the Lord God listen tothis language called to man and
said where are you?
You see, we believe that Godcalls upon us far earlier than
(33:24):
we ever call upon him.
We believe that it takes God toknow God.
We believe that unless Godgraciously discloses himself to
us, we would never know how todraw near to him.
So if you have ever called uponthe name of the Lord, or if
you're in any way inclined tocall upon the name of the Lord,
it's because God called yourname out first.
(33:44):
That's what's happening in thetext here, and so God reveals
his name and his people respondin praying to that name, to that
God, to be who that God saysthat God is.
So let's go back to our promisein Genesis 3.15, this seed of
the woman that would crush thehead of the serpent but whose
heel would be bruised.
That promise really isn'tfulfilled for anywhere, at
(34:08):
minimum 4,000 years.
It's a long time to be callingupon the name of the Lord, but
when we get to our Christmaspassages, you read Matthew 1,
let's just say you skip past thegenealogy because it's boring,
but don't skip past thegenealogy.
It is boring, I'm sure, butit's actually full of richness
and brilliance if you payattention.
Why?
(34:29):
Because Jesus is the seed.
Going back, going back, goingback, luke 3 says Jesus is the
seed all the way back to Adam.
That's why the genealogies arein there throughout the whole
story of Scripture is becausewe're seeing whose offspring is
going to come and crush the headof the serpent.
And so we get to Matthew 1 andwe read through this genealogy
linking Jesus back, back, back,back back, and then we get to
(34:51):
this point where he's going tobe named Jesus back, back, back,
back, back, and then we get tothis point where he's going to
be named Angel comes to Josephand tells Joseph what he's
supposed to name this boy that'sgoing to be born of a virgin.
What does he say?
If you want to flip there, youcan.
In Matthew 1.
Famous Christmas passage.
It says this in verse 21, shewill bear a son, and you shall
(35:15):
call his name Jesus, for he willsave his people from their sins
.
All this took place to fulfillwhat the Lord had spoken by the
prophet.
Behold, the virgin shallconceive and bear a son, and
they shall call his nameEmmanuel, which means God with
us.
So which is it, jesus orEmmanuel?
(35:36):
Yes, jesus is his mission.
His mission is for the Lord tosave.
That's what it means.
Jesus means Yahweh saves Yeshua, but he's also Emmanuel.
That's his identity.
He's God with us.
The fulfillment of Genesis 3.15is in Jesus, the one who saves,
(35:59):
and Emmanuel, god with us.
God will come and actuallybring his people back back into
restored paradise.
That's why, when Jesus ishanging on the cross, he looks
to the thief next to him andsays today you will be with me
in paradise.
That's the word for Eden.
And so Jesus is this coming,one who comes in an unexpected
way.
(36:19):
Why?
Because Jesus is born from thewomb of a teenage virgin and
then Jesus dies through the workof Roman execution.
Nobody would have ever expectedwomb and work would shape up
like that, and so this is whyjohn calvin says it like this
Through the gospel, our heartsare trained to call on god's
(36:42):
name Because we have a namejesus, yeshua, emmanuel, god
with us, the one who saves.
We have a name to call upon.
This is why, in acts 2, quotingJoel 2, it says everyone, very
inclusive, everyone who calls inthe name of the Lord shall be
saved.
A couple chapters later, inActs 4, it says this there is
(37:04):
salvation in no one else, veryexclusive, only Jesus.
There is salvation in no oneelse, for there is no other name
under heaven given among men bywhich we must be saved.
Why Philippians 2 puts it likethis?
Because he became a servant tothe point of death.
Therefore, god has highlyexalted him and given Jesus the
(37:26):
name that is above every name,so that the name of Jesus, every
knee will bow and every tongueconfess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God, theFather.
This is what it means to callupon the name of the Lord.
But then something really weirdhappens to this promise in
Genesis 3.15.
(37:46):
In Romans 16.20,.
Paul quotes it and he says thisto the Romans.
He says this the God of peacewill soon crush Satan under your
feet.
What I thought Jesus was thesnake crusher.
Why would the God of peacewhich I think is a funny irony
the God of peace will crushSatan under your feet.
(38:07):
How does that work, new City?
What does that mean for you andme?
Well, if you belong to Jesus,then he is the head and you are
his body.
You are the feet under whichthe serpent's head will be
crushed.
The fulfillment of the promiseis not yet the evil.
One's still doing work in ourworld.
He's been crushed, and yet notcrushed.
(38:27):
And so how do we share in that?
What does it look like for usto join in our big brother's
mission of serpent crushing?
First and foremost, callingupon the name of the Lord.
Calling upon the name of theLord Jesus in extraordinary
united kingdom-focused prayer ishow the kingdom comes.
(38:48):
Let me close with a story.
Duncan Campbell was aPresbyterian evangelist in
Scotland and he tells the storyabout a revival that broke out
in some islands off of Scotlandcalled the Hebrides, and as
these people were gatheringtogether during the evening,
gathering around fire pits topray, to seek God.
(39:09):
They were taking up a promiseof God, isaiah 44, which says
this I will pour water upon himthat is thirsty and floods upon
the dry ground.
They were taking God at hisword, calling on his name.
Night after night they weredoing this and as they did it
they were saying God, this is apromise that was made by a
covenant-keeping God.
Now come through on it, fulfillthe promise, pour out on
(39:32):
thirsty ground.
And so Duncan Campbell.
After months of them prayinglike this, we're just doing Sikh
week.
Y'all we're junior varsity.
They were going for months,okay, night and day, praying.
Duncan Campbell joins one oftheir meetings and while he's in
the room, about 1 am soundslike Sikh first in some ways,
right At 1 am, he tells thisyoung boy to get up.
(39:54):
I love this.
God always works in powerfulways through young people.
He tells this young man to stepup and he says I want you to
pray now, and this is the youngman's prayer.
I love this.
This is calling upon the nameof the Lord par excellence.
Listen, quote Lord, you made apromise.
Are you going to fulfill it?
We believe that you are acovenant-keeping God.
(40:14):
Will you be true to yourcovenant.
You have said that you wouldpour water on the thirsty and
floods upon the dry ground.
I do not know how others standin your presence, but I know my
own heart, I know where I standand I am telling you now that I
am thirsty.
Oh, I am thirsty for amanifestation of your right hand
.
Lord, before I sit down, I wantto tell you that your honor is
(40:36):
at stake.
That's how you pray.
Young man sits down and thehouse begins to shake.
Campbell says you could hearthe dishes in the kitchen
rattling in the cupboards.
One of the elders that wasthere looks at Duncan Campbell
and says I think it's anearthquake.
And he smiles and says I thinkso too.
(40:58):
Pronounces the benedictionnumber six that you're going to
get at the end of this and walksout.
And this is what he says quotethe town was alive with an
awareness of the presence of God.
You can look up the Hebridesrevival.
Things that flow out from thatrevival is remarkable.
Oh, what would happen if NewCity and the Church of Orlando
calls upon the name of the Lordand says we're thirsty, lord,
(41:20):
send water, send your spirit ondry ground?
And we begin to shake in thishouse and we begin to see a city
that's alive with an awarenessof the presence of God.
Let's pray, father, we love you.
(41:41):
We love that you are acovenant-keeping God.
We love that prayer is nottwisting the arm of a reluctant
God, but laying hold in theheart of a willing God.
We praise you for that.
And so here we are, your peoplecalling upon your name, asking
you to fulfill your promises.
It's in Jesus' name, and forhis sake, we pray Amen.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.