I Know Your Name, And You Are Mine.

I Know Your Name, And You Are Mine.

Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Salvation is a gift from God, presented free and not in exchange for anything when we place our faith in Christ. It magnifies God alone, since He is the One that blesses us not because of merit, but because of His goodness.

If your can still remember last Sundays message, we can all agree that God has the sovereign right to choose whom He wills. And He calls them by name! After all, “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus”.

I want to talk to you today about a man that you probably know nothing about! In fact, I don’t know much about him myself. Except for the fact that Jesus called him by name.

We may have never even heard his name. He did great things, but there is no record of them. He helped change many lives, but I can’t tell you how. His name …Thaddeus, He was one of our Lord’s 12 Disciples.

Mark 3:14-19
14 Then He appointed twelve,[a] that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and[b] to cast out demons: 16 Simon,[c] to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

If you are familiar with your Bible, you would know that Jesus called the 12, by name. He did not go around the crowd, and asked… “you, there what’s your name? come follow Me”. No… Jesus called them by name. He called them by name because He is God, He is sovereign. He never makes a mistake in whom He calls. Don’t get sidetracked by Judas as being a mistake, keep in mind, he was born for the purpose of betraying our Lord.

We all have heard and even followed a lot famous Christians. My personal favorites, as you all know are, John Macarthur, R.C. Sproul, who’s has gone to be with the Lord. Paul Washer, Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah, and so on. We, each know someone famous who has dedicated their lives in service to our Lord. And God called them by name.
Understand this, you and I, may not be famous as some of the names I had just mentioned, but God, in His power, called us by name. We can even be the owner of a multi-million dollar corporation and be unsuccessful in God’s eyes or we may be the janitor of that same company and be right where God wants you to be. Regardless of who we are, God knows us by name.

Today Christians/churches measure success by how big the building is, how many people attend, how large the budget may be, and how many new members and baptisms they had the previous physical year.

Society today is consumed with superficial measures of success. As we look to the Word of God we will find that God does not measure success the way that man does. The world may look at you as a failure, as worthless or as a nobody. And you have heard it so much that you believe it! The enemy has whispered such negative comments in your ears for years. But if you are a child of God you are special! …you are GREATLY BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED!

I want to take some time and look at Thaddeus’ life and see that Jesus sees you as somebody even when the world looks at you as a nobody! It is human nature to desire a measure of recognition. People go to great lengths to stand out from the crowd and to be unique or different.

Throughout your Bible you will not hear Thaddeus preach a powerful sermon. You will not see him specifically healing someone who was sick. You will not read that he ever cast out a demon. But it is very possible, dare I say even probable that he did all of these things.

How can I say that for sure? Because it was recorded, Thaddeus was called among the twelve.

Mark 6:7
7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.
Mark 6:12-13
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

Thaddeus may not have been a Peter, James, John or even an Andrew. He may not have penned a gospel or an epistle. I submit to you that Jesus did not want him to be a Peter, James, John or Andrew. Jesus wanted Thaddeus to be just that …Thaddeus! He was commanded and was given the same power as the rest of the disciples.



We may look at celebrities, relatives, preachers, teachers, singers, and so on, and desire to be like them. I certainly have, I even told myself, one day I would like to be able to preach as good as the pastors that I learn from. We may even desire the talents/gifts that they have been given. We may even envy the success that they have experienced. But you are not them! I am not and cannot be them. God has another path for you and I. It is a better path, simply because IT IS GOD’S CHOSEN PATH!

The world may not know your name or mine. We may never see our name in lights or go down in the history books and that’s ok, Jesus knows our name and that is worth more than the notoriety of man. You are special in God’s eyes. AND HE KNOWS YOUR NAME!

People may not realize our worth, but Jesus does. For whatever reason, we do not have an in-depth record of Thaddeus’ service as a disciple of Christ. But just the fact that he is named among the twelve should show us something. At this point in Jesus’ ministry there were multitudes following Jesus everywhere He went. Out of this great number of followers Jesus only selected 12. Thaddeus was privileged to be called to be one of them.

Whatever your service, whatever the task that Jesus has chosen for you, in church or out of church, it is an honor to be chosen to serve. You have been chosen by the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING FOR HIM! Out of over the billions of people in this world, HE CALLED YOUR NAME.

He placed you as the leader of that specific church for a reason. He placed you as the teacher of that class to have an impact on those children. He placed you in that factory to reach your co-workers in the break room. He placed you, the mother, father or grandparent of that child to have an eternal impact. He placed you on that assembly line to lead the person next to you to Christ.  He placed you at home to be a prayer warrior for your brothers & sisters. That is where God wants you to be. He has placed a purpose for you where ever you may be now.

