The Name

1 Peter 2:⁹ “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

The Name You Bear determines how limitless you become. Yesterday, we saw one dimension to the name you bear and today we will look at a different dimension to the name you bear. It is not so salient, but it is also very powerful. And that is the name you answer to. One of the trademarks of going to secondary school in Nigeria, well at least in my time, is that everybody has a nickname. You have to train your children to be careful about the names they answer to. I can tell you what I was called because I do not answer to that name anymore. As soon as I gave my life to Jesus, I told all my friends to stop calling me that name.

Back then, when I enter the classroom, someone would say, ‘Scorpio, Femo-scorpio’, and I would be feeling very cool. But when I got saved and discovered that I am of the tribe of the Lion of Judah, I stopped everyone from calling me that name. ‘Call me lion’, even if it does not rhyme. The name you answer to is so powerful. Children these days call themselves all sorts of things. I do not even want to mention some names I have heard. You have to train your children to refuse such names. Some names come with a tribe. They say everybody from that tribe is stingy. Even if your family is from that tribe, you have to refuse to answer that name.

Say, ‘I am generous’. And it is because if you take on the name associated with that tribe, you become limited by it. People say many things, for example, ‘All men are scum’. I am not scum. Let the men who are not scum shout hallelujah. For ladies, if you accept that narrative, all the men you will attract will be scum. This is not popular because men do not talk a lot. So, ladies do not even know what men say. But we know what ladies say because they say it. Men say, ‘You cannot trust a woman’. As a woman, you must refuse to answer to that name. You are a virtuous woman, and you are to be trusted. So, let all the virtuous women shout hallelujah.

And for the men, regardless of your experiences, women are to be trusted. Otherwise, you will only attract women who are not trustworthy. They say Nigerians are corrupt. Do not accept that, and do not answer that name. By God’s grace, I travel to different nations, and I refuse to answer that name. They say, ‘But you are different’ and I say, ‘I am not the only different one, we are many’. The name you answer can limit you. They say about a tribe in the Western part of Nigeria that the men are Yoruba demons. Refuse to answer that name. I am not a demon. Again, be careful about the name you answer to because it can be a limitation.

Prayer: Father, I will only answer to the name that You have given me, in Jesus Name. Amen!