Whatever your situation He chose you to serve Him. We all have a calling. Will you treasure that calling or will you take it for granted? Will you be so prideful as to look at your place of service and compare it to someone else and the become bitter because yours is not as prominent as position as someone else? Just a little added encouragement. Even before Jesus chose Thaddeus to be his disciple. Thaddeus was already precious to Jesus.

Before the foundation of the world, YOU WERE PRECIOUS TO JESUS!!!

Ephesians 1:4-5
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
WHAT??? That’s crazy right! You mean to say, God loves you and I, chose you and I, even before we were born! God made sure that you and I will be born because He has a purpose for you and I. Even before we were born…God by His sovereign will, has already forgiven us of our sins, look… “that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love”. I just cannot wrap my head around that, right!  And even before you and I were born, we were meant to be adopted as sons/children of God! “having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will”.

You were worth enough to God for Him to send His Son to die for you! You were worth enough in Jesus’ eyes for Him to go to the cross for you! The world may not see how important you are, but GOD SAYS YOU ARE SOMEBODY! “I Know Your Name, And You Are Mine”.

People May Not Know Your Name, But Jesus Does …People May Not Realize You Worth, But Jesus Does. You may never get the pat on the back that you think you deserve. People may never see ALL that you do. They may not see the long hours and late nights. They may not know the financial sacrifices that you have made. Others may not know of the emotional struggles and burnout that you have endured. Still, you are precious to God.

F.B. Meyer. Baptist Pastor in the 1800’s had this to say…

Don’t' waste your time waiting and longing for large opportunities which may never come. But faithfully handle the little things that are always claiming your attention.
                                                                                                                                   F.B. Meyer
                                                                  POWERPOINT

Though we do not have the back-story of Thaddeus’ life. We are certain that like Peter, James, John Andrew & Levi, he left everything he had in order to follow Jesus. Though the world may not recognize your effort, though you may never be “rewarded” down here, Jesus has much more in store for you. You too have an eternal reward!

Matthew 6:19-20
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Every deed done in the name of Jesus will be blessed and rewarded in eternity. Men may not recognize your effort, but rest assured that Jesus knows, and HE WILL REWARD YOUR FAITHFULNESS! Th child of God you will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.



2 Corinthians 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

At that Judgment seat there will be crowns given to the faithful. We read of 5 different crowns in the Word of God.

1) The Incorruptible Crown - Awarded for faithfulness to the Lord - 1 Cor. 9:25.
2) The Crown Of Life - For the person who endures and overcomes temptation - James 1:12.
3) The Crown Of Rejoicing - This is the soul winner’s crown - 1 Thes. 2:19.
4) The Crown Of Righteousness - This will be given to those who anticipate and live in the light
   of the return of Jesus - 2 Tim. 4:8
5) The Crown Of Glory -This will be given to the faithful ministers/leaders who give themselves
    to lead and feed the flock of God - 1 Pet. 5:4.

                                                                           POWERPOINT

These are what is waiting for you for being you. For being what God made you to be. You are precious to God. He has prepared these things for you. We may not know many details of Thaddeus’ story, but I can assure you he stored up treasures in Heaven. He remained faithful till the end!

In Closing: Let me end with a short story…

An elderly preacher was rebuked by one of his deacons one Sunday morning before the service. "Pastor," said the man, "something must be wrong with your preaching and your work. There's been only one person added to the church in a whole year, and he's just a boy." The minister listened, his eyes moistening and his thin hand trembling. "I feel it all," he replied, "but God knows I've tried to do my duty." On that day the minister's heart was heavy as he stood before his flock. As he finished the message, he felt a strong inclination to resign. After everyone else had left, that one boy came to him and asked, "Do you think if I worked hard for an education, I could become a preacher--perhaps a missionary?" Again, tears welled up in the minister's eyes. "Ah, this heals the ache I feel," he said. "Robert, I see the Divine hand now. May God bless you, my boy. Yes, I think you will become a preacher." Many years later an aged missionary returned to London from Africa. His name was spoken with reverence. Nobles invited him to their homes. He had added many souls to the church of Jesus Christ, reaching even some of Africa's most savage chiefs. His name was Robert Moffat, the same Robert who years before had spoken to the pastor that Sunday morning in the old Scottish kirk. Lord, help us to be faithful. Then give us the grace to leave the results to you. (Writer Unknown)

“I Know Your Name, And You Are Mine.” Each and everyone of you here tonight is precious to God. He knows you by name. He created you for His purpose. You are a gift to His Son. You are more valuable than anything else in this world. (Money, fame, and so on) God loves you so much, that He gave His only begotten Son!

2 Timothy 2:19
19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